Current affairs — 12 July 2026

Prelims pointers

• Piyush Goyal’s delegation visit to Spain, Belgium and Finland is scheduled from 13 to 17 July 2026.
• The Spain leg coincides with the Spain-India Dual Year 2026, commemorating 70 years of diplomatic relations.
• In Brussels, the Minister is scheduled to co-chair the 3rd India-EU Trade and Technology Council Ministerial Meeting.
• The Belgium programme includes site visits to the Port of Antwerp and the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.
• The Finland leg includes an MoU between CII and Business Finland and visits to Nokia, VTT, KONE and Kemppi Group.

Prelims pointers

• EPFO’s Amnesty Scheme, 2026 applies to PF trusts recognised under the Income Tax Act, 1961 but lacking formal EPF exemption notification.
• The scheme was notified on 29 June 2026 and remains valid for six months from the date of notification.
• Recognition under the Income Tax Act, 2025 is linked to exemption under Section 17 of the EPF and MP Act, 1952.
• The scheme has Category I for establishments moving to un-exempted compliance and Category II for those continuing as exempted establishments.
• Reliefs include retrospective regularisation, waiver of certain Code on Social Security, 2020 requirements and abatement of eligible pending proceedings.

Prelims pointers

• DARPG and the Government of Meghalaya will organise the conference in Shillong on 13-14 July 2026.
• The theme is NextGen Administrative and e-Gov Reforms, focusing on digital governance and citizen-centric service delivery.
• More than 300 delegates from Central and State Governments, district administration, academia and governance practice are expected.
• Sessions include Prime Minister’s Award-winning initiatives from 2023 and 2024 and National Awards for e-Governance 2026 projects.
• A dedicated North Eastern session will cover DoNER and NEC initiatives, including bamboo, agarwood, tourism and regional connectivity.

Prelims pointers

• Registrations for the District Round open on 13 July 2026 on the MY Bharat portal, mybharat.gov.in.
• The competition structure has District, State and National levels and will culminate at the National Youth Summit in New Delhi.
• The five categories are Dance, Music, Reel and Short Film, Nukkad Natak and Slam Poetry.
• The competitions are open to youth aged 15 to 29 years, including individual and group entries.
• Participants can submit creations in Hindi, English or any regional language.

Prelims pointers

• Textiles and apparel account for about 2% of India’s GDP and about 11% of manufacturing GVA as per National Account Statistics 2025.
• India is the world’s sixth-largest exporter of textiles and apparel, with about 4% share in global exports, according to the release.
• Of about 7.8 million tonnes of textile waste managed annually, more than 70% is recovered for recycling, upcycling, downcycling or reuse.
• PM MITRA Parks follow the 5F vision: Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign, with seven sites approved up to 2027-28.
• Under CCTS, textile obligated entities under the Indian Carbon Market must disclose Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

Prelims pointers

• Nearly 17,000 Vriksh Mitra were connected during the Environment Protection Resolve Programme and Vriksh Mitra Samvad at Pusa Complex, New Delhi.
• The proposed individual pledge was to plant at least one tree every year and connect at least five new people with the campaign.
• The release proposes a Vriksh Mitra Pariwar structure with units from the national level down to village and urban local levels.
• A major national plantation programme was proposed for Hariyali Amavasya, which the release says falls on 12 August this year.
• The Minister linked the movement with Mission LiFE, energy conservation, water saving, wet-dry waste separation and avoiding plastic bags.

Prelims pointers

• The conference is scheduled for 13 July 2026 at Chanakya Hall, Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi.
• It will be chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil and involve senior water-resource officials from States and Union Territories.
• Participating organisations include the Central Water Commission, National Dam Safety Authority and Central Ground Water Board.
• One agenda item is completion of Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation under the Dam Safety Act, 2021 by December 2026.
• Other listed items include M-CADWM, Catch the Rain, reservoir rule curves, SWRF, irrigation censuses and Model State Water Awards.

Prelims pointers

• Seven ESI healthcare projects worth about ₹668 crore are scheduled for inauguration on 14 July 2026.
• The projects are expected to benefit around 53 lakh ESI beneficiaries nationwide, according to the PIB release.
• The Sanathnagar OPD Block covers 12,30,183 insured persons and beneficiaries across five Telangana districts.
• The Sanathnagar facility has a built-up area of 43,611.04 sqm and a total cost of ₹211.13 crore.
• The six virtually inaugurated facilities are in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Prelims pointers

• The 3rd BRICS Transport Ministers’ Meeting was held in Nagpur, Maharashtra, under India’s BRICS Chairship 2026.
• The Ministerial Meeting was held on 11 July 2026 and was preceded by the 3rd BRICS Transport Working Group Meeting.
• The meeting unanimously adopted a Ministerial Declaration on transport cooperation among BRICS member countries.
• Priority areas include circularity in infrastructure, Sustainable Aviation Fuel, transport decarbonisation and urban mobility hubs.
• The release also mentions logistics supply-chain cooperation and transition of initiatives to the succeeding BRICS chairship.

Prelims pointers

• Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar is scheduled to be organised across India’s coastline from 10 to 19 September 2026.
• The coordination meeting was chaired by Dr. Jitendra Singh at the CSIR-Science Centre, New Delhi.
• Participants included the Principal Scientific Adviser and Secretaries of DST, DBT, DSIR, Earth Sciences, DAE and Space.
• DST’s outreach plan covered ANRF, National Quantum Mission, NM-ICPS and the Research Development and Innovation Scheme.
• Upcoming scientific events reviewed included ESTIC-2026, India International Science Festival 2026 and National Space Day 2026.