Daily Current Affairs 31 July 2026

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has unveiled "Scale without boundaries" as the theme for the 10th edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026.

The event, recognized as the largest digital technology forum in Asia, is scheduled to be held in October 2026 at Yashobhoomi (India International Convention & Expo Centre) in New Delhi. The 10th edition of the IMC is anchored around four key pillars: Srishti, Suraksha, Sashakt, and Samvardhan.

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) has launched the 'DAANVEER initiative', a citizen participation framework aimed at upgrading digital infrastructure across rural local bodies.

This initiative provides a transparent system for individuals, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), and organizations to donate computer hardware and digital devices to nearly 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats (GPs) across India. The initiative features the 'Meri Panchayat' App and the 'DigiHaat' Marketplace.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has announced plans to adopt the Producer Price Index (PPI) as a deflator for quarterly and annual GDP estimates, replacing the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) where applicable.

It is to be noted that in June 2026, WPI inflation rose to 9.87% from 9.68% in May 2026, while output PPI inflation increased to 9.57% from 9.38% during the same period.

Axis Finance Ltd (AFL) has launched an in-house Business Rules Engine (BRE) and digital platform named 'Axis Finance Drishti'.

It is designed to strengthen credit decision-making and risk management in the retail and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) lending sectors by enabling faster, data-driven, and scalable credit assessments.

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has signed a tripartite agreement with the IISc Bengaluru and the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID) to establish a C-DOT Centre of Excellence (CoE) at the FSID, IISc Bengaluru.

The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), through the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), has signed a non-financial MoU with Project Concern International (PCI) India to strengthen women-led enterprises (WLEs), particularly those operated by Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

The partnership aims to facilitate public procurement and market-linked enterprise development for these businesses.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) has signed a 3-year MoU with the Lucknow-based Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Botanical Research Institute (CSIR-NBRI) to promote research and development for the conservation and ethnobotanical assessment of tribal bioresources in India.

The Odisha government has signed an MoU with HCL Technologies (HCLTech) and Sarvam AI to set up the first AI data centre of the state.

The facility will be located at the Odisha Sovereign AI Park in Bhubaneswar, with a total project outlay of ₹14,257 crore.

Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd (Sona Comstar) has signed agreements with the Japan-based DENSO Corporation to establish two Joint Ventures (JVs) in India.

These JVs will develop, manufacture, and market advanced electric and hybrid powertrain systems for various vehicle segments.

According to the "20th-anniversary edition of the Henley Passport Index (HPI)" released by Henley & Partners, India is ranked 81st globally, declining from its previous 75th position, sharing the rank with Mauritania and Algeria.

Singapore retains the top position with access to 192 destinations, followed by Japan, South Korea, and the UAE in second place, and Sweden in third. Indian passport holders currently have access to 55 destinations. Afghanistan is ranked lowest in the HPI, with access to only 22 destinations.

France has become the first nation within the European Union (EU) to officially prohibit the use of social media platforms for children under 15 years of age.

Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) has launched the 'Machilipatnam' (BY 529), the 7th of 8 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) vessels being built for the Indian Navy.

The vessel has over 80% indigenous content and is named after the historic port city of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. It is equipped for Underwater Surveillance, ASW operations, Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO), and Mine Warfare.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has announced the launch of 'Indian Natural Gas Futures', the first exchange-traded energy derivative of India.

The contract is linked to a domestic benchmark and will be traded under the symbol 'NATGASIND'. Following the approval from the SEBI, trading is scheduled to commence on 27 July 2026.

Raghu Vamsi Aerospace Group has announced an investment of over ₹600 crore to set up an integrated nickel-based superalloy manufacturing facility in Telangana.

The plant, to be built on a 50-acre site near Hyderabad, will have an annual production capacity of 5,000 tonnes. The announcement was made at the Farnborough International Airshow 2026, held in the UK.

Researchers from the NASA have proposed an AI mission concept named "Planetary Rings Autonomous EXploration with In-situ Sampling (PRAXIS)". It has been proposed under Phase I of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) 2026 program.

The mission aims to enable the first-ever direct collection and analysis of particles from Saturn's rings. It is designed to deliver direct observations of millimetre- to centimetre-sized ring particles, addressing a key priority identified in planetary science decadal surveys. The project is led by Dr. B Marco Quadrelli.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia has conferred the 'Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Telecom Excellence Awards- 2025' to Amantya Technologies Pvt Ltd and Finaara for their contributions in telecom technology.

The awards were instituted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications to promote innovations in the telecom sector.

Viswanathan Anand, a 5-time World Chess Champion and the Deputy President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), has assumed charge as the Interim President of FIDE.

He takes over following the voluntary suspension of duties by the incumbent President, Arkady Dvorkovich.

World Embryologist Day: (World In Vitro Fertilization Day)

Day – July 25

Commemorating – The birth anniversary of Louise Joy Brown, the first baby to be born through 'In vitro fertilization' (IVF)