Monthly current affairs for August 2026

Bajrang Setu, North India's first glass suspension bridge, has been constructed in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, over the Ganga River.

Replacing the iconic Lakshman Jhula, the 132-meter-long bridge connects Tapovan in Tehri Garhwal and Jonk in Pauri Garhwal.

The Odisha government has signed a tripartite agreement with Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to implement the amended BharatNet programme in the state. The project has an outlay of ₹3,384.8 crore.

Additionally, the state government has also signed an MoU with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) to collaborate in the field of emerging technologies.

Vice Admiral Manish Chadha has assumed charge as the Director General Naval Operations (DGNO).

He succeeds Vice Admiral AN Pramod.

Willie Walsh has assumed charge as the CEO of IndiGo. He succeeds Pieter Elbers.

Prior to this, he served as the Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Dnyandeo Yashwantrao (DY) Patil, a veteran Congress leader, educationist, and former Governor of Tripura and Bihar, passed away at the age of 90.

He also held additional charge as the Governor of West Bengal and was a recipient of the Padma Shri in 1991.

Glen Hansard, an Irish singer-songwriter and actor, passed away at the age of 56.

He was the founder of the Irish rock band 'The Frames'. He, along with Marketa Irglova, won the 80th Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Original Song in 2008 for the track "Falling Slowly" from the 2007 film 'Once'.

Nirmal Purja, a renowned Nepali-British mountaineer, passed away at the age of 43.

In 2019, he completed 'Project Possible 14/7', becoming the first person to climb all 14 of the world's eight-thousanders. He also holds the record as the first individual to summit Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu within a 48-hour timeframe.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia has released a commemorative postage stamp worth ₹5 at Bikaner House, New Delhi, to mark the birth centenary of Satish Gujral.

The stamp, issued by the Department of Posts (DoP), honours his outstanding contributions to Indian art, architecture, and culture. The stamp was designed by Anuj Kumar, based on a proposal by Raseel Gujral Ansal. It is to be noted that Satish Gujral was a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, awarded in 1999.

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has launched India’s first sovereign-backed Protection & Indemnity (P&I) insurance product under the Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMIP) in New Delhi.

The insurance product provides third-party liability coverage of up to $1.5 billion.

The RBI has deferred the implementation of the revised Basel Pillar III disclosure framework for banks by 6 months, setting the new effective date for April 1, 2027. The decision was taken in response to implementation challenges raised by stakeholders.

The revised framework, applicable to Commercial Banks (CB), Small Finance Banks (SFB), and Payments Banks (PB), was initially scheduled for implementation by the quarter ending September 30, 2026. The RBI has aligned these disclosure requirements with the Expected Credit Loss (ECL) framework for capital charge for credit risk under the standardised approach, which is also effective from April 2027.

The SEBI has extended the deadline for Regulated Entities (RE) to complete the Accessibility Audit of digital platforms and the remediation of audit findings under its Digital Accessibility framework to October 31, 2026.

SEBI has also launched the GARUDA framework to simplify and accelerate the filing process for Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) schemes.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has signed two MoUs with Business France and the India & Arab Countries Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (IACCIA) to foster trade, investment, and technology collaboration between India, France, and Arab countries.

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has signed an umbrella MoU with the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to strengthen collaboration in the fields of geoscience, mineral exploration, and disaster management.

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has partnered with AVPL International to establish 350 Advanced Skill Centres (ASCs) for drone technology across India. The initiative will be implemented over the next 3 years.

In the first year, 75 ASCs will be set up in private universities and engineering colleges. These facilities will function as industry-operated Centres of Excellence (CoEs).

The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, participated in the 10th Anniversary Meeting of the South-East Asia Regulatory Network (SEARN) held in Kathmandu, Nepal.

During the meeting, the IPC is designated as the Regional Centre of Excellence in Pharmacovigilance and the Technical Centre in Quality. It is to be noted that the SEARN was established in 2016 by the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) as a platform to strengthen regulatory systems across its member states.

The Indian Navy (IN) has inducted ’Nipun’, the second Indigenous Diving Support Vessel (DSV), constructed by the Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL) in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (AP).

The vessel features 75% indigenous content and adheres to the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) classification rules.

Japan-based Eisai has launched 'Leqembi' (lecanemab) in India after receiving approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). It is the first disease-modifying therapy in the country for early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

This launch addresses the rising dementia burden in India, which affected 8.8 million elderly individuals in 2023 and is projected to double by 2036.

The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has completed the first detailed Catalogue of Lepidoptera in India.

As per the catalogue, India hosts 13,703 species of Lepidoptera across 3,705 genera, which includes 1,417 species of butterflies and 12,286 species of moths. The project also includes a dedicated catalogue for the moth superfamily Geometroidea, identifying 2,205 species within the country.

This catalogue comprises 22 volumes and provides an updated taxonomic inventory of butterflies and moths. The final volume was authored by ZSI taxonomists Rahul Joshi and Navneet Singh and published in the international journal Zootaxa.

The Tamil Nadu government has banned the manufacture, storage, distribution, and sale of artificially coloured appalams, vadams, and fryums in the state.

Separately, the Maharashtra government has enforced a one-year ban on the manufacturing, processing, storage, transportation, distribution, and sale of analogue (non-dairy or synthetic) paneer.

Varsha Ashok Aglawe has assumed charge as the 54th Director General (DG) of the Geological Survey of India (GSI), an organization under the Ministry of Mines (MoM).

She succeeds Asit Saha. It is to be noted that she is the first woman to lead the GSI.