Daily Current Affairs - 8 August 2026

12th National Handloom Day celebrated on 7 August 2026; President Droupadi Murmu presented Sant Kabir Handloom Awards (3) and National Handloom Awards 2025 (19), released 4 commemorative stamps; day commemorates Swadeshi Movement 1905.

National Gopal Ratna Award 2026 nominations open online from 10 August to 10 September 2026; awards to be conferred on National Milk Day (26 November 2026).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 57th Convocation of IIT Delhi and inaugurated Param Pragya, an AI-powered high-performance supercomputing facility at IIT Delhi's Sonipat campus, on 8 August 2026.

Government e Marketplace (GeM) completed 10 years on 9 August 2026; cumulative Gross Merchandise Value over ₹20 lakh crore from 3.78 crore orders; study found 74% items cheaper than major e-commerce platforms.

Under AgriStack, over 10.31 crore Farmer IDs created; Digital Crop Survey covered 31.3 crore plots across 648 districts in Rabi 2025-26.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G): 3.91 crore houses sanctioned, 3.12 crore completed against target of 4.18 crore as on 3 August 2026.

Under central scheme for Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), cumulative turnover reached ₹20,358 crore as on 31 July 2026.

National Mission on Edible Oils – Oilseeds (NMEO-OS) launched on 3 October 2024, targeting 69.7 million tonnes oilseed production by 2030-31.

Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses launched on 11 October 2025, aiming to increase pulse production from 242 lakh tonnes to 350 lakh tonnes by 2030-31.

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission's Scan and Register service crossed 25 crore OPD registrations; Bihar leads with 7.30 crore.

Agni-4 medium-range ballistic missile successfully test-fired from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Odisha under Strategic Forces Command on 7 August 2026.

16th BRICS Trade Ministers' Meeting in Jaipur under India's BRICS Chairship 2026 adopted Jaipur Consensus on MSME credit, endorsed Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2030.

13th BRICS Education Ministers' Meeting in Bhubaneswar chaired by Pralhad Joshi adopted declaration with 5 priority areas including early childhood education, TVET, AI in education.

BRICS WAVES Bazaar 2026 in Mumbai: NFDC-RioFilme LoI signed; India to host first Global South Film Festival in 2027.

India assumed BRICS Chairship 2026 under theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) signed its 100th Memorandum of Understanding with CCRAS to advance quality standards for Ayush sector.

3rd India-Nordic Summit in Norway on 19 May 2026 elevated relationship to Green Technology and Innovation Strategic Partnership.

India signed Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) MoU with 24 countries; funded DPI projects in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Kenya, Guyana.

36th WMCC meeting on India-China border affairs held in New Delhi on 6 August 2026; India called for early expert mechanism on trans-border rivers.

India held Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, closed Attari check-post, restricted visas and downsized diplomatic presence in Pakistan following Pahalgam terror attack (22 April 2025); also withdrew MFN status and hiked customs duty on Pakistani goods to 200% after Pulwama attack.

India's campaign for non-permanent UNSC seat 2028-2029 based on SHANTI acronym with six priorities including Voice of Global South, Advancing Reformed Multilateralism, Countering Terror Financing.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port ranked 22nd in World Bank's Container Port Performance Index 2025; average turnaround time 27.43 hours in 2025-26.

FICCI-DUA report: India's medical device industry projected to reach $250 billion by 2047 from $14 billion.

FAO Food Price Index averaged 131.1 points in July 2026, highest since January 2023, driven by cereal, vegetable oil and sugar prices.

SEBI Annual Report 2025-26: India first globally in number of IPOs, third in funds raised; DII equity holding at record 17%.

Under National Quantum Mission, India achieved over 1,000 km of secure quantum communication within 3 years.

India delivered first beam catcher unit for FAIR mega science project in Darmstadt, Germany, designed by CSIR-CMERI.

India's Arctic research station Himadri in Svalbard conducting winter expeditions since December 2023.

Electric vehicle retail sales hit record 3,27,901 units in July 2026, 66% YoY; electric two-wheelers crossed 2 lakh units for first time (FADA).

India has 846 medical colleges (118.6% increase since 2014), 1,39,864 MBBS seats (172.4% increase), and 86,360 PG medical seats (176.9% increase).

Health Ministry amended Drugs Rules, 1945 to introduce debarment for submitting fake/fabricated data for drug approvals.

USBRL project features world's highest railway bridge Chenab Bridge (359m height, 467m arch span) and India's first cable-stayed rail bridge Anji Khad Bridge.

Indian Railways serves 58 crore meals annually, 0.0008% food complaints; train accidents reduced from 135 (2014-15) to 2 in 2026-27; ₹5.41 lakh crore spent on safety in last 5 years.

India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $10.5 billion to $692.8 billion as on 31 July 2026.

RBI's FCNR(B) deposit scheme mobilised USD 41 billion by early August 2026; expected to reach USD 80-100 billion by 30 September 2026.

Lok Sabha passed Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 allowing banks to levy Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions.

Parliament passed Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill 2026, mandating CPSEs to settle MSME invoices on TReDS and faster dispute resolution.

Gender Budget allocation in Union Budget 2026-27 is ₹5.01 lakh crore, an 11.55% increase over 2025-26.

Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 published on 8 April 2026, rationalising 79 Central Acts.

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 proposes Designated Authority for assets of cancelled FCRA organisations; reduces maximum punishment from 5 years to 1 year for certain violations.

NSE registered investors reached 13.2 crore as of June 2026; women account for 25%, median investor age 33 years.

SEBI introduced Closing Auction Session (CAS); upcoming initiatives: Project Jagrook, SEBI Setu portal, tokenisation of corporate bonds.

R. Praggnanandhaa won Grand Chess Tour St. Louis Rapid and Blitz title on 7 August 2026 (also won Norway Chess 2026).

Weightlifter Titli Maji won silver in women's 45kg category at Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, lifting total 145kg (65kg snatch + 80kg clean and jerk).

Mohammed Ashfaq broke Under-20 national record in men's 400m with 45.81 seconds, qualifying for semifinals at World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene.

84th anniversary of Quit India Movement observed on 9 August 2026.

The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Act, 2025 came into force on 6 August 2026, paving way for reservation of Assembly seats for Scheduled Tribes in Goa.

India-Sri Lanka reviewed proposed HVDC interconnection and Sampur Solar Power Project during bilateral meeting in August 2026.

India-Bhutan reviewed cooperation on hydropower projects Punatsangchhu-I and II, agreed to enhance trans-boundary water management.

IIT Madras Global Research Foundation signed MoU with Indonesia's Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology for deep-tech cooperation in presence of Indonesian Minister Prof Brian Yuliarto.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed West Asia situation and bilateral cooperation on 6 August 2026.

South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) scientifically closed 28 abandoned mines, highest among Coal India subsidiaries, including 25 in FY 2025-26.

9th edition of 'India Medical Device 2026' conference began in New Delhi on 7 August 2026 with theme 'Towards Viksit Bharat: Advancing India as a Global Hub for Quality Medical Devices'.