August 2026 Current Affairs for UPSC Prelims

Current Affairs30

• India hosts the BRICS ICT Track in Pune
• BRICS Civil Forum 2026 opens in New Delhi
• India sends ministerial delegation to Singapore for the fourth ISMR
• Rajnath Singh and Japanese counterpart Koizumi set to hold defence talks in Delhi
• Digital BRICS Forum held in Pune ahead of Communications Ministers' Meeting
• India and Japan sign Memorandum on Maritime Security Cooperation
• BRICS Tourism Working Group meets in Jaipur ahead of Ministers' Meeting
• India hosts the 14th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial in Chennai
• Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir sworn in as Bangladesh's President
• US envoy Sergio Gor completes a J&K and Ladakh visit
• BRICS Tourism Ministers adopt the Jaipur Declaration
• BRICS Youth Ministers' Meeting adopts joint statement in Visakhapatnam
• Piyush Goyal leads 200-member business delegation to Japan
• Jaishankar visits Russia to co-chair the 27th session of IRIGC-TEC
• NSA Ajit Doval holds 25th round of India-China boundary talks in Beijing
• India and Cambodia hold third Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment in Phnom Penh
• India and China agree to continue seeking a political settlement of the boundary question
• India calls for collective action to safeguard sea lanes at UN Security Council food security debate
• India and China agree on new military hotlines and boundary delimitation groups
• India rejects UN racial discrimination committee's observations as 'politically motivated'
• India puts NDRF on high alert as Nepal flash flood threatens Bihar and UP border areas
• PM Modi addresses nationwide 'Khelo India Dialogue' ahead of National Sports Day
• 320 Indians remain uncontactable as Nepal flood death toll rises, India steps up relief effort
• PM Modi begins four day visit to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan
• India and Kuwait hold inaugural Joint Defence Committee meeting
• Nepal flood death toll rises to 675 as India sends tunnel rescue team
• PM Modi arrives in Tashkent for State Visit ahead of SCO summit
• Ministry of Defence eases export SOP and expands OGEL framework
• FSSAI bars Everest and Laljee Godhoo from selling sub-standard hing powder
• India and Uzbekistan elevate ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Economy27

• Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill clears Parliament
• India's forex reserves cross USD 707 billion, RBI data shows
• RBI advances FCNR(B) forex swap window deadline to 31 August
• CBDT opens FAST-DS 2026 window for small taxpayers to disclose foreign assets
• Government approves incentive scheme to speed up domestic PNG connections
• Government approves 31 more electronics component projects worth Rs 7,877 crore
• Cabinet approves four railway multitracking projects worth Rs 9,450 crore
• Cabinet approves four laning of NH-22 in Bihar at Rs 3,590 crore
• Gujarat permits 12 hour shifts at Micron's Sanand semiconductor plant
• Centre approves 11.19 lakh PMAY houses for Bihar
• India's core sector growth eases to 5.4% in July as index is rebased
• RBI's forex swap facility draws $72.85 billion in inflows
• PMFME Conclave 2026 signs MoUs with APEDA, ONDC and NABKISAN
• No shortage of sugar in India, retail prices to ease, says ISMA
• Finance Minister Sitharaman begins nine day visit to Canada and the United States
• National Shipping Board proposes adding 100 ships to India's merchant fleet
• SEBI introduces an IT Resilience Index for stock exchanges and depositories
• Piyush Goyal proposes India-Japan 'Shark Tank' style startup pitching series
• India paid 22.5 billion dollars extra for fossil fuel imports in Hormuz crisis: CREA
• Indian oil refiners to avoid vessels on Iran's Strait of Hormuz blacklist
• S&P affirms India's 'BBB' sovereign rating, flags fiscal slippage risk for FY27
• UPI completes 10 years, transaction volume up nearly 13,000 fold
• India and Canada reiterate commitment to conclude trade deal by end of 2026
• India's foreign exchange reserves rise to record USD 729.3 billion
• SEBI bars Trafiksol ITS Technologies and its promoters from securities market for a year
• GST Council to hold 57th meeting on 12 September, first since last year's rate rationalisation
• Sitharaman pitches India as a manufacturing and innovation platform to Chicago investors

Polity18

• Parliament passes bill to rename Kerala as Keralam
• President Murmu gives assent to bill renaming Kerala as Keralam
• NTA removes 600 exam experts and adds CISF security in system overhaul
• Nation takes pledge against drug abuse on NMBA's sixth anniversary
• Supreme Court directs Centre to file affidavit on NTA exam reforms in three weeks
• Jharkhand cancels 44 recruitment examinations over alleged irregularities
• Amit Shah chairs the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council
• PM Modi chairs third high-level meeting with Secretaries
• Union Cabinet approves a High Court Bench for Ladakh
• Government removes 12-minute-per-hour cap on TV advertisements
• Government restricts cold-medicine combinations for children below four years
• Karnataka's SIR draft electoral rolls exclude over 1.07 crore voters
• PM Modi chairs 53rd PRAGATI meeting, reviews infrastructure projects and cyber fraud
• Jharkhand allows selected prisoners to work outside jail under new reform
• Tamil Nadu to set up safe houses in every district for inter-caste couples
• FSSAI proposes red hexagonal warning labels for unhealthy packaged foods
• PM Modi renews drug-free India call in 137th Mann Ki Baat
• NBEMS announces NEET-PG re-exam for Jaipur candidates hit by power outage

Science & Technology17

• New deep sea shark species found off Kerala coast
• PM sets target of 100 GW nuclear power capacity by 2047
• PM highlights semiconductor self-reliance push
• NABARD's RSVC AMRIT platform launched for rural technology transfer
• NASA invites ISRO to join its Artemis Moon Base programme
• Chandigarh University and ISRO host National Space Technology Conclave 2026
• Indian scientists develop 'smart' cancer drug RK-251
• Aadhaar app crosses 5 crore downloads
• Army raises its first Baaz Battalion of drones in Punjab
• Cochin Shipyard delivers 'Mangrol', third indigenous anti-submarine warfare craft, to Navy
• Union Minister calls for India to move from 'Pharmacy of the World' to 'Laboratory of the World'
• Rajnath Singh lays foundation for Rs 3,500 crore GRSE and Yantra India expansion
• Assam nears private-partner selection to build its own satellite, AssamSAT
• ICMR clarifies no new H1N1 strain behind India's rising flu cases
• Defence Minister approves transfer of DRDO conventional missile technology to industry
• HAL and Safran sign contract to jointly develop 'Aravalli' helicopter engine
• India signs agreement with United States for Javelin anti-tank missile system

Environment8

• Three new cascade frog species described in Northeast India
• NGT flags delay in Gorakhpur effluent plant meant to protect the Ganga
• Supreme Court bars construction within 100 metres of Rajasthan's Jojari river
• Study flags gaps in India's bioinvasion policy through African Bermuda grass spread
• Karnataka to call special legislature session against Kasturirangan report notification
• Assam's Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation completes 25 years
• NGT issues notice to Centre over dilution of 'construction free zone' status for Ganga floodplains
• Tamil Nadu notifies three elephant corridors in Hosur Forest Division

Geography2

• Depression over Bay of Bengal triggers red alert in West Bengal and Odisha
• IMD forecasts very heavy rain over UP, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand as system moves inland