Daily Current Affairs · Last published 30 August 2026
UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 30 August 2026
The GST Council sets 12 September for its next meeting, Nepal's flood toll passes 675, and Tamil Nadu notifies three elephant corridors.
Nepal flood death toll rises to 675 as India sends tunnel rescue team
The death toll from the flash floods that struck Nepal on 26 August 2026 rose to 675 by Sunday (30 August 2026), Nepal's disaster management authorities said, as rescue and relief operations continued for a fifth day. India's Ministry of External Affairs said an 11 member Indian team, comprising tunnel rescue specialists and medical personnel, arrived in Nepal to provide specialised technical assistance for the ongoing effort to rescue workers trapped or unaccounted for inside hydropower project tunnels in the Bhotekoshi river region. Search and rescue operations have been hampered by continuing bad weather and difficult terrain along the Nepal Tibet border.
PM Modi arrives in Tashkent for State Visit ahead of SCO summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Saturday (29 August 2026) for a State Visit, his fourth to the country, ahead of delegation level talks with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on trade, investment, defence and connectivity. Modi said he was confident the visit would strengthen India's strategic partnerships in Central Asia and deepen the two countries' civilisational connect, before he travels onward to Bishkek to attend the 26th Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
GST Council to hold 57th meeting on 12 September, first since last year's rate rationalisation
The GST Council will hold its 57th meeting on 12 September 2026 in New Delhi, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, according to an office memorandum issued by the Council secretariat on 28 August. An officers' meeting will be held a day earlier, on 11 September, to prepare the agenda. This will be the Council's first formal meeting since it approved a major GST rate rationalisation in 2025, and the agenda is likely to include a proposal to simplify GST registration for large businesses that pass on more than Rs 2.5 lakh of tax credit a month.
Ministry of Defence eases export SOP and expands OGEL framework
The Ministry of Defence on Friday (28 August 2026) said it has simplified the defence export standard operating procedure (SOP) and the Open General Export Licence (OGEL) framework to widen Indian industry's access to global markets. Under the amended SOP, stakeholder consultation has been dispensed with for exports of non-lethal defence items to most destinations, while safeguards have been retained for sensitive countries, and consultation has also been dispensed with for exports of all items meant for international tenders and exhibitions. The Ministry said the reforms would help Indian defence companies respond more quickly to global opportunities while keeping national security considerations protected, as the government pursues a target of Rs 50,000 crore in annual defence exports.
FSSAI bars Everest and Laljee Godhoo from selling sub-standard hing powder
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said on Saturday (29 August 2026) that it has prohibited Everest Food Products and Laljee Godhoo and Company from selling hing (asafoetida) powder after their products were found to be sub-standard. In Everest's case, samples of compounded asafoetida returned an alcohol soluble extract of 0 per cent against the prescribed minimum of 5 per cent, while its yellow and black hing powder variants were also found sub-standard. Laljee Godhoo's compounded hing was found to be misbranded and adulterated with excess starch beyond the permitted 1 per cent limit, in contravention of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. FSSAI has asked both companies to submit action plans to rectify the malpractice and warned of further action if they fail to comply.
Sitharaman pitches India as a manufacturing and innovation platform to Chicago investors
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, addressing a high level Business Roundtable with investors and business leaders in Chicago on Friday (28 August 2026), invited global investors to set up manufacturing bases and technology and innovation centres in India. She said India's investment proposition rested on the convergence of scale, growth, talent, infrastructure and sustained reform, and urged investors to treat India as a platform to build for the world rather than only a market to serve. Sitharaman highlighted GIFT City, which had 1,250 registered entities as of June 2026 offering banking, fund management, reinsurance, aircraft and ship leasing and sustainable finance services, as a gateway connecting global capital with Indian opportunities. She is on a six day visit to the United States that includes the G20 Finance Ministers' meeting in Asheville, North Carolina.
Tamil Nadu notifies three elephant corridors in Hosur Forest Division
The Tamil Nadu government has notified three elephant corridors in the Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary in the Hosur Forest Division, enabling the trans Cauvery migration of elephants and other large mammals between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The notified corridors, the Jawalagiri Ulbanda Thaggatti corridor (18.50 km), the Jawalagiri Panai Anchetty corridor (20.90 km) and the Bilikkal Jawalagiri corridor (2.20 km), were among 41 corridors that an expert committee had earlier identified for recognition. The Chief Wildlife Warden's recommendations followed proceedings before the Madras High Court, which had been informed that the notification was in its final stages of consideration.