Daily Current Affairs Digest | 24th July 2026

Daily Current Affairs Digest | 24th July 2026

1. United States Imposes Section 301 Tariff on Indian Goods

The United States has taken action under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 against several economies over concerns related to the import of goods allegedly produced using forced labour.

India has been placed in the lower 10 per cent additional tariff category, subject to certain product exemptions. The United States acknowledged that India had adopted provisions prohibiting forced-labour imports but stated that stronger enforcement was required.

Why Is This Important for India?

The United States is one of India’s largest export markets. Indian industries such as textiles, garments, leather, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, seafood, gems and jewellery may be affected by the additional tariff.

The tariff may:

• Increase the final price of Indian products in the US market.
• Reduce the competitiveness of Indian exporters.
• Affect employment in labour-intensive industries.
• Place a greater compliance burden on MSMEs.
• Encourage importers to shift orders to countries facing lower tariffs.
• Complicate ongoing India–US trade negotiations.

The development also shows how labour rights, environmental standards and supply-chain transparency are increasingly becoming conditions for accessing international markets.

India’s Possible Response

India must protect its export interests without appearing indifferent to forced-labour concerns. The government may seek product-specific exemptions, strengthen domestic labour-law enforcement, establish reliable supply-chain traceability and support MSMEs in meeting international certification requirements.

India should also diversify its export markets and use bilateral and multilateral forums, including the World Trade Organization, to challenge measures that appear arbitrary or protectionist.

2. DRDO Successfully Tests Kusha Long-Range Air-Defence Missile

The Defence Research and Development Organisation successfully conducted the maiden flight test of the Kusha Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast on 23 July 2026.

During the test, the missile intercepted an electronic target simulating a high-speed and high-altitude aerial threat. The system is being designed to engage fighter aircraft, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and other high-value airborne platforms.

What Is the Kusha System?

Kusha is not merely an interceptor missile. It is expected to function as an integrated air-defence system consisting of:

• Long-range surveillance radars.
• Fire-control systems.
• Command-and-control centres.
• Communication and data links.
• Missile launchers.
• Interceptor missiles.
• Target-identification systems.

The complete system must detect, identify, track and intercept hostile aerial threats within a very short period.

Strategic Significance

Kusha can strengthen India’s layered air-defence network by operating alongside shorter-range missiles, fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, electronic-warfare platforms and counter-drone systems.

The programme is important for:

• Protecting military bases, cities and strategic installations.
• Countering aircraft, cruise missiles and drone attacks.
• Strengthening preparedness across land and maritime borders.
• Reducing dependence on imported defence systems.
• Promoting indigenous defence manufacturing.
• Improving India’s strategic autonomy.

However, a successful maiden test does not mean that the system is ready for immediate operational deployment. It must undergo extensive user trials against low-altitude, manoeuvring and electronically protected targets.

3. Fast-Track Courts Proposed for Paper-Leak Cases

The Prime Minister has announced the establishment of fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment in cases involving question-paper leaks.

The announcement must be understood in the context of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which came into force on 21 June 2024.

Why Are Paper Leaks a Governance Crisis?

Public examinations provide access to education and government employment. When examination papers are leaked, deserving candidates are denied equal opportunity.

Paper leaks can result in:

• Cancellation or postponement of examinations.
• Loss of time, money and years of preparation for candidates.
• Delays in recruitment to government departments.
• Declining trust in examination authorities.
• Growth of organised criminal networks.
• Disproportionate hardship for rural and economically weaker candidates.

The Public Examinations Act covers offences such as unauthorised possession of question papers, tampering with computer systems, manipulation of results, impersonation, creation of fake examination websites and organised conspiracy.

Offences under the Act are cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.

Are Fast-Track Courts Sufficient?

Fast-track courts can reduce judicial delay and improve the certainty of punishment. However, faster trials alone cannot prevent paper leaks.

India also requires:

• Secure question-paper generation and printing.
• Encryption and restricted digital access.
• Stronger monitoring of examination vendors.
• Tamper-evident transportation systems.
• Cybersecurity audits.
• Protected whistleblower mechanisms.
• Better coordination between the Union and State governments.
• Compensation and timely remedies for affected candidates.

Examination integrity must be treated as an essential public-service responsibility rather than merely a law-and-order issue.

4. Indian Railways Achieves 99.6% Broad-Gauge Electrification

Indian Railways has achieved approximately 99.6 per cent electrification of its broad-gauge network, making it one of the world’s most extensively electrified railway systems.

By March 2026, around 69,873 route kilometres out of approximately 70,142 route kilometres of broad-gauge railway lines had been electrified. Railway diesel consumption also declined from 293 crore litres in 2015–16 to 108 crore litres in 2024–25.

Benefits of Railway Electrification

Railway electrification can contribute to:

• Reduced dependence on imported diesel.
• Lower operating and maintenance costs.
• Improved acceleration and hauling capacity.
• Faster movement of passenger and freight trains.
• Reduced local air pollution around railway stations.
• Lower exposure to fluctuations in international crude-oil prices.
• Wider use of regenerative braking technology.

Electrified freight corridors can also reduce logistics costs and strengthen industrial and agricultural supply chains.

Electrification Versus Decarbonisation

Electrification does not automatically make the Railways completely carbon-free. The environmental benefit depends on the source of the electricity used.

When electricity is produced from coal, emissions are transferred from locomotives to power plants. Genuine decarbonisation therefore requires cleaner electricity, renewable-energy procurement, energy-efficient operations and a larger shift of passengers and freight from road transport to rail.

The next phase should focus not only on electrified route kilometres but also on emissions avoided, renewable-energy usage, freight modal share, reliability and cost efficiency.

5. Campus Biodiversity Registers Introduced

A nationwide initiative involving the Nature Conservation Foundation and the National Biodiversity Authority has encouraged colleges and universities to prepare Campus Biodiversity Registers.

Students, teachers and institutional staff will document plants, birds, insects, mammals, fungi, water bodies and seasonal ecological changes through field surveys and citizen-science platforms such as iNaturalist, eBird and SeasonWatch.

What Is a Campus Biodiversity Register?

A Campus Biodiversity Register is a systematic record of species, habitats and ecological changes found within an educational campus.

It may contain:

• Lists and photographs of species.
• Locations of old trees and water bodies.
• Nesting and breeding sites.
• Records of flowering and fruiting.
• Identification of invasive species.
• Maps of biodiversity-rich zones.
• Seasonal changes in plants and animals.

The register can guide campus decisions relating to landscaping, pesticide use, lighting, waste management, construction and water conservation.

Campus Registers and People’s Biodiversity Registers

Campus Biodiversity Registers are related to, but different from, statutory People’s Biodiversity Registers.

People’s Biodiversity Registers are prepared through Biodiversity Management Committees constituted by local bodies under Section 41 of the Biological Diversity Act. A campus register is primarily an institutional and educational citizen-science initiative unless formally connected with the local Biodiversity Management Committee.

Major Challenges

The initiative must address:

• Incorrect identification of species.
• Bias toward easily visible plants and animals.
• Publication of sensitive nesting or habitat locations.
• Privacy and data-ownership concerns.
• Lack of trained taxonomists.
• Discontinuity when students graduate.
• Failure to connect documentation with actual campus planning.

Every participating institution should convert its biodiversity register into a measurable action plan involving native vegetation, wetland protection, reduced pesticide use, pollinator gardens, invasive-species control and biodiversity-sensitive construction.