Current affairs — 8 July 2026

Prelims pointers

• The National Conference planned a Jantar Mantar protest on July 20, the first day of Parliament’s monsoon session.
• A civil society meeting passed a unanimous resolution asking the Union government to restore full Statehood to J&K.
• NC leaders cited the Supreme Court judgment of December 2023, which asked the Centre to restore Statehood at the earliest.
• Jammu and Kashmir has been a Union Territory since 2019, when the Centre ended its special status under Article 370.
• NC leaders argued Statehood had to follow delimitation and the Assembly polls held in 2024.

Prelims pointers

• Researchers developed a novel approach to reconstruct the topside ionosphere over the Indian region by integrating ground and space-based observations.
• The ionosphere’s electron density affects HF radio propagation and satellite navigation systems such as GPS and NavIC.
• Accurate electron density information up to about 1000 km is essential because most low Earth orbit satellites operate within this altitude range.
• The Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, an autonomous DST institute, combined COSMIC radio occultation data with bottomside ionosonde observations.
• The study by K Siba Kiran Guru, S Sripathi and R K Barad was reported in AGU Radio Science and can aid space weather prediction.

Prelims pointers

• Shivraj Singh Chouhan met Afghanistan's Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Minister Mawlawi Ataullah Omari.
• The discussion covered agriculture, irrigation, livestock, agricultural research, education, capacity building and agri-trade.
• Afghanistan sought cooperation to improve wheat productivity through advanced seed technologies and research collaboration.
• India offered support through quality wheat, maize and potato seeds and climate-resilient and biofortified varieties.
• Both sides agreed to work towards a Joint Working Group for a long-term agriculture and livestock cooperation roadmap.

Prelims pointers

• NRAA organised a one-day consultation at NASC Complex, PUSA, New Delhi, on rainfed-area data generation and dissemination.
• The consultation aimed to connect research organisations' data capabilities with state line departments' planning needs.
• The release identifies data on rainfall, soils, land use, water resources, crops, climate risks and watersheds as important.
• Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar emphasised accessibility of standardized quality data at the end-user level.
• Representatives from IMD, NBSSLUP, BISA-IARI, IWMI, MNCFC and CRIDA presented datasets in a technical session.

Prelims pointers

• The release says June recorded a 33% rainfall deficit, while the overall deficit later narrowed to 24% in July.
• The number of rainfall-deficient districts declined from 262 to 178 after improved rainfall in several parts of the country.
• Kharif sowing had been completed over 350.85 lakh hectares, about 91.95 lakh hectares lower than the previous year period.
• Farmers were advised to cultivate short-duration and low-water-intensive crops such as maize, Bajra and Moong.
• Monitoring mechanisms cited include the El Niño Monitoring Cell, Crop Weather Watch Group, State-level Control Rooms and designated officers.

Prelims pointers

• TEC, the technical arm of the Department of Telecommunications, signed an MoU with Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited.
• BECIL is described in the source as a Mini Ratna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• The MoU covers joint studies, technical contributions and standardisation activities in convergence and broadcasting technologies.
• Key areas include Direct-to-Mobile, 5G Broadcast, DRM systems, Digital Sound Broadcasting, CAS and SMS technologies.
• The collaboration is expected to support technical contributions to global standardisation bodies including ITU-T, ITU-R and 3GPP.

Prelims pointers

• The Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal/Lignite Gasification Projects was approved on 13 May 2026.
• The total financial outlay of the coal/lignite gasification scheme is Rs. 37,500 crore.
• The scheme aims to enhance value addition, reduce import dependence and support self-reliance in energy and chemicals.
• Scheme Guidelines were issued on 25 June 2026 and the RFP was published on 7 July 2026.
• The Pre-Application Conference is scheduled for 20 July 2026 and applications are due by 7 September 2026.

Prelims pointers

• AISHE reports for 2022-23 and 2023-24 were released by the Union Ministry of Education.
• AISHE collects higher education data through a web-based Data Capture Format covering enrolment, faculty, infrastructure and examination results.
• HEI participation was 56,180 of 60,380 in 2022-23 and 59,533 of 64,756 in 2023-24, with both rates above 90%.
• Higher education GER rose from 23.7 in 2014-15 to 29.5 in 2022-23 and 30 in 2023-24.
• Female GER reached 31.2 in 2023-24, while the Gender Parity Index stood at 1.08 and stayed above 1.0 for seven consecutive years.

Prelims pointers

• The Odisha fisheries and aquaculture review meeting was held on July 8, 2026 at Bhubaneswar under Rajiv Ranjan Singh’s chairmanship.
• Participants included central and state fisheries officials, NFDB, ICAR institutes, NCDC and a representative of Paradip Port Trust.
• Odisha recorded 12.70 lakh MT of fish production in 2025-26, supported over 16 lakh fishers and generated ₹5,429 crore in seafood exports.
• PMMSY projects worth over ₹1,301 crore had been approved for Odisha across production, infrastructure, technology, welfare and post-harvest areas.
• The review covered PMMSY, FIDF, KCC and PM-MKSSY, with attention to KCC coverage, traceability and export-oriented value chains.

Prelims pointers

• The national launch of LoA for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas was scheduled for July 9, 2026 in Bhubaneswar.
• Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan was to launch the LoA and the Odisha Deep Sea Fishing Mission Document.
• The LoA is mandatory under the 2025 Guidelines for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas by Indian-Flagged Fishing Vessels.
• The LoA is vessel-specific, non-transferable and integrated with the ReALCraft Fishing Vessel Registration Portal for monitored operations.
• India’s coastline is stated as about 11,099 km, its EEZ about 24 lakh sq. km, and marine fisheries potential within the EEZ as 58.6 lakh MT.

Prelims pointers

• DRDO conducted the successful flight-test of Pinaka LRGR at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, on July 8, 2026.
• The Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket was tested for a user-defined minimum range of 60 km.
• The rocket completed planned in-flight manoeuvres and impacted the target while following the predicted trajectory.
• The Pinaka LRGR was designed by ARDE with HEMRL, supported by DRDL and Research Centre Imarat.
• The rocket was launched from the in-service Pinaka launcher, showing capability to launch Pinaka variants of different ranges.

Prelims pointers

• MoHFW conducted a two-day National Training of Trainers for all five cadres delivering primary healthcare services at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
• The programme was held at the National Health Systems Resource Centre, New Delhi, and brought together more than 110 National and Master Trainers.
• The five cadres named are Medical Officers, Staff Nurses, Community Health Officers, Auxiliary Nurse Midwives and ASHAs.
• The Integrated Training Strategy and cadre-specific modules were launched at the National Summit on Best Practices in Chandigarh on 30 April 2026.
• The cascade rollout is planned through more than 100 Regional Training Institutes identified across the country from August 2026 onwards.

Prelims pointers

• The Health Ministry enabled import of drugs through the recently inaugurated Navi Mumbai Airport in Maharashtra.
• The change was made by amending Rule 43A of the Drugs Rules, 1945 to include Navi Mumbai among permitted airports.
• The notification was issued after consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
• With the latest addition, the total number of notified ports of entry for drug imports across road, rail, ship and air becomes 42.
• The stated aim is smoother pharmaceutical consignment movement, stronger logistics infrastructure and greater flexibility to importers.

Prelims pointers

• The 23rd National Level Meeting between India and Myanmar was held on 7-8 July 2026 in New Delhi.
• The Indian delegation was led by Govind Mohan, Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs; Myanmar’s delegation was led by Major General Min Thu.
• India said Myanmar occupies an important place in Neighbourhood First, Act East and MAHASAGAR policies.
• The meeting discussed cooperation against terrorism, insurgency, narcotics trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, wildlife trafficking and cybercrime.
• Both sides referred to the India-Myanmar border and to completing the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport project and the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway.

Prelims pointers

• Amit Shah and Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu reviewed passenger facilities, security arrangements and immigration at major airports.
• Automatic Tray Retrieval Systems are to be installed in a phased manner at all airports, with standards also laid down for new airports.
• A coordinated framework is to cover entry lanes, check-in counters, security screening lanes and immigration counters at airports.
• The report refers to 21 airports under development and 41 remaining airports, with work at all 62 to be completed within two years.
• FRRO offices are to be made operational at all State headquarters by 2027, and immigration checkpoints at Agartala and Jewar are to be operationalised early.

Prelims pointers

• Under India’s BRICS Chairship 2026, the Panchayati Raj Ministry showcased women-led grassroots governance at the BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting in Kochi.
• The panel on Advancing Women’s Leadership at the Grassroots was chaired by Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
• The source says 25 of 42 Gram Panchayats recognised under the National Panchayat Awards last year were led by women.
• Sashakt Panchayat Netri Abhiyan was launched in March 2025 and has trained around 1.5 lakh elected women representatives.
• With UNFPA support, 744 Gram Panchayats are being developed as Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats; SDGs are localised into nine themes.

Prelims pointers

• NLDSL and Punjab's Directorate of Industries & Commerce signed an MoU on July 7, 2026 for ULIP-based logistics transformation.
• ULIP currently integrates 46 systems across 12 Central Ministries and Departments through 142 APIs.
• The platform covers more than 2,000 data fields, enabled over 260 applications and facilitated over 450 crore API transactions.
• NLDSL showcased platforms including Logistics Data Bank, Koyla Shakti, Track Your Transport, TMS and Logistics e-Marketplace.
• NLDSL was established on December 30, 2015 as a joint venture between NICDIT and NEC Corporation of Japan.

Prelims pointers

• India hosted the 13th AITIGA Joint Committee and related meetings at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi, from July 6 to 10, 2026.
• The meetings reviewed progress under the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement Review and were held in hybrid format.
• Three sub-committees met: Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation, National Treatment and Market Access, and Rules of Origin.
• The July 7 Joint Committee meeting was co-chaired by Nitin Kumar Yadav of India and Mastura Ahmad Mustafa of Malaysia.
• ASEAN accounted for around 11% of India’s global trade, and India-ASEAN bilateral trade reached USD 128 billion in 2025-26.

Prelims pointers

• IICA, under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, organised the virtual inaugural session for the second batch of ICAP through CEADR.
• ICAP aims to create next-generation, globally benchmarked arbitration professionals in India.
• IICA’s Director-General stressed institutional arbitration, enforceability of arbitral awards, fairness of process and a code of conduct.
• Dr Rajiv Mani referred to further legislative amendments for effective implementation of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
• The second batch profile included 81 delegates, and the upgraded programme has 250+ hours across 20+ modules over nine months.

Prelims pointers

• The Department of Land Resources met NIUA and the Department of Posts on 8 July 2026 to explore synergies between ULPIN and DIGIPIN.
• ULPIN provides every rural and urban land parcel with a unique digital identity, according to the report.
• DIGIPIN is described as India’s digital addressing framework enabling precise geo-referenced location identification.
• Participants agreed to undertake pilot projects and jointly develop an open, standards-based API architecture for integration.
• The initiative aims to strengthen interoperability, public service delivery and citizen-centric geospatial applications.

Prelims pointers

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the UNESCO World Heritage Prambanan Temple Complex in Yogyakarta.
• President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto accompanied the Prime Minister during the temple visit.
• The leaders unveiled a plaque marking commencement of ASI's conservation and restoration project at Prambanan.
• The PIB release describes Prambanan as a 9th-century complex and the largest in Indonesia dedicated to the Trimurti.
• The conservation project follows an understanding reached during President Prabowo's State Visit to India in 2025.

Prelims pointers

• ECI organised the Third One-Day Conference for Media and Communication Officers on July 8, 2026.
• Around 200 officers from 10 States/UTs participated, including MNOs, SMNOs, district media nodal officers and DPR officials.
• CEC Gyanesh Kumar said Commission actions are based on the Constitution, electoral laws and written instructions.
• Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi warned that AI, deepfakes and synthetic content may be used to erode trust in institutions.
• Sessions covered ECINET, electoral rolls, polling, counting, press notes, misinformation and young elector engagement through ELCs.

Prelims pointers

• Dr. Jitendra Singh addressed the 17th Agriculture Leadership Conclave 2026 in New Delhi under the theme Feeding the Future.
• He said AI could add around Rs 70,000 crore to India’s existing annual agricultural economy, according to one estimate.
• The Minister said India’s farmers must benefit from emerging technologies, artificial intelligence and space applications.
• The report links agriculture with India’s Net Zero emissions target by 2070 and mentions biofuels, renewable energy and circular economy practices.
• It states that India’s registered startups grew from nearly 350 in 2015 to over 2.3 lakh, making India the third-largest startup ecosystem.

Prelims pointers

• The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan on 15 August 2020 to combat drug demand.
• The Ministry coordinates prevention, assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, aftercare, public information dissemination and community awareness.
• NMBA initially targeted 272 vulnerable districts and later expanded nationwide, reaching over 29.24 crore individuals.
• The reported reach includes more than 11.15 crore youth and 7.89 crore women, with outreach in lakhs of educational institutions.
• The report mentions drug de-addiction through helpline 14446 and stakeholders such as youth, women, children, educational institutions and civil society.

Prelims pointers

• MoRD participated through DAY-NRLM in the Side Event Exhibition at the BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting in Kochi on 8 and 9 July 2026.
• The exhibition was inaugurated by Annapurna Devi and Savitri Thakur of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• The MoRD pavilion comprised 21 State and Union Territory stalls along with the National Saras Aajeevika Gallery.
• The exhibition featured handlooms, handicrafts, traditional arts, natural foods, wellness products and sustainable lifestyle products.
• The report says over 10 crore women associated with Self-Help Groups contribute towards local economic development.

Prelims pointers

• The Centre approved procurement of Khopra and Totapuri mangoes from farmers in Tamil Nadu during 2026.
• A total of 87,226 MT Khopra will be procured, comprising 87,000 MT milling Khopra and 226 MT ball copra.
• The copra procurement will be undertaken at Minimum Support Price under the Price Support Scheme.
• The total MSP value of the approved copra procurement exceeds Rs. 1,049.16 crore.
• Totapuri mango procurement of 96,879 MT will be under MIS at Rs. 1,545.41 per quintal.