Monthly current affairs for July 2026

The Maharashtra government has approved the establishment of the first AI-powered bird sanctuary in India, named 'Bhandup Bird Park', at the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS) in Mumbai.

The project, estimated to cost ₹45 crore, will be developed across 20.09 hectares along the Thane Creek shoreline. The park will feature an AI surveillance system with a 1.5-km radius to track bird migration and identify species in real-time.

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has launched the Electronic Commerce Council of India (ECCI) in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

The ECCI is a nationwide platform designed to strengthen the digital commerce ecosystem of India through collaboration among the industry, government, and other stakeholders. It has already onboarded 70 to 80 members.

According to provisional data released by the RBI, India's outward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) declined by 47.9% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to $3 billion in June 2026, compared to $5.74 billion in June 2025.

The decline was observed across all three components of outward FDI commitments: equity, debt, and guarantees. In June 2026, equity commitments stood at $738 million, debt at $469.87 million, and guarantees at $1.78 billion. The largest FDI equity commitments were recorded by ONGC Videsh Rovuma Ltd (OVRL), followed by Lenskart and GFCL EV products.

The Indian Army has launched 'Operation Jal Rahat' in Assam as a large-scale Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) mission to assist the state government. The operation was spearheaded by the Red Shield Division under the Spear Corps.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has signed an MoU with Mahatma Phule Renewable Energy and Infrastructure Technology Ltd (MAHAPREIT) to jointly finance and promote green, climate-resilient, and sustainable infrastructure projects across rural India, with an initial focus on Maharashtra.

Pakistan is set to host the 14th edition of the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in March 2027. The multi-sport event is expected to feature athletes from 8 South Asian nations.

It is to be noted that the SAF Games were established in 1981 in New Delhi to promote friendship and goodwill among the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The SAARC member countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Pralhad Joshi has assumed charge as the Union Minister of Education. He succeeds Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned from the post following nationwide protests regarding the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak controversy.

Satya Pal Kumar has been appointed as the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) for a tenure of 5 years.

He succeeds Pankaj Kumar Mishra.

According to the report "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2026): Understanding and Addressing the High Cost of a Healthy Diet" released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 645 million people (7.8% of the global population) faced hunger in 2025.

Under a quick-recovery scenario, the report projects that the number of chronically undernourished people could decrease to nearly 511 million by 2030. It is to be noted that the report was prepared by 5 specialized UN agencies: FAO, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, World Food Programme (WFP), and WHO.

The United States of America (USA) has delivered the 21st MH-60R Seahawk multi-role maritime helicopter to the Indian Navy in Kochi, Kerala.

Manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation, these helicopters are part of a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement signed in 2020 to procure 24 units at a total cost of $2.6 billion. The induction of these helicopters is intended to replace the ageing Sea King fleet.

The World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) has been officially launched in Shanghai, China. Proposed by China, it is an intergovernmental body designed to foster global AI cooperation, develop civilian AI regulations, and bridge the technological compute divide.

It is headquartered in Shanghai. A total of 29 countries, including Russia, Pakistan, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, and Malaysia, have signed its founding convention.

Hussein Ali Mwinyi, the President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, visited India at the invitation of Vice President CP Radhakrishnan.

The visit reinforced the India-Tanzania Strategic Partnership, focusing on bilateral trade, investment, and capacity building.

Mwinyi met Union Minister S Jaishankar to review development partnerships, including the IIT Madras Zanzibar, which serves as a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for higher education in Africa.

During the visit, he attended the 63rd convocation of IIT Madras and unveiled the master plan for the 200-acre IIT Madras Zanzibar campus at Fumba Peninsula.

It is to be noted that this is the first international IIT campus of India.

Union Minister Amit Shah has inaugurated the first phase of 'Shabdalok (The Museum of Word)', which is India's first immersive language museum.

Developed by the National Library under the Ministry of Culture, the museum is located at the National Library campus in Kolkata and was built at a cost of ₹41 crore.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has launched the 'Bharat Taxi' service at the Navi Mumbai International Airport.

The service operates on an equitable cooperative mobility model that recognizes service providers as owners, members of the cooperative institution, and partners in its progress.

India hosted the 3rd BRICS Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in New Delhi under its BRICS Chairship. The meeting was chaired by Union Minister of State Nityanand Rai.

The meeting concluded with the adoption of the 'BRICS Joint Statement on DRR'. The statement reaffirms the commitment of BRICS nations to accelerate the 'BRICS DRR Work Plan (2025-2028)'.

The Union Cabinet has approved the 'Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana Rasayan' (BHAVYA - Rasayan Scheme) to establish 3 dedicated Chemical Parks in India. The scheme has a total outlay of ₹3,030 crore (₹3,000 crore for infrastructure and ₹30 crore for administrative expenses) and will be implemented over 5 years from FY27 to FY31.

Under the scheme, the central government will provide a grant of up to ₹1,000 crore per park, while the respective state government must contribute a minimum of ₹500 crore.

Dr K Srikar Reddy has been appointed as India's next Ambassador to the State of Qatar. He succeeds Vipul, who has been reassigned as India's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

DRDO has successfully conducted the maiden flight-test of the 'Kusha' Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. The test involved the successful interception of an electronic target simulating a high-speed and high-altitude aerial threat.

Additionally, DRDO has developed the first indigenous Expendable Turbo Jet Engine of 350 kg thrust class. The engine was designed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) and manufactured in collaboration with the Hyderabad-based Azad Engineering.

Gujarat has been honoured with the 'Agriculture Leadership Award 2026' for its performance in the horticulture sector.

The award was presented by Union Minister Rajnath Singh at the 17th Agriculture Leadership Conclave-2026 held in New Delhi.

The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has directed the code repository platform GitHub to remove and disable access to the source code of 'BitChat', a peer-to-peer messaging platform that functions without an internet connection by utilizing Bluetooth mesh technology.