Current Affairs 20 July 2026

Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

•A cross-sectional study published online in JAMA Pediatrics on 20 July 2026 found antimicrobial resistance rising in children worldwide, eroding the antibiotics used for sepsis and pneumonia.
•It analysed 106,581 bacterial isolates from children aged 0-18 in 82 countries, drawn from the ATLAS surveillance database for 2004-2022.
•Resistance climbed steeply in intensive care, in resource-limited regions and in children aged 0-2 — the groups with the least therapeutic margin.

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AppointmentsMediumquizQuiz

•Major Navya Shekhawat of the Army Service Corps has become the first woman officer of the Indian Army to be appointed Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the President of India, serving President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
•She is the second woman officer of the Armed Forces overall to hold the appointment, after Lieutenant Commander Yashasvi Solanki of the Indian Navy, who became the first woman ADC to the President in May 2025.
•The President is assisted by five ADCs - three from the Army and one each from the Navy and the Air Force - who handle protocol at state ceremonies, investitures and diplomatic engagements.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

•Scientists described a new species of porcelain crab, Pachycheles ravichandrani, from the shallow coral reefs of Agatti Island in India's Lakshadweep archipelago, with the finding reported around 20 July 2026.
•Described by researchers Balamurugan Sureandiran, Divya Prema Radhakrishnan, Sendhil Kumar and T.T. Ajith Kumar in the journal Zootaxa, the species was found among rock boulders under coralline algae at depths of under 1 metre.
•The tiny, dark carmine-red crustacean has a distinctive white blotch on its back, white-spotted claws, and striped walking legs — porcelain crabs are more closely related to squat lobsters than true crabs.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

•The Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) announced on 20 July 2026 that it thwarted the diversion of an export consignment of 12 crore (120 million) high-strength Tramadol Hydrochloride tablets, weighing about 30 metric tonnes, under 'Operation Vajra'.
•The operation ran 10-20 July 2026 across Bengaluru, Delhi and Kochi, with support from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence; three people were arrested.
•The consignment, ostensibly destined for Guinea-Bissau, was suspected to be intended for diversion to Libya; it was seized from a warehouse in Delhi.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

•Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told the Lok Sabha on 20 July 2026 that the Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY) extended Rs 75.43 crore in financial assistance to 9,660 artists and cultural organisations in Odisha over the past five years.
•KSVY is an umbrella scheme of the Ministry of Culture covering sub-schemes like the Guru-Shishya Parampara grant, Tagore Cultural Complexes funding, Seva Bhoj Yojana, and the National Gandhi Heritage Site Mission.
•Responding to a query on promoting Sambalpuri and other western Odisha folk traditions nationally, the Minister said no separate proposal was currently under consideration, while citing existing outreach via nodal agencies and publicity campaigns.

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InternationalMediumquizQuiz

•India's first direct commercial container freight train to Nepal reached the customs yard at Biratnagar on 20 July 2026.
•It used the Jogbani (Bihar)–Biratnagar broad-gauge cross-border rail link.
•The train carried containerised cargo from Kolkata Port without transshipment at the border.

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