Current Affairs 6 August 2026

Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

NASA Tests Foldable Radar Antenna for SkyFall Mars Helicopters

•NASA announced on 6 August 2026 that it had successfully tested a lightweight, foldable ground-penetrating radar antenna for its SkyFall Mars helicopters.
•The antenna survived more than 200 simulated landings with no loss of signal - over twice the prime-mission requirement - in tests at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
•It is a fabric antenna sheathed in polyester and layers of Vectran, the same material used in the landing airbags of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers.

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SportsMediumquizQuiz

Suraj Kumar Chand Wins India's First FISU World University Squash Gold

•Suraj Kumar Chand became the first Indian to win gold in the men's individual category at the FISU World University Squash Championships on 6 August 2026.
•He beat Hungary's Benedek Takács in a five-game final, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 11-4.
•The championships were held at Somaiya Vidyavihar University in Mumbai, where Chand studies.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

Railways Introduces Single All India Licence for Container Train Operators

•The Ministry of Railways approved reforms to the Model Concession Agreement for Container Train Operators on 6 August 2026.
•A single All India Licence replaces the earlier route-linked, category-based permission system.
•A uniform non-refundable registration fee of ₹25 crore replaces earlier category fees ranging from ₹10 crore to ₹50 crore.

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Banking & FinanceMediumquizQuiz

Standard Chartered Gets IFSCA Nod for Wealth Management from GIFT City

•Standard Chartered received in-principle approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority on 6 August 2026.
•The approval allows it to distribute capital market and wealth management products from GIFT City.
•The bank plans to launch its Signature CIO Funds from GIFT City, followed by additional retail wealth products.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

IIT Guwahati Develops 'E-Eye', a ₹3,500 Portable Water Toxicant Detector

•IIT Guwahati announced 'E-Eye' on 6 August 2026, a low-cost portable optical sensing device for detecting toxicants and cancer-causing heavy metals in water and biological samples.
•The device was built at an approximate cost of ₹3,500, with a per-sample testing cost of around ₹2.
•It works on the Beer-Lambert law, converting chemical colour intensity into digital readings.

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State NewsMediumquizQuiz

Andhra Pradesh Cabinet Clears PPP Policy 2026 and Omnibus Ease of Doing Business Act

•The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved the draft AP Public-Private Partnership Policy-2026 and the draft AP Omnibus (Ease of Doing Business) Act, 2026 on 6 August 2026.
•The Cabinet met at Amaravati under Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
•₹1,500 crore was earmarked under the Viability Gap Funding scheme for PPP projects.

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State NewsMediumquizQuiz

Karnataka Launches AI-Powered Composite Digital Crop Survey

•Karnataka launched the Composite Digital Crop Survey (CDCS) on 6 August 2026 for crop data collection and agricultural mapping.
•It uses Artificial Intelligence, Synthetic Aperture Radar, high-resolution satellite imagery, drone surveys, GIS data and machine learning for plot-level assessment.
•The pilot will begin in five selected hoblis covering all geographical divisions of the state.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Indian-Origin NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Completes His First Spacewalk

•Indian-origin NASA astronaut Anil Menon completed his first extravehicular activity on 6 August 2026 outside the International Space Station.
•The operation, designated US Spacewalk 96, lasted 6 hours and 27 minutes.
•Menon worked alongside Jessica Meir, who was performing her sixth spacewalk, on the Starboard 6 truss segment.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

Ladakh Approves India's First Guided High-Altitude Wildlife Safari

•Ladakh approved India's first guided high-altitude wildlife safari on 6 August 2026.
•The plan covers snow-leopard and bird-watching trails in Hemis National Park, Changthang, Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary, Nubra, Zanskar, Sham, Kargil and Drass.
•The decision was taken at the first governing body meeting of the Snow Leopard and High-Altitude Nature Conservation Society (SHAN), chaired by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.

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InternationalMediumquizQuiz

US Court Orders Meta to Pay $567 Million Over Child Safety Failures

•On 6 August 2026 the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, ordered Meta to pay $567 million into an abatement fund.
•The fund addresses child psychological harm and sexual exploitation on Facebook and Instagram, and is payable over five years.
•It allocates $420 million to youth mental health treatment services and $147 million to prevention campaigns, screening and oversight.

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BusinessMediumquizQuiz

Coal India Secures Its First Iron Ore Block in Odisha's Keonjhar District

•Coal India Limited became the preferred bidder for the Gadadharpur Iron Ore Block in Keonjhar district, Odisha, on 6 August 2026.
•It is Coal India's first iron ore asset, secured through a competitive auction conducted by the Government of Odisha.
•The block covers 265.05 hectares and is at the G3 exploration stage under the United Nations Framework Classification.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Assam Opens Applications for Nijut Moina, Nijut Babu and SSP Student Schemes

•Assam launched application form distribution for three student welfare schemes on 6 August 2026 at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, Guwahati.
•The schemes are Mukhya Mantrir Nijut Moina, Mukhya Mantrir Nijut Babu and Shikhyarthee Sahayak Prayas (SSP), covering about 7 lakh students in 2026-27.
•Nijut Moina is a girl-centric scheme that also aims to discourage child marriage; Nijut Babu is a new scheme for male students from families earning below ₹4 lakh a year.

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BusinessMediumquizQuiz

Microsoft Opens Fourth India Cloud Region in Hyderabad

•Microsoft announced the general availability of its fourth India cloud region on 6 August 2026.
•The new facility, named India South Central, is located in Hyderabad, Telangana.
•It joins Microsoft's existing cloud regions in Pune, Chennai and Mumbai.

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Ranks & ReportsMediumquizQuiz

Punjab Tops NITI Aayog School Education Quality Index 2026

•Punjab secured the first rank in the NITI Aayog School Education Quality Index 2026, ahead of states such as Kerala.
•The state government presented the ranking in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh on 6 August 2026.
•Punjab rose from 27th place in 2020 to 1st place in 2026 on the published ranking metrics.

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Polity & GovernanceHighquizQuiz

Centre Tells Supreme Court Creamy Layer Cannot Be Extended to SCs and STs

•The Centre informed the Supreme Court on 6 August 2026 that the creamy layer concept cannot be extended to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as it has been to OBCs.
•The government argued that SC/ST reservation rests on past discrimination, social backwardness, caste and tribe status and inadequate representation — not on economic criteria alone.
•It contended that applying an income-based exclusion would require a comprehensive review and extensive empirical study.

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Banking & FinanceMediumquizQuiz

RBI Expands Upper Layer NBFC List to 17; REC, PFC, IRFC and HUDCO Added

•The Reserve Bank of India released the updated list of Upper Layer Non-Banking Financial Companies for 2026-27 on 6 August 2026.
•The list contains 17 entities, up from 15 in the previous exercise.
•REC Limited, Power Finance Corporation, Indian Railway Finance Corporation and Housing and Urban Development Corporation entered the Upper Layer for the first time.

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Banking & FinanceHighquizQuiz

RBI Issues Unified Loan Recovery Framework Effective January 2027

•The Reserve Bank of India issued nine circulars on 6 August 2026 creating a unified framework, the Amendment Directions, for loan recovery practices.
•The directions apply from 1 January 2027, deferred from the originally proposed 1 October 2026 to give lenders transition time.
•Recovery calls and physical visits are permitted only between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM, with at least one day's notice before the first visit.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

Ken-Betwa Link Project: 648 of 1,913 Affected Families Are Scheduled Tribes

•Phase I of the Ken-Betwa Link Project involves the displacement of 1,913 Project Affected Families with a population of 8,339, of whom 648 families belong to Scheduled Tribes.
•The figures come from the proposal submitted by the National Water Development Agency in 2016, for which the Ministry of Tribal Affairs cleared the rehabilitation and resettlement plan for ST-affected families.
•Land acquisition and rehabilitation activities are carried out by the State Governments; the Ministry of Tribal Affairs sits on the project's Steering and Monitoring committees.

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Important DaysMediumquizQuiz

Har Ghar Tiranga 2026 Launched, Dedicated to 150 Years of Vande Mataram

•The Union Minister of Culture and Tourism launched the Har Ghar Tiranga 2026 campaign, to be observed nationwide from 9 to 17 August 2026.
•The campaign began in 2022 under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and has since become an annual national tradition.
•This year's edition is dedicated to 150 years of India's National Song, Vande Mataram, with mass singing forming an integral part of the celebrations.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

EMRS Students Post 93.6% Class X Pass Rate; 408 Qualify NEET, 346 JEE Main

•Eklavya Model Residential Schools recorded a 93.62 per cent pass rate in Class X and 87.82 per cent in Class XII in the academic year 2025-26.
•173 EMRSs achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in Class X and 92 in Class XII.
•EMRS students qualified 408 in NEET, 346 in JEE Main, 41 in JEE Advanced, 9 in NIFT and 1 in CLAT during 2025-26.

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Science & TechHighquizQuiz

Digital India at Ten: BharatNet Reaches 2.21 Lakh Gram Panchayats, UPI Serves 55 Crore

•The Government placed on record the decade-long progress of the Digital India programme, launched in July 2015 around digital infrastructure, digital service delivery and digital empowerment.
•About 2.21 lakh Gram Panchayats had been made service-ready under BharatNet as of June 2026, and 24,784 mobile towers commissioned under Digital Bharat Nidhi-funded schemes.
•Internet subscribers rose from 25.15 crore in March 2014 to 109.27 crore in March 2026, while telephone connections grew from 93.3 crore to over 133 crore.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: Catch the Rain 2026 Merges Two Water Conservation Campaigns

•Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari: Catch the Rain (JSJB: CTR) 2026 was launched on 1 June 2026, merging the JSJB initiative with the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign.
•JSJB was first launched at Surat, Gujarat on 6 September 2024; JSJB 2.0 ran from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026.
•The initiative focuses on low-cost rainwater harvesting structures - borewells, recharge shafts and recharge pits - built in saturation mode using locally available material.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

Indian Railways Modernises Passenger Reservation System After Four Decades

•Indian Railways is undertaking a comprehensive modernisation of the Passenger Reservation System, the computerised backbone of reserved ticketing introduced in 1986.
•The new PRS aims to raise booking capacity, add passenger-centric features and create resilient online infrastructure, particularly for peak tatkal demand.
•PRS manages booking, modification and cancellation of reserved tickets, seat allocation, waitlists, Reservation Against Cancellation, reservation charts and passenger enquiries.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

India's First Namo Bharat RRTS Corridor Crosses 3.8 Crore Riders at 99% Punctuality

•The 82.15 km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor, India's first Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System, has been fully operational since February 2026.
•Over 3.8 crore commuters have used Namo Bharat services since operations began, with punctuality above 99 per cent.
•The corridor includes 23 km of Meerut metro network running on the same infrastructure, and integrates with 3 metro lines, 2 railway stations and 4 bus terminals.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan Reaches 29.05 Crore People; 765 De-Addiction Facilities Supported

•Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan was launched on 15 August 2020 in 272 identified vulnerable districts and expanded to all districts of the country from August 2023.
•The campaign has sensitised more than 29.05 crore people, including over 11.05 crore youth and 7.81 crore women.
•Under the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction, the Ministry supports 145 District De-Addiction Centres, 344 Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts, 76 Outreach and Drop-In Centres, 45 Community-Based Peer-Led Intervention centres and 155 Addiction Treatment Facilities.

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DefenceLowquizQuiz

Agni-4 Ballistic Missile Successfully Test-Fired from Chandipur, Odisha

•The medium-range ballistic missile Agni-4 was successfully test-fired on 6 August 2026 from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Odisha.
•The launch validated all operational and technical parameters of the weapon system.
•The test was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command, jointly with the DRDO.

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History & CultureMediumquizQuiz

India Hosts UNESCO Heritage Committee at Red Fort; Deepavali Becomes 16th ICH Element

•India hosted the 20th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (20.COM) at the Red Fort, New Delhi, from 8 to 13 December 2025.
•It was the first time India hosted the Intergovernmental Committee under the UNESCO 2003 Convention, and coincided with the twentieth anniversary of India's ratification of that Convention.
•About 1,200 delegates from around 130 countries attended the Session.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Gaganyaan Clears Human-Rating Milestones; Vyommitra Flight Targeted for Late 2026

•The Government told the Rajya Sabha that Gaganyaan has cleared major human-rating milestones, with all propulsion stages of the Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3) developed and ground tested.
•The first uncrewed experimental Gaganyaan mission carrying the half-humanoid Vyommitra is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, followed by two more uncrewed missions by 2027.
•The Bharatiya Antariksh Station is planned to be operational by 2035, with a five-module configuration worked out and the first module BAS-01 approved.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

Namami Gange Reports 4,263 MLD Treatment Capacity and Improved Polluted Stretches

•Under Namami Gange, 4,263 MLD of sewage treatment capacity has been generated till June 2026, with 70 sewerage projects implemented during 2025 including 25 sewage treatment plants commissioned.
•The CPCB's Polluted River Stretch report for 2025 shows Uttarakhand's Haridwar-Sultanpur stretch removed from the polluted list entirely, with partial improvement in Uttar Pradesh.
•Scientific surveys across about 7,680 km of river stretches documented 3,037 gharials, leading to a National Gharial Conservation Action Plan.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

DAJGUA Covers 63,843 Tribal Villages Through 25 Interventions Across 17 Ministries

•Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) was launched by the Prime Minister on 2 October 2024 from Hazaribagh, Jharkhand.
•It comprises 25 interventions implemented by 17 line ministries, aiming to saturate infrastructure gaps in 63,843 villages.
•Coverage extends to more than 5 crore tribal people across 549 districts and 2,911 blocks in 30 States and Union Territories, over five years.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

BioE3 Policy Sets Six Verticals and Five Bio-AI Hubs Toward $300 Billion Bioeconomy

•The Department of Biotechnology has identified six thematic verticals under the BioE3 Policy for establishing Biomanufacturing Hubs and Biofoundries.
•Five priority sectors have been identified for Bio-AI hubs: Ayurveda, agriculture innovations, genome diagnostics, synthetic biology and biomolecular design.
•The policy provides financial assistance of up to 70 per cent of project cost, with the remaining 30 per cent contributed by the private sector, to draw in start-ups, MSMEs and industry.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Government R&D Spending Crosses Rs 1.17 Lakh Crore but Stays at 0.41% of GDP

•The Department of Science and Technology's 'Research and Development Statistics 2025-26' report records government R&D expenditure rising from Rs 87,813.47 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 1,17,861.21 crore in 2023-24.
•As a share of GDP, however, government R&D expenditure has stayed flat, moving between 0.41 and 0.45 per cent across the same five years and ending at 0.41 per cent in 2023-24.
•The Ministry of Science and Technology runs 71 research institutions across three departments - DST, DBT and DSIR/CSIR.

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Science & TechHighquizQuiz

Government Expands Sovereign AI Stack Through IndiaAI Mission and Semicon 2.0

•The Government set out progress on building technological sovereignty across the AI value chain through the IndiaAI Mission and the India Semiconductor Mission.
•The IndiaAI Mission was approved on 7 March 2024 with an outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore over five years; 20 indigenous foundation model proposals have been selected from 506 applications.
•Compute support has reached 237 approved projects and 93.18 lakh sanctioned GPU hours, with a purchase order issued for a roughly 1.1 EFLOPS AI compute system at the NIC Data Centre, Shastri Park, Delhi.

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Important DaysHighquizQuiz

President to Present 22 Handloom Awards on 12th National Handloom Day

•The 12th National Handloom Day will be observed on 7 August 2026 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, New Delhi, with President Droupadi Murmu as Chief Guest.
•22 awards will be conferred - 3 Sant Kabir Handloom Awards and 19 National Handloom Awards for 2025 - along with the release of four commemorative postage stamps.
•National Handloom Day was instituted in 2015 and is observed on 7 August to commemorate the launch of the Swadeshi Movement on that date in 1905.

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Polity & GovernanceHighquizQuiz

Commerce Committee Tables 200th Report on India-US Trade Relations and Tariffs

•The Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, chaired by Ms Dola Sen, MP (Rajya Sabha), presented its 200th Report on 'Evaluation of India-US Trade Relations' to both Houses on 6 August 2026.
•The Committee examined the challenges arising from US tariff measures across marine products, leather, automotive, textiles, gems and jewellery, chemicals, steel and agriculture.
•It recommends concluding the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement at the earliest and a time-bound roadmap for the Mission 500 initiative and the TRUST technology framework.

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Summits & ConferencesHighquizQuiz

India Hosts BRICS Industry, Education and Creative Economy Meets Under 2026 Chairship

•India held three BRICS ministerial-track events on 6 August 2026 under its BRICS Chairship, themed 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.
•The Tenth BRICS Industry Ministers' Meeting in Jaipur concluded with a Joint Declaration and adopted a Framework for Cooperation in the SME Working Group and Terms of Reference for a new Working Group on the Photovoltaic Industry.
•India proposed a BRICS Incubator Network and a BRICS Startup Innovation Fund to support innovation-led growth.

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Schemes & CommitteesHighquizQuiz

Centre Releases Rs 6,155 Crore as Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 Gains Momentum

•The Centre has released a total of Rs 6,154.96 crore under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 in FY 2026-27 - Rs 5,289.09 crore reimbursed as Central share to 10 States and Rs 865.87 crore through the SNA SPARSH platform across 13 States.
•JJM 2.0 was approved by the Union Cabinet on 10 March 2026, extending the Mission to December 2028 with a total outlay of Rs 8.69 lakh crore including Central assistance of Rs 3.59 lakh crore.
•The Mission shifts focus from infrastructure creation to assured service delivery through Gram Panchayat-led operation and maintenance, source sustainability and water quality surveillance.

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Polity & GovernanceHighquizQuiz

Government Tightens IT Rules on AI Deepfakes and Synthetically Generated Information

•The Government has set out the full statutory framework used against AI-generated deepfakes, spanning the Information Technology Act 2000, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 and the IT Rules 2021.
•The IT Rules, 2021 were amended on 10 February 2026 to specifically address synthetically generated information (SGI), including deepfakes and AI-generated content.
•The amendment mandates clear labelling and traceable metadata for permissible AI-generated content so users can identify synthetic material.

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Schemes & CommitteesHighquizQuiz

Cabinet Approves GOBARdhan Scheme with Rs 23,731 Crore Outlay for Compressed Biogas

•The Union Cabinet on 6 August 2026 approved GOBARdhan, the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme, with an outlay of Rs 23,731 crore for FY 2026-27 to FY 2035-36.
•The scheme is administered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, consolidating a Compressed Biogas (CBG) ecosystem previously spread across four ministries.
•It fixes an administered CBG price of Rs 2,110 per MMBTU (about Rs 105 per kg) with a minimum ten-year horizon, and capital assistance of up to Rs 2 crore per tonne per day of installed capacity.

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