Current affairs — 18 August 2026

Prelims pointers

• The Green India Mission improved forest quality over 0.11 million hectares against a target of 1.4 million hectares.
• The Mission achieved only 4% of its target for expanding forest cover, according to the CAG performance audit.
• GIM is one of eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, which was unveiled in 2008.
• India’s Paris-linked goal cited for GIM is an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes by 2030.
• ISFR 2023 recorded a 1,445 sq km green-cover gain: 156 sq km of forest and 1,289 sq km of tree cover outside recorded forests.

Prelims pointers

• NASA formally invited ISRO at the ninth India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group meeting.
• The bilateral working-group meeting was held in Bengaluru on August 5 and 6.
• The invitation placed possible Indian participation under the Artemis Accords framework.
• The Moon Base programme envisages a human outpost at the Moon’s south pole for living, work and scientific activity.
• NASA and its partners plan a sequence of both crewed and uncrewed missions over the next decade and beyond.

Prelims pointers

• India–Japan bilateral trade was cited at around USD 27.5 billion in FY 2025–26.
• Japan was described as India’s fifth-largest source of foreign direct investment.
• The July 2026 annual summit included a target of 10 trillion yen of Japanese investment over the next decade.
• The address cited 11 Japanese industrial townships spread across eight Indian States.
• More than 1,400 Japanese companies were reported to be operating in India.

Prelims pointers

• The Terms of Reference of the BRICS Focus Group on Digital Public Infrastructure were adopted in 2025.
• India presented a concept note on a BRICS DPI Repository and pilot projects for DPI solutions.
• DPI principles cited included openness, interoperability, digital sovereignty and national ownership.
• The Working Group reviewed cooperation on secure telecom infrastructure, submarine cables and digital ecosystems.
• Draft terms were discussed for expert groups on digital applications and digital governance.

Prelims pointers

• The sixth Positive Indigenisation List contains 405 items with estimated potential of ₹3,070 crore.
• The list divides into 16 Indian Coast Guard items and 389 Defence Public Sector Undertaking items.
• The Department of Defence Production launched the SRIJAN Defence Portal in August 2020.
• More than 33,000 items had been offered for indigenisation through SRIJAN up to June 2026.
• More than 15,700 items were indigenised, with about ₹9,000 crore of estimated import substitution over five years.

Prelims pointers

• The fifth SEMICON India is scheduled for 17–19 September 2026 at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi.
• Twelve semiconductor projects were approved under Semicon 1.0, and three had commenced commercial production.
• Design tools were provided to more than 332 academic institutes and 105 start-ups.
• Twenty-four start-ups were approved under the Design Linked Incentive scheme.
• Semicon 2.0 was approved by the Union Cabinet with six major pillars.

Prelims pointers

• Four knowledge compendiums were unveiled at the 12th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting.
• India’s sustainable-lifestyles examples include Mission LiFE, the Environment Education Programme and the SAMBHAV Campaign.
• The wildfire compendium covers prevention, preparedness, early warning, response and recovery.
• The landscape-greening compendium addresses land degradation, desertification, biodiversity loss and climate change.
• The circular-economy compendium highlights India’s market-based Extended Producer Responsibility architecture and centralised digital platforms.

Prelims pointers

• RRB gross loans rose 10.3% to ₹5,78,349 crore in FY 2025–26 from ₹5,24,163 crore a year earlier.
• Average RRB Priority Sector Lending reached 91.7% of ANBC against the prescribed overall target of 75%.
• Agriculture and allied credit was ₹3.78 lakh crore and constituted 77% of total RRB Priority Sector Lending.
• RRB credit to MSMEs was ₹66,978 crore, or 13.6% of PSL; over 95% went to micro enterprises.
• Regional Rural Banks extended ₹3.49 lakh crore of credit to weaker sections in FY 2025–26.

Prelims pointers

• The domestic PNG incentive scheme becomes effective from 1 September 2026 and runs in two tranches over six months.
• India had 1.74 crore domestic piped-natural-gas household connections when the scheme was announced.
• Eligible CGD entities receive 200 SCM of additional lower-priced APM gas per incremental billed connection above threshold.
• The incentive is expected to reduce the D-PNG capital-expenditure payback period from about ten years to about three years.
• States are being encouraged to reduce value-added tax on natural gas to 5% to improve PNG affordability.

Prelims pointers

• The approved Guwahati–Tezpur corridor is a 135.87-km four-lane access-controlled section of NH-15.
• Its capital cost is ₹8,970.20 crore and the project will use the Build-Operate-Transfer Toll model.
• Five bypasses totalling 58.7 km will serve Baihata Chariali, Sipajhar, Kharupetia, Dekiajuli and Tezpur.
• The Tezpur bypass includes an elephant underpass and a 4.9-km Emergency Landing Facility.
• The corridor links Assam with highway connectivity toward Itanagar and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh.

Prelims pointers

• NHAI expanded the online FASTag Local Pass facility to 121 toll plazas across India.
• Eligible residents must have a registered address within 20 km of the concerned toll plaza.
• A monthly Local Pass permits unlimited travel through the respective plaza under applicable provisions.
• The first digital facility began in July 2026 at Mundka–Bakkarwala Toll Plaza on UER-II in Delhi.
• DigiLocker, VAHAN and GIS-based verification are used to check address, vehicle and FASTag details.

Prelims pointers

• The MMDR Amendment Act, 2026 inserts Section 9D concerning State levies on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands.
• States may impose such levies only under conditions or restrictions prescribed by the Central Government.
• Unpaid or uncollected past levies become invalid, but sums already deposited or recovered are not refundable.
• Section 13 is amended to empower the Central Government to make rules governing permitted State levies.
• Minor minerals remain under State control, and the amendment does not alter that category.

Prelims pointers

• The 97th ICAR Society AGM was held at the National Agricultural Science Complex in New Delhi.
• ICAR reported releasing 386 crop varieties, of which 94% were climate-resilient and 29 were biofortified.
• Foodgrain production was reported to have risen by around 19 million tonnes over the past year.
• Around 805 intellectual-property applications were filed, while commercialisation was strengthened across 36 institutions.
• The National Gender Platform for Agri-Food Systems connects more than 9,000 establishments.

Prelims pointers

• The Union Cabinet approved the Amended BharatNet Programme on 4 August 2023.
• Chhattisgarh’s programme has a scope of 11,682 Gram Panchayats and demand-based connectivity for 8,328 villages.
• The Government of India approved ₹3,942 crore in financial support for implementation in Chhattisgarh.
• A total of 4,048 Phase-I Gram Panchayats are to be upgraded from linear to ring topology.
• The Telecommunications Act, 2023 changed the Universal Service Obligation Fund into Digital Bharat Nidhi.

Prelims pointers

• Parang La Pass is 5,578 metres high and connects Spiti Valley with the Changthang region.
• The expedition comprises 28 girl cadets led by three women officers representing the three Services.
• The planned trek is approximately 250 kilometres long and is to be completed over 30 days.
• The route includes Kibber, Parang La, Norbu Sumdo, Kiangdom and Korzok.
• A preparatory and acclimatisation trek was undertaken in the Bhaba–Pin Valley sector.

Prelims pointers

• Aadhaar Mandatory Biometric Update is required when a child attains age five and again at age fifteen.
• UIDAI’s special school drive began in September 2025 and covered more than 1.56 lakh schools.
• The drive completed more than 20 million, or over two crore, biometric updates for school children.
• UDISE+ integration provides visibility of children’s Mandatory Biometric Update status at schools.
• The combined fee arrangements make MBU free for ages 5–17 through 30 September 2026.

Prelims pointers

• India hosted the 12th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi under its 2026 chairship.
• The meeting consensually adopted a Joint Ministerial Statement and launched four knowledge compendiums.
• India’s four priorities included sustainable lifestyles, circular economy, adaptation, and forest-fire management with disaster resilience.
• One outcome document sets BRICS principles for integrated landscape management to combat desertification.
• Another outcome addresses people-centric, community-based adaptation built on traditional knowledge.

Prelims pointers

• PSB Confluence 2026 was organised by the Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance.
• The two-day meeting considered seven themes concerning Public Sector Banks and Public Financial Institutions.
• A month-long banking campaign for youth above 16 years is proposed to begin on 2 October 2026.
• The Indian Banks’ Association is to coordinate the proposed campaign for young banking customers.
• Day 2 covered value-chain finance, Priority Sector Lending and reimagining the credit-card business.

Prelims pointers

• India’s combined merchandise and services exports reached US$863.1 billion in FY 2025–26.
• The India–UAE CEPA entered into force on 1 May 2022 after negotiations lasting 88 days.
• The India–Australia ECTA entered into force on 29 December 2022 and now covers zero-duty access for all Indian exports.
• e-CoO 2.0 provides digital Certificates of Origin with Aadhaar e-signatures and QR-code verification.
• A preferential Certificate of Origin shows that goods meet rules of origin for reduced or zero customs duty.

Prelims pointers

• The programme was held at the C. Subramaniam Auditorium in Pusa for agriculture and rural-development departments.
• The source records achievement of three crore Lakhpati Didis and a new target of six crore.
• Separate agricultural roadmaps were proposed for every State and district to reflect local climate, soil, water and cropping patterns.
• ICAR, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, State governments and the Department of Agricultural Research and Education were asked to take technology to farmers.
• ‘She-Marts’, branding, skill development, financial assistance and market access were identified for rural women’s enterprises.

Prelims pointers

• The awareness session was organised by the Department of Commerce with NABCB and EEPC.
• Around 100 exporters and industry stakeholders attended the session at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi.
• Technical sessions covered embedded-emissions calculation, data collection, reporting, accreditation and verification.
• Practical CBAM case studies at the session concerned the iron and steel and aluminium sectors.
• NABCB highlighted credible accreditation and verification as important for confidence in emissions-related data.

Prelims pointers

• India ranks first in coconut production and third in cultivation area, with 31.24% and 17.90% of global totals.
• Keralam leads in coconut area, Tamil Nadu in production and Andhra Pradesh in productivity.
• The Coconut Development Board, established on 12 January 1981, is headquartered in Kochi.
• For 2026, MSP is ₹12,027 per quintal for milling copra and ₹12,500 per quintal for ball copra.
• NAFED and NCCF serve as the Central Nodal Agencies for procurement of copra.

Prelims pointers

• The Yakalaspura legacy dumpsite in Raichur, Karnataka, originally extended across 35 acres.
• Scientific remediation processed 62,252 metric tonnes of waste and reclaimed nearly 22 acres.
• Plantation on the remediated land commenced on World Environment Day, 5 June 2026.
• A Miyawaki forest is being developed over approximately 5–7 acres with 60,000 planted saplings.
• The remediation was undertaken by Raichur City Corporation under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0.

Prelims pointers

• The Supreme Court directed the Centre on August 17, 2026 to survey elephant corridors nationwide and secure free passage.
• Elephants are identified as vulnerable Schedule I animals under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• The Court had prohibited fireballs, burning rods and spikes in 2018, describing such practices as barbaric and illegal.
• The three-judge Bench comprised Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.
• The proceedings arose from advocate Shibani Ghosh’s plea alleging continued use of fireballs against elephants in West Bengal.

Prelims pointers

• Parliament passed the two amendment bills on August 10, and presidential assent followed on August 17, 2026.
• The Payment and Settlement Systems Act amendment enables the government to notify which electronic payment modes or transactions remain free from MDR.
• The Taxation and Other Laws amendment replaced the June 5 ordinance concerning FPI income from investments in government securities.
• The electronics contract-manufacturing tax exemption for eligible foreign companies was extended through 2040-41.
• A 15-year exemption through 2040-41 applies to eligible foreign companies storing components in customs warehouses for Indian contract manufacturers.

Prelims pointers

• All person-to-person UPI transactions will continue to be free, according to the government clarification.
• The Section 10A amendment is an enabling provision and does not by itself impose a merchant discount rate.
• Any future MDR would apply only above a specified threshold to limited merchant transactions and would be nominal.
• The NPCI-headed UPI and Services Steering Committee would decide on any MDR under the proposed framework.
• UPI processed 2,366 crore transactions worth ₹29.9 lakh crore in July 2026 and was live in 11 foreign countries.

Prelims pointers

• The Bhitardari carbonaceous chert comes from the Singhbhum Craton, spanning parts of Jharkhand and Odisha.
• Chert is a hard, fine-grained rock made largely of silica and can preserve organic matter over immense geological time.
• Four of eight zircon crystals analysed indicated an age of 3,497 million years for volcanic ash associated with the chert.
• Zircon dating uses uranium trapped in the crystals and its decay to lead at a known rate.
• The biological interpretation combines carbon-isotope evidence with identification of degraded organic matter rather than later inorganic contamination.

Prelims pointers

• India’s crude-oil import bill increased by more than 41% year-on-year to $13.7 billion in July.
• Crude import volumes rose 13.3%, from 18.9 MMT a year earlier to 21.4 MMT.
• The Indian crude basket averaged $82.04 per barrel in July, up from $70.95 a year earlier.
• Crude imports met 88.5% of India’s total crude-oil consumption, according to provisional PPAC data.
• The net oil-and-gas import bill rose by more than 19% year-on-year to $11.2 billion.

Prelims pointers

• India Ratings projected FY27 GDP growth at 6.8%, compared with 7.6% growth in FY26.
• The agency assumed average FY27 crude oil at $85 per barrel, down from its May 2026 assumption of $95.
• India Ratings expected the rupee-dollar exchange rate to average ₹93.98 in FY27, a 6.4% year-on-year depreciation.
• Retail inflation was projected to average 4.9% in FY27, compared with 2% in FY26.
• The current account deficit was projected to widen from 0.6% of GDP in FY26 to 1.5% in FY27.

Prelims pointers

• RBI circular RBI/2026-27/235 concerns four amendments made on August 14, 2026 to the UNSC 1267/1989 ISIL and Al-Qaida sanctions list.
• The sanctions attached to the amended entries are an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo under paragraph 1 of UNSC resolution 2734 (2024).
• The four amended entries cover Amin Muhammad Ul Haq Saam Khan, Abubakar Swalleh, Hamida Nabaggala and the entity ISIL-K.
• Section 51A of the UAPA, 1967 requires regulated entities to act on UN-approved lists of persons and entities suspected of terrorist links.
• Banks must electronically forward delisting requests to the Joint Secretary (CTCR), Ministry of Home Affairs; applicants may also approach the UN Ombudsperson.

Prelims pointers

• Section 51A of UAPA, 1967 is the domestic compliance hook cited for preventing accounts in names appearing on specified UNSC terrorist-linked lists.
• RBI referred regulated entities to Chapter IX of its Know Your Customer Directions, 2025, dated November 28, 2025 and amended on December 29, 2025.
• MEA conveyed UNSC press release SC/16432 dated August 13, 2026, which amended four entries on the ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions List.
• The sanctions comprise an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo under paragraph 1 of UNSC Resolution 2734 (2024).
• The notification cites UNSC Resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015), and states that the measures were adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.