GK TEST- July 2025

51st G7 Summit 2025 – Kananaskis, Canada

  • Timing & Venue
    • Held over 33 days – 15−17 June 202515{-}17\,\text{June}\,2025 in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada.
    • Canada’s 7th time as host (previous editions: 1981,1988,1995,2002,2010,2018,20251981, 1988, 1995, 2002, 2010, 2018, 2025).
    • First major international visit by India’s PM Narendra Modi after Operation Sindhu evacuation; first G7 meet under Canada’s new 24th24^{\text{th}} PM, Mark Carney.

  • Membership & History
    • Core members: Canada, USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan.
    • Origins: first summit 19751975 in Rambouillet, France – then the G6 (Canada joined 19761976 to form G7).
    • Russia joined 19981998 → G8; suspended 20142014 after Crimea annexation.

  • Non-G7 invitees (‘Outreach partners’)
    • European Union (institutional participant).
    • National leaders: India – PM Narendra Modi; Mexico – PM Claudia Sheinbaum; Ukraine – PM Volodymyr Zelensky; South Africa – PM Cyril Ramaphosa; Brazil – Pres. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; UAE – Pres. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Australia – PM Anthony Albanese; Indonesia – Pres. Prabowo Subianto; South Korea – Pres. Lee Jae Myung.
    • International heads: NATO Sec-Gen Mark Rutte, World Bank President Ajay Banga, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

  • 2025 Agenda Pillars

    1. Protecting our communities worldwide (pandemic preparedness, health security, disinformation).

    2. Building energy security & accelerating the digital transition (critical minerals, AI governance, semiconductor supply chains).

    3. Securing the partnerships of the future (infrastructure finance, Global South cooperation).

    4. Focus discussions on the escalating Israel–Iran conflict and its energy-market impacts.

  • Significance
    • Signals broader engagement by including Global South voices (first time non-G7 leaders inside working sessions).
    • Sets tone for post-pandemic macro-economic coordination and collective security in a multipolar order.

Denmark Mandates Military Service for Women

  • Effective 1 July 20251\,\text{July}\,2025 all 1818-year-old women must register for conscription (compulsory enlistment).

  • Service term extended from 4 months→11 months4\,\text{months} \rightarrow 11\,\text{months} for both genders.

  • Target: raise annual recruit numbers 5000→75005000 \rightarrow 7500 by 20332033.

  • Catalysts
    • Former US Pres. Donald Trump’s rhetoric on “taking away Greenland”.
    • Fear that the Russia–Ukraine war could spill into Nordic/Baltic sphere.

  • Broader context: Denmark aligns with NATO readiness goals; move mirrors Norway & Sweden’s gender-neutral draft policies.

Elon Musk Launches the “America Party” (U.S. Politics)

  • Announced ahead of 20262026 mid-term Congressional elections.

  • Aims to challenge perceived “one-party system” (bipartisan gridlock).

  • Electoral targets: 2−32{-}3 Senate seats, 8−108{-}10 House districts.

  • Pre-launch social-media poll: 65.4%65.4\% support (≈ 2:12{:}1 ratio).

  • Background of feud with former Pres. Donald Trump
    • Musk served as “Doge Head” in Trump admin; exited after criticising Trump’s tax-and-spend bill (“debt-slavery”).
    • Trump threatened deportation to South Africa & withdrawal of federal funds from Musk ventures.
    • Trump signed sweeping tax & spending-cut bill on 4 July4\,\text{July}; Musk vows to unseat GOP backers.

Paris Re-opens the River Seine to Swimmers

  • First public swim since 19231923; part of legacy plan for Paris 2024 Olympics.

  • Investment: €1.4 billion1.4\,\text{billion} in sewage interception, UV filtration, and riverbank redevelopment.

  • Enables Olympic open-water & triathlon events inside city limits; showcases urban-water restoration model.

Archaeological Breakthrough – 3 500-Year-Old City “Penico,” Peru

  • Location: Barranca Province, coastal Peru; elevation 600 m600\,\text{m}.

  • Dating: founded ≈1800−1500 BC\approx 1800{-}1500\,\text{BC}.

  • Features
    • Circular ceremonial complex on hillside terrace (stone & mud).
    • Functioned as a trade hub linking Pacific coast     ↔ Andes ↔ Amazon.

  • Proximity to Caral – oldest known American civilisation (pre-Inca).

  • Significance: pushes back timeline of Andean socio-economic networks; evidence of early horizontal (coast–highland) interaction spheres.

Japanese Scientists Invent Plastic that Dissolves in Seawater

  • Institutions: RIKEN Centre for Emergent Matter Science & University of Tokyo.

  • Behaviour: sample completely dissolved within 1 hour1\,\text{hour} in saltwater, leaving no residue.

  • Potential impact
    • UN-EP projects marine plastic pollution will triple by 20402040 (adds 23−3723{-}37 million t annually).
    • Material could revolutionise single-use packaging, fishing gear; aligns with circular-economy goals.

Bangladesh – Legal & Monetary Upheavals

  • Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina
    • Sentenced to 66 months in jail by International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).
    • Co-accused Shakil Akand Bulbul: 22 months.
    • Charges: crimes against humanity during 20242024 protests (UN confirms > 14001400 deaths between 15 July15\,\text{July} & 15 Aug 202415\,\text{Aug}\,2024).

  • Currency Redesign
    • New notes remove founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; feature natural landscapes & Hindu/Buddhist monuments post-trial of daughter Hasina.
    • Symbolises political reset; marks first major aesthetic change since independence 19711971.

World’s Largest Digital Camera – Simonyi Survey Telescope

  • Housed at Chile’s Vera Rubin Observatory (named after dark-matter pioneer).

  • Guinness world record for largest camera lens; size ≈ small car.

  • Captures ≈ 2%2\% of night sky per image; enables wide-field survey of transients & dark-matter mapping.

  • Nickname: “fastest-moving camera” due to rapid slewing.

Cultural Heritage & IP

  • Prada vs. Kolhapuri Chappals
    • Italian luxury brand sells sandal resembling Maharashtra’s 12th−13th12^{\text{th}}{-}13^{\text{th}}-century handcrafted leather slippers.
    • Kolhapuri manufacturers meet CM Devendra Fadnavis; plan legal action.
    • Prada’s Lorenzo Bertelli acknowledges “Indian heritage inspiration” – raises questions on cultural appropriation & GI protections.

  • International Booker Prize 2025
    • Winner: “Heart Lamp” by Kannadiga writer-activist Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi.
    • First Kannada title to win; collection of 1212 stories (published 1990−20231990{-}2023) exploring gender, caste and existential longing.

India – 2025 Milestones & Achievements

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Performance

  • India enters Top 100100 for first time – ranked 99th99^{\text{th}} (up from 109th109^{\text{th}} in 20242024).

  • NITI Aayog credits gains in renewable capacity, female literacy, rural sanitation.

Macroeconomy

  • GDP touches $4 trillion\$4\,\text{trillion}, surpasses Japan to become World’s 4th4^{\text{th}} largest economy.

  • Projection: could overtake Germany within 33 years given current CAGR.

Infrastructure – Chenab Rail Bridge

  • World’s highest single-arch railway bridge; part of 272 km272\,\text{km} Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla line.

  • Height above riverbed: 359 m359\,\text{m} (> Eiffel Tower).

  • Construction span > 2020 years; inaugurates first rail linkage to Kashmir Valley.

Human Spaceflight – Axiom-4 Mission

  • Crew:
    • Gp Capt Shubhanshu Shukla (India) – payload specialist.
    • Peggy Whitson (USA) – commander.
    • Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland).
    • Tibor Kapu (Hungary).

  • Spacecraft: SpaceX Dragon, docked to ISS Harmony port after 2828-hour flight on 26 Jun 202526\,\text{Jun}\,2025.

  • Marks India’s return to crewed spaceflight after 4141 years (since Rakesh Sharma – 19841984).

  • Mission length: 1414 days; focus on micro-gravity biotech & STEM outreach.

Operation Sindhu

  • Humanitarian airlift evacuating 11701170 Indian nationals (majority Kashmiri students) plus Nepalese & Sri-Lankan citizens from escalating Iran conflict.

  • Showcases India’s growing capability in Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations (N​EOs).

World Para Athletics Championships – New Delhi 2025

  • Countdown ceremony launched 100100 days out by Delhi CM Rekha Gupta.

  • Mascot “Viraaj” – young elephant with blade prosthesis symbolising resilience & inclusivity.

  • Logo fuses Indian motifs with para-sport dynamism.

Tennis – French Open 2025

  • Men’s Singles: Carlos Alcaraz def. Jannik Sinner.

  • Women’s Singles: Coco Gauff def. Aryna Sabalenka.

Cross-Topic Connections & Implications

  • Geopolitics: G7 outreach, Denmark draft, Musk party, and India’s Operation Sindhu all reflect shifting security paradigms post-Ukraine & Israel–Iran instability.

  • Tech & Sustainability: Japanese dissolving plastic, Rubin camera, and Chenab Bridge showcase engineering leaps meeting SDG goals.

  • Culture & Ethics: Prada controversy and Bangladesh note redesign highlight issues of identity, appropriation, and memory politics.

  • Economics: India’s rise to #4 GDP spot and Musk’s “debt-slavery” critique both question current fiscal models and global economic governance.