4th JULY CURRENT AFFAIRS

1India’s Rank Rises to 94 in SDG Index

India’s rank improved to 94 among 169 countries in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index this year.

The Sustainable Development Report (formerly the SDG Index & Dashboards) is a global assessment of countries’ progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2025, the country was at 99th place in the Index and at 109th position in 2024

The country achieved an overall SDG baseline score of 68.3 out of 100, showed the 2026 Sustainable Development Report.

The score measures progress on a scale of 0 to 100 where 100 indicates a country has achieved all 17 goals and 0 means no progress has been made.

European countries, especially the Nordic nations, continue to top the SDG Index, with Finland ranking first, Sweden second and Denmark third.

The country faces major challenges in 7 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals:

SDG 2 (Zero Hunger),

SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being),

SDG 5 (Gender Equality),

SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities),

SDG 14 (Life Below Water),

SDG 15 (Life on Land)

SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by all UN member states in 2015 as a universal call of action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

Also known as the Global Goals, the SDGs are a call to action to create a world where no one is left behind.

It consists of 17 goals and 169 targets

2India Appoints Chief And Vice Chief for Indian Army & IAF Vice-Chief

Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth appointed as Chief of Army Staff with effect from June 30, 2026

General Dhiraj Seth, who took over as the 31st Chief of the Army Staff.

Vice Chief of the Army Staff of India is Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain. He assumed office on July 1, 2026

50th Vice Chief of the Army Staff

India AppointsIAF Vice-Chief -Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit

Participated in Operation Safed Sagar (Kargil War, 1999) and Operation Rakshak (counter-insurgency in Jammu & Kashmir, J&

3West Bengal Adds New GI Tag,Ranks 3rd in Nation

West Bengal (WB), announced that WB has received 23 new Geographical Indication (GI) tags, taking its total to 59 GI registrations and making it the third-highest GI-tagged state in India after Uttar Pradesh (UP) (83) and Tamil Nadu (TN) (76).

Darjeeling Tea has become the first product in the country to receive a Geographical Indication tag

Recently added GI tags of WB

Sweets: Chandannagar's Jalbhora sandesh, Janai's Monohara, and Bankura's Mecha sandesh.

Handicrafts & Art: Santiniketan's Batik (wax-resist dyed clothes), Natungram wooden dolls, Purulia's lac craft, and the traditional conch-shell craft of Hato village.

Textiles: Murshidabad silk and Kumartuli idol craft.

Musical & Utility Arts: The traditional string instrument Ektara, Bengal Singing Bowl, and Balagarh's traditional boats

4India Adds 709 New Faunal Species to Its Biodiversity Database in 2025

India added 709 new faunal species to its national biodiversity database in 2025, as confirmed by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in its annual release "Animal Discoveries 2025", taking India's total documented fauna to over 1,06,467 species.

New additions include 391 species new to science and 318 new country records. India is one of the world's 17 mega-biodiverse countries

ZSI was established in 1916, HQ: Kolkata, West Bengal

Kerala recorded the highest number of new species discoveries (98), followed by West Bengal (76),and Karnataka (67)

India's biodiversity is protected under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and is governed by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs).