UPSC EPFO / APFC Current Affairs One-liners — Last 6 months

Sat, 18 Jul 2026

• The Bar Council of India hosted the Draft Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2026 on its website on 18 July 2026, inviting comments from stakeholders and the public by 31 July 2026 (3 PM).
• MNRE said on 18 July 2026 that there is no change in ALMM List-II policy for solar PV cells, but net-metering and open-access RE projects can commission without ALMM List-II cells till 31 December 2026.
• Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal concluded a visit to Spain, Belgium, Finland and Estonia (13–18 July 2026), co-chairing the 3rd India–EU Trade and Technology Council ministerial meeting in Brussels.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep sorrow on 18 July 2026 over the passing of Smt. Chennamma, wife of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.

Fri, 17 Jul 2026

• NITI Aayog released the Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) on 17 July 2026, naming Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Odisha as Top Performers.
• Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV) held its 4th Convocation on 17 July 2026, conferring its first-ever honorary Ph.D. on 'Metro Man' E. Sreedharan; Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu was chief guest.
• The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) imposed a ₹1 lakh penalty on SpiceJet, announced on 17 July 2026, for dark patterns such as pre-ticked enrolment into its loyalty programme.
• The Government of India announced on 17 July 2026 that it has notified the commencement of the National Anti-Doping Act, 2022 and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Act, 2025.
• Bharat Tex 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, drew about ₹14,300 crore of textile investment commitments with 30+ MoUs and 1,647 exhibitors in its first three days, the Textiles Ministry said on 17 July 2026.
• The 12th meeting of the National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS), chaired by the Central Water Commission Chairman, was held in New Delhi on 17 July 2026.
• Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan released the book 'RSS @100: A Century of Service, Unity & Sacrifice', authored by Shyam Jaju and Anupam Trivedi, on 17 July 2026.

Thu, 16 Jul 2026

• NITI Aayog's 'Roadmap for Building India as a Leading Bioeconomy Powerhouse by 2035', launched by Dr Jitendra Singh on 16 July 2026, aims to grow India's bioeconomy to $691 billion by 2035 and $2.6 trillion by 2047.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of oceanographer Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala as Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, for two years, as announced on 16 July 2026.
• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) celebrated its 98th Foundation Day on 16 July 2026, with Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan saying ICAR developed 386 improved varieties across 44 crops in the past year.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Qatar's Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on 16 July 2026 and conveyed condolences on the passing of the Father Amir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended greetings on the occasion of Rath Yatra on 16 July 2026, seeking the blessings of Mahaprabhu Jagannath.

Wed, 15 Jul 2026

• The India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Agreement on Social Security (Double Contribution Convention) entered into force on 15 July 2026, giving zero-duty access to nearly 99% of India's exports.
• The Union Cabinet approved Semicon 2.0 on 15 July 2026 with a total outlay of ₹1,27,500 crore to build India's semiconductor design and manufacturing ecosystem on six pillars.
• On World Youth Skills Day, 15 July 2026, MoS Jayant Chaudhary unveiled the IndiaSkills Competition 2026–27 guidelines covering 63 skill categories, launched the WorldSkills India Champions Club and announced a ~₹530-crore Skills Outcomes Fund.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the National Investment Policy for Urea-2026 for Atmanirbhar Bharat (NIPU-2026) on 15 July 2026 to attract new investment in gas-based urea plants.
• The Union Cabinet approved the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) on 15 July 2026 with an outlay of ₹62,500 crore for FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31.
• Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy launched the eighth tranche of e-auction of 20 critical and strategic mineral blocks across nine States on 15 July 2026, at the curtain raiser of India Mining Week 2026.
• The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) monthly bulletin for June 2026, released on 15 July 2026, put the unemployment rate (15+ years) at 5.5% and the labour force participation rate at 54.4%.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to K. Kamaraj on his birth anniversary on 15 July 2026, remembering him as a stalwart of India's freedom movement.

Tue, 14 Jul 2026

• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on 14 July 2026 brought out its first release of the trial Index of Services Production (ISP) for 19 sub-sectors, with base year 2024-25.
• Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced eight more structural reforms under 'Reform Express' on 14 July 2026, taking the total to 17 against a target of 52 reforms in 52 weeks.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 14 July 2026 flagged off the 13-day 'Shaurya Vijay Yatra' motorcycle expedition from the National War Memorial, New Delhi, to the Kargil War Memorial in Dras, Ladakh.
• The first round of India–Maldives Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, held virtually from 29 June to 7 July 2026, concluded with eight technical sessions covering eight policy areas.
• All-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation rose to 9.87% year-on-year in June 2026 from 9.68% in May 2026, on the 2022-23 base.
• Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan released the book 'The Voice of Justice: Justice Gavai Speaks', a collection of speeches of former Chief Justice of India B. R. Gavai, on 14 July 2026.