Current affairs July 20 – July 26, 2026 for CUET

India's six-member team won 2 gold and 4 silver medals at the 67th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) 2026 in Shanghai, China, finishing 7th of 117 countries unofficially. About 666 students took part, the largest IMO since it began in 1959. India's best rank remains 4th, at IMO 2024; since its debut in 1989 India has won 25 IMO golds.

On 23 July 2026 DRDO conducted the maiden flight test of Kusha, a long-range surface-to-air missile, from APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha. It intercepted an electronic target simulating a high-speed, high-altitude aerial threat.

Kusha is meant to neutralise fighter jets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and large aircraft. Its missiles, radars and command and control centre were all developed by DRDO laboratories and industry partners, and the Defence Minister described it as a class of system only a handful of nations have.

Answering Parliament on 23 July 2026, the Department of Space said that from July 2023 to June 2026 India launched 12 launch-vehicle missions successfully, carrying 11 national satellites and 9 for international customers.

The period included Chandrayaan-3's landing near the lunar south pole, Aditya-L1, the 100th launch from Sriharikota, SpaDeX (which made India the fourth country to demonstrate docking in space), the completion of SSLV development, NISAR, and the two record LVM3 flights. India has four operational launch vehicles: PSLV, GSLV, GSLV Mk III (LVM3) and SSLV.

On 24 July 2026 the Cabinet approved BHAVYA Rasayan (Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana Rasayan) to set up three dedicated chemical parks, as announced in the Union Budget 2026-27. The outlay is ₹3,030 crore for 2026-27 to 2030-31, with a central grant of up to ₹1,000 crore a park, subject to at least ₹500 crore from the state. It is run by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

On 25 July 2026, at the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea, the 'Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath' was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as India's 45th property. The serial site, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, has two parts: the Chaukhandi Stupa, and the archaeological remains of Sarnath, which include the Dhamekh and Dharmarajika stupas, the Mulagandhakuti Vihara and the Ashokan pillar. It is where the Buddha gave his first sermon, the Dharmachakra Pravartana, and met his first disciples.

With Sarnath, three of the four principal Buddhist pilgrimage sites are on the list: Lumbini in Nepal, the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, and Sarnath. The site had been on India's Tentative List since 1998.

At the Glasgow Commonwealth Games of 23 July to 2 August 2026, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won India's first gold, her third consecutive Commonwealth Games title. India's Commonwealth Games story began in 1934.

The Union Budget 2026-27 gave the Sports Ministry a record ₹4,479.88 crore, up from ₹1,219 crore in 2013-14; Khelo India is the core of its programmes.