Current affairs — 15 July 2026

Prelims pointers

• Digital India BHASHINI Division is under Digital India Corporation, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• The DIBD-PNB MoU was signed by Amitabh Nag of DIBD and Atish Kumar Rout of Punjab National Bank.
• The collaboration will use BHASHINI Udyat, Mitra, AppMitra, Pravakta and Bhashadaan for multilingual AI capabilities in banking.
• BHASHINI powers 800+ government websites and has enabled 8+ billion AI inferences, according to the PIB release.
• BHASHINI supports 36 Indian text languages, 23 Indian voice languages and 35 international languages.

Prelims pointers

• India-UK CETA and the Agreement on Social Security, also called the Double Contribution Convention, entered into force on 15 July 2026.
• CETA provides zero-duty market access for nearly 99% of India’s exports and covers almost 100% of trade value.
• The Double Contribution Convention exempts Indian professionals on temporary assignments in the UK from double social security contributions for up to five years.
• The Commerce Secretary said more than 800 technical sessions were conducted across 14 formal rounds before the agreement was finalised.
• On day one, over 50 export consignments worth more than USD 140 million were flagged off from more than 20 ports, airports, ICDs, SEZs and factories.

Prelims pointers

• India’s electronics manufacturing sector has created nearly 25 lakh jobs over the past decade, according to the release.
• The mobile manufacturing ecosystem supports around 12 lakh direct and indirect jobs, with women constituting nearly 70% of the direct workforce.
• Electronics production increased from ₹1.90 lakh crore in 2014-15 to an estimated ₹13.11 lakh crore in 2025-26.
• Electronics exports increased from ₹38,263 crore to ₹4.24 lakh crore, and electronic goods reached USD 47.96 billion in FY 2025-26.
• Mobile phones moved from the 153rd largest export item in FY 2014-15 to India’s largest export product in FY 2025-26.

Prelims pointers

• The Semicon India Programme was approved in December 2021 with an outlay of ₹76,000 crore and implemented through the India Semiconductor Mission.
• India has approved 12 semiconductor manufacturing projects across Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
• The approved projects include one Silicon Fab, one Compound Semiconductor Fab with Packaging, one Micro LED Display GaN Fab with Packaging and nine ATMP/OSAT facilities.
• Commercial production has commenced at three facilities: Micron ATMP, Kaynes Semicon and CG Power OSAT.
• Under Chips to Startup, EDA tools have been deployed in 320 academic institutions and over 68,000 students have been trained.

Prelims pointers

• Saushrutam 2026 is a three-day international seminar on Ayurvedic surgery organised by AIIA under the Ministry of Ayush.
• The event was held at the All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi, on the occasion of Sushruta Jayanti.
• President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated an AI-enabled 3 Tesla High-Field MRI facility at AIIA during the event.
• An NCISM study titled Evaluation of Professional Career of Ayurveda Female Graduates was released at the seminar.
• The scientific programme covers Shalya Tantra, Kshara Sutra, Agnikarma, reconstructive surgery and integrative oncology.

Prelims pointers

• MPMS has a budgetary outlay of Rs 62,500 crore approved by the Union Cabinet.
• The scheme tenure is five years, from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31.
• MPMS provides incentive support on eligible sales at differentiated rates from 2.25% to 5%.
• It provides up to 1.5% additional incentive for domestic sourcing and 3% for Indian-brand design and R&D.
• Expected outcomes include about Rs 39,00,000 crore cumulative production and around 60,000 direct jobs.

Prelims pointers

• Semicon 2.0 has a total budget outlay of Rs 1,27,500 crore.
• The six pillars include design, machines and materials, more fabs, ATMP/OSAT, R&D and talent development.
• The design pillar builds on 105 startups already developing chips.
• The talent pillar cites 315 universities and around 68,000 students trained on complex chip design using EDA tools.
• Under ISM 1.0, 12 manufacturing units with over Rs 1.64 lakh crore investment have been approved.

Prelims pointers

• CCEA approved two Ministry of Railways projects with a total estimated cost of about Rs 3,907 crore and completion up to 2030-31.
• The approved projects are Paradeep–Haridaspur Doubling and the Rajkharsawan–Dangoaposi 4th Line.
• The projects cover four districts in Odisha and Jharkhand and will add about 145 km to the Indian Railways network.
• The proposed multitracking will enhance connectivity to about 1,526 villages with a population of about 14 lakh.
• Capacity augmentation is expected to add 44 MTPA freight traffic, cut oil imports by 6 crore litres and lower CO2 emissions by 29 crore kg.

Prelims pointers

• The MoU was signed between NMPB, Ministry of Ayush, and University of Delhi through Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences.
• The partnership covers scientific research, product development, innovation, value addition, post-harvest technologies and capacity building.
• It promotes sustainable utilisation and conservation of India's medicinal plant resources.
• NMPB CEO Mahesh Dadhich highlighted eco-friendly packaging materials derived from medicinal plant resources.
• BCAS expertise cited in the release includes food technology, nutraceuticals, post-harvest processing and sustainable packaging.

Prelims pointers

• Coal Exchange is defined as an online platform for buyers and sellers of coal and processed coal forms to transact, trade and enter delivery-based coal contracts approved by the Authority.
• The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2025 introduced the concept of Mineral Exchanges.
• The Ministry of Coal notified the Coal Exchange Rules, 2026 as the regulatory framework for establishing and operating Coal Exchanges.
• The Coal Controller Organisation has been designated as the regulatory authority for registering and overseeing Coal Exchanges.
• Coal Exchange registrations will remain valid for 25 years, according to the PIB release.

Prelims pointers

• NIPU-2026 was approved by the CCEA on a Department of Fertilizers proposal to encourage new gas-based urea manufacturing units.
• The policy separates fixed and variable costs for greater transparency compared with NIP-2012.
• NIPU-2026 introduces a viable Return on Equity band with a floor at 12% and a ceiling at 16%.
• Foreign exchange risk is mitigated by converting fixed cost into INR after four years based on prevailing exchange rates.
• India has 33 operational urea manufacturing units with reassessed/installed capacity of 269.42 LMT, but a demand gap remains.

Prelims pointers

• The Varuna riverbank corridor is a 43.218 km Link/Connector Corridor between NH-31 and the Varanasi Ring Road.
• NHAI will implement the project under HAM at Rs 10,998.32 crore, including Rs 4,565.33 crore civil cost.
• The project includes a 6/4-lane predominantly elevated corridor with carriageway, flyovers, loops, ramps and service roads.
• It is designed for 80-100 km/h and is expected to reduce NH-31 to Kashi Railway Station travel from 40 minutes to 20 minutes.
• The corridor will improve access to one Economic Node, one Social Node and six major Logistics Nodes under PM Gati Shakti.

Prelims pointers

• The visit on July 17, 2026 covers Haryana, Chandigarh and Punjab, with projects worth around Rs 25,000 crore.
• India's first hydrogen-powered train will run between Jind and Sonipat and produces only water vapour during operation.
• The hydrogen train has a 10-coach configuration and a 3,200 HP propulsion system.
• Packages 1 to 5 of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway cover 157.92 km and cost around Rs 9,680 crore.
• The programme includes 75 redeveloped Amrit Bharat railway stations across 20 States, developed at about Rs 1,570 crore.

Prelims pointers

• The approved NH-19 to Varanasi Ring Road connector is a 46.039 km project with riverbank connectivity along the Ganga.
• It will be implemented on HAM at a total capital cost of Rs 14,447.64 crore, including Rs 6,037.85 crore civil cost.
• The corridor is designed for 80-100 km/h and is expected to cut average travel time from about 60 minutes to 20 minutes.
• Engineering features include a 910 m cable-stayed bridge across the Ganga and a 1.32 km extradosed Foot Over Bridge-cum-Major Bridge.
• The corridor links one Economic Node, one Social Node and six major Logistics Nodes under the PM Gati Shakti framing.

Prelims pointers

• The MoU was signed by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission and the Uttar Pradesh Promote Pharma Council.
• It was signed during the YEIDA MedTech Investors Meet & Site Visit 2026 at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, on 14 July 2026.
• The partnership aims to promote quality standards, regulatory excellence, innovation and capacity building in pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
• IPC and UPPPC will promote awareness of the Indian Pharmacopoeia, pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance.
• The collaboration will support MSMEs by providing digital tools for adverse event reporting and enhance patient safety through post-market surveillance.