Current affairs
News for UPSC, SSC and defence exams, with the reason it matters.
July 2026
Cabinet extends PM-KISAN till 2030-31 with an outlay of about ₹3.15 lakh crore
- The Cabinet approved PM-KISAN for five more years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31.
- The total outlay is ₹3,15,614 crore.
- Eligible farmer families get ₹6,000 a year in three equal instalments.
Why it matters
[Policy] PM-KISAN began in February 2019. It is a Central Sector Scheme, so the Centre pays the full cost. The money goes straight to bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer.
Parliament passes Public Examinations Amendment Bill, 2026 with tougher penalties for exam cheating
- The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on 30 July 2026, a day after the Lok Sabha.
- Jail for using unfair means rises to 5–10 years, with fines up to ₹50 lakh.
- Organised exam crime now gets at least 7 years and a minimum ₹10 crore fine.
Why it matters
[Polity] The Bill amends the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. That Act covers exams by UPSC, SSC, railway boards, IBPS and the NTA. Service providers caught cheating can now be barred for eight years.
Cochin Shipyard launches ‘Machilipatnam’, seventh Mahe-class anti-submarine shallow water craft for the Navy
- Cochin Shipyard launched Machilipatnam on 29 July 2026.
- It is the seventh of eight Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft.
- The craft will hunt submarines, guard the coast and lay mines in shallow waters.
Why it matters
[Security] Big warships cannot work well in shallow coastal waters. These smaller craft fill that gap. The class is named after ports on India's coast, such as Mahe and Machilipatnam.
Rajnath Singh opens India’s first Department of Military Medicine at Command Hospital, Lucknow
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh opened it virtually on 29 July 2026.
- It is at the Command Hospital (Central Command), Lucknow.
- It is India's first department devoted only to military medicine.
Why it matters
[Security] Treating wounded soldiers on a battlefield is different from hospital care. Fast first aid in the first hour saves the most lives. The department will also support disaster response.
India marks 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas; Rajnath Singh pays tribute at Kargil War Memorial, Drass
- India observed the 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas on 26 July 2026.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid a wreath at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass, Ladakh.
- Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth also led the tributes.
Why it matters
[Security] The day marks India's victory in the 1999 Kargil War with Pakistan. The Army's campaign was called Operation Vijay. The Air Force's part was called Operation Safed Sagar.
President Droupadi Murmu completes four years in office
- Droupadi Murmu completed four years as President on 25 July 2026.
- She took oath as India's 15th President on 25 July 2022.
- She is India's first President from a Scheduled Tribe.
Why it matters
[Polity] The President is elected for five years under Article 56. The electoral college has elected MPs and elected MLAs of states and some UTs. Murmu's term runs till July 2027.
Indigenous ‘Bhargavastra’ counter-swarm drone system demonstrated to the Army in Nagpur
- Solar Defence and Aerospace Ltd showed Bhargavastra to an Army team on 24 July 2026.
- The review was held at its Nagpur facility under the Make-II programme.
- It is a vehicle-mounted system built to destroy swarms of drones.
Why it matters
[Security] Cheap drones attacking in large groups are a growing threat. Firing costly missiles at each drone is not practical. Make-II projects are funded by industry, not by the government.
Navy commissions INS Malvan, second Mahe-class anti-submarine shallow water craft, at Karwar
- INS Malvan was commissioned at Karwar on 22 July 2026.
- Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, the Chief of the Air Staff, presided.
- It is the second of eight such craft built by Cochin Shipyard.
Why it matters
[Security] The ship is named after Malvan, a coastal town in Maharashtra. Malvan is linked to the naval heritage of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Craft of this class hunt submarines in shallow coastal waters.
DRDO’s GTRE receives India’s first indigenous 350 kg-thrust expendable turbojet engine
- Azad Engineering delivered the engine to DRDO's GTRE on 22 July 2026.
- It is India's first indigenous expendable turbojet engine of the 350 kg thrust class.
- GTRE stands for Gas Turbine Research Establishment, based in Bengaluru.
Why it matters
[Security] An expendable engine is meant for one use, as in missiles and target drones. Only a few nations have mastered jet engine technology. Home-made engines cut dependence on imports.
Monsoon Session opens; Bill introduced to raise Supreme Court judges’ strength from 34 to 38
- Parliament's Monsoon Session began on 20 July 2026.
- Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill that day.
- It raises the number of judges, other than the CJI, from 33 to 37.
Why it matters
[Polity] Article 124 lets Parliament fix the number of Supreme Court judges by law. That number is set in the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956. An ordinance lapses six weeks after Parliament reassembles unless replaced by a law.
Skyroot’s Vikram-1 becomes India’s first privately built rocket to reach orbit
- Skyroot Aerospace launched Vikram-1 on 18 July 2026 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
- The mission was named 'Aagaman'. The rocket placed its payloads in a 450 km low-Earth orbit.
- It carried Skyroot's own SCOPE satellite and customer payloads from Grahaa Space, Cosmoserve and DCubed.
Why it matters
[Science] Skyroot, based in Hyderabad, was founded in 2018 by two former ISRO engineers. The 2020 space reforms opened rocket launches to private firms. Its suborbital Vikram-S flew in November 2022.
PM Modi flags off India’s first hydrogen-powered train on Jind–Sonipat route in Haryana
- PM Narendra Modi flagged off the train at Jind railway station, Haryana, on 17 July 2026.
- It runs on the 89 km Jind–Gohana–Sonipat section of Northern Railway.
- The train has two power cars and eight passenger cars. It can carry about 2,600 passengers.
Why it matters
[Science] A hydrogen fuel cell makes electricity from hydrogen and oxygen. Its only exhaust is water vapour. Such trains suit routes that have no overhead electric lines.
ONGC completes two deep geothermal wells at Puga, Ladakh, for India’s first geothermal power project
- ONGC Energy Centre completed two geothermal wells, GT-02 and GT-03, at Puga Valley in Ladakh.
- Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena unveiled a plaque at the site on 17 July 2026.
- The wells will feed a planned 1 MW pilot plant. It is meant to be India's first demonstration-scale geothermal power project.
Why it matters
[Environment] Geothermal energy uses heat from inside the Earth. Unlike solar and wind, it can give power all day and night. Puga sits high in the Himalayas, near the meeting zone of two tectonic plates.
National Anti-Doping Act, 2022 and its 2025 Amendment come into force after four years
- The Sports Ministry brought the National Anti-Doping Act, 2022 into force from 15 July 2026.
- The National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Act, 2025 came into force the next day, 16 July 2026.
- The Act makes NADA a statutory body. NADA handles testing, investigations and anti-doping education.
Why it matters
[Polity] Parliament passed the Act in August 2022. The World Anti-Doping Agency objected that it gave government too much control. India amended the law in 2025 before switching it on.
Cabinet approves Semicon 2.0 with ₹1,27,500 crore outlay for chip design and manufacturing
- The Union Cabinet approved Semicon 2.0 on 15 July 2026. Its outlay is ₹1,27,500 crore.
- It covers six areas: chip design, equipment and materials, fabs, assembly and packaging, R&D, and workforce training.
- Under Semicon 1.0, 12 manufacturing units were approved, with ₹1.64 lakh crore of investment.
Why it matters
[Economy] Semicon 1.0 was the India Semiconductor Mission, launched in 2021 with ₹76,000 crore. Semicon 2.0 moves beyond building plants to equipment, materials and design.
INS Mahendragiri, sixth Project 17A stealth frigate, commissioned at Visakhapatnam
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned INS Mahendragiri at Visakhapatnam on 11 July 2026.
- It is the sixth Project 17A stealth frigate and joins the Eastern Fleet.
- Over 75% of its content is indigenous.
Why it matters
[Science and Technology] Project 17A frigates follow the Shivalik class (Project 17). The ships are named after Indian hill ranges.
India’s defence exports cross a record ₹38,000 crore, a 57-fold rise since 2013-14
- Rajnath Singh said India's defence exports reached a record of over ₹38,000 crore.
- Exports were only ₹686 crore in 2013-14, so this is an almost 57-fold rise.
- Annual defence production touched an all-time high of over ₹1.78 lakh crore in 2025-26.
Why it matters
[Economy] Defence exports show that buyers abroad trust Indian-made weapons. The government's target is ₹50,000 crore of exports by 2029. Production nearly tripled from the 2014-15 level.
DAC clears ₹52,000 crore of purchases, including Akash Tarang anti-drone system for the Army
- The Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by Rajnath Singh, approved capital purchases worth ₹52,000 crore on 3 July 2026.
- The Army gets Akash Tarang, an anti-drone electronic warfare system, plus a jet-based kamikaze drone system.
- The Navy gets multi-influence ground mines and shipborne unmanned aerial systems.
Why it matters
[Policy] The DAC is the top body for defence buying decisions. Its approval, called Acceptance of Necessity, is the first step of a purchase. Much of this list targets drones, both to stop them and to use them.