Daily Current Affairs โ 20 July 2026
Daily Current Affairs ยท 20 July 2026
10 fully-analysed topics ยท 30 bilingual MCQs ยท 3 embedded videos ยท built for UPSC Prelims & Mains
๐ฏ 30 MCQs
๐ฌ 3 Videos
๐ฎ๐ณ Hindi + English
UPSC Current Affairs MCQ โ 20 July 2026
10 UPSC-standard bilingual MCQs covering today's top stories ยท 10-sec timer per question
Score yourself as you go. Get a feel for how UPSC-level questions are framed around the day's news.
History
R. Vairamuthu Conferred 60th Jnanpith Award
Noted Tamil poet and lyricist R. Vairamuthu has been conferred the 60th Jnanpith Award for the year 2025.
- He is the third Tamil literary figure to receive the Jnanpith Award, after Akilan and Jayakanthan, ending a 24-year gap for Tamil literature.
- He had earlier received the Sahitya Akademi Award (2003) for Kallikattu Ithikasam.
- About: The Jnanpith Award, instituted in 1961 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, is India's highest literary honour recognising exceptional lifetimeโฆ
- The 1st woman recipient was Ashapurna Devi (Bengali) in 1976, and the 1st English-language winner was Amitav Ghosh in 2018.
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- It covers all 22 Eighth Schedule languages as well as English (included in 2013). No posthumous awards are given.
Which statement correctly describes R. Vairamuthu Conferred 60th Jnanpith Award?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Polity
Sahitya Akademi Award
Recently, Marathi writer Nanda Khare refused to accept the Sahitya Akademi award for his novel "Udya", published in 2014.
- About Sahitya Akademi Award: Sahitya Akademi award established in 1954
- Akademi gives 24 awards annually to literary works in the languages it has recognized and an equal number of awards to literary translations from andโฆ
- Book/work eligible for the award must be an outstanding contribution to the language and literature to which it belongs.
- When equal merit for books of two or more are found
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- It is a futuristic account of the possible scenarios emerging as consequences of the current capitalistic and machine-driven human life.
- It nuances how humans have been enslaved by machines, particularly by the ones that are susceptible to surveillance of one's personal life.
- The Jnanpith award is the highest literary award in India and can only be conferred annually upon an Indian citizen.
- English along with other languages mentioned in Indian Constitution (8th Schedule) is considered for the Award.
- The prize carries a cash award of Rs. 11 lakhs, a citation, and a bronze replica of Vagdevi (Saraswati), the goddess of learning.
- It is sponsored by the cultural organization Bharatiya Jnanpith.
Which statement correctly describes Sahitya Akademi Award?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Polity
President of India
History
60th Jnanpith Award
Eminent Tamil lyricist and author R. Vairamuthu has been selected for the 60th Jnanpith Award, becoming only the 3rd Tamil writer to receive the prize and the 1st to be recognised for Tamil poetry.
- He also won the Sahitya Akademi Award (2003) for his novel Kallikattu Ithikasam
- The award had previously been conferred on Tamil writers Akilan (1975) and Jayakanthan (2002).
- About: The Jnanpith Award, instituted in 1961 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, is India's highest literary honour recognising exceptional lifetimeโฆ
- The 1st woman recipient was Ashapurna Devi (Bengali) in 1976, and the 1st English-language winner was Amitav Ghosh in 2018.
Show 1 more facts
- It covers all 22 Eighth Schedule languages as well as English (included in 2013). No posthumous awards are given.
Which statement correctly describes 60th Jnanpith Award?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Economy
NITI Aayogโs Investment Friendliness Index 2026
NITI Aayog released the first ever Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) 2026 to benchmark and assess the readiness of Indian States and Unionโฆ
- The index operationalizes the macroeconomic vision of Viksit Bharat @2047 by promoting competitive and cooperative federalism at the sub-nationalโฆ
- The Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) 2026, released by NITI Aayog, is a homegrown framework that assesses the investment readiness of States andโฆ
- The report highlights regional investment disparities
- Genesis and Mandate: The index was conceptualized following directives from the 9th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog in 2024 and was formallyโฆ
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- Methodological Shift: Moving beyond the discontinued World Bank Ease of Doing Business framework
- The Eight Pillars of Evaluation: The IFI assesses 28 States and 8 Union Territories through a composite score of 100
- Business Climate: Efficacy of single-window clearances and operational continuity.
- Resources: Availability of industrial land, skilled labor pools, and raw materials.
- Government Policy: Policy predictability and stability over time.
- Regulatory Ease: Minimization of bureaucratic friction and compliance burdens.
Which statement correctly describes NITI Aayogโs Investment Friendliness Index 2026?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
โ๏ธ Indian Polity MCQ Quiz ยท เคญเคพเคฐเคคเฅเคฏ เคฐเคพเคเคตเฅเคฏเคตเคธเฅเคฅเคพ
10 bilingual MCQs ยท Indian Polity ยท Members Only on YouTube
Today's rotation: Indian Polity. Take this break between news topics to sharpen the core concept.
Economy
Reconstitution of NITI Aayog
The Government of India has reconstituted the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), appointing Ashok Kumar Lahiri as Vice-Chairperson, succeeding Suman K.
- This overhaul marks a departure from its traditional economist-heavy composition
- The restructuring aligns with NITI Aayog's recent push to improve the "Ease of Doing Research and Development in India." It underscores the necessityโฆ
- About: The NITI Aayog was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet in 2015, replacing the erstwhile Planning Commission
- Cooperative Federalism: Unlike the Planning Commission
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- Competitive Federalism: It encourages healthy competition among states to improve their performance across various social and economic sectors (health
- Vice-Chairperson: Appointed directly by the Prime Minister. They enjoy the rank of a Cabinet Minister.
- Governing Council: This is the highest decision-making body
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure, holding the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.
- Full-Time Members: Experts from various fields (like economics, science, health, and agriculture).
- Regional Council: To address specific regional issues, Comprising Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors Chaired by the Prime Minister or his nominee.
3. What is the significance of the recent reconstitution of NITI Aayog? It marks a shift towards science
Which statement correctly describes Reconstitution of NITI Aayog?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Economy
Competitive and Cooperative Federalism
The government has emphasized various initiatives to foster competitive and cooperative federalism and its benefits.
- Competitive Federalism: It is a system of horizontal (state-state) and vertical (Centre-state) competition to attract investment
- State-Level Reforms: Examples of state-specific welfare schemes that operate alongside central schemes include: Rythu Bandhu (Telangana): A directโฆ
- KALIA (Odisha): A farmer assistance scheme complementing the central PM Kisan Yojana.
- Vibrant Gujarat Summit: Focused on attracting global investment.
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- FC's performance-based fund allocation encourages states to work in alignment with national SDGs
- The All India Services (IAS and IPS) enable a uniform governance structure across states.
- The States Reorganization Act, 1956 established five Zonal Councils for regional cooperation, facilitating discussions on inter-state issues.
- 7th Schedule: The Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution divides legislative powers between the Centre and states for effective governance.
- Full Faith and Credit Clause (Article 261): It ensures recognition of public acts
- Inter-State Council (ISC): The ISC, established under Article 263, resolves intergovernmental disputes and became a permanent body on 28th May 1990โฆ
Which statement correctly describes Competitive and Cooperative Federalism?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Economy
World Bank Stops โEase of Doing Businessโ Report
The World Bank would discontinue the practice of issuing 'Doing Business report' following an investigation reported "data irregularities" in itsโฆ
- Effect of Policies & Politics of Countries on India's Interests
- It will be working on a new approach to assessing the business and investment climate.
- Ease of Doing Business Report: The report was introduced in 2003 to provide an assessment of objective measures of business regulations and theirโฆ
- 10 different parameters namely, Starting a Business, Dealing with Construction permits, Electricity availability, Property registration, Creditโฆ
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- It ranks countries on the basis of Distance to Frontier (DTF) score that highlights the gap of an economy with respect to the global best practice
- Notably, in three reports, released in 2017, 2018 and 2019, India ranked among the top 10 economies showing "the most notable improvement"
- India, along with other top improvers, had implemented 59 regulatory reforms in 2018-19, accounting for a fifth of all reforms recorded worldwide.
- During 2018-19, India had implemented reforms across parameters such as 'starting a business', 'dealing with construction permits', 'trading acrossโฆ
- About: It was created in 1944, as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- The World Bank Group is a unique global partnership of five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build sharedโฆ
Which statement correctly describes World Bank Stops โEase of Doing Businessโ Report?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Economy
Production Linked Incentive Scheme
Recently, a debate has emerged over the effectiveness of India's Production-Linked Incentive (PLI), an Electronics Manufacturing scheme, suggestingโฆ
- About: The PLI scheme was conceived to scale up domestic manufacturing capability
- Launched in March 2020, the scheme initially targeted three industries: Mobile and allied Component Manufacturing
- The 14 sectors are mobile manufacturing, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles and auto components, pharmaceuticals, drugs, specialty steelโฆ
- The incentives given, are calculated on the basis of incremental sales
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- In FY 2017-18, mobile phone imports were USD 3.6 billion, while exports were a mere USD 334 million, resulting in a –USD 3.3 billion trade deficit.
- By FY 2022-23, imports reduced to USD 1.6 billion, while exports surged to nearly USD 11 billion, yielding a positive net exports of USD 9.8 billion.
- Assembly vs. Value Addition: The subsidy in the scheme for Mobile and allied Component Manufacturing is paid only for finishing the phone in India
- So India still imports much of what goes into the mobile phones
- Incidentally, these are the same two years when mobile phone exports jumped the most.
- WTO rules prevent India from tying PLI subsidies to domestic value addition.
Which statement correctly describes Production Linked Incentive Scheme?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Economy
Union Budget 2025-26
The Union Budget 2025-26 was presented by the Union Finance Minister in the Parliament recognising 4 engines of development- agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME),investment and exports.
- The Union Budget 2025-26, with the theme Sabka Vikas, aims to stimulate balanced growth across all regions.
- In line with the Budget theme, the Finance Minister outlined the broad principles of Viksit Bharat.
- The Budget proposes development measures focusing on the poor (Garib), Youth, farmers (Annadata) and women (Nari).
- 1st Engine- Agriculture: Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana: Announced to cover 100 low agricultural productivity districts
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- Central agencies (NAFED and NCCF) will be prepared to procure these 3 pulses from farmers over the next 4 years.
- Revised MSME Classification: Investment and turnover limits increased to 2.5 times, expanding credit opportunities for small businesses.
- Micro Enterprise Credit Cards: Rs 5 lakh credit facility for 10 lakh micro enterprises, promoting financial inclusion and economic participation.
- Credit Cover for MSMEs: Guarantee cover increased from โน5 crore to โน10 crore, enabling higher loan access.
- Focus Product Scheme for Leather and Footwear: Expected to generate 22 lakh jobs and โน4 lakh crore turnover, and exports of over โน 1.1 lakh crore.
- Toy Sector Development: Clusters and innovation-based manufacturing fostering 'Made in India' brand in global markets.
Which statement correctly describes Union Budget 2025-26?
โ Correct! That fact belongs to this topic.
โ Not quite โ that fact is from another headline. The green option is right.
Simple Current Affairs MCQ โ 20 July 2026
10 accessible MCQs covering the same topics ยท great for quick revision
End your study session with these simpler MCQs to lock in recall of today's current affairs.
