Daily Current Affairs 29 July 2026

Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh has launched the 'Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme', 'SAMARTH Panchayat Portal', and the 'Model Own Source of Revenue (OSR) Rules' for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi.

The 'Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme' aims to develop 350 projects over 4 years (50 in the first year, and 100 in each of the subsequent 3 years). NABARD and HUDCO are the institutional partners for the programme.

The 'SAMARTH Panchayat Portal' is a digital initiative by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj to strengthen the financial capacity of Gram Panchayats through technology-enabled management of OSR. The 'Model OSR Rules' serve as a framework for States and Union Territories (UTs) to enhance the financial independence of PRIs, incorporating recommendations from the Sixteenth Finance Commission.

The Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 to curb paper leak incidents. The minimum prison sentence for those convicted has been increased from 3 years to 5 years, while the maximum is 10 years.

For organized crimes, the financial penalty has been increased to ₹10 crore from the previous ₹1 crore. The legislation also mandates a fast-track mechanism to complete investigations, trials, and judgments within a 3-month timeframe.

Maharashtra has become the first state to qualify for the second installment of funds under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan chaired a review meeting to assess the utilization of funds. The Government of India (GoI) had released ₹335 crore as the first installment, of which Maharashtra utilized ₹260 crore, exceeding the mandatory 75% utilization benchmark required for the release of the second installment.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia and Meghalaya CM Conrad K Sangma have launched the "Mission Golden Spice – Integrated Lakadong Turmeric Value Chain Enhancement Project" in New Delhi.

It is a 5-year roadmap (2025–2030) with a total outlay of ₹175.45 crore, aimed at transforming Meghalaya's Geographical Indication (GI)-tagged Lakadong turmeric into a globally competitive premium spice.

The mission is divided into two phases: Phase 1 (Value Chain Strengthening) and Phase 2 (Expansion and Scale-up). The project funding is shared between the state government, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (MoA&FW), and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), with MDoNER contributing 50% of the budget.

The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) has officially recognised the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) as an Awarding Body (Dual).

Under this, NCVET has approved two custom-developed qualifications: 'Industrial General Pest Management Technician' and 'Micro-Credential on Generation and Mobilisation of Own Source Revenue by Panchayats'.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal has announced the formation of a task force to support the toy sector, with the aim of achieving a 5% share in the global toy market by 2032.

The announcement was made during the 'Team Up for Toys: Driving SCALE, Innovation and Exports' stakeholder meet, organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi.

According to a report by ICRA Ltd, India's real GDP growth for the first quarter (Q1) of FY27 is projected at 6.4-6.6%.

DBS Bank Ltd, a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation, was awarded the 'World's Best Corporate Bank' at the 2026 Global Bank Awards by 'Global Finance' magazine. It is the first time a Southeast Asian bank has received this accolade since the category was established in 2005.

Other recognitions at the 2026 Global Bank Awards included Santander (Spain) being named 'World's Best Bank' and the State Bank of India (SBI) being recognized as the 'World's Best Consumer Bank'.

Policybazaar has launched US dollar-denominated term insurance plans for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). These products are offered in collaboration with partner insurers and operate out of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in GIFT City, Gujarat.

RBI has approved the acquisition of the fraud-hit Aviom India Housing Finance by the Areion Group for ₹936 crore, marking a milestone in the company's insolvency resolution process.

The RBI has also granted 'fit-and-proper' approval to Manish Lalwani, the promoter of the Areion Group. It is to be noted that this approval is mandatory for changing the control of a regulated financial institution.

The Centre for Urban Studies (CUS) at the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) has signed an MoU with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to strengthen municipal accounting systems and enhance financial management through collaborative research, training, and institutional capacity building.

The agreement is valid for an initial period of 3 years.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government to establish the 'PNB Quantum Finance Hub' at the Amaravati Quantum Valley (AQV) in Amaravati.

This initiative marks the first bank-led Quantum Finance Hub in India, making PNB the first bank to partner with a state government to set up a dedicated Quantum Finance Facility.

SBI Life Insurance has signed a strategic partnership with the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) to become the Principal Partner of the Indian Contingent for the 2026 para sport season.

Under this collaboration, the company will also serve as the Official Life Insurance Partner for the Indian Contingent at the Commonwealth Para Games 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland, and the Asian Para Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

The Ministry of Tourism has signed an MoU with Air India in New Delhi to promote India as a preferred global tourism destination under the 'Incredible India' brand.

Infosys has been fined €175,000 (around ₹2 crore) by a French labour authority because the employee working time recording system of the company was found to be non-compliant with the legal requirements of the country.

Nvidia, in collaboration with Microsoft, SpaceX, Palantir, and other technology companies, has launched an AI safety initiative named the 'Open Secure AI Alliance'.

The primary objective of this alliance is to develop and share open-source AI security tools. This initiative was launched following a recent disclosure by OpenAI that an autonomous agent had compromised the infrastructure of the startup Hugging Face.

Kiran Thadimarri has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of IndiGo, the largest airline of India, effective from July 28. He succeeds Gaurav Negi.

Nicolas Otamendi, an Argentine footballer, has announced his retirement from international football at the age of 38, concluding a 17-year-long career.

He made 139 appearances for the national team. He will continue his professional club career, having joined Club Atletico River Plate.