Daily Current Affairs · 21 August 2026
UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 21 August 2026
Amit Shah chairs the Southern Zonal Council, India and Japan sign a maritime security pact, and Indian scientists unveil a targeted cancer drug.
Amit Shah chairs the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council
Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council at Kovalam near Chennai on 20 August 2026. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay hosted the meeting, with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar also taking part in deliberations on key inter-state and national issues concerning the southern states.
Digital BRICS Forum held in Pune ahead of Communications Ministers' Meeting
Ministerial delegations from BRICS countries arrived in Pune on 20 August 2026 for the Digital BRICS Forum and Expo, held a day ahead of the 12th BRICS Communications Ministers' Meeting on 21 August, closing out India's five-day BRICS ICT Track. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia welcomed the delegations, while Minister of State Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani highlighted India's Digital Public Infrastructure model as an open, interoperable framework other countries could adapt. Thematic panels covered cybersecurity and child online protection, and sustainable, resilient digital ecosystems including satellite connectivity.
Indian scientists develop 'smart' cancer drug RK-251
Researchers at the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, and IIT-Guwahati have developed RK-251, an experimental cancer drug designed to stay largely inactive in healthy tissue and activate mainly inside cancer cells. It exploits the elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) found in tumour cells: high ROS levels trigger the drug to release an anticancer compound, NBDHEX, that blocks proteins cancer cells use to survive. In preclinical tests, RK-251 showed strong activity against aggressive triple-negative breast cancer cells with much lower effect on healthy cells, and caused no obvious toxicity in zebrafish embryo studies. The findings, published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, are still at the preclinical stage and have not been tested in humans.
Centre approves 11.19 lakh PMAY houses for Bihar
Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the approval of 11,18,937 pucca houses for poor families in Bihar under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, with an allocation of Rs 13,427 crore, at a state-level programme in Patna on 20 August 2026. Over the preceding two years, 24,30,327 houses had already been approved for the state at a cost of Rs 29,164 crore. Chouhan also announced that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana will now be implemented in Bihar, giving farmers cover against crop losses from floods, drought and excess rainfall.
India and Japan sign Memorandum on Maritime Security Cooperation
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi signed a Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation in New Delhi on 20 August 2026. The pact provides a framework for deeper cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, including closer coordination on Search and Rescue and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, and strengthened coordination for protecting sea lines of communication through naval ship visits, joint exercises and personnel exchanges. The two sides also agreed to explore joint naval shipbuilding and design, combining Japan's technology with India's production capacity under the Make in India framework.
BRICS Tourism Working Group meets in Jaipur ahead of Ministers' Meeting
The 2nd BRICS 2026 Tourism Working Group meeting was held in Jaipur on 19 August 2026 under India's BRICS chairship, chaired by Tourism Secretary Bhuvnesh Kumar, focusing on four priorities: artificial intelligence in tourism, sustainability and responsible tourism, tourism skilling, and seamless travel facilitation. The outcome feeds into the BRICS Tourism Ministers' Meeting being held in Jaipur on 21 and 22 August, the first such ministerial meeting under India's 2026 chairship. Delegates also visited Jaipur's Hawa Mahal, City Palace and Amer Fort as part of the programme.
PM Modi chairs third high-level meeting with Secretaries
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the third high-level meeting with Secretaries to the Government of India at his residence on 20 August 2026, covering the future agenda for Infrastructure and Connectivity, Security and External Affairs, and Governance. He described data as a national asset whose value is often lost to departmental silos, and called for greater interoperability, while urging Secretaries to think with a long-term perspective rather than immediate statistics alone. He also called for wider engagement between government departments, universities and young people to bring fresh ideas into policymaking, and for the effective use of Artificial Intelligence alongside human judgement. The meeting was attended by the Cabinet Secretary and senior officials from key Ministries.