Current affairs — 28 July 2026

Prelims pointers

• Agricultural marketing is described in the reply as a State subject, with the Centre supplementing State efforts through schemes.
• As on 30 June 2026, e-NAM had 1.89 crore registered farmers and 2.78 lakh registered traders.
• Inter-State trade on e-NAM rose from 563 MT worth ₹37 lakh in 2018-19 to 2,984.3 MT worth ₹14.28 crore in 2025-26.
• Under the 10,000 FPO scheme, 10,000 FPOs have been registered and cumulative turnover since 2020 crossed ₹20,340 crore.
• AMI sanctioned 12,353 storage infrastructure projects with 369.18 lakh MT capacity and 6,901 non-storage projects in ten years.

Prelims pointers

• FCO, 1985 was amended on 13-12-2024 to specify the three-sample handling procedure described in the reply.
• After a non-standard report, the concerned party must apply for re-testing within fifteen days of receiving the report.
• Second analysis is routed to National Test House, Ghaziabad Coding Centre for testing at Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur or Ghaziabad.
• Third analysis is done at Central Fertiliser Quality Control and Training Institute, Faridabad when failures are in different parameters.
• NTH received 3,906 samples for second analysis in 2025-26 and 578 samples in 2026-27 up to June 2026.

Prelims pointers

• As on 15 July 2026, 5,346 farmers’ varieties had been registered by the PPV&FR Authority.
• The National Gene Fund has conferred 45 Plant Genome Saviour Community Awards, 69 Farmer Rewards and 88 Farmer Recognitions.
• PMFME follows the One District One Product approach, with ODOPs approved for 726 districts across 35 States and Union Territories.
• ICAR-IIMR Hyderabad serves as the designated Global Centre of Excellence on Millets.
• As on 15 July 2026, over 1 lakh landraces and traditional varieties were conserved in the National Gene Bank.

Prelims pointers

• The 17th Toy Biz International B2B Exhibition was held from 4 to 7 July 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
• The National Action Plan for Toys has 21 action points coordinated by 14 Ministries and Departments.
• The Toys Quality Control Order was issued on 25.02.2020 and implemented with effect from 01.01.2021.
• A BIS survey in 2025 found 95% of toy samples conforming to prescribed quality standards, compared with 33% in 2019.
• Toy imports declined from USD 371.7 million in FY 2018-19 to USD 232.3 million in FY 2025-26, while exports rose to USD 384.7 million.

Prelims pointers

• India’s total exports reached USD 863.1 billion in FY 2025-26, the highest ever according to the release.
• FY 2025-26 exports comprised USD 441.8 billion in merchandise exports and USD 421.3 billion in services exports.
• Since India-UAE CEPA entered into force on 1 May 2022, 4.45 lakh Certificates of Origin have been issued.
• India-Oman CEPA entered into force on 1 June 2026 and grants duty-free access to 99.38% of India’s exports to Oman by value.
• Trade e-Connect integrates market intelligence, tariff information, non-tariff barriers, Rules of Origin guidance and FTA advisory services.

Prelims pointers

• The Bharat 6G Vision document was released on 22 March 2023 and targets front-line contribution to 6G by 2030.
• Bharat 6G Alliance operates through seven working groups covering spectrum, devices, technology, applications, sustainability, outreach and use cases.
• Alliance member organisations collectively hold more than 7,700 5G/6G patent filings, including over 4,400 foreign filings.
• Indian participation in 3GPP rose from 717 participants in 2020 to 1,787 in 2025, and contributions from 196 to 2,943.
• IIITDM Kurnool secured first position in all four 5G Lab Excellence Award categories based on January-June 2026 performance.

Prelims pointers

• At end-June 2026, total telephone subscribers were 1,348.08 million, comprising 1,300.25 million wireless and 47.82 million wireline users.
• Broadband subscribers including M2M cellular mobile connections were 1,087.50 million at the end of June 2026.
• Urban telephone subscribers were 792.06 million and rural telephone subscribers were 556.01 million.
• Overall tele-density with M2M cellular mobile connections was 94.31%; without M2M it was 84.88%.
• In June 2026, 14.78 million subscribers submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability.

Prelims pointers

• Multi-State Cooperative Societies submitted 76 applications for branch-opening permission during 2022-2026.
• Year-wise applications received were 3 in 2022, 16 in 2023, 13 in 2024, 29 in 2025 and 15 in 2026.
• Of the 76 applications, 24 were approved and 16 were rejected according to the Lok Sabha reply.
• Deficiencies found in the applications of 36 MSCSs were sent to the respective societies after examination.
• The Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 provides no statutory timeline for disposal of branch-opening permission applications.

Prelims pointers

• The release linked Ministry initiatives to the vision of Sahakar-se-Samriddhi and grassroots strengthening of the cooperative sector.
• Cooperative banks are being enabled to carry out banking and allied financial activities at par with commercial banks.
• Cooperative banks can act as corporate agents for the distribution of insurance products.
• The objectives include business diversification, financial viability, competitiveness, fee-based income and financial inclusion.
• RBI removed the ₹50 crore minimum net-worth requirement for Rural Cooperative Banks to obtain a corporate agent licence.

Prelims pointers

• NCDC is described as a statutory corporation under the Ministry of Cooperation providing assistance to hilly States.
• NCDC disbursed ₹422.95 crore to listed hilly States and UTs during 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• Uttarakhand received ₹287.95 crore in NCDC disbursals, the largest amount in the annexure table.
• BBSSL has signed MoUs with multiple hilly States and UTs to expand Bharat Beej quality seed availability and marketing.
• NCOL procured about 417 MT organic wheat, 40 MT organic Basmati and 30 MT sweeteners from organic certified farmers of Uttarakhand.

Prelims pointers

• NCCF's e-samyukti and NAFED's e-samridhi were described as open digital platforms with no State-specific registration restrictions.
• West Bengal has 62 PACSs registered on e-samyukti and 10 PACSs registered on e-samridhi.
• West Bengal cooperative societies have 40 BBSSL memberships, 12 NCEL memberships and 4 NCOL memberships.
• NCCF procured 257 MT of maize from 148 farmers in West Bengal during Rabi Marketing Season 2025-26.
• NAFED procured 1,800 MT of maize from 237 West Bengal farmers during Kharif-2024, Rabi-2025, Kharif-2025 and Rabi-2026.

Prelims pointers

• Under the plan, 1,015 PACS across India have been identified for construction of godowns.
• Construction has been completed in 313 PACS, creating a total capacity of 1.80 LMT.
• Bihar identified 36 PACS; 27 applied under AMI, including 4 from West Champaran where construction has commenced.
• FCI mapped storage requirement of about 26.03 LMT across 216 potential locations in 18 States and Union Territories.
• AMI margin money was reduced from 20% to 10%, and subsidy increased from 25% to 33.33% under the stated modifications.

Prelims pointers

• The Pesticides Management Bill, 2026 was drafted by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
• The draft Bill is stated to be aligned with current requirements as well as the Jan Vishwas Act.
• The draft was circulated to all Ministries/Departments and State/UT Governments on 30.12.2025 for comments.
• The draft was placed in the public domain on 07.01.2026 for comments from the public and stakeholders.
• Suggestions were received on pesticide management and regulation, including data protection, from governments, industry, dealers, farmers and NGOs.

Prelims pointers

• MIDH operational guidelines were revised in 2025 after stakeholder requests and rising horticulture input costs.
• For citrus including orange and kinnow, high-density support rose to ₹2.00 lakh/ha and ultra-high-density support to ₹3.00 lakh/ha.
• The subsidy pattern under the cited MIDH norms is 40% in general areas and 50% in North-Eastern or hilly areas.
• Cumin cost norms were revised upward to ₹50,000/ha for improved seed, INM, IPM and scientific cultivation practices.
• NDRF assistance is considered for natural calamities of severe nature on the basis of a State Government memorandum.

Prelims pointers

• MIDH is described as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for holistic development of the horticulture sector in the country.
• MIDH support for protected cultivation is provided through SHMs, TSGs, PFDCs, CoEs, ICAR institutes, SAUs and KVKs.
• The National Horticulture Board implements programmes such as the Clean Plant Programme and Horticulture Cluster Development Programme.
• Sixty-one crop-specific Centres of Excellence have been established under MIDH through Indo-Israel, Indo-Dutch and research-institute cooperation.
• MIDH guidelines do not contain a specific provision for engagement of NGOs or private sector entities.

Prelims pointers

• Amritsar became the second spoke airport under India’s International Aviation Hub Strategy; Varanasi was the first on 25 June 2026.
• Under the Amritsar model, Delhi serves as the hub while Amritsar acts as a gateway for Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
• Passengers can complete check-in, immigration and customs at Amritsar and transfer through the hub without repeating those formalities.
• The Ministry projected aviation hub operations could generate nearly 0.4 million jobs and add USD 30 billion by 2030.
• By 2047, the cumulative impact is projected to support about 16 million jobs and contribute nearly USD 1.4 trillion.