Current Affairs 19 August 2026

Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Physicists Report In-Plane Anomalous Hall Effect, Upending an 1879 Assumption

•Physicists at Carnegie Mellon University reported an in-plane anomalous Hall effect, announced on 19 August 2026 and published in Nature Materials.
•It overturns the long-held assumption that a magnetisation-driven Hall response appears only when the magnetic field points perpendicular to the film.
•The signal was produced in an atomically thin stack of the topological semimetal tantalum iridium telluride (TaIrTe4) on the ferromagnetic insulator chromium germanium telluride (Cr2Ge2Te6).

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

Camera Trap Confirms Male Tiger in Assam's Dihing Patkai National Park

•A male tiger has been photographed by camera traps in Dihing Patkai National Park in eastern Assam, giving scientific confirmation of tiger presence in a rainforest park that is not a tiger reserve.
•The monitoring exercise was carried out by the Zoological Survey of India along with the Margherita West Forest Range of the Digboi Forest Division.
•Forest staff had earlier found pug marks pointing to a tiger moving through the area; the photographic record settles what the tracks only suggested.

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Science & TechLowquizQuiz

Google's Back to School 2026 Brings AI Study Tools and Free AI Plus for Students

•Google announced its Back to School 2026 education push on 19 August 2026, adding AI-based learning features to Google Search, Gemini and Google Classroom.
•Eligible college students outside the United States, including in India, get 12 months of Google AI Plus free, with higher Gemini usage limits and 400 GB of storage; US college students get a year of the higher Google AI Pro tier with 5 TB.
•A new Student Hub inside Gemini offers study notebooks, diagnostic quizzes that identify knowledge gaps, and short personalised study plans.

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Polity & GovernanceHighquizQuiz

District Collectors Empowered to Grant Citizenship Under CAA in 8 States and UTs

•The Ministry of Home Affairs has notified the Citizenship (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026, empowering District Collectors to receive, scrutinise and decide citizenship applications under Section 6B of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
•The change applies in eight States and Union Territories - Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and the non-tribal areas of Assam and Tripura.
•A separate MHA order of 19 August 2026 transfers pending Section 6B applications from the Empowered Committees and District Level Committees to the Collectors concerned.

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State NewsMediumquizQuiz

MP Transfers Rs 2,148 Crore to 1.25 Crore Women in 39th Ladli Behna Instalment

•Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav released the 39th instalment of the Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana from Maihar, transferring more than Rs 2,148 crore in all.
•Each beneficiary received Rs 1,750 - the regular monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 plus a Rs 250 Raksha Bandhan shagun.
•About 1.25 crore women were covered through Direct Benefit Transfer; the regular instalment accounted for Rs 1,835.46 crore and the festival payment for Rs 312.83 crore.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Friends of MY Bharat Launched at BRICS Youth Summit in Gandhinagar

•The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has launched 'Friends of MY Bharat', a digital module that lets youth of Indian origin living abroad register on the Mera Yuva Bharat platform.
•It was unveiled by Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Raksha Nikhil Khadse at the inaugural ceremony of the BRICS Youth Summit 2026 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
•A 'Digital Compendium of Volunteering Practices' was released at the same ceremony.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

Udhampur and Ramban DCs Review 1,856 MW Sawalkote Hydro Project on Chenab

•The Deputy Commissioners of Udhampur and Ramban visited the Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project headquarters at Tanger in Ramban district to review the progress of the 1,856 MW scheme.
•The project head briefed them on dam works, access tunnels and roads, and on the approvals still pending - Public Investment Board clearance, then Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approval, after which tenders are to be opened.
•Sawalkote is a run-of-the-river scheme on the Chenab being built by NHPC at an estimated cost of Rs 31,380 crore, and will be the largest hydropower station in Jammu and Kashmir.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

SpaceX Recovers Starship Off Christmas Island After 24 Days at Sea

•SpaceX recovered its Starship upper stage, Ship 40, off Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean on 19 August 2026, after it had floated at sea for about 24 days.
•The vehicle had lifted off from Texas on 24 July 2026 and made a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean at the end of its flight.
•Two large boats towed the roughly 52-metre stage to calmer, shallower water off the island, drawing crowds of onlookers along the coast of the remote Australian territory.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Astronomers Identify S301 as Fastest Known Star in the Milky Way

•Astronomers announced on 19 August 2026 the identification of S301 as the fastest known star in the Milky Way.
•S301 reaches about 25,000 km per second at closest approach, roughly 8 per cent of the speed of light.
•It completes one orbit of the galaxy's central black hole, Sagittarius A*, in 8.7 years.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

India Expands Air Cargo Transshipment Network at Delhi Airport

•India scaled up its air cargo transshipment network on 19 August 2026 at the Transshipment Excellence Centre at Terminal 2 of IGI Airport, Delhi.
•The expanded network links four domestic origin stations, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Hyderabad, with London and Copenhagen.
•The pilot, run end-to-end by Air India from 20 June 2026 on the Chennai-Delhi-Frankfurt sector, moved 280 metric tonnes of cargo.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

CCEA Clears Rs 3,590 Crore Four-Laning of NH-22 Corridor in Bihar

•The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 19 August 2026 approved four-laning of the 82.578 km Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi-Sonbarsa section of NH-22 in Bihar.
•The project will be built on Hybrid Annuity Mode at a total capital cost of Rs 3,590.73 crore.
•The corridor links Muzaffarpur on NH-27 with the India-Nepal border at Sonbarsa through Sitamarhi.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

Railways Raises Katra-Banihal Speed Limit to 100 kmph

•The Ministry of Railways approved a maximum permissible speed of 100 kmph on the 111-km Katra-Banihal broad gauge section under the Jammu Division of Northern Railway.
•The section earlier ran at 85 kmph between Katra and Sangaldan and 75 kmph between Sangaldan and Banihal.
•The stretch is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link, and includes 33 tunnels covering 87 per cent of the route.

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DefenceMediumquizQuiz

Eastern Naval Command Gets Shore-Based LARS Test Plinth for DSRV

•A shore-based Launch and Recovery System (LARS) Test Plinth was inaugurated on 19 August 2026 at the Submarine Rescue Unit (East), Visakhapatnam.
•Vice Admiral Sanjay Bhalla, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, inaugurated the facility.
•The LARS is the arrangement that lowers and recovers a Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle, the platform used to evacuate crew from a disabled submarine.

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State NewsMediumquizQuiz

Tamil Nadu Raises CMCHIS Health Cover Fivefold to Rs 25 Lakh

•Tamil Nadu raised the annual cover under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme fivefold, from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh per family.
•Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay announced it in the Legislative Assembly under Rule 110 on 19 August 2026, alongside a package of health and welfare measures.
•The scheme was extended to cover specialised medical and surgical services for transgender persons at seven government medical college hospitals.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

Cabinet Clears Four Rail Multi-Tracking Projects Worth Rs 9,450 Crore

•The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved four railway multi-tracking projects costing about Rs 9,450 crore on 19 August 2026.
•The projects add roughly 410 km of track across eight districts of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, covering about 6,448 villages.
•The largest is the 173-km Kharagpur-Bhadrak (Ranital) fourth line at Rs 3,352 crore, spanning West Bengal and Odisha.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

LandSpace Lands Zhuque-3 Booster in China's First Orbital Recovery on Land

•LandSpace, a Beijing-based private space company, launched its 66-metre Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket on 19 August 2026 and vertically landed the first-stage booster.
•The mission placed the Honghu-3 commercial internet satellite in its designated orbit and marked China's first recovery of an orbital-class booster on land.
•Lift-off was at 7:35 a.m. Beijing time from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone; the booster touched down about six minutes later in Minqin County, Gansu, roughly 390 km away.

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Important DaysMediumquizQuiz

World Humanitarian Day 2026 Observed With Focus on Protecting Health Care

•World Humanitarian Day is observed every year on 19 August; the 2026 theme is 'Honouring fallen humanitarians and calling for greater protection of health care'.
•The campaign, run by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), centres on the families of fallen humanitarians and uses the call #ActForHumanity.
•The date marks the bombing of the Canal Hotel in Baghdad on 19 August 2003, in which 22 humanitarian workers were killed, including UN Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello.

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Awards & HonoursLowquizQuiz

Lakshmanan Meyyappan Is Guinness World Record's Youngest Male Chartered Accountant

•Dubai-based Lakshmanan Meyyappan was recognised by Guinness World Records in February 2026 as the world's youngest male chartered accountant, at 16 years and 141 days.
•His qualification is the ACCA, awarded by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, which he began at 15 and completed in about a year.
•He has since earned the CFA charter and is pursuing an MSc in Finance.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

H1N1 Swine Flu Cases Surge in Delhi, Cross 1,400 This Year

•Delhi had recorded 1,449 H1N1 influenza cases up to 12 August 2026, against 229 in the same period a year earlier.
•H1N1 is a subtype of Influenza A, named after its haemagglutinin (H1) and neuraminidase (N1) surface proteins.
•Influenza viruses belong to the family Orthomyxoviridae and are grouped into types A, B, C and D; only Influenza A causes pandemics.

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EconomyLowquizQuiz

Transshipment cargo reform scaled up at Delhi airport to 4 more domestic origins and 2 new international destinations

•Union Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Ram Mohan Naidu flagged off the scaled-up phase of India's transshipment cargo reform at the Transshipment Excellence Centre of Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), at Terminal 2 of IGI Airport.
•The proof of concept for domestic-to-international transshipment began on 20 June 2026 on the Chennai-Delhi-Frankfurt sector with Air India operating end to end; it moved 280 MT of cargo, cut average end-to-end transit time from 60 hours to 20 hours and lifted aircraft capacity utilisation from 75% to nearly 100%.
•The network was expanded to four more domestic origin stations — Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Hyderabad — and two new international destinations, London and Copenhagen; Air India's monthly cargo carriage on these lanes is projected to rise from 1,763 MT to 3,183 MT, an increase of nearly 80%.

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Summits & ConferencesLowquizQuiz

India to host 5th Coast Guard Global Summit in New Delhi in February 2027

•India will host the fifth Coast Guard Global Summit (CGGS) in New Delhi in February 2027, coinciding with the Swarnim Jayanti — the golden jubilee — of the Bharatiya Tatrakshak (Indian Coast Guard).
•As a preparatory engagement, the Indian Coast Guard hosted the Working Level Meeting of the 5th CGGS in hybrid mode on 19 August 2026, which took up the CGGS Meeting Guidelines, the Information Sharing Mechanism, the development of the CGGS website and the proposed Activity Calendar for future collaborative engagements.
•The Summit is positioned as a manifestation of India's MAHASAGAR vision, with the deliberations also covering collective capability building through exchange of professional expertise, operational experience and best practices among participating maritime agencies.

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DefenceLowquizQuiz

Defence Secretary visits Armenia; joint research MoU signed and Staff Talks to be institutionalised

•Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh visited Armenia from 17 to 18 August 2026, holding bilateral meetings with Deputy Defence Minister Mr Karen Brutyan and with First Deputy Defence Minister and Chief of General Staff Mr Edward Asryan on capacity building, training, military technical cooperation and defence R&D.
•The two sides exchanged the Terms of Reference for institutionalising Joint Services Staff Talks between the Indian and Armenian Armed Forces, and an MoU between the two Defence Ministries on joint collaboration, innovation and research was concluded and signed during the visit.
•He called on Armenia's Minister of Defence Mr Suren Papikyan, Minister of Hi-tech Industry Mr Davit Tradevosyan and Deputy Foreign Minister Mr Mnatsakan Safaryan, and visited the Armenian Military Academy named after Vazgen Sargasyan, including its IT Lab set up with Indian assistance.

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SportsLowquizQuiz

65th Subroto Cup opens at Ambedkar Stadium with 108 school teams in three age categories

•The 65th edition of the Subroto Cup International Football Tournament began on 18 August 2026 at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi, with Air Marshal S Sivakumar, Air Officer-in-Charge Administration and Vice Chairman of the Subroto Mukerjee Sports Education Society, as Chief Guest.
•The edition features 108 teams across three categories — Junior Girls (Under-17), Junior Boys (Under-17) and Sub-Junior Boys (Under-15) — divided into eight groups per category, with group winners advancing to the knockout stage.
•The opening day's featured match in the Junior Girls (U-17) category saw Meghalaya beat Chandigarh 2-0, the goals scored by Ms Genefa and Ms Wandari; weightlifter Lovepreet Singh was Guest of Honour.

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Science & TechLowquizQuiz

IASST, IIT Guwahati develop RK-251, a cancer drug that switches on only inside tumour cells

•Researchers led by Dr. Asis Bala of the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati — an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology — and Dr. K.P. Bhabak of IIT Guwahati have developed a 'smart' anticancer molecule named RK-251.
•RK-251 stays inactive as it travels through the body and is switched on by the abnormally high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) inside cancer cells, where it releases the anticancer compound NBDHEX; NBDHEX blocks target proteins that cancer cells use to survive and resist treatment.
•In preclinical work the molecule showed strong activity against aggressive triple-negative breast cancer cells with much less effect on healthy cells, and no obvious toxicity in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos; the work is published in the ACS Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and further studies are needed before human testing.

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Schemes & CommitteesLowquizQuiz

Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue 2027 opens with nationwide Viksit Bharat Quiz

•The Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue (VBYLD) 2027 has begun with the launch of the Viksit Bharat Quiz on the MY Bharat portal, running from 17 August to 30 September 2026 and open to Indians aged 15-29.
•The flagship Viksit Bharat Challenge follows a five-stage pathway - Quiz, Essay Challenge, District Championship, State/UT VBYLD and National VBYLD - with the top 10% of quiz participants, capped at four lakh, qualifying for a 500-word essay round.
•The national round will be held in New Delhi from 10 to 12 January 2027 across six tracks, with regional finalists presenting their ideas before the Prime Minister.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

DRI seizes 54 ivory artefacts at Lucknow and 56 kg methamphetamine at Nhava Sheva

•The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) busted a wildlife trafficking syndicate at Lucknow, intercepting four persons and recovering 54 intricately carved ivory artefacts, which along with the accused were handed over to the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department.
•The seized items included animal figurines of a bull, elephants and a dog, human figurines of a warrior and a mother holding her child, and objects such as scissors, a comb, an agarbatti stand and a sindoor dani.
•In a separate operation on 16-17 August 2026, DRI recovered about 56 kg of methamphetamine mixed into maize in one of 351 bags of an export consignment at Nhava Sheva port bound for Saudi Arabia; the exporter and the transporter/freight forwarder were arrested under the NDPS Act, 1985.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

CAQM Direction 102 phases out new diesel and petrol light goods vehicles in Delhi-NCR

•The Full Commission of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), at its 29th meeting on 18 August 2026 chaired by Rajesh Verma, approved Direction No. 102 mandating a phased shift to cleaner Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs) in Delhi-NCR.
•LGVs are only about 1.2% of the active vehicle stock but contribute roughly 3.3% of particulate matter emissions from the total active fleet, which is the stated reason for singling them out.
•Registration of Diesel/Petrol/CNG N1 LGVs will be restricted from 1 January 2027 in Delhi and 1 July 2027 in five High Vehicle Density districts; N2 LGV restrictions begin 1 January 2028 and run in three tranches to 1 January 2029.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

RDI Fund disbursals begin; second-level fund managers to be named, sectoral scope widened

•At the monthly joint review of Science Secretaries chaired by Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, officials reported that disbursal of Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund money to some selected firms is complete and the rest will follow shortly.
•The Minister said the RDI Fund's conflict-of-interest policy is protected by stringent safeguards to protect both taxpayers' money and private capital, and invited stakeholder suggestions for further safeguards.
•Selection and announcement of Second-Level Fund Managers (SLFMs), who will identify companies and route investments under the fund, is expected to be completed in about two weeks.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

PM-AJAY sanctions 500 SC hostel seats in Hyderabad; all 23 Telangana EMRSs functional

•The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment set out the government's residential-education support for Scheduled Caste and tribal students across the hostel component of PM-AJAY, the SHRESHTA scheme and the Eklavya Model Residential Schools.
•Two hostels for Scheduled Caste students - one for boys, one for girls - were sanctioned in Hyderabad, Telangana, over the last five years, with a combined 500 seats and Rs 7.50 crore released for construction.
•Current PM-AJAY guidelines fund only fresh hostel construction: there is no provision for upgrading or expanding an existing SC hostel, though a hostel already sanctioned and operational may get central assistance for repairs once every five years.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Health Ministry holds NLEP workshop in Indore to push interruption of leprosy transmission

•The Central Leprosy Division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare opened a two-day National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) Review-cum-Capacity Building Workshop at Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on 19 August 2026.
•The stated goal is Interruption of Transmission (IoT) of leprosy - a step beyond the elimination threshold India crossed nationally in 2005 - through early case detection, contact tracing, full treatment and disability prevention.
•More than 70 participants attended, including the Additional Director General (DGHS), the Deputy Director General (Leprosy), officials of RLTRI Raipur and the Aska Institute, State Leprosy Officers and District Leprosy Officers from all 51 districts of Madhya Pradesh.

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Summits & ConferencesHighquizQuiz

India's BRICS 2026 Chairship: Youth Summit, Energy and Tourism Tracks

•India held the BRICS Youth Council Meeting and BRICS Youth Summit at Gandhinagar, Gujarat on 19 August 2026 under its BRICS Chairship, organised by the Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
•India's BRICS Chairship 2026 runs under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability' — an acronym that itself spells BRICS — with the Energy Track carrying the sub-theme 'सर्वेषां ऊर्जम्' (Energy for All).
•The Youth Council took up a Draft Joint Declaration and a BRICS Youth Cooperation Framework ahead of the BRICS Youth Ministers' Meeting at Visakhapatnam on 22 August 2026.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

31st Southern Zonal Council Meeting at Mahabalipuram: Structure and Mandate

•The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation will chair the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council on 20 August 2026 at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, with the Government of Tamil Nadu as host.
•The Southern Zonal Council comprises Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Keralam, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, along with the Union Territories of Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
•Five Zonal Councils were established under Sections 15 to 22 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956; they are statutory advisory bodies, and the Union Home Minister chairs each while member Chief Ministers serve as Vice-Chairman by rotation.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

CCEA Approves Rs 3,590 Crore Four-Laning of NH-22 to Indo-Nepal Border

•The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, approved on 19 August 2026 the upgradation of the Muzaffarpur-Sitamarhi-Sonbarsa section of NH-22 in Bihar to four-lane standard.
•The 82.578 km project will be built on Hybrid Annuity Mode at a total capital cost of Rs 3,590.73 crore.
•It is a feeder corridor linking the India-Nepal border at Sonbarsa to Muzaffarpur on NH-27, the East-West Corridor, and will connect to the nearby Land Port at Bhithamore.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

CCEA Clears Four Railway Multitracking Projects Worth Rs 9,450 Crore

•The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, approved four Ministry of Railways multitracking projects on 19 August 2026 at a total cost of about Rs 9,450 crore, to be completed up to 2030-31.
•The four lines add about 410 km to the Indian Railways network across eight districts in West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
•They are the Kharagpur-Bhadrak (Ranital) 4th line (173 km), Bhadrak-Haridaspur 4th line (75 km), Gummidipundi-Gudur 3rd and 4th line (90 km) and Cuttack-Paradeep (Badabandha) 3rd and 4th line (72 km).

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EconomyHighquizQuiz

MMDR Amendment Act 2026: Centre Curbs State Levies on Mineral Rights

•A PIB Backgrounder issued on 19 August 2026 explains the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, which restricts state levies on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands in order to create a uniform and predictable fiscal regime for major minerals.
•The government's position is that states currently impose about 14 kinds of taxes, charges, fees and levies on mining — some taxes on mineral-bearing lands running as high as 20 per cent — and that this cascades into the cost of steel, cement, power and infrastructure.
•The Act is stated not to reduce state revenue: states continue to receive royalty, auction premium, District Mineral Foundation payments and their share of GST, and roughly 90 per cent of mining revenue keeps accruing to them.

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EconomyHighquizQuiz

Makhana Sector: National Board, Rs 476 Crore Scheme and Record Output

•A PIB Backgrounder released on 19 August 2026 sets out the status of India's makhana (fox nut) sector, which is anchored by the National Makhana Board announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 and formally launched in Bihar on 15 September 2025.
•A Central Sector Scheme for the Development of Makhana carries an outlay of Rs 476.03 crore for 2025-26 to 2030-31, with Rs 30 crore approved for 2025-26 and Rs 90 crore for 2026-27.
•India's makhana output is placed at 63,910 MT in 2024-25 (final estimate) and 80,590 MT in 2025-26 (Second Advance Estimates); Bihar alone produced 60,000 MT in 2025-26.

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