Current affairs — 16 August 2026

Prelims pointers

• NASA invited ISRO to its Moon Base programme at the ninth India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group meeting.
• The proposed outpost is near the lunar south pole, where long sunlight and water ice in shadowed craters are available.
• Revised Artemis plans place a crewed Earth-orbit test in 2027 and the programme’s first lunar landing attempt in 2028.
• India signed the Artemis Accords in 2023, and NASA has trained Indian astronaut candidates for Gaganyaan.
• China and Russia announced the ILRS in 2021; it targets 2035 and involves 17 countries and organisations.

Prelims pointers

• The Economics Letters study analysed more than six decades of rocket launches and was peer reviewed.
• India’s estimated 2025 cost to low-Earth orbit was $13,302 per kilogram, versus a $3,868 global average.
• The 2025 estimates were $9,897 for Europe, $6,682 for Russia and $5,809 for China per kilogram.
• Japan’s estimated cost was $5,287 per kilogram and the United States’ was $3,225 per kilogram.
• Since 2010, only the United States and Europe showed a statistically significant experience curve in the study.

Prelims pointers

• The 2026 amendment bill enables the government to allow MDR on UPI and RuPay debit-card transactions, which are currently free.
• Cash with the public means total currency in circulation minus the cash held in banks.
• Cash with the public reached ₹41.8 lakh crore on July 31, 2026, nearly 13% above the corresponding year-earlier level.
• Growth in UPI transaction value slowed to 20.3% in 2025-26 and 18.7% in April-August 2026-27.
• UPI-value growth of 18.7% still exceeded the comparable 13% growth of cash with the public.

Prelims pointers

• The eighth tranche comprises 20 mineral blocks: three Mining Lease blocks and 17 Composite Licence blocks.
• The offered minerals include graphite, Rare Earth Elements, vanadium, gallium, titanium, molybdenum, tungsten, potash, phosphorite and glauconite.
• NMEDT is the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust, whose scheme partly reimburses exploration expenses of Composite Licence holders.
• MECL will present the mineral blocks, SBICAPS the auction process and tender document, and MSTC the e-auction process.
• The National Geoscience Data Repository will feature in training on preparing exploration blocks and mineral exploration reports.

Prelims pointers

• Areca-nut imports attract 100% Basic Customs Duty, while eligible Bangladeshi-origin imports under SAFTA are fully exempt if Rules of Origin are met.
• The alleged network sourced nuts from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries but declared Bangladesh as origin.
• DRI estimated potential customs-revenue loss above ₹2,500 crore and reported nine arrests.
• Officers reported seizing about ₹75 lakh in cash and a live consignment of around 160 metric tonnes of areca nuts.
• Searches covered premises linked to importers, customs brokers and IEC holders in Kolkata and Visakhapatnam.

Prelims pointers

• The 12th BRICS Environment Ministers' Meeting is scheduled in New Delhi on 18 August 2026 after senior officials meet on 17 August.
• India's BRICS chairship theme for 2026 is 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.
• India's four priorities cover sustainable lifestyles; forests and disaster resilience; circular economy; and adaptation.
• The circular-economy priority includes Extended Producer Responsibility policy frameworks and regulatory approaches.
• The BRICS Environment Working Group was established in 2015, while the climate and sustainable-development Contact Group was established in 2024.

Prelims pointers

• Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth's official visit to Nepal is scheduled for 17-19 August 2026.
• At Tundikhel, he is to lay a wreath at the Army Pavilion before receiving a Guard of Honour at Nepali Army Headquarters.
• Nepal's President Ram Chandra Paudel is to confer on General Seth the honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army.
• On 18 August, General Seth is scheduled to address the Army Command and Staff Course at Shivapuri.
• On 19 August, he is to attend an ex-servicemen rally at Pokhara and felicitate Veer Naris and gallantry awardees.

Prelims pointers

• RSSDI launched the Diabetes Rural Outreach Digital Portal and VISHWAS, a Diabetes Awareness Video Library.
• The Rural Outreach Programme has reached around 30 villages across several States and plans further expansion.
• The portal supports beneficiary registration, treatment records, longitudinal follow-up and programme monitoring.
• The digital platform is intended to generate anonymised real-world data for public-health planning and research.
• RSSDI's community model uses village adoption to deliver diabetes awareness, early diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and prevention.

Prelims pointers

• Hurricane Irma struck on September 8, 2017 at 265 km/hr, and Maria followed on September 22 at 200 km/hr.
• Post-storm Anolis scriptus had longer forelimbs, shorter hind legs and toes, and larger front and back toepads.
• Five genes involved in muscle and skeletal development became more frequent independently on both studied islands.
• CRISPR knockout of hs6st1 in Anolis sagrei embryos produced shorter fourth toes and thinner toe cartilage.
• In 118 km/hr wind tests, brown anoles used front legs twice as long as back legs on average to hold on.

Prelims pointers

• The object was the spent upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket left in an unstable orbit.
• The Falcon 9 had launched two satellites towards the Moon in January 2025.
• The stage lacked enough fuel to return to Earth or proceed into deep space.
• Bill Gray’s calculations placed the expected impact near Einstein crater on the Moon.
• The predicted impact time was August 5 at 12:05 p.m. IST, with certainty reported by January 2026.

Prelims pointers

• The Forest Rights Act was enacted in 2006 and recognises qualifying forest occupation before December 13, 2005.
• Gram sabhas verify claims, followed by six-member subdivision- and district-level committees with departmental and panchayat representatives.
• The FRA prohibits eviction of alleged encroachers until the recognition and verification procedure is complete.
• Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve spans 3,500 sq. km across parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
• CEC-linked 2020 records reported 4,595 individuals occupying 5,071.2 ha in Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve.

Prelims pointers

• The Delhi Chief Minister launched Lakshmi Yojana on August 1 as an Unconditional Cash Transfer scheme for eligible women.
• Lakshmi Yojana promises each eligible woman a transfer of ₹2,500 per month.
• The scheme fulfilled one of the ruling party's central promises made during the Delhi Assembly elections.
• The Economic Survey and the 16th Finance Commission report raised concerns about the fiscal burden of such schemes.
• Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have reportedly reduced beneficiary numbers in the name of rationalisation.

Prelims pointers

• The Hara mangroves span the Strait of Hormuz and are dominated by grey mangrove, Avicennia marina.
• Avicennia marina roots filter salt, protect coasts against erosion and act as substantial carbon sinks.
• The Hara forests are a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a nursery for shrimp, crabs and numerous fish species.
• The forests’ canopy is a migratory hub for birds including the great stone-curlew and various herons.
• The Minoan Pioneer leaked heavy fuel oil after a projectile strike, producing a slick reported to be 160 km long.

Prelims pointers

• Friedreich's ataxia is caused by mutations in FXN, a gene that codes for the mitochondrial protein frataxin.
• Normal FXN intron variants have 5–11 or 12–33 repeats, while disease-associated expanded variants have 100–1,500 repeats.
• A patient carries two expanded variants, one from each parent; a person with one copy is an unaffected carrier.
• Researchers traced 95% of expanded variants to two long-normal variants that mutated in Eurasia.
• Ancient DNA showed both protomutations in Europe and Western Asia at least 9,000 years ago, but not in Neanderthals or Denisovans.