German brand Birkenstock filed a civil suit in Delhi High Court against manufacturers and traders in Delhi and Agra for selling counterfeit versions of its sandals.

Counterfeit Market in India

• OECD in its 2022 report identified India as a key origin country for counterfeit goods traded globally, alongside China, Turkey, and the UAE.
• A 2022 CRISIL study estimated that counterfeit goods make up about 25-30% of India’s retail market. 
• Under Indian law, brands can protect their products through the Trademarks Act, 1999, and the Designs Act, 2000. These allow the right for legal action, court injunctions, and the seizure of counterfeit stock.

A study revealed that quantum noise can sometimes generate or revive quantum entanglement.

• Quantum Noise refers to the unwanted disturbances that affect quantum systems, leading to errors in quantum computations. 
  • Traditionally, quantum noise is seen as the enemy of entangled systems, causing them to lose their entanglement, a phenomenon known as ‘Decoherence’.
• Quantum Entanglement is a mysterious link that binds particles of the same origin across space and time. 

Retail inflation hit a 6-year low of 2.10% in June 2025 as per data released by Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

About Consumer Price Index (CPI)

• It measures changes over time in the general level of prices of goods and services that households acquire for the purpose of consumption.
• Function: 
  • Macroeconomic indicator of inflation
  • Tool by governments and central banks for inflation targeting and for monitoring price stability
  • As deflators in the national accounts
  • for indexing dearness allowance to employees
• Base year of CPI has been revised to 2012.

Australia’s largest military exercise, Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, officially commences in Sydney.

Exercise Talisman Sabre

• It involves 19 nations and >35,000 military personnel across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.
• Major Participants: U.S., Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, U.K. etc.
  • Observers: Malaysia and Vietnam
• It involves live-fire exercises, field training activities, amphibious landings, ground force manoeuvres and air combat and maritime operations.

Centre fixes prices of 71 key drug formulations through National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).

About NPPA

• Established: In 1997 through a Government of India Resolution as an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
• Objective: To serve as independent regulator for pricing of drugs and to ensure availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices.
• Functions: Fixing and revising drug prices as per the provisions of the Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO) issued by DoP.

Preliminary report of Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Ahmedabad’s Air India airplane crash mentions deployment of Ram Air Turbine.

 About Ram Air Turbine

• It is a small turbine usually placed in a compartment in the fuselage or wing of the aircraft.
• Function: To provide emergency power if the plane’s main system fails.
• It generates power from the airstream based on the speed of the aircraft and is connected to an electrical generator or to a hydraulic pump.
• It can be deployed either manually or is deployed automatically following complete loss of power.

Next generation E10 Shinkansen trains are to be introduced simultaneously in India (508 km Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train project) and Japan. 

About Shinkansen Technology

• The Shinkansen is Japan’s High-speed bullet train.
• It is the world's safest and most reliable high-speed, high-volume and high-frequency transport system.
• Key Features:
  • Deploys Crash Avoidance principle by means of two systems
    • Dedicated track for high-speed rail that is free of level crossings and 
    • ATC system (Automatic Train Control System) that prevents any crashes by controlling train speed.
  • Aerodynamic optimization of the leading shape, vehicle noise reduction, energy-efficient traction systems, and ride comfort.

The sacred Behdeinkhlam Festival was celebrated in Meghalaya.

About Behdienkhlam Festival

• The festival, meaning “driving away the plague,” symbolizes spiritual cleansing and community resilience.
• It is most important dance festival of Pnars (or Jaintias) celebrated annually in July after the sowing period.
• During the festival, young men make a symbolic gesture of driving away of the evil spirit, plague and disease by beating of the roof of every house with bamboo poles.
• Games like Dat-lawakor  (football-like sport played with a wooden ball) and Iatan-Bhang (tug of war) are played.