20 July 2026 | English | FREE Current Affairs PDF

20 July 2026 Current Affairs PDF | English is now available for download. This daily current affairs English PDF is specially prepared for Banking, SSC, and TNPSC examinations, covering all exam-relevant national, international, economy, and banking updates in a clear and structured format. 20 July 2026 Current Affairs PDF includes important one-liners, key highlights, and concise explanations aligned with the latest exam patterns for both Prelims and Mains preparation.

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News In One Liner

🏛️ PIB News

₹62,500 Crore Push for Mobile Phone Manufacturing

● The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) with a total budgetary outlay of sixty-two thousand five hundred crore rupees in order to scale up domestic electronics production and enhance global competitiveness.

Simplified News: The Union Cabinet has approved a new scheme to boost mobile phone manufacturing in India with a ₹62,500 crore budget. It will run for five years (FY2026-27 to FY2030-31) and offer incentives of up to 5% on eligible sales, with extra support for R&D and local component sourcing. The scheme aims to create around sixty thousand jobs and push cumulative mobile phone production to about ₹39 lakh crore.

India-UK Free Trade Deal Goes Live

● The India-United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Agreement on Social Security have formally entered into force to provide zero-duty market access for nearly ninety-nine per cent of Indian exports.

Simplified News: The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and a linked Social Security Agreement officially came into force on 15 July 2026. Indian exporters now get zero-duty access on nearly 99% of tariff lines to the UK market, and cross-border professionals are exempt from double social security contributions for up to five years.

June 2026 Jobs Data: Steady but Slow

● The National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation has released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Monthly Bulletin for June 2026, highlighting stability in the overall employment indicators.

Simplified News: The government’s monthly labour survey (PLFS) for June 2026 shows employment indicators largely unchanged from May. The Labour Force Participation Rate held at 54.4% and the Unemployment Rate stayed steady at 5.5%, though rural female participation showed a year-on-year improvement.

UPSC Clears 16 More Geo-Scientist Candidates

● The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has recommended sixteen additional candidates from its consolidated reserve list for appointment under the Ministry of Mines following the Combined Geo-Scientist Examination 2025.

Simplified News: UPSC has recommended sixteen additional candidates from its reserve list for the Combined Geo-Scientist Examination 2025, on top of the eighty originally selected. Most of the new picks are for Scientist ‘B’ (Hydrogeology) posts under the Ministry of Mines.

Month-Long Youth Drive Against Drug Abuse

● The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, will launch the month-long nationwide Viksit Bharat Yuva Connect Programme (VBYCP) across universities and colleges from 16 July to 15 August 2026 to engage young citizens with the vision of a developed nation and create awareness against substance abuse.

Simplified News: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will run the Viksit Bharat Yuva Connect Programme from 16 July to 15 August 2026, targeting students aged 15 to 25. The campaign combines civic engagement with anti-drug awareness, including a pledge and interactions with youth achievers.

Elderline 14567: Support Line for Senior Citizens

● The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is actively promoting senior citizen welfare across India through the toll-free national helpline Elderline 14567 and the nationwide Take a Pledge campaign on the official Ageing with Dignity portal.

Simplified News: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is highlighting its Elderline 14567 helpline and the Ageing with Dignity pledge campaign for senior citizens. The toll-free service offers help with healthcare information, legal and pension issues, and emotional support for elderly citizens.

PNB Banks on AI for Multilingual Service

● The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 15 July 2026 to enable Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered multilingual banking and citizen-centric financial services across India.

Simplified News: Digital India’s BHASHINI Division and Punjab National Bank signed an MoU on 15 July 2026 to bring AI-powered multilingual banking to customers. The tie-up will let people access banking services in their preferred Indian languages using BHASHINI’s translation APIs.

₹1,500 Crore Boost for Biomedical Research Careers

● The Union Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, launched Phase-III of the Biomedical Research Career Programme (BRCP), which is co-funded by the Department of Biotechnology and the Wellcome Trust with a total outlay of 1,500 crore rupees.

Simplified News: The government launched Phase-III of the Biomedical Research Career Programme with a ₹1,500 crore outlay, jointly funded by the Department of Biotechnology (₹1,000 crore) and the UK’s Wellcome Trust (₹500 crore). It aims to build a stronger biomedical research workforce in India.

New Shipbuilding Cluster and Repair Hub Approved

● The Government of India granted in-principle approval for the establishment of a Greenfield Shipbuilding Cluster at Porbandar in Gujarat and a 1,570-crore rupee ship repair facility at Vadinar under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS).

Simplified News: The government has given in-principle approval for a Greenfield Shipbuilding Cluster at Porbandar, Gujarat, spanning nearly 2,000 acres, and a ₹1,570 crore ship repair facility at Vadinar. Both fall under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme, which offers 25% financial assistance on capital infrastructure.

Coal Trading Goes Digital with New Exchange Portal

● The Union Minister of Coal and Mines, Shri G Kishan Reddy, launched the Online Portal Application for Registration of Coal Exchanges in New Delhi during the curtain raiser event for Indian Mining Week 2026 to transition India into a regulated, competitive coal trading market.

Simplified News: The Ministry of Coal launched an online portal for registering Coal Exchanges, moving India toward a regulated, transparent coal trading market. The Coal Controller Organisation will oversee registrations, which stay valid for 25 years, with fees payable through the BharatKosh portal.

📊 Industry News

Fuel Export Duties Revised Amid West Asia Crisis

● The Central Government has revised the Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on fuel exports, sharply increasing the levies on high-speed diesel and Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) while reducing the duty on petrol exports to safeguard the domestic energy market amid the West Asia crisis.

Simplified News: The government sharply raised export duties on diesel (to ₹15.50/litre) and Aviation Turbine Fuel (to ₹14.50/litre) while cutting the petrol export duty to ₹2.50/litre. The move, driven by rising crude prices due to the West Asia conflict, applies only to exports — domestic fuel prices are unaffected.

💰 Financial News

RBI Drafts New Rules for Bank Data Governance

● The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a comprehensive draft framework titled ‘Guidance on Regulatory Expectations for Data Governance’ to significantly upgrade data risk management, data quality, and institutional accountability across all Regulated Entities (REs).

Simplified News: The RBI has released a draft framework on data governance for banks, NBFCs, and other regulated entities, inviting public comments till 17 August 2026. It proposes board-level oversight committees and requires that data frameworks be reviewed at least once a year.

EPFO Credits Interest to 34 Crore Accounts in One Day

● The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment announced that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has successfully credited interest amounting to over ₹1.44 lakh crore for the financial year 2025-26 into 34 crore member accounts in a single day on July 15, 2026.

Simplified News: EPFO credited over ₹1.44 lakh crore in annual interest to all 34 crore Provident Fund accounts simultaneously on 15 July 2026, a first for the organisation. The interest rate for FY2025-26 is 8.25%, made possible by a new unified IT system called CITES 2.01.

🇮🇳 National & State News

Maharashtra Waives ₹48,000 Crore Farmer Power Dues

● The Maharashtra state government has announced a massive ₹48,000 crore waiver on pending agricultural electricity dues to eliminate past financial liabilities and facilitate new power connections for regional farmers.

Simplified News: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis announced a ₹48,000 crore waiver of pending agricultural electricity dues, freeing farmers to apply for new power connections. Alongside this, the state’s crop loan waiver scheme outlay was raised to ₹40,585 crore, writing off farm loans up to ₹2 lakh per farmer.

Delhi Voter List Revision Deadline Extended

● The Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) schedule for Delhi, shifting the final electoral roll publication date to October 19, 2026, to allow adequate time for the digitization of filled household forms.

Simplified News: The Election Commission has extended Delhi’s Special Intensive Revision timeline, with BLO verification now running till 8 August 2026 and the final electoral roll due on 19 October 2026. The extension was needed because only a small share of enumeration forms had been digitised so far.

🌐 World News

India Halts Sailor Deployment Near Hormuz

● The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) has issued a strict maritime advisory directing all global and domestic shipping firms to halt the deployment of Indian seafarers on vessels transiting the highly volatile Strait of Hormuz due to rising geopolitical warfare.

Simplified News: India’s DG Shipping has directed shipping firms to stop deploying Indian sailors on vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz, citing the escalating West Asia conflict. Thirteen Indian sailors have died in the region since the crisis began on 28 February.

India, Belgium Launch Strategic Dialogue

● India and Belgium have officially launched their inaugural Strategic Dialogue in Brussels to establish a highly structured partnership spanning green energy transition, trade, technology, and defense systems.

Simplified News: India and Belgium held their first Strategic Dialogue in Brussels, co-chaired by EAM Dr S Jaishankar and Belgian Deputy PM Maxime Prévot. The talks covered trade, green energy, technology, and defence, alongside a parallel India-EU Business Forum.

📝 Appointments and Resignation

SBI Names Ex-LIC Finance Chief as New CFO

● State Bank of India (SBI) has appointed Sunil Ramgopal Agrawal, the former Chief Financial Officer of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), as its new Chief Financial Officer-designate effective from August 1, 2026.

Simplified News: State Bank of India has appointed Sunil Ramgopal Agrawal, former CFO of LIC, as its CFO-designate, effective 1 August 2026. He exited LIC on 14 July 2026 and brings over 27 years of experience in financial services.

🔬 Science & Technology

NASA’s Anil Menon Docks at Space Station

● Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon, along with two Russian cosmonauts, successfully launched and docked at the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft for an eight-month scientific mission.

Simplified News: Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon reached the ISS aboard Soyuz MS-29 along with two Russian cosmonauts on 15 July 2026. He will spend about eight months on the station, working on projects like in-space semiconductor crystal production.

ISRO Tightens Exit Rules to Retain Gaganyaan Talent

● The Department of Space (DoS) has issued a strict administrative directive to the Directors of all ISRO centers, instructing them to stop routinely accepting voluntary retirement and resignation requests from Group ‘A’ scientists working on high-priority national programs like Gaganyaan.

Simplified News: The Department of Space has directed ISRO centres to stop routinely accepting resignation or retirement requests from Group ‘A’ scientists working on Gaganyaan and other key missions. The move comes as ISRO faces a 14.4% vacancy rate against its sanctioned strength of 18,142 positions.

📈 Reports and Indices

CAG Flags Misuse of Mining Welfare Funds in Chhattisgarh

● A performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has exposed major governance failures, unauthorized rule modifications, and the diversion of hundreds of crores from Chhattisgarh’s District Mineral Foundation Trusts (DMFT) away from mining-affected communities.

Simplified News: A CAG audit found that Chhattisgarh’s District Mineral Foundation Trusts, which accumulated ₹13,101 crore, diverted funds away from mining-affected villages. Over 750 directly affected villages received no funding at all, while money went into untargeted freebies and non-essential projects.

India’s Current Account Slips into Deficit

● The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its preliminary Balance of Payments (BoP) data for May 2026, revealing that India’s current account flipped into a deficit of $2.0 billion and the overall balance recorded a deficit of $4.4 billion due to a widening merchandise trade gap and sharp foreign portfolio outflows.

Simplified News: RBI’s preliminary data shows India’s Current Account swung to a $2.0 billion deficit in May 2026, driven by a wider merchandise trade gap. The Overall Balance of Payments recorded a $4.4 billion deficit, pressured further by foreign portfolio investors pulling money out.

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