APPOINTMENTS

Pralhad Joshi Appointed Union Education Minister

• Pralhad Joshi was appointed as the Union Education Minister on 25 July 2026 following the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan and assumed charge on 26 July 2026 at Kartavya Bhavan, New Delhi.

• He continues to hold the portfolios of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy.

• The Ministry of Education is responsible for school education, higher education, literacy, and education policy through its two departments—Department of School Education & Literacy and Department of Higher Education.

• Pralhad Joshi is a five-time BJP Member of Parliament from Dharwad (Karnataka).

• He previously served as Union Minister for Coal, Mines, and Parliamentary Affairs from 2019 to 2024.

• Under Article 75 of the Constitution, the President appoints Union Ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister, and portfolio changes are notified through Presidential orders.

• The Ministry of Education was known as the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) until it was renamed in 2020.

• Kartavya Bhavan, where he assumed office, is part of the Central Vista redevelopment project in New Delhi.

NATIONAL NEWS

Sarnath Inscribed as India’s 45th UNESCO World Heritage Site

• Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh) was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 25 July 2026 during the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Busan, South Korea.

• The inscription makes Sarnath India’s 45th UNESCO World Heritage Site and Uttar Pradesh’s fourth, after the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and Fatehpur Sikri.

• Sarnath is the place where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment, an event known as Dharmachakra Pravartan ("Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dharma").

• The UNESCO World Heritage List, established under the World Heritage Convention, 1972, recognises cultural, natural, and mixed sites of Outstanding Universal Value.

• Sarnath was placed on UNESCO’s Tentative List on 3 July 1998, and India submitted its formal nomination for the 2025–26 cycle in January 2025.

• Inclusion in the Tentative List is a mandatory prerequisite before a site can be nominated for inscription on the World Heritage List.

• With this recognition, India now has 45 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, reflecting its rich cultural and natural heritage.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed the inscription, describing it as a landmark recognition of India’s Buddhist, spiritual, and cultural legacy.

UNESCO Adds Mount Olympus and D-Day Landing Beaches to World Heritage List

• UNESCO inscribed Mount Olympus (Greece) and the D-Day Landing Beaches (Normandy, France) on the World Heritage List on 26 July 2026 during the 48th World Heritage Committee session in Busan, South Korea.

• Mount Olympus, Greece’s highest peak (2,918 metres), was recognised as a mixed World Heritage Site for its exceptional natural biodiversity and cultural significance in Greek mythology as the home of the Olympian gods.

• The D-Day Landing Beaches—Omaha, Utah, Sword, Gold, Juno, and Pointe du Hoc—were inscribed as a cultural heritage site linked to the Allied landings of 6 June 1944 during the Second World War.

• The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, established under the World Heritage Convention, 1972, evaluates and inscribes cultural, natural, and mixed sites of Outstanding Universal Value.

• ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), UNESCO’s advisory body for cultural heritage, recommended stronger monitoring of the Normandy sites due to tourism pressure, climate change, sea-level rise, and wind farm development.

• Mount Olympus is internationally recognised for both its ecological importance and its central place in ancient Greek civilisation and mythology.

• The D-Day Landing Beaches are preserved as a memorial landscape commemorating one of the most significant military operations of World War II.

• Other sites added during the same UNESCO session included Asuka and Fujiwara (Japan), South Sudan’s Boma–Badingilo Migratory Landscape, and historic theatres of Italy.

STATE NEWS

Kerala Launches ‘Digital Square’ Initiative for Primary Education

• Kerala launched the Digital Square initiative on 26 July 2026 under its 100-day education action plan, inaugurated by General Education Minister N. Samsudheen at Malappuram.

• The programme is implemented by Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) for lower and upper primary classes in government schools.

• Digital Square promotes technology-enabled learning using Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) and includes an edutainment package developed by KITE CEO K. Anvar Sadath.

• The initiative incorporates inclusive accessibility features, including audio support for visually impaired students and high-contrast interfaces for Children with Special Needs (CWSN).

• More than 4,000 headmasters and headmistresses from all 14 districts participated in the launch through an interactive video conference.

• The programme is part of Kerala’s broader digital education reforms, which also include the Cyber Safety Protocol 2026, Tharapadham digital academic monitoring platform, and the School Wiki-thon campaign.

• Kerala also announced the ARISE project for high schools and expanded Little KITEs IT clubs to upper primary and high school levels.

• KITE is Kerala’s nodal agency for digital education, while FOSS promotes freely accessible software, and Little KITEs is the state's flagship student IT club initiative to strengthen digital literacy.

SPORTS

Anahat Singh Becomes First Indian World Junior Squash Champion

• Anahat Singh won the World Junior Squash Championships 2026 women’s singles title on 25 July 2026 at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, becoming the first Indian to win the championship in any category.

• The 18-year-old top seed defeated Egypt’s Ruqayya Salem in the final by 3–0 (11–3, 11–7, 11–9).

• She dropped only two sets throughout the tournament, highlighting her dominant performance.

• Anahat surpassed Joshna Chinappa’s runner-up finish in 2005, which had been India’s best result at the event.

• She became the first non-Egyptian women’s champion since Amanda Sobhy (2010).

• The World Junior Squash Championships is the premier annual international championship for junior squash players, featuring men's and women's individual events.

• Women’s singles matches at the championship are played in a best-of-five games format, with Egypt traditionally dominating the event.

• Anahat Singh, currently World No. 20 on the senior PSA Tour, had also won a bronze medal at the previous edition of the World Junior Squash Championships held in Cairo.

India Wins Gold and Silver in Weightlifting at Commonwealth Games 2026

• The Commonwealth Games 2026 are being held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 23 July to 2 August 2026.

• Mirabai Chanu won gold in the women’s 48 kg weightlifting event, claiming her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold and fourth overall Commonwealth Games medal.

• She lifted 85 kg (snatch), 105 kg (clean & jerk), and 190 kg (total), setting new Commonwealth Games records in all three categories.

• Rishikanta Singh won silver in the men’s 60 kg event, recording a personal best total of 264 kg and a Commonwealth Games snatch record of 121 kg.

• As of 27 July 2026, India's medal tally stood at 4 medals—1 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze.

• The Commonwealth Games are a multi-sport event for athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, with weightlifting events divided by bodyweight categories.

• Glasgow, Scotland, is hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated both athletes, praising Mirabai Chanu’s record-breaking performance and Rishikanta Singh’s determination and achievement.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

NASA Proposes PRAXIS Mission to Study Saturn’s Rings

• NASA proposed the PRAXIS (Planetary Rings Autonomous EXploration with In-situ Sampling) mission on 26 July 2026 to directly collect and analyse particles from Saturn’s rings.

• Planetary rings are made of dust, ice, and rocky material orbiting planets; Saturn has the largest and most prominent ring system in the Solar System.

• The mission will use an AI-powered, bio-inspired robotic system with a deployable boom to perform touch-and-go sampling without damaging the ring structure.

• PRAXIS aims to collect millimetre- to centimetre-sized particles and study their size, porosity, and composition using onboard scientific instruments.

• The concept was selected for NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I funding in March 2026, which supports early-stage space technology research.

• The mission is led by Dr B. Marco Quadrelli of the Robotics Modelling and Simulation Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, California.

• PRAXIS builds on knowledge gained from the Cassini mission (2004–2017), which extensively studied Saturn and its rings.

• The mission aims to improve understanding of ring formation, particle dynamics, and ring evolution, while also supporting future exploration of the ring systems of Uranus and Neptune.