Current Affairs 13 July 2026

Delhi Secures 120th Position in Global Liveability Rankings 2026.

• Released by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
• Top city: Copenhagen (Denmark).
• Indian rankings:
• New Delhi – 120th
• Mumbai – 121st
• Chennai – 123rd
• Bengaluru – 127th
• Evaluated 173 cities on stability, healthcare, culture, education, and infrastructure.
• EIU: Established in 1946, headquartered in London.

Scientists Use AI to Decode the Phonetic Alphabet of Sperm Whales.

• Researchers used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to decode the communication system and regional dialects of sperm whales.
• Project CETI analyzed vocalizations of 400 sperm whales using AI.
• Scientists identified 156 distinct codas (click patterns), indicating a structured communication system.
• AI revealed regional dialects among Mediterranean sperm whale populations.
• Rubato: Variation in the tempo and rhythm of click sequences.
• Ornamentation: Addition of an extra click at the end of a vocal sequence.

India, Australia Seal Key Uranium and Defence Cooperation Agreements.

• India and Australia operationalized their Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement and adopted the Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap during the 3rd India-Australia Annual Summit.
• 18 agreements signed across defence, energy, mining, and education.
• Civil Nuclear Agreement operationalized, enabling uranium exports from Australia to India.
• Adopted the India-Australia Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation.
• Established an Annual Defence Ministers' Dialogue.
• Signed an MoU between the Indian Coast Guard and Australia's Maritime Border Command.
• Strengthened cooperation on cyber security, critical technologies, supply chains, counter-terrorism, and disaster relief.

ONGC Announces 1.75 MMT Expansion of Mangaluru Strategic Oil Facility.

• ONGC received in-principle approval for the Phase-I expansion of 1.75 MMT Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) at Mangaluru, Karnataka.
• ONGC will fund the construction of the strategic crude oil storage facility for the first time.
• Expansion will add 1.75 MMT to India’s strategic crude storage capacity.
• Current strategic storage capacity: 5.33 MMT (covers about 9.5 days of crude requirement).
• Total storage capacity expected to cover 74 days after upcoming projects.
• Facility will be managed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. (ISPRL).
• Existing SPR locations:
• Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
• Mangaluru (Karnataka)
• Padur (Karnataka)

India’s Solar Rooftop Expansion Gets $890 Million Boost from World Bank.

• World Bank Group approved USD 890 million funding to expand India’s residential solar rooftop programme.
• Funding package:
• USD 820 million loan from IBRD.
• USD 60 million concessional loan from Clean Technology Fund.
• USD 10 million grant from Livable Planet Fund.
• Mobilizes USD 4.2 billion in private financing for household solar installations.
• Supports PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana targeting 1 crore households.
• Helps India achieve 60% non-fossil fuel electricity capacity by 2035.
• Supports India’s Net Zero target by 2070.
• Expected to create 17 lakh jobs in the renewable energy sector.