Current affairs — 13 July 2026

Prelims pointers

• All-India CPI inflation for June 2026 over June 2025 was 4.38% provisional on base 2024=100.
• Rural and urban CPI inflation in June 2026 were 4.74% and 3.92% respectively; May 2026 combined CPI inflation was 3.93% final.
• All-India CFPI food inflation for June 2026 was 5.32%, with rural at 5.45% and urban at 5.09%.
• Silver jewellery recorded 133.21% inflation and ginger 50.41%, while potato inflation was -20.34% in June 2026.
• NSO collected real-time price data from 1,407 urban markets, including online markets, and 1,465 villages, with 100% response.

Prelims pointers

• Bharat Tex 2026 is scheduled from 14 to 17 July 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
• It is organised by the Bharat Tex Trade Federation with support from the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
• The event is inspired by the 5F vision: Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign.
• Expected participation includes over 7,000 buyers, 1.3 lakh trade visitors, over 1,600 exhibitors and 20,000+ textile products.
• The platform is set to facilitate over 4,000 B2B meetings, 100+ B2G meetings and more than 30 MoUs.

Prelims pointers

• AIIA, New Delhi, is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Ayush and is organising Saushrutam 2026.
• Saushrutam 2026 is scheduled from 15 to 17 July 2026, with a one-day pre-conference workshop on 14 July.
• Sushruta Jayanti is celebrated annually on 15 July and commemorates Acharya Sushruta, revered as the Father of Surgery.
• The inaugural ceremony on 15 July 2026 is to be graced by President Droupadi Murmu.
• The scientific programme includes live surgical demonstrations and robotic surgery described as first of its kind in an Ayurvedic hospital in India.

Prelims pointers

• Total kharif area sown was 531.25 lakh hectares in 2026, compared with 632.69 lakh hectares in 2025.
• The total sown area was 18.11 lakh hectares below the normal area of 549.36 lakh hectares.
• Rice covered 114.69 lakh hectares in 2026, lower than 2025 but higher than the normal 97.74 lakh hectares.
• Pulses covered 56.63 lakh hectares, below both the 2025 figure of 73.85 and the normal 62.20 lakh hectares.
• Oilseeds covered 117.83 lakh hectares, while cotton covered 79.54 lakh hectares as on 10 July 2026.

Prelims pointers

• Total exports during April–June 2026-27 were estimated at US$ 232.73 billion, up 11.37% year-on-year.
• Total imports during April–June 2026-27 were estimated at US$ 270.15 billion, registering 17.55% growth.
• Merchandise exports during April–June 2026-27 were US$ 129.32 billion, up from US$ 111.57 billion a year earlier.
• Cumulative non-petroleum exports in April–June 2026-27 were valued at US$ 106.30 billion, up 12.44%.
• Gems and jewellery exports rose 34.64%, from US$ 1.79 billion in June 2025 to US$ 2.41 billion in June 2026.

Prelims pointers

• The 8th India-Japan Defence Policy Dialogue was held in Tokyo, Japan, on 13 July 2026.
• India’s delegation was led by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Japan’s by Vice Minister Kano Koji.
• The dialogue reviewed military exchanges, maritime cooperation, exercises, capacity building and defence technology cooperation.
• Both sides discussed probable outcomes for forthcoming ministerial visits, including the 2+2 later in the year.
• India and Japan reiterated commitment to a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific founded on respect for international law.

Prelims pointers

• NIDAR 2.0 is the 2026-27 edition of the National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research under SwaYaan.
• Track 1 includes autonomous swarm drones for disaster zones and GPS-denied drones for confined industrial inspection.
• Track 2 requires indigenous flight controllers and autopilots built around the VEGA processor.
• VEGA is a family of indigenous microprocessors designed by C-DAC under MeitY's Microprocessor Development Programme.
• SwaYaan was approved in July 2022 with an outlay of about Rs 89.87 crore over five years and has trained more than 51,000 people.

Prelims pointers

• The report was released by MeitY along with CERT-In, CSIRT-Fin and SISA for the BFSI and payments ecosystem.
• It states that six of seven forward-looking predictions from last year's edition have reached full-scale realization.
• AI asymmetry is identified as a defining risk for financial institutions in the report.
• The report examines social engineering, credential theft, supply-chain compromise and cloud exploitation as established attack methods.
• CERT-In is described as the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents.

Prelims pointers

• DRI reported seizure of 440 endangered or protected wild animals and about 15 kg of ivory articles and elephant ivory.
• The operations led to the arrest of 33 persons involved in wildlife trafficking.
• Near Sujangarh in Rajasthan, DRI recovered about 11 kg elephant ivory and apprehended four persons.
• The Indian elephant, Elephas maximus, is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• A joint operation by DRI Mumbai and CBI EOB Mumbai was supported by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.

Prelims pointers

• The meeting reviewed RBI swap facility schemes for FCNR(B) deposits, ECBs and OFCBs.
• Banks reported encouraging response from the Indian diaspora abroad across FCNR(B), ECBs and OFCBs.
• FCNR(B) deposit mobilisation was supported by suspension of the interest rate ceiling on fresh deposits under the scheme.
• International Banking Units at IFSC, GIFT City are being used to mobilise funds from multiple jurisdictions.
• FCNR(B) deposits are eligible under the scheme until 30 September 2026, while ECBs and OFCBs are eligible until 31 December 2026.

Prelims pointers

• The campaign is being advanced across urban India under AMRUT 2.0 for water conservation and groundwater recharge.
• The release reports participation from 27 States and Union Territories and around 900 Urban Local Bodies.
• Under JSJB 2.0, 1,99,278 recharge structures have been taken up by 79 Municipal Corporations.
• Another 73,036 recharge structures are being implemented across 738 Urban Local Bodies.
• Under AMRUT 2.0's Water Body Rejuvenation component, nearly 1.21 lakh acres are being rejuvenated.

Prelims pointers

• Weave the Future 4.0-Upcycling Edition is organised by the Office of Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles.
• The exhibition is open to the public until 17 July 2026 at Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi.
• It is the fourth edition of the platform and focuses on materials, communities and the environment.
• The six-day exhibition brings together over 100 brands, artisans, makers, recyclers, thrift collectives and innovators.
• Displayed approaches include upcycling, recycling, repair, repurposing and circular design for textile waste and material use.

Prelims pointers

• The conference was organised by DoWR, RD & GR under the Ministry of Jal Shakti in New Delhi.
• It was chaired by Union Minister of Jal Shakti Shri C. R. Patil with participation from around 200 State Secretaries.
• Eight priority agenda items included M-CADWM, Catch the Rain, project appraisal, dam rule curves and SWRF.
• The agenda sought completion of Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation under the Dam Safety Act, 2021 by December 2026.
• Three documents released included a Varanasi treated-water reuse framework and manuals on recharge structures and drilling works.

Prelims pointers

• The proposal call is for industry-led challenges under Create in India Challenge Season 2 of WAVES 2027.
• A unified portal has been created for submission of proposals and selection of challenges and executing entities.
• The submission deadline given in the release is 31 July 2026.
• More than 50 industry-led challenges are envisaged under the Create in India Challenge banner for Season 2.
• Selected challenges may be eligible for a one-time grant of up to Rs 1 crore per challenge.

Prelims pointers

• MoPR is holding the first National Level Training of Master Trainers on Water Budgeting and Water Security Planning from 13-16 July 2026 in New Delhi.
• The programme aims to build Master Trainers at State, District and Block levels to help Gram Panchayats prepare Water Security Plans.
• The Water Sufficient Panchayats Training Manual was released in Phase 1 and Phase 2 as a guide for participatory and climate-responsive plans.
• Phase I will cover 10 States, 100 Districts, 100 Blocks and 1,000 Gram Panchayats, with priority to water-stressed regions.
• The first batch comprises participants from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal for cascading training support.

Prelims pointers

• The Shillong conference was jointly organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and the Government of Meghalaya.
• Dr. Jitendra Singh said future reforms must integrate AI, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure and citizen-centric service platforms.
• The release says the Government has repealed nearly 2,000 obsolete rules and compliance requirements that had outlived their relevance.
• UPI processes over 18 billion transactions every month, while more than 56 crore Jan Dhan accounts are cited in the digital governance journey.
• CPGRAMS annual grievances have risen from around 2 lakh in 2014 to nearly 25 lakh today, with AI-supported multilingual chatbot services.

Prelims pointers

• CSIR-ASPIRE was implemented by CSIR-HRDG and launched on International Women's Day 2023 as a programme for women researchers.
• ASPIRE-SHAKTI was organised at CSIR Headquarters, Anusandhan Bhawan, New Delhi, with Project Review Sessions initiated after the celebration.
• The scheme received 2,878 project proposals from 969 institutions and selected 301 women researchers as independent Principal Investigators.
• Funded ASPIRE projects are distributed across Life Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Inter/Transdisciplinary Sciences, Chemical Sciences and Physical Sciences.
• The release cites more than 253 SCI-indexed publications, over 15 patent filings, 20+ international presentations and training of over 300 fellows.

Prelims pointers

• Indie Haat 2026 is being held from 10 to 19 July 2026 at the National Crafts Museum and Hastkala Academy, New Delhi.
• The event is organised by the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) with the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles.
• NIFT curated Indie Haat 2026 to present Indian craftsmanship in a contemporary and engaging manner.
• The event features products by 48 artisans and weavers and 12 design-led handicraft and handloom brands from NIFT alumni.
• Crafts on display include Gulabi Minakari, Dokra metal craft, Pichwai art, Sozni embroidery, Blue Pottery of Jaipur and Jamdani sarees.

Prelims pointers

• NSFDC is a Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• The FY 2025-26 impact evaluation was conducted by M/s Development Oriented Operations Research and Surveys on a sample basis.
• The study covered 5,480 beneficiaries assisted during 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 across 11 States and Union Territories.
• 93.34% of beneficiaries used financial assistance for the intended purpose and 93.54% continued to possess assets created with assistance.
• Self-employed beneficiaries increased from 46.62% before loan assistance to 73.95% after receiving assistance under NSFDC schemes.

Prelims pointers

• The 3rd NAMASTE Day is to be commemorated on July 14, 2026, marking three years since the NAMASTE scheme's launch in 2023.
• NAMASTE stands for National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem and was launched by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment in 2023-24.
• The main NAMASTE Day event, along with Divya Kala Mela, is scheduled at Rabindra Sadan, Kolkata, with parallel ULB programmes nationwide.
• ULB activities include occupational safety training, health check-up camps, entitlement facilitation and demonstrations of mechanized sanitation equipment.
• Intended outcomes include zero fatalities, elimination of direct contact with human faecal matter and capacitated Emergency Response Sanitation Units.