Daily Current Affairs 24 July 2026

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy has inaugurated the Exhibition on Mine Closure and Mine Repurposing in New Delhi, showcasing initiatives by Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiaries.

During the event, he released the 'AAROH Annual Report on Mine Closure', developed by the Coal Controller Organisation. It provides India's first comprehensive documentation on scientific mine closure and repurposing practices for 42 coal mines. The Minister also virtually inaugurated Coal NEER Plants established by CIL through its subsidiaries.

During the event, the Ministry of Coal signed an Implementation Agreement with the German agency Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) for technical cooperation on 'To-be closed mines'. The project, commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the European Union (EU), has a total volume of €10 million and will be implemented until 2030.

Additionally, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) and the Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Authority (JRDA) signed tripartite MoUs with Hindalco Industries Ltd and Rajdhani Universal Fabrics Pvt Ltd to establish an Industry-Linked Skill Centre in the Dhanbad region for apparel manufacturing training.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has granted in-principle approval for two maritime infrastructure projects in Gujarat under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS).

The first project is a Greenfield Shipbuilding Cluster at Kuchhadi in the Porbandar district, covering nearly 2,000 acres. The second project is a Ship Repair Facility at Vadinar in the Gulf of Kutch, which will be developed at a cost of ₹1,570 crore by Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) and the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA).

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan unveiled the roadmap for 'Viksit Krishi and Samruddh Kisan' as a key pillar of 'Viksit Bharat 2047' during the 98th Foundation Day of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in New Delhi.

During the event, 43 new crop varieties, 17 technologies/products, and 14 publications were released, and over 70 MoUs were signed.

ICAR aims to establish 100 'Climate Smart Villages' before its centenary. Under 'Mission ICAR-100', Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) will be transformed, with each KVK mandated to cover at least 100 villages. Additionally, under the 'One Institute-One Grand Innovation' initiative, every ICAR institute is tasked to develop at least one transformational innovation within 2 years.

RBI has released the composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) for FY26, which increased to 70 in March 2026 from 67 in March 2025.

RBI has also issued new "Prudential Norms on Specified Non-Financial Asset (SNFA) acquired by Regulated Entities" to tighten regulations governing the resolution of distressed loans. This framework will come into effect on October 1, 2026.

According to the 15th edition of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Monthly Bulletin released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the overall unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 and above remained unchanged at 5.5% in June 2026.

The unemployment rate in rural areas decreased from 5.1% in May 2026 to 5% in June 2026, while the rate in urban areas increased from 6.4% to 6.6%. The Labour Force Participation Rate for persons aged 15 and above stood at 54.4% in June 2026, and the Worker Population Ratio at the all-India level was 51.4%.

The 16th BRICS Health Ministers' Meeting was held in Chandigarh under the BRICS Chairship of India for 2026. The meeting was held under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability' to strengthen cooperation in public health priorities and global health architecture.

Additionally, under the BRICS Presidency of India for 2026, the Ministry of Education convened the International Governing Board (IGB) meeting of the BRICS Network University (BRICS NU) in a virtual format.

The Centre for Air Borne Systems (CABS) under the DRDO has signed a contract with AI Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL), New Delhi, for the conversion of six A321 aircraft from commercial to green configuration. This process is crucial for the development of the Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) MKII Programme.

Additionally, a separate contract has been signed with Adani Defence Systems and Technologies (ADSTL), Ahmedabad, designating the company as the Development Cum Production Partner (DcPP) for Mission Systems under the AEW&C MKII Programme.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has participated in the 45th edition of the biennial multinational air combat exercise 'Pitch Black 2026', hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at RAAF Base Darwin in northern Australia. The exercise witnessed the participation of air forces from 20 nations.

INS Malvan, the second indigenously designed and built Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC), has been commissioned at Karwar, Karnataka.

It is the 2nd of 8 Mahe-class ASW-SWCs being constructed by Cochin Shipyard Ltd and the 6th of 16 ASW-SWCs to be commissioned into the Indian Navy (IN). The ship features over 80% indigenous content.

Named after the coastal town of Malvan in Maharashtra, it honours the maritime heritage of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and carries the legacy of its predecessor, an inshore Indian Naval Minesweeper that remained in service until 2003.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh has flagged-in 'Samudra Pradakshina', the inaugural Tri-service all-women circumnavigation sailing expedition, via video conferencing.

The team, comprising nine women officers from the three Services, sailed aboard the Indian Army Sailing Vessel (IASV) Triveni. They returned to Mumbai after completing a 314-day voyage, covering nearly 25,500 nautical miles across four oceans.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh inaugurated the 3rd edition of Bharat Tex, India's flagship global textile event, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

During the event, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) established a bilateral industry platform in collaboration with the European Apparel and Textile Confederation (EURATEX). The event generated business enquiries worth $2.8 billion and secured investment commitments of ₹14,300 crore across various states. Additionally, participating states signed over 30 MoUs.

Indian Analog Astronaut Captain Aman Johri has successfully completed a microgravity research flight under 'Project Astra Farm'.

The mission focused on studying the behavior of onions and potatoes grown in Maharashtra under microgravity conditions. The research was conducted using a passive microgravity payload in collaboration with the National Research Council Canada (NRC-CNRC).

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) organized a Technology Transfer Event at its headquarters in New Delhi. The programme was coordinated by the CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-CSIO), Chandigarh.

During the event, 4 indigenous technologies were transferred to the industry, and an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled rural water service delivery, measurement, and monitoring system was commercially launched. The event also recognized the royalty received from Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) for the licensed production of indigenous defence technologies.

HEX20, a Kerala-based space startup, has successfully launched its second satellite named KOYO (Kinetic Optical Yaw Observer) onboard the SpaceX Transporter-17 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

The satellite acts as a multi-payload test platform carrying 81 payloads to facilitate in-orbit technology validation and the commissioning of international payloads.

VK Saxena, the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, has commissioned India's first and deepest two 1,000-metre geothermal wells at Puga Valley, Ladakh. These wells, executed by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) Energy Centre, are critical for the 1 Megawatt (MW) Pilot Geothermal Power Plant.

This project is India's first demonstration-scale geothermal power project situated at an altitude of over 14,000 feet. It is to be noted that the wells reached a maximum temperature of 135°C at a depth of 400m.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of NASA have discovered a new giant exoplanet named 'Beta Pictoris d'. Located 63 light-years from the Earth, the planet is estimated to be 23 million years old.

With a mass of at least 2 times that of Jupiter, it is the smallest among the 3 known giant planets in the Beta Pictoris system. It is to be noted that this makes the Beta Pictoris system the second known planetary system to feature at least 3 directly imaged planets.

The Telangana government has signed an MoU with Microsoft to establish a Green Skills Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Hyderabad.

The initiative aims to equip students and professionals with industry-relevant green skills to support sustainable workforce development.

India secured 29 medals including 5 gold, 13 silver, and 11 bronze at the inaugural Asian Under-19 (U-19) & U-23 Boxing Championships 2026 held in Jakarta, Indonesia. India finished third in the medal tally, while Uzbekistan topped the table with 33 medals (21 gold), followed by Kazakhstan.

The gold medalists for India include Chandrika Bhoresh Pujari (U-19, 51 kg), Prachi (U-19, 57 kg), Nisha (U-23, 54 kg), Vishvanath Suresh (U-23, 50 kg), and Ganga (U-23, 55 kg).

Joseph Kevin Keegan, a former professional footballer and manager from England, passed away at the age of 75. He remains the only English player to have won the Ballon d'Or award twice.