Current Affairs Quiz 13 July 2026

FACT: Helium is extracted mainly from natural gas fields, where it accumulates over geological time. ANALYSIS: In July 2026 China imposed a temporary ban on helium exports amid strained Strait of Hormuz shipping, and China itself imports more than 85 per cent of its helium.

FACT: Helium is used for cooling in semiconductor fabrication, for the superconducting magnets in MRI scanners, and to purge rocket fuel tanks, but it is inert and is not used as a fuel. ANALYSIS: India has negligible domestic helium and imports almost all of it, mainly from the United States and Qatar.

FACT: The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, estimated that on average about 25 per cent of monsoon rain mass evaporates in mid-air (sub-cloud evaporation) before landing, ranging from about 4 to 61 per cent day to day. ANALYSIS: The team used stable water isotopes on paired rain and vapour samples from the 2019 Pune monsoon.

FACT: India and New Zealand elevated their relationship to a Strategic Partnership and adopted a non-binding Roadmap to 2030, during the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to New Zealand in about 40 years. ANALYSIS: They set a target to roughly double two-way trade to about NZ$7 billion by 2030, with free-trade-agreement talks continuing.

FACT: New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, along with the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. ANALYSIS: This makes the elevation of India-New Zealand ties significant for Indo-Pacific security cooperation.

FACT: Formulations with more than 12 per cent ethyl alcohol now require a licence under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and can be sold only on prescription, to curb the misuse of certain medicinal syrups and tinctures as intoxicants. ANALYSIS: The move brings such formulations under stricter regulatory control.

FACT: The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, together with the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, regulates the import, manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs and cosmetics in India. ANALYSIS: The July 2026 change removed an exemption that had allowed some high-alcohol formulations to be sold without a drug licence.

FACT: In Philippines v. China, a tribunal constituted under Annex VII of UNCLOS ruled in 2016 that China’s “nine-dash line” and claims of historic rights had no legal basis; the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague served as registry. ANALYSIS: China rejected the award and continues to do so.

FACT: Under UNCLOS, the territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles, within which the coastal state has sovereign rights over resources. ANALYSIS: The South China Sea disputes turn on overlapping maritime-zone and historic-rights claims.

FACT: The Hyderabad-based space company Dhruva Space was reported as the first recipient of an investment from the Antariksh Venture Capital Fund (AVCF), a government-backed fund for the space sector anchored by IN-SPACe. ANALYSIS: It reflects India’s push to finance a private space economy following the space-sector reforms.

FACT: IN-SPACe (the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) is an autonomous body under the Department of Space that promotes and authorises non-governmental (private) space activity. ANALYSIS: It anchors the Antariksh Venture Capital Fund and implements the Indian Space Policy 2023.

FACT: India and Canada concluded the third round of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Ottawa in July 2026, targeting conclusion in 2026. ANALYSIS: The two sides aim to raise bilateral trade to about 50 billion dollars by 2030.

FACT: Jannik Sinner of Italy beat Alexander Zverev of Germany to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon 2026, while Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic won the women’s singles. ANALYSIS: Wimbledon is the oldest of the four tennis Grand Slams.

FACT: Kashmir Martyrs’ Day marks July 13, 1931, when twenty-two people were killed by Dogra state forces outside Srinagar Central Jail during the trial of Abdul Qadeer. ANALYSIS: Its status as an official holiday in Jammu and Kashmir was withdrawn in 2019 after the reorganisation of the State.

FACT: China imposed a temporary ban on helium exports in July 2026, notable because China is itself a major importer and re-exporter of helium and therefore a key intermediary node in the supply chain. ANALYSIS: The move added to concerns about critical-material supply security for semiconductors and healthcare.

FACT: The study used stable water isotopes (the heavier isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen) measured on paired rain and vapour samples to estimate sub-cloud evaporation observationally, rather than from models alone. ANALYSIS: This is why it is described as the first observational estimate over the northern Western Ghats.