Current affairs — 10 August 2026

Prelims pointers

• Ladakh notified the formation of Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass as new districts.
• The relevant Ladakh Gazette notification was dated 27 April 2026.
• State Bank of India received lead-bank responsibility for all five newly created districts.
• The working codes are 02Z, 03B, 03A, 03C and 03D for the five districts in listed order.
• RBI stated that lead banks for Ladakh's other districts remain unchanged.

Prelims pointers

• NIRF was launched in 2015 for annual India Rankings of higher-education institutions and universities.
• NIRF uses five broad parameters: Teaching, Learning and Resources; Research and Professional Practices; Graduation Outcomes; Outreach and Inclusivity; and Peer Perception.
• NIRF applications increased from 6,272 in 2021 to 14,163 in 2025, while unique participating institutions rose from 4,030 to 7,692.
• The Institutions of Eminence scheme was launched in 2017 to provide substantial academic, administrative and financial autonomy.
• SWAYAM Plus offers more than 500 employability-focused courses across 15 sectors in collaboration with 89 industries.

Prelims pointers

• NCF-FS 2022 and NCF-SE 2023 guide curricular goals, competencies, learning outcomes, syllabi, textbooks, pedagogy and assessment.
• More than 13 lakh citizens participated in the national mobile-app survey, and over 1.5 lakh stakeholders joined State-level surveys.
• More than 1,550 district-level consultations were conducted across 32 States and Union Territories during framework preparation.
• NCF-FS was released on October 20, 2022, while NCF-SE was released on August 23, 2023.
• NCERT formed the National Syllabus and Teaching-Learning Material Committee with 13 Curricular Area Groups and Textbook Development Teams.

Prelims pointers

• NCrF encompasses elementary, school, higher and skill education and supports accumulation, storage, transfer and redemption of assessed credits.
• AISHE 2023-24 reported that more than 700 universities and over 7,500 affiliated colleges had adopted NCrF.
• UGC’s operational SOP allows up to 50% of a programme’s total credits to be earned from skill-based courses.
• AICTE permits Class 10 plus two-year ITI students to enter the second year of engineering and technology diploma courses under NCrF-aligned norms.
• A two-year undergraduate engineering diploma at NCrF Level 5.0 can provide lateral entry to the third year.

Prelims pointers

• The Supreme Court held on September 1, 2025 that TET is a minimum qualification under Section 23 of the RTE Act, 2009.
• On May 29, 2026, the Court extended the TET-acquisition deadline from August 31, 2027 to August 31, 2028.
• The Court said governments and authorities should endeavour to hold TET preferably twice yearly, about six months apart.
• Using Article 142, the Court allowed certain pre-RTE in-service teachers with less than five years remaining to serve until superannuation without TET.
• Teachers covered by the limited exemption cannot be promoted unless they acquire the prescribed TET qualification.

Prelims pointers

• States and UTs prepare Samagra Shiksha Annual Work Plans and Budgets, which are appraised by the Project Approval Board in consultation with them.
• Fund releases depend on expenditure pace, State-share receipt, audited accounts, current expenditure statements and prior-year utilisation certificates, among other conditions.
• PRABANDH stands for Project Appraisal, Budgeting Achievements and Data Handling and displays monthly physical and financial progress.
• Education cess collection was Rs 63,252.86 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 65,890.50 crore in 2025-26.
• A purpose-specific cess does not form part of the divisible pool under Article 270; education proceeds use the PSK and MUSK reserve funds.

Prelims pointers

• Forest Survey of India has prepared a separate album identifying 45 major invasive species.
• Botanical Survey of India submitted a State-wise inventory of potential invasive species to the National Biodiversity Authority.
• The inventory is intended to facilitate preparation of the National Management Plan of Invasive Species.
• States, UTs and concerned agencies remove invasive plants according to local needs and approved forest and wildlife management plans.
• The National Working Plan Code, 2023 supports ecosystem-based management and preference for site-specific indigenous species in restoration.

Prelims pointers

• The fifth Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting of the Ministry of Ayush focused on Yoga and Naturopathy.
• The institutional ecosystem named includes MDNIY, YCB, NIN, CCRYN and the Naturopathy Registration Board.
• The ministry presentation reported 22 CCRYN units and more than 100 universities offering Yoga courses nationwide.
• It also reported over 5,000 Yoga centres, 113 accredited institutions and 29 accredited personnel-certification bodies.
• Committee members agreed on the need for a unified regulatory mechanism for education in Yoga and Naturopathy.

Prelims pointers

• GeM was launched on 9 August 2016 under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as a technology-enabled public procurement platform.
• The platform reports more than 25 lakh sellers, over 1.37 lakh buyer organisations and more than 3.78 crore cumulative orders.
• Cumulative procurement exceeded ₹20 lakh crore, while 12.28 lakh MSEs accounted for 45.6% of cumulative GMV.
• More than 2.24 lakh women-led MSEs fulfilled over 50 lakh orders valued at more than ₹1 lakh crore.
• GeM introduced the nationwide five-digit short code 14550 for helpdesk access and identification of official communications.

Prelims pointers

• NABL is identified as a constituent board of the Quality Council of India in the release.
• NABL launched an accreditation scheme for Mobile Food Testing Laboratories under the Integrated Assessment Programme.
• The scheme seeks to provide reliable, quality-assured and internationally benchmarked food testing closer to communities.
• The multilateral MoU exchange focused on coordinated assessments, regulatory harmonisation and an integrated quality infrastructure.
• The initiative seeks to reduce duplicate assessments, promote mutual recognition and improve regulatory efficiency.

Prelims pointers

• Physical duty-payment challans are not required for relevant voluntary payments made on or after 1 August 2026.
• DGFT and ICEGATE use an API-based exchange to transmit authenticated Customs payment data into the EODC workflow.
• The Advance Authorisation Scheme permits duty-free import of inputs physically incorporated in the export product.
• The EPCG Scheme permits import of capital goods at concessional or zero Customs duty against an export obligation.
• DGFT issued Trade Notice No. 15/2026-27 on 5 August 2026 for exporters and other stakeholders.

Prelims pointers

• The 1601-series is for service and transactional calls by sectors other than BFSI and government.
• BFSI and government entities use the separate 1600-series for their service and transactional calls.
• Phase I covers utilities as well as courier and logistics sector entities.
• Telecom service providers must migrate and onboard eligible Phase-I entities within 90 days of the order.
• 1601 numbers are allocated directly to verified eligible entities and cannot be used for promotional voice calls.

Prelims pointers

• Green India Mission is one of nine missions under NAPCC and has been implemented since 2015-16.
• GIM has brought 184,467 hectares under eco-restoration across 17 States and one Union Territory since 2015-16.
• Nagar Van Yojana targets 600 Nagar Vans and 400 Nagar Vatikas during 2020-21 to 2026-27.
• Rs 57.08 crore was allocated under GIM in 2026-27 to seven named States for approved activities.
• FSI assesses forest cover biennially through remote sensing and ground verification and publishes the India State of Forest Report.

Prelims pointers

• The Global Engagement Scheme is the Ministry of Culture's umbrella scheme for international cultural engagement and diplomacy.
• GES has four components: ICEP, Project Mausam, Brihattar Bharat, and the scheme safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and diverse traditions.
• The Ministry of Culture currently has valid Cultural Exchange Programmes with 98 countries.
• GES facilitates participation in cultural forums associated with BRICS, G20, SCO and BIMSTEC.
• ICCR is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of External Affairs that complements cultural-diplomacy initiatives.

Prelims pointers

• Indian Culture Portal Version 2.0 was launched in March 2026.
• BHASHINI integration makes portal content available in 22 Indian languages.
• The portal's AI-powered chatbot is named Bharti and supports multilingual interaction and content discovery.
• The portal uses a decoupled architecture built with React and Drupal 10.
• Institutions connect through standard metadata exchange, APIs and institutional onboarding.

Prelims pointers

• Admiral Krishna Swaminathan's four-day Mauritius visit is scheduled from 10 to 13 August 2026.
• The agenda includes maritime security, defence cooperation, capacity building and military collaboration.
• The Indian Navy and Mauritius National Coast Guard conduct joint Exclusive Economic Zone surveillance.
• Their regular engagement also includes training exchanges, port visits and hydrographic surveys.
• Mauritius participates in initiatives including IONS, MILAN, Goa Maritime Conclave, IOS SAGAR and Exercise AIKEYME.

Prelims pointers

• Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala assumed charge as Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• He became Director of ESSO-INCOIS in Hyderabad in August 2020.
• At the UNESCO-IOC ICG/IOTWMS secretariat, he worked with tsunami-warning networks across 28 Indian Ocean member states.
• He served as project manager for establishing the Indian Tsunami Early Warning System at INCOIS after the 2004 tsunami.
• The release credits INCOIS with Potential Fishing Zone advisories, Coral Reef Bleaching Alerts and multi-hazard vulnerability mapping.

Prelims pointers

• NIPUN Bharat seeks foundational literacy and numeracy by Grade 3.
• APAAR is designed as a lifelong identity tracking educational journeys and achievements from pre-primary to higher education.
• The reply permits up to 40% of credits in regular courses to be earned using the SWAYAM platform.
• SWAYAM Plus offers more than 500 courses from 89 industry partners across 17 sectors and has over 6,00,000 registrations.
• PM-USHA was launched in June 2023 as the third phase of RUSA with an outlay of ₹12,926.10 crore, including earlier committed liabilities.

Prelims pointers

• NCRB publishes year-wise, State-wise, gender-wise and age-group-wise suicide data in its annual Accidental Death & Suicide in India reports.
• MANODARPAN provides psychological support through a national toll-free helpline, trained counsellors, Sahyog sessions and Paricharcha webinars.
• CBSE affiliation bye-laws mandate a Counsellor and Wellness Teacher in every affiliated secondary and senior secondary school.
• As of February 2026, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti had engaged 830 contractual counsellors across Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.
• By August 6, 2026, 36 States and UTs had set up 53 Tele-MANAS cells, and the helpline had handled more than 4,325,000 calls.

Prelims pointers

• PM POSHAN covers children in Bal Vatika and Classes I to VIII of government and government-aided schools.
• The Centre provides 100% assistance for foodgrain cost, transportation and Management, Monitoring and Evaluation under PM POSHAN.
• Foodgrains are allocated biannually by the Department of School Education and Literacy with concurrence from the Department of Food and Public Distribution.
• FCI supplies grain of at least Fair Average Quality and appoints a nodal officer for each State to address supply problems.
• A district-level PM POSHAN committee chaired by the district’s senior-most Member of Parliament monitors the scheme quarterly.

Prelims pointers

• NCERT’s application was examined by a UGC Expert Committee under the UGC deemed-university regulations of 2023.
• The Ministry of Education declared NCERT an Institution Deemed to be University through a notification dated March 30, 2026.
• NCERT received the status under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.
• The declaration requires NCERT to take steps to commence research, doctoral and innovative academic programmes.
• NCERT serves as a think tank and national resource institution providing technical support to Central and State Governments.

Prelims pointers

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared an article about the remarkable comeback of India’s Asiatic lion.
• The article shared by the Prime Minister was written by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav.
• The Prime Minister’s message described India’s Asiatic lion population as thriving.
• The message said that the habitat and range of India’s Asiatic lion are expanding.
• The Prime Minister linked conservation commitment with strong community participation in protecting wildlife and preserving the species.

Prelims pointers

• APEDA facilitated Dergang FPO’s export of one metric tonne of mustard honey from Tripura to Dubai.
• The release describes the shipment as the first-ever export of mustard honey from the area.
• Salt Range Foods Private Limited supported the FPO in bee production and development of an export-oriented honey supply.
• Tripura Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath flagged off the export consignment.
• APEDA supports northeastern agricultural exports through market linkages, capacity building, quality assurance and export facilitation.

Prelims pointers

• More than 6,000 agriculture students received a combined ₹21.35 crore through the NSP and Direct Benefit Transfer mechanism.
• The funds were released at ICAR-IARI, Pusa, by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development.
• The initiative provides for agriculture students to receive their scholarships every month directly through DBT.
• The minister called for agricultural education to combine practical training with technology and industry orientation.
• On Hariyali Amavasya, agriculture students at ICAR institutions nationwide were asked to participate in plantation drives.

Prelims pointers

• CCRT is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Culture that trains teachers and students in cultural traditions.
• The Cultural Talent Search Scholarship Scheme covers meritorious students in the 10–14 age group.
• A CTSS holder receives ₹3,600 per year plus eligible guru or teacher tuition reimbursement up to ₹9,000 per year.
• The CTSS award is initially for two years and is renewable subject to satisfactory progress.
• The SYA scheme provides artists aged 18–25 with ₹5,000 per month for two years of advanced training.