July 2'nd Week
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MPSC PRELIMS FOCUS JULY WEEK-2
1. International News
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1.1 New Caledonia
- New Caledonia to Become New State Within French Republic
- France and New Caledonia reached a historic agreement on 12 July 2025 in Bougival.
- The territory will be constitutionally recognised a a “State of New Caledonia” within the French Republic, granting it dual nationality,
Caledonian and French while remaining part of France. - New Caledonia gains a special status under France’s Constitution, including its own “fundamental law” (basic institutional charter).
- It will manage diplomacy, justice, security, and possibly currency and defence powers after future local approval.
1.2 Three sites on the African continent removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger
- The World Heritage Committee has removed three African heritage sites — in Madagascar, Egypt and Libya — from UNESCO’s list of endangered sites, acknowledging successful efforts to mitigate threats and restore their cultural and ecological integrity.
Three Sites: –
- Old Town of Ghadamės (Libya)
- Rainforests of the Atsinanana (Madagascar)
- Abu Mena (Egypt)
1.3 PM gets Namibia’s highest civilian award, his 27th global honour since 2014
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Wednesday (July 9, 2025) conferred with Namibia’s highest civilian award, ‘Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis’.
- This marks the 27th award received by Prime Minister Modi and the 4th during his ongoing tour.
- PM Modi is the first Indian leader to receive this honour.
1.4 America Party
- On July 5, 2025, Elon Musk formally declared on X that the America Party has been founded, following an earlier poll where roughly 65 % of 1.2 million respondents supported a new political party.
- Musk launched the party as a counter to President Trump’s recently signed “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which he criticized for massively expanding the deficit and jeopardizing the economy.
- His aim: to focus on winning 2–3 Senate seats and 8–10 House districts to tilt critical votes in Washington.
2. National News
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2.1 President Murmu nominates four members to Rajya Sabha
- President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday (July 13, 2025) nominated former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Special Public Prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case Ujjwal Nikam, Kerala BJP leader C. Sadanandan Master, and Delhi based historian Meenakshi Jain to the Rajya Sabha.
- The nominations were made under sub section (a) of clause (1) of Article 80 of the Indian Constitution, which empowers the President to nominate individuals who have made significant contributions in the fields of art, literature, science, and social service.
3. State News
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3.1 New governors for Haryana, Ladakh & Goa
- President Droupadi Murmu today (14 July 2025) appointed new Governors in Haryana and Goa and new Lieutenant Governor in Ladakh.
Haryana – New Governor: Prof. Ashim Kumar Ghosh
- Prof. Ghosh is an academic and political thinker from West Bengal (WB) and has held senior roles in higher education.
- He will be succeeding Bandaru Dattatreya, who served in the role since July 2021.
Goa – New Governor: Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju
- He will be replacing PS Sreedharan Pillai.
- He is a veteran politician and former Union
- Minister for the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) (2014-2018) from Andhra Pradesh (AP).
Ladakh – New Lieutenant Governor (LG): Kavinder Gupta
- Spanning from the 17th to 19th centuries CE, Maratha Military Landscapes are an extraordinary network of 12 forts that demonstrate the strategic military vision and architectural ingenuity of the Maratha Empire.
- These ‘Maratha Military Landscapes’ include 12 majestic forts, 11 of which are in Maharashtra and 1 is in Tamil Nadu.
- The cluster of forts includes Salher Fort, Shivneri Fort, Lohagad, Khanderi Fort, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala Fort, Vijay Durg, and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, and Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu.
About UNESCO:
- Founded: 16 November 1945
- Headquarters: Paris, France
- Director-General: Audrey Azoulay
4.3 Maharashtra declares Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav as a state festival
- The Maharashtra government has declared Ganeshotsav as the official ‘Maharashtra State Festival’ or Rajya Utsav, elevating the ten-day celebration of Lord Ganesha to a status with formal backing by the state.
- The public celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi, known as Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav, was initiated in 1893 by Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
4.4 Maharashtra Assembly passes Bill against Left-Wing Extremism
- The Maharashtra Assembly on Thursday (July 10, 2025) passed by majority a special public security Bill aimed at curbing ‘Left-Wing Extremist organisations’ in the State.
- The bill aims to fill the gap left by the UAPA Act, which is restricted to active terror activities, and provide a framework to deal with radical left ideologies and organisations promoting violence and unlawful activities.
4. Maharashtra
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5.1 Nvidia
- United States of America (USA)-based Nvidia Corporation, a global leader in accelerate computing and artificial intelligence (AI), became the world’s first publicly traded company to achieve a market capitalisation of USD 4 trillion. This milestone solidified Nvidia’s dominance in the ongoing AI hardware revolution.
- The award was established in the memory of playwright Harold Pinter, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005.
- The award is given annually to a writer resident in the UK, Ireland, and the Commonwealth
- The award is given to writers whose literary work is published only in the English language.
- In 2024, renowned Indian Autho Arundhati Roy won the PEN Pinter Prize 2024.
7.2 Chintha Raveendran Award 7.2 Chintha Raveendran Award
- Marathi writer and critic Sarankumar Limbale has been selected for the Chintha Raveendran Award for the year 2025
Sharankumar Limbale:
- Born on June 1, 1956, in Solapur district, Maharashtra.
- Celebrated figure in Marathi Dalit literature, known for his memoir Akkarmashi (The Outcaste, 1984) and critical writing Towards an Aesthetics of Dalit Literature (2004).
- Holds an MA and PhD; served as a professor and Director at Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, Nashik.
- Earlier recipient of the 2020 Saraswati Samman for his novel Sanatan
8. Defence
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8.1 ‘Operation SHIVA’*
- Indian Army launches ‘Operation SHIVA’ to ensure safe Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir.
- Operation SHIVA 2025 was initiated on 11 July 2025, coinciding with the early phase of the 38- day pilgrimage.
- 8,500 Indian Army personnel deployed across both primary routes: Nunwan Pahalgam and Baltal–Shri Amarnath Cave.
9. Important Day
9.1 World Youth Skills Day – 15 July 2025
- World Youth Skills Day 2025, observed on 15th July, marks a significant milestone — a decade of international efforts to strengthen youth skill development.
- Declared by the United Nation General Assembly in 2014.
- The theme for World Youth Skills Day 2025 is “Youth Empowerment through AI and Digital Skills”.
- following the global attention generated by Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987, the day when the world population crossed the five billion marks.
- The theme for World Population Day 2025 is “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world.
4. Maharashtra
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4.1 Mumbai’s Carnac Bridge renamed as Sindoor after Operation Sindoor
- The Sindoor Bridge, formerly known as Carnac Bridge, was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on July 10, 2025.
- The renaming also aims to erase the colonial legacy associated with James Rivett-Carnac, the British Governor of Bombay from 1839 to 1841.
4.2 Maratha Military Landscapes*
- Maratha Military Landscapes have been inscribed on the World Heritage list of UNESCO, making India’s total sites on the World Heritage list as 44.
- The decision was taken at the 47th World Heritage Committee held in Paris on Friday.
6. Sport
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6.1 A Ra Harikrishnan
• A Ra Harikrishnan earned his third GM norm at the La Plagne International Chess Festival in France on Friday to become the country’s 87th Grandmaster.
6.2 World Boxing Cup Astana 2025
- The 2025 World Boxing Cup was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 30 June to 7 July 2025.
- Gold Medal Winners (Women)- 1. Sakshi – Women’s 54 kg (defeated USA’s Yoseline Perez) 2. Jaismine Lamboria – Women’s 57 kg (beat Brazil’s Jucielen Romeu) 3. Nupur – Women’s 80+ kg (defeated Kazakhstan’s Yeldana Talipova).
7. Award
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7.1 PEN Pinter prize
- Sudanese Scottish author Leila Aboulela has been named the winner of PEN (Poet, Playwright, Editors Essayist, Novelist) Pinter Prize 2025, recognizing her literary contributions that explore themes of faith migration and the lives of Muslim women in displacement.
- The award was announced by English PEN, one of the world’s first non-governmental organisation, at the English PEN Summer Party held at the October Gallery in London, the United Kingdom (UK).
About Leila Aboulela:
- Sudan-born Leila Aboulela is the author of 6 novels and two short story collections, including The Translator (1999), Minaret (2005), and her latest novel, River Spirit (2023).
- She won the 1st Caine Prize for African Writing in 2000 for her short story ‘The Museum’ included in short stories Coloured Lights.
- She won the Scottish Book Award for her book ‘Lyrics Alley’ in the ‘fiction’ category in 2011.
- Her short story collection received the Saltire Fiction Book of the Year Award in 2018.
About PEN Pinter Prize:
- The award was constituted in 2009 by the English PEN. It aims to recognise the ‘Writers of Courage’.
9.2 World Population Day – 11 July 2025
- World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 to raise awareness about populationrelated challenges and their implications on development, environment, and human rights.
- It was established in 1989 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)