1. Rahul Gandhi takes Diksha at a sectarian mutt in Karnataka: The Congress MP Rahul Gandhi received Ishtalinga Deeksha (a sectarian initiation) from the Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra Vidyapeetha at Chitradurga. The Mutt belongs to the prominent Lingayat sect in Karnataka. However, BJP has criticized Rahul Gandhi’s visit as a poll gimmick keeping in mind the 2023 state assembly elections.
2. SC announces independent body to study the adverse impact of freebies: Hearing the issue of political parties giving out freebies, the Supreme Court on Wednesday suggested setting up an independent body with representation from the Election commission, Niti Aayog, Finance Commission, RBI, and political parties to study the impact of freebies on the country’s economy and its taxpayers.
3. Government recalls Data Protection Bill: The government withdrew its much-debated Data Protection Bill from Parliament. However, it added that a new bill would soon be re-introduced, accommodating amendments and recommendations by the JCP.
4. TN minister on state’s alcohol retail policy: TN government mulling a change in liquor policy: Speaking at an event in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Finance and human resources management minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan hinted at deregulating certain retail aspects of the liquor industry, underscoring the importance of nightlife and bars in attracting global talent to Chennai.
5. OBC students avoid midday meals prepared by Dalit cook: In a Government primary school in Gujarat’s Morbi district, some 147 students belonging to the Other Backward Communities (OBC) refused to have the midday meal served by the school. The reason is parents of these children did not want their wards to consume food prepared by the Dalit cook, who was awarded the midday meal contract.
6. Expert health team to find ways to address growing cases of Monkeypox: The central government has called top health experts to discuss the threat of the Monkeypox virus, whose cases are slowly increasing in the country. Of the five cases reported in India, five are from Kerala and four from Delhi, including a 31-year-old Nigerian woman.
7. Airtel to roll out 5G services this month: Bharti Airtel has signed 5G network agreements with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung. Speaking on deploying the high-speed network, Gopal Vittal, CEO of Bharti Airtel, said, “We are delighted to announce that Airtel will commence roll out of 5G services in August.”
8. Engineering education in multiple regional languages: In line with the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, to impart technical education in regional languages, the center has identified 29 educational institutions across ten states to teach engineering degrees in seven regional languages — Bengali, Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu.
9. US asks its citizens to stay alert: The US state department has warned of a possible attack on American facilities, personnel, or nationals following its drone strike that killed Al Queda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri. It has also asked citizens traveling abroad to maintain a high level of the vigil.
10. Germany on supplying turbine to Gazprom: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inspected a mechanical turbine whose repair and delivery Gazprom quoted as reasons for reducing natural gas flowing through the Nord Stream I. He declared “there are no problems” and insisted that Germany is keeping the needed part ready for shipping to Russia.