PIB Current Affairs 22 August 2026

DefenceMediumquizQuiz

IAF concludes Exercise Pitch Black in Australia and Udara Shakti in Malaysia

•The Indian Air Force announced on 22 August 2026 that it had concluded participation in two international flight engagements - Exercise Pitch Black 2026 in Australia and Exercise Udara Shakti 2026 in Malaysia - in a single back-to-back deployment.
•At Pitch Black 2026, hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force, the IAF deployed its frontline Rafale aircraft and flew Large Force Employment (LFE) missions alongside air forces from over 20 participating nations.
•The contingent then deployed directly to Subang, Malaysia, for Exercise Udara Shakti 2026, flying combat sorties with and against the Royal Malaysian Air Force's Su-30MKM and F/A-18 Hornet aircraft.

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Science & TechLowquizQuiz

CSIR-NIScPR marks 75 years of Hindi science magazine Vigyan Pragati

•CSIR-NIScPR held a Platinum Jubilee Ceremony on 22 August 2026 marking 75 years of Vigyan Pragati, the Hindi popular-science magazine it publishes, which was launched in 1952.
•The ceremony released the August 2026 special issue of the magazine along with the CSIR-NIScPR publications 'Manav Swasthya Aur Nirogi Jeevan' and 'Romanchak Vigyan Kathayen' and the institute's bilingual information booklets; results of the 'Vigyan Pragati @75' science story and science cartoon competitions were announced.
•An inaugural workshop on 21 August 2026 drew more than 50 school students from Delhi for science poetry, cartooning and the science quiz 'Jigyasa'; the main event carried a panel discussion on '75 Years of Vigyan Pragati: Legacy, Discourse and Future' and dialogue sessions on cartoons in science and on artificial intelligence in science writing.

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Summits & ConferencesLowquizQuiz

BRICS Youth Ministers' Meeting concludes at Visakhapatnam with Joint Statement

•The BRICS Youth Ministers' Meeting, organised by the Department of Youth Affairs under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, concluded at Visakhapatnam on Saturday, 22 August 2026, presided over by Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya with MoS Raksha Nikhil Khadse and Secretary (Youth Affairs) Sunil Paliwal.
•The meeting adopted a Joint Statement covering education, training and skills; youth entrepreneurship; science, technology and innovation; social and cultural participation, social work and volunteering; poverty, hunger and inequality; health and sports; youth, environment and sustainability; interfaith youth dialogue; youth exchange; and youth inclusion.
•It capped the BRICS youth engagements under India's 2026 chairship, following the BRICS Youth Summit and BRICS Youth Council Meeting held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on 19-20 August 2026; delegates joined an 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' plantation drive and visited the Thotlakonda Buddhist monastery, and Mandaviya held bilateral meetings with his South African and UAE counterparts.

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Summits & ConferencesMediumquizQuiz

BRICS adopts Chennai Declaration on science and innovation under India's chairship

•The 14th BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Ministerial Meeting, chaired by India, adopted the 'Chennai Declaration' unanimously; the announcement was made in the closing session by Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences.
•Also called the Chennai Consensus, the document places a 'people-centred and humanity-first' approach at the heart of BRICS STI cooperation, with emphasis on sustainable development, resilient and high-quality growth, social inclusiveness and the use of innovation to improve quality of life.
•It records progress towards operationalising the BRICS Global Research Advanced Infrastructure Network (BRICS GRAIN) and welcomes the Action Plan and Terms of Reference of the Task Force on research infrastructures and mega-science projects.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

Siliguri talks: panel on hill areas solution; Amit Shah reviews corridor security

•Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a meeting at Siliguri on 22 August 2026 with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and representatives of the state's hill areas, where demands for a distinct identity, a Permanent Political Solution and recognition under the Constitution were taken up.
•It was decided to constitute a committee under Pankaj Kumar Singh - former Deputy National Security Advisor and the Centre's serving interlocutor for Darjeeling, Dooars and Terai - to finalise the modalities of the agreement to be drafted towards a permanent political solution 'under the umbrella of the Constitution of India'.
•Those present included GJM leader Bimal Gurung, GNLF leader Mann Ghising, MPs Raju Bista and Harshvardhan Singla, Hills Minister Bishal Lama and MLAs Bharat Chettri, Sonam Lama and Noman Rai.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

'Mission Zero' workshop targets ending sanitation-work fatalities through mechanisation

•A National Workshop on 'Mission Zero: Ending Fatalities in Sanitation Work' was held at the State Convention Centre, Lokseva Bhawan, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, attended by Odisha Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi.
•Shri Sudhansh Pant, Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, said achieving zero fatalities in sanitation work is a core national priority and called for a whole-of-government approach to safe, systematic and dignified sanitation services.
•The NAMASTE and GARIMA schemes were highlighted as the instruments for promoting mechanisation and ensuring occupational safety, health, education and livelihood opportunities for sanitation workers and their dependents.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

NBA releases Rs 2.82 crore of access and benefit-sharing funds to biodiversity boards

•The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has disbursed Rs 2.82 crore under the Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) mechanism arising from the commercial use of India's biological resources.
•Of this, Rs 2.80 crore went to 27 State Biodiversity Boards and 3 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils, and Rs 2.01 lakh to the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Karnataka.
•The larger sum came from Rs 2.94 crore paid by M/s Advanta Enterprises Ltd (formerly M/s UPL Limited) for the use of genetic resources behind eight cauliflower hybrids, five hot pepper hybrids, five okra hybrids and six tomato hybrids.

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DefenceLowquizQuiz

Navy receives 'Mangrol', third anti-submarine shallow water craft from Cochin Shipyard

•'Mangrol', the third Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Kochi, was delivered to the Indian Navy on 21 August 2026.
•The craft has over 80 per cent indigenous content and is equipped for underwater surveillance, anti-submarine warfare in coastal waters, Low-Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO) and mine warfare; it is propelled by waterjets and carries torpedoes, anti-submarine rockets, and advanced radars and sonars.
•The name comes from Mangrol, a coastal town and minor port in Junagadh district of Gujarat and a prominent harbour for the marine fishing industry, and revives the name of an earlier Indian Naval minesweeper, INS Mangrol, which served until 2004.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

EPFO's Employees' Enrolment Campaign 2026 open until 31 October for uncovered workers

•The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation has urged establishments to use the Employees' Enrolment Campaign, 2026 (EEC 2026), notified with effect from 29 June 2026.
•The campaign is a one-time opportunity to enrol employees who remained outside EPF coverage during the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2026, and it closes on 31 October 2026.
•Eligible employees must be alive and continuing in employment with the establishment on the date of declaration.

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Agreements & MoUsMediumquizQuiz

India-Mauritius sign oil and gas MoU; IOCL to supply all Mauritian fuel imports

•Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Hardeep Singh Puri visited Mauritius from 20 to 21 August 2026 and called on Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam on 20 August.
•India and Mauritius exchanged a Government-to-Government MoU for cooperation in the oil and gas sector, covering petroleum products supply, training and capacity building for Mauritian officials, and biofuels cooperation.
•Alongside it, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and the State Trading Corporation (STC) of Mauritius signed a five-year Sales and Purchase agreement under which IOCL will supply Mauritius's entire import requirement of Motor Spirit, High Speed Diesel and Aviation Turbine Fuel.

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Schemes & CommitteesLowquizQuiz

Rural Development panel clears four DAY-NRLM incubators for women-led enterprises

•The Empowered Committee of the Ministry of Rural Development, chaired by Secretary (Rural Development) Shri Rohit Kansal, cleared proposals under the Non-Farm Livelihoods component of DAY-NRLM to scale up women-led rural enterprises.
•Four new Incubator proposals were considered - from Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, with IIT Patna, IIM Jammu, IIM Lucknow and IIT Gandhinagar respectively as the proposed incubator partners, together supporting more than 600 high-potential rural enterprises.
•The Committee also considered expansion of the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) in West Bengal and Goa, all of it directed at the national goal of 6 crore Lakhpati Didis.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

Centre restricts all Chlorpheniramine-Phenylephrine FDCs for children below four

•The Government has restricted the manufacture, sale and distribution of all Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs) containing Chlorpheniramine Maleate and Phenylephrine Hydrochloride, requiring a warning that these medicines shall not be used in children below four years of age.
•The notification was issued under Section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and takes effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
•It follows the recommendations of an Expert Committee and the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), which noted risks to children under four and the availability of safer alternatives.

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History & CultureLowquizQuiz

57th IFFI to be held in Goa from 20 to 28 November 2026

•The first Steering Committee meeting for the 57th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was held on 21 August 2026 at Kartavya Bhawan-2, New Delhi, chaired by Dr L. Murugan, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting.
•The 57th IFFI is scheduled to be held in Goa from 20 to 28 November 2026.
•Ashutosh Gowariker is the Festival Director; Prakash Magdum, Managing Director of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), presented the preparations to the Committee.

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Schemes & CommitteesHighquizQuiz

NADCP: 147.16 crore FMD doses given, outbreaks down from 132 to 40

•A PIB Backgrounder dated 22 August 2026 reviewed the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP), launched in September 2019 to control and eradicate Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis through nationwide vaccination and surveillance.
•Cumulative FMD vaccination under the programme has reached 147.16 crore doses benefiting 8.04 crore farmers; reported FMD outbreaks fell from 132 in 2019 to 40 in 2025 and Brucellosis outbreaks from 22 to 15 over the same period.
•NADCP targets 100% FMD vaccination of all susceptible livestock twice a year, and a single lifetime Brucellosis vaccination for female bovine calves aged 4-8 months.

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Current Affairs Pulse

PIB Current Affairs — 22 August 2026

IAF concludes Exercise Pitch Black in Australia and Udara Shakti in Malaysia

CSIR-NIScPR marks 75 years of Hindi science magazine Vigyan Pragati

BRICS Youth Ministers' Meeting concludes at Visakhapatnam with Joint Statement

BRICS adopts Chennai Declaration on science and innovation under India's chairship

Siliguri talks: panel on hill areas solution; Amit Shah reviews corridor security

'Mission Zero' workshop targets ending sanitation-work fatalities through mechanisation

NBA releases Rs 2.82 crore of access and benefit-sharing funds to biodiversity boards

Navy receives 'Mangrol', third anti-submarine shallow water craft from Cochin Shipyard

EPFO's Employees' Enrolment Campaign 2026 open until 31 October for uncovered workers

India-Mauritius sign oil and gas MoU; IOCL to supply all Mauritian fuel imports

Rural Development panel clears four DAY-NRLM incubators for women-led enterprises

Centre restricts all Chlorpheniramine-Phenylephrine FDCs for children below four

57th IFFI to be held in Goa from 20 to 28 November 2026

NADCP: 147.16 crore FMD doses given, outbreaks down from 132 to 40