Daily Brief

Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched Vikram-1, India's first privately developed orbital-class rocket, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on 18 July 2026, placing its payload into a 450 km orbit and making India the third nation with private orbital launch capability.

The Union Cabinet approved the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) on 15 July 2026 with a budgetary outlay of Rs 62,500 crore, to run from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31 as a successor to the PLI scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing.

India commissioned its first and deepest geothermal wells in the Puga Valley of Ladakh on 17 July 2026, marking a milestone in the country's renewable and geothermal energy development.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways gave in-principle approval for a Greenfield Shipbuilding Cluster at Porbandar and a Ship Repair Facility at Vadinar, Gujarat, under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme, supporting the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.

EPFO introduced VISHWAS 2026, a one-time scheme to help employers resolve pending compliance issues, as part of ongoing efforts to simplify provident fund administration.

India hosted the 12th BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting in Hyderabad under its 2026 BRICS Chairship, adopting the BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers' Declaration and launching the BRICS CONNECT initiative for technical cooperation among member nations.

The Indian Navy is set to host a multinational maritime training exercise in Kochi from 20-23 July 2026 with the Combined Maritime Forces and Combined Task Force 154, involving personnel from over 40 nations to share maritime security best practices.