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India defeated Wales 3-1 in a Group D match of the FIH Hockey World Cup in Amstelveen, Netherlands; captain Harmanpreet Singh scored two goals.
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Devdutt Padikkal scored his maiden Test century (131 not out) on day one of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle; India reached 288/2 and played its 600th Test; he became the first Indian left-hander since Sourav Ganguly in 2002 to score a Test century at No. 3.
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India celebrated its 80th Independence Day on 15 August 2026; Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
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On 15 August 2026, India commemorated 150 years of Vande Mataram and, for the first time since Independence, the national song was sung from the Red Fort.
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On Independence Day 2026, the 21-gun salute was fired by the 1721 Field Battery (Ceremonial) using indigenous 105 mm Light Field Guns.
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Indian students won 12 Gold and 7 Silver medals at the International Science and Mathematical Olympiads 2026 in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics; HBCSE under TIFR/DAE is the national nodal centre for the Olympiad programmes.
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Uttar Pradesh STF officer Sunil Kumar was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana on 15 August 2026 with an outlay of ₹1 lakh crore; it will provide ₹15,000 to youth who get private-sector jobs and aims to create employment for about 3.5 crore youth.
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PM Modi announced AI skilling of one crore youth in one year during the 80th Independence Day address.
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PM Modi announced a free online coaching network for youth preparing for competitive examinations on 15 August 2026.
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PM Modi announced a nationwide sports talent hunt for children aged 5-15 years to identify future stars for the 2036 Olympics; India will host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and is a strong contender for the 2036 Olympics.
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PM Modi outlined 'Sapt Dhara' as seven streams of strength: Manufacturing, Agriculture and Food Production, Technology and Innovation, Gati Shakti, Defence, Green Economy and Blue Economy, and India's Soft Power.
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India targets 100 GW nuclear power capacity by 2047; five new nuclear reactors are planned within this decade.
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PM Modi announced a new target of 6 crore Lakhpati Didis on 15 August 2026.
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Over the last 12 years, India's defence production increased nearly 4 times and defence exports rose almost 50 times, with Indian weapons reaching about 100 countries.
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PM Modi highlighted the SHANTI Act as a major reform in the nuclear energy sector and said India crossed an important milestone in Fast Breeder Nuclear Technology.
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President Droupadi Murmu said Operation Sindoor demonstrated the capability of the Indian Armed Forces to act with precision against terrorism.
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President Droupadi Murmu said India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with the country that harbours terrorism as a decisive step in national interest.
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The National Critical Mineral Mission has been launched; a Critical Mineral Corridor was announced in the Budget; three semiconductor plants have been initiated and India has started exporting chips.
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The Startup India initiative has enabled more than 2.5 lakh registered startups; the government announced a ₹1 lakh crore Innovation Fund.
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Ayushman Bharat provides free treatment up to ₹5 lakh to elderly persons above 70 years of age.
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The Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS), implemented by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, is open to the 18-25 age group and provides minimum financial assistance of Rs 9,000 per month; its third pilot round is underway.
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PM Modi announced a vibrant Civil Defence network will be created to meet modern challenges.
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PM Modi said 25 crore people moved out of poverty in the past 12 years and India moved from the 'Fragile Five' to the world's fastest-growing major economy; social security coverage expanded from 25 crore before 2014 to 100 crore within a decade.
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As of 15 August 2026, key current office-holders: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant; Chief of Defence Staff General N. S. Raja Subramani; Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth; Navy Chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan; Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh; Lokpal Chairperson Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar; BSF Director General Parveen Kumara.
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As of 15 August 2026, Nitin Nabin is the BJP National President and Mallikarjun Kharge is the Congress National President.
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The Department of Telecommunications will host the BRICS ICT Track in Pune from 17 to 21 August 2026 under the theme 'Innovate, Cooperate and Transform (ICT) for a Resilient Future'; India holds the 2026 BRICS Chairship and the 12th BRICS Communications Ministers Meeting will be held on 21 August 2026.
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BRICS currently comprises 11 members: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
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The Central Board of Direct Taxes notified the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers - Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS) Rules, 2026; the scheme comes into force on 16 August 2026 and declarations can be filed till 31 December 2026.
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The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 was passed by both Houses of Parliament on 13 August 2026; India imported minerals worth ₹10.12 lakh crore in 2025-26.
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The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting removed the 12-minute advertisement duration cap for TV channels; the cap was introduced in 2006.
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Principal Scientific Adviser Prof Ajay Kumar Sood launched the RSVC AMRIT platform developed by NABARD in collaboration with OPSA; it is the digital backbone of the RuTAGe Smart Village Centre ecosystem.
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Aheesa Digital Innovations achieved first-pass silicon success with 'VIHAAN', a broadband networking SoC built using the indigenous VEGA microprocessor under the DLI Scheme; DLI-backed companies have raised over $100 million and achieved over 30 chip design tape-outs.
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The Ken-Betwa Link Project, India's first major river-linking initiative, aims to transfer surplus water from the Ken River to the Betwa River; it will provide irrigation for 10.62 lakh hectares, drinking water for nearly 62 lakh people, and 103 MW hydropower at an estimated cost of over ₹44,604 crore.
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The first-of-its-kind Suryapath Tiranga Global Relay concluded on 15 August 2026, travelling from Fiji to San Francisco across 54 countries as part of Har Ghar Tiranga 2026.
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A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia; the death toll rose to 47.
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India sent 20 metric tons of relief material, including medical supplies and equipment, to Colombia for post-earthquake recovery.
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Karnataka announced that India's first government-owned AI university will be established in Bengaluru.
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India extended an invitation to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for a bilateral visit and for the outreach session of the BRICS Summit.
