National

Great Nicobar Island (GNI) Project & Forest Rights Act (FRA) Challenge:

Issue: The Union Government filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court seeking a stay on proceedings before the Calcutta High Court concerning the ₹92,000-crore Great Nicobar Island mega infrastructure project.
Key Legal & Environmental Details:
- The petition before the High Court, filed by former Environment and Tribal Affairs Secretary Meena Gupta, alleges violations of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) regarding Gram Sabha consent for forest land diversion and the reduction of buffer zones for Campbell Bay and Galathea Bay National Parks.
- The High Court upheld judicial review over mega-projects involving large public expenditure, affirming that projects must adhere strictly to environmental and tribal protection laws.

Event: Pakistan announced it will host the SCO Summit in August 2027 under the theme “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity”.
An Indian delegation attended the preparatory SCO National Coordinators’ meeting in Islamabad, 1^st time such meeting after Operation Sindoor.

Women’s 4x400m Relay Gold:
- The Indian quartet of Kiran Pahal, M.R. Poovamma, Prachi Chaudhary, and Vithya Ramraj won the Gold medal in the women’s 4x400m relay with a timing of 3:29.69s.
Historic Trap Shooting Gold (Neeru Dhanda):
- Neeru Dhanda became the first Indian woman to win an individual Trap Shooting Gold at the Asian Games, setting an Asian record score of 28 out of 30 in the final.
- She also won a Silver medal in the Women’s Trap Team event alongside Manisha Keer and Ashima Ahlawat.
Athletics Records & Multi-Medal Achievements:
- Gulveer Singh: Won Bronze in the Men’s 5,000m event (adding to his previous silvers in 10,000m and 1,500m), becoming the first Indian man to win three individual track and field medals in a single edition of the Asian Games.
- Dev Meena: Set a new National Record of 5.50m in the Men’s Pole Vault.
- Pooja Singh: Secured a Bronze medal in the Women’s High Jump clearing 1.84m.