Current affairs — 27 August 2026

Prelims pointers

• Karnataka plans a special legislature session to pass a resolution against the Centre’s draft notification linked to the Kasturirangan report.
• The Karnataka Cabinet had earlier rejected the Kasturirangan report in September 2024.
• The Chief Minister said implementation could affect livelihoods and farming in 1,449 villages across 33 taluks and 10 districts.
• The area that Karnataka said would be affected by the draft notification spans 20,668 square kilometres.
• Ground reports on rainfall failure and drought conditions had been completed for 102 taluks before the planned drought declaration.

Prelims pointers

• Wetlands, including urban lakes, cover nearly 6% of Earth’s surface and can store more carbon per unit area than terrestrial forests.
• CAG reports flagged large-scale shrinkage affecting more than 500 lakes in Jammu and Kashmir since 1967.
• Hyderabad lost roughly 61% of its lake area since 1979, while 268 water bodies disappeared during 2002–2012 in one study.
• HYDRAA stands for the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency, an agency in Telangana.
• Restoring feeder channels and hydrological flows increased Nalla Cheruvu’s water spread from 16 acres to 30 acres.

Prelims pointers

• The latest meeting was the 25th round of Special Representatives’ talks between India and China on the boundary question.
• The eight-point consensus called for advancing talks on an early and substantial harvest of boundary delimitation.
• An expert-level mechanism on trans-border rivers was to meet the following month, with communication on hydrological-data sharing continuing.
• The two sides agreed to add two military-commander meeting points and two hotline channels in the Eastern and Middle Sectors.
• Article 10 of the 2005 Political Parameters and Guiding Principles agreement links boundary delineation to an agreed framework.

Prelims pointers

• India shares 15,106.7 km of land borders with seven countries, according to the article.
• The 3,488-km China border remains un-demarcated at several points from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
• The smart-border platform would integrate AI, cameras, sensors, image-processing tools, drones and command centres.
• The four-pronged border strategy comprises border guarding forces, local populations, State police and technological solutions.
• The July 9 conference included SPs from 119 border districts across 17 States and Union Territories.

Prelims pointers

• The U.S. national emergency over foreign grid equipment was declared by President Donald Trump on August 26, 2026.
• The executive order restricts buying, importing or installing certain foreign-made equipment in the bulk-power system.
• The bulk-power system comprises high-voltage lines, substations and power plants that transmit electricity across the country.
• The order warned that hidden software backdoors could allow a foreign government to control or shut down grid equipment.
• The United States previously urged allies to exclude Huawei and ZTE from mobile networks; both were later regulator-blacklisted.

Prelims pointers

• USGS concluded that the seismic signal came from a glacial collapse and debris flow rather than an earthquake.
• The event occurred near the Nepal-China border at 8:37 a.m. local time on August 26, 2026.
• The seismic activity was initially reported as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake.
• USGS used nearby seismic stations, long-period seismic waves and satellite imagery in its additional analysis.
• At least 160 people were reported killed by water and debris on both sides of the Nepal-Tibet border.

Prelims pointers

• Gangaichthys indonepalicus is the first recorded subterranean eel-like fish from the Gangetic Basin.
• The fish is no more than 4 cm long, with skin-covered eyes, a translucent body and no body pigmentation.
• Scientists manually sampled more than 15 borewells and collected three specimens from two borewells in Bihar.
• The first specimen emerged after 2,000 litres of groundwater were pumped; a second live specimen appeared after another 500 litres.
• The new species was reported in ZooKeys and differs from Chaudhuriidae earthworm eels in pigmentation, eye size and apparent rib absence.

Prelims pointers

• The photographed insect was identified as the spoon-tailed duskhawker, scientifically named Gynacantha basiguttata.
• The male dragonfly was photographed in October 2024 on the Miao-Vijaynagar Road inside Namdapha Tiger Reserve.
• A five-member research team worked on dragonflies in the 1,985-square-kilometre Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve.
• Visible features included a black T-shaped mark on the frons and narrow expanded, spoon-like cerci.
• No physical specimen was collected because of forest regulations and the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022.

Prelims pointers

• The debris-laden flood travelled more than 170 kilometres down the Bhote Koshi River valley in Nepal.
• Seismic energy from the landslide was initially interpreted on seismographs as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake.
• Early estimates suggested that the debris wave near Gyirong Port may have reached about 30 metres in height.
• Permafrost contains rock, soil and ice that has remained at or below 0°C for many years.
• Early-warning systems can monitor rising river levels, intense rainfall and seismic waves to alert authorities.

Prelims pointers

• Qatar said its Tehran talks addressed de-escalation and a proposed Hormuz framework between Iran and Oman.
• War between Iran and the United States was reported to have begun on February 28, 2026.
• Iran’s Vice-President said the U.S. naval blockade prevented petrol imports needed to cover a domestic shortfall.
• Iran and Oman discussed a temporary shipping corridor and clearance of mines allegedly laid during the war.
• Tehran linked reopening Hormuz to ending the blockade, unfreezing assets abroad and removing oil sanctions.

Prelims pointers

• The law of armed conflict protects civilians, medical personnel, wounded troops and prisoners of war.
• Grave breaches include wilful killing and extensive property destruction not justified by military necessity.
• Deliberately targeting civilians, using human shields and taking hostages are identified as war crimes.
• Command responsibility can apply when commanders knew or could have known about crimes and failed to prevent them.
• The article identifies international, hybrid, multistate and national proceedings as four possible paths to justice.

Prelims pointers

• Ratko Mladic was the former Bosnian Serb military chief during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.
• Forces under his command executed 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
• The Bosnian war left around 100,000 people dead and displaced approximately 2.2 million people.
• The ICTY indicted Mladic in November 1995, but he evaded capture for another 16 years.
• Mladic was convicted in 2017, and his life sentence was upheld on appeal in 2021.

Prelims pointers

• The first leg is an August 29-30 State visit to Tashkent at the invitation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
• The Uzbekistan talks are expected to cover trade, defence, digital connectivity, energy, education and people-to-people ties.
• Prime Minister Modi is to attend the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek.
• India’s stated SCO priorities for the summit are security, connectivity and opportunity.
• The summit marks the SCO’s 25th anniversary, and India has been a full member since 2017.

Prelims pointers

• The AMCA bid-submission deadline was extended from August 27 to October 30, 2026.
• Under the revised schedule, bids must be submitted by 3 p.m. and are to be opened on October 31.
• The Aeronautical Development Agency issued the corrigendum after prospective bidders requested more preparation time.
• Named bidders include L&T-BEL, Tata Advanced Systems, and Bharat Forge in partnership with BEML.
• The AMCA programme targets an indigenous fifth-generation fighter with stealth, sensor fusion and network-centric capabilities.

Prelims pointers

• Microsoft is part of a consortium planning the 3,600-km India-Southeast Asia Submarine Cable System, or I-2SEA.
• Google’s America-India Connect cable is planned to land at Visakhapatnam alongside its data-centre complex.
• The proposed Andhra Pradesh gateway would follow Mumbai and Chennai as India’s third international subsea gateway.
• I-2SEA is expected to be ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2029 and also connects to Chennai.
• Google said its Visakhapatnam facility would initially focus on inference for domestic enterprises and government agencies.

Prelims pointers

• Warangal police detained Muddangula Aditya under the Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1986.
• Police accused the detainee of involvement in four crimes concerning the supply of fake insecticides to farmers.
• The petitioner argued that the cases did not satisfy Section 2(a) and raised only a law-and-order issue.
• Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and Renuka Yara dismissed the writ petition challenging the detention.
• The bench said spurious insecticides can harm agricultural production and have wider social implications.

Prelims pointers

• The Trump administration launched a six-month review in July of United States military deployments in Europe.
• The Pentagon has about 80,000 United States troops stationed in Europe.
• Washington asked European countries to report progress toward taking the lead in protecting their continent.
• The force-posture discussions include access, basing and overflight arrangements for United States forces.
• European countries agreed in 2025 to devote 5% of GDP to security-related spending by 2035.

Prelims pointers

• The United States designated Palestine Action, Autistici/Inventati and Masar Badil as terrorist organisations on August 26, 2026.
• Palestine Action is based in the United Kingdom, was founded in 2020 and is appealing the British government’s ban.
• Autistici/Inventati is an Italy-based group also known as the A/I Collective.
• U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggot described all three designated entities as violent far-left terrorist groups.
• Palestine Action became more visible after Israel’s Gaza campaign following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

Prelims pointers

• Water security is one of four thematic focus areas under the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025.
• JJM 2.0 was approved on 10 March 2026 and prioritises source sustainability, recharge and greywater management.
• SBM-G 2.0 focuses on scientific management of solid and liquid waste for sanitation and public health.
• Convergent works are to be registered and geo-tagged on the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack.
• States and UTs were asked to use Yuktdhara, water budgeting and hydrogeological assessments for planning.

Prelims pointers

• PM SVANidhi began on 1 June 2020 as a collateral-free working-capital loan scheme for urban street vendors.
• The restructured scheme extends lending through 31 March 2030 and targets 1.15 crore vendors.
• In the first restructured year, 21.86 lakh loans worth ₹6,294 crore reached 10.56 lakh new beneficiaries.
• Eligible vendors can receive a UPI-linked RuPay Credit Card with a limit up to ₹30,000.
• The Vendor Migration Module preserves scheme continuity when vendors move between ULBs and Census Towns.

Prelims pointers

• A gap analysis classified 613 district hospitals into three phases for emergency and trauma-care strengthening.
• Phase I covers 160 district hospitals targeted for strengthening by March 2027.
• The allied-health initiative aims to add one lakh professionals across ten disciplines over five years.
• NSQF-aligned training is planned for 1.5 lakh multiskilled caregivers, and initial batches have begun training.
• Biopharma SHAKTI is proposed at ₹500 crore with a network of more than 1,000 accredited clinical-trial sites.

Prelims pointers

• PMJDY was launched on 28 August 2014 as the National Mission on Financial Inclusion.
• As of 19 August 2026, PMJDY had 59.09 crore accounts with deposits of ₹3,16,514 crore.
• Women held 55.7% of accounts, while 77.8% of accounts were in rural and semi-urban areas.
• A PMJDY account requires no minimum balance and includes a free RuPay card with ₹2 lakh accident cover.
• Eligible account holders can receive an overdraft facility of up to ₹10,000.

Prelims pointers

• The snow leopard roundtable was held on 26 August 2026 at the A.N. Severtsov Institute in Moscow.
• The meeting was organised under an Irbis–International Big Cat Alliance agreement signed in December 2025.
• Wildlife Institute of India officials highlighted population estimation, radio telemetry and genetic analysis.
• India’s delegation was from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• The meeting focused on knowledge exchange and cooperation in snow leopard research, monitoring and conservation.

Prelims pointers

• The ₹472 crore Vehicle Factory Jabalpur project will overhaul T-72 and T-90 tanks.
• The new Jabalpur facilities are designed to overhaul 80 tanks every year.
• The Army needs 230 tank overhauls annually, while Heavy Vehicles Factory Avadi can currently overhaul 150.
• AVNL was stated to have 25 years of experience in overhauling T-72 and T-90 tank variants.
• The project is expected to create MSME demand for mechanical, electrical, electronic and hydraulic components.

Prelims pointers

• The 2026 approved summer moong procurement quantity for Madhya Pradesh was 5,39,072 metric tonnes.
• Actual 2026 procurement reached 5.33 lakh metric tonnes and remained within the approved ceiling.
• NAFED and NCCF carried out most procurement operations, with emphasis on transparency and timely farmer payments.
• The WINDS system had not yet been rolled out in Madhya Pradesh despite its importance for effective RWBCIS implementation.
• Crop Cutting Experiments were recommended for ground-truthing and recalibrating technology-based yield models.

Prelims pointers

• ECI held its third regional conference on ELC 2.0 and ECINet in Chennai for participants from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
• ELC 2.0 uses the tagline “Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy.” and targets schools, colleges and universities.
• ECINet was described as a digital platform providing election-related services from roll to poll.
• India’s educational ecosystem was stated to include about 15 lakh schools and nearly 25 crore students.
• The release reported 4.93 crore votes and 86.03% turnout in Tamil Nadu’s recently concluded Assembly election.

Prelims pointers

• The visit included engagements in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka with leaders of more than 30 Japanese companies and financial institutions.
• India projected domestic semiconductor demand to reach USD 150 billion by 2032.
• The six-pillar semiconductor strategy includes design, machinery and materials, fabrication, ATMP/OSAT, R&D and talent.
• More than 80 companies from Japan’s Chubu region participated in the Nagoya economic-partnership roadshow.
• The two sides are advancing a target of JPY 10 trillion in Japanese private investment in India over the next decade.

Prelims pointers

• Buffer onions are being sold at ₹35 per kilogram through retail outlets and mobile points across Delhi-NCR.
• In 2024–25, Kanda Express moved nearly 12,000 metric tonnes through 14 railway rakes to five cities.
• In 2025–26, 86 railway rakes transported around 88,000 metric tonnes of onions to 16 cities.
• The ongoing onion intervention uses both railway and road networks for movement.
• The Central Warehousing Corporation supports scientific storage and efficient distribution of buffer onions.

Prelims pointers

• Samarthak was delivered to the Indian Navy on 27 August 2026 by Larsen & Toubro’s Kattupalli facility.
• The ship is the first Multi-Purpose Vessel described in the release and has over 75% indigenous content.
• Samarthak was conceived as a versatile platform for trial and evaluation activities.
• Its roles include maritime surveillance, reconnaissance, offshore patrolling and support for HADR operations.
• The name Samarthak means “The Proponent” and signifies a dependable enabler for multiple missions.

Prelims pointers

• BRESE 2026 is scheduled at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi from 2 to 5 November 2026.
• It combines the BRE Summit, ISA’s ninth General Assembly and the fourth Green Hydrogen conference.
• India’s installed non-fossil-fuel capacity was reported at approximately 302–303 GW.
• Solar capacity increased from 2.8 GW to 165 GW over the reported twelve-year period.
• More than ₹30 lakh crore of investment was estimated as necessary to reach 500 GW by 2030.

Prelims pointers

• National Sports Day falls on 29 August, and the address linked the occasion with remembering Major Dhyan Chand.
• India participated in only 13 sports at the 2012 Olympics and had no participation in more than 20 sports.
• A talent hunt for preparation toward the 2036 Olympics is intended to identify players between five and fifteen years of age.
• The address cited surfing and sports climbing while discussing India’s geographic potential for less-developed sporting disciplines.
• Khelo India Samvad was described as a dialogue platform whose youth suggestions can feed into the policy process.

Prelims pointers

• Vice Admiral Damian Fernando’s official visit to India was scheduled from 26 to 29 August 2026.
• The visit was his maiden official visit after taking over as Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy.
• He discussed joint operations, capacity building, training and maritime security with Admiral Krishna Swaminathan.
• The programme included a Kochi visit to naval training establishments and Headquarters Southern Naval Command.
• The release linked closer India–Sri Lanka naval engagement with greater stability in the Indian Ocean Region.

Prelims pointers

• Gujarat Gaurav Sarovar in Amreli spans 21 acres and can store 400 million litres of water.
• The reservoir was constructed by the Harikrishna Group and the Dholakia Foundation.
• Its stated functions include agricultural and drinking-water availability and groundwater conservation.
• SAUNI channels surplus water into dams and rivers in Saurashtra, according to the release.
• About 10,000 ponds in north and central Gujarat were stated to be storing water from the Narmada River.

Prelims pointers

• The President made the appointments through power conferred by the Constitution of India.
• The appointments were announced after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
• All three persons named in the release were identified as judicial officers.
• Chirag Bhanu was appointed as a Judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
• Bhupesh Sharma and Yogesh Jaswal were appointed as Additional Judges of that High Court.

Prelims pointers

• The RBI dataset covered 3,247 listed non-government non-financial companies for Q1:2026-27.
• Aggregate sales growth accelerated to 19.4% year-on-year from 13.9% in the previous quarter.
• Sales of 1,827 listed manufacturing companies grew 21.4%, led mainly by automobiles, petroleum and electrical machinery.
• Manufacturing raw-material expenses rose 27.5%, while the raw-material-to-sales ratio eased to 58.1%.
• Manufacturing companies’ interest-coverage ratio improved to 10.2 during Q1:2026-27.

Prelims pointers

• Ceuta is a Spanish enclave in North Africa covering only 18 square kilometres.
• More than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco in late July by swimming or crossing on foot.
• Spain estimated that 3,500 to 7,000 migrants remained, while Ceuta’s leaders estimated at least 10,000.
• Spain approved €25 million in additional funding to care for unaccompanied minors with special legal protections.
• The Spanish Cabinet created a single command for Ceuta led by Territorial Policy Minister Angel Victor Torres.

Prelims pointers

• The 25th Round of India-China Special Representatives talks was held in Beijing on August 25, 2026.
• The talks involved India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
• The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination and local commander-level meetings were named as channels for handling ground situations.
• The 1996 confidence-building agreement called for a common understanding and faster clarification and confirmation of the LAC.
• India and China exchanged LAC-perception maps in the Middle Sector, but the process stalled in the Western Sector.