Monthly current affairs for August 2026

Alka Nangia Arora has assumed charge as the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA). She succeeds Anugraha Narayana Das.

The 2nd meeting of the BRICS Science Academies Forum 2026 was held at the IIT Hyderabad under the theme "Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development and Strengthening Global South Cooperation".

Additionally, India hosted the BRICS Ministers of Interior Meeting in New Delhi.

India secured the 3rd position with a total of 4 medals, including 1 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup, held at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China.

Esha Singh has won the gold medal in the Women's 25m Pistol event. China topped the medal tally with 18 medals (7 gold), followed by the USA.

The 5th and final ship of the Diving Support Craft (DSC) Project, named 'DSC A24', has been launched in Titagarh, Kolkata. The vessel is constructed by Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd (TRSL).

It features a catamaran-hull design with a displacement of 300-400 tonnes. It is to be noted that 70% of the equipment used in these vessels is sourced from indigenous manufacturers.

The Government of India has approved the RBI proposal to conduct field trials of polymer banknotes in ₹10 and ₹20 denominations. The trial involves introducing 100 crore banknotes of each denomination, amounting to a total value of ₹3,000 crore.

This proposal was submitted by the RBI, upon the recommendation of its Central Board, in accordance with Section 25 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. It is to be noted that polymer banknotes are printed on non-fibrous and non-porous polymer material.

According to the “BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026” released by the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), India has emerged as the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers, with 3.1 lakh professionals accounting for 12.16% of the global workforce.

The Philippines ranks top in seafarer supply, followed by India, China, Russia, and Indonesia.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications has signed an MoU with the Madhya Pradesh government to establish India's first Telecom Manufacturing Zone (TMZ) Phase-I in Gwalior. The agreement was signed at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

A Special Purpose Company (SPC) will be established to implement the project, which is designed on a 'plug-and-play' system.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) celebrated its 20th Foundation Day at Prithvi Bhawan in New Delhi, presided over by Dr. N Kalaiselvi, MoES Secretary. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) established 13 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for specialized meteorological research and upgraded the Thiruvananthapuram Cyclone Warning Centre into an Area Cyclone Warning Centre (ACWC).

It also launched ‘IMD NOVA’ for thunderstorm nowcast monitoring and signed an MoU with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research–National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR-NIVEDI) to establish the 'Weather Driven Animal Disease Risk Forecasting Unit (WAADRU)' for district-level livestock disease forecasting.

The National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) introduced the ‘WINGS’ mobile application for numerical weather prediction and real-time analysis, launched the National Doppler Weather Radar Reflectivity Mosaic to monitor severe weather, and upgraded its Open Data Portal.

The National Centre for Seismology (NCS) released the ‘Compendium of Monthly Seismological Bulletins’ for 2023 and 2024, and the ‘Strong Motion Atlas of India (2010–2020)’ for earthquake engineering and hazard assessment.

The Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) released taxonomic manuals covering 100 Tintinnid ciliate species and 225 seamount-associated species, and issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the collection, preservation, and analysis of marine biological samples.

PM Narendra Modi has launched the 'Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan', a 100-week nationwide campaign to eradicate substance abuse among the youth.

The initiative includes a 'Jan Bhagidari' (people participation) drive to engage the community. To raise awareness, the campaign will conduct weekly activities every Sunday, such as sports, meditation, and cultural events.

The National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) has launched a mutual fund (MF) transaction platform named 'NCDEX Nidhi'.

The platform aims to increase MF penetration in rural and semi-rural India by leveraging its network of 800 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and certified local MF distributors. It has initially onboarded 6 Asset Management Companies (AMCs).

Eroute Technologies Pvt Ltd has launched India's first 'Flexi Benefits Basket' on the UPI via its OmniCard platform.

It is an employee-controlled digital wallet designed for tax-efficient spending across multiple benefit categories. The platform is built on a RBI-licensed Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) infrastructure and is accepted at 60 million UPI-enabled merchant outlets.

Vice Admiral AN Pramod has assumed charge as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, succeeding Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti.

In other event, Air Marshal Tejpal Singh has assumed the appointment of Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, succeeding Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti.

SpaceX has successfully completed the 13th integrated test flight of its Starship launch system from Starbase, Texas, USA. The mission, marking the second test flight of Starship Version 3 (V3), involved the first-ever deployment of 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites.

The launch system concluded the flight with a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. It is to be noted that the NASA monitored the mission to evaluate its suitability for future 'Artemis' lunar missions.

The Tripura govt has signed 3 MoUs with the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) to promote financial literacy, skill development, entrepreneurship, and investment awareness in the state.

Hyderabad-based VIYONA Fintech, a fintech infrastructure startup, has received approval from the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), now rebranded as Bharat Connect, to operate as a Customer Operating Unit (COU).

This authorization enables the startup to provide interoperable digital bill payment services across India.