Current affairs — 22 July 2026

Prelims pointers

• NCS detected 16 earthquakes in the Kangra-Chamba region during June 2026.
• The June 2026 count included 12 earthquakes in the 2.0-2.9 magnitude range and one in the 5.0-5.9 range.
• The Kangra-Chamba-Dharamshala region lies in Seismic Zone V, India's highest earthquake hazard zone.
• NCS maintains a National Seismological Network of 172 seismic stations for 24x7 real-time monitoring.
• Seven of the 172 seismic stations are in Himachal Pradesh, including Shimla and Dharamshala.

Prelims pointers

• Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.
• STCL was established on 6 June 2025 by eight national-level cooperative institutions.
• Bharat Taxi follows a Sarathi-owner model under which drivers become cooperative members and owners.
• The platform operates on a zero-commission model, enabling drivers to retain their earnings.
• The release states that Bharat Taxi is presently operational in cities of Delhi-NCR and Gujarat.

Prelims pointers

• The review concerned Totapuri mango farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka facing falling incomes and mandi prices.
• The expert committee conducted field visits from July 8 to 10 in Tirupati and Chittoor districts of Andhra Pradesh.
• The committee identified low real pulp content in mango-based beverages as one reason for weak Totapuri mango demand.
• It suggested that mango-based beverages contain 22-25 per cent real natural mango pulp.
• The committee recommended top-working of old orchards using scions of varieties such as Neelam, Alphonso, Himayat and Banganapalli.

Prelims pointers

• The Bharat 6G Alliance had expanded to a 90 member organisation as of 15 July 2026.
• The Alliance has constituted seven working groups covering areas such as 6G technologies, spectrum, applications and sustainability.
• The spectrum working group submitted a report titled Spectrum Roadmap for 6G in India.
• A three-year 6G Terahertz testbed project has been approved under the Telecom Technology Development Fund.
• India contributed to the ITU IMT-2030 framework for inclusion of ubiquitous connectivity as a 6G usage scenario.

Prelims pointers

• The Policy Implementation and Monitoring Committee held its first meeting on 9 June 2026.
• NCP 2025 provides a roadmap with 6 strategic pillars, 16 objectives and 83 recommendations.
• The National Steering Committee on Cooperation Policy is chaired by the Union Minister of Cooperation.
• The Policy Implementation and Monitoring Committee is chaired by the Union Cooperation Secretary.
• The National Cooperative Database covers over 8.5 lakh cooperative societies across 30 economic sectors.

Prelims pointers

• CABS, DRDO signed a contract with AI Engineering Services Limited for conversion of six A321 aircraft.
• Adani Defence Systems and Technologies was engaged as Development Cum Production Partner for mission systems.
• The two contracts were signed in New Delhi on 22 July 2026.
• CABS is the nodal DRDO laboratory for the AEW&C MK-II system.
• Flight testing will be carried out with the Indian Air Force for certification by airworthiness agencies.

Prelims pointers

• The conclave reviewed Centrally Sponsored Schemes of the Department of School Education and Literacy.
• It was held at the ICAR National Agricultural Science Complex in New Delhi.
• The article links the conclave's deliberations with the National Education Policy 2020.
• Samagra Shiksha, PM SHRI, NIPUN Bharat, PM POSHAN and ULLAS were among the initiatives highlighted.
• The Minister urged States to promote the child's mother tongue and multilingualism for foundational learning.

Prelims pointers

• The BRICS Network University IGB meeting was convened virtually on 21 July 2026.
• The meeting followed a conference on Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge Systems held on 20 July 2026.
• India convened the engagement as part of its BRICS Presidency 2026.
• The conference discussed mapping, documentation, preservation and responsible digital dissemination of traditional knowledge.
• The IGB reviewed the BRICS Network University Action Plan for 2025-2028 and adopted a declaration.

Prelims pointers

• Mission Mausam was launched by the Prime Minister on 14 January 2025.
• IMD presently receives data from a network of 50 Doppler Weather Radars across the country.
• The radar network is to be augmented with 29 C-band, 45 X-band and 12 S-band Doppler Weather Radars.
• The New Bharat Forecasting System is operational at a very high resolution of 6 km.
• MoES computing power increased to 28 PetaFLOPS in 2025 with Arunika and Arka systems.

Prelims pointers

• Maharashtra had 2,27,177 cooperative societies in the NCD as on 15 July 2026.
• The PACS computerisation project was launched as a Central Sector project in 2022.
• The PACS project now covers 79,630 PACS with a revised financial outlay of ₹2,925.39 crore.
• A total of 12,178 PACS have been sanctioned under the PACS computerisation project in Maharashtra.
• NCDC had cumulatively disbursed ₹34,161.54 crore for Maharashtra's cooperative sector by 30 June 2026.

Prelims pointers

• INS Malvan was commissioned at Karwar on 22 July 2026.
• It is the second indigenously designed and built Mahe-class ASW shallow water craft.
• Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kochi, is building eight Mahe-class ASW-SWCs for the Navy.
• The ship has over 80 percent indigenous content according to the PIB note.
• INS Malvan is equipped for underwater surveillance, ASW operations, LIMO and mine warfare capability.

Prelims pointers

• The SHANTI Act-2025 envisages private entity participation in nuclear energy, including research and development.
• The release says BARC is engaging Indian industries for new technology developments for small modular reactors.
• The SHANTI Act gives statutory status to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, according to the PIB reply.
• The AERB is described as able to draft regulations, conduct oversight, take enforcement action and recommend to the Central Government.
• Radioactive waste handling is linked to the Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987 and AERB safety code.

Prelims pointers

• The consignment contained 12.5 tonnes of Dashehari and Langra mangoes exported from Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, to Dubai.
• The sea route export protocol was jointly developed by ICAR-CISH, Lucknow, and APEDA.
• The mangoes were treated with METWASH developed by ICAR-CISH and moved in a 40-foot reefer container under a cold chain.
• The shipment reached Dubai on 17 July 2026 after a 25-day harvest-to-market transit period.
• Nearly 90% of the mangoes were marketable on arrival, and growers realized about Rs 15-20 per kg additional income.

Prelims pointers

• AAROH was developed by the Coal Controller Organisation as India’s first comprehensive documentation of scientific mine closure practices.
• The report documents the transformative journey of 42 scientifically closed coal mines.
• The Ministry of Coal signed an Implementation Agreement with GIZ for cooperation on mines that are to be closed.
• The India-Germany cooperation project has a total project volume of EUR 10 million until 2030.
• The Coal Minister said India has set a target of scientifically closing 147 more mines over the next two to three years.