CURRENT CONTEXT : At the World Boxing Cup in Astana (30 June–7 July 2025), Indian women boxers Sakshi (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), and Nupur (80+kg) won gold medals. In total, India clinched 11 medals—its best-ever haul in this tournament.

About :

• Venue: Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov Martial Art Palace, Astana.
• Participation: 400+ boxers from 35 nations; 20 gold medals awarded (10 men, 10 women).
• India’s Gold Medallists:
• Sakshi – Women’s 54kg (unanimous win over Yosline Perez, USA)
• Jaismine Lamboria – 57kg (defeated Jucielen Cequeira Romeu, Brazil by 4-1)
• Nupur – 80+kg (beat Yeldana Talipova, Kazakhstan by 5-0)
• Overall Performance: India secured three golds; Kazakhstan led with eight. India’s total tally included 11 medals.

CURRENT CONTEXT : The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting launched the “Kalaa Setu – Real‑Time Language Tech for Bharat” Challenge via the WaveX startup platform, calling on AI startups to build tools that convert text into video, graphics, or audio in Indian languages.

ABOUT KALAA SETU:

• Objective: Enable instant conversion of official content into regional-language multimedia formats for governance, public health, education, and agriculture outreach.
• Focus Areas:
  1. Text-to-Video – Auto-generation of explainer videos, animations.
  2. Text-to-Graphics – Creation of infographics simplifying complex data.
  3. Text-to-Audio – Voice synthesis with accurate Indian accents and emotional tone .
• Parallel Initiative: Bhasha Setu challenge (real-time translation) – applications open until 22 July 2025.
• Platform: WaveX is part of the WAVES Initiative, supporting media, entertainment, and language-tech startups with mentorship, pilot programs, and integration with AIR, Doordarshan, and PIB.

CURRENT CONTEXT : The Sheesh Mahal, Mughal-era palace in Shalimar Bagh (North Delhi), reopened to the public after ~370 years following restoration by ASI and DDA; inaugurated by Union Culture Minister and Delhi officials.

 ABOUT SHEESH MAHAL:

• Built: 1653 by Izz-un-Nisha Begum, wife of Shah Jahan, as a summer retreat replicating Kashmir’s Shalimar Bagh.
• Architecture: Baradari with central hall and water channel; red sandstone, brick, mirror-work chambers; Kangra & Rajasthani murals depicting poets Keshav, Surdas, Bihari; adjacent hammam (bathhouse).
• Historical significance: Site of Aurangzeb’s first coronation in 1658; declared ASI-protected monument in 1983.

CURRENT CONTEXT : A section of the Gambhira Bridge over the Mahi (Mahisagar) River collapsed near Mujpur (Padra taluka), Gujarat, causing 11–13 deaths and several vehicles falling into the river.

ABOUT MAHI RIVER & BRIDGE:

• River: Originates in Vindhya range (MP), flows ~583 km through Rajasthan and Gujarat before emptying into Gulf of Khambhat.
• Tributaries : Eru, Nori, Chap, Som, Jakham, Moran, Anas, Panam, Bhadar .
• Bridge: Gambhira Bridge built in 1985–86, concrete roadway connecting Central Gujarat with Saurashtra.

CURRENT CONTEXT: The iconic elephant Vatsala, believed to be Asia’s oldest female elephant (aged 100+), died at Panna Tiger Reserve.

ABOUT PANNA TIGER RESERVE:

• Location: Vindhyan range, northern Madhya Pradesh; the only Tiger Reserve in Bundelkhand (~542 sq km) .
• Ecology: Biogeographic zones include Deccan Peninsula and Central Highlands; called a “table top” landscape with plateaus and gorges.
• River: The Ken River runs south-to-north through the reserve.
• Heritage: Home to 2,000-year-old rock paintings; inhabited by Baiga & Gond
• Flora: Dry deciduous forests with teak and Acacia catechu on steep slopes; edge of teak’s northern natural range.
• History: Declared a Project Tiger site in 1994.

 ABOUT VATSALA:

• Born in Kerala’s Nilambur forests around the 1920s, she joined Panna in 1993.
• Served in patrol duties, and later cared for calves even after retirement (2004).
• Matriarch known as “Vatsala Daadi”, survived multiple elephant attacks, and had health issues in recent years.

CURRENT CONTEXT: Japanese Coast Guard Ship Itsukushima docked at Chennai Port on 7 July, concluding with the “Jaa Mata” sea‑exercise on 12 July, marking enhanced India–Japan maritime cooperation.

 ABOUT JAA MATA EXERCISE:

• Code name: “See you later” (Japanese).
• Participants: India Coast Guard (ICG) and Japan Coast Guard (JCG).
• Activities:
  • Joint sea drills, ship visits, professional and cultural exchanges, sports & yoga sessions.
  • Four ICG officers as “Sea Riders” on Itsukushima to Singapore.

CURRENT CONTEXT : A powerful flash flood triggered by ~20 in (508 mm) of rain caused the Guadalupe River to rise by up to 29 ft in under 45 minutes.

 ABOUT THE GUADALUPE RIVER:

• Source: Springs forming North & South Forks in Kerr County, Texas.
• Course: Flows to San Antonio Bay → Gulf of Mexico.
• Basin Features: Canyon Reservoir, Edwards Aquifer in Balcones Fault zone.
• Flash Flood Alley: Steep terrain, shallow limestone soils — rapidly converts rain into flash flood.
• Historical Floods: 1978 (Storm Amelia), 1987 (Comfort camp disaster), with the region being flash-flood prone.

CURRENT CONTEXT: Union Minister Sonowal announced that the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) between India and Myanmar will be fully functional by 2027, reducing transit distance between Kolkata and Aizawl by ~700 km.

 ABOUT KMTTP:

• Framework: Bilateral agreement (India–Myanmar, 2008); nodal agency: Ministry of External Affairs with IWAI as PDC .
• Corridor components:
  • Sea: Kolkata → Sittwe Port
  • River: Sittwe → Paletwa via Kaladan River
  • Road: Paletwa → Zorinpui → Aizawl
• Investment & Support: ₹5,000 cr for northeastern waterways; ₹1,000 cr specifically for Kaladan waterway; maritime skills for 50,000 youth.
• Benefits:
  • Cuts Kolkata–Aizawl distance by 700 km (1,800 to ~1,100 km).
  • Offers alternative access bypassing Siliguri Corridor.
  • Boosts India–Myanmar–ASEAN trade and connectivity with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal.

CURRENT CONTEXT ): At the Rio BRICS Summit, the member nations condemned and rejected the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), calling it a unilateral, discriminatory trade barrier.

 ABOUT CBAM:

• Definition: EU’s carbon border tax designed to equalise carbon pricing on imports to avoid carbon leakage and incentivise low-carbon production.
• Implementation timeline: Transitions between 2023–25; fully enforceable from 2026.
• BRICS objection: Claims CBAM is protectionist, undermines global trade, and hampers developing countries’ cleaner transitions without financial assistance.

CURRENT CONTEXT : Under the BIND Scheme, the Centre approved a new Akashvani Kendra in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, intended to strengthen regional broadcasting.

 ABOUT BIND SCHEME:

• Type: Central Sector Scheme (2023) by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).
• Purpose: Financial support to Prasar Bharati (Doordarshan and AIR) to upgrade broadcasting infrastructure, develop regional content, and enable civil works.

Objective: Expand digital and terrestrial reach, preserve cultural heritage via local programming .