Daily Edition

Daily Current Affairs

July 19, 2026 • 8 Key Topics

Awards

72nd National Film Awards 2026 Announced

The 72nd National Film Awards, honouring films certified in 2024, were announced with Article 370 winning Best Feature Film and a shared Best Actor award for Kartik Aaryan and Mammootty.

Best Feature Film: Article 370.
Best Actor (shared): Kartik Aaryan (Chandu Champion) and Mammootty (Bramayugam).
Best Actress: Yami Gautam (Article 370).
Best Director: Rajkumar Periasamy (Amaran).
Other notable award-winning films included Srikanth, Amaran, and Raayan.

Exam Context: GK/Awards. National Film Awards are presented by the Directorate of Film Festivals (Ministry of I&B) and are the oldest and most prominent film awards in India, instituted in 1954.

Economy

NITI Aayog Releases First Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) 2026

NITI Aayog released India's first-ever Investment Friendliness Index, ranking Gujarat as the top state among major states with a score of 56.6.

Gujarat topped the ranking among major states with a score of 56.6.
Maharashtra (53.7) and Tamil Nadu (53.3) came second and third.
Top 5 overall performers: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Odisha.
The index evaluates states on 8 pillars (infrastructure, business climate, regulatory ease, financial health, institutional environment, etc.) using 84 indicators.
States are categorised as Top Performers, Frontrunners, Emerging Performers, and Aspiring States.

Exam Context: GS-3 (Economy). NITI Aayog = National Institution for Transforming India, the government's premier policy think tank, headed by the PM as Chairperson.

Appointments

Harjit Singh Grewal Appointed Chairman of National Commission for Minorities

Harjit Singh Grewal, a senior BJP leader from Punjab, was appointed as the new Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM).

Harjit Singh Grewal appointed Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities.
The post had been vacant after the previous Chairperson's tenure ended.

Exam Context: GS-2 (Polity). NCM is a statutory body under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, tasked with safeguarding the interests of notified minority communities (Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Jains).

Health

PM Modi Inaugurates Advanced Centres at PGIMER Chandigarh

PM Modi inaugurated the Advanced Mother and Child Centre and Advanced Neurosciences Centre at PGIMER Chandigarh, and laid the foundation stone for a new Critical Care Block.

Inaugurated the Advanced Mother and Child Centre at PGIMER, Chandigarh.
Inaugurated the Advanced Neurosciences Centre at PGIMER, Chandigarh.
Laid the foundation stone of a 150-bed Modern Critical Care Block under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).

Exam Context: GS-2 (Health/Governance). PGIMER = Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, an autonomous institute of national importance in Chandigarh. PM-ABHIM aims to strengthen health infrastructure at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.

Governance

Maharashtra Moves Towards Full Implementation of NeVA

The Maharashtra Legislature is fast-tracking implementation of the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) to make both Houses fully paperless.

NeVA is a Digital India initiative of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs aimed at making State Legislatures completely paperless ('One Nation, One Application').
A high-level meeting was held in Maharashtra to finalise the MoU and accelerate digitalisation.
Covers both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.

Exam Context: GS-2 (Polity/Governance). NeVA is implemented under the e-Vidhan Mission Mode Project, digitising legislative business (bills, questions, notices) across state legislatures.

Society

Sonam Wangchuk Hospitalised After Extended Hunger Strike

Climate and education activist Sonam Wangchuk was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital after an extended hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in support of protests over examination irregularities and Ladakh's constitutional demands.

Sonam Wangchuk was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital after roughly 21 days of an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar.
The protest sought accountability for examination irregularities, including the NEET paper leak issue, and demanded the Union Education Minister's resignation.
Wangchuk also linked the protest to pending Ladakh demands — constitutional safeguards, Sixth Schedule status, and environmental and cultural protection.

Exam Context: GS-1/GS-2 (Society/Polity). Sonam Wangchuk is a Ramon Magsaysay Award-winning engineer and education reformist from Ladakh, known for sustainable-design and climate activism. The Sixth Schedule (Article 244) provides for autonomous administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.

Judiciary

Supreme Court: SIR Data Use and Intersex Recognition Petition

The Supreme Court opposed using Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral-roll data for non-election purposes, and agreed to examine a petition on legal recognition of intersex persons.

The Supreme Court opposed the use of SIR (Special Intensive Revision) data for purposes other than elections.
The Court agreed to examine a petition seeking recognition of intersex persons as a distinct legal class, separate from male, female, and transgender categories.

Exam Context: GS-2 (Polity/Judiciary). SIR is conducted by the Election Commission of India to update electoral rolls. The NALSA v. Union of India (2014) judgment had earlier recognised transgender persons as a third gender.

Miscellaneous

Other Key Developments — 19 July 2026

A roundup of other notable developments: a new Navy helicopter delivery, an EPFO dispute-resolution scheme, a factory tragedy in Ahmedabad, and a political merger in the Lok Sabha.

The US delivered another MH-60R Seahawk multi-role helicopter to the Indian Navy.
EPFO launched 'VISHWAS 2026', a one-time dispute resolution scheme letting employers settle long-pending damages and penalty cases under the EPF Act at reduced rates, valid for six months.
An illegal firecracker factory blast in Ahmedabad killed 9 people.
The Lok Sabha Speaker approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

Exam Context: Mixed GS-3 (Security/Defence) and GS-3 (Economy/Labour) and GS-2 (Polity). MH-60R Seahawk helicopters are part of India's Navy modernisation deal with the US. EPFO operates under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Prelims Quick-Revision Facts

National Film Awards

Awards

72nd National Film Awards: Best Feature Film — Article 370; Best Actor (shared) — Kartik Aaryan & Mammootty; Best Actress — Yami Gautam.

Investment Friendliness Index

Economy

NITI Aayog's first Investment Friendliness Index 2026: Gujarat ranked #1 (56.6), followed by Maharashtra (53.7) and Tamil Nadu (53.3).

NCM Chairman

Appointments

Harjit Singh Grewal appointed Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities.

PGIMER Chandigarh

Health

PM Modi inaugurated the Advanced Mother and Child Centre and Advanced Neurosciences Centre at PGIMER Chandigarh.

NeVA in Maharashtra

Governance

Maharashtra Legislature fast-tracking NeVA (National e-Vidhan Application) for a fully paperless House.

Sonam Wangchuk

Society

Sonam Wangchuk hospitalised after ~21-day hunger strike over exam-irregularity accountability and Ladakh's constitutional demands.

EPFO VISHWAS 2026

Economy

EPFO's VISHWAS 2026 scheme lets employers settle pending EPF Act penalty cases at reduced rates within a six-month window.

Shiv Sena Merger

Polity

Lok Sabha Speaker approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

Test Yourself on Today's Affairs

Attempt 9 MCQs based on the July 19, 2026 edition.