Current affairs — 29 July 2026

Prelims pointers

• RAPP-7 began commercial operation on 15 April 2026, while RAPP-8 was in an advanced commissioning stage.
• The RAPP-7&8 project at Rawatbhata has two 700 MW units and a listed twin-unit cost of ₹22,924 crore.
• Kaiga-5&6 are two 700 MW units expected in June 2031 and June 2032, with their ₹21,000 crore cost under revision.
• Kudankulam Units 3&4 and 5&6 comprise four 1,000 MW units with schedules running from June 2027 to March 2030.
• BHAVINI's 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam is expected to be fully commissioned by March 2027.

Prelims pointers

• BARC provides clinical nuclear-medicine services through centres in Mumbai and Kolkata for cancer diagnosis and therapy.
• VECC operates a 30 MeV medical cyclotron for commercial production of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals.
• Tata Memorial Centre's six-bed high-dose therapy ward was designed under AERB guidelines and includes a sewage delay tank.
• Iodine-131 is used for thyroid cancer, while Lutetium-177 compounds are used for specified prostate and neuroendocrine cancers.
• A dedicated Isotope Production Reactor is being constructed for proposed establishment at BARC, Visakhapatnam.

Prelims pointers

• The Prime Minister stated that India is home to almost 70 per cent of the global tiger population.
• India’s tiger-conservation approach was described as science-based and supported by community participation.
• Sustainable development was identified as an element that strengthens tiger conservation.
• Forest personnel, scientists and conservationists were acknowledged for their role in tiger protection.
• The statement linked local-community empowerment with efforts to reduce human-wildlife conflict.

Prelims pointers

• YUVIKA 2026 was conducted from 11 to 22 May 2026 at nine ISRO centres.
• The programme included 456 students representing 28 states and eight union territories.
• Participants witnessed a live RH200 rocket launch and interacted with the Bharati Station team in Antarctica.
• The previous edition had 350 students at seven ISRO centres, compared with 456 at nine centres in 2026.
• Selection is merit-based, with 15 per cent special weightage for students from rural and remote areas.

Prelims pointers

• The Coal Exchange Rules, 2026 were notified on 4 June 2026 under Section 18B of the MMDR Act, 1957.
• The Coal Controller Organisation is the authority responsible for registering and regulating coal exchanges.
• A coal exchange is defined as an online platform for trading coal, lignite and their processed forms through contracts.
• At least 50% of the Settlement Guarantee Fund must be invested in specified safe or liquid instruments.
• The registration application platform opened on 15 July 2026, with operationalisation estimated within 12 months of application receipt.

Prelims pointers

• Phase I of the Telecom Manufacturing Zone is proposed at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.
• The Department of Telecommunications and Madhya Pradesh government are the parties to the MoU.
• The MoU signing was scheduled for 30 July 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
• The release describes the proposed Gwalior facility as India's first Telecom Manufacturing Zone.
• The zone is intended to support manufacturers, technology companies, MSMEs and start-ups across the telecom value chain.

Prelims pointers

• The grain-storage plan in the cooperative sector was approved by the government on 31 May 2023.
• The plan creates agricultural infrastructure such as warehouses and processing units at the PACS level.
• Its implementation converges existing schemes including AIF, AMI, SMAM and PMFME.
• The annexure reports 1,015 approved projects, 313 constructed godowns and 203 projects under construction.
• Gujarat had 275 approved projects, while Rajasthan had 201 approved projects under the plan.

Prelims pointers

• White Revolution 2.0 envisages creating 75,000 new Dairy Cooperative Societies in uncovered villages or panchayats.
• The initiative also targets strengthening 46,422 existing Dairy Cooperative Societies.
• The release reports that 24,097 new DCSs had been formed and 31,394 existing DCSs strengthened.
• Infrastructure support includes bulk milk coolers, automatic collection units, testing equipment and chilling facilities.
• Financial assistance is released through the revised National Programme for Dairy Development of DAHD.

Prelims pointers

• Bharat Taxi is operated by Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited, a multi-state cooperative society.
• The mobility platform has been officially launched in Delhi-NCR, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
• A total of 7.97 lakh Sarathis had been onboarded nationwide as of 19 July 2026.
• Under the zero-commission model, no commission is deducted from the fare earned by a Sarathi.
• A separate nominal platform-usage fee supports technology, application maintenance and platform expansion.

Prelims pointers

• The National Cooperative Database recorded 8,53,430 cooperative societies as of 15 July 2026.
• The annexure classified 6,62,811 societies as functional and 1,41,442 as non-functional.
• A total of 49,177 cooperative societies were recorded as being under liquidation.
• Among functional societies, 3,55,680 were profit-making and 2,50,442 were loss-making.
• Financial information was unavailable for 56,689 of the functional cooperative societies.

Prelims pointers

• The National Cooperative Database recorded 1,840 Multi-State Cooperative Societies across India as of 15 July 2026.
• West Bengal accounted for 73 of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies in the national database.
• The PACS computerisation project was expanded from 63,000 to 79,630 PACS nationwide.
• A total of 4,187 PACS in West Bengal had been sanctioned under the computerisation project.
• The National Cooperation Policy, 2025 contains six strategic pillars, 16 objectives and 83 recommendations.

Prelims pointers

• NCEL is mandated to function as an umbrella organisation for exports from cooperative societies across India.
• The export mandate of NCEL covers services as well as goods produced by cooperative societies.
• Organic products are expressly included within the cooperative goods covered by NCEL's mandate.
• NCEL has signed a memorandum of understanding with National Cooperative Organics Limited.
• The NCEL-NCOL memorandum concerns exports of certified organic products under the Bharat Organics brand.

Prelims pointers

• The PACS computerisation project was expanded from 63,000 to 79,630 societies with an outlay of ₹2,925.39 crore.
• The annexure reports 65,875 PACS with hardware delivered and 63,686 onboarded on the ERP software.
• The common software includes modules for accounting, statutory audit and management information systems.
• Under the grain-storage plan, godown construction was completed at 313 PACS, creating 1.80 LMT capacity.
• NCEL had exported over 14,89,102 MT of 50 agricultural products valued at ₹5,866.10 crore to 38 countries.

Prelims pointers

• The NCD recorded 12,207 cooperative societies in Jharkhand and 88,119 in Gujarat as of 15 July 2026.
• The annexure classified 8,141 Jharkhand societies and 79,817 Gujarat societies as functional.
• The national PACS computerisation project was expanded to cover 79,630 PACS with an outlay of ₹2,925.39 crore.
• The MSCS Amendment Act, 2023 provides two board seats for women in every Multi-State Cooperative Society.
• The same 2023 amendment provides one board seat for a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe member.

Prelims pointers

• KAPP-3 and KAPP-4 at Kakrapar, Gujarat, have 700 MW capacity each and commenced commercial operation.
• RAPP-7 at Rawatbhata, Rajasthan, has 700 MW capacity and commenced commercial operation.
• Ten reactors with a combined capacity of 8,000 MW were reported as presently under construction.
• KKNPP-3 to KKNPP-6 at Kudankulam comprise four units of 1,000 MW each.
• The 2025 SHANTI Act was described as enabling wider participation by private industries and research institutions.

Prelims pointers

• The Nuclear Energy Mission sets a national nuclear power capacity target of 100 GW by 2047.
• The mission envisages a significant contribution from indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor technology.
• Pre-project activities have been approved for two 500 MW fast-breeder reactors at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu.
• Commercial operation of KAPP-3&4 and RAPP-7 produced a combined nuclear capacity addition of 2,100 MW.
• The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor attained criticality on 6 April 2026.

Prelims pointers

• Development and ground testing of all propulsion stages and structures of the human-rated HLVM3 were completed.
• TV-D1 completed in-flight validation of the Crew Escape System, while TV-D2 was in an advanced stage.
• IADT-01 and IADT-02 used a simulated Crew Module to validate the deceleration system.
• Gaganyatris completed generic training at Glavkosmos in Russia and continued mission-specific training in Bengaluru.
• The indigenous ECLSS is designed to regulate temperature, humidity, pressure and carbon-dioxide levels in the Crew Module.

Prelims pointers

• A database of more than 2,000 Ladakh glaciers was generated using satellite data from 2020–23.
• The National Hydrology Project inventory covered 3,219 glacial lakes in Ladakh larger than 0.25 hectares.
• GLOF risk modelling was carried out for high-risk glacial lakes including Katkar and Suru.
• The SILAAS project has used satellite data since 2023 to map landslides and generate village-wise alerts in Ladakh.
• SISDP mapped land use, drainage, settlements, slope, rail and road infrastructure at a scale of 1:10,000.

Prelims pointers

• IRNSS-1F completed its stated mission life of ten years before the reported constellation update.
• The three satellites named as providing NavIC PNT services are IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I and NVS-01.
• At least four operational satellites in orbit are required to provide basic positioning service.
• NavIC’s standalone positioning service was unavailable, but its timing service remained functional.
• NVS-03 was ready for launch, while NVS-04 and NVS-05 were in advanced stages of realisation.

Prelims pointers

• IN-SPACe had granted 108 authorisations to non-government entities for various space activities.
• The reply reported total space-sector investment of $187 million during 2026.
• Government support included a ₹1,000 crore Venture Capital Fund and a ₹500 crore Technology Adoption Fund.
• IN-SPACe’s authorisation procedures implement the Indian Space Policy 2023 while considering strategic, security and national interests.
• Seventeen start-ups had been authorised to carry out various space activities.

Prelims pointers

• India's installed nuclear power capacity is 8,780 MW across 24 nuclear power plants.
• Nuclear power contributed about 3.1% of India's total electricity generation in 2025-26.
• RAPP-8 was at 96.26% physical progress in June 2026 and expected to become operational during 2026.
• The roadmap expects nuclear capacity to rise from 8.78 GW to about 22 GW by 2031-32.
• Beyond 2032, NPCIL is envisaged to establish another 32 GW using PHWRs and Light Water Reactors.

Prelims pointers

• Radioactive solid waste from nuclear plants is typically within 0.15 cubic metres per year per MW.
• The Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987 require AERB authorisation for effluent discharge.
• Gaseous waste treatment includes activated-charcoal adsorption and high-efficiency particulate-air filtration.
• High-level waste from spent-fuel reprocessing is converted into glass through vitrification and stored under surveillance.
• Environmental Survey Laboratories at atomic power plants compare environmental monitoring results with pre-operation radiation baselines.

Prelims pointers

• The Minister said a ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund would provide long-term, low-cost risk capital.
• Nearly 38,000 GPUs had been onboarded under the IndiaAI Mission for affordable startup and researcher access.
• The second Semiconductor Mission was described as having an allocation of approximately US$12-13 billion.
• The address identified AI, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, robotics and advanced materials as key frontiers.
• The Minister urged industry to help startups progress from ideas to prototypes and then to commercialisation.