🔆 Rise & Fall of Harappan Civilization

📍 Rise (First Urbanisation in India)
✅ Agricultural surplus: Fertile Indus plains → wheat & barley
✅ Granaries at Mohenjo-daro supported artisans & traders
✅ Tech & craft specialization:
✅ Bronze metallurgy
✅ Bead-making (Chanhudaro)
✅ Mass pottery (potter’s wheel)
✅ Trade networks:
✅ Dockyard at Lothal
✅ Uniform seals & weights
✅ Trade with Mesopotamia
✅ Strong urban planning:
✅ Grid-pattern cities
✅ Standardized bricks
✅ Great Bath & advanced drainage

📍 Fall (c. 1900 BCE – Gradual De-urbanisation)
✅ Climate change: Drier climate, weak monsoon
✅ Drying of Ghaggar–Hakra (Saraswati)
✅ Ecological disasters: Floods & tectonic shifts
✅ River course changes at Mohenjo-daro
✅ Economic decline:
✅ Reduced surplus
✅ Decline in Mesopotamian trade
✅ Migration & de-urbanisation:
✅ Movement towards Gangetic plains & Gujarat
✅ Rural, dispersed Late Harappan settlements

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🔆 CURRENT AFFAIRS – 27 JULY 2026

🔆 HISTORY, ART & CULTURE

📍 Sarnath Inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site
✅ Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh) inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List
✅ Becomes India’s 45th UNESCO World Heritage Site
✅ Site where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta)
✅ Marks the beginning of the Buddhist Sangha and the Wheel of Dharma
✅ Completes the four principal Buddhist pilgrimage sites along with Lumbini, Bodh Gaya and Kushinagar

📍 Keeladi Excavations Reveal Extensive Urban Settlement
✅ Excavations uncovered continuous brick structures across all nine excavated quadrants
✅ Indicates a well-planned ancient urban settlement
✅ Features a closed drainage system and terracotta pipeline network
✅ Brick walls extend beyond current excavation areas
✅ Located in Tamil Nadu

🔆 POLITY & GOVERNANCE

📍 Punjab Becomes First State to Introduce AI from Classes I–XII
✅ Launched under the Sarbat.AI Project
✅ First Indian state to introduce Artificial Intelligence as a mainstream school subject
✅ Phase I: Classes VIII–XII through Computer Science curriculum
✅ Phase II: AI education extended to Classes I–VII
✅ Curriculum aligned with UNESCO Ethical AI Guidelines and global best practices

🔆 INTERNATIONAL

📍 India Hosts UNCITRAL 60th Anniversary Conference
✅ India hosted the international conference marking 60 years of UNCITRAL
✅ UNCITRAL established by the UN General Assembly in 1966
✅ Principal UN legal body for international trade law
✅ Consists of 70 member states elected for 6-year terms
✅ Headquarters: Vienna, Austria

📍 16th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting
✅ Hosted by India in Chandigarh
✅ Theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”
✅ Historic emphasis on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM)
✅ Member nations adopted the BRICS Health Declaration
✅ Agreed on Terms of Reference for cross-border health collaboration

🔆 ECONOMY

📍 India Launches First Domestic Natural Gas Futures
✅ Launched by the National Stock Exchange (NSE)
✅ Trading symbol: NATGASIND
✅ Approved by SEBI
✅ Cash-settled contract with no physical delivery
✅ Enables India-centric price discovery for domestic natural gas
✅ Reduces dependence on global benchmarks such as Henry Hub, TTF and JKM

🔆 ENVIRONMENT

📍 Brazil’s Amazon Records Historic Low in Forest Fires
✅ Burnt area declined to 3.1 million hectares in 2025
✅ Around 80% reduction compared to 2024
✅ Lowest level since records began in 1985
✅ Decline attributed to reduced deforestation, delayed rains and weakening El Niño conditions

🔆 DEFENCE

📍 Kargil Vijay Diwas
✅ Observed annually on 26 July
✅ Commemorates India’s victory in the 1999 Kargil War
✅ India launched Operation Vijay, supported by Operation Safed Sagar of the Indian Air Force
✅ Indian Armed Forces recaptured all occupied positions without crossing the Line of Control (LoC)
✅ Honours the courage and sacrifice of the Armed Forces

🔆 SPORTS

📍 Anahat Singh Wins World Junior Squash Championship
✅ Became the first Indian to win the World Junior Squash Championship
✅ Defeated Ruqayya Salem (Egypt) in the girls’ singles final
✅ First non-Egyptian champion since Amanda Sobhy (2010)
✅ Tournament held at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada

📍 Jhandu Kumar Wins India’s First Medal at Commonwealth Games 2026
✅ Won Bronze Medal in Men’s Heavyweight Para Powerlifting
✅ Native of Bihar
✅ Competition held in Glasgow, Scotland

📍 Commonwealth Games 2026
✅ Being held in Glasgow, Scotland from 23 July – 2 August 2026
✅ Glasgow became host after Victoria (Australia) withdrew
✅ Features 10 sports and 6 integrated para-sports
✅ Conducted across 4 main venues with a streamlined format

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🔆 BHAVYA-Rasayan Scheme (Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana – Rasayan)

📍 Why in News?
✅ The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister, has approved the BHAVYA-Rasayan Scheme.

📍 About the Scheme
✅ Aims to establish 3 dedicated Chemical Parks across India.
✅ Implemented by: State Governments through the Challenge Route.
✅ The Central Government will provide a grant of up to ₹1,000 crore per park.
✅ States must contribute a minimum of ₹500 crore per park.
✅ Parks may be developed as Greenfield or Brownfield projects.

📍 Key Features
✅ Provides plug-and-play infrastructure with common facilities and basic utilities for the chemical industry.

✅ Common facilities include:
✅ Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP)
✅ Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF)
✅ Water supply and distribution systems
✅ Solvent recovery and distillation facilities
✅ Steam generation and distribution network
✅ Interconnected pipeline network
✅ Logistics and warehousing facilities

📍 Benefits
✅ Promotes development of the entire chemical value chain, including upstream, downstream, and ancillary industries.
✅ Reduces logistics costs through efficient resource utilisation.
✅ Enhances global competitiveness through shared infrastructure.
✅ Strengthens India’s integration into Global Value Chains (GVCs).
✅ Boosts exports and promotes import substitution.
✅ Encourages environmentally sustainable industrial development.
✅ Improves compliance with environmental regulations.
✅ Generates employment and supports the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

📍 Prelims Pointer
✅ Scheme: BHAVYA-Rasayan (Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana – Rasayan).
✅ Approved by: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
✅ Objective: Establish 3 dedicated Chemical Parks with plug-and-play infrastructure for the chemical sector.

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🔆 HUNGER

📍 Definition
✅ Hunger is the distress associated with lack of food.
✅ Food deprivation threshold: Less than 1,800 calories/day.

📍 Causes of Hunger
✅ Poverty – Limits access to nutritious food.
✅ Poor implementation of food policies – Weak delivery of welfare schemes.
✅ Protein Hunger – Inadequate protein-rich foods in PDS.
✅ Hidden Hunger – Deficiency of micronutrients like iron, zinc & vitamins.

📍 Government Initiatives
✅ POSHAN Abhiyaan – Targets stunting, wasting & anaemia.
✅ Eat Right India Movement – Promotes healthy dietary habits.
✅ Food Fortification – Addition of essential micronutrients to staple foods.
✅ National Food Security Act, 2013 – Covers 75% rural & 50% urban population.
✅ SDG-2 – Aim to achieve Zero Hunger.

📍 Key Reports & Data
✅ Global Hunger Index (2022): India ranked 107/121.
✅ MPI Report (2021):25.01% Indians were multidimensionally poor.
✅ NFHS-5:Stunting – 35.5%, Wasting – 19.3%, Underweight – 32.1%.
✅ India accounts for nearly 24% of the world’s undernourished population (FAO Report).

📍 Issues & Challenges
✅ Calorie deficiency despite surplus foodgrain production.
✅ Poverty–Hunger–Debt vicious cycle.
✅ Non-affordability of nutritious food.
✅ Lack of dietary awareness.
✅ Persistent micronutrient deficiency.

📍 Way Forward
✅ Promote dietary diversity and balanced nutrition.
✅ Expand food fortification initiatives.
✅ Focus on maternal & child nutrition during the first 1,000 days.
✅ Strengthen targeted nutrition assessment and delivery.
✅ Improve implementation of PDS, ICDS & POSHAN Abhiyaan.

📝 UPSC Mains Value Addition
“Food security is not merely the availability of food, but access to adequate, safe and nutritious food for a healthy life.”

Practice Question (GS-2/GS-3):
Despite foodgrain surplus, hunger and malnutrition continue to persist in India. Examine the reasons and suggest measures to address the challenge. (15 Marks)

#mains

Harjinder Kaur wins Silver Medal in Weightlifting.

Finishes at 2nd spot in 69kg category.

Gulveer Singh creates history, becoming the first Indian to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the Men's 10,000m with a brilliant silver medal finish. 👏

Prison system in India

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🔆 CURRENT AFFAIRS – 28 JULY 2026

🔆 POLITY & GOVERNANCE

📍 Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026
✅ Introduced in the Rajya Sabha
✅ Amends the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971
✅ Extends protection to Vande Mataram alongside Jana Gana Mana
✅ Criminalises intentionally preventing the singing of Vande Mataram or disrupting its rendition
✅ Punishment: Up to 3 years’ imprisonment, fine or both; repeat offenders face a minimum 1-year imprisonment

📍 Supreme Court Reaffirms Right to Peaceful Protest
✅ Right to peaceful and lawful protest protected under the Constitution
✅ Police excesses such as lathi-charge cannot be justified merely due to public protests
✅ Supreme Court is considering a uniform nationwide protocol for police conduct during protests
✅ Held that use of pellet guns/Projectile Action Guns (PAGs) violates the principles of necessity, proportionality and reasonableness
✅ Reinforces Article 19(1)(b) guaranteeing the Right to Assemble Peacefully

🔆 INTERNATIONAL

📍 Spain Declares National Emergency Over Wildfires
✅ Spain declared a national emergency due to an unprecedented wildfire crisis
✅ First such declaration in Spanish history specifically for wildfires
✅ Triggered by extreme heat (above 39°C) and strong winds
✅ India’s National Emergency under Article 352 can be proclaimed only during war, external aggression or armed rebellion
✅ National Emergency has been declared in India three times: 1962, 1971 and 1975

🔆 AGRICULTURE

📍 Integrated Farming Gains Momentum in Northeast India
✅ Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) combine crops, livestock, fishery, poultry and trees
✅ Promoted under the Joint Initiative for Village Advancement (JIVA) in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh
✅ Animal waste used as manure, crop residues feed livestock and pond water irrigates crops
✅ Improves year-round income, biodiversity and climate resilience
✅ JIVA launched by NABARD in 2022 to promote agroecology-based natural farming

📍 Government Approves Use of Anhydrous Ammonia as Fertiliser
✅ Approved for agricultural use for an initial period of 3 years
✅ Contains 82% nitrogen, compared to 46% in conventional urea
✅ Expected to improve fertiliser efficiency by around 10%
✅ Supports the National Green Hydrogen Mission
✅ Promotes production of Green Urea using Green Ammonia

🔆 ENVIRONMENT

📍 Declining Bird Migration Linked to Insect Mismatch
✅ Climate change is disrupting synchronisation between bird migration and arthropod emergence
✅ Rising temperatures cause insects to emerge earlier at higher elevations
✅ Migratory birds often arrive after peak food availability
✅ Insect-eating and ground-feeding birds are most affected
✅ Arthropods undergo diapause (winter dormancy) during cold conditions

📍 DNA Metabarcoding Reveals Dhole Diet
✅ Study found dholes (Asiatic wild dogs) primarily prey on chital and sambar
✅ Researchers identified 15 prey species using DNA metabarcoding
✅ Technique analyses environmental DNA (eDNA) from samples such as soil and water
✅ Uses DNA extraction, PCR amplification and high-throughput sequencing
✅ Enables rapid identification of multiple species from mixed biological samples

🔆 IMPORTANT DAYS

📍 World Hepatitis Day 2026
✅ Observed annually on 28 July
✅ Theme: “Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down”
✅ Aims to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030
✅ Officially observed by WHO since 2010

🔆 SPORTS

📍 Mirabai Chanu Wins Third Consecutive Commonwealth Games Gold
✅ Won Gold Medal in Women’s 48 kg Weightlifting
✅ Achieved a record total lift of 190 kg
✅ Third consecutive Commonwealth Games Gold after 2018 and 2022
✅ Competition held in Glasgow, Scotland

🔆 ECONOMY

📍 Number of ₹100-Crore Income Earners Rises Sharply
✅ 576 individuals declared income exceeding ₹100 crore in Assessment Year 2025–26
✅ Around fourfold increase over the last 5 years
✅ Data released by the Ministry of Finance
✅ Government clarified that “billionaire” has no statutory definition under the Income Tax Act

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🔆 CURRENT AFFAIRS – 29 JULY 2026

🔆 HISTORY, ART & CULTURE

📍 650th Birth Anniversary of Sant Guru Ravidas
✅ Government launched Samarasya Sankalp Abhiyan to commemorate the 650th birth anniversary of Sant Guru Ravidas
✅ Campaign runs from 29 July 2026 to 20 February 2027 (Magha Purnima)
✅ Guru Ravidas was a 15th–16th century Bhakti movement saint and mystic poet
✅ His hymns are included in the Guru Granth Sahib
✅ His compositions also appear in the Panch Vani of the Dadu Panthi tradition

🔆 GEOGRAPHY

📍 Kosi–Mechi Link Project
✅ Targeted for completion by March 2029
✅ Included under PMKSY–Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP)
✅ India and Nepal continue dialogue on Kosi River dam projects
✅ Joint Project Office (JPO-SKSKI) established in 2003 is preparing DPRs for the Sapta Kosi Multipurpose Project

🔆 INTERNATIONAL

📍 UNESCO Updates List of World Heritage in Danger
✅ During the 48th Session in Busan, Republic of Korea, UNESCO added 6 new sites to the List of World Heritage in Danger
✅ Mechanism created under the 1972 World Heritage Convention
✅ Aims to mobilise international assistance, funding and conservation efforts
✅ Newly added sites include Boma-Badingilo (South Sudan), Tyre & Mount Amel Castles (Lebanon), Sebastia (Palestine), Taurica Chersonese (Ukraine) and Historic Inner City of Paramaribo (Suriname)

📍 UNESCO Adds 25 New World Heritage Sites
✅ UNESCO added 25 new World Heritage Sites, taking the global total to 1,273
✅ Sarnath became India’s newest World Heritage Site
✅ First-ever inscriptions for three African countries
✅ All inscriptions adopted by consensus

📍 India Becomes World’s Second-Largest Supplier of Seafarers
✅ India now ranks 2nd globally, after the Philippines
✅ Contributes 311,936 seafarers, accounting for 12.16% of the global workforce
✅ India’s share increased from 5.2% (2015) to 12.16% (2026)
✅ Mission 20% aims to raise India’s global share to 20%

📍 Wildfire Crisis Intensifies Across Europe
✅ Major wildfires continue across France, Spain, Italy and parts of Scotland
✅ Gironde (France) emerged as Europe’s largest wildfire hotspot
✅ Spain remains under a national emergency due to wildfires
✅ Extreme heat and climate change continue to intensify wildfire risks

🔆 ECONOMY

📍 India’s First Direct Commercial Container Freight Train to Nepal
✅ First direct commercial freight service reached Biratnagar Customs Yard, Nepal
✅ Route: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port (Kolkata) – Jogbani – Biratnagar
✅ Train carried 40 wagons of bulk canola grain
✅ Eliminates border transshipment under the revised India–Nepal Rail Transit Protocol
✅ Reduces logistics costs, cargo damage and transit time

🔆 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

📍 Astronomers Discover Actively Forming Blue Straggler Star
✅ Blue Straggler Stars (BSS) appear hotter, brighter and more massive than neighbouring stars
✅ Form through mass transfer from a companion or stellar mergers
✅ Newly discovered BSS has 1.67 solar masses
✅ Companion star has about 0.32 solar mass
✅ Discovery provides insights into stellar evolution and star cluster dynamics

📍 Andromeda Galaxy’s Star Formation Declines
✅ Star formation has declined significantly, especially over the last 40 million years
✅ Andromeda is around 2–2.5 times wider than the Milky Way
✅ Scientists identified a “dead zone” near satellite galaxy M32
✅ Milky Way and Andromeda have a possibility of colliding within the next 10 billion years

📍 China Tests World’s Largest Superconducting Fusion Magnet
✅ Developed for China’s “Artificial Sun” nuclear fusion project
✅ Weight: 582 metric tonnes
✅ Magnetic field strength: 6.5 Tesla
✅ Operates at around −269°C
✅ Carries electrical current exceeding 100,000 amperes
✅ Designed lifespan: 60 years

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