TITBITS:
1. The Supreme Court upheld the
constitutional validity of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act,
2004 (Madarsa Act), barring the provisions relating to higher education. In
doing so, it overruled the Allahabad High Court's earlier ruling which struck
down the entire Act for violating the principle of secularism.
2. To be a major space power, India
needs to create "leading space companies and not merely service
companies", S. Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO), said. For India to raise its contribution to the global
space economy from the current 2% to 10%, significant government support would
be required, he added.
3. In a significant outreach toward
various internal stakeholders of the Myanmar conflict, India started a series
of dialogues with the junta, civil society organisations and political parties
with connection to the junta. The closed-door discussion held at the Indian
Council of World Affairs (ICWA) here is expected to continue for three days.
4. Japan has launched LignoSat, the first-ever wooden
satellite, into space to demonstrate that wood can be used as a space-grade
material.
5. The Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri,
inaugurated Ganga Utsav 2024 in Haridwar under the River City Alliance, which
now comprises 145 river cities across the country. The alliance aims to promote
the health of urban rivers through an integrated approach to river-sensitive
urban planning.