NATIONAL
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Centre begins efforts to implement Labour Codes
- Almost a month after the swearing-in of the Narendra Modi government for the third term, the Union Labour Ministry has started efforts to implement the four Labour Codes, which were passed in Parliament in its second term in 2019 and 2020. New Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Union Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra have started meeting representatives of various trade unions seeking their cooperation to implement the controversial legislation.
- Though passed in both Houses, the codes are not yet operational apparently due to the objection of trade unions. The Centre has been maintaining that some States are yet to frame the rules for the codes. Almost all the States have framed the rules and the Centre had said it was helping those States which could not draft the rules to complete the process. The Central Trade Unions (CTUs) had opposed the implementation of the codes citing that they will curtail trade unions’s rights and social security measures for workers.
- Recently, the Citigroup had said in its employment analysis report on India that implementing the four Labour Codes could improve the “ease of doing business” scenario in the country.
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India's population to peak in early 2060s to 1.7 billion before declining: United Nations
- "India’s population is projected to peak in the early 2060s at about 1.7 billion and then decline by 12%, but India will remain the world’s most populous country throughout the century,” the United Nations has said.
- The World Population Prospects 2024 report, released on July 11, said the world’s population is expected to continue growing over the coming 50-60 years, reaching a peak of around 10.3 billion people in the mid-2080s, up from 8.2 billion in 2024. After peaking, the global population is projected to start declining gradually, falling to 10.2 billion people by the end of the century.
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Centre fields BSF, CISF D-Gs to reiterate commitment on 10% reservation for Agniveers in CAPFs
- As Centre feels the heat on Agnipath scheme, it fielded the chiefs of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Border Security Force (BSF) to reiterate the government’s commitment to reserve 10% vacancies in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) for Agniveers.
- The first batch of Agniveers will be eligible for recruitment in CAPFs such as CISF, BSF, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Assam Rifles in 2026.
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India hosts BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers amid raging Myanmar crisis
- The seven-member Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) should find solutions to the regional challenges within itself, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on addressing the first BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ retreat held here.
- The meeting assumes significance as it is being held in the backdrop of major developments in neighbouring Myanmar where the military junta has been receiving battlefield setbacks against dozens of Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs).
- “Global and regional developments also make it imperative that we find more solutions among ourselves. There are longstanding goals such as capacity building and economic cooperation that have acquired a new urgency. And not least, a grouping that is so complementary and so congenial in its membership should surely harbour higher aspirations,” said Mr. Jaishankar while addressing the participants.
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DRDO approves seven technologies for development by private sector
- The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has sanctioned seven new projects for the private sector under the Technology Development Fund scheme as part of efforts to nurture industries, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and start-ups, the Defence Ministry said.
- The indigenous development of these technologies will strengthen the military industrial ecosystem, a Ministry statement said.
- The technologies include Underwater Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (ULUAV); development of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-based timing acquisition and dissemination system; long-range remotely operated vehicles for detection and neutralisation; development of ice-detection sensor for aircraft; development of Graphene-based smart and e-textiles for multifunctional wearable applications; development of radar signal processor with active antenna array simulator; and scenario and sensor simulation toolkit.
INTERNATIONAL
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During conflict, there is no such thing as strategic autonomy: U.S. Ambassador
- There is no such thing as “strategic autonomy” during a conflict, U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti said, even as sources said that U.S. officials have raised concerns with Indian officials over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia this week.
- The comments, including a series of statements critical of the visit by the U.S. State Department, are the sharpest sign of tensions between the U.S. and India over the Putin-Modi summit, including the timing of the talks that came as Western leaders met in Washington for a conference of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and a series of deadly Russian missile strikes across Ukraine.
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U.S. and South Korea sign joint nuclear deterrence guidelines in face of North Korean threats
- The U.S. and South Korea signed joint nuclear deterrence guidelines, weeks after North Korea and Russia struck a defense pact that deepened concerns in the region about the North's growing nuclear threats.
- Meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol commended what they called “the tremendous progress” that their countries’ alliance have made a year after creating a joint Nuclear Consultative Group.
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NATO expresses concern over deepening Russia-China ties
- NATO has voiced profound concern over China's deepening relationship with Russia and accused Beijing of becoming a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine through its so-called “no limits” partnership with the country.
- Leaders of the 32-member North Atlantic Treaty Organisation said this in a statement following their meeting in Washington to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Council.
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South Korea to deploy 'StarWars' lasers against North's drones
- South Korea will begin deploying drone-melting laser weapons designed to shoot down North Korean UAVs this year, the country's arms procurement agency said.
- The new laser weapons -- dubbed the "StarWars Project" by the South -- are invisible and noise-free, require no additional ammunition, operate solely on electricity and cost only about 2,000 won ($1.45) per shot, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
SPORTS
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Wimbledon 2024
- Barbora Krejcikova knocks out Elena Rybakina and makes it to the final and will face Jasmine Paolini in the final.
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Challenger tennis tournament
- Second seed Sumit Nagal lost to Pedro Cachin of Argentina in the pre-quarterfinals of the Challenger tennis tournament in Germany.
