Current affairs — 31 August 2026

Prelims pointers

• Uzbekistan conferred the Oliy Darajali Do’stlik Order on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 30, 2026.
• The Uzbek order was described as Narendra Modi’s 36th honorary award from another country since 2016.
• India and Uzbekistan decided to elevate their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
• The two countries set a target of $5 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2030; current trade was stated to exceed $1 billion.
• India and Uzbekistan signed 11 agreements and agreed on a framework for long-term uranium supply in civil nuclear cooperation.

Prelims pointers

• The 2026 exercise was India's first review by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination since 2007.
• India ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1968.
• India argued that caste bias falls outside Article 1 because caste is not synonymous with race, while CERD considered inherited-status discrimination.
• CERD's concerns cited in the editorial included manual sewer cleaning, Rohingya refoulement, NRC-related citizenship loss and electoral-roll deletions.
• The editorial says India continues to implement special measures using 2011 Census data amid delayed Census and NCRB information.

Prelims pointers

• Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have notified treated-wastewater reuse policies designed for their differing geographical and community needs.
• The National Framework on Safe Reuse of Treated Water, 2022 mandates States to develop their own reuse policies.
• Treated wastewater can supply agriculture, industry, urban landscaping and ecological restoration through a reliable, drought-proof source.
• The State policies incorporate fit-for-purpose reuse, river-rejuvenation and urban-planning links, blended finance and digital monitoring.
• The national framework and the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand policies call treated water “Apna Jal” to improve public acceptance.

Prelims pointers

• The U.S. strike targeted Iranian rocket launchers near Larak Island on the Strait of Hormuz on August 30, 2026.
• A U.S. official said Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were preparing rockets and sea mines for launch into the strait.
• The U.S. military had cleared sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes during the preceding week.
• Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported that fighters and civilians were killed or wounded but provided no precise casualty toll.
• Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported the Revolutionary Guards’ pledge to respond and punish those responsible.

Prelims pointers

• Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7.
• The pact provides that an attack against one member country will be treated as an attack against all three.
• The first Strategic Political and Defence Committee meeting under the pact was scheduled in Istanbul.
• Regional-4 comprises the three defence-pact countries plus Egypt and emerged in March amid U.S.-Iran mediation efforts.
• The previous Regional-4 meeting was held on August 5 in Amman and emphasised consultation and coordination for regional stability.

Prelims pointers

• Simon Stiell is the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• The August 26 disaster followed an ice-rock avalanche caused by a glacier collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border.
• Floodwater, mud and debris damaged towns, villages, infrastructure and hydropower stations across northern and central Nepal.
• The Bhotekoshi River carried floodwaters south from the Himalayan border region on August 26.
• By August 30, Nepal’s NDRRMA reported 788 deaths and more than 2,500 people missing.

Prelims pointers

• The United States sought a G20 joint statement addressing trade and current-account imbalances.
• Bessent cited a Chinese trade surplus of $1.2 trillion and called for China to rely more on domestic consumption.
• The U.S. trade deficit with China fell by one-third year-on-year to $73.9 billion in the first half of 2026, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
• The IMF assessed China’s yuan as undervalued by as much as 21%, but Bessent questioned whether currency appreciation would be effective.
• Officials were expected to discuss possible tariff removal for about $30 billion of non-strategic, non-critical goods on each side.

Prelims pointers

• Moraines left by retreating glaciers can trap meltwater; failure of these debris barriers can release a glacial lake outburst flood.
• The Himalayas are called the Third Pole because they hold the largest store of snow and ice outside the Arctic and Antarctica.
• An ARIES-led study recorded long-term Central Himalayan increases of 2.66 ppm per year in CO₂ and 9.53 ppb per year in CH₄.
• Black carbon darkens Himalayan snow and ice, increasing sunlight absorption and accelerating glacier melt.
• Proposed monitoring combines solar-powered sensors and cameras with satellite telemetry, weather radars and GIS mapping for warning and evacuation.

Prelims pointers

• MoSPI’s experimental marine-fish asset accounts are based on the U.N. System of Environmental-Economic Accounting framework.
• Total fish production in FY 2024-25 was 19.77 million metric tonnes, with 77% from inland fisheries and 23% from the marine sector.
• India’s marine fish production rose from 34.43 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 to 46.15 lakh tonnes in 2024-25.
• The proposed method uses ten years of species-wise landing data as an initial proxy and discounts future resource rents at a proposed 2% real rate.
• A marine fish asset account combines the stock’s physical condition with its estimated economic value to track maintenance, depletion or regeneration.

Prelims pointers

• The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination based its guidance on a legally binding 1965 convention on racial discrimination.
• The committee said present treaty obligations apply to continuing structural inequalities regardless of how the original historical acts were legally characterised.
• At least 12.5 million Africans were taken and sold between the 15th and 19th centuries during the transatlantic slave trade.
• The guidance says financial compensation alone is insufficient and recommends opening archives, revising memorials and establishing independent truth commissions.
• The U.N. document may be cited in courtrooms and calls for comprehensive reparatory measures for people of African descent.

Prelims pointers

• India’s real GDP grew 7.8% in Q1 FY27, compared with 6.9% in Q1 FY26 and 8.6% in the preceding quarter.
• Nominal GDP growth was estimated at 10.3%, while real Gross Value Added growth was 8.2%.
• Manufacturing grew 9.2% in Q1 FY27, compared with 8.3% in the same quarter a year earlier.
• The tertiary sector grew 10%, while its financial, real-estate, IT and professional-services category grew 12.1%.
• Agriculture grew 3.6%, while mining and quarrying contracted 2.4% in Q1 FY27.

Prelims pointers

• Reuters found no evidence that Kharg Island had been attacked and assessed Trump’s accompanying video as most likely synthetically generated.
• Kharg Island handled 90% of Iran’s oil exports before the war launched on February 28, 2026.
• Larak Island lies in the Strait of Hormuz near the strategic Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
• The Strait of Hormuz normally carries one-fifth of global crude-oil and liquefied-natural-gas shipments.
• A U.S. official said American forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island, about 660 km east of Kharg.

Prelims pointers

• Central Railway identified Bhor Ghat and Thal Ghat as monsoon-vulnerable sections for erosion and shallow landslips.
• Vetiver grass is identified in the article by the scientific name Chrysopogon zizanioides.
• Vetiver develops a mainly vertical root system reaching three to four metres within 12 to 24 months.
• Its fibrous roots can increase soil shear resistance by approximately 30-40%, reducing shallow slope failure.
• Vetiver hedges on contour lines slow runoff, increase infiltration, trap silt and help prevent gully formation.

Prelims pointers

• The Permanent Court of Arbitration said the Indus Waters Treaty remained fully in force and applied to hydroelectric projects on Western Rivers.
• India’s MEA argued that the World Bank constituted the arbitral body in breach of the treaty and rejected its jurisdiction.
• India placed the Indus Waters Treaty ‘in abeyance’ after the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, 2025.
• The award imposed interim restrictions on concreting parts of the Ratle Hydro-Electric Plant’s dam wall and power intake.
• The Ratle restrictions were to last until 90 days after the Neutral Expert’s final decision, expected in July 2027.

Prelims pointers

• Digital India BHASHINI Division operates under Digital India Corporation in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• BHASHINI Shilpi was organised at the Embassy of India in Kathmandu on August 31, 2026.
• The session introduced participants to BHASHINI APIs, developer resources, live demonstrations and practical discussions.
• BHASHINI powers more than 800 government websites and has enabled over 9 billion cumulative AI inferences.
• The platform supports 36 Indian text languages, 23 Indian voice languages and 35 international languages.

Prelims pointers

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Bishkek.
• The leaders discussed bilateral ties and recent developments in the West Asia conflict and shared their perspectives on the evolving situation.
• India reiterated that issues connected with escalating tensions in West Asia should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
• The Prime Minister called for freedom of navigation and commerce and protection of civilians, commercial shipping and seafarers.
• India expressed readiness to cooperate with Iran in BRICS and the SCO and invited President Pezeshkian to India for the BRICS Summit.

Prelims pointers

• Total kharif area coverage as of August 28, 2026, was 1,071.10 lakh hectares, 18.91 lakh hectares below the corresponding 2025-26 figure.
• Rice covered 414.10 lakh hectares, compared with 428.46 lakh hectares in the corresponding period of the previous year, a decline of 14.36 lakh hectares.
• Pulses covered 115.05 lakh hectares, up 1.39 lakh hectares from 113.66 lakh hectares in the corresponding period of 2025-26.
• Shri Anna and coarse cereals covered 177.90 lakh hectares, a year-on-year decline of 4.21 lakh hectares.
• Jute and mesta coverage rose by 0.10 lakh hectares to 6.34 lakh hectares, while cotton coverage fell by 0.43 lakh hectares to 108.80 lakh hectares.

Prelims pointers

• ICAR-IIOR will hold the National Consultation and Industry Interface Meet in Hyderabad on September 10, 2026.
• The meet focuses on varieties and hybrids, biologicals, and biopolymer-enabled multilayer seed-coating technologies for sustainable agriculture.
• ICAR-IIOR has developed improved oilseed varieties and hybrids, biopolymer-enabled seed-enhancement technologies and microbial biopesticide formulations.
• Expected participants include seed, biopesticide and bio-input companies, technology licensees, agri-business firms, start-ups and entrepreneurs.
• The institute will explore technology transfer, licensing, public-private partnerships and large-scale deployment of its oilseed technologies.

Prelims pointers

• C-DOT unveiled 14 indigenous products covering Quantum Key Distribution and Post-Quantum Cryptography during its 43rd Foundation Day celebrations.
• Q-AKSHAY CD is a compact 1U fibre QKD system based on Coherent One Way and Differential Phase Shift protocols.
• Q-AKSHAY MD uses the Measurement Device Independent protocol and is intended to address vulnerabilities associated with measurement devices.
• Q-MAHASETU is a commercial-grade quantum-safe encryptor for Layer 2/3 networks with throughput up to 40 Gbps.
• Q-AMOGH is a Layer 1 quantum-safe optical encryptor using NIST PQC algorithms and providing throughput up to 200 Gbps.

Prelims pointers

• INS Nipun is the second Diving Support Vessel of the Nistar class and was commissioned at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, on August 31, 2026.
• Hindustan Shipyard Limited at Visakhapatnam indigenously designed and constructed INS Nipun.
• The vessel supports saturation, air and heliox diving and carries remotely operated underwater systems for inspection and intervention.
• Its specialised diving complex, dynamic positioning, life-support and medical facilities enable sustained and complex operations at sea.
• INS Nipun can support submarine rescue, underwater salvage and HADR missions and will be based on the West Coast under Western Naval Command.

Prelims pointers

• Mission Rangeen Machhli 2031 is a Strategic Action Plan for Ornamental Fisheries Development released at Agatti.
• Lakshadweep's fisheries potential exceeds one lakh tonnes, including about 94,000 tonnes of tuna and tuna-like species.
• Lakshadweep has been notified as a Seaweed Cluster, and a Seaweed Bank was approved with ICAR-CMFRI.
• The release reports 575 promoted seaweed cultivation units, three PMMSY-approved ornamental-fish rearing units and 19 PMMSY-sanctioned recreational-fishing units in Lakshadweep.
• The offshore framework includes the EEZ Rules, 2025 and Guidelines for High Seas fishing by Indian-flagged vessels, 2025.

Prelims pointers

• NIPL and Uzbekistan's NIPC signed their commercial agreement on August 30, 2026.
• NIPL is NPCI's international arm, while NIPC operates Uzbekistan's national payment system, HUMO.
• Indian travellers can scan Uzbekistan's interoperable UZQR code with UPI-enabled applications for instant merchant payments.
• RBI and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan approved the arrangement, and the latter designated HUMO as NIPL's authorised partner.
• The release lists UPI acceptance in Singapore, UAE, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Greece.

Prelims pointers

• Total Union government receipts through July 2026 were ₹13,06,709 crore, or 35.8% of the corresponding 2026-27 Budget Estimate.
• Receipts included ₹8,44,560 crore in net tax revenue, ₹4,23,013 crore in non-tax revenue and ₹39,136 crore in non-debt capital receipts.
• Tax devolution to State governments was ₹3,72,354 crore, which was ₹56,190 crore lower than in the previous year.
• Total expenditure was ₹17,61,853 crore: ₹13,11,218 crore on revenue account and ₹4,50,635 crore on capital account.
• Revenue expenditure included ₹4,26,566 crore of interest payments and ₹1,53,513 crore of major subsidies.

Prelims pointers

• The fourth Indo-German Environment Forum is scheduled in New Delhi on September 1, 2026.
• The forum's theme is 'Together For More Resilience', and it will be co-chaired by Bhupender Yadav and Carsten Schneider.
• The Indo-German Environment Forum is the highest-level bilateral environmental-policy forum and has been held since 2008.
• Sessions will cover low-carbon industries, biodiversity, circular economy, sustainable finance, green skills and investment mobilisation.
• Three joint working groups on climate change, biodiversity and circular economy met ahead of the forum during 2026.

Prelims pointers

• Semicon 2.0 operates through six pillars covering ten categories across the semiconductor value chain.
• The six pillars are Design; Machines and Materials; more Fabs; ATMP/OSAT; Research and Development; and Talent Development.
• India Semiconductor Mission is the nodal agency for applications, appraisal, recommendations and implementation oversight.
• Projects under Semicon 2.0 will generally last up to six years, while applications will initially remain open for three years.
• The minister said 85,000 semiconductor engineers were developed in four years and set a target of one lakh more.

Prelims pointers

• Section 42(3)(c) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 prohibits tampering with telecommunication identifiers, including handset IMEI numbers.
• Section 42(3)(e) prohibits obtaining SIMs or telecommunication identifiers through fraud, cheating or impersonation.
• Violations may attract up to three years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to ₹50 lakh, or both; Section 42(7) makes the offences cognizable and non-bailable.
• Under Section 42(6), a person who abets or promotes the covered offences is liable to the same punishment.
• Sanchar Saathi allows citizens to verify handset IMEI-linked brand, model and manufacturer information and access services to secure devices and connections.

Prelims pointers

• The proposed Future Circular Collider is envisaged as a 91-km ring and could be operational during 2045–48.
• The FCC had not been approved, and CERN expected a decision on the proposal by 2028, according to Mark Thomson.
• The 27-km Large Hadron Collider accelerates two subatomic-particle beams to near light speed and collides them.
• The LHC was officially shut down on June 29, 2026, and was scheduled to remain completely offline until 2030.
• The High-Luminosity LHC is planned to have ten times the brightness of the existing Large Hadron Collider.

Prelims pointers

• BSR-1 covers scheduled commercial banks excluding regional rural banks and uses account-level credit reporting.
• Bank credit growth accelerated to 16.5% at end-June 2026 from 9.9% a year earlier.
• Private-corporate bank borrowings grew 21.1% at end-June 2026, up from 7.9% in the previous year.
• Term loans comprised 64.1% of total bank credit and grew 15.4% in June 2026.
• The WALR on outstanding credit eased by 45 basis points to 9.26% from 9.71% a year earlier.

Prelims pointers

• The release used data from 41 selected SCBs accounting for about 95% of total non-food credit by all SCBs.
• Non-food bank credit grew 19.1% year-on-year by July 31, 2026, compared with 9.9% a year earlier.
• Credit to agriculture and allied activities grew 17.0%, against 7.3% in the corresponding previous-year fortnight.
• Credit to industry grew 20.0% year-on-year, compared with 6.5% in the corresponding period a year earlier.
• Services credit grew 22.9%, supported by NBFCs, trade and commercial real estate.

Prelims pointers

• The 2025-26 survey covered 53 Indian mutual funds and their asset management companies.
• Mutual funds’ foreign liabilities rose 3.3% year-on-year to US$31.5 billion at end-March 2026.
• Mutual funds’ overseas assets rose 23.9% to US$10.2 billion at end-March 2026.
• Net foreign liabilities of mutual funds declined to US$21.3 billion from US$22.3 billion a year earlier.
• Overseas equity investment by mutual funds increased 37.5% and was mainly held in the United States, Luxembourg and Ireland.

Prelims pointers

• India’s services exports were US$38,253 million in July 2026, with 13.4% year-on-year growth.
• India’s services imports were US$20,606 million in July 2026, with 19.1% year-on-year growth.
• June 2026 recorded service exports of US$36,371 million and imports of US$18,477 million.
• May 2026 recorded service exports of US$33,355 million and imports of US$17,637 million.
• The April-July data were provisional, and parenthetical growth rates were revised using balance-of-payments statistics.

Prelims pointers

• The reported Ramon Magsaysay Award winners were Tommy Koh of Singapore, Bo Kyi of Myanmar and Runa Khan of Bangladesh.
• Tommy Koh presided over a U.N. conference of more than 150 countries that adopted UNCLOS in 1982.
• The awards body called UNCLOS a ‘constitution for the oceans’ defining territorial waters, economic rights and dispute mechanisms.
• Bo Kyi helped organise the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners with fellow former prisoners in March 2000.
• Runa Khan founded Friendship Bangladesh in 2002 after beginning work as a teacher to poor children in 1979.

Prelims pointers

• The data cover scheduled commercial banks but exclude regional rural banks and small finance banks.
• The WALR on outstanding rupee loans was 8.97% in July 2026, compared with 8.96% in June.
• The WALR on fresh rupee loans declined to 8.52% in July 2026 from 8.53% in June.
• The one-year median MCLR rose to 8.70% in August 2026 from 8.60% in July.
• The WADTDR on fresh rupee term deposits fell to 5.90% in July 2026 from 5.99% in June.