Current Affairs — 26 July 2026

1. Kargil Vijay Diwas 2026: Twenty-Seven Years of Operation Vijay

Core Context
Every year on 26 July, India observes Kargil Vijay Diwas to mark the successful conclusion of Operation Vijay, the military campaign launched in 1999 to evict Pakistani soldiers and infiltrators who had occupied strategic mountain heights along the Line of Control in the Kargil sector of the then state of Jammu and Kashmir, now part of the Union Territory of Ladakh. The year 2026 marks the twenty-seventh anniversary of this hard-fought victory.

Latest Developments

• The President and the Prime Minister paid homage to soldiers who laid down their lives in the 1999 conflict, describing their courage as a continuing source of national pride.
• The principal commemorative ceremony was held at the Kargil War Memorial in Dras, Ladakh, with tributes also organised at military stations, schools, and public institutions across the country.
• In his 136th Mann Ki Baat radio address broadcast the same day, the Prime Minister connected the occasion to India's growing defence self-reliance, referring to the recent test of the indigenous Kusha air defence missile system and a new defence export arrangement involving BrahMos and Astra missiles with Indonesia.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Kargil War of 1999 was fought primarily in the Kargil district of the then state of Jammu and Kashmir, along the Line of Control, not the international border.
• The Indian Army's ground operation to reclaim occupied heights was codenamed Operation Vijay, while the supporting Indian Air Force campaign was codenamed Operation Safed Sagar.
• Key locations associated with the conflict include Tololing, Tiger Hill, and the Batalik sector.
• The Kargil War Memorial, dedicated to the fallen, is located at Dras, often described as one of the coldest inhabited places in the world.
• The Kargil Review Committee, headed by K. Subrahmanyam, was set up after the war to examine intelligence and security lapses; its recommendations eventually contributed to reforms such as the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff and the Integrated Defence Staff.

2. Project Kusha: India's Indigenous Long-Range Air Defence Shield

Core Context
Alongside the Kargil Vijay Diwas commemorations, the Defence Research and Development Organisation's long-range air defence missile programme, Project Kusha, stayed in the news following the maiden flight test of its first interceptor variant earlier in the week, a development the Prime Minister cited in his radio address as evidence of India's strengthening indigenous defence capability.

Latest Developments

• The first flight test of the Kusha long-range surface-to-air missile was carried out from a test range off the coast of Odisha, successfully intercepting a simulated high-speed, high-altitude aerial threat.
• The programme envisages three interceptor variants with approximate ranges of 150 km, 250 km, and 400 km, designed to counter threats ranging from aircraft and cruise missiles to more advanced aerial systems.
• The system is being developed with the aim of reducing India's dependence on imported long-range air defence platforms, with phased induction currently targeted between 2028 and 2030.
• The same broadcast also referred to a defence export understanding involving BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and Astra air-to-air missiles with Indonesia.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation functions under the Ministry of Defence and is India's premier agency for defence research and development.
• BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed as a joint venture between India's DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, its name derived from the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva.
• Astra is an indigenously developed beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile.
• The S-400 Triumf, a long-range surface-to-air missile system India has procured from Russia, is often used as a benchmark while discussing indigenous long-range air defence programmes such as Kusha.
• Common Indian missile test sites include APJ Abdul Kalam Island, formerly known as Wheeler Island, and the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, both off the Odisha coast.
• Akash is an existing indigenously developed short-to-medium range surface-to-air missile already inducted into India's air defence network.

3. Sixteenth BRICS Health Ministers' Meeting: Building Resilient Global Health Systems

Core Context
Holding the BRICS Chairship for 2026, India hosted the sixteenth BRICS Health Ministers' Meeting in Chandigarh, bringing together health ministers, heads of delegation, and senior public health officials from member countries to deliberate on shared health priorities and a more resilient global health architecture.

Latest Developments

• The meeting concluded with the unanimous adoption of a Health Ministerial Declaration, reaffirming commitment to Universal Health Coverage, pandemic preparedness, digital health, regulatory cooperation, and equitable access to medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics.
• Member countries launched the BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle and endorsed a joint roadmap for healthy lifestyle promotion covering the period 2026 to 2029.
• India announced the establishment of a new BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Mental Wellness, to be coordinated by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru.
• The meeting was organised around India's BRICS Chairship theme centred on resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• BRICS originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa; the grouping has since expanded to include additional members from West Asia, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
• India holds the BRICS Chairship for the year 2026, giving it the responsibility of hosting ministerial and summit-level meetings through the year.
• The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, headquartered in Bengaluru, is an Institute of National Importance specialising in mental health and neuroscience.
• Universal Health Coverage refers to ensuring that all individuals and communities can access needed health services without facing financial hardship, and is a specific target under Sustainable Development Goal 3.
• The New Development Bank, headquartered in Shanghai, is a notable financial institution set up by BRICS nations.

4. Examination Reforms: A High-Powered Task Force and a New Amendment Bill

Core Context
Amid continuing controversy over alleged irregularities in a major national entrance examination, the Prime Minister announced the constitution of a high-powered task force to recommend technological and structural measures for securing public examinations, even as the government prepared to move legislation to further tighten the legal framework against paper leaks.

Latest Developments

• The task force will be headed by Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys and widely credited as the architect of the Aadhaar project.
• Its members include a former ISRO chairman, a former Intelligence Bureau director, the director of IIT Chennai, a former Union Education Secretary, and a logistics management expert.
• The task force has been asked to recommend ways to maximise the use of technology so that examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency become more transparent and free from irregularities.
• The government also moved to introduce the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, envisaging stricter timelines for investigation and trial along with enhanced penal provisions for those found guilty of organising paper leaks.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The National Testing Agency is an autonomous body under the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, established in 2017 to conduct entrance examinations such as JEE Main, NEET-UG, and CUET.
• The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 was India's first standalone central law criminalising organised cheating and paper leaks in public examinations, making such offences cognizable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable.
• A task force constituted by the executive is distinct from a statutory body; its recommendations typically require subsequent administrative or legislative action to take legal effect.
• Aadhaar, India's biometric identity project, is administered by the Unique Identification Authority of India.

5. Chhattisgarh's Floating Solar Push on Dams and Reservoirs

Core Context
The Chhattisgarh government announced plans to install floating solar photovoltaic plants across thirty-two major dams and reservoirs in the state, aiming to add close to 2,000 MW of renewable energy capacity, building on the success of the state's first floating solar installation.

Latest Developments

• The plan follows the successful operation of Chhattisgarh's first 15 MW floating solar plant at the Maroda-I reservoir in Durg district, developed by a subsidiary of NTPC.
• Additional floating solar capacity is planned at sites in Janjgir-Champa, the Pokhridih Rakhad Dam in Korba, and the reservoir attached to the Hasdeo Thermal Power Station.
• The projects are planned to be paired with Battery Energy Storage Systems, allowing surplus daytime solar generation to be stored and used during peak evening demand.
• A feasibility study proposal has been submitted to the state's Water Resources Department ahead of full-scale rollout.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• Floating solar, or floating photovoltaic technology, involves mounting solar panels on floating structures over water bodies such as reservoirs, dams, and lakes.
• Its advantages include reduced land acquisition requirements, lower evaporation losses from the water body, and improved panel efficiency due to the cooling effect of water.
• Notable existing floating solar installations in India include the Ramagundam floating solar project in Telangana and the Omkareshwar Floating Solar Power Park on the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh.
• The National Solar Mission is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
• India has set a target of achieving about 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based installed electricity capacity by 2030, part of its enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.

6. Commonwealth Games 2026: Mirabai Chanu's Historic Hat-Trick

Core Context
At the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow, Indian weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu delivered India's first gold medal of the Games, completing a hat-trick of Commonwealth Games gold medals in the women's 48 kg weightlifting category.

Latest Developments

• Mirabai Chanu lifted a total of 190 kg, comprising an 85 kg snatch and a 105 kg clean and jerk, setting new Games records across the snatch, clean and jerk, and total categories.
• This was her fourth Commonwealth Games medal overall, following a silver at Glasgow 2014 and gold medals at Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022.
• The Prime Minister congratulated her on the achievement, while fellow Indian weightlifter Rishikanta Singh Chanambam also won a medal in the men's category around the same time.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from nations of the Commonwealth; Glasgow is hosting the 2026 edition.
• Mirabai Chanu, who hails from Manipur, is also an Olympic medallist, having won silver in the women's 49 kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
• She has previously been honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, now renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, and the Padma Shri.
• Prelims questions frequently test links between sportspersons, their home states, and national sporting honours such as the Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award.