Current Affairs 28 July 2026

Mount Olympus and D-Day Beaches Added to UNESCO World Heritage List

UNESCO added the wider area of Mount Olympus in Greece and the D-Day Landing Beaches of Normandy in France to the World Heritage List during the 48th Session of the World Heritage Committee held in Busan, Republic of Korea, from July 19–29, 2026.

The Normandy property covers approximately 80 km of coastline and consists of six components: Omaha, Utah, Sword, Gold and Juno beaches, along with Pointe du Hoc. These sites are associated with the Allied landings of June 6, 1944, which marked the opening phase of Operation Overlord and the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation.

Mount Olympus, located in northern Greece, is the country’s highest mountain. It was regarded in ancient Greek mythology as the home of the Twelve Olympian Gods, led by Zeus.

Kosi–Mechi Intra-State Link Project

The Kosi–Mechi Intra-State Link Project in Bihar has been included under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana–Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (PMKSY-AIBP). The project is scheduled for completion by March 2029. The project seeks to divert part of the surplus monsoon water of the Kosi River to the Mahananda basin by remodelling the existing Eastern Kosi Main Canal up to 41.30 km and extending it to the Mechi River.

Andhra Pradesh Launches AI-Powered City Flood Alert Platform

The Andhra Pradesh government launched City Flood Alert, an Artificial Intelligence-powered platform designed to predict urban flooding and support preventive disaster management. It was developed by the Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) in collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) and the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar.

The platform provides rainfall forecasts up to 48 hours in advance and flash-flood warnings up to six hours in advance. It combines Artificial Intelligence, predictive analytics, satellite-based terrain mapping and hydrological modelling to identify areas vulnerable to inundation.

City Flood Alert has initially been deployed in Vijayawada, where low-lying areas are frequently affected by flooding associated with the Budameru rivulet.

Andhra Pradesh Ranks Second in Mangrove Restoration

Andhra Pradesh secured second place in India in mangrove plantation and restoration under the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes (MISHTI). Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Environment and Forests K. Pawan Kalyan described the achievement as an important milestone in ecological restoration and climate resilience.

According to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department’s achievement report for 2025–26, mangrove plantations were developed across 2,047.70 hectares, with an investment of ₹18.04 crore in coastal ecosystem restoration. The State has set a target to restore another 1,618 hectares during 2026–27.

The State adopted the Fish Bone Technique for mangrove restoration. Under this method, a network of branching channels resembling a fish skeleton is created to improve the movement of tidal water into degraded areas. Better tidal circulation maintains suitable salinity, improves natural seed dispersal and increases the survival rate of mangroves. Mangroves are important reservoirs of blue carbon.

Public Examinations Amendment Bill, 2026

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 27, 2026. It seeks to amend the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which aims to prevent paper leaks, organised cheating, and other unfair practices in specified public examinations. The measure is currently a Bill and has not yet become law.

The investigation must be completed within two months. Every State and Union Territory would have to designate a Court of Session as a Special Fast Track Court, and trials must ordinarily be completed within three months of filing the chargesheet. Appeals would lie before a two-judge Bench of the respective High Court.

Key Points for Exams:

• Maximum fine for an individual using unfair means: ₹50 lakh
• Maximum fine for an offending service provider: ₹5 crore
• Minimum punishment for organised crime: Seven years’ imprisonment and ₹10 crore fine
• Investigation deadline: Two months
• Trial deadline: Three months from filing of the chargesheet

BitChat – a Bluetooth Low Energy mesh network

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs directed GitHub on July 23, 2026, to remove or disable access to three repositories associated with BitChat. The government stated that the application’s anonymous and decentralised architecture could be misused to evade lawful surveillance, coordinate unlawful activities, and bypass internet restrictions imposed during public-order emergencies.

BitChat is a decentralised, peer-to-peer messaging application developed by a team associated with X co-founder Jack Dorsey. It enables nearby devices to exchange messages through a Bluetooth Low Energy mesh network without requiring an internet connection, mobile network, central server, phone number or conventional user account. Each device can discover nearby users and relay messages across multiple devices, extending communication beyond the direct Bluetooth range.

Blue Straggler Star

Indian astronomers and their international collaborators have discovered a Blue Straggler Star (BSS) actively forming through the transfer of matter from a companion star. Blue stragglers are unusual stars in clusters that appear hotter, brighter and more massive—and therefore younger—than other stars formed at the same time.

PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme

The PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme is a Central Sector Scheme launched on November 6, 2024, to ensure that financial constraints do not prevent meritorious students from pursuing higher education. It provides collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans to students admitted on merit to designated Quality Higher Education Institutions.

Students with an annual family income of up to ₹8 lakh are eligible for a 3% interest subvention on education loans of up to ₹10 lakh. Up to one lakh new students can receive this benefit each year, provided they are not receiving another education-loan interest subsidy or scholarship. The scheme has an outlay of ₹3,600 crore for 2024–25 to 2030–31.

Mirabai Chanu Wins Third Consecutive Commonwealth Games Gold

Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won the women’s 48 kg gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. It was India’s first gold medal at the Games and Mirabai’s third consecutive Commonwealth Games title after her victories at Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022.

Chanambam Rishikanta Singh won the silver medal in the men’s 60 kg category. The Manipuri lifter recorded 121 kg in snatch and 143 kg in clean and jerk for a total of 264 kg.

Raja Muthupandi Wins Silver at Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Indian weightlifter Raja Muthupandi won the silver medal in the men’s 65 kg category at the 2026 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, Scotland. He finished with a combined lift of 286 kg, consisting of 126 kg in the snatch and 160 kg in the clean and jerk.

Gyaneshwari Yadav Wins Commonwealth Games Weightlifting Silver

Indian weightlifter Gyaneshwari Yadav won the silver medal in the women’s 53 kg category at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. The 23-year-old athlete from Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, recorded a career-best total lift of 199 kg.

Q1. Who won the women’s 48 kg weightlifting gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games?
A. Bindyarani Devi
B. Mirabai Chanu
C. Sanjita Chanu
D. None of the Above

Q2. BitChat, which was recently seen in the news, primarily enables communication using which technology?
A. Satellite communication
B. Bluetooth mesh networking
C. Optical-fibre networking
D. Near Field Communication only

Q3. Mount Olympus, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2026, is located in which country?
A. Italy
B. Greece
C. Türkiye
D. France

Q4. The AI-powered City Flood Alert platform launched in Andhra Pradesh was initially deployed in which city?
A. Visakhapatnam
B. Vijayawada
C. Tirupati
D. Kurnool

Q5. What rank did Andhra Pradesh secure nationally under the MISHTI programme for mangrove restoration?
A. First
B. Second
C. Third
D. Fourth

Q6. Who won the silver medal in the men’s 65 kg weightlifting category at the 2026 Commonwealth Games?
A. Raja Muthupandi
B. Rishikanta Singh
C. Gurdeep Singh
D. Achinta Sheuli

Q7. Which of the following correctly describes the benefits available under the PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme?
A. It only provides interest subvention on education loans already taken by students.
B. It directly provides grants to all students admitted to higher education institutions.
C. It facilitates collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans, with an additional 3% interest subvention for eligible students.
D. It provides complete waiver of education loans up to ₹10 lakh.

Q8. Under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, what is the proposed minimum fine for organised crime?
A. ₹1 crore
B. ₹5 crore
C. ₹10 crore
D. ₹50 crore

Q9. The recently observed formation of a Blue Straggler Star in the binary system TIC 327546480 is primarily occurring through which process?
A. Collision between two galaxies
B. Mass transfer from a companion star
C. Accretion of matter from a black hole
D. Fragmentation of a molecular cloud

Q10. Who won the silver medal in the women’s 53 kg weightlifting category at the 2026 Commonwealth Games?
A. Mirabai Chanu
B. Gyaneshwari Yadav
C. Bindyarani Devi
D. Sanjita Chanu