Current Affairs Questions with Answers

GRSE launched the second NGOPV ‘Shruti’ (Yard 3037) for the Indian Navy in Kolkata on August 11, 2026; a total of 11 NGOPVs are being built for the Navy. This project is significant for strengthening maritime domain awareness, maritime security, *Atmanirbhar Bharat* (Self-Reliant India), and indigenous defense production.

Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran will not seek a second term after completing his current tenure on February 20, 2027, and has requested the initiation of a succession process to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Chandrasekaran, who joined the Tata Group in 1987, became the CEO and MD of TCS in 2009 and the Chairman of Tata Sons in 2017; this development is significant for corporate governance and succession planning.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the autobiography of former President Ram Nath Kovind, titled "Bharatiya Ganrajya ki Vijay: Mera Jeevan, Mera Sangharsh" (Victory of the Indian Republic: My Life, My Struggle), on August 12, 2026, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi; the book chronicles his journey of struggle, education, and public service. Kovind, who served as India's 14th President, exemplifies social harmony and equal opportunity; after his presidency, he chaired the high-level committee on 'One Nation, One Election'.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi has announced that it will honor a total of 115 artists—comprising 7 Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna) and 108 Akademi Awardees—for the years 2024 and 2025. Operating under the Ministry of Culture, this national academy preserves music, dance, theatre, and folk and tribal arts; its awards have been conferred since 1952.

Indian participants performed exceptionally well at the 23rd International Linguistics Olympiad held in Bucharest, Romania, from July 26 to August 2, 2026; India has been participating in this event since 2009. The IOL tests logical and analytical abilities based on linguistic patterns and structures, and is related to AI, NLP, machine translation, and computational linguistics.

South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia will host the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2027, featuring 14 teams; South Africa and Zimbabwe have received automatic entry. As an Associate Member, Namibia does not qualify automatically, while the remaining 4 spots will be decided through the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

The objective of World Organ Donation Day is to raise awareness about organ donation and encourage organ transplantation for patients in need, thereby saving lives through the transplantation of organs such as the heart, kidney, liver, and lungs. Key challenges regarding organ donation in India include a lack of awareness, social misconceptions, medical infrastructure issues, and organ transportation logistics, while THOTA (1994) and NOTTO provide the legal and institutional framework for it.

The objective of Uttar Pradesh's 'Mukhyamantri Khet Suraksha Yojana' is to provide government assistance to farmers for solar-powered electric fencing to protect crops from stray animals, nilgai (blue bulls), and wild boars. The scheme promotes crop protection, farmers' income, agricultural productivity, renewable energy, and agricultural technology, and is implemented by the Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Department.

The Government of India added 11 new international ports of entry for foreign nationals holding e-visas, comprising 9 land ports and 2 airports. This brings the total number of authorized ports of entry for e-visas in India to 88—37 airports, 38 seaports, and 13 land ports—thereby boosting tourism and regional connectivity.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the NSP-DBT initiative for agriculture students, under which scholarships worth ₹21.35 crore were transferred directly to the bank accounts of over 6,000 students. The new system emphasizes practical training in agricultural education while strengthening digital governance, financial inclusion, and targeted welfare delivery through monthly scholarship payments.

The Karnataka government has challenged the High Court's verdict of January 23, 2026, in the Supreme Court; that verdict had paved the way for bike taxi operations by allowing motorcycles to be registered as 'transport vehicles'. The matter involves balancing Article 19(1)(g), the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, passenger safety, insurance, permits, and the gig economy.

Parliament passed the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026, which will replace the 1891 Act and recognize bank records stored in electronic, digital, cloud, and backup formats as legal evidence in court. The Bill includes provisions for a standardized authentication procedure, digital/electronic signatures, and the reduction of unnecessary court appearances by bank officials.

Indian theoretical physicist Deepak Dhar was awarded the 2026 Dirac Medal for his contributions to statistical mechanics, complex systems, and AI; his major contributions lie in the study of the Sandpile Model and Self-Organized Criticality. The Dirac Medal was established by ICTP in 1985, and Deepak Dhar has previously been honored with the Boltzmann Medal in 2022 and the Padma Bhushan in 2023.

Dr. Srinivas Kumar Tummala is a renowned oceanographer who made significant contributions to strengthening UNESCO-IOC's IOTWMS and India's Tsunami Early Warning System. He has served as the Director of INCOIS since August 2020 and has received the 2008 Indian National Geospatial Award and the 2010 National Geosciences Award for his contributions to Remote Sensing, Satellite Oceanography, and Disaster Risk Reduction.

World Elephant Day is observed annually on August 12; India is home to approximately 60% of the world's wild Asian elephant population, and the elephant holds the status of National Heritage Animal. India's 'Project Elephant' was launched in 1992 with the aim of conserving elephant habitats and corridors and mitigating human-elephant conflict; key challenges include habitat fragmentation, railway accidents, and poaching.

International Youth Day is observed annually on August 12; the theme for 2026 is “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development,” which focuses on the role of youth in digital technology and sustainable development. India's youth form the foundation of its demographic dividend; through education, skills, employment, and digital opportunities, they can make significant contributions toward achieving SDGs 4, 5, 8, 9, and 13.

Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated ‘Prakriti Gyan Dham’ in Lucknow, developed by CSIR-NBRI; it will serve as a ‘Live Laboratory’ for the experiential study of biodiversity and ecology. Its key attractions include the PAaVan Path, an Indian Heritage Garden, QR code-based education, and the ‘Bamboostium’ featuring 43 bamboo species, all focusing on sustainable development and green livelihoods.

Amit Shah launched ‘Bank in a Box’ and a 24×7 Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Mumbai, aimed at providing modern digital banking and cybersecurity facilities to Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs). NUCFDC has been designated as the Umbrella Organisation for UCBs; out of approximately 1,400 UCBs, 650 are members, it has achieved a capitalization of ₹306 crore, and its headquarters will be shifted from Delhi to Maharashtra.

The e-Samudra integrated platform has been developed to digitize India's maritime administration, featuring facilities such as single-window services, online payments, digital certificates, and real-time tracking. It promotes the digitization and modernization of the maritime sector under 'Maritime India Vision 2030' and 'Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047' while simplifying seafarer-centric services.

The Government of India clarified that no charges would be levied on UPI users or P2P transactions, noting that the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI is currently zero. If MDR is implemented in the future, it may be limited to select merchant transactions and those exceeding a specified limit, in order to develop a sustainable revenue model for digital payments.