Wednesday, 15 July 2026

Renowned Tamil poet and lyricist R. Vairamuthu was conferred the 60th Jnanpith Award (for 2025), India's highest literary honour, becoming the third Tamil writer and first Tamil poet to receive it.

The DRDO, with Bengaluru's Taqbit Labs, completed military field trials of an indigenous fibre-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system for intercept-proof, secure communications.

The India-UK CETA became operational on July 15, with India exporting over $140 million of goods to the UK at zero duty on the first day.

India, under its 2026 BRICS Chairship, hosted the 12th BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting in Hyderabad, which adopted a labour declaration and launched the BRICS CONNECT platform.

At the 3rd India-EU Trade and Technology Council in Brussels, the two sides advanced cooperation on AI, semiconductors, 6G and quantum, and agreed to negotiate India's Horizon Europe association.

The Union Cabinet cleared ₹1.27 lakh crore for the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission, expecting ₹4 lakh crore investment and ₹2 lakh crore in chip production.

India's drug regulator CDSCO approved Leiutis Pharmaceuticals' synthetic cannabidiol (CBD) oral solution for mild-to-moderate anxiety — the world's first such approval, developed entirely in India.

The Union Cabinet approved the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) with a ₹62,500 crore outlay, succeeding the smartphone PLI, targeting ₹39 lakh crore output and 60,000 jobs.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced eight structural reforms under the 'Reform Express' initiative covering freight, wagon design and land-acquisition tracking, taking the total to 17.

The RBI approved the appointment of former Chief Election Commissioner and ex-Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar as HDFC Bank's part-time Chairman for three years, effective July 15, 2026.

The centuries-old Bhairav Yatra of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir was officially added to the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of India.

Olympic bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat won gold in the men's 57kg freestyle at the Budapest Ranking Series 2026, beating Georgia's Roberti Dingashvili 13-3.

SEBI adopted a new code of conduct for its board members, mandating recusal from matters involving conflicts of interest and restricting direct stock investments.

The Centre launched the 8th tranche of critical and strategic mineral block auctions, offering 20 blocks across nine states, and outlined plans for a coal exchange.

The CCEA approved the National Investment Policy for Urea-2026 to set up 8-9 new gas-based plants adding 10 million tonnes of capacity, the first such policy in about 14 years.