PIB Current Affairs 15 August 2026

History & CultureLowquizQuiz

Sri Aurobindo Remembered on His Birth Anniversary, 15 August

•The Prime Minister paid tribute to Sri Aurobindo on his birth anniversary, which falls on 15 August, describing him as a philosopher, nationalist, poet and thinker who gave his life to India's freedom and to the wider quest for human progress.
•Sri Aurobindo was born on 15 August 1872 in Calcutta and died on 5 December 1950 at Pondicherry — the coincidence of his birthday with India's Independence Day is why the tribute is issued each 15 August.
•He belongs to two distinct phases of Indian history that examiners test separately: the Extremist leadership of the Swadeshi years, 1905-1910, and the philosophy of Integral Yoga developed at Pondicherry thereafter.

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Important DaysLowquizQuiz

Partition Horrors Remembrance Day 2026 Observed in Delhi, Amritsar and Kolkata

•The Ministry of Culture observed Partition Horrors Remembrance Day on 14 August 2026 with commemorative programmes in Delhi, Amritsar and Kolkata, alongside observances across States and Union Territories.
•The main Delhi observance was held at Central Park, Connaught Place, with a Partition Horrors Exhibition of archival material, photographs, maps and personal narratives, a documentary screening, the release of a poetry compilation and a Silent March; the exhibition material was also made available for display at railway stations and other public spaces.
•Amritsar's programme was held at Guru Nanak Dev University with the Union Minister of Culture and Tourism as chief guest, while Kolkata hosted a two-day programme on 13-14 August 2026 at the Newtown Convention Centre in collaboration with the Government of West Bengal, and IGNCA regional centres held programmes in Jammu & Kashmir, Bengaluru and Ranchi.

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Science & TechLowquizQuiz

Principal Scientific Adviser Launches NABARD's RSVC-AMRIT Rural Technology Platform

•Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood launched the RSVC-AMRIT platform, developed by NABARD with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA).
•AMRIT is the digital backbone of the RuTAG Smart Village Centre (RSVC) ecosystem, supporting the full lifecycle from technology discovery and validation to deployment tracking, collaboration, monitoring and knowledge management.
•NABARD, whose Chairman Dr. Shaji Krishnan V. attended the launch, currently supports 8 RSVCs and intends AMRIT to grow into a national repository of rural innovations, technologies and best practices.

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Summits & ConferencesMediumquizQuiz

India Hosts BRICS ICT Track in Pune, 17-21 August 2026, Under Its 2026 Chairship

•The Department of Telecommunications will organise the BRICS ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) Track in Pune from 17 to 21 August 2026 as part of India's BRICS Chairship for 2026.
•The Track's theme is 'Innovate, Cooperate and Transform (ICT) for a Resilient Future', and it carries three events over five days.
•The 7th Meeting of the BRICS Working Group for Cooperation in ICTs runs 17-19 August 2026; the Digital BRICS Forum and Expo is on 20 August 2026; the 12th BRICS Communications Ministers Meeting is on 21 August 2026.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Tribal Affairs Ministry Releases National Framework to Strengthen ITDAs and ITDPs

•Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram and NITI Aayog Member Dr. R. Balasubramaniam jointly released two publications of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs — the National Framework for Strengthening of ITDAs and ITDPs, and the Operational Guidelines for Strengthening of ITDAs and ITDPs.
•The Framework supplies the assessment methodology and strategic direction; the Operational Guidelines convert it into measures on institutional restructuring, convergence, evidence-based planning, digital governance, outcome-based monitoring and capacity building.
•The exercise was begun in April 2026 through a standardised assessment of Project Officers, State Tribal Welfare Departments and Tribal Research Institutes, and produced an Evidence-Weighted ITDA Diagnostic Scoring Framework rating institutions on 15 parameters across five institutional domains.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

DLI-Backed Startup Achieves First-Pass Silicon With 'VIHAAN' Broadband Chip on VEGA Processor

•Aheesa Digital Innovations, a Chennai-headquartered fabless startup supported under the Design Linked Incentive Scheme, has achieved first-pass silicon success with 'VIHAAN', a networking System-on-Chip built for fibre broadband using the indigenous VEGA microprocessor.
•VIHAAN was taped out on Republic Day and reached first-pass silicon on Independence Day this year; production tape-out is targeted for 2027.
•The company raised about ₹40 crore earlier this year from the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation through the Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund, alongside private investors.

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History & CultureMediumquizQuiz

Har Ghar Tiranga 2026 Records 8.24 Crore Selfies as Suryapath Relay Spans 54 Missions

•The fifth edition of Har Ghar Tiranga ran from 9 to 17 August 2026 under the Ministry of Culture, with 150 years of Vande Mataram as its organising theme.
•More than 8.24 crore Tiranga selfies were uploaded to the campaign portal; this year's selfie download also carries the lyrics and tune of Vande Mataram.
•A new global element, Suryapath Tiranga, saw the National Flag hoisted in sequence at 54 Indian Missions and Posts following the path of the rising sun — from Suva in Fiji at 1:30 AM IST to San Francisco at 8:30 PM IST, spanning more than 19 hours.

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DefenceMediumquizQuiz

'Raksha Shakti': PM Calls for Global Defence Supplier Role, Flags Surviving Naxal Mindset

•'Raksha Shakti' — defence power — is the fifth of the seven 'Sapt Dhara' streams set out in the 80th Independence Day address, and was framed around one claim: there is no alternative to self-reliance in defence.
•India was urged to move from being a market to being a global supplier of next-generation defence technology, with drones and counter-drone systems and leadership in hypersonics named as priorities, alongside cybersecurity.
•The Prime Minister said work on Mission Sudarshan Chakra is progressing rapidly, and described a changed nature of warfare in which refineries, banks, data centres and factories can be targets rather than only the border.

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SportsMediumquizQuiz

Nationwide Talent Hunt for Children Aged 5-15 Announced as India Eyes 2036 Olympics

•From the Red Fort on the 80th Independence Day, the Prime Minister announced a nationwide sporting talent hunt covering children aged 5 to 15 in villages, cities and schools, with specialised training for those identified.
•The rationale given was blunt: the Olympic programme spans roughly 40 sports and 325-350 events, and India does not participate or qualify in nearly two-thirds of them.
•India is positioning itself as a strong contender to host the 2036 Olympic Games, having already been confirmed as host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

Independence Day Announcements: AI Skilling for 1 Crore Youth, 100 GW Nuclear by 2047

•The 80th Independence Day address carried seven concrete announcements with numbers attached, spanning artificial intelligence, education, sports, civil defence, semiconductors, nuclear energy and women's economic empowerment.
•One crore youth are to be trained in AI skills over the next one year, and a free online coaching network for competitive examinations is to be built on India's Digital Public Infrastructure.
•India will pursue 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047 and aims to commission five new nuclear reactors within this decade, following the fast breeder milestone reached this year.

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NationalHighquizQuiz

PM's 80th Independence Day Address Sets 'Sapt Dhara' Roadmap for Viksit Bharat 2047

•Addressing the nation from the Red Fort on the 80th Independence Day, the Prime Minister set out a seven-part framework called 'Sapt Dhara' — seven streams of strength meant to drive India towards a developed nation by 2047.
•The seven streams are manufacturing power, agriculture and food production, technology and innovation, Gati Shakti connectivity, defence power, the green and blue economy, and India's soft power.
•The address carried a 12-year performance ledger: defence production up nearly 4 times, electronics manufacturing 7 times, railway coach production 21 times, mobile phone production 35 times and digital transactions about 100 times.

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Current Affairs Pulse

PIB Current Affairs — 15 August 2026

Sri Aurobindo Remembered on His Birth Anniversary, 15 August

Partition Horrors Remembrance Day 2026 Observed in Delhi, Amritsar and Kolkata

Principal Scientific Adviser Launches NABARD's RSVC-AMRIT Rural Technology Platform

India Hosts BRICS ICT Track in Pune, 17-21 August 2026, Under Its 2026 Chairship

Tribal Affairs Ministry Releases National Framework to Strengthen ITDAs and ITDPs

DLI-Backed Startup Achieves First-Pass Silicon With 'VIHAAN' Broadband Chip on VEGA Processor

Har Ghar Tiranga 2026 Records 8.24 Crore Selfies as Suryapath Relay Spans 54 Missions

'Raksha Shakti': PM Calls for Global Defence Supplier Role, Flags Surviving Naxal Mindset

Nationwide Talent Hunt for Children Aged 5-15 Announced as India Eyes 2036 Olympics

Independence Day Announcements: AI Skilling for 1 Crore Youth, 100 GW Nuclear by 2047

PM's 80th Independence Day Address Sets 'Sapt Dhara' Roadmap for Viksit Bharat 2047