Daily Current Affairs – 13-07-2025
Sports News
Swiatek Achieves Historic ‘Double Bagel’ Victory for First Wimbledon Title
Iga Swiatek has clinched her first-ever Wimbledon championship with a stunning and dominant performance, defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in a swift 57-minute final on Centre Court. The Pole’s victory was so absolute that it marked the first time in 114 years that a player in the women’s final failed to win a single game.
With this win, Swiatek becomes the first woman since Monica Seles in 1992 to win all six of her first Grand Slam finals and is the only active player to have won major titles on all three surfaces (clay, hard court, and grass). She also joins Steffi Graf as the only other player to win a major final with a 6-0, 6-0 scoreline in the Open Era.
Men’s Doubles Champion - Wimbledon
In the Wimbledon men’s doubles final, the 5th-seeded British pair of Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool defeated the duo of Australia’s Rinky Hijikata and the Netherlands’ David Pel in sets of 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) to capture the championship trophy.
This is the first time in 89 years that a homegrown pair has won the men’s doubles title at the Wimbledon tournament.
Personalities, Awards and Events
”UNESCO recognition for the Sengi (Gingee) Fort”
Gingee Fort, located in the Villupuram district, has gained global recognition through its UNESCO acknowledgment. The construction of Gingee Fort was initiated by the Chola dynasty in the 13th century. Subsequent rulers fortified and transformed it into a formidable stronghold. The temples, halls, ponds, granaries, soldiers’ quarters, and a deep, wide moat that was impassable to enemies, all showcase the architectural prowess of the South Indian kings. Inscriptions reveal that Jains also inhabited this area. The Cholas ruled from 871 AD to 907 AD. Inscriptions suggest that the fort was under Pandyan rule from 1014 AD to 1190 AD. In the 13th century, it came under the control of the Vijayanagara Empire. During the Vijayanagara rule, the fort was expanded over a 20-year period from 1509 to 1529. Later, the forces of the Bijapur Sultanate captured the fort from the Marathas. In 1677 AD, the great Maratha king, Shivaji, further strengthened the fort. During Aurangzeb’s Deccan campaign, Chhatrapati Rajaram, Shivaji’s second son and the reigning Maratha king, escaped to Gingee Fort and fought against the Mughals from there. Despite a seven-year siege, the Mughals were unable to capture the fort. It was during this period that Tej Singh, famously known as Raja Desingu, ruled for 10 months. After 1698, the fort fell into the hands of the Nawabs of the Carnatic, who subsequently lost it to the French in 1750. Finally, in 1761, the British East India Company captured Gingee Fort. Following this, no significant military activities occurred at the site. In 1921, it was declared a National Monument and brought under the administration of the Archaeological Survey of India.
National News
One Nation One Election Next Parliamentary Committee Meeting on July 30
P.P. Chaudhary, the chairman of the parliamentary committee formed to examine the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bills and a BJP MP, announced that the committee’s next consultative meeting is scheduled for July 30.
He also mentioned that during the next meeting, the committee plans to seek the opinions of former Supreme Court judges R.M. Lodha and S.A. Bobde regarding the ‘One Nation, One Election’ concept.
The central government is keen on implementing the practice of conducting simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and Union Territory assemblies. For this purpose, two bills have been drafted: the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, to amend the legal statutes.
Following the approval of the Union Cabinet, both bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17 of last year. After strong opposition from the opposition parties, both bills were sent for consideration to a joint parliamentary committee. P.P. Chaudhary was appointed as the chairman of this 39-member joint parliamentary committee.
The committee has been conducting various consultations with legal experts and former judges.
NOTE: Simultaneous elections in India, where both Lok Sabha and state assembly elections were held together, took place from 1951 to 1967.
One Nation, One Election ‘The Constitution 129th Amendment Bill 2024’: The bill proposes adding Article 82A(1-6) to the Constitution to align the terms of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, as recommended by the committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind.
Article 82 (1-6):
82A (1) provides for the timeline for the President to bring into force the proposed changes on the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election, designating this as the “appointed date.”
82(2) states that the terms of all state Assemblies elected after the appointed date and before the Lok Sabha’s full term ends will conclude with the Lok Sabha’s term.
Article 82A(3) states that the Election Commission of India (ECI) shall conduct general elections to the House of the People and all Legislative Assemblies simultaneously.
Article 82 A(4) defines simultaneous elections as “general elections held for constituting the House of the People and all the Legislative Assemblies together”.
Article 82A(5) gives the ECI the option of not holding any particular Assembly election along with the election to Lok Sabha.
The ECI can advise the President to issue an order allowing elections for a Legislative Assembly to be held at a later date.
Article 82A(6) states that if an Assembly election is deferred, the full term of that Assembly will also end with the full term of the Lok Sabha elected in the general election.
Amendment to Article 83 and 172:
The bill states that if the Lok Sabha is dissolved before the end of its full term, the next Lok Sabha will only be for the unexpired term — “the period between its date of dissolution and five years from the date of the first meeting”.
This means that Bills pending in the House will expire, as it happens even when the House has functioned for a full term.
For state assemblies, amendments proposed for Article 172, which governs the duration of state legislatures.
If a state assembly is dissolved before its term ends, elections would be held for the remaining term of the previous assembly.
Amendment to Article 327: The Bill proposes amending Article 327 to include “conduct of simultaneous elections” after “delimitation of constituencies,” expanding Parliament’s power over state legislature elections. The bill excluded the election of Local bodies and Municipalities.
The Union Territories Laws Amendment Bill 2024: The Bill aims to amend Section 5 of the Government of Union Territories Act 1962, Section 5 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act 1991, and Section 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 to facilitate simultaneous elections with the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
One Nation One Election Next Parliamentary Committee Meeting on July 30
P.P. Chaudhary, the chairman of the parliamentary committee formed to examine the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bills and a BJP MP, announced that the committee’s next consultative meeting is scheduled for July 30.
He also mentioned that during the next meeting, the committee plans to seek the opinions of former Supreme Court judges R.M. Lodha and S.A. Bobde regarding the ‘One Nation, One Election’ concept.
The central government is keen on implementing the practice of conducting simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and Union Territory assemblies. For this purpose, two bills have been drafted: the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, to amend the legal statutes.
Following the approval of the Union Cabinet, both bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17 of last year. After strong opposition from the opposition parties, both bills were sent for consideration to a joint parliamentary committee. P.P. Chaudhary was appointed as the chairman of this 39-member joint parliamentary committee.
The committee has been conducting various consultations with legal experts and former judges.
NOTE: Simultaneous elections in India, where both Lok Sabha and state assembly elections were held together, took place from 1951 to 1967.
One Nation, One Election ‘The Constitution 129th Amendment Bill 2024’: The bill proposes adding Article 82A(1-6) to the Constitution to align the terms of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, as recommended by the committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind.
Article 82 (1-6):
82A (1) provides for the timeline for the President to bring into force the proposed changes on the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election, designating this as the “appointed date.”
82(2) states that the terms of all state Assemblies elected after the appointed date and before the Lok Sabha’s full term ends will conclude with the Lok Sabha’s term.
Article 82A(3) states that the Election Commission of India (ECI) shall conduct general elections to the House of the People and all Legislative Assemblies simultaneously.
Article 82 A(4) defines simultaneous elections as “general elections held for constituting the House of the People and all the Legislative Assemblies together”.
Article 82A(5) gives the ECI the option of not holding any particular Assembly election along with the election to Lok Sabha.
The ECI can advise the President to issue an order allowing elections for a Legislative Assembly to be held at a later date.
Article 82A(6) states that if an Assembly election is deferred, the full term of that Assembly will also end with the full term of the Lok Sabha elected in the general election.
Amendment to Article 83 and 172:
The bill states that if the Lok Sabha is dissolved before the end of its full term, the next Lok Sabha will only be for the unexpired term — “the period between its date of dissolution and five years from the date of the first meeting”.
This means that Bills pending in the House will expire, as it happens even when the House has functioned for a full term.
For state assemblies, amendments proposed for Article 172, which governs the duration of state legislatures.
If a state assembly is dissolved before its term ends, elections would be held for the remaining term of the previous assembly.
Amendment to Article 327: The Bill proposes amending Article 327 to include “conduct of simultaneous elections” after “delimitation of constituencies,” expanding Parliament’s power over state legislature elections. The bill excluded the election of Local bodies and Municipalities.
The Union Territories Laws Amendment Bill 2024: The Bill aims to amend Section 5 of the Government of Union Territories Act 1962, Section 5 of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act 1991, and Section 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 to facilitate simultaneous elections with the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.
First Woman Chief for Railway Protection Force
Senior IPS officer Sonali Mishra has been appointed as the first woman Director General of the Railway Protection Force (RPF).
The tenure of the current RPF Director General, Manoj Yadava, is set to end on July 31st. In this context, the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet approved the appointment of Sonali Mishra as the first woman Director General for the post on Saturday. The Union Ministry of Personnel issued the appointment order, stating that Sonali Mishra will hold the position until October 31, 2026.
Sonali Mishra, a 1993 batch IPS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, is currently serving as the Additional Director General of Police (Recruitment) for the Madhya Pradesh State Police.
SCO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in China on July 15 - Jaishankar to Participate
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is traveling to China to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ meeting to be held on the 15th in Tianjin, China.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation consists of 10 member countries: India, China, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. The meeting of the defense ministers of the organization was held at the end of last month in the Chinese port city of Qingdao.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh participated in this meeting. In the joint statement of the meeting, the positions of Tagore and Pakistan on terrorism were mentioned separately. As it was not signed, Minister Rajnath Singh refused. As a result, that meeting concluded without the release of a joint statement.
Following this, the meeting of the foreign ministers of the organization is taking place. It has been announced that the foreign ministers of the member countries will participate in this meeting at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
During the meeting, the foreign ministers will exchange their views on various areas of cooperation within the organization and on important international and regional issues.
This will be Jaishankar’s first visit to China since the East Ladakh conflict.
Plan for Indians to Land on the Moon in 2040
ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan has stated that the project to land Indians on the moon in the year 2040 is proceeding vigorously.
The work for the project to send a person to space safely from India and bring them back securely is progressing well. This is a project announced by Prime Minister Modi on 15.8.2018. At that time, Rs. 10,000 crore was allocated for this project. Currently, the work is being carried out with a budget of Rs. 20,000 crore.
In this project, the first unmanned rocket is scheduled to be sent this December. The second rocket will be launched next year. We are planning to send a human in 2027. The first astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, undertook his journey in 1984 through Russia. India benefited from that.
We have now sent Subanshu Shukla from the United States to the International Space Station. After his return, his experiences will be of great help to the project of sending a person from India to space. The work on the project for Indians to land on the moon in 2040 is proceeding at a fast pace.
International News
Shukla to Start His Return Journey to Earth Tomorrow!
Under the ‘Axiom-4’ mission, a team of four astronauts, including India’s Subanshu Shukla from the International Space Station (ISS), will commence their journey back to Earth on Monday at 4:35 PM Indian Standard Time.
As part of the ‘Axiom-4’ mission by the American company ‘Axiom Space,’ the four astronauts, including Indian astronaut Subanshu Shukla, had arrived at the International Space Station on June 26th.
The ‘Axiom-4’ mission involved a 14-day research period. Astronauts, including Shukla, conducted over 60 experiments in various fields such as biomedical science, neuroscience, agriculture, and space technology. The astronauts completed their 14-day mission on Thursday.
Currently, they are set to begin their return journey from the International Space Station on Monday at 4:35 PM (Indian Standard Time). After an approximately 23-hour journey, the astronauts will land in the sea near California, USA, with the assistance of parachutes on Tuesday around 3:30 PM.