Prime Minister was conferred the ‘Bintang Adipurna of the Republic of Indonesia’ medal of honour by the President of Indonesia, H.E. Mr. Prabowo Subianto. The award is the highest civilian honour of the Republic of Indonesia. It was conferred upon Prime Minister for his leadership and exceptional contribution to strengthening India-Indonesia relations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded a grand ceremonial welcome upon his arrival in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 7, 2026, marking the start of his official state visit to deepen bilateral ties and strengthen strategic cooperation between the two nations. He is on a three-nation diplomatic visit.
The second Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting between India and Rwanda took place in New Delhi on July 06 & 07, 2026. The two sides decided to expand partnership in the field of military training, military exercises, medical cooperation and defence industries.
The meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Government of India Shri Amitabh Prasad and Chief for Joint Force Development, Training and Doctrine (Chief J7- RDF HQ) Brig Gen Louis Kanobayier.
The delegation visited Army Hospital (Referral & Research) where they were provided a first-hand experience of India’s military medical capabilities, advanced healthcare infrastructure, and the comprehensive medical support system established for the Defence Forces.
The MoU on defence cooperation was signed in July 2018 during the visit of PM Narendra Modi to Rwanda.
Union Ministry of Education released the Report on Performance Grading Index 2.0 for States/UTs (PGI-S) and Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for 2025-26.
The Indian Education System is one of the largest in the world with more than 14.67 lakh schools, 1.03 crore teachers and nearly 24.72 crore students from varied socio-economic backgrounds.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has designated the Natural History Museum (NHM), Mizoram University, Aizawl, as a Designated Repository under Section 39 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
Based on the recommendation of the National Biodiversity Authority and after due examination of the proposal, the Central Government notified the institution as a Designated Repository on 19 June 2026. With this notification, NHM becomes India’s 21st Designated Repository, further strengthening the country’s biodiversity conservation and scientific infrastructure.
Designated Repositories constitute an important component of India’s biodiversity governance framework by preserving authenticated biological specimens accessed under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the Parliament of Indonesia in Jakarta. He is the first Indian Prime Minister to address the Indonesian Parliament.
To mark the centenary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to Indonesia in 2027, Prime Minister Modi announced that the two countries would jointly celebrate the occasion as “Tagore-Dewantara Year for Cultural and Educational Diplomacy”.
The 1st Meeting of the India-Costa Rica Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) was held virtually on 6-7 July 2026. The meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Shri Vimal Anand, from India and General Director of Foreign Trade, Ms. Adriana Castro, from the Republic of Costa Rica.
During the meeting, both sides reviewed bilateral trade and investment relations, exchanged views on their respective trade and investment regimes, and noted with satisfaction the steady growth in bilateral merchandise trade to approximately USD 391 million in 2025–26. They also discussed opportunities to further expand trade and investment.
The JETCO, established under the Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Cooperation between India and Costa Rica, serves as the principal institutional mechanism for reviewing bilateral trade and investment relations, addressing issues of mutual interest and identifying new avenues for economic cooperation.
Australia defeated England by seven wickets to clinch their seventh T20 women’s World Cup title at Lord’s in London on July 5.
Sophie Molineux has led Australia to the title in her first tournament as captain after taking over from Alyssa Healy.
Australia wrapped up their invincible run at the tournament in style, overhauling England's total of 150/4 to register the highest successful run chase at a Women’s T20 World Cup final.
England’s under-par total of 150/4 was built around an unbroken partnership of 80 between captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and Freya Kemp.
Sciver-Brunt made 58 from 53 balls, with Kemp striking 44 from 28.
Beth Mooney anchored Australia’s chase with 64 off 49 as they finished at 153/3 in 17.1 overs.
It was the third half-century for Mooney in a T20 World Cup final, following up on her fifties in the 2020 and 2023 championship clashes.
Mooney was named the Player of the Match and also the Player of the Tournament.
Union home and cooperation minister Amit Shah announced a “cooperative life insurance company” will be formed and said the govt is also going to develop ‘utility aggregator cooperative’ in the coming days on the lines of ‘Bharat Taxi’ - India’s first cooperative-led ride-hailing platform.
A utility aggregator is a platform that brings together multiple utility services and offers them through a single interface. Such a move may not only help in expanding the footprints of cooperatives in the country but also make them profitable for members.
Shah, while addressing an event here to mark the 5th foundat foundation day of the ministry of cooperation, also said Bharat Taxi will become available in more than 500 cities across the country in the coming two years.
At present, Bharat Taxi has nearly 6.4 lakh registered drivers and more than 35.7 lakh registered customers, and the service is operational in Delhi-NCR, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Somnath and Dwarka.
The Bharat Taxi, which operates on a zero-commission model with direct distribution of profits to drivers, will soon be launched in Ranchi, Patna, Guwahati, Bhopal, Kolkata, Indore and Nagpur in the next few months.
India has, at present, more than 8.5 lakh cooperatives, with over 32 crore people associated with it as members. About 20% of agricultural credit, 35% of fertiliser distribution and 31% of sugar production are currently happening through cooperatives.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of three senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to head key police organisations, with Amit Garg named Director of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Alok Kumar Mittal appointed Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D).
Sujeet Pandey selected to lead the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA).
Amit Garg, a 1993-batch IPS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, has been appointed Director of the NCRB in New Delhi. He is currently serving as Director of the SVPNPA in Hyderabad, the country’s premier police training academy for IPS officer trainees and in-service officers.
According to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Garg will serve as NCRB Director until October 31, 2027, the date of his superannuation, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. The post of Director, NCRB, has been temporarily upgraded to the rank of Director General on a personal basis for his tenure.
Meanwhile, Alok Kumar Mittal, a 1993-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre, has been appointed Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development. Currently serving with the Haryana government, he will head the organisation responsible for police research, training & policy-related work under the Ministry of Home Affairs until his retirement on June 30, 2029
Following Garg’s move to the NCRB, Sujeet Pandey, a 1994-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed Director of the SVPNPA. He will remain in the post until July 31, 2028, when he is due to retire.
China sent a new marine satellite into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
A Long March-4B rocket carrying the Haiyang-2E (HY-2E) satellite took off at 7:46 a.m. (Beijing Time), sending the satellite into its planned orbit.
The launch was the 654th involving the Long March rocket series.
The HY-2E was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). As China's first satellite system dedicated to marine dynamic environment monitoring, HY-2 satellites have for over a decade provided data services for national marine disaster prevention and mitigation, resource development, maritime security and oceanographic research.
Zhang Qingjun, an expert from the CAST, said the newly launched HY-2E satellite will replace the HY-2B satellite launched in 2018, and will work alongside the currently operational HY-2C and HY-2D satellites to ensure the stability of China's marine dynamic environment monitoring services.
The HY-2E is equipped with four microwave remote sensing payloads, capable of accurately acquiring data on sea surface height, significant wave height, sea surface wind fields and sea surface temperature, thus providing critical data support for marine weather forecasting and El Nino phenomenon research.
HY-2 satellites have precisely captured typhoon data during typhoon activities affecting China, played an important role in tsunami early warning, and provided data to global numerical weather prediction systems.
The wind, wave and current data obtained by HY-2 satellites can also help analyze major ocean fishing grounds, enabling fishermen to locate fish schools with precision and efficiency, thereby increasing catch yields and reducing offshore operating costs.
The Automatic Identification System (AIS) for vessels has also been added to HY-2 satellites since HY-2B, enabling continuous acquisition of vessel position, speed and call sign to improve navigation security.
Padma Shri awardee Girish Bharadwaj — popularly known as the ‘Bridge Man of India’ for constructing hundreds of low-cost hanging bridges, connecting the remotest parts of India — passed away in Karnataka. He was 76 years old.
A graduate in mechanical engineering, Bharadwaj chose to stay in rural parts of the country. His work brought hundreds of isolated villages to the mainstream — connecting the rest of the nation with places where people otherwise had no way to cross rivers or canals except by swimming or boats.
Bharadwaj devised his own solutions to suit the remote terrain — he built suspension footbridges which offered a simple and practical causeway for many isolated communities.
After his low-cost small bridges became a hit in rural areas, the government was eager to utilise Bharadwaj’s design to construct hanging bridges.
In 1989, he built his first hanging footbridge over the Payaswini River at Aramburu in Sullia — a modest, budget-friendly structure that would go on to define his life’s work.
That single bridge marked only the start; over the following decades, Bharadwaj constructed more than 300 such bridges across Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, gaining him the reputation of the ‘Bridge Man of India’.
Indian wrestlers finished with an impressive haul of 20 medals, including 4 gold, 7 silver and 9 bronze, at the Under-20 Asian Wrestling Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
India secured consistent podium finishes across multiple weight categories, earning top-three team rankings in both women’s wrestling and men’s freestyle.
In the women’s competition, India finished second with 184 points, behind champions China, while Japan secured third place with 142 points. In the men’s freestyle event, India finished third with 152 points, behind champions Kazakhstan with 170 points and runners-up Iran with 164 points.
Leading India’s campaign in the women’s division were Parveen in the 50 kg category, Muskan in the 53 kg category and Kajal in the 76kg category, who won gold medals in their respective weight classes.
In the men’s freestyle competition, Sumit Kumar Laxman Bharaskar won India’s lone gold medal in the 70kg category, defeating Kazakhstan’s Sungkar Seidakhmet 13-7 in the final
Dilip Asbe, CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has been appointed to the global supervisory board of SWIFT. This move gives India a seat at the table in setting international financial messaging standards. It highlights the global recognition of India’s digital payment infrastructure and UPI's widespread success.
The appointment of Dilip Asbe, Managing Director and CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), to the supervisory board of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) marks a major shift in India's role within global finance.
SWIFT serves as the primary messaging network used by financial institutions worldwide to conduct secure international transactions.
This development is rooted in the success of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). By processing more than 20 billion transactions per month, UPI has transformed from a domestic project into a global model for real-time retail payments.
Since Dilip Asbe took charge as NPCI's CEO in January 2018, the organization has significantly diversified its operations. Beyond UPI, NPCI manages critical payment rails including IMPS (Immediate Payment Service), RuPay cards, and the FASTag toll collection system.
The India-headquartered Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) has selected 15 early-career researchers from leading universities and research institutions across the world for its Global Biofuel Champion Fellowship (GBCF).
These fellows will each receive a research grant of $15,000 and will work with the Alliance over the next two years to advance research, knowledge exchange and international collaboration in sustainable biofuels.
The fellowship programme brings together researchers working across biofuels, sustainable energy systems, transport de-carbonisation and the circular economy.
The inaugural cohort was selected through a three-stage international evaluation process from applications received across 32 countries.
The selected fellows represent institutions including the University of Michigan, the University of Manchester, Monash University, Polytechnique Montréal, and leading research organisations across Africa, Brazil and India.
The GBCF was conceived to strengthen international cooperation by connecting academic research with policy and industry. The programme seeks to facilitate collaboration across countries, support applied research, promote knowledge exchange and help translate scientific innovation into scalable bio-energy solutions.
The fellowship is a flagship capacity-building initiative of the Global Biofuels Alliance that supports outstanding early-career researchers through research grants, mentorship & international engagement.
The inaugural cohort of the Global Biofuel Champion Fellowship (GBCF) comprises two Indian researchers — Ruchi Agrawal from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Abhisek Sahoo from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.
The GBA is an international initiative comprising 34 member countries and 14 international organisations, working to accelerate the adoption of sustainable biofuels through policy cooperation, technology exchange, capacity building and international partnerships.
Power Grid Corporation of India (Powergrid) has secured an 80 billion yen green loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to finance its Khavda-Nagpur high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission project.
The loan agreement, signed between Powergrid and JBIC on June 17, 2026, paves the way for critical infrastructure to evacuate renewable power generated at the Khavda renewable energy park in Gujarat and transmit it to demand centres.
This is one of the largest green funding arrangements for the country's power transmission sector. The company targets achieving net-zero emissions by 2047, becoming net water positive and eliminating landfill waste by 2030. It is also working to increase the share of renewable energy in its own electricity consumption.
JBIC is a policy-based financial institution wholly owned by the Government of Japan. Established in 1999, it supports projects contributing to the development of the global economy by complementing private-sector financing.
Powergrid owns and operates 291 substations, 185,750 circuit kilometres (ckm) of transmission lines, and transformation capacity of 630,516 mega volt amperes (MVA) as of May 31, 2026. The company has consistently maintained transmission system availability of more than 99.5 per cent through the use of advanced technologies.
Global private equity firm TPG on Monday announced it will buy 100 per cent stake in Aseem Infrastructure Finance from NIIF and others for an undisclosed sum.
TPG said it has partnered with Singapore's GIC and ICICI Bank for the investment, which will be done through its climate investing platform 'TPG Rise Climate'.
The second largest private sector lender will hold up to 5 per cent stake in the 2020-founded Aseem Infrastructure.
Aseem Infrastructure was founded by the government-promoted National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), and counts on the Government of India and Japan's SMBC as minority shareholders.
Over the last six years, it has become a leading sustainable infrastructure debt financier with a core focus on renewable energy, power transmission and other infrastructure assets within the country.
It has disbursed over ₹40,000 crore of loans which have funded over 27 GW of renewable energy projects, and 2,000 km of power transmission projects, cumulatively abating 33 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
TPG Capital Asia's business unit partner Sanjeev Mehra called Aseem Infrastructure as an early mover in the sustainable debt financing space which is uniquely positioned to address the country's growing climate finance requirements.
Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta announced that her government will launch a seven-year, ₹8,300-crore air pollution mitigation programme with financial support from the World Bank.
According to officials, 65% of the cost will be borne by the World Bank and the remaining will be the Delhi government’s responsibility.
Earlier this year, the Work Bank had signed contracts to help with clean air projects worth around ₹2,800 crore each in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana too.
The initiative, titled ‘Clean Air, Healthy Delhi’, will run alongside existing plans to reduce Delhi’s pollution.
