PIB Current Affairs 23 August 2026

EconomyLowquizQuiz

Vice President to launch India's first non-GMO high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed

•The Vice President's Secretariat announced that Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan would visit Musunuru in Eluru district of Andhra Pradesh on 24 August 2026.
•At the Gourmet Popcornica Factory, Musunuru, he was to launch India's first non-GMO high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed, felicitate farmers and address agricultural stakeholders.
•'Non-GMO' matters legally: Bt cotton remains the only genetically modified crop cleared for commercial cultivation in India, and any environmental release of a GM crop needs approval from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee - a conventionally bred hybrid needs no such clearance.

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EnvironmentLowquizQuiz

Delhi Zoo citizen-science walks document 42 bird and 40 tree species

•The National Zoological Park, New Delhi held the 2nd 'Tree Walk @ NZP' together with its 11th Sunday Bird Walk on 23 August 2026, under the zoo's Citizen Science Initiative for public participation in biodiversity documentation and monitoring.
•Twenty-five participants recorded 42 bird species (over 300 individual birds) and 40 tree species; the highlight was over 150 Painted Storks that reached the zoo in the second week of August 2026 and began nesting on trees around the pond.
•The zoo is run under the Central Zoo Authority, the statutory body created by Section 38A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, which recognises and regulates every zoo in India.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

NCSK marks 33rd Foundation Day: compensation paid in 1,223 of 1,377 sewer death cases

•The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis marked its 33rd Foundation Day at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, on 23 August 2026, with over 900 Safai Karamcharis and representatives of central and state governments, urban local bodies and civil society attending.
•The Commission's Secretary reported that the prescribed compensation has been provided in 1,223 of 1,377 reported cases of sewer and septic tank deaths across the country, in accordance with directions of the Supreme Court, and that FIRs have been registered in 750 of those 1,377 cases.
•The Commission receives more than 1,200 complaints a year and takes them up with government departments, local bodies and other institutions.

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Schemes & CommitteesLowquizQuiz

NSDC and Cultus launch cloud and AI skilling drive with AWS for Tier 2 and Tier 3 youth

•The National Skill Development Corporation, under the guidance of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Cultus Education have launched a nationwide cloud and AI skilling initiative in collaboration with Amazon Web Services.
•The programme targets 150,000 learners for foundational AI and cloud literacy through AWS digital training content, and 10,000 participants for intensive, job-ready training through AWS re/Start, a free cohort-based programme that links graduates to local employers.
•Delivery is fully online through Cultus, the NSDC-selected delivery partner, spanning all states and union territories with priority to youth in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, and concluding in a National Hackathon.

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Summits & ConferencesMediumquizQuiz

BRICS Sports Ministers adopt Joint Declaration at Visakhapatnam under India's 2026 Chairship

•The BRICS Sports Ministers' Meeting 2026 concluded at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 23 August 2026 with the adoption by consensus of the BRICS Sports Joint Declaration.
•The meeting was held under India's BRICS Chairship 2026, whose theme is 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.
•Three initiatives were advanced: a BRICS Working Group on Sports Technology; a BRICS Sports Manufacturing Conclave, with Udaipur proposed as host for its inaugural edition in November 2026; and BRICS Traditional and Indigenous Sports Demonstration Games, proposed for Ahmedabad on 12-13 October 2026 as a non-competitive, culturally focused event.

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DefenceMediumquizQuiz

Rs 3,500 crore expansion for GRSE and Yantra India: Raichak shipyard, Ishapore forging plants

•The Raksha Mantri, Shri Rajnath Singh, along with the West Bengal Chief Minister, Shri Suvendu Adhikari, performed the Bhumi Pujan on 23 August 2026 for five expansion projects worth about Rs 3,500 crore - three of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) and two of Yantra India Limited (YIL).
•The GRSE projects are at Raichak in South 24-Parganas, Timber Pond in Shalimar (Howrah) and the Damodar facility at Kidderpore Docks, Kolkata; the YIL projects are at the Metal and Steel Factory, Ishapore.
•Raichak, a 32-acre riverside plot with a 356-metre waterfront and a draught of 8-10 metres, will take over Rs 2,500 crore and will allow GRSE to build warships up to 200 metres long and commercial vessels of up to 60,000 tonnes deadweight.

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InternationalLowquizQuiz

India's largest-ever business delegation to Japan: 200+ members across Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka

•The Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, will visit Japan from 24 to 27 August 2026, travelling to Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
•He leads India's largest-ever business delegation to Japan - more than 200 business representatives across manufacturing, semiconductors, clean energy, steel, automotive, financial services, healthcare and start-ups.
•The programme includes a round-table with Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation representing over 1,500 leading Japanese companies, bilateral talks with METI Minister H.E. Mr. Akazawa Ryosei, a roadshow with Chukeiren and the Nagoya Chamber of Commerce & Industry, engagement with the Aichi Prefecture leadership, and an Investors and Business Roadshow in Osaka.

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DefenceLowquizQuiz

INS Sudarshini reaches Lisbon on Lokayan 26, her 15th port call in seven months

•The Indian Navy's sail training ship INS Sudarshini arrived at Lisbon, Portugal on 22 August 2026 as part of her Lokayan 26 transoceanic expedition, entering through the Tagus River.
•Lisbon is the ship's 15th port visit in seven months of voyage; the crew and trainees will take part in professional exchanges, cross-deck visits and engagements with Portuguese naval leadership and the Indian diaspora.
•Lokayan 26 was flagged off from Naval Base Kochi on 20 January 2026 as a ten-month voyage of over 22,000 nautical miles to 18 foreign ports across 13 countries, training more than 200 Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard trainees.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

National Space Day 2026: PM meets space startup founders as private launch capability arrives

•On National Space Day, 23 August 2026, the Prime Minister interacted with the chief executives of India's private space startups and separately posted greetings on the occasion.
•The founders described a rocket business scaling towards one launch a month, satellite propulsion engines finding export traction, debris-removal spacecraft, in-orbit docking and refuelling, and a space-pharmaceuticals venture.
•National Space Day is observed on 23 August to mark the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander on 23 August 2023, which made India the fourth country to soft-land on the Moon and the first to do so near the lunar south pole.

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Schemes & CommitteesHighquizQuiz

PIB Backgrounder maps India's regenerative agriculture push: schemes, coverage and outlays

•A PIB Backgrounder released on 23 August 2026 sets out how central schemes are pushing Indian farming towards regenerative practices - natural farming, agroforestry, micro-irrigation, integrated farming systems and scientific soil management.
•Natural farming clusters covered 8.80 lakh hectares with 18.19 lakh farmers enrolled, and 18,786 clusters had been formed as of 5 March 2026 under the National Mission on Natural Farming.
•Per Drop More Crop had covered about 109 lakh hectares as of May 2026 with Rs 26,325 crore of central assistance released, and 25.89 crore Soil Health Cards had been generated as of 13 March 2026.

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Current Affairs Pulse

PIB Current Affairs — 23 August 2026

Vice President to launch India's first non-GMO high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed

Delhi Zoo citizen-science walks document 42 bird and 40 tree species

NCSK marks 33rd Foundation Day: compensation paid in 1,223 of 1,377 sewer death cases

NSDC and Cultus launch cloud and AI skilling drive with AWS for Tier 2 and Tier 3 youth

BRICS Sports Ministers adopt Joint Declaration at Visakhapatnam under India's 2026 Chairship

Rs 3,500 crore expansion for GRSE and Yantra India: Raichak shipyard, Ishapore forging plants

India's largest-ever business delegation to Japan: 200+ members across Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka

INS Sudarshini reaches Lisbon on Lokayan 26, her 15th port call in seven months

National Space Day 2026: PM meets space startup founders as private launch capability arrives

PIB Backgrounder maps India's regenerative agriculture push: schemes, coverage and outlays