India is the 2nd largest producer of aluminum in the world
- India is a leading producer of mineral products including aluminium. Specifically, aluminum ore production has increased from 10.28 lakh tonnes in the first quarter (April – June) of the financial year 2023-24 to 10.43 lakh tonnes in the same period of the current financial year. This is 1.2 percent higher than the same period last year.
- Similarly, iron ore production grew by 9.7 percent to 79 million metric tons, limestone production grew by 1.8 percent to 116 million metric tons, and manganese ore production increased by 11 percent to 1.0 million metric tons.
- This makes India the world's second largest producer of aluminum, third largest producer of limestone, and fourth largest producer of iron ore.
- The 2024 Paris Olympic Games will begin on July 25. India, traveling with a 117-member team, has won 3 medals in shooting among the world countries that have started the hunt for medals.
- Swapnil Kusale impressed in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final at the 2024 Paris Olympics by placing 7th with 590-38x to advance to the final. Participating in the 50m rifle 3 positions category in the finals, Kusale scored 451.4 points in 6 rounds and finished third and bagged the bronze.
- Lt Gen Sadhana Saxena Nair assumed charge as the Director General of Army Medical Services on 01 August 2024. It is noteworthy that she is the first woman to be appointed to this prestigious position. Earlier, she was the first woman to hold the post of Director General of Hospital Services (Armed Forces) at the rank of Air Marshal.
- Lt Gen Nair graduated from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. Commissioned in Army Medical Corps in December 1985.
- During the regime of the late former Chief Minister Karunanidhi, he ordered an additional 3 percent reservation for the Arunthathiyas as an internal reservation in addition to the reservation system already given to the Scheduled Castes.
- Similarly, states including Punjab also provided more internal reservation under the existing reservation.
- Earlier, a case was filed against this internal reservation in the Supreme Court, and in 2005, a five-judge bench had ruled. In that, internal reservation was cancelled. An appeal was filed in the Supreme Court.
- The investigation of the case was ongoing. A seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud was investigating the case. The investigation has been ongoing since last February and the verdict was given today.
- In this, 6 judges including the Chief Justice gave a unanimous verdict citing various opinions. The 6 judges also held that the internal reservation announced by the states would not violate Article 14 of the Constitution.
- It ruled that the State Governments could grant internal reservation as no Scheduled Castes were excluded from the definition of Scheduled Castes.
- Justice Kawai said in the judgment, "The government should identify the creamy layer among the SC and ST groups and formulate a policy to exclude certain sections of them. This is the only way to achieve true equality, he said.
- Justice Vikram Nath upheld this view and held that the principle of subdivision as applied to OBCs is applicable to Scheduled Castes.
- Justice Pankaj Mittal said that this internal reservation should be given only to the first generation. Justice Mithal said that if anyone belonging to the first generation had attained higher status through internal reservation, then the second generation should not get reservation.
- Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said that the decision should be changed in the constitution of the state by identifying the scheduled castes as a creamy layer (creamy layer).
