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- Indias Bridge Man Girish Bhardwaj Dies; Sanjeev Jain Ambassador | North Korea
1. India, Indonesia conclude BrahMos deal
- On 7 July, India and Indonesia signed a deal for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. The two countries also signed 20 other agreements.
- Negotiations over the BrahMos deal had been underway for the past four months.
- Under the agreement, India will supply Indonesia with additional BrahMos missile units.
- Indonesia has now become the third country to buy the BrahMos missile, after the Philippines and Vietnam.
- India will also supply Indonesia with the indigenous Astra air-to-air missile, which was used during Operation Sindoor.
- In addition, India will assist Indonesia in developing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
- The agreements were signed during bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
- During the visit, President Subianto conferred Indonesia’s highest civilian honour, Bintang Adipurna, on Prime Minister Modi.
- The Bintang Adipurna is awarded to individuals for their contributions to international relations and cooperation.
- It is widely regarded as Indonesia’s equivalent of India’s Bharat Ratna.
- Indonesia instituted the award in 1959.
PM Modi was given a Guard of Honour at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.
2. Padma Shri awardee Girish Bharadwaj passes away
- On 7 July, Dr Girish Bharadwaj, popularly known as the Bridge Man of India, passed away at the age of 76.
- A mechanical engineer by profession, Bharadwaj was a pioneer in social innovation.
- In 1989, he built India’s first suspension footbridge over the Payaswini River in Karnataka.
- Over nearly three decades, he constructed more than 140 low-cost suspension footbridges across several Indian states.
- His bridges connected remote villages to schools, hospitals and markets, improving the lives of thousands of people.
- Bharadwaj’s low-cost, environmentally friendly bridge designs are regarded as a successful model for rural connectivity.
- He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017 for his contribution to rural connectivity and social service.
3. Sanjeev Jain appointed India’s new Ambassador to North Korea
- On 7 July, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) appointed Sanjeev Jain as India’s next Ambassador to North Korea.
- A 2008-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, Jain will succeed Aliawati Longkumer.
- He is currently serving as India’s Ambassador to Cabo Verde.
- Earlier in his diplomatic career, Jain served at the Indian Embassy in Paris and at the Indian Consulate in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Sanjay has worked in a diplomatic position at the Indian Mission in Dubai.
4. President Droupadi Murmu unveils Durand Cup 2026 trophies
- On 7 July, President Droupadi Murmu unveiled the trophies for the 135th Durand Cup in New Delhi.
- The ceremony was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, and senior officials. (Note: The names in your source appear to be outdated.)
- The Durand Cup is one of Asia’s oldest football tournaments.
- The 2026 edition will be held from 25 July to 23 August across Kolkata, Ranchi, Imphal, Shillong and Guwahati, with the tournament kicking off in Kolkata.
- The six group winners and the two best runners-up will qualify for the quarter-finals, which begin on 16 August.
- The semi-finals are scheduled for 19 and 20 August, while the final will be played in Kolkata on 23 August.
The official launch of the Durand Cup 2026 trophy tour will be done with the unveiling of the trophies.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo plays his final FIFA Club World Cup
- On 7 July, Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo hinted that he had played his last FIFA Club World Cup.
- Ronaldo made his FIFA World Cup debut in 2006, helping Portugal reach the semi-finals—the country’s best finish during his World Cup career.
- At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he scored a memorable hat-trick against Spain in a thrilling 3-3 draw, one of the tournament’s most iconic matches.
- Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or in 2008 and has claimed the award five times.
- Between 2009 and 2018, he became Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer.
- He has also won five UEFA Champions League titles.
6. Former Chinese official sentenced to death in corruption case
- On 7 July, a Chinese court sentenced former senior official Yang Yolin to death in a corruption case.
- Yang was found guilty of accepting bribes and abusing his official position while serving in the Economic Development Department in Nanjing.
- According to the court, he accepted bribes worth US$325 million (about ₹2,800 crore) over nearly 30 years.
- The court said the scale of corruption and its impact on society warranted the harshest punishment.
- Chinese authorities described it as the largest bribery case uncovered so far under the country’s anti-corruption campaign.
- In China, serious corruption offences can attract penalties ranging from life imprisonment to the death penalty.
- The anti-corruption campaign aims to improve transparency and tighten oversight of public officials.
- Earlier, Li Jianping was executed in 2024 after being convicted of bribery and embezzlement, while Lai Xiaomin was executed in 2021 on similar charges.
Today in History
- 1497: Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama set sail on his voyage that would make him the first European to reach India by sea.
- 1954: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the Bhakra Nangal Hydroelectric Project on the Sutlej River.
