21 July 2026 | English | FREE Current Affairs PDF

21 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. 21 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

New MoES Secretary: Dr. Srinivasa Kumar Tummala

● The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the selection of globally renowned oceanographer Dr. Srinivasa Kumar Tummala as the new Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

Simplified News: The government has picked ocean scientist Dr. Srinivasa Kumar Tummala as the new Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. He was earlier Director of INCOIS in Hyderabad and led global tsunami warning operations for the Indian Ocean region under UNESCO. His new role puts him in charge of India’s weather, climate, and ocean-science policy.

₹9,585 Cr PARIVARTAN Scheme for NCR Vehicles

● The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has officially approved the operational guidelines for the ₹9,585 crore PARIVARTAN scheme designed to systematically replace aging, polluting commercial trucks and buses operating within the National Capital Region (NCR).

Simplified News: MoHUA has approved rules for the PARIVARTAN scheme, which will help replace old, polluting trucks and buses in the Delhi NCR region. The scheme offers loan interest subsidies and manufacturer discounts to fleet owners who switch to cleaner vehicles. States around Delhi have also waived registration fees and road tax for ten years on new vehicles bought under the scheme.

NITI Aayog’s Bioeconomy Roadmap to 2035

● NITI Aayog has unveiled its “Roadmap for Building India as a Leading Bioeconomy Powerhouse by 2035,” sketching out a mission-mode framework to scale the nation’s biotechnology sector to $691 billion by 2035 and $2.6 trillion by 2047.

Simplified News: NITI Aayog has released a ten-year plan to grow India’s biotechnology sector into a global powerhouse. The roadmap aims to scale the bioeconomy to $691 billion by 2035 and $2.6 trillion by 2047, up from about $195.3 billion today. It focuses on building bio-manufacturing hubs and creating millions of jobs in biotech.

India’s First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Train

● Indian Railways is set to begin operations of India’s first indigenous Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Trainset along the Jind–Sonipat section of the Northern Railway, delivering a near-zero emission transit solution.

Simplified News: Indian Railways is launching the country’s first hydrogen-powered train on the Jind–Sonipat route in Haryana. The train generates its own electricity from hydrogen and oxygen, releasing only water vapour and heat, making it a near-zero emission alternative to diesel trains. It can carry around 2,600 passengers and puts India among a small group of nations running hydrogen trains.

Navy to Commission INS Malvan

● The Indian Navy is set to formally commission INS Malvan, its latest indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC), featuring over 80% indigenous component design.

Simplified News: The Indian Navy is set to commission INS Malvan, a new Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft built by Cochin Shipyard Limited. Over 80% of the ship’s components are indigenously made, reflecting India’s push for self-reliance in defence manufacturing. It is designed for anti-submarine and coastal surveillance duties in shallow waters.

India Wins Global Codex Standards for 3 Spices

● The Codex Alimentarius Commission has formally adopted three new global quality standards for Large Cardamom, Coriander, and Vanilla, which were developed under an Indian-led committee, boosting agricultural export competitiveness.

Simplified News: The Codex Alimentarius Commission has adopted new global quality standards for Large Cardamom, Coriander, and Vanilla, developed under a committee hosted by India. This will make it easier for Indian spice exporters to meet international quality benchmarks and reduce export rejections. India was also named Co-Chair of a new global panel on food safety risk analysis.

Draft CAFE-III Fuel Economy Norms Released

● The Ministry of Power has released the draft Corporate Average Fuel Economy Phase-III (CAFE-III) norms for public feedback, targeting fuel efficiency and carbon reductions in M1 category passenger vehicles from 2027-28 onwards.

Simplified News: The Ministry of Power has released draft CAFE-III fuel efficiency norms for public feedback. These rules will apply to M1 category passenger vehicles between 2027-28 and 2031-32, pushing automakers toward more fuel-efficient and lower-emission cars. The government will accept feedback on the draft until August 6, 2026.

NABARD Survey: Rural India’s Rising Consumption

● A comprehensive policy backgrounder highlights the expansion of India’s technology-enabled rural credit infrastructure, supported by NABARD’s latest survey showing rising consumption levels across 77.2% of rural households.

Simplified News: A NABARD survey from May 2026 shows that 77.2% of rural households reported higher consumption levels, reflecting improving rural incomes. The survey also found that 99.92% of Indian villages now have a banking access point within 5 km, showing how deep financial inclusion has spread. Dadra and Nagar Haveli has achieved full 100% village-level banking coverage.

PAIMANA Dashboard Tracks Infra Growth

● The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released its quarterly update of the PAIMANA performance dashboard, showing healthy growth milestones across civil aviation, telecom, roadways, ports, railways, and power.

Simplified News: MoSPI has released its quarterly PAIMANA dashboard tracking India’s infrastructure progress across sectors like aviation, telecom, and power. India now has 165 certified operational aerodromes, and mobile data usage touched 2,85,376 petabytes in FY 2025-26. Planners have also set an energy storage target of 888 GWh by 2035-36 to support clean power grids.

📊 Industry News

Index of Core Industries Gets a Revamp

● The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is upgrading the Index of Core Industries (ICI) by shifting its base year to 2022–23 and adding Iron Ore as the ninth core sector component.

Simplified News: The government is upgrading the Index of Core Industries by shifting its base year to 2022-23 and adding Iron Ore as a new, ninth core sector. Under the revised series, these nine core industries together account for 32.88% weight in the overall industrial production index. This helps the index better reflect the current structure of India’s economy.

💰 Financial News

RBI’s New Rules on Bank-Seized Assets

● The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a master regulatory framework and final directives governing how lenders must acquire, value, manage, and timely dispose of immovable assets (SNFAs) seized from defaulting borrowers.

Simplified News: RBI has issued final rules on how banks must handle Specified Non-Financial Assets, or immovable property seized from loan defaulters. The rules take effect from October 1, 2026, and cap how long a bank can hold such an asset at seven years. Banks must also use at least two independent valuers to fix a fair distress-sale price for these assets.

RBI Settles FEMA Case Against Apothecon Pharma

● The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a compounding order against Apothecon Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, closing an active Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation following a one-time penalty payment of ₹40,52,622.

Simplified News: RBI has closed an Enforcement Directorate investigation into Apothecon Pharmaceuticals by compounding its foreign exchange law violations. The company paid a one-time settlement of ₹40,52,622 under Section 15 of FEMA, which allows RBI to settle such violations instead of pursuing prolonged legal action.

SEBI Extends SWP/STP to Demat Mutual Fund Units

● The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has launched a phased roll-out extending the facility of creating automated standing instructions for SWPs and STPs to mutual fund units held in demat accounts.

Simplified News: SEBI is rolling out a facility that lets investors set up automatic systematic withdrawal and transfer instructions for mutual fund units held in demat form, not just physical folios. Depositories must be ready with the unit-based version by January 31, 2027, and the amount-based version by April 30, 2027. This should make managing mutual fund investments in demat accounts more convenient.

🇮🇳 National & State News

PM Modi’s ₹14,700 Cr Push for Haryana

● Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone of infrastructure and medical development projects worth 14,700 crore rupees at Eklavya Stadium in Jind, Haryana.

Simplified News: PM Modi launched infrastructure and medical development projects worth ₹14,700 crore at Jind, Haryana. This included a newly opened 157.92-km stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway built at a cost of around ₹9,680 crore. The launch aims to expand medical education seats and improve highway connectivity in the state.

NMC Approves 25 New Medical Colleges

● The National Medical Commission has announced its official seat matrix for the 2026-27 academic session, introducing 25 new medical colleges and 9,911 additional Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery seats across India.

Simplified News: The National Medical Commission has finalised its seat matrix for 2026-27, adding 25 new medical colleges and 9,911 additional MBBS seats across India, taking the national total to 1,36,939 seats. Private institutions account for nearly 79% of this growth, and Karnataka gained the most new seats at 1,300.

PM Modi’s ₹5,470 Cr Rail-Road Boost for Punjab

● Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched multiple rail and road development initiatives, including the redevelopment of 75 railway stations, valued at 5,470 crore rupees from Jalandhar, Punjab.

Simplified News: PM Modi inaugurated rail and road projects worth ₹5,470 crore from Jalandhar, Punjab, including the redevelopment of 75 railway stations across 20 states. He also flagged off two new train services and inaugurated a 30.9-km stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway.

75 Railway Stations Get a Modern Makeover

● Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled 75 redeveloped railway stations spanning 20 states, modernised at an estimated financial layout of 1,570 crore rupees under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

Simplified News: As part of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, the government has redeveloped 75 railway stations across 20 states at a cost of ₹1,570 crore. The scheme blends modern facilities with local heritage design, and Jalandhar Cantonment station alone was upgraded at a cost of ₹125 crore.

Bill to Criminalise Insulting Vande Mataram

● The Union Cabinet has cleared the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to make any insult or obstruction to the singing of Vande Mataram a punishable offence with up to three years of imprisonment.

Simplified News: The Union Cabinet has cleared a bill to bring Vande Mataram under the same legal protection as the National Anthem, making it a punishable offence to insult or obstruct its singing, with up to three years in jail. The bill will be taken up during the monsoon session of Parliament, from 20 July to 13 August 2026.

🌐 World News

BIMSTEC Security Chiefs Meet in New Delhi

● The national security chiefs of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation member states have vowed to combat terrorism and endorsed new guiding principles for maritime law enforcement coordination during a high-level meeting in New Delhi.

Simplified News: Security chiefs from BIMSTEC member countries met in New Delhi for their fifth such meeting, focused on fighting terrorism and improving maritime law enforcement coordination in the region. The meeting comes as the regional grouping approaches its 30th anniversary next year.

📝 Appointments and Resignation

Anurag Kumar Named New Delhi Police Commissioner

● In a sudden administrative shake-up, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has removed Satish Golcha and appointed former Intelligence Bureau (IB) Special Director Anurag Kumar as the new Commissioner of Delhi Police.

Simplified News: The Home Ministry has replaced Satish Golcha with Anurag Kumar, a former Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau, as the new Delhi Police Commissioner. Kumar belongs to the 1994 batch of the IPS (AGMUT cadre) and has earlier been honoured with the Police Medal for Meritorious Service and the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service.

📈 Reports & Indices

India Crosses 1 Billion in Social Protection Coverage

● India has accomplished a historic landmark by successfully expanding the national social protection framework to cover more than one billion citizens across the country.

Simplified News: India has expanded its social protection coverage to over one billion citizens, reaching 68.4% coverage in 2026, up sharply from just 19% in 2015. This reflects a decade of expansion in welfare programmes across health, pension, and insurance schemes.

Record Foodgrain Output of 376 Million Tonnes

● The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that India achieved a record foodgrain production of 376 million tonnes and horticultural output of 377 million tonnes this year despite severe climate challenges.

Simplified News: India achieved a record foodgrain output of 376 million tonnes this year, along with 377 million tonnes of horticultural produce, despite tough climate conditions. This was supported by deploying 1,657 climate-resilient scientific teams across 728 vulnerable districts, with 94% of new crop seed varieties bred to be climate-resilient.

UP Overtakes Maharashtra in Rooftop Solar

● Uttar Pradesh has surpassed Maharashtra to secure the second rank globally and nationally in domestic rooftop solar installations under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, recording 674,393 systems.

Simplified News: Uttar Pradesh has moved past Maharashtra to become India’s second-ranked state in rooftop solar installations under the PM Surya Ghar scheme, with 674,393 installations. Gujarat remains at the top with 749,839 installations. UP households now generate free solar power worth around ₹6.5 crore every day.

RBI’s Financial Inclusion Index Rises to 70.0

● The Reserve Bank of India has announced that the composite Financial Inclusion Index rose to 70.0 for the fiscal year ending March 2026, driven by growth across all sub-indices and an uptick in usage.

Simplified News: RBI’s Financial Inclusion Index, which measures access, usage, and quality of financial services, rose to 70.0 for the year ending March 2026, up from 67.0 the previous year. The improvement was driven mainly by increased usage of formal banking services. The index was first published in August 2021.

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