Daily Current Affairs · 20 August 2026
UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 20 August 2026
Cabinet clears railway and highway projects, Gujarat eases shift rules for Micron, Jharkhand cancels 44 exams, and India holds Singapore and Japan talks.
Cabinet approves four railway multitracking projects worth Rs 9,450 crore
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved four railway multitracking projects worth around Rs 9,450 crore, covering eight districts across West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The projects include the 173 kilometre Kharagpur to Bhadrak fourth line, the 75 kilometre Bhadrak to Haridaspur fourth line, the 72 kilometre Cuttack to Paradeep third and fourth lines, and the 90 kilometre Gummidipundi to Gudur third and fourth lines, adding nearly 410 kilometres to the network by 2030 to 2031. The government said the expansion would improve connectivity for around 60 lakh people across 6,448 villages and support additional freight movement of about 76 million tonnes a year.
Cabinet approves four laning of NH-22 in Bihar at Rs 3,590 crore
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the upgradation of the Muzaffarpur to Sitamarhi to Sonbarsa section of National Highway 22 in Bihar to a four lane standard, at a total capital cost of Rs 3,590.73 crore. The 82.578 kilometre stretch will be developed on the Hybrid Annuity Mode and serves as a key feeder corridor connecting the India Nepal border at Sonbarsa with Muzaffarpur on National Highway 27. The project includes seven major bridges, including a 340 metre bridge over the Bagmati river, three railway over bridges and two flyovers, and is meant to ease congestion in Muzaffarpur, Runni Saidpur and other towns along the route.
Gujarat permits 12 hour shifts at Micron's Sanand semiconductor plant
The Gujarat government has permitted Micron Semiconductor Technology India's Sanand facility to operate 12 hour work shifts, the first such approval for an industrial unit in the state. The approval was granted under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, which allows state governments to exempt factories from certain provisions while ensuring employees do not exceed the statutory 48 hour weekly limit, with remaining days treated as paid leave, and applies only to workers who give voluntary written consent. Labour Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya said the move was meant to support ease of doing business and semiconductor investment, since chip assembly and testing run continuously in controlled cleanroom environments.
Supreme Court directs Centre to file affidavit on NTA exam reforms in three weeks
The Supreme Court directed the Centre to file an affidavit within three weeks detailing the steps taken to implement examination reform recommendations made by the Radhakrishnan committee and reviewed by the Nandan Nilekani committee. The bench questioned whether the National Testing Agency has the dedicated manpower, cybersecurity capacity and infrastructure for institutional permanence, rather than relying on temporary procedural safeguards for each examination. The Centre told the court its current security protocols for the NEET UG examination, including GPS tracked transport of sealed question papers and videographed opening in the presence of student witnesses, made the system difficult to breach.
Jharkhand cancels 44 recruitment examinations over alleged irregularities
The Hemant Soren led Jharkhand government cancelled 44 recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and the outsourced agency TSR Data Processing since 2014, following a 25 day student agitation over alleged irregularities. The cancelled tests cover posts including drug inspectors, assistant professors, civil judges, deputy collectors and forest range officers, and the JSSC Combined Graduate Level examination was cancelled as well, along with results published through the outsourced agency. The government has set up a committee under senior IAS officer Amitabh Kaushal to recommend reforms to the JPSC and JSSC examination systems within two months, even as around 2,000 candidates already appointed through the cancelled JSSC CGL exam protested the decision, fearing job loss.
India sends ministerial delegation to Singapore for the fourth ISMR
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman embarked on an official visit to Singapore on 19 August, leading a delegation including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State Jitin Prasada, to participate in the fourth India Singapore Ministerial Roundtable on 20 August. The Roundtable is the apex ministerial mechanism under the India Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and builds on six pillars of cooperation, including advanced manufacturing, connectivity, digitalisation, healthcare and medicine, skills development and sustainability.
Rajnath Singh and Japanese counterpart Koizumi set to hold defence talks in Delhi
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi in New Delhi on 20 August, during Koizumi's maiden visit to India, with the two sides expected to discuss ways to deepen defence cooperation and strategic trust in the Indo-Pacific. The talks were expected to focus on maritime security cooperation and closer defence equipment and technology collaboration under the Make in India framework, days after Japan revised its Three Principles on Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology. The visit follows Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's visit to New Delhi weeks earlier for the India Japan Annual Summit.