Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu conferred Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 Awards at Vigyan Bhagwan, New Delhi hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). 23 Super Swachh League Cities received felicitations in the presence of Union Minister, Shri Manohar Lal and MoS, MoHUA, Shri Tokhan Sahu.
The new generation of clean cities of India have arrived with Ahmedabad, Bhopal and Lucknow emerging as top Swachh Shehar. 43 National awards have been announced, with a special recognition for Mahakumbh.
The Department of Posts (DoP), under the Ministry of Communications, Government of India, and the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) have hit a historic milestone by signing a pathbreaking Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on July 17, 2025, in Mumbai to streamline KYC (Know Your Customer) verification for approximately 24.13 crore mutual fund folios,
including 19.04 crore in Equity, Hybrid, and Solution-Oriented Schemes, as per AMFI data for June 30, 2025. The MoU was signed by Ms. Manisha Bansal Badal, GM, (Business Development) on behalf of Department of Posts and Mr. V. N. Chalasani, Chief Executive, AMFI.
With an impressive year-over-year investor addition trend of approximately 4 million new investors in FY23, 6.9 million in FY24, and 9.7 million in FY25, this landmark agreement will benefit all Asset Management Companies (AMCs) under AMFI by ensuring seamless KYC compliance for their vast and growing investor base, enhancing operational efficiency and financial inclusion.
Under this agreement, DoP will provide KYC verification and document collection services through its extensive network of over 1.64 lakh post offices, ensuring efficient compliance for mutual fund investors. AMFI, representing India’s mutual fund industry, will facilitate this initiative on behalf of its member AMCs to achieve “KYC Validated” status,
for investors in the records of KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs). This partnership will cover the KYC verification needs of the rapidly growing investor base, ensuring an estimated 9.7 million new investors annually are seamlessly onboarded.
Indian Naval Ships Delhi, Satpura, Shakti and Kiltan, under the Command of RAdm Susheel Menon, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, arrived in Singapore, on 16 Jul 25, to a warm welcome from personnel of Republic of Singapore Navy and the High Commission of India in Singapore.
The visit is part of the Operational Deployment of the Indian Navy to South East Asia.
Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy share robust operational relations spanning over three decades of cooperation, coordination and collaboration with regular visits, exchange of Best Practices and reciprocal training arrangements. The current deployment underscores the strong linkages between both the navies.
The first set of wing assemblies for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1A, produced by Larsen & Toubro, was handed over to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu on July 17, 2025.
Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Sanjeev Kumar attended the event virtually as General Manager (LCA Tejas Division) Shri M Abdul Salam received the assemblies on behalf of HAL from Precision Manufacturing & Systems Complex unit of L&T.
Senior Vice President & Head, L&T Precision Engineering & Systems Arun Ramchandani said L&T is set to supply four wing sets annually,
with plans to scale up production to 12 sets per annum through advanced assembly processes and automation, he added.
Till date, the LCA Tejas Division has received structural modules of Air Intake Assemblies from Lakshmi Machine Works, Rear fuselage assembly from Alpha Tocol, Loom Assemblies from Amphenol, Fin & Rudder Assemblies from Tata Advanced Systems,
Centre Fuselage Assembly from VEM Technologies and Wing Assemblies from Larsen & Toubro for the LCA Mk1A.
India, on July 16, 2025, achieved a significant milestone by successfully destroying two Aerial High Speed Unmanned targets at high-altitude in Ladakh by Akash Prime, the upgraded variant of Akash Weapon System for the Indian Army. The weapon system is customised to operate in altitude above 4,500 metres and,
has latest upgrades including indigenously developed Radio Frequency seeker. Based on the operational feedbacks from users, various upgrades are made to improve the operational effectiveness, demonstrating the advantage of the ecosystem created for the indigenous weapon system.
Army Air Defence and DRDO, in conjunction with Defence PSUs such as Bharat Dynamics Limited & Bharat Electronics Limited, and other Industry Partners have successfully validated the indigenously designed and developed Akash Prime Weapon System.
The trials were done as part of First of Production Model firing trial and will further enable timely induction and enhance the Air Defence potential in high-altitude frontiers of the country.
This achievement carries added significance as it follows the exceptional performance of India’s indigenously developed air defence systems during Operation Sindoor.
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), has been awarded the National Geospatial Practitoner Award 2025 for its outstanding use of open-source spatial technologies.
The award was presented during the Open Source GIS Day (Edition 02) at IIT Bombay, to INCOIS Director T.M. Balakrishnan Nair by the former ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar, said a press release.
Tesla Inc. opened its first showroom in India at the upscale Bandra Kurla Complex, marking the American electric vehicle maker’s long-anticipated launch in the world’s third-largest automobile market.
Tesla will begin its stint in its 50th global market by importing and selling two versions of its popular Model Y electric cars, which were on display at the swanky new 4,500-square-metre showroom in Mumbai’s financial district. Several car enthusiasts and curious onlookers got a glimpse of the shiny new cars—coloured Ultra Red and Pearl White—
with a starting price of nearly ₹60 lakh.
The base price (excluding road tax and other fees) for the rear-wheel drive (RWD) vehicle with a range of 500 km would be ₹59.89 lakh (~$69,650), while long-range variant (622 km) would start from ₹67.89 lakh (~$78,950). Model Y is priced at $46,630 (~ ₹40 lakh) in the US, highlighting India’s high import tariffs and shipping cost.
The EV giant has upgraded the features of the two variants to suit Indian roads following two years of testing, officials said. However, Tesla’s popular self-driving features will not be available in India for now, as the Indian government yet to formulate a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles.
Tesla is offering two different kinds of chargers in India. The first is the Supercharger, which will be available on the roads, while the wall connector can be installed at home. For 100% charging of Model Y, the wall connector will take about seven hours, while Superchargers will take about 15-20 minutes, officials said.
India has registered a stellar performance at the 57th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) held in Dubai, UAE, from July 5 to 14, 2025. All four Indian students who participated in the prestigious global competition secured medals—two gold and two silver—bringing pride and international recognition to the country.
The medal winners are Devesh Pankaj Bhaiya from Jalgaon, Maharashtra, and Sandeep Kuchi from Hyderabad, Telangana, who both won gold medals. Debadatta Priyadarshi from Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, and Ujjwal Kesari from New Delhi were awarded silver medals.
The Indian contingent was mentored by a dedicated team of academic experts.
Prof. Ankush Gupta from HBCSE, Mumbai, served as the Head Mentor, while Prof. Seema Gupta of Acharya Narendra Dev College, Delhi, was the Mentor. Dr. Neeraja Dashaputre of IISER Pune and Dr. Amrit Mitra from Government General Degree College, Singur, West Bengal, were the Scientific Observers.
Gujarat has become the first Indian State to launch a genome sequencing initiative focused exclusively on tribal communities.
At a high-level consultation chaired by State Tribal Development Minister Kuber Dindor here, the Tribal Genome Sequencing Project was announced with the aim of identifying genetic health risks and enabling precision healthcare for tribal populations.
The initiative will sequence the genomes of 2,000 individuals from tribal communities across 17 districts in the State.
The project, titled “Creation of Reference Genome Database for Tribal Population in Gujarat”, is being implemented by the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) and is part of the 2025–26 State budget.
The genetic data collected will also be used to identify markers related to natural immunity and support the development of personalised healthcare solutions. The project will incorporate advanced infrastructure for sample collection, sequencing, and interpretation of genetic data, officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed a new prime minister and other key leaders in the largest government reshuffle since Russia invaded three years ago.
Yulia Svyrydenko, 39, took over as prime minister from Denys Shmyhal, who had held the post since 2020, following her confirmation by Ukraine’s parliament.
Before her elevation to the top job, Svyrydenko served as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Trade from November 4, 2021, playing a central role in Ukraine’s wartime economic strategy.
In 2011, she became Permanent Representative of Chernihiv in the city of Wuxi, China—the only official representative office of a Ukrainian city in China,
In May 2020, President Zelenskyy appointed her to represent Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group’s social and economic subgroup, engaged in negotiations related to the war in eastern Ukraine.
On December 22, 2020, she was named Deputy Head of the Office of the President, replacing Yuliya Kovaliv.
Less than a year later, on November 4, 2021, she was appointed by the Verkhovna Rada as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Trade, receiving support from 256 lawmakers.
As Prime Minister, she replaces Denys Shmyhal, who is expected to take over the role of Defence Minister.
We celebrate Nelson Mandela International Day every year on 18th July to shine light on the legacy of a man who changed the 20th century and helped shape the 21st. This is a moment for all to renew with the values that inspired Nelson Mandela. Absolute determination. A deep commitment to justice, human rights and fundamental freedoms.
As the world takes forward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and strives to overcome new sources of adversity, let us recall the lessons of Nelson Mandela’s life, and the essential humanism that guided him: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
Axis Bank announced that it has appointed Neeraj Gambhir as an executive director, effective from August 4, 2025 or post Reserve Bank of India approval, whichever is later, the private lender said in an exchange filing.
The appointment comes as Rajiv Anand, deputy managing director of Axis Bank, decided to step down after the completion of his current term in August 2025.
He will retire from the services of the bank on August 3 after completion of his third term as a director on the bank’s board.
With over 30 years of experience in India's financial sector, the 52-year-old bank veteran was working as the Managing Director of Nomura, India, heading their fixed income business. He has also worked for Lehman Brothers, India and ICICI Bank.
Gambhir is currently a member of SEBI’s Advisory Committees on Mutual Funds and Corporate Bonds and Securitisation (COBOSAC). He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science and has done his Post Graduation in Business Management from Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow where he was awarded PGP Chairman’s Medal.
