JULY

NATIONAL

02 The Delhi High Court strikes  down the provision of Section 377 of the IPC which decriminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private.

03 Mamata Banerjee presents the Railway budget of the new UPA government.

06 Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presents the Union budget 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha; Riots in China's Xinjiang region leave 156 dead and more than 800 injured; Burundi and Rwanda join the East African Community Customs Union.

10 England’s Bedfordshire University gives actor Shahrukh Khan an honorary doctorate in arts and culture.

12 154 branches and 2,151 ATMs of country’s largest lender, the State Bank of India, inaugurated online by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

13 All the six accused in the cae of murder of Professor H.S. Sabharwal at Ujjain nearly three years ago acquitted by a Nagpur court for lack of evidence.

14 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh becomes the first Indian leader to be the Chief Guest of Honour at France’s Bastille Day (National Day celebrations).

17 Less than nine months of its launch, the ‘star sensors’ of lunar satellite Chandrayaan-1 failed; The eargerly awaited Tata Nano car hits the roads; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in Mumbai on a four-day visit.

20 The lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 attacks Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab confesses to his crime before the Special Sessions Court in Mumbai; The jail term of Sanjeev Nanda, prime accused in the BMW hit-and-run case, is reduced to two years by the Delhi High Court.

22 The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century takes place over parts of Asia and the Pacific Ocean.

23 Former CEO of Infosys Nandan Nilekani assumes office as the chairperson of the newly formed Unique Identity Authority.

26 India’s first nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant is launched.

31 Film actress and director Nandita Das is appointed the new chairperson of the Children’s Films Society of India (CFSI).

INTERNATIONAL

02 Japan’s Yukio Amano is elected as the new director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

04 North Korea test fires seven more missiles into the Sea of Japan; Serena Williams wins the 2009 Wimbledon Championships defeating her sister, Venus.

05 The deadliest ethnic riots of recent times between Uyghurs and Han people rock western Xinjiang region of China; Switzerland’s Roger Federer defeats  Andy Roddick of US in a historic match to win men's singles title of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships.

08 The 35th G8 Summit begins in L'Aquila, Italy.

10 Automaker General Motors emerges from bankruptcy protection after 40 days under court supervision.

11 The President of Peru Alan Garcia names Javier Velasquez as the Prime Minister of Peru.

14 Prime Minister of Poland Jerzy Buzek is elected a new President of the European Parliament.

16 China's GDP grows 7.9% by year in the second quarter of 2009, despite the global economic crisis; The 110-storey Sears Tower in Chicago, United States is renamed the Willis Tower.

20 England cricket team win an Ashes Test at Lord's for the first time in 75 years.

23 The United States signs the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.