Notes: The United Kingdom has officially launched the Synthetic Human Genome Project, a groundbreaking effort to build human DNA from scratch. This project shifts from reading DNA, like in the Human Genome Project, to writing and assembling it synthetically. Scientists aim to create disease-resistant cells to repair damaged organs such as the heart, liver, and immune system. It could help treat genetic and age-related diseases by studying how genes control repair and development.
Critics warn about ethical concerns like designer humans and synthetic life.

Notes: The Union Railway Minister recently launched the RailOne app in New Delhi. RailOne is a new super app to handle all railway-related passenger needs in one place. It was developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems, a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of Indian Railways. RailOne combines services like ticket booking, real-time tracking, food ordering, Passenger Name Record (PNR) status, refunds, porter booking, and last-mile taxi.

Notes: With the monsoon season starting, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) launched the ‘Safai Apnao, Bimaari Bhagao’ (SABB) campaign from 1 to 31 July 2025. The campaign aims to reduce health risks from water-borne and vector-borne diseases by promoting hygiene and clean surroundings. Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) will focus on drain cleaning, garbage hotspot reduction, and awareness drives. It partners with Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and other ministries to strengthen public health.

Notes: Recently, the Union Minister of Jal Shakti inaugurated the C-FLOOD platform. C-FLOOD means “Unified Inundation Forecasting System”. It is developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune and Central Water Commission (CWC), Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti. It is part of the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) run by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Notes: On July 22, 2025, Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy launched the “Puducherry One-Time Regularization Scheme for Unpermitted Constructions and Deviations 2025.” The scheme was inaugurated at the Legislative Assembly in the presence of Speaker R. Selvam, Minister K. Lakshminarayanan, and officials. It applies to buildings constructed and roofed/floored between May 1, 1987, and July 16, 2025, across all Puducherry regions. A special software called Online Building Permission System (OBPS) by National Informatics Centre (NIC) will handle the process. The scheme prevents sealing, demolition, and disconnection of electricity, water, or sewage for violating buildings.

Notes: Recently, on 3rd July 2025, Russia became the first country to formally recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan since it took power in 2021. Russia removed the Taliban from its list of outlawed organisations. The Russian Foreign Ministry accepted credentials from Afghanistan’s newly appointed Ambassador Gul Hassan Hassan. Russia stated that this recognition will support productive bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry called the move historic and hoped it would encourage other countries to follow.

Notes: Recently, the Union Cabinet led by the Prime Minister approved the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana. It is the first scheme focused exclusively on agriculture and allied sectors. The scheme aims to boost productivity, crop diversification, sustainable farming, storage, irrigation, and credit access. It will be implemented through convergence of 36 existing schemes from 11 departments and state-private partnerships. 100 districts will be selected based on low productivity, low cropping intensity, and less credit disbursement.