PIB Current Affairs 10 August 2026

Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

BIRAC-RDIF to back biotech commercialisation with Rs 5,200 crore; 198 applications received

•The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, called for greater private sector participation in India's biotechnology ecosystem at a meeting with senior officials of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) in New Delhi.
•The BIRAC Research, Development and Innovation Fund (BIRAC-RDIF) is a component of the Government's Rs 1 lakh crore RDI Fund, launched by the Prime Minister on 3 November 2025, managed by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation and the Department of Science and Technology, with BIRAC as Second Level Fund Manager for biotechnology.
•BIRAC-RDIF supports high-risk, technology-intensive projects across Technology Readiness Levels 4 to 9, with assistance of Rs 5 crore to Rs 200 crore covering up to 50% of project cost, through collateral-free long-term loans, equity and hybrid instruments.

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Schemes & CommitteesLowquizQuiz

PM-YASASVI: Rs 1,940 lakh released to Maharashtra for pre-matric OBC scholarships in 2025-26

•The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment told the Lok Sabha that the PM-YASASVI umbrella scheme comprises four components — the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for OBCs and others, the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for OBCs and others, Top Class Education in Schools, and Top Class Education in Colleges.
•Maharashtra was onboarded on the National Scholarship Portal for both the Pre-Matric and Post-Matric OBC schemes from Academic Year 2025-26.
•Central releases to Maharashtra under the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme rose from Rs 555.74 lakh in 2024-25 to Rs 1,940 lakh in 2025-26; no proposal was received in 2023-24, so no funds were released.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

SMILE scheme: 2,824 children rescued from begging; Uttar Pradesh accounts for 927

•The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment told the Lok Sabha that it has been implementing the Central Sector Scheme SMILE — Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise — Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging since 23 October 2023 in 216 major cities and towns across 33 States/UTs.
•As on 30 June 2026, 2,824 children had been identified, rescued and rehabilitated under the scheme.
•Of these, 1,549 children were reunited with parents or families, 676 admitted to schools, 309 admitted to Anganwadi Centres and 290 produced before Child Welfare Committees.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

PM SVANidhi: 76.95 lakh vendors, 1.15 crore loans, Rs 18,475 crore disbursed since 2020

•The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs told the Rajya Sabha that since PM SVANidhi's launch on 1 June 2020 and up to 12 July 2026, 76.95 lakh street vendors have availed more than 1.15 crore collateral-free loans amounting to Rs 18,475 crore.
•As on 12 July 2026, 29.71 lakh vendors had taken the second loan tranche and 8.49 lakh the third, reflecting the scheme's graduated lending design.
•Impact studies by the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad found that PM SVANidhi was the first bank loan for 95% of beneficiaries in the 2023 study, and that average annualised business income among borrowers grew by around 20% between 2023 and 2025.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

GIS master plans finalised for 292 AMRUT cities; 343 towns uploaded on PM Gati Shakti portal

•The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs told the Rajya Sabha that under the AMRUT sub-scheme on GIS-based Master Plans, 461 AMRUT cities across 35 States/UTs have been onboarded, final geospatial databases prepared for 437 cities, draft GIS-based Master Plans for 404 cities and 292 Master Plans finalised.
•Under AMRUT 2.0, the sub-scheme for Class-II towns with population 50,000-99,999 covers 875 towns; draft geospatial databases have been prepared for 399 towns of which 100 are finalised, and draft GIS-based Master Plans for 136 towns of which 93 are finalised.
•'Formulation of GIS based Master Plan for AMRUT Cities' is a 100% centrally funded sub-scheme; the geo-databases have been integrated with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, with data for 343 towns uploaded on its portal.

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NationalHighquizQuiz

80th Independence Day to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram, sung from Red Fort for first time

•India will mark its 80th Independence Day on 15 August 2026, with the Prime Minister leading celebrations from the Red Fort, Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh announced at a press conference on 10 August 2026.
•As 2026 marks 150 years of 'Vande Mataram', the National Song will be sung from the ramparts of the Red Fort for the first time, on the Prime Minister's arrival, before he unfurls the National Flag and addresses the nation.
•The celebrations carry two themes — '150 Years of Vande Mataram' and 'Yuva Shakti for Viksit Bharat@2047'; 2,500 NCC cadets and MY Bharat volunteers will form 'वंदे मातरम्' on Gyanpath opposite the rampart, and an Indian Air Force Mi-17 will carry a commemorative banner and shower flower petals.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

India notifies 11 more international ports for e-Visa entry, taking the total to 88

•The Government of India has notified 11 more International Ports enabling e-Visa holder foreigners to enter India — nine land ports and two airports.
•With this addition, the total number of International Ports allowing entry of e-Visa holders rises to 88, comprising 37 airports, 38 seaports and 13 land ports.
•The Ministry of Home Affairs noted that India processes approximately 95% of e-Visa applications in less than 72 hours.

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EconomyHighquizQuiz

Power sector framework: RDSS outlay Rs 3.03 lakh crore; rural supply up to 22.6 hours

•The Ministry of Power told the Rajya Sabha that electricity tariffs are determined by the Appropriate Electricity Regulatory Commissions under the Electricity Act, 2003, guided by the National Tariff Policy, with State Governments free to subsidise any class of consumers.
•The Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, launched in July 2021, has an outlay of Rs 3,03,758 crore with Gross Budgetary Support of Rs 97,631 crore; projects worth Rs 1.53 lakh crore for loss-reduction infrastructure and Rs 1.31 lakh crore for smart metering have been sanctioned.
•RDSS smart metering works cover 19.79 crore consumers, 2.05 lakh feeders and 52.53 lakh distribution transformers across 28 States and 45 distribution utilities; Rs 47,124 crore has been released under RDSS since FY2023.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

PM-SETU to upgrade 1,000 ITIs on hub-and-spoke model; seven industry clusters approved

•The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship told the Lok Sabha that PM-SETU — Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability transformation through Upgraded ITIs — aims to raise the quality and relevance of vocational training through upgraded labs, machines and industry-aligned curriculum.
•Component I upgrades 1,000 Government ITIs — 200 Hub ITIs and 800 Spoke ITIs — in a hub-and-spoke model with smart classrooms, modern labs, digital content and new industry-aligned courses.
•Component II augments the capacity of five National Skill Training Institutes at Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Ludhiana, including sector-specific National Centres of Excellence focused on advanced training of trainers with global partnerships.

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Schemes & CommitteesHighquizQuiz

PMKVY 4.0 evaluation: employment share up 18.8 points; 5.44 lakh trained in new-age roles

•The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship set out the results of third-party evaluations of its schemes under the Skill India Mission, all conducted by the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management, an autonomous institution of the Ministry of Finance.
•For PMKVY 4.0, the combined share of employed and self-employed Short-Term Training respondents rose from 26.6% before training to 45.4% after — an increase of 18.8 percentage points; 41.4% of STT candidates and 48.9% of Recognition of Prior Learning candidates reported higher income.
•The Jan Shikshan Sansthan evaluation of 2025 found 33.94 lakh enrolled, 32 lakh trained and 31.52 lakh certified — a 99% success rate — with women at 82% of participants, 73% from marginalised sections, and average monthly income of beneficiaries rising four-fold.

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NationalLowquizQuiz

DRI seizes 2 lakh Tramadol and Tapentadol tablets bound for Nigeria; three arrested

•The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has dismantled a network involved in the clandestine manufacture, concealment and illegal export of Tramadol Hydrochloride tablets to African countries.
•On 2 August 2026 DRI intercepted an export consignment at the Mumbai Air Cargo Complex destined for Nigeria, declared as containing Pregabalin capsules of 300 mg; examination recovered 1 lakh Tramadol Hydrochloride tablets of 250 mg (about 25 kg) and 1 lakh Tapentadol tablets of 200 mg (about 20 kg) concealed inside.
•The Tramadol tablets were clandestinely manufactured at a factory in Ambernath, Maharashtra, packed in plain cartons, then moved to a warehouse near the Mumbai Air Cargo Complex and repacked in white gunny bags for export.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Indian scientists detect unusually thick ozone layer 21-23 km above North Bay of Bengal

•Scientists have detected an unusually thick layer of ozone about 21 to 23 kilometres above the North Bay of Bengal, with concentrations far higher than normally seen over eastern India and persisting for more than a day.
•The study was carried out under the Phase-I NetRAD-ASMA campaign, a nationwide programme bringing together Indian research institutions; the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, was an important participant.
•The indigenously developed 206.5 MHz Stratosphere-Troposphere (ST) Radar at ARIES, Nainital collected data alongside similar radars at Haringhata, Gadanki and Kochi, supported by ozone- and weather-monitoring balloons, the Aura MLS and INSAT-3DR satellites and atmospheric models.

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EnvironmentHighquizQuiz

River interlinking: Ken-Betwa the only priority link under implementation among 30 projects

•The Ministry of Jal Shakti told the Rajya Sabha that 30 Interlinking of Rivers projects were identified under the National Perspective Plan for Inter-Basin Water Transfer — 16 under the Peninsular component and 14 under the Himalayan component — with the National Water Development Agency entrusted with the work.
•The Ken-Betwa Link Project is the only priority link project under the NPP to have entered the implementation stage, at an estimated cost of Rs 44,605 crore.
•KBLP is to provide irrigation to about 11.88 lakh hectares, drinking water to about 62 lakh people, 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar power.

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EnvironmentHighquizQuiz

Groundwater Assessment 2025: recharge 449 BCM, extraction 247 BCM, extraction stage 60.63%

•As per the Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment, 2025, India's total Annual Ground Water Recharge is 449 Billion Cubic Metres, Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource is 408 BCM, and Annual Ground Water Extraction for all uses is 247 BCM.
•Of the 247 BCM extracted, 215 BCM (87%) goes to irrigation, 28 BCM (11%) to domestic use including drinking water, and 4 BCM (2%) to industry.
•The national Stage of Ground Water Extraction — the ratio of annual extraction to annual extractable resource — is 60.63%, and nine States/UTs exceed the national average: Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Karnataka. 281 districts are above the national average.

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History & CultureLowquizQuiz

Indian Culture Portal 2.0 launched with 22 languages; CEPs signed with 98 countries

•The Ministry of Culture told the Lok Sabha that the upgraded Indian Culture Portal (ICP) Version 2.0 was launched in March 2026 with a modern, scalable architecture and an AI-powered chat bot named Bharti.
•Content is available in 22 Indian languages through integration with the BHASHINI platform, and the portal has been built as a Progressive Web Application on a decoupled React and Drupal 10 architecture.
•India's cultural diplomacy runs through the Global Engagement Scheme, an umbrella scheme with four components — the International Cultural Exchange Programme, Project Mausam, Brihattar Bharat, and the Scheme for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage and Diverse Cultural Traditions of India.

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History & CultureMediumquizQuiz

CCRT scholarships in classical dance rise to 313 in 2025-26; culture bodies get Rs 150.61 crore

•Replying in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry of Culture said the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry, conducts training programmes for teachers and students of Government and Government-aided schools incorporating Indian classical and folk dance traditions.
•Under CCRT's Cultural Talent Search Scholarship Scheme, scholarships awarded in Indian classical dance rose from 225 in 2021-22 to 313 in 2025-26, with dips to 178 in 2022-23 and 269 in 2024-25.
•The CTSS covers meritorious students aged 10-14 in recognised schools and children from families practising traditional performing arts, giving Rs 3,600 per annum plus reimbursement of tuition fees paid to the Guru up to Rs 9,000 per annum, initially for two years and renewable.

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Science & TechLowquizQuiz

TRAI extends trusted numbering to 1601 series for utilities, courier and logistics calls

•TRAI has issued a Direction on the use of 1601-series numbers for transactional and service calls by entities in sectors other than Banking, Financial Services & Insurance and Government, which already use the 1600 series.
•Phase-I covers Utilities — electricity distribution companies, water utilities, city gas distribution companies, LPG distribution entities and similar providers — and Logistics and courier services including courier companies, express logistics firms, parcel delivery providers and freight and logistics service providers.
•The 1601 series was allotted by the Department of Telecommunications and will be allocated directly to eligible entities, not to intermediaries or aggregators, after verification by telecom service providers.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

Government lists student mental-health measures; Tele-MANAS crosses 43.25 lakh calls

•Replying in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry of Education said suicide data is collected by the National Crime Records Bureau from police-recorded cases and published annually in the Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India (ADSI) report, which carries year-wise, state-wise, gender-wise and age-group-wise details of student suicides.
•MANODARPAN, the Ministry of Education's initiative, runs a national toll-free helpline with trained counsellors plus 'Sahyog' live interactive sessions and 'Paricharcha' webinars telecast on PM e-Vidya channels and the NCERT Official YouTube channel.
•CBSE has mandated a Counsellor and Wellness Teacher in every affiliated secondary and senior secondary school; 830 counsellors had been engaged on contract in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas as of February 2026, and Kendriya Vidyalayas have been directed to appoint counsellors.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

PM POSHAN foodgrain allocation falls to 24.15 lakh MT in 2025-26; Bihar tops states

•The Ministry of Education gave the Lok Sabha the state-wise allocation of foodgrains under PM POSHAN for the last three years: 26,81,575.28 MT in 2023-24, 25,31,266.40 MT in 2024-25 and 24,15,007.25 MT in 2025-26.
•In 2025-26 Bihar received the largest allocation at 3,01,148.29 MT, ahead of Uttar Pradesh at 2,97,399.06 MT, Maharashtra at 2,49,637.79 MT and West Bengal at 2,29,596.92 MT.
•The Centre provides 100% assistance for the cost of foodgrains, transportation and Management, Monitoring and Evaluation; the foodgrains themselves come from the Food Corporation of India, allocated bi-annually by the Department of School Education and Literacy with the concurrence of the Department of Food and Public Distribution.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

Supreme Court extends TET deadline to 31 August 2028; TET mandatory under RTE Section 23

•The Ministry of Education informed the Lok Sabha that the Supreme Court, by its judgment dated 1 September 2025, held that the Teacher Eligibility Test is one of the minimum qualifications prescribed under Section 23 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, and is mandatory for appointment as a teacher in schools covered by the Act.
•While disposing of review petitions on 29 May 2026, the Court extended the deadline for acquiring the TET qualification from 31 August 2027 to 31 August 2028.
•The Court observed that appropriate Governments and authorities should endeavour to conduct the TET periodically — preferably twice a year, roughly six months apart — so eligible teachers get a fair opportunity to comply.

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Polity & GovernanceHighquizQuiz

NEP 2020 rollout: NCrF adopted by 700+ universities, GER at 30, NCERT made deemed university

•In written replies in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry of Education set out the state of National Education Policy 2020 implementation across school and higher education.
•As reported in AISHE 2023-24, more than 700 universities and over 7,500 affiliated colleges have adopted the National Credit Framework, which permits up to 50% of a programme's total credits to be earned through skill-based courses.
•India's Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education rose from 23.7 in 2014-15 to 30 in 2023-24, with female GER rising from 22.9 to 31.2 and total enrolment from 3.42 crore to 4.50 crore.

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Ranks & ReportsMediumquizQuiz

NIRF applications double to 14,163 in 2025; Indian institutions in QS rankings rise to 52

•In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry of Education stated that applications received under the National Institutional Ranking Framework rose from 6,272 in 2021 to 14,163 in 2025, while unique participating institutions rose from 4,030 to 7,692 over the same period.
•The number of Indian institutions appearing in the QS World University Rankings increased from 11 in QS WUR 2015 to 52 in QS WUR 2027.
•NIRF was launched in 2015 for the annual ranking of Indian higher education institutions, published as the India Rankings, on five broad parameters.

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EconomyHighquizQuiz

PLFS April-June 2026: overall LFPR 54.6%, urban unemployment 6.7%, 56.6 crore workers

•The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation released the Periodic Labour Force Survey Quarterly Bulletin for April-June 2026 — the fifth bulletin in the series to cover both rural and urban areas.
•For persons aged 15 years and above under the Current Weekly Status, the overall Labour Force Participation Rate was 54.6% (down from 55.5% in the previous quarter), while the urban LFPR was unchanged at 50.2% and the urban male LFPR rose to 75.3% from 75.0%.
•The urban Worker Population Ratio was stable at 46.8% and the urban Unemployment Rate was broadly stable at 6.7%; the rural unemployment rate edged up to 4.8% from 4.3%.

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EnvironmentHighquizQuiz

Asiatic lion population rises from 523 in 2015 to 891 in 2025; range expands to 35,000 sq km

•Marking World Lion Day 2026, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav, stated that the Asiatic Lion population has risen from 523 in 2015 to 891 in 2025.
•The lion range has expanded from around 30,000 sq km in 2020 to nearly 35,000 sq km.
•Project Lion was announced by the Prime Minister on 15 August 2020 for long-term conservation of the species.

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EconomyLowquizQuiz

DGFT ends physical duty challans for EODC under Advance Authorisation and EPCG

•The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has removed the requirement of submitting physical duty payment challans with applications for Export Obligation Discharge Certificates under the Advance Authorisation and Export Promotion Capital Goods Schemes.
•The change applies to voluntary duty payments made on or after 1 August 2026; Trade Notice No. 15/2026-27 dated 5 August 2026 has been issued to exporters and stakeholders.
•Licence-wise voluntary duty payment data from Customs/ICEGATE has been integrated with DGFT's online systems through API-based data exchange, allowing authenticated verification directly against the concerned authorisation.

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SportsLowquizQuiz

PM meets Commonwealth Games medallists; India finished Glasgow 2026 fourth with 39 medals

•Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi interacted with India's Commonwealth Games champions, noting the transformation of Indian sport over the past decade and saying that athletes' medals inspire school students more effectively than any exhortation could.
•The Prime Minister said national sporting success depends not only on physical infrastructure but on building a sports culture across the country.
•He highlighted the rising stature of Indian boxers, observing that international competitors now feel intimidated when drawn against them, and acknowledged athletes' feedback on the transformative role of the Khelo India Scheme and back-to-back competition support.

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Polity & GovernanceLowquizQuiz

President pays tribute to V.V. Giri, the only person elected President as an independent

•The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, paid floral tributes to Shri V.V. Giri, former President of India, on his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 10 August 2026.
•Varahagiri Venkata Giri was born on 10 August 1894 at Berhampur in present-day Odisha and served as the fourth President of India from 24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974.
•He is the only person to have been elected President of India as an independent candidate, in the 1969 election decided by the celebrated 'conscience vote'.

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DefenceLowquizQuiz

Navy Chief on four-day Mauritius visit to deepen Indian Ocean maritime cooperation

•Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Chief of the Naval Staff, is on a four-day official visit to Mauritius from 10 to 13 August 2026.
•The visit covers discussions with senior leadership of the Government of Mauritius on maritime security, defence cooperation, capacity building and military collaboration.
•The Indian Navy engages regularly with Mauritius's National Coast Guard through training exchanges, Joint Exclusive Economic Zone surveillance, port visits and hydrographic surveys.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

PM VIKAS merges five minority welfare schemes; Jiyo Parsi records 534 births since 2014-15

•The Ministry of Minority Affairs told the Rajya Sabha that it implements schemes for the six centrally notified minority communities — Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Muslims, Parsis and Sikhs — irrespective of topographic conditions.
•Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) is an integrated Central Sector Scheme formed by combining five erstwhile schemes — Seekho Aur Kamao, USTTAD, Hamari Dharohar, Nai Roshni and Nai Manzil — with four components covering skilling and training, women leadership and entrepreneurship, education, and infrastructure development through convergence with PMJVK.
•The Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme creating community infrastructure in Minority Concentration Areas across health, education, skill development, women-centric projects, drinking water and sanitation, sports and renewable energy.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

GeM at 10: Rs 20 lakh crore cumulative procurement, 25 lakh sellers, new short code 14550

•The Government e Marketplace (GeM) marked its 10th Foundation Day at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, with Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal calling for a new AI-enabled platform to make public procurement more efficient, transparent and competitive.
•GeM was launched on 9 August 2016 under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and now has more than 25 lakh sellers and over 1.37 lakh buyer organisations, with cumulative procurement of over Rs 20 lakh crore through more than 3.78 crore orders.
•Micro and Small Enterprises number 12.28 lakh on the platform and have fulfilled orders worth more than Rs 9 lakh crore — 45.6% of cumulative Gross Merchandise Value; more than 2.24 lakh women-led MSEs have fulfilled over 50 lakh orders worth more than Rs 1 lakh crore, and 42,242 startups have secured orders worth more than Rs 65,633 crore.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

North-East tourism: Assam leads with 90.6 lakh domestic visits; Sikkim tops foreign arrivals

•The Ministry of Tourism told the Lok Sabha that it has organised the International Tourism Mart in the North Eastern Region since 2013, an annual event bringing together tourism businesses from the eight North Eastern States; the latest edition was held at Gangtok, Sikkim from 13 to 16 November 2025.
•Tourist footfall data for 2025 shows Assam leading with 90,55,943 domestic tourist visits, followed by Meghalaya (18,48,239) and Sikkim (16,54,838); Sikkim recorded the highest foreign tourist visits at 68,992.
•In January-June 2026, Sikkim recorded 23,52,725 domestic visits — already ahead of its full-year 2025 figure — while Assam recorded 46,04,112 domestic and 32,471 foreign visits.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

FSI album of 45 invasive plant species; BSI submits state-wise inventory to NBA

•The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change told the Lok Sabha that the Forest Survey of India has prepared a separate album of 45 major invasive species to help identify Invasive Alien Plant Species (IAPS) in the field.
•According to FSI, invasive plants occur in Reserved Forest Areas at densities ranging from very dense through moderate-to-dense to scanty.
•The Botanical Survey of India has prepared and submitted a comprehensive state-wise inventory of potential invasive species spreading across forest and non-forest areas to the National Biodiversity Authority, to enable preparation of a National Management Plan of Invasive Species.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

Green India Mission restores 1.84 lakh hectares across 17 states since 2015-16

•In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change stated that the Green India Mission has brought 1,84,467 hectares under eco-restoration across 17 States and one Union Territory since 2015-16.
•Madhya Pradesh recorded the largest area at 32,831 hectares, followed by Chhattisgarh (22,601 ha), Odisha (20,711 ha), Mizoram (19,643 ha) and Manipur (17,488 ha).
•Rs 57.08 crore has been allocated under the Mission in FY 2026-27 so far to seven States — Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

PAIMANA: MoSPI platform monitoring 1,847 Central Sector infrastructure projects

•PAIMANA (Project Assessment, Infrastructure Monitoring and Analytics for Nation-Building) is a web-based platform of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation launched on 25 September 2025 to monitor Central Sector infrastructure projects costing Rs 150 crore or more; it replaced the OCMS-2006 (Online Computerized Monitoring System).
•Its PAIMANA-CRIP module, launched on 8 July 2026, replaced DPIIT's Integrated Project Monitoring Portal and is being built into a Central Repository of Infrastructure Projects that will also feed PRAGATI and the Project Monitoring Group.
•A Performance Monitoring Dashboard launched on 16 April 2026 now carries 165 indicators across six infrastructure sub-sectors, built on a framework developed with NIPFP and aligned to the Department of Economic Affairs' Harmonised Master List of Infrastructure (2022).

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Current Affairs Pulse

PIB Current Affairs — 10 August 2026

BIRAC-RDIF to back biotech commercialisation with Rs 5,200 crore; 198 applications received

PM-YASASVI: Rs 1,940 lakh released to Maharashtra for pre-matric OBC scholarships in 2025-26

SMILE scheme: 2,824 children rescued from begging; Uttar Pradesh accounts for 927

PM SVANidhi: 76.95 lakh vendors, 1.15 crore loans, Rs 18,475 crore disbursed since 2020

GIS master plans finalised for 292 AMRUT cities; 343 towns uploaded on PM Gati Shakti portal

80th Independence Day to mark 150 years of Vande Mataram, sung from Red Fort for first time

India notifies 11 more international ports for e-Visa entry, taking the total to 88

Power sector framework: RDSS outlay Rs 3.03 lakh crore; rural supply up to 22.6 hours

PM-SETU to upgrade 1,000 ITIs on hub-and-spoke model; seven industry clusters approved

PMKVY 4.0 evaluation: employment share up 18.8 points; 5.44 lakh trained in new-age roles

DRI seizes 2 lakh Tramadol and Tapentadol tablets bound for Nigeria; three arrested

Indian scientists detect unusually thick ozone layer 21-23 km above North Bay of Bengal

River interlinking: Ken-Betwa the only priority link under implementation among 30 projects

Groundwater Assessment 2025: recharge 449 BCM, extraction 247 BCM, extraction stage 60.63%

Indian Culture Portal 2.0 launched with 22 languages; CEPs signed with 98 countries

CCRT scholarships in classical dance rise to 313 in 2025-26; culture bodies get Rs 150.61 crore

TRAI extends trusted numbering to 1601 series for utilities, courier and logistics calls

Government lists student mental-health measures; Tele-MANAS crosses 43.25 lakh calls

PM POSHAN foodgrain allocation falls to 24.15 lakh MT in 2025-26; Bihar tops states

Supreme Court extends TET deadline to 31 August 2028; TET mandatory under RTE Section 23

NEP 2020 rollout: NCrF adopted by 700+ universities, GER at 30, NCERT made deemed university

NIRF applications double to 14,163 in 2025; Indian institutions in QS rankings rise to 52

PLFS April-June 2026: overall LFPR 54.6%, urban unemployment 6.7%, 56.6 crore workers

Asiatic lion population rises from 523 in 2015 to 891 in 2025; range expands to 35,000 sq km

DGFT ends physical duty challans for EODC under Advance Authorisation and EPCG

PM meets Commonwealth Games medallists; India finished Glasgow 2026 fourth with 39 medals

President pays tribute to V.V. Giri, the only person elected President as an independent

Navy Chief on four-day Mauritius visit to deepen Indian Ocean maritime cooperation

PM VIKAS merges five minority welfare schemes; Jiyo Parsi records 534 births since 2014-15

GeM at 10: Rs 20 lakh crore cumulative procurement, 25 lakh sellers, new short code 14550

North-East tourism: Assam leads with 90.6 lakh domestic visits; Sikkim tops foreign arrivals

FSI album of 45 invasive plant species; BSI submits state-wise inventory to NBA

Green India Mission restores 1.84 lakh hectares across 17 states since 2015-16

PAIMANA: MoSPI platform monitoring 1,847 Central Sector infrastructure projects