Current Affairs 21 August 2026

NationalMediumquizQuiz

MoRTH Draft Raises Registration-Exempt Low-Speed EV Power Limit to 600 Watts

•The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a draft notification on 21 August 2026 to amend Rule 2(u) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.
•The draft raises the motor power ceiling for registration-exempt low-speed electric vehicles from 250 W (0.25 kW) to 600 W (0.6 kW).
•The 25 km/h maximum speed is retained, but the existing 60 kg unladen weight ceiling is removed altogether.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

Rs 4,896 Crore FDI Reported Under India's Relaxed Press Note 3 Norms

•The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on 21 August 2026 that 29 foreign direct investment proposals worth Rs 4,895.65 crore had been reported under the relaxed Press Note 3 framework.
•Press Note 3 was issued in April 2020 and extended the requirement of prior government approval to investment from every country sharing a land border with India; before that, only Bangladesh and Pakistan were covered.
•The Union Cabinet approved easing the restriction on 10 March 2026, and it was given effect through an amendment to the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules notified in May 2026.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

Allahabad High Court Rejects Student's Plea to Wear Hijab With School Uniform

•A Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court dismissed Sukaina Rizvi v. State of U.P. on 21 August 2026, refusing to let a student wear a headscarf with her prescribed school uniform.
•The Bench of Justice J. J. Munir and Justice Indrajeet Shukla held that wearing a headscarf is not an essential religious practice in Islam.
•The petitioner, a minor at Tagore Public School, Attarsuiya, Prayagraj, had worn a headscarf from Class VI to Class X but was denied admission to Class XI on dress-code grounds.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Scientists Map Antibody Targets on Crimean-Congo Fever Virus Nucleocapsid Protein

•A study published in Nature Communications identified four distinct sites on the nucleocapsid protein of the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus that protective antibodies can attach to.
•The work was led by Scott Pegan at the University of California, Riverside, and evaluated nine antibodies - most originally developed at USAMRIID - alongside a previously identified antibody, 9D5.
•9D5 performed best, protecting 75 per cent of treated mice from an infection that killed untreated animals, and showed potential against different viral strains.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

Kerala High Court Impleads Cancer Patient in Suo Motu Case on Ribociclib Pricing

•The Kerala High Court allowed a breast cancer patient currently on Ribociclib to be impleaded in a suo motu case on the pricing of patented breast cancer drugs.
•Justice Harisankar V. Menon permitted the impleadment and posted the matter to 3 September for final hearing.
•The original petition was filed by another patient on Ribociclib who sought Central government intervention under Sections 83, 92 or 100 of the Patents Act, 1970; she died while the case was pending, after which the Court converted it into a suo motu petition.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

NHB Cuts Horticulture Subsidy to 35%, Bars Ministers and Officials from Assistance

•The National Horticulture Board issued a circular on 21 August 2026 amending the guidelines of its commercial horticulture scheme, tightening eligibility and cutting subsidy rates.
•The subsidy component falls from 50 per cent to 35 per cent of eligible project cost in general-category States, and from 50 per cent to 45 per cent in North-Eastern and Himalayan States.
•Holders of constitutional posts, Ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, mayors, district panchayat chairpersons and serving government and PSU employees are now ineligible, with an exception for MTS, Class-IV and Group-D staff.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

ICAR-NBAGR Registers 16 New Indigenous Breeds; India's Registered Total Reaches 262

•The Indian Council of Agricultural Research registered 16 new indigenous livestock and dog breeds, taking India's total of registered animal breeds to 262 - 258 indigenous and 4 synthetic.
•The registrations were recommended at the 14th meeting of the Breed Registration Committee, held in New Delhi on 7 August 2026 under Dr Raghavendra Bhatta, Deputy Director General (Animal Science), ICAR.
•The 16 breeds span cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep, donkey, horse, pig, yak and dog, and come from 13 states and Jammu and Kashmir.

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Banking & FinanceMediumquizQuiz

SEBI Proposes Tighter Ad Code for Online Bond Platforms, New Channel Partners

•SEBI issued a consultation paper on 21 August 2026 proposing a revised Advertisement Code for Online Bond Platform Providers, flagging urgency-based and fear-of-missing-out messaging that can push retail investors into hurried decisions.
•The draft bars vague descriptors such as high yield, high rated and high returns, and stops an OBPP from advertising its own holdings in a debt security or ISIN.
•Terms like fixed returns, predictable returns and passive income would be allowed only in a generic, non-promissory way, backed by risk disclosures, alongside a standard warning that fixed returns are not guaranteed returns.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

India Targets 30 GW Polysilicon Capacity by 2030, Plans Separate Subsidy Scheme

•Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi said on 21 August 2026 that India is targeting at least 30 GW of polysilicon manufacturing capacity addition by 2030.
•A polysilicon plant together with metallurgical-grade silicon needs an investment of roughly Rs 850 crore per GW, putting the capital requirement for 30 GW at about Rs 25,000 crore.
•The government will design a separate support mechanism for polysilicon because the capacity likely under the existing PLI scheme would be limited; the subsidy amount is still being worked out.

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Agreements & MoUsMediumquizQuiz

India and Brazil Sign Telecom and ICT MoU at BRICS Meeting in Pune

•India and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding on telecommunications and information and communication technologies on 21 August 2026 in Pune.
•It was signed on the sidelines of the 12th BRICS Communications Ministers' Meeting, the ministerial end of the BRICS ICT track India hosted at Pune.
•Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia signed for India and Communications Minister Frederico de Siqueira Filho for Brazil.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

MEA Denies Political Clearance for Telangana CM's US Leg, Forcing Cancellation

•The Ministry of External Affairs on 21 August 2026 denied political clearance for the United States leg of Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy's foreign tour, forcing him to cancel it.
•MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the programme proposed should be appropriate to the office held and the purpose of the visit, and that in this case it was not so for the US.
•The United Kingdom leg of the same tour had been cleared; the US portion was to cover Boston and New York.

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History & CultureMediumquizQuiz

US Ambassador Sergio Gor Visits Thiksey Monastery, Ends Kashmir-Ladakh Tour

•US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor visited Thiksey Monastery in Ladakh on 21 August 2026, closing a tour that had taken him through Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
•Thiksey Gompa, founded in 1433, belongs to the Gelug (Yellow Hat) order of Tibetan Buddhism and stands about 19 km east of Leh, overlooking the Indus valley.
•Its twelve-storey terraced layout gives it the nickname 'Mini Potala', after the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

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History & CultureMediumquizQuiz

57th IFFI Set for 20-28 November 2026 in Goa as Steering Committee Meets

•The first Steering Committee meeting for the 57th International Film Festival of India was held on 21 August 2026 at Kartavya Bhawan-2, New Delhi.
•The 57th edition of IFFI is scheduled from 20 to 28 November 2026 in Goa.
•The meeting was chaired by Dr L. Murugan, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, with I&B Secretary Chanchal Kumar in attendance.

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Agreements & MoUsMediumquizQuiz

Yamanashi Announces Rs 600-Crore Fund for MSMEs Investing in Uttar Pradesh

•Japan's Yamanashi Prefecture announced a Rs 600-crore fund to back Yamanashi-based MSMEs that invest in Uttar Pradesh, at the state-level conference of the UP-Japan Investment Meet 2026 in Lucknow on 21 August 2026.
•Four MoUs were exchanged, covering technical training, skills development, tourism and Japanese Global Capability Centres in Noida and Greater Noida.
•Uttar Pradesh set up a dedicated Yamanashi Desk at Invest UP, its investment promotion agency, and agreed to a 90-day review mechanism for land allotments and investor grievances.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Rural Development Ministry Launches Entrepreneurship Campaign Phase II for SHG Women

•The Ministry of Rural Development launched the second phase of the National Campaign on Entrepreneurship on 21 August 2026, under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission.
•The three-month campaign runs from 21 August to 21 November 2026 and was timed to World Entrepreneurs Day, observed on 21 August.
•It targets training 5 lakh Self-Help Group women, formalising 50,000 rural enterprises, orienting 50,000 community cadres, adding 2 lakh members to producer groups and enterprises, and promoting agro-ecological practices among 20 lakh women.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

Sonowal Opens Rs 427.80 Crore Paradip Port Projects, 18.5-Metre Deep Draft

•Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated seven infrastructure projects worth Rs 427.80 crore at Paradip Port Authority in Odisha on 21 August 2026.
•The largest is a Rs 352 crore capital dredging project that gives the port an 18.5-metre deep draft, allowing it to handle fully laden Capesize bulk carriers in the inner harbour.
•Also opened were the Rs 24.89 crore Atharbanki Second New Bridge - 500 metres, three lanes, built for about 3,000 trucks a day - and an Advanced Vessel Traffic Management and Information System developed with IIT Madras' National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts.

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Summits & ConferencesMediumquizQuiz

BRICS Tourism Ministers Adopt Jaipur Declaration Under India's Chairship

•BRICS Tourism Ministers adopted the BRICS Tourism Ministers' Communique 2026, known as the Jaipur Declaration, by consensus at Jaipur, Rajasthan, on 21 August 2026.
•The meeting was held under India's 2026 BRICS Chairship and chaired by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism; representatives of nine BRICS member states took part.
•The declaration sets out four priority areas - AI and Tourism; Sustainability and Responsible Tourism; Tourism Skilling and Capacity Building; and Tourism Exchanges and Seamless Travel Facilitation.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

PNGRB Authorises 1,800 km LPG Pipeline Network Worth Rs 7,000 Crore

•The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board authorised about 1,800 km of new LPG pipelines on 21 August 2026, at an estimated capital investment of Rs 7,000 crore.
•GAIL (India) Limited has been named the authorised entity for the three pipelines, which will run through six states - Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Goa.
•The three sections are Cherlapally to Nagpur (556 km), Jhansi to Sitarganj (611 km) and Shikrapur to Goa and Hubli (633 km).

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InternationalMediumquizQuiz

Turkey Seeks Interpol Red Notices Against Netanyahu Over Gaza Flotilla Case

•On 21 August 2026 Turkey formally moved Interpol for Red Notices against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and another Israeli national, Afek Moskovitch.
•The Turkish Ministry of Justice asked the Ministry of the Interior to coordinate with Interpol, and the papers were also sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the request rests on domestic arrest warrants issued by the Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court on 14 July 2026.
•The warrants arise from an Istanbul prosecution of 35 defendants over Israel's armed interception, in international waters, of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla in October 2025.

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DefenceMediumquizQuiz

DRDO's NSTL Signs Two Technology Transfers: Submarine-Fired Decoy and LM2500 Turbine

•DRDO's Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam, signed two Licensing Agreements for Transfer of Technology on 21 August 2026.
•The first transfers the Submarine-Fired Decoy, named Mohini, to Bharat Dynamics Limited for production.
•The second transfers the fabrication, installation and commissioning of the LM2500 gas turbine to Vertex Engineering Systems Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad.

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EconomyHighquizQuiz

Centre Notifies Rs 62,500 Crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme for Five Years

•The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology notified the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) with an outlay of Rs 62,500 crore.
•The scheme runs for five years, from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31, and pays incentives on eligible sales at differentiated rates of 2.25 to 5 per cent.
•An additional incentive of up to 1.5 per cent is available for sourcing key components and sub-assemblies domestically.

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DefenceMediumquizQuiz

Mangrol, Third Mahe-Class ASW Shallow Water Craft, Delivered to Indian Navy

•Cochin Shipyard Limited delivered Mangrol, the third Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft, to the Indian Navy at Kochi on 21 August 2026.
•It is the third of eight Mahe-class ASW SWCs being built by CSL, with more than 80 per cent indigenous content.
•The 78-metre craft uses diesel engine-waterjet propulsion, reaches 25 knots and carries lightweight torpedoes, indigenous ASW rockets and shallow-water sonars.

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EconomyLowquizQuiz

CCI penalises agro-input trade associations and tyre bidders for cartelisation

•The Competition Commission of India passed an order on 21 August 2026 under Section 27 of the Competition Act, 2002 against the Agro Input Dealers Association (AIDA), the Agro Input Welfare Association (AIWA) and two office-bearers, holding them in contravention of Section 3(3)(b) read with Section 3(1) for cartelisation, and imposing monetary penalties along with a cease-and-desist direction.
•A separate CCI order of the same date penalised Rekha Agencies and SS Marketing for bid rigging in the Himachal Pradesh Tender 2013 for procurement of tyres, a contravention of Section 3(3)(d) read with Section 3(1) established from pre-bid email exchanges of commercially sensitive price information.
•Both orders used Section 48 to fasten individual liability on office-bearers and officials, and the agro-input order additionally directed the associations to run a competition compliance training programme under Section 27(g) — a behavioural remedy rather than a purely monetary one.

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Awards & HonoursLowquizQuiz

President to confer National Teachers Awards on 48 school teachers on 5 September

•President of India Smt Droupadi Murmu will confer the National Teachers Awards on 48 school teachers at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on 5 September 2026.
•The 48 awardees come from 27 States, 7 Union Territories and 6 organisations of the Central Government, and include 26 men and 22 women; they were selected through a three-stage process at district, state and national levels by the Department of School Education & Literacy.
•Online self-nominations were invited from 15 June 2026 to 20 July 2026; the ceremony will be telecast on Doordarshan and the Ministry's SWAYAM PRABHA channels and streamed live at webcast.gov.in/moe.

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NationalLowquizQuiz

Health Minister reviews H1N1 influenza preparedness; focus on ILI and SARI surveillance

•Union Health Minister Shri J P Nadda reviewed the H1N1 influenza situation and preparedness on 21 August 2026, with particular focus on the National Capital; Delhi Health Minister Dr Pankaj Kumar Singh attended.
•The review covered the national surveillance and epidemiological situation, influenza-like illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) trends, testing and laboratory surveillance, and hospital readiness - beds, critical care, oxygen-supported beds, ventilators, medicines and diagnostics.
•The Union Health Secretary had already written to all States and Union Territories on 10 July 2026 asking them to strengthen preparedness and surveillance for Acute Respiratory Illness (ARI); the Minister also stressed control of Dengue and Malaria and the role of local bodies.

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Science & TechLowquizQuiz

PM meets founders of 20 space startups; spotlight on India's private space ecosystem

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the CEOs and founders of 20 space startups at Seva Teerth in New Delhi on 21 August 2026.
•The startups work across rockets and reusable semi-cryogenic launch vehicles, avionics, satellites, advanced propulsion, space and defence intelligence, space debris removal and AI-powered hyperlocal weather intelligence.
•The Prime Minister asked the sector to widen the everyday applications of space technology, to collaborate with other sectors such as environment and agriculture, and to work with Atal Tinkering Labs to build interest in space among schoolchildren.

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DefenceLowquizQuiz

India and UK hold 25th Defence Consultative Group meeting in New Delhi

•Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and the UK's Permanent Under Secretary for Defence, Jeremy Pocklington, co-chaired the 25th India-UK Defence Consultative Group meeting in New Delhi on 21 August 2026 - Pocklington's first India visit in that capacity.
•The two sides reviewed defence industrial cooperation with emphasis on research and development, under the India-UK Vision 2035 and the Ten Year Defence Industrial Roadmap, and agreed to expand joint exercises, training and capacity building.
•They acknowledged maritime security collaboration in the Indo-Pacific, including the establishment of the Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence (RMSCE) under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative.

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EconomyLowquizQuiz

29 FDI proposals worth Rs 4,895.65 crore under revised land-border FDI framework

•29 FDI investments have been reported under the revised land-bordering-country framework up to 20 August 2026, involving proposed FDI of Rs 4,895.65 crore.
•The revised framework removes the need for prior government approval where non-controlling ownership from a land bordering country (LBC) is up to 10%, allowing such investment through the automatic route subject to sectoral caps and post-facto reporting.
•It rests on Press Note 2 of 2026 and the consequent amendment to the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019, notified on 1 May 2026, which applies the beneficial ownership test at the level of the investor entity.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Rural Development launches National Campaign on Entrepreneurship-II under DAY-NRLM

•The Ministry of Rural Development launched the 'National Campaign on Entrepreneurship-II' under DAY-NRLM for three months, from 21 August to 21 November 2026, widening the first phase to cover farm enterprises, non-farm enterprises and the marketing of SHG products.
•Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Sh. Rohit Kansal, also released the first edition of 'Sankalp Shakti', the Rural Enterprise Technical Bulletin of DAY-NRLM, which will now be a monthly publication.
•The campaign is pitched at the vision of 6 crore Lakhpati Didis, and shifts emphasis to intensive enterprise handholding, formalisation, producer institutions and simpler implementation processes.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

PM at ET World Leaders Forum: from 'prohibited unless permitted' to 'permitted unless prohibited'

•The Prime Minister addressed the Economic Times World Leaders Forum 2026 on 21 August 2026, on the theme 'Shared Future', setting out a roadmap of governance-level and policy-level reforms.
•He framed the central shift as one of regulatory philosophy - from 'prohibited unless permitted' to 'permitted unless prohibited' - arguing that the government-citizen relationship must rest on trust rather than suspicion.
•He contrasted what he called 'Production Linked Punishment' under the licence raj, when output beyond a fixed limit invited penalty, with the Production Linked Incentive scheme, citing about Rs 2.5 lakh crore of investment, over Rs 22 lakh crore of production and sales, over Rs 15 lakh crore of exports and more than 14 lakh direct and indirect jobs from that one scheme.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

DGGI busts pan masala and gutkha network in Uttar Pradesh, detects Rs 185 crore evasion

•The Lucknow Zonal Unit of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) busted a clandestine pan masala, scented jarda and gutkha manufacturing network spread across six premises in the Chitrakoot and Banda districts of Uttar Pradesh, after coordinated searches begun around midnight on 18 August 2026.
•Twenty-seven undeclared pouch-packing machines were found - 6 for scented jarda, 9 for pan masala and 12 for dohara/desi gutkha - along with 15,50,922 pouches of finished goods; evasion of GST, HSNS Cess and central excise duty of about Rs 185 crore has been detected so far.
•The proprietor of the manufacturing firm was arrested on 19 August 2026 under Section 26 of the HSNS Cess Act, 2025 and Section 13 of the Central Excise Act, 1944, and was remanded to judicial custody by the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate (Customs), Lucknow.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

Home Minister launches Rs 189-crore SSB projects in Siliguri, opens new criminal laws exhibition

•The Union Home Minister inaugurated and laid foundation stones for Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) projects worth Rs 189 crore at Siliguri, West Bengal, covering the SSB Frontier Headquarters administrative building on 80 acres, the 19th Battalion at Thakurganj, an e-foundation stone for the 12th Battalion at Kishanganj and a transit camp at New Jalpaiguri.
•He described the Siliguri Corridor as linked to eight states and adjoining three international borders - Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh - and said the Centre is securing it through a triangular security grid; 560 acres sought by central agencies has received in-principle approval and 1,129 acres has been made available for fencing.
•Separately in Siliguri he opened an exhibition on the three new criminal laws, highlighting Zero FIR, e-FIR, mandatory forensic examination in offences carrying more than seven years' punishment and judicial acceptance of electronic documents.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

Paradip Port gets 18.5-metre draft, signs Rs 1,580 crore mechanisation concessions

•Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated seven infrastructure projects worth Rs. 427.80 crore at Paradip Port Authority in Odisha.
•Capital dredging worth Rs. 352 crore has given the port an 18.5-metre deep-draft capability, letting it handle fully laden Capesize vessels in its inner harbour.
•Concession agreements worth Rs. 1,580.36 crore were signed for three mechanisation projects, part of a plan to reach 100% berth mechanisation by 2030 from the present 80%.

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Agreements & MoUsMediumquizQuiz

India, ADB sign $230 million loan for Chennai water security and sewerage project

•The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank signed a $230 million loan to modernise and expand Chennai's water supply and sanitation infrastructure.
•The money funds the Chennai Climate-Resilient Water Security and Sewerage Project, which will lay over 170 km of water supply and sewer pipes and upgrade seven water pumping stations and 38 sewer pumping stations.
•Chennai will become the first Indian city to implement a comprehensive ring-main solution - a closed-loop system that keeps water pressure balanced across service areas.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Mission Shakti review: 991 One Stop Centres functional, PMMVY crosses 4.60 crore mothers

•The Consultative Committee of Members of Parliament attached to the Ministry of Women and Child Development met at Kolkata, West Bengal, chaired by Union Minister Smt. Annpurna Devi, and reviewed three components of Mission Shakti: One Stop Centres, the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana and SANKALP: Hub for Empowerment of Women.
•Of 1,033 One Stop Centres approved since the scheme began on 1 April 2015, 991 are functional and have assisted more than 15.20 lakh women; OSCs are funded from the Nirbhaya Fund.
•PMMVY has disbursed more than Rs. 21,343 crore to more than 4.60 crore beneficiaries since it went pan-India on 1 January 2017.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

Government Caps Sugar Stocks and Clears 10 LMT Duty-Free Raw Sugar Imports

•Retail sugar prices rose from Rs 48.18 per kg on 20 July 2026 to Rs 55.70 per kg on 20 August 2026, prompting a set of supply and anti-hoarding measures ahead of the festive season.
•A stock limit of 400 tonnes has been imposed on sugar dealers across the country from 1 August to 30 November 2026, and from 1 September bulk consumers may not hold more than 15 days of consumption.
•The Government has permitted duty-free import of 10 LMT of raw sugar as a precaution, and advised states and mills to begin crushing from 15 October 2026.

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Ranks & ReportsMediumquizQuiz

QBUSE April-June 2026: Unincorporated Establishments Rise 9.2% to 8.67 Crore

•The National Statistics Office under MoSPI released the Quarterly Bulletin on Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (QBUSE) for April-June 2026, the quarterly edition of the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE).
•Estimated establishments rose 9.20 per cent year-on-year to 8.67 crore, while employment grew 6.55 per cent to 13.70 crore.
•Other Services drove the growth with a rise of over 21 per cent in both establishments and workers, while the unincorporated trade segment contracted by 7.88 per cent in establishments and 10.29 per cent in employment.

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Summits & ConferencesHighquizQuiz

BRICS Tourism Ministers Adopt Jaipur Declaration as India's 2026 Chairship Ministerials Converge

•The BRICS Tourism Ministers' Meeting under India's Chairship concluded in Jaipur on 21 August 2026 with the adoption by consensus of the BRICS Tourism Ministers' Communique 2026, known as the Jaipur Declaration.
•The same day saw the 12th BRICS Communications Ministers' Meeting in Pune and the 14th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting in Chennai, with the Youth and Sports Ministers' Meetings set for Visakhapatnam on 22 and 23 August.
•India and Brazil signed a Memorandum of Understanding on telecommunications and ICT cooperation on the sidelines of the BRICS ICT Track meeting in Pune.

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EconomyHighquizQuiz

Rs 62,500 Crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme Notified to Succeed Electronics PLI

•The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology notified the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) on 21 August 2026 with a budgetary outlay of Rs 62,500 crore.
•It succeeds the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing, whose tenure ended on 31 March 2026, and runs for five years from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31.
•The scheme has two target segments: TS1 incentivises mobile phone manufacturing generally at 2.25 to 5 per cent, while TS2 supports Indian-owned brands at 5 per cent with an additional 3 per cent for Indian design and R&D.

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Schemes & CommitteesHighquizQuiz

PM-AASHA Explained: Four Price-Support Components and Rs 7,200 Crore for 2026-27

•A PIB Backgrounder of 21 August 2026 sets out the architecture of Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA), the umbrella framework for delivering the Minimum Support Price and curbing distress sales, launched in September 2018.
•PM-AASHA has four components - Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Stabilization Fund (PSF), Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) and Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) - each triggered by different crop and market conditions.
•Budget allocation has risen from an actual expenditure of Rs 5,437.99 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 6,941.36 crore in 2025-26 and Rs 7,200 crore in 2026-27.

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EnvironmentHighquizQuiz

Ken-Betwa Link Project: Daudhan Dam, Rs 44,605 Crore Cost and 2030 Deadline

•A PIB Backgrounder issued on 21 August 2026 sets out the status of the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP), the first project under the National Perspective Plan for Interlinking of Rivers to reach the implementation stage.
•Water is transferred from the Ken basin to the Betwa basin through the 96.7-metre-high Daudhan Dam in Panna and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh and a 216.465-km link canal ending at Barua Sagar near Jhansi.
•Total project cost is Rs 44,605 crore; the foundation stone was laid on 25 December 2024 and completion is scheduled for 2030.

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