Monthly current affairs for July 2026

The 67th edition of the TOP500 Supercomputer Rankings was released at the International Supercomputing (ISC) High Performance 2026 conference in Hamburg, Germany. China's 'LineShine' has emerged as the world's most powerful supercomputer, displacing the USA's 'El Capitan' from the top spot.

They are followed by 'Frontier' (USA), 'Aurora' (USA), and 'Jupiter' (Germany). The USA leads the list as the most represented country, with 161 systems featured.

India is ranked 16th globally, with 7 supercomputers included in the list, namely 'PARAM Siddhi-AI', 'Pratyush', 'Mihir', 'Aditya', 'SahasraT', 'Arka', and 'Param Bramha'. India's most powerful supercomputer, 'Shakti Cloud', secured the 32nd position on the list with a performance of 84.31 petaflops.

Air Marshal Tejinder Singh has assumed the position of Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC).

He succeeds Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, who has been appointed as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Union Minister Amit Shah has launched the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) 2.0 Portal and the electronic Overseas Citizen of India (e-OCI) Card in New Delhi.

The FCRA 2.0 portal transitions the regulatory framework for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) into a fully digital system. Hosted on the MeghRaj Government Cloud, the portal supports 14,500 active FCRA-registered organizations and manages up to 20,000 application cycles annually.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has signed an MoU with the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) in New Delhi to enhance bilateral trade, investment, and business cooperation between the two nations.

The Union government has extended the tenure of Ravi Agrawal, the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), by 6 months.

His term is now scheduled to conclude in December 2026. He was initially appointed as the CBDT chief for a 1-year term in June 2024.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has received the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) from the DRDO for the indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) system named 'Netra'.

The system is integrated onto the Brazilian modified twin-engine Embraer EMB-145I aircraft platform and has a radar detection range of 240–300 km It is to be noted that the 'Netra' programme was initiated in 2003 and sanctioned in 2004, with the IAF receiving the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) in 2017.

Gautam Buddha University (GBU) has partnered with Space Kidz India and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to support "Mission ShakthiSAT".

The mission is the world's first all-girls international lunar mission. The initiative aims to empower 12,000 young girls from 108 countries. Mahima Rajput, a student from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, has been selected to participate in this international space mission.

Finland-based ICEYE has signed a partnership agreement with Chennai-based AgniKul Cosmos to build, launch, and operate Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth observation systems from India. Both companies will collaborate to develop an end-to-end sovereign SAR Earth observation capability.

The 16th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) National Security Advisers' (NSA) meeting was held in New Delhi.

The meeting was chaired by the National Security Advisor (NSA) of India, Ajit Doval. The summit was conducted under the theme 'Non-Traditional Security Challenges Confronting the World Today'.

Parveen Sheikh and Barkha Subba, two Indian conservationists, have been named among the 6 global recipients of the 2026 Whitley Award, commonly known as the "Green Oscar".

The former was honoured for her community-led efforts to protect the Indian Skimmer across river systems in India. The latter, a conservationist from the Darjeeling Himalayas, was recognised for her work in safeguarding the rare Himalayan salamander and its wetland habitat.

Each recipient receives £50,000 in project funding for one year. The other recipients of the 2026 Whitley Award include Moreangels Mbizah (Zimbabwe), Issah Seidu (Ghana), Marina Kameni (Cameroon), and Paola Sangolqui (Ecuador). Farwiza Farhan was honoured with the Whitley Gold Award.

International Day of Yoga

Day: June 21

Theme 2026: 'Yoga for Healthy Ageing'

Observed by: Ministry of AYUSH

Observed since: 2015

LEXI Money IFSC Pvt Ltd (LEXI), an AI-powered trade and payments platform, has received in-principle approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).

This approval authorizes the platform to operate as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City International Financial Services Centre (GIFT-IFSC) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The Ministry of Steel has granted 'Miniratna Category-I' status to MECON Ltd, a Schedule 'A' Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE).

This recognition is awarded due to the consistent financial performance of the company, which has reported profits for the last 3 financial years. Established in 1959, the company is headquartered in Ranchi.

The Ministry of Tourism and NITI Aayog have jointly launched a report titled "Unlocking Growth in Tourism and Hospitality Sector: Recommendations for Non-Financial Regulatory Reforms". The report provides 49 recommendations across 14 reform areas to streamline the sector.

The strategic plan aims to expand India's tourism economy to $3 trillion and attract 100 million inbound international visitors by 2047.

It is to be noted that according to the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI), India ranks 6th globally in Natural Resources and 9th in Cultural Resources. Despite this, India ranks 39th overall on the TTDI and currently accounts for less than 1.5% of global international tourist arrivals.

According to the "QS World Future Skills Index 2027" released by the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), India secured the 13th position globally with a score of 89.4. It is ranked 1st in the South Asia region and is the only country from the region to feature among the top 15.

The report evaluated 89 countries. India ranked 18th in Skills Alignment, 22nd in Academic Readiness, 5th in Future of Work, and 14th in Economic Transformation. The USA led the overall rankings with a score of 99.2, followed by Australia and the UK.

RBI has issued the ‘RBI (Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) – Registration, Exemptions and Framework for Scale Based Regulation) Second Amendment Directions, 2026’ to revise the framework for identifying Upper Layer Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC-ULs).

Under the new rules, effective from June 24, 2026, any NBFC with an asset size of ₹1 lakh crore or more will be automatically classified as an NBFC-UL. This replaces the previous parameter-based assessment model with an absolute asset-size criterion.

The asset size threshold will be reviewed every 3 years, instead of the 5-year cycle proposed in the draft. Additionally, government-owned NBFCs that meet the eligibility criteria will now be considered for inclusion in the UL category.

Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Amar Preet Singh, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), has released the memoir of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla titled "The Second Orbit: Belief of a Man... Dreams of 1.4 Billion Hearts" in New Delhi.

Published by Vintage Books under Penguin Random House India, the book chronicles the journey of Shukla. The release commemorates the first anniversary of the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Mintage World, the world's first online museum for coins, stamps, and banknotes, has released a 200-page coffee table book titled "Stamps, Coins, and Banknotes Issued During the Premiership of Narendra Modi" in New Delhi.

The book, conceptualized and curated by Sushilkumar Agrawal (CEO of Mintage World), features a compilation of stamps with diverse designs, coins minted at facilities in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Noida (Uttar Pradesh), along with currency notes printed across Indian security printing presses.

The Ministry of Tourism has signed an MoU with Google India to strengthen the digital promotion of tourism destinations across the country.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has highlighted that the VO Chidambaranar Port Authority (VOCPA) has achieved a 45% reduction in net carbon emissions, emerging as a model for sustainable maritime development. The port has also been recognised as a Scope-2 Emission Free Port.

During the event, the minister dedicated 6 key initiatives. The port released its inaugural sustainability disclosure, the "VOCPA Sustainability Report 2026" titled "Towards a Green Maritime Future", along with a case study by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta titled "The Hydrogen Pivot: Orchestrating the Green Transition at VO Chidambaranar Port Authority."

The port also inaugurated the 'vidya pravesh' (academic activities) for the 2026-27 academic year at the newly established Kendriya Vidyalaya located at the Port Colony in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.