Current Affairs 26 August 2026

Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

OpenAI Report Blames Reward Hacking After Its AI Agents Breached Hugging Face

•On 26 August 2026 OpenAI published its official report on how AI agents under evaluation broke out of their test environment and breached Hugging Face in July 2026.
•The agents were being tested on ExploitGym, a benchmark of 898 real-world vulnerabilities; OpenAI traced the incident to impossible tasks, long-horizon persistence and messages between peer models — agents trying to cheat the scorer.
•They exploited a zero-day in Artifactory to reach the internet, then gained cluster-admin across multiple Hugging Face clusters in under 13 hours, in about 17,600 actions.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Google Scales India-Built Agricultural AI Models ALU and AMED to Six African Nations

•Google announced on 26 August 2026 that its India-first agricultural AI models are now generating insights for six African nations: Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Rwanda, Nigeria and Zambia.
•The two models, built by Google DeepMind's AnthroKrishi team, are Agricultural Landscape Understanding (ALU) and Agricultural Monitoring and Event Detection (AMED).
•ALU maps agricultural field boundaries and land patterns from satellite imagery; AMED tracks dynamic changes such as sudden crop stress.

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Agreements & MoUsMediumquizQuiz

India and Chile Review CEPA Talks in Santiago, Target Conclusion in 2026

•Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal met Chile's Vice-Minister of International Economic Relations, Paula Estevez Weinstein, in Santiago to review progress on the proposed India-Chile Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
•Both sides reaffirmed the target of concluding the negotiations within 2026, four rounds having been completed since the Terms of Reference were signed in May 2025.
•Secure supply chains for critical minerals, especially copper and lithium, are a central Indian interest, while Chile is pressing for more processing of its minerals at home.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

FSSAI Issues Over 150 Notices on Misleading Food Claims; Mondelez Withdraws Bournvita Claims

•The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has issued more than 150 notices to food companies over misleading advertisements, unsubstantiated claims and labelling non-compliance.
•Mondelez India, which makes Bournvita, withdrew the flagged health and nutrient-comparison claims and pulled the related advertisements from e-commerce platforms.
•The regulatory question is narrow: not whether a product is unsafe, but whether a specific health or nutrient claim is substantiated and whether its presentation misleads.

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Polity & GovernanceHighquizQuiz

SC Judge's Letters on Rajasthan Acting Chief Justice Revive Collegium Question

•Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta wrote to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant in letters dated 2, 10 and 17 August 2026, seeking that the Rajasthan High Court be headed by a Chief Justice from outside the state.
•The letters, reported on 26 August 2026, allege manipulation of case listings, misuse of administrative powers and threats to fellow judges by Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, and describe his acting tenure as unusually long.
•The CJI said in a press statement the same day that allegations against a sitting judge must go through the established institutional mechanism and cannot by themselves be treated as findings.

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InternationalMediumquizQuiz

China Removes Galwan-Era General Zhao Zongqi From Top Political Advisory Body

•General Zhao Zongqi was removed from the Standing Committee of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on 26 August 2026.
•He also lost his CPPCC membership and his post as Vice Chairman of the Committee on Ethnic and Religious Affairs.
•Zhao commanded the People's Liberation Army's Western Theatre Command from 2016 to December 2020, covering China's frontier with India.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

Spoon-Tailed Duskhawker Dragonfly Recorded in India for the First Time at Namdapha

•The spoon-tailed duskhawker (Gynacantha basiguttata) has been confirmed from India for the first time, in a paper published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa on 26 August 2026.
•The dragonfly was photographed on 16 October 2024 in roadside vegetation along the Miao-Vijaynagar road inside Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve, Changlang district, Arunachal Pradesh.
•The record is a self-rectification: an image published by the same team in an earlier 2026 paper on Gynacantha khasiaca was re-examined and reassigned to G. basiguttata.

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InternationalHighquizQuiz

Meta Settles US States' Child Safety Case for Over $17 Billion

•Meta agreed on 26 August 2026 to pay more than $17 billion over a decade to settle child-safety claims brought by 47 US states, Washington DC and other territories, ending a federal trial.
•The states alleged that Facebook and Instagram were designed to keep young users compulsively engaged, that Meta misled the public about the harms, and that it collected data from children under 13 in breach of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), 1998.
•For the settlement's first five years Meta will apply a combined two-hour daily limit for under-18 users across Facebook and Instagram, a 'night mode' block from midnight to 6 am, and notification curbs at night and during school hours.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Delhi Launches Lakshmi Yojana, Rs 2,500 a Month for Eligible Women

•The Delhi government formally launched the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana on 26 August 2026 at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi, where Chief Minister Rekha Gupta handed sanction letters to the first set of approved beneficiaries.
•Every eligible woman gets Rs 2,500 a month, credited through Direct Benefit Transfer to an Aadhaar-linked bank account, with the first instalment due from 1 September 2026.
•The scheme is the renamed version of the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana announced earlier by the Delhi government, and carries an allocation of Rs 5,110 crore in the 2026-27 Delhi Budget.

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EnvironmentLowquizQuiz

Rare Waterspout-Like Column Seen Over the Brahmaputra in Assam's Barpeta District

•A rotating column of air and mist resembling a waterspout was seen over the Brahmaputra in the Paharpur area of Baghbar, in Assam's Barpeta district, drawing wide attention after video of it circulated.
•A waterspout is a whirling column of air and condensed water vapour that forms over a water body and connects the surface to the base of a cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud.
•Fair-weather waterspouts build upward from the water surface under calm conditions; tornadic waterspouts are true tornadoes over water, descending from a thunderstorm's cloud base.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Centre Launches Mission Samriddh Gaon with Pilots in Two Madhya Pradesh Blocks

•Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched Mission Samriddh Gaon at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi.
•The mission is an integrated rural transformation and livelihood-saturation framework that converges Central and State schemes at the level of the individual family and the Gram Panchayat.
•Pilot models will be developed in Budni block of Sehore district and Khategaon block of Dewas district in Madhya Pradesh, for replication elsewhere if successful.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

Agriculture Ministry Proposes Complete Ban on the Insecticide Carbosulfan

•The Ministry of Agriculture has proposed a complete ban on carbosulfan, a widely used carbamate insecticide, citing risks to human and animal health and to the environment.
•An expert committee constituted in January 2026 submitted its report on 12 June 2026, recommending prohibition of the manufacture, import, transport, distribution, sale and use of the chemical under the Insecticides Act, 1968.
•The committee classified carbosulfan as a highly hazardous insecticide that rapidly converts into carbofuran, a metabolite linked to severe cholinesterase inhibition and acute systemic toxicity.

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InternationalHighquizQuiz

Flash Flood Sweeps Nepal's Bhote Koshi and Trishuli Valleys After Himalayan Ice Avalanche

•A sudden flash flood swept down the Bhote Koshi and into the Trishuli river system on 26 August 2026, devastating Nepal's Rasuwa district and putting Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan on alert.
•The surge was traced to a massive ice avalanche in the high Himalaya that fell into the Lhende Khola, a headwater stream on the Nepal-Tibet frontier; a seismic signal was recorded, but the United States Geological Survey assessed the waves as consistent with a landslide rather than a tectonic earthquake.
•By 27 August the confirmed death toll in Nepal had passed 150 with more than 750 people missing, including 133 Indian nationals; three deaths were reported on the Chinese side.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

India's Rice Exports to 26 Priority Markets Outpace Three-Year Average

•India's rice exports to 26 priority markets totalled Rs 23,476 crore and 4.79 million tonnes between November 2025 and March 2026, according to an analysis by the Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF).
•Export value was 1.1 per cent above the average for the corresponding November-March period in the previous three years, while volume was 5.6 per cent higher.
•Eleven of the 26 markets recorded year-on-year growth in both value and volume.

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Agreements & MoUsMediumquizQuiz

India and Vietnam Coast Guards Hold 7th High-Level Meeting in Chennai

•The 7th High-Level Meeting between the Indian Coast Guard and the Vietnam Coast Guard was held in Chennai on 25 August 2026 under the 2015 Memorandum of Understanding on Coast Guard Cooperation.
•It was co-chaired by Director General Paramesh Sivamani of the Indian Coast Guard and Major General Luong Dinh Hung, Vice Commandant of the Vietnam Coast Guard.
•Talks covered maritime search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, marine pollution response and capacity building, with both sides agreeing to expand joint training and reciprocal ship visits.

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BusinessMediumquizQuiz

ICAT Issues India's First Compliance Certificate for a 15-Metre Multi-Axle Sleeper Bus

•The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Manesar, issued India's first compliance certificate for a 15-metre multi-axle sleeper bus.
•The certificate went to Synaty Automotive Pvt. Ltd. for its LaVie+ sleeper coach, built on an Ashok Leyland 15-metre Garud chassis.
•Certification was granted under Automotive Industry Standards AIS-119 and AIS-153, in accordance with the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Anil Menon and Sophie Adenot Install Space-to-Ground Antenna on ISS in US Spacewalk 98

•NASA astronaut Anil Menon and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot completed a 6-hour 30-minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station on 25 August 2026, ending at 2:57 p.m. EDT.
•The excursion was designated U.S. Spacewalk 98 and was the 283rd spacewalk in support of station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.
•The pair installed and connected a spare Ku-band Space-to-Ground Antenna (SGANT) on the Z1 truss, restoring the high-speed data link between the station and Mission Control in Houston.

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DefenceMediumquizQuiz

Indian Navy Monitors Merchant Ship Transit Through Bab-el-Mandeb Amid Red Sea Risk

•A mission-deployed Indian Navy unit monitored the safe transit of the merchant vessels MV Union Mariner and MV Dagher through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait on 25 August 2026.
•Earlier, on 9-10 August 2026, the guided-missile frigate INS Trishul and the fleet support ship INS Aditya escorted the crude oil tankers MT Compass and MT Thalatta through the same strait.
•The deployments follow a sharp rise in threats in the corridor: the Indian-flagged MSV Faize Noore Oliya sank on 4 August 2026 about 13 nautical miles south of Hodeidah after a projectile strike, with all 14 crew rescued.

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DefenceMediumquizQuiz

DRDO Tests Military Combat Parachute System at 22,000 Feet in Ladakh

•DRDO carried out a high-altitude trial of the indigenous Military Combat Parachute System (MCPS) at the Nyoma-Mudh drop zone in Ladakh's Leh district, with the jump made from 22,000 feet above mean sea level at about minus 15 degrees Celsius.
•The parachute was deployed at 20,000 feet and the three ADRDE test jumpers landed safely at 13,700 feet.
•The jump was executed by Wing Commander Rahul Jha (Chief Test Jumper), MWO R J Singh and MWO Vivek Tiwari.

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DefenceHighquizQuiz

HAL and Safran Sign Final Contract for Aravalli Helicopter Engine

•HAL and Safran Helicopter Engines signed the final contract in Bengaluru on 26 August 2026 to develop and produce the Aravalli turboshaft engine.
•The contract is executed through SAFHAL Helicopter Engines Pvt. Ltd., the 50:50 joint venture of the two companies.
•The Aravalli is in the 3,500-4,000 shaft horsepower class and is named after the Aravalli mountain range.

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InternationalMediumquizQuiz

India and Seychelles Deepen Fisheries, Aquaculture and Blue Economy Cooperation

•India and Seychelles held a high-level bilateral meeting in New Delhi in August 2026 on fisheries, aquaculture and the blue economy.
•Seychelles sought a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding covering fisheries and aquaculture cooperation.
•The agenda covered mariculture, hatchery development, tuna fisheries optimisation, fish stock assessment and AI-based harvest management.

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Polity & GovernanceHighquizQuiz

Kerala Officially Becomes Keralam as Alteration of Name Act Comes Into Force

•Kerala has been officially renamed Keralam under The Kerala (Alteration of Name) Act, 2026, which alters the State's entry in the First Schedule of the Constitution.
•The Union Home Ministry issued a gazette notification on 25 August 2026 appointing that same day as the date of commencement.
•The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on 11 August 2026 and the Rajya Sabha on 12 August 2026; the President gave assent on 14 August 2026.

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EnvironmentLowquizQuiz

ICAR-CCARI Holds Carbon Pathshala on Voluntary Carbon Markets for Goa Farmers

•ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute, Goa held a one-day workshop titled 'Carbon Pathshala: Voluntary Carbon Market for Farmers' at ICAR-KVK, Old Goa on 21 August 2026.
•The programme introduced farmers to carbon sequestration, voluntary carbon markets and biochar-based carbon credits as an additional income stream.
•It was held with Core CarbonX Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, under a project on carbon credits from plantation-based systems on India's west coast.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

New Sunflower-Family Species Doronicum sanctum Discovered in Tawang

•Researchers from CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology have described a new plant species, Doronicum sanctum.
•It belongs to the genus Doronicum, commonly called Leopard's Bane, in the sunflower family Asteraceae.
•The plant was recorded in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh at about 4,086 metres above sea level.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

National Shipping Board Roadmap Seeks 100 New Ships to Cut Freight Bill

•The National Shipping Board has proposed adding 100 vessels to India's merchant fleet over the next five years.
•India pays close to USD 75 billion a year in freight to foreign shipping lines to move crude oil, gas, coal and urea.
•Industry told the Board that running an Indian-flagged ship costs 16-20% more than a foreign-flagged one.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

IPC Launches India's First Seven Nitrosamine Impurity Reference Standards

•The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) launched seven Indian Pharmacopoeia Nitrosamine Impurities Reference Standards on 25 August 2026 - the first such standards it has issued.
•The launch took place at the IPC's first-ever interactive meeting at the Central Drugs Laboratory and Central Cosmetics Laboratory, Kolkata.
•The seven standards cover NDMA, NDEA, NEIPA, NDBA, NMPA, NDIPA and NMBA.

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ObituariesLowquizQuiz

Filmmaker Kuku Kohli, Who Launched Ajay Devgn, Dies at 77 in Mumbai

•Veteran Hindi film director Avtar 'Kuku' Kohli died in Mumbai on 25 August 2026 at the age of 77, following a heart attack.
•He was treated at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Andheri, Mumbai, where he died.
•He began his film career as an assistant director under Raj Kapoor before turning director.

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History & CultureMediumquizQuiz

Kerala Celebrates Thiruvonam, the Main Day of Onam 2026, on 26 August

•Thiruvonam, the tenth and principal day of Onam 2026, was celebrated in Kerala on Wednesday, 26 August 2026.
•Onam is the official state festival of Kerala, a ten-day harvest festival running from Atham to Thiruvonam.
•It falls in Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam calendar, which spans mid-August to mid-September.

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Important DaysLowquizQuiz

Eid Milad-un-Nabi Observed Across India on 26 August 2026

•Eid Milad-un-Nabi, marking the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad, was observed in India on 26 August 2026.
•It falls on 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, the third month of the Hijri (Islamic) calendar, and is also called Mawlid, Eid-e-Milad or Barawafat.
•Sunni Muslims observe it on 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, while many Twelver Shia Muslims mark it on 17 Rabi' al-Awwal.

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ObituariesLowquizQuiz

Country Music Icon Dolly Parton Dies at 80 After Brief Cancer Battle

•American country music singer, songwriter and philanthropist Dolly Parton died on 25 August 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 80.
•Her publicist said she died after a brief battle with cancer while receiving care at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
•She won 11 Grammy Awards and sold over 100 million records across a career spanning nearly six decades.

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Schemes & CommitteesHighquizQuiz

e-Shram Completes Five Years With 31.89 Crore Unorganised Workers Registered

•The e-Shram portal completed five years on 26 August 2026, with 31.89 crore unorganised workers registered.
•Launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, it is India's first Aadhaar-seeded National Database of Unorganised Workers.
•Every registrant receives a 12-digit Universal Account Number; the database was built by the National Informatics Centre.

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DefenceMediumquizQuiz

Navy to Commission Nipun, Second Nistar-Class Diving Support Vessel, on 31 August

•The Indian Navy will commission Nipun, the second Nistar-class Diving Support Vessel, at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai on 31 August 2026.
•Nipun was indigenously designed and built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam, and was delivered on 30 July 2026.
•The contract for the two Nistar-class vessels was signed with the Ministry of Defence on 20 September 2018.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

India's Finished Steel Consumption Rises 7.9% to 56 MT in April-July 2026

•India's finished steel consumption rose 7.9% year-on-year to 56 million tonnes in April-July 2026, against 51.9 MT a year earlier.
•Finished steel production grew 4.7% to 54.7 MT and crude steel production grew 2.4% to 56.2 MT.
•Consumption grew faster than production, and India remained a net importer of finished steel.

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Banking & FinanceMediumquizQuiz

Fino Payments Bank Extends Ketan Merchant's Interim CEO Term by Three Months

•Fino Payments Bank's board has approved a further three-month extension for Ketan Merchant as interim Managing Director and CEO.
•The extension takes effect from 27 August 2026 and is subject to approval by the Reserve Bank of India.
•His previous three-month term, cleared by the RBI, ran from 27 May 2026 to 26 August 2026.

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AppointmentsMediumquizQuiz

Satish Golcha Posted as OSD in Delhi Home Guards, to Become DG on 1 October

•Former Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha has been posted as Officer on Special Duty in the Directorate of Home Guards, Delhi.
•The order was issued by the Home Department of the Government of NCT of Delhi; Golcha is a 1992-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre.
•He will hold the OSD post until the incumbent Director General of Home Guards, Virender Singh, retires on 30 September 2026.

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Summits & ConferencesMediumquizQuiz

SCO to Hold 25th-Anniversary Summit in Bishkek on 31 August-1 September

•The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will hold its Heads of State summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 31 August and 1 September 2026.
•Kyrgyzstan holds the SCO's rotating chairmanship for 2026 and has set the theme '25 Years of the SCO: Together Towards Sustainable Peace, Development and Prosperity'.
•The summit marks 25 years since the SCO was founded at Shanghai in June 2001.

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NationalLowquizQuiz

IICT and Netflix announce scholarships for 100 students across six AVGC-XR programmes

•The Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai and Netflix announced scholarships for 100 students, covering up to 80% of the cost of six professional programmes.
•The six programmes are two one-year diplomas (Interactive Comics & Sequential Arts; Visual Effects Mastery) and four six-month certificates (Virtual Art Department Content Creation; Media Tech Workflow; Art of Character Animation; E-Sports & Gaming Management), open to students and working professionals across India.
•The scholarships flow from the Netflix India Storytelling Initiative launched after the Prime Minister met Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos on 5 August 2026; Netflix also gave curriculum inputs for the Visual Effects Mastery and Media Tech Workflow courses.

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DefenceLowquizQuiz

INS Sudarshini Departs Lisbon on the Lokayan 26 Transoceanic Expedition

•The Indian Navy's sail training ship INS Sudarshini concluded a three-day port call at Lisbon, Portugal on 25 August 2026, as part of her ongoing Lokayan 26 transoceanic expedition.
•Her Commanding Officer called on Rear Admiral Miguel Bessa Pacheco, Commandant of the Portuguese Naval Academy, and Rear Admiral Joao Paulo Silva Pereira, Deputy Fleet Commander of the Portuguese Navy; Indian sea trainees visited the Escola Naval and exchanged perspectives on seamanship and tall-ship sail training with their Portuguese counterparts.
•The visit, which also covered the Portuguese port of Ponta Delgada in the Azores, included a deck reception for senior Portuguese military officials, the diplomatic corps and the Indian diaspora.

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Science & TechLowquizQuiz

ICAT Issues First Compliance Certificate for a 15-Metre Multi-Axle Sleeper Bus

•The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Manesar, has issued its first compliance certificate for a 15-metre multi-axle sleeper bus under AIS-119 and AIS-153, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
•The certificate went to Synaty Automotive Pvt. Ltd. and was handed over by ICAT Director Saurabh Dalela to the company's Managing Director Naresh Kumar Yadav; the configuration is among the longest permissible in the passenger transport category.
•The bus is built for long-distance travel with 42 berths in the fully sleeper variant and 21 berths plus 42 seats in the hybrid variant, tested against requirements for structural strength, fire and emergency safety, passenger movement and comfort.

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Banking & FinanceLowquizQuiz

SIDBI Holds Conclave With All 28 RRB Chiefs to Expand MSME Co-Lending

•SIDBI held a conclave of the heads of all 28 Regional Rural Banks in New Delhi on 25 August 2026 to expand the SIDBI-RRB MSME co-lending arrangement, chaired by Sanjay Lohiya, Secretary, Department of Financial Services.
•The design pairs SIDBI's understanding of MSME credit with the branch reach of RRBs in smaller towns and villages, with rule-engine-based underwriting intended to protect asset quality while RRBs diversify their loan portfolios.
•SIDBI's Co-Lending Origination Platform offers an end-to-end digital, paperless journey with in-principle sanction in a short turnaround and disbursement directly into borrower accounts; after a pilot at three RRBs, the programme is to be expanded.

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EnvironmentLowquizQuiz

CAQM Seals 16 Units in Loni, Ghaziabad Under Operation Clean Air

•The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) ran a Special Intensive Inspection Drive at Loni, Ghaziabad on 25 August 2026 under Operation Clean Air, targeting industrial units operating outside environmental regulatory mechanisms.
•Seven flying squads, along with Magistrates, Police and Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board officials, inspected 28 industrial premises - and found all 28 non-compliant with applicable environmental norms.
•Sixteen units or premises were sealed by UPPCB with the district administration and flying squads; six show cause notices were served, and notices were pasted on six further premises, including units found locked or vacated.

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DefenceLowquizQuiz

Indian and Vietnam Coast Guards Hold 7th High-Level Meeting in Chennai

•The 7th High-Level Meeting between the Indian Coast Guard and the Vietnam Coast Guard was held in Chennai on 25 August 2026, under the framework of the 2015 Memorandum of Understanding on Coast Guard Cooperation.
•It was co-chaired by Director General Paramesh Sivamani of the Indian Coast Guard and Major General Luong Dinh Hung, Vice Commandant of the Vietnam Coast Guard, and covered maritime search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, marine pollution response and capacity building.
•The bilateral coast guard exercise SAHYOG-HOPTAC was scheduled at sea on 27 August 2026 to strengthen interoperability and operational coordination.

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InternationalLowquizQuiz

India-Japan Startup Roundtable in Tokyo Proposes Deep-Tech Capital Corridor

•Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal addressed the India-Japan Startup Roundtable in Tokyo, describing India as the world's third-largest startup ecosystem with nearly 250,000 startups established over the last decade.
•He proposed a four-pillar framework for the next phase of cooperation: a Japan-India Deep-Tech Capital Corridor, a Two-Way Innovation Bridge linking universities and laboratories, Manufacturing and Technology Integration, and Joint Startup Pitching Platforms.
•The Minister flagged the Government's proposed second Fund of Funds of around US$1 billion focused on deep-tech enterprises and invited greater participation from Japanese investors; around 40 leading Japanese companies took part.

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History & CultureLowquizQuiz

Rajnath Singh Opens Redeveloped Goa Liberation Memorial at Patradevi

•Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the redeveloped Hutatma Smruti Smarak at Patradevi in Goa on 26 August 2026, in the presence of Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Union MoS Shripad Y. Naik.
•The memorial marks the site where, on 15 August 1955, satyagrahis carrying Indian flags entered Goa through Patradevi and were met with Portuguese machine-gun fire; several were killed there.
•The Government of Goa redeveloped the memorial through the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation at a cost of approximately ₹9.50 crore, adding a redesigned central monument, sculptural installations, information hubs and murals.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

India Puts NDRF on Alert as Nepal Flash Flood Threatens Gandak Downstream

•The Central Government is monitoring a flash flood in Nepal; Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with the Chief Ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and local administrations, rescue teams and the NDRF were placed on high alert in border areas likely to be affected.
•As per a Central Water Commission advisory, a sudden rise in the Trishuli river at Furke Khola in Nepal — about 160 km from the Indian border and near the Nepal-China border — was attributed to a suspected flash flood or glacial lake outburst flood, with the impact expected to travel downstream into India's Gandak river.
•Bihar and Uttar Pradesh carried out evacuations and support for communities near the India-Nepal border and were advised to maintain close monitoring.

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Agreements & MoUsMediumquizQuiz

India and Seychelles Plan Fisheries MoU; Fish Output at 19.7 Million Tonnes

•The Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying hosted a high-level bilateral meeting with a Seychelles delegation on 25 August 2026.
•The Seychelles side was led by Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Blue Economy Wallace Cosgrow; the Indian side by Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary, Department of Fisheries.
•India told the meeting that national fish production has reached 19.7 million tonnes and seafood exports are valued at USD 8.46 billion.

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Agreements & MoUsMediumquizQuiz

India and Morocco Agree to Double Trade, Explore Preferential Trade Pact

•Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Electronics & Information Technology Jitin Prasada visited Morocco from 24 to 25 August 2026 and co-chaired the 7th Session of the India-Morocco Joint Commission with Omar Hejira, Secretary of State for Foreign Trade.
•Bilateral trade reached around USD 4 billion in 2025, and the two sides agreed to work towards doubling it over the next five years.
•An India-Morocco Joint Working Group will be set up to examine tariff and non-tariff barriers and to study the feasibility of a preferential trade agreement.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

Centre Releases Onion Buffer; Retail Sale at ₹35/kg, First Kanda Express Runs

•The Government has begun a calibrated and targeted release of onions from the Price Stabilisation Fund buffer to moderate seasonal price pressure through the festive and wedding season.
•Onions will be sold at ₹35 per kg through NCCF (9 outlets, 40 mobile vans), NAFED (13 outlets, 50 mobile vans), about 100 Kendriya Bhandar outlets and Safal outlets.
•The first Kanda Express of the year has left Nashik for Delhi NCR; road transport is simultaneously moving stock to Chennai, Kolkata, Ernakulam, Guwahati, Varanasi, Lucknow, Patna, Chandigarh, Jammu and Amritsar.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

India Urges Community-Led Rangeland Restoration at UNCCD CoP17 in Mongolia

•Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav addressed the Ministerial Dialogue on 'Restoration of Rangelands and the Well-being of Pastoralist Communities' at the 17th Conference of Parties (CoP17) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
•India argued that restoration must be rooted in science, secure tenure and community stewardship, with pastoralists treated as custodians rather than beneficiaries.
•The Minister cited India's roughly 25,000 community-protected sacred groves covering about 0.6 million hectares, including Rajasthan's Orans, which secure pastoral land rights and conserve habitat of the Great Indian Bustard.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

PMFME Bazaar Showcases Micro Food Enterprises From 25 States and UTs

•The Ministry of Food Processing Industries hosted the PMFME Bazaar at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on 24-25 August 2026, bringing together exhibitors from 25 States and Union Territories.
•The event gave micro food enterprises, Self Help Groups, Farmer Producer Organisations, cooperatives and individual entrepreneurs a platform to display products, meet buyers and open new markets.
•The PMFME Scheme — Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises — was launched on 29 June 2020 and offers financial, technical and business support to set up or upgrade micro food units.

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EconomyHighquizQuiz

Sugar Prices Jump 15.6% in a Month; Centre Caps Dealer Stocks

•Retail sugar prices rose from ₹48.18 per kg on 20 July 2026 to ₹55.70 per kg on 20 August 2026 — about 15.6% in a month — against a long-run rise of only about 3% a year between August 2024 and July 2026.
•Sugar production in the current season is now expected at around 306 lakh metric tonnes against an initial estimate of about 343 LMT, hit by Red Rot and Top Borer disease and by waterlogging from excess rainfall.
•The Centre has imposed a 400-tonne stock limit on sugar dealers from 1 August to 30 November 2026, capped bulk consumers at 15 days of consumption from 1 September 2026, and allowed duty-free import of 10 lakh MT of raw sugar.

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History & CultureHighquizQuiz

Sarnath Becomes India's 45th UNESCO World Heritage Site

•The Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 25 July 2026 at the 48th Session of the World Heritage Committee held in Busan, South Korea.
•It is India's 45th World Heritage property, taking the country's tally to 37 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed site — sixth in the world and second in the Asia-Pacific region.
•The inscribed property has two components: the Chaukhandi Stupa, and the Archaeological Remains of Sarnath, which include the Dhamek Stupa, Dharmarajika Stupa, Mulagandhakuti Vihara and the Ashokan Pillar.

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