NATIONAL NEWS

FM Nirmala Sitharaman Addresses The EXIM Bank’s Trade Conclave 2025

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, addressed the Trade Conclave 2025, hosted by the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) in New Delhi.

Nirmala Sitharaman virtually inaugurated Exim Bank’s new offices in Lucknow, Indore and São Paulo, Brazil.

The EXIM Bank’s Trade Conclave was organised on the theme - ‘Building Export-led Growth for Viksit Bharat’.

Over 200 participants from the Indian industry, heads of banking/financial institutions, exporters, export promotion councils, and academia attended this event physically and virtually.

Nirmala Sitharaman outlined five steps the Government of India has taken to boost exports from India.

Investments in transport and logistics have improved supply chain efficiency and global competitiveness.

Micro and Small Medium Enterprises( MSMEs) are being supported through Udyam registration, revamp of Credit Guarantee Schemes, TReDS, and Exim Bank’s Ubharte Sitaare Programme.

Enhancing access to trade finance through platforms like the International Trade Finance Service Platform of EXIM Bank and Exim Bank’s subsidiary in GIFT City, Gujarat.

The government's policy of designating the district as an export hub has enabled exporters to operate beyond the Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

India is negotiating a free trade Area (FTA) with many countries and regional groups to promote exports and trade from India.

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation Completes 10 Years

India marked a major urban development milestone as the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) completed 10 years on June 25, 2025.

Launched in 2015, the Mission aimed to enhance quality of life in urban areas through robust infrastructure and inclusive service delivery in 500 cities and towns. It has now evolved into AMRUT 2.0, expanding its reach and ambition.

It is focused on universal access to tap water, sewerage, urban mobility, and green spaces in urban India.

‘ECoR Yatra’ App Launched to Streamline Rath Yatra 2025 Travel

East Coast Railway has unveiled the ‘ECoR Yatra’ mobile app available on the Google Play Store to assist pilgrims travelling to Puri between June 25 and July 7, 2025.

The app delivers real-time railway updates, accommodation options, and amenity details to enhance the Rath Yatra experience.

It provides One-tap access to Railway Protection Force, ambulance services, and the railway grievance portal.

It is designed for pan-India pilgrims, with intuitive navigation and digital literacy guides for first-time app users.

It will locate drinking water points, e-catering services, medical aid booths, and wheelchair access at stations.

Centre of Excellence to Tackle Human-Wildlife Conflict Launched at WII–SACON

Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav announced, the establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for human-wildlife conflict management at WII–SACON.

This CoE will integrate AI tools, strategic research, rapid-response mechanisms, and community engagement to address rising incidents of tiger and elephant attacks and strengthen conservation outcomes.

It is partnered with state governments to implement standardized protocols and establish district-level response units.

Human fatalities decreased from 111 in 2022 to 74 in 2024, yet Maharashtra accounted for 57% of 2024’s deaths, with Uttar Pradesh also prominent.

 

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index 2025

In a significant achievement for sustainable development, India has entered the top 100 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index for the first time, securing the 99th rank out of 193 countries in the 2025 edition of the UN Sustainable Development Report, published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and led by economist Jeffrey Sachs.

It was released ahead of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville

It reflects India’s progress in healthcare, education, infrastructure, and digital access, despite global SDG slowdowns

It is based on progress toward 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 for achievement by 2030

Top 3 Countries include Finland, Sweden, Denmark

Global Peace Index 2025

The Global Peace Index (GPI) 2025, released by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), assesses the state of peace in 163 countries, covering 99.7% of the global population.

In its 19th edition, the index highlights a continuing decline in global peace, but India has shown slight improvement, moving up to Rank 115.

It was published by Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), a non-partisan think tank based in Sydney

India ranked 115 out of 163 countries with a score of 2.229

Iceland secured top position with the score of 1.095

 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

First Female President of the International Olympic Committee

Kirsty Coventry became the first female and first African president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

She was inaugurated on June 23, 2025, which is the IOC’s 131st birthday.

Coventry is a two-time Olympic gold medallist in swimming from Zimbabwe.

She won a seven-candidate election in March 2025 to succeed Thomas Bach as IOC president.

She is 41 years old at the time of taking office.

Thomas Bach, the outgoing president, served the maximum 12-year term and handed over the symbolic key to Coventry.

The inauguration ceremony took place at the Olympic House gardens, in a temporary building designed like the Grand Palais, Paris.

Coventry plans to lead the IOC for the next eight years, including overseeing the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

 

SPORTS

Ostrava Golden Spike 2025 in Czechia

2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra of India won the javelin event at the 64th Ostrava Golden Spike 2025, which was held on June 24, 2025, at the Mestský Stadion in Czechia.

This was Neeraj Chopra's second title win within a week of winning the Paris Diamond League on June 20, 2025.

The Golden Spike is one of the most prestigious events in world athletics and is a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold label meet.

The Ostrava Golden Spike athletics javelin throw record is held by Neeraj Chopra’s current coach and world record holder, Jan Železný of Czechia, with a throw of 94.64m in 1996.

With a throw of 84.12 meters, Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal.

Douw Smit of South Africa finished second with a best throw of 84.12 meters.

Two-time world champion and Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Anderson Peters of Grenada came third, with a best throw of 83.63m.

Priyanka Goswami wins the Austrian Race Walking Championships

Priyanaka Gowswami of India won the 10-kilometre Austrian Race Walking Championship in Innsbruck. She won the gold medal with a time of 47 minutes and 54 seconds on 9th June 2025.

Sandeep Kumar of India finished second in the men’s 35 km race walk event, with a time of 2 hours 38 minutes and 45 seconds.

Another Indian, Ram Baboo, was third with a time of 2 hours 41 minutes and 47 seconds.           

 

OBITUARIES

Former Indian Spinner Dilip Doshi

Former India cricketer Dilip Doshi passed away at the age of 77 due to cardiac arrest in London.

Doshi was a left-arm spinner with a classical bowling action.

He represented India in 33 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals (ODIs) from 1979 to 1983.

Doshi took 114 wickets in Tests and 22 wickets in ODIs.

He made his international debut during the First Test of Australia’s tour of India in 1979, held in Chennai.

Doshi is among only nine Indian male cricketers to take a five-wicket haul (five-for) on Test debut.

In domestic cricket, he played First-Class cricket for Saurashtra and Bengal.

He also played County Cricket in England for Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire.

Over his entire First-Class career, Doshi took a total of 898 wickets.