Current Affairs Quiz 12 July 2026

FACT: The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 proposes to insert Article 82A to enable simultaneous elections, with an “appointed date” notified by the President on the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election, and it amends Articles 83, 172 and 327. ANALYSIS: The JPC, chaired by P.P. Chaudhary, concluded consultations in Goa in July 2026 and is moving toward adopting its report.

FACT: The High-Level Committee on Simultaneous Elections was chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind and submitted its report in March 2024. ANALYSIS: It recommended a two-step synchronisation, first the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, then local bodies within 100 days.

FACT: TReDS (Trade Receivables Discounting System) is an RBI-authorised electronic platform operating under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. ANALYSIS: In July 2026 the Centre mandated that all Central Public Sector Enterprises route MSME invoice settlements through TReDS, and planned a GeM-TReDS interlink.

FACT: Section 15 of the MSMED Act, 2006 requires the buyer to pay within 45 days, and Section 16 mandates compound interest at three times the RBI bank rate on delayed payment. ANALYSIS: Persistent delays are the biggest working-capital drain on MSMEs, which is why TReDS was made mandatory for CPSEs.

FACT: RhoDIS (Rhino DNA Index System) is a forensic database of individual rhino genetic fingerprints, used to link seized horn to a poached animal and to map population genetics. ANALYSIS: The 91st Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife approved a long-term Greater One-Horned Rhino strategy built on RhoDIS, and brought the pygmy hog under the Species Recovery Programme.

FACT: The National Board for Wildlife is chaired by the Prime Minister, while its Standing Committee is chaired by the Union Environment Minister. ANALYSIS: The 91st SC-NBWL, chaired by Bhupender Yadav, cleared the RhoDIS rhino strategy, a Great Indian Bustard strategy and the pygmy hog’s inclusion in the Species Recovery Programme, while reviewing 118 project proposals.

FACT: The pygmy hog (Porcula salvania), the world’s smallest wild pig, is IUCN Endangered and confined mainly to the grasslands of Manas in Assam, with reintroductions elsewhere. ANALYSIS: The 91st SC-NBWL approved its inclusion in the Species Recovery Programme.

FACT: The Railway Board approved India’s first regular daily hydrogen fuel-cell passenger service on the 89-km Jind-Sonipat section of Northern Railway in Haryana. ANALYSIS: The 10-coach rake, built by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai, has a 1,200 kW fuel-cell system and emits only water vapour and heat.

FACT: A hydrogen fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, water and heat, with zero tailpipe carbon dioxide, NOx or particulate matter. ANALYSIS: A fuel cell is only as clean as the electricity used to make the hydrogen, which is why green versus grey hydrogen matters.

FACT: PMFME (Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises) is implemented by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), launched on June 29, 2020 under Atmanirbhar Bharat. ANALYSIS: It crossed two lakh credit-linked beneficiaries in July 2026, leveraging over Rs 20,300 crore of investment, with about 44 per cent women beneficiaries.

FACT: PMFME offers a credit-linked capital subsidy of 35 per cent of eligible project cost, capped at Rs 10 lakh per unit, plus seed capital of Rs 40,000 per self-help group member. ANALYSIS: The scheme is centrally sponsored, cost-shared 60:40 between Centre and States (90:10 for North-Eastern and Himalayan States).

FACT: The Lok Samvardhan Parv is held under PM VIKAS (Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan), the Ministry of Minority Affairs scheme. ANALYSIS: The sixth edition opened at Dehradun on July 11, 2026, with Uttarakhand becoming the first state to co-organise it with the Centre.

FACT: Article 29 protects the interests of minorities (language, script and culture) and Article 30 guarantees their right to establish and administer educational institutions. ANALYSIS: These frame the constitutional basis for minority-welfare programmes such as PM VIKAS, under which the Lok Samvardhan Parv is held.

FACT: Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 jointly with India’s Kailash Satyarthi, becoming the youngest-ever Nobel laureate. ANALYSIS: Malala Day (July 12) dates from her address to the UN Youth Assembly on July 12, 2013 advocating education for every child.

FACT: The Global Liveability Index is published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), ranking 173 cities on 30 indicators across stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. ANALYSIS: Copenhagen topped the 2026 index, while New Delhi and Mumbai ranked around 120th.

FACT: Sheathia meghalayensis is a new freshwater red alga (Rhodophyta) described from a stream near Crinoline Falls in the East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. ANALYSIS: Freshwater red algae are bioindicators of pristine, oxygen-rich water, and the species has been proposed as Critically Endangered.