Current Affairs 13 August 2026

State NewsMediumquizQuiz

Vehicle Plunges Into the Lohit River in Anjaw; One Dead, Three Missing

•A Delhi-registered vehicle carrying ten people fell about 300 feet from the road into a gorge and then into the Lohit River in Anjaw district, Arunachal Pradesh.
•One person died, six were rescued with injuries and three remained missing; the accident occurred in the Sarti area on the Walong-Hawai road.
•Search operations were mounted by the District Disaster Management Authority with Anjaw Police, the Indian Army, the State Disaster Response Force, the district administration and local volunteers.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Study Finds India Has the Highest Space Launch Cost Per Kilogram

•A paper titled 'Geopolitics and space access: cost asymmetries and strategic dependence', published in Economics Letters on 13 August 2026, finds that India had the highest average cost of putting a kilogram of payload into orbit among the major space powers in 2025.
•The authors, Alessio Terzi and Francesco Nicoli of the Bennett School of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, analysed more than 6,740 rocket launches between 1960 and 2025.
•India's estimated 2025 cost was $13,302 per kg to low Earth orbit against $3,225 for the United States - more than four times higher - and against a global average of $3,868.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

Supreme Court Asks Centre to Consider Regional, Circuit Benches for NCDRC

•The Supreme Court on 13 August 2026 asked the Centre to consider setting up regional and circuit benches of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission to clear its backlog.
•The bench was told that the NCDRC is currently hearing matters filed in 2018-19, and that a case listed in June can get its next date almost a year later.
•The Court sought a status report from the NCDRC chairman on pendency, filings, disposal rates and member strength, and called for performance audits of state and district consumer commissions.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

Seven Killed as Debris Surge Floods Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Tunnel in Chamoli

•A landslide on the evening of 13 August 2026 pushed a sudden surge of water and debris into an under-construction tunnel of the 444 MW Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, near Mayapur in the Pipalkoti area.
•Around 22 workers were inside at the time; seven were killed and 14 injured, with rescue teams accounting for 21 of them as operations continued.
•The collapse created a cavity in the upper part of the tunnel, which is how the debris and water entered.

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EnvironmentHighquizQuiz

CAG Audit Finds Green India Mission Missed Forest-Cover Target by 97.57%

•A CAG performance audit of the National Mission for a Green India (GIM), tabled in Parliament on 13 August 2026, found the mission achieved only 0.03409 million hectares of forest-cover increase against a target of 1.4 million hectares — a shortfall of 97.57%.
•On improving the quality of existing forest and tree cover the mission reached 0.114 million hectares against the same 1.4 million hectare target, a shortfall of 91.87%.
•Budgetary support over the decade 2015-16 to 2024-25 was Rs 1,149.14 crore, only 47.88% of the approved outlay of Rs 2,000 crore under the 12th Plan plus Rs 400 crore from the 13th Finance Commission.

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State NewsMediumquizQuiz

Karnataka Cabinet Clears Bill Regulating Use of Government Premises

•The Karnataka Cabinet cleared The Karnataka Regulation of Use of Government Premises and Public Property Bill, 2026, which requires prior government permission for events, rallies and gatherings on state-maintained property.
•It covers government land, buildings, roads, parks and playgrounds, and applies to private individuals, unregistered organisations, associations and societies.
•Political rallies, religious gatherings, route marches and processions involving more than 10 people fall within its ambit; marriage and funeral processions are exempted.

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InternationalMediumquizQuiz

Kenyan Speaker Wetang'ula Visits Delhi; Kenya Backs India's Permanent UNSC Seat

•Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met Kenyan National Assembly Speaker Dr Moses M. Wetang'ula at the Parliament House Complex, New Delhi, on 13 August 2026.
•Wetang'ula backed democratic reform of the UN Security Council and India's inclusion as a permanent member.
•Kenya has agreed to install a statue of Mahatma Gandhi inside the Parliament of Kenya.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

Heavy Industries Ministry Gets 20 Bids to Build Rare Earth Magnet Plants

•The Ministry of Heavy Industries has received 20 bids through a global tender on the Central Public Procurement portal for selecting manufacturers to establish integrated sintered NdFeB rare earth permanent magnet facilities in India.
•The bids come under the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM), approved by the Union Cabinet on 26 November 2025 with a financial outlay of ₹7,280 crore.
•The outlay comprises a sales-based incentive of ₹6,450 crore over five years and a capital subsidy of ₹750 crore.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

80th Independence Day at Red Fort to Mark 150 Years of Vande Mataram

•The 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort on 15 August 2026 commemorate 150 years of the National Song 'Vande Mataram' and the theme 'Yuva Shakti for Viksit Bharat@2047'.
•'Vande Mataram' will be rendered at the Red Fort celebrations for the first time — sung by all present after the Rashtriya Salute, and again by NCC cadets and MY Bharat volunteers at the close of the Prime Minister's address.
•The Indian Army is the coordinating service this year; the Guard of Honour comprises one officer and 24 personnel each from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Delhi Police.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Anemia Mukt Bharat Moves From 6x6x6 to 7x7x7 With New Beneficiary Tracking Platform

•A two-day National Workshop on the Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan was held in New Delhi on 12-13 August 2026 with over 160 participants from all States and UTs and five other ministries.
•The revised AMB Operational Guidelines, launched on 29 June 2026, shift the programme from supplementation and prophylaxis to testing, case-based management, treatment compliance, dietary diversity and digital tracking.
•The framework has moved from the earlier 6x6x6 approach to a strengthened 7x7x7 approach emphasising consumption and compliance with iron supplementation and beneficiary participation through Jan Bhagidari.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

5.63 Lakh Villages Have Liquid Waste Arrangements; 75% Get Sujal Gaon IDs

•Of 5,86,944 villages, 5,63,809 have been reported as covered with Liquid Waste Management arrangements under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase II, as on 7 August 2026.
•A total of 42,98,194 community greywater management assets have been reported on the SBM(G) Integrated Management Information System.
•Greywater management support under SBM(G) Phase II is up to ₹280 per capita for villages up to 5,000 population and up to ₹660 per capita for villages above 5,000.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

NITI Aayog Report Picks Chemicals, Textiles, Telecom Gear and Solar PV for Manufacturing Push

•NITI Aayog has released 'Key Sectors to Position India as a Global Manufacturing Hub', analysing four sectors — chemicals, textiles, telecom and networking equipment, and solar photovoltaic manufacturing — with reports on eight more sectors to follow.
•The study runs in four phases: shortlisting sectors by relative attractiveness, a three-pronged assessment of market potential, competitiveness and strategic relevance, international benchmarking, and actionable recommendations.
•Textiles contribute about 2% of national GDP, 11% of manufacturing gross value added and 9% of merchandise exports, employ more than 45 million people and made India the sixth-largest textile exporter with US$ 37.7 billion of exports in fiscal 2025.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

India's July 2026 Total Exports Reach $80.14 Billion; Trade Deficit at $15.03 Billion

•India's total exports of merchandise and services for July 2026 are estimated at US$ 80.14 billion, up 13.31% over July 2025, while total imports are estimated at US$ 95.16 billion, up 15.83%.
•The overall trade deficit for July 2026 widened to US$ 15.03 billion from US$ 11.43 billion a year earlier.
•For April-July 2026-27, total exports are estimated at US$ 316.42 billion (up 13.16%) and total imports at US$ 365.85 billion (up 17.28%), leaving a deficit of US$ 49.43 billion against US$ 32.32 billion a year earlier.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

World Elephant Day Marked at Visakhapatnam With ₹500 Crore Southern Conflict Plan

•National celebrations of World Elephant Day 2026 were held at Visakhapatnam, where the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change conferred the Gaj Gaurav Awards 2026.
•India has 33 Elephant Reserves, 150 scientifically identified elephant corridors and nearly 60% of the world's wild Asian elephant population.
•A Regional Action Plan for Human-Elephant Conflict in Southern India — covering Karnataka, Keralam, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu — was released with support of ₹500 crore from the Government of India.

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History & CultureMediumquizQuiz

414 of India's 3,688 Monuments of National Importance Report Encroachments

•India has 3,688 ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains declared to be of national importance, of which 414 have reported encroachments.
•Under the AMASR Act, 1958, protection of a monument does not require the government to acquire or own the land on which it stands; the ASI conserves and maintains protected monuments under the Act and the Rules of 1959.
•The ASI has completed survey, geo-referencing and digitisation of the boundaries of protected monuments and uploaded them on the Bhuvan portal, with integration into state land records where required.

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Polity & GovernanceHighquizQuiz

e-Courts Phase III Digitises 753 Crore Pages as India Code Portal Gets AI Search

•Under e-Courts Phase III (2023-27), 753.60 crore pages of court records have been digitised, 1,806 eSewa Kendras established and e-filing implemented in 4,519 courts.
•Video conferencing facilities exist in 7,553 establishments including courts, jails and hospitals; 11 High Courts have live audio-visual streaming and all High Courts have implemented the Interoperable Criminal Justice System.
•As of March 2026, 452 ADR Centres and 1,394 Mediation Centres function across the country, with 4,681 judicial officers, 10,124 lawyers and 753 other mediators trained and deployed.

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Polity & GovernanceHighquizQuiz

Monsoon Session Ends With 12 Bills Passed and 19% Lok Sabha Productivity

•The Monsoon Session 2026, which began on 20 July 2026, was adjourned sine die on 13 August 2026 after 19 sittings spread over 25 days — the 8th Session of the 18th Lok Sabha and the 271st Session of the Rajya Sabha.
•Eleven Bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha and two in the Rajya Sabha; 12 were passed by each House, and 12 were passed by both Houses in all.
•Two Bills replaced Ordinances promulgated before the Session — the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026 and the Income-Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

Relocation From Tiger Reserves Is Voluntary; Package Raised to ₹15 Lakh a Family

•The Ministry of Tribal Affairs told the Lok Sabha that relocation of villages from core or critical tiger habitats is voluntary under Section 38V(5) of the Wild Life (Protection) Act and Section 4(2) of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
•Financial assistance for voluntary relocation was raised from ₹10 lakh to ₹15 lakh per family in 2021, alongside settlement of rights, agricultural land, house construction and convergence with other schemes.
•The National Tiger Conservation Authority has reiterated to all Tiger Range States that informed consent of the Gram Sabha and of the people concerned must be obtained before any rehabilitation.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

4,712 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras Sanctioned Covering 12.94 Lakh Tribal Beneficiaries

•4,712 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras covering 12.94 lakh beneficiaries have been sanctioned in 28 States and UTs with a total sanctioned amount of ₹642.19 crore, of which 3,406 are operational.
•The split across schemes is 4,172 VDVKs and 12.48 lakh beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (₹619.17 crore) and 540 VDVKs with 0.46 lakh beneficiaries under PM-JANMAN (₹23.02 crore) in 18 states and UTs.
•A maximum of ₹15 lakh is provided per Kendra for raw material, training, tool kits and machinery, mentoring, packaging, branding, transport and storage; no revolving working capital is given to VDVKs.

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Schemes & CommitteesHighquizQuiz

728 Eklavya Schools Sanctioned, 508 Functional With 1.57 Lakh Students Enrolled

•728 Eklavya Model Residential Schools have been approved, of which 508 are functional, with 1,56,593 students enrolled in the 2025-26 academic session.
•EMRSs are established in tribal-dominated blocks having more than 50% Scheduled Tribe population and at least 20,000 tribal persons, as per Census 2011.
•Each EMRS with classes up to Class XII and a full strength of 480 students has 31 sanctioned teaching posts and 21 non-teaching posts, of which 13 non-teaching posts are earmarked for outsourcing to promote local employment.

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Schemes & CommitteesHighquizQuiz

PM-JANMAN Reports 4.82 Lakh PVTG Houses Sanctioned and 831 Mobile Medical Units

•As on 30 June 2026, PM-JANMAN had sanctioned 4,82,554 houses for PVTG households under PMAY-G, of which 3,05,860 were complete, and 7,991.93 km of PMGSY roads, of which 2,948 km were complete.
•Under the Jal Jeevan Mission component, 18,756 PVTG villages were sanctioned and 8,799 saturated; 831 Mobile Medical Units have been operationalised through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
•Under the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan, 474 Mobile Medical Units had been operationalised as of July 2026 and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has approved 15 Centres of Competence dedicated to Sickle Cell Disease treatment.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

CPGRAMS Sets 21-Day Redressal Timeline as Karmayogi Onboarding Widens

•The Comprehensive Guidelines for Effective Redressal of Public Grievances issued on 23 August 2024 advise a grievance redressal timeline of 21 days on the CPGRAMS portal.
•A Feedback Call Centre has been operational since July 2022 to independently assess citizen satisfaction with grievance resolution on CPGRAMS.
•On pensions, the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare convened the 2nd National Workshop on Pension Litigation and released a compendium of case laws; pension litigation is not centrally handled but is defended by each department separately.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

BioE3 Policy Sets Biomanufacturing Targets to Replace Fossil-Based Inputs

•Under the BioE3 policy, the Department of Biotechnology has fixed measurable targets in terms of scale, yield and Technology Readiness Level for biomanufacturing bio-based alternatives to fossil-derived inputs.
•The 'Sujivika' digital portal launched by DBT publishes biotech import data so that indigenous bio-based substitutes can be identified for imported chemicals, materials and fuels.
•DBT has supported research, pilot-scale and demonstration projects converting agricultural residues, municipal organic waste and industrial biogenic waste into advanced fuels, chemicals and materials.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

India Reports 37.38% Cut in Emissions Intensity and 54.18% Non-Fossil Capacity

•India's Nationally Determined Contribution rests on three quantitative targets: cutting the emissions intensity of GDP, raising the non-fossil share of installed electric power capacity, and creating an additional carbon sink.
•Emissions intensity of GDP fell 37.38% by 2022 from the 2005 level, against the NDC goal of a 45% reduction by 2030.
•The non-fossil share of cumulative installed electric power capacity crossed 50% in June 2025 — five years ahead of the committed timeline — and stood at 54.18% as of 30 June 2026.

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Science & TechHighquizQuiz

GERD Rises to 0.84% of GDP as ANRF and ₹1 Lakh Crore RDI Fund Anchor Research Push

•Gross expenditure on research and development rose from ₹1,32,567.01 crore, or 0.66% of GDP, in 2019-20 to ₹2,44,767.81 crore, or 0.84% of GDP, in 2023-24, as per the DST's Research & Development Statistics 2025-26.
•The Anusandhan National Research Foundation, established under the Department of Science and Technology, provides strategic direction for research across the sciences and runs the MAHA and PAIR programmes; a Research, Development and Innovation Fund with a ₹1 lakh crore corpus over six years is to catalyse private investment in sunrise and strategic sectors.
•India has more than 2.40 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups, over half of them from Tier-II and Tier-III cities; it ranks third globally in scientific publications and sixth in patent filings.

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Science & TechHighquizQuiz

440 Space Startups, 113 IN-SPACe Authorisations and a Debris-Free Space Mission

•Around 440 space technology startups are registered on the DPIIT Start-up India portal, and IN-SPACe has granted 113 authorisations to 52 Non-Government Entities, of which 18 are startups.
•Indian private companies are expected to undertake two commercial rocket launches in FY 2026-27, with more than six anticipated in FY 2027-28 once the launch manifest is approved by IN-SPACe.
•The missions of the last three years listed in the reply are Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1, XPoSat, SPADEX, NISAR and GSAT-7R (CMS-03); upcoming missions are Gaganyaan, the Venus Orbiter Mission, Chandrayaan-4 and LUPEX/Chandrayaan-5 with JAXA.

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EnvironmentHighquizQuiz

Mission Mausam Targets 5 km Forecasts and Household-Level Warnings by 2030

•Mission Mausam is a Central Sector umbrella scheme of the Ministry of Earth Sciences aimed at making India a 'Weather-ready and Climate-smart Nation'; it was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2024 with a ₹2,000 crore outlay for 2024-25 and 2025-26 and launched by the Prime Minister on 14 January 2025.
•Its measurable outcomes are a 10-15% improvement in forecast accuracy by 2030, severe weather forecasting at 5 km x 5 km resolution, and last-mile dissemination of early warnings to every household by 2030.
•IMD's adoption of Multi-Model Ensemble forecasting has cut the average absolute error of the seasonal monsoon forecast from 7.8% of the Long Period Average in 2016-2020 to 3.1% for the first-stage and 2.2% for the second-stage forecast in 2021-2025.

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Science & TechHighquizQuiz

Parliament Told 8,000 MW of Nuclear Capacity Is Under Construction

•A written reply in the Rajya Sabha listed every nuclear project under construction with its location, capacity, original and revised commissioning dates and sanctioned and revised cost.
•RAPP-7 at Rawatbhata, Rajasthan (700 MW) commenced commercial operation on 15 April 2026 against an original commissioning date of June 2016; its twin RAPP-8 is in an advanced stage of commissioning.
•Kaiga-5 and Kaiga-6 in Karnataka have slipped from June 2026 and June 2027 to June 2031 and June 2032; the Kudankulam units 3 to 6 have moved to between June 2027 and March 2030.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

MY Bharat Crosses 2.22 Crore Registrations as Youth Programmes Expand

•Nearly 65% of India's citizens are below the age of 35, and the release frames the policy response as converting this demographic advantage into a development dividend for Viksit Bharat @ 2047.
•Mera Yuva Bharat, the platform for youth aged 15-29, had more than 2.22 crore registered youth as of July 2026, with over 1.52 lakh volunteering opportunities and more than 24,900 experiential learning programmes.
•India's school system covers 14.67 lakh schools, 24.72 crore students and more than 1.02 crore teachers; the secondary school dropout rate fell from 14.54% in 2013-14 to 7% in 2025-26.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Rural and Tribal Coverage: 15.91 Crore Tap Connections, 3.13 Crore PMAY-G Houses

•Household tap water coverage rose from 3.23 crore connections in August 2019 to over 15.91 crore by 12 August 2026 under the Jal Jeevan Mission, with 2.89 lakh villages reporting 100% coverage.
•PMAY-G has sanctioned over 3.91 crore houses of which 3.13 crore are complete, and 99.6% of eligible habitations had all-weather road connectivity under PMGSY as of June 2026.
•Direct fiscal transfers to gram panchayats rise from ₹2.36 lakh crore under the Fifteenth Finance Commission (2021-26) to ₹4.35 lakh crore under the Sixteenth Finance Commission (2026-31).

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

Jan Vishwas 2026 Decriminalises 717 Provisions Across 79 Central Acts

•The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 decriminalises 717 provisions and amends 784 provisions in all across 79 Central Acts administered by 23 Ministries — more than four times the reach of the 2023 Act.
•The National Single Window System, launched in 2021, now integrates approvals across 32 Central ministries and 34 States, offering over 686 central and 7,498 state approvals, and had granted over 8.29 lakh approvals as of November 2025.
•Over 47,000 compliances have been reduced as of November 2025 — 16,108 simplified, 22,287 digitised, 4,458 decriminalised and 4,270 redundant ones removed.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

NBA Releases ₹15.52 Crore in Benefit-Sharing Proceeds From Mustard Hybrids

•The National Biodiversity Authority has released ₹15.52 crore in Access and Benefit Sharing proceeds received from M/s Pioneer Overseas Corporation, which developed ten commercial mustard (Brassica juncea) hybrid varieties using India's biological resources.
•The amount flows to 26 State Biodiversity Boards and 3 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils, with each share calculated on the area under mustard cultivation in that state.
•Because the parental lines were sourced from the open market and traders, no single farmer or community could be identified as the source, so the NBA constituted an Expert Committee to devise modalities for disbursal in such cases.

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Polity & GovernanceLowquizQuiz

Centre Lists Queer Inclusion Measures on Ration Cards, Bank Accounts and Healthcare

•The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment told the Rajya Sabha that the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, as amended in 2026, is the comprehensive legal framework for protection and welfare, and includes intersex persons born with congenital variations within the definition of transgender person.
•The Department of Food and Public Distribution has advised all States and UTs that partners in a queer relationship are to be treated as part of the same household for ration card purposes.
•The Department of Financial Services has clarified that there is no restriction on persons of the queer community opening a joint bank account, and that a partner may be nominated to receive the balance on the account holder's death.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan Reaches 30.52 Crore People Across All Districts

•Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has reached and sensitised more than 30.52 crore people nationally, including over 11.87 crore youth and 8.45 crore women.
•The campaign was launched on 15 August 2020 in 272 identified vulnerable districts and has been extended to all districts of the country since August 2023.
•Over 28.61 lakh activities have been conducted in educational institutions and more than 28.29 lakh persons treated and rehabilitated across the country.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

India's Elderly to Reach 23 Crore by 2036 as AVYAY Anchors Senior Citizen Welfare

•India's elderly population is projected to rise from 10 crore in 2011 to 23 crore by 2036, with its share of the total population increasing from 8.4% to 14.9%.
•Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana (AVYAY) is the umbrella scheme for senior citizen welfare, with seven components covering shelter and care, state-level interventions, grievance redressal, assistive devices, innovative solutions, geriatric caregiving and healthy ageing.
•Between 2023-24 and 2025-26, AVYAY covered 10,00,456 beneficiaries, the National Social Assistance Programme 2,21,30,687 and the National Programme for Healthcare of the Elderly 28,29,63,879.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

40 Iconic Tourist Centre Projects Sanctioned Across 23 States for ₹3,295.76 Crore

•Forty projects have been sanctioned across 23 States for ₹3,295.76 crore in 2024-25 with 100% central funding under the SASCI initiative for developing iconic tourist centres to global scale.
•Detailed Project Reports were assessed on connectivity, the existing tourism ecosystem, carrying capacity, availability of utility services and project impact including expected tourist footfall, tourist spend, employment and private investment.
•The Department of Expenditure amended the SASCI guidelines for 2025-26 so that states which did not draw funds under Part-III of SASCI 2024-25 may avail up to ₹250 crore for tourism projects under Part-II.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

MMDR Amendment Bars State Levies on Mineral Rights Under New Section 9D

•The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 has been passed by both Houses of Parliament, amending the MMDR Act, 1957 to create a uniform national fiscal framework for the mineral sector.
•A new Section 9D bars State Governments from imposing any tax, cess or levy — by whatever name called, and whether based on mineral quantity, value, royalty or any other basis — on mineral rights or mineral-bearing lands, except as per conditions or restrictions prescribed by the Central Government.
•Union control, which under Section 2 of the Act covers regulation of mines and development of minerals, is extended to mineral-bearing lands identified by parameters prescribed by the Centre.

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EconomyHighquizQuiz

India's Power Capacity Touches 552 GW; Non-Fossil Share Crosses 54 Percent

•India's total installed power capacity stood at around 552 GW in July 2026, up from 249 GW in 2014, with non-fossil capacity at 300.50 GW as on 31 July 2026 — over 54% of the total.
•Solar leads the renewable mix at 164.59 GW (31 July 2026), followed by wind at 58.14 GW, hydro at 57.24 GW, bio-power at 11.75 GW and nuclear at 8.78 GW.
•Four large approvals in 2026 reshape the pipeline: a ₹37,500 crore surface coal/lignite gasification scheme (May 2026), the ₹5,070 crore Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana and the ₹84,084 crore 'Samudra Manthan' offshore exploration scheme (both 31 July 2026), and the ₹23,731 crore GOBARdhan circular bioenergy scheme (6 August 2026).

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Science & TechHighquizQuiz

Semicon 2.0 and IndiaAI Mission Drive India's Chip-to-AI Build-Out

•Semicon India 2.0 was approved in July 2026 with a ₹1,27,500 crore outlay, scaling up the ₹76,000 crore Semicon 1.0 programme across six pillars — chip design, equipment and materials, fabrication, advanced packaging, R&D and talent.
•Twelve semiconductor projects have been approved across six states with investment commitments above ₹1.64 lakh crore; three facilities have already begun commercial production.
•The IndiaAI Mission, with an outlay of about ₹10,372 crore, had expanded shared compute to more than 45,000 GPUs as of June 2026, and 237 projects had used 93.18 lakh subsidised GPU hours by August 2026.

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InternationalMediumquizQuiz

India Welcomes Kenya's Recognition of Persons of Indian Origin as an Indigenous Community

•Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla welcomed Kenya's decision to recognise Persons of Indian Origin as an indigenous community of Kenya.
•The announcement came during the New Delhi visit of Kenyan National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula, which began on 13 August 2026 at Birla's invitation.
•Wetang'ula agreed to the installation of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi inside the Parliament of Kenya.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

NITI Aayog Names 12 Sectors to Make India a Global Manufacturing Hub by 2047

•NITI Aayog has released the first volume of a study titled 'Key Sectors to Position India as a Global Manufacturing Hub'.
•It shortlists 12 sectors in which India can aspire to global leadership by 2047.
•The opening volume examines four of them in depth: chemicals, textiles, telecom and network equipment, and solar photovoltaic.

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InternationalMediumquizQuiz

DR Congo's Fastest-Growing Ebola Outbreak Spreads to a Sixth Province

•The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached a sixth province after a death was recorded in Bas-Uele, in the country's north-east.
•Declared in mid-May 2026, it is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak the country has recorded.
•The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, against which no vaccine or medicine is specifically approved.

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Agreements & MoUsMediumquizQuiz

ISMA and ICAR-ISRI Sign Rs 80 Crore Pact for Sugarcane Seed Centre at Lucknow

•The Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association and ICAR-Indian Sugarcane Research Institute signed an MoU on 13 August 2026.
•They will set up an Advanced Centre for Quality Sugarcane Seed Production at the ICAR-ISRI campus in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
•The project costs Rs 80 crore, shared equally at Rs 40 crore by each partner.

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DefenceMediumquizQuiz

CENTCOM Sets Up Task Force Falcon Strike, Its First Multinational Drone Unit

•United States Central Command announced Task Force Falcon Strike on 13 August 2026, its first multinational, multi-domain attack drone task force for West Asia.
•The unit is built around low-cost, one-way attack drones operating above, on and below the sea.
•Personnel from US Special Operations Command Central will lead the task force staff, which will include regional military representatives.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

Centre Approves Fourth Rail Line Through Siliguri Corridor's Chicken's Neck

•The Centre has approved a fourth railway line on the Malda-New Jalpaiguri section running through the Siliguri Corridor, announced by the Northeast Frontier Railway on 13 August 2026.
•A third line on the same stretch had been planned earlier; the fourth line adds capacity on India's only land rail route to the Northeast.
•The Siliguri Corridor, or Chicken's Neck, narrows to about 20-22 km and links the eight northeastern states to the rest of India.

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History & CultureMediumquizQuiz

Centre Tells Parliament 18 Monuments Delisted Since 2021; ASI Now Has 3,688

•The Union Culture Ministry told Parliament on 13 August 2026 that 18 monuments have been delisted from the centrally protected list since 2021.
•The delisting was done under Section 35 of the AMASR Act, 1958, which applies when a monument ceases to be of national importance.
•The Archaeological Survey of India now cares for 3,688 centrally protected monuments and sites.

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State NewsMediumquizQuiz

Karnataka Approves 'Sandhya Kiran' Cashless Health Cover of ₹5 Lakh for Pensioners

•The Karnataka Cabinet approved the 'Sandhya Kiran' contributory cashless healthcare scheme on 13 August 2026.
•It covers retired state government employees below 70, family pensioners and their eligible dependents.
•The cover is ₹5 lakh per family per year on a floater basis for secondary, tertiary and emergency treatment.

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ObituariesLowquizQuiz

Historian Sumit Sarkar, Author of 'Modern India: 1885-1947', Dies at 87

•Historian Sumit Sarkar died in New Delhi on 13 August 2026 at the age of 87 after a prolonged illness.
•Born in Calcutta in 1939, he was a Marxist historian of modern India.
•His best-known works are 'The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal, 1903-1908' (1973) and the textbook 'Modern India: 1885-1947' (1983).

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

Revamped India Code Portal Launched With AI Search and 22-Language Access

•The revamped India Code Portal was launched on 13 August 2026 at Kartavya Bhavan 2, New Delhi.
•It was launched by Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice.
•India Code is the official digital repository of Indian legislation, maintained by the Legislative Department.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Centre Approves ₹605.71 Crore for Rajasthan and Telangana Under PM-RKVY and Krishonnati Yojana

•Union Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan approved ₹605.71 crore for Rajasthan and Telangana on 13 August 2026.
•The funds come under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) and the Krishonnati Yojana (KY).
•Rajasthan received ₹340.59 crore and Telangana ₹265.12 crore.

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History & CultureMediumquizQuiz

Textiles Ministry Holds 'Srijan: Voices from the Loom' for Women Weavers

•The Ministry of Textiles held 'Srijan: Voices from the Loom' in New Delhi on 13 August 2026, a programme built around the first-person stories of women weavers.
•Over 100 women weavers drawn from six handloom clusters spoke about their work, and an anthology of their journeys was released at the event.
•Neelam Shami Rao, Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles, attended the programme.

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Banking & FinanceHighquizQuiz

UPI Completes Ten Years as Debate Reopens on Who Pays Its Costs

•The Unified Payments Interface completed ten years in August 2026 — it was piloted on 11 April 2016 by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan with 21 member banks and opened to the public on 25 August 2016.
•UPI now carries about 86% of India's non-cash digital transactions; the country recorded 28,174 crore digital transactions in 2025-26, with over 55 crore users and 703 participating entities on the UPI network.
•July 2026 was UPI's biggest month ever: 2,366 crore (23.66 billion) transactions worth Rs 29.88 lakh crore, up 22% in volume year-on-year.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Pakistan Names First Lunar Rover Jinnah-1 for China's Chang'e-8 Mission

•Pakistan's space agency SUPARCO announced on 13 August 2026 that the country's first lunar rover will be called Jinnah-1.
•The roughly 35 kg rover is to travel to the Moon's south polar region aboard China's Chang'e-8 mission.
•The name came from a nationwide public contest that drew more than 4,000 entries; 17-year-old Tayyab Karim of Bahawalnagar was declared the winner and received a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

IISc Releases SraVaani, Open-Source Speech AI for 65 Indian Languages

•The Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru released SraVaani-1.0, an open-source automatic speech recognition model covering 65 Indian languages and dialects.
•It was built by the SPIRE Lab and ARTPARK at IISc with support from Google, and is hosted on Hugging Face under the permissive MIT licence.
•The 65 languages include the 22 tongues listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution plus 43 regional and tribal varieties such as Garo, Kokborok, Tulu and Bundeli.

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BusinessMediumquizQuiz

L&T Wins Up to ₹15,000 Crore Order for India's Largest AI Factory

•Larsen & Toubro announced on 13 August 2026 that it had won an order valued between ₹10,000 crore and ₹15,000 crore to build what it describes as India's largest single-cluster AI infrastructure facility.
•The contract was awarded by Together AI, a United States-based AI cloud platform co-founded and led by Vipul Ved Prakash.
•L&T will execute it through its AI infrastructure subsidiary LTN Compute and its digital infrastructure arm Vyoma.AI.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

NBA Releases ₹15.52 Crore Benefit-Sharing Proceeds from Mustard Genetic Resources

•The National Biodiversity Authority released ₹15.52 crore in Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) proceeds arising from mustard genetic resources on 13 August 2026.
•The money was collected from M/s Pioneer Overseas Corporation, which used Indian biological resources to develop ten commercial hybrid varieties of mustard (Brassica juncea).
•It is being shared among 26 State Biodiversity Boards and 3 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils in proportion to the area under mustard cultivation.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

IIT Guwahati Develops Two-Stage Microalgae Process for CO2 Capture and Biofuel

•IIT Guwahati has developed a two-stage microalgae cultivation process that raises carbon dioxide capture, biomass yield, self-harvesting and bioenergy output together.
•The work was led by Professor Kaustubha Mohanty of the Department of Chemical Engineering with research scholar Deepesh Singh Chauhan, and published in the journal Renewable Energy.
•Stage one grows the culture under 15 per cent carbon dioxide for rapid growth; stage two drops it to 5 per cent and adds calcium and phosphorus to hold pH and sustain photosynthesis.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Under a New Moon With Up to 100 Meteors an Hour

•The Perseid meteor shower reached its 2026 peak across the night of 12-13 August, with the maximum predicted for 14:53 UTC on 13 August 2026.
•The peak fell under a new moon, producing dark skies; observers at rural sites could expect roughly 30 to 50 meteors an hour and up to about 100 under ideal dark-sky conditions.
•In India the best viewing window was between about 2:00 am and 4:30 am IST on 13 August, when the radiant stands high in the north-east.

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Polity & GovernanceHighquizQuiz

Parliament Passes MMDR Amendment Bill Restricting State Taxes on Mineral Rights

•Parliament completed passage of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 on 13 August 2026, when the Rajya Sabha cleared it; the Lok Sabha had passed it on 12 August 2026.
•The Bill was introduced on 10 August 2026 by the Union Minister of Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, and becomes law on Presidential assent under Article 111.
•It restricts States from levying independent taxes, cesses or levies on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land except as authorised under central guidelines, and invalidates past State levies that remain unrecovered or undeposited - without requiring refund of amounts already collected.

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State NewsMediumquizQuiz

Tamil Nadu Signs 97 MoUs Worth Rs 67,542 Crore at Vettri Investors Conclave

•Tamil Nadu signed 97 fresh Memoranda of Understanding worth Rs 67,542 crore at the first Vettri Tamil Nadu Investors Conclave 2026, held in Chennai on 13 August 2026.
•Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay presided over the exchange of documents; the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government assumed office in May 2026.
•The projects are projected to create about 1.21 lakh direct and indirect jobs; 56 of the 97 agreements are greenfield projects and 25 involve companies entering Tamil Nadu for the first time.

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Important DaysMediumquizQuiz

World Organ Donation Day 2026 Observed on 13 August

•World Organ Donation Day is observed every year on 13 August to encourage voluntary organ and tissue donation and to close the gap between the demand for organs and their availability.
•It is a voluntary awareness campaign of hospitals and transplant organisations, not an officially designated observance of the United Nations or the World Health Organization.
•India observes a separate Indian Organ Donation Day on 3 August, moved in 2023 from its earlier date of 27 November to mark the country's first successful deceased-donor heart transplant in 1994.

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History & CultureMediumquizQuiz

ASI Finds Sangam-Era Irrigation Structure in Kollidam Riverbed

•Archaeological Survey of India archaeologists have found brick structures in the bed of the Kollidam river at Koogur, near Lalgudi in Tiruchirappalli district, Tamil Nadu.
•They have been provisionally identified as the remains of an Early Historic or Sangam-age irrigation structure, dated to around the 3rd-4th century CE.
•Two structures were recorded - a semi-circular brick wall, and a pair of parallel walls that may have formed an entrance or water channel, possibly a sluice, inlet or outlet.

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InternationalHighquizQuiz

Putin Makes First Visit to Disputed Kuril Islands, Japan Protests

•Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the disputed Kuril Islands for the first time, travelling to Iturup, one of the chain's southernmost islands.
•He visited a fish processing plant, a hospital and a school, spoke to residents and met Sakhalin regional governor Valery Limarenko.
•Japan protested immediately: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the Northern Territories 'an inherent part of Japan's territory' and the visit 'absolutely unacceptable'.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

BNHS Sterilises 2,950 Dogs to Protect Ladakh's Black-Necked Cranes

•The Bombay Natural History Society has sterilised more than 2,950 free-ranging dogs in Ladakh to protect the black-necked crane, whose chicks and nests were being attacked in alpine wetlands.
•The programme has run since 2022 with the Indian Army, the Animal Husbandry Department and Ladakh's Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment.
•Ladakh supports an annual breeding population of about 110-130 black-necked cranes, with roughly 20-25 breeding pairs each year.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Becomes India's First Corporate-Branded Train

•IRCTC has awarded full train-branding rights on the Lucknow-New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express (82501/82502) to the beverage brand Sprite through a Letter of Acceptance.
•For the branding window the service will be announced as the 'Sprite' Tejas Express at originating, terminating and en-route stations - the first time an Indian train carries a corporate brand in its official name and station announcements.
•The rights run from 19 August to 11 November 2026 and cover station public-address announcements, station signage and exterior vinyl wraps.

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