Daily Current Affairs - 25 August 2026

Indian men's hockey team lost 3-5 to Argentina and crashed out of the semifinal race at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 in Amstelveen, Netherlands on 24 August 2026.

Indian women's hockey team played a goalless draw against Australia and was knocked out of semifinal contention at the FIH Women's World Cup 2026 in Amstelveen, Netherlands on 24 August 2026.

Rishabh Pant became India's highest run-scorer as a designated wicketkeeper in away/neutral Tests with 2,534 runs, surpassing MS Dhoni's 2,496; India declared at 503/9 in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, with centuries by Devdutt Padikkal (117) and Dhruv Jurel (115*).

India's 19-year-old Grandmaster Pranesh M won the Group A title at the Kanizsa Open 2026 in Nagykanizsa, Hungary, with 7 points from 9 rounds.

President Droupadi Murmu will confer National Awards to Teachers 2026 on 21 teachers/faculties of higher education institutions and polytechnics at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on Teachers' Day, 5 September 2026; the awardees include 15 men and 6 women.

On National Sports Day 2026, the 'Khelo India Dialogue – Khel Ki Baat, PM Modi Ke Saath' will be held on 27 August 2026 across more than 1,500 educational institutions; PM Narendra Modi will address young athletes virtually.

UPI completed 10 years on 25 August 2026; launched on 25 August 2016 by NPCI, it was recognised by IMF as the world's largest real-time payment system; annual transactions rose from 1.78 crore in FY 2016-17 to over 24,162 crore in FY 2025-26, transaction value rose from ₹0.07 lakh crore to around ₹314 lakh crore, UPI is operational in 11 countries, and it processed a record 2,366 crore transactions in July 2026.

Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia launched upgraded Dak MITRA and Dak Sewa mobile applications and inaugurated 14 renovated Post Office buildings on 24 August 2026; Dak Sewa is available in 23 Indian languages.

All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi, introduced the six-month offline Garbhini Mitra Course for 2026-27 to train maternal wellness support workers; last date to apply is 31 August 2026.

MeitY Startup Hub launched GENESIS Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Cohort 3 at the GENESIS NextGen Startup Summit in Coimbatore; the scheme offers up to ₹10 lakh funding and has an outlay of ₹490 crore.

Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan inaugurated the PMFME Conclave 2026 and PMFME Bazaar at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi; over 2 lakh micro food processing enterprises have benefited from PMFME, with 44% women entrepreneurs and 10 lakh direct employment.

Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan launched India's first non-GMO, high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed developed by Gourmet Popcornica at Musunuru in Eluru district, Andhra Pradesh; over 17,500 farmers across eight states cultivate nearly 40,000 acres.

The PM Rahat scheme provides cashless treatment of up to ₹1.5 lakh for up to 7 days from the date of accident to all road accident victims irrespective of insurance status.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced ELC 2.0 to transform Electoral Literacy Clubs at a conference in Lucknow; ELC 2.0's tagline is 'Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy.'

A three-day National Conclave on Tribal Languages & Museums began in Mysuru, Karnataka; Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched Adi Vaani Platform, iOS app, AI bot 'Jago' and signed MoU with Central Institute of Indian Languages.

Union Health Ministry proposed amendments to Medical Devices Rules, 2017 to remove loan licensing for outsourced sterilization, include European Union among recognised stringent regulatory jurisdictions for clinical investigation waivers, and introduce uniform testing fees.

The Zero Fatality District (ZFD) initiative has been expanded nationally with 100 critical districts identified across 15 states.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval arrived in Beijing for the 25th round of India-China Special Representatives Talks on the boundary question, scheduled with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 25 August 2026; he will also call on Vice President Han Zheng.

India condemned the attack on UN peacekeepers with UNMISS in South Sudan that killed 2 and injured 7; India was the top troop contributor to UNMISS with 1,775 personnel as of April 2026 and is second-largest contributor to UN peacekeeping with over 4,200 uniformed personnel.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the 9th two-day National Security Strategies (NSS) Conference-2026 in New Delhi, attended by over 850 participants; he directed AI-based analysis of Multi-Agency Centre data and training for PRAHAAR scheme.

Under 'Operation Black Hawk', Central Bureau of Narcotics seized 18.64 kg of crude heroin and arrested three members of an inter-state trafficking network near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Security forces recovered 23 weapons, 492 live rounds, 240 gelatin sticks, 18 kg gunpowder and five country-made hand grenades from a Maoist hideout in Sukma, Chhattisgarh.

Government appointed Janmejaya Kumar Sinha, Syed Akbaruddin and Annie George Mathew as part-time, Non-official Directors on the Central Board of RBI for four years from 24 August 2026.

50 Indian Foreign Service Officer Trainees of the 2025 Batch called on PM Narendra Modi at Seva Teerth on 24 August 2026; PM suggested leveraging the 'Bharat ko Janiye' Quiz.

President Droupadi Murmu accepted credentials from envoys of South Sudan, UAE, Nigeria, Moldova, Germany and Sweden at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 24 August 2026.

EAM S. Jaishankar called on Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, handed over PM Modi's message, and co-chaired the 27th India-Russia IRIGC-TEC; both sides discussed achieving $100 billion bilateral trade by 2030.

Third India-Cambodia Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment (JWGTI) met in Phnom Penh; bilateral trade grew over 36% to USD 406.78 million in 2025-26, making Cambodia India's 8th largest ASEAN trade partner; BIT negotiations completed and UPI accepted at KHQR merchants.

MoS Jitin Prasada is visiting Morocco to co-chair the 7th India-Morocco Joint Commission on 24-25 August 2026; India and Morocco are expected to sign an MoU between ONSSA and FSSAI on food safety and a Cultural Exchange Programme 2026-2030.

MoS Pabitra Margherita will visit Vietnam, Lao PDR and Palau from 26 August to 2 September 2026; he will attend the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Meeting in Palau; India-Vietnam ties are Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and India-Laos are marking 70 years of diplomatic ties.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal addressed Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) in Tokyo; India and Japan designated 2026 as 'India-Japan Year of Shared Horizons' marking 75 years of diplomatic ties.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said India is negotiating 8-9 more FTAs covering additional USD 15 trillion GDP, and India's free trade agreements will eventually cover about 75% of global trade.

India will train 500 Mauritian civil servants over five years through the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), with the first batch already training at Mussoorie.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will visit Canada and USA from 25 August to 2 September 2026; she will attend the inaugural India-Canada Economic and Financial Dialogue in Toronto and lead India at G20 FMCBG under US presidency.

18th BRICS Academic Forum was held in Lucknow from 23-25 August 2026 under theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'; BRICS Sherpa Sudhakar Dalela said India's Chairship is guided by 'Humanity First'.

India and GCC discussed FTA negotiations; total India-GCC trade was about USD 178 billion in FY 2024-25; GCC was established in 1981 among six countries.

Ministry of Commerce released Service Producer Price Index for Q1 FY27 (base 2022-23); air passenger service prices surged 31.94% year-on-year, the sharpest increase among seven tracked services.

As on 21 August 2026, all-India Kharif crop area sown stood at 1056.70 lakh hectares, down 16.07 lakh hectares from 1072.77 lakh hectares in 2025-26; rice area was 405.10 lakh hectares, down 13.19 lakh hectares.

RBI's All-India House Price Index for Q1:2026-27 rose 1.1% quarter-on-quarter to 117.5 (base 2022-23) with annual growth of 3.6%, covering 18 major cities.

At UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (theme 'Restoring Land. Restoring Hope'), Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said India restored 21.76 million hectares of land during 2011-2020 against an enhanced Bonn Challenge target of 26 million hectares by 2030; Green Credit Programme issues credits after five years and at least 40% canopy density.

At the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, Chinese humanoid robot X-Humanoid set a 100m sprint record of 9.39 seconds, beating Usain Bolt's 9.58, and a standing high jump record of 2.88m.

New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon proposed banning social media for children under 16 with fines up to 10% of global revenue; Australia became the first country to ban social media for under-16s in December 2025.

RBI's special USD-INR forex swap facility launched on 8 June 2026 mobilised USD 73 billion as on 21 August 2026, including USD 65.40 billion in FCNR(B) deposits; closure advanced from 30 September to 31 August 2026 and surpassed 2013 FCNR(B) swap of USD 26 billion.

Government lifted export restrictions on wheat flour and related products; DGFT moved specified wheat and durum wheat from prohibited to free category with immediate effect.

Union Chemicals Minister J.P. Nadda chaired CEO Roundtable on 'India's Chemicals Sector: Charting the Path to USD 1 Trillion by 2040'; CHEMCONNECT 2026 will be held at IIT Madras on 25 August 2026.

Talabira II & III Open Cast Coal Mine in Odisha, allocated to NLC India Ltd, achieved highest-ever annual coal production of 19.14 MT in FY 2025-26 with 11.28% YoY growth; its highest daily production was 1,26,138.07 tonnes on 21 March 2026.

India Post recorded over ₹4,000 crore revenue in Q1 FY2026-27, 22% YoY growth; it holds 40 crore Post Office Savings Accounts with deposits of ₹24 lakh crore and 4 crore Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts with deposits of ₹2.5 lakh crore.

Government announced sale (re-issue) of 6.94% GS 2036 for ₹34,000 crore, auction on 28 August 2026 and settlement on 31 August 2026, with additional subscription option up to ₹2,000 crore.

As on 23 August 2026, RBI's Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate stands at 5.50% and Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate at 5.00%.

The Indian rupee depreciated by 3 paise to close at ₹95.74 against the US dollar on 24 August 2026.

Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) and PHARMEXCIL signed an MoU at CBN Headquarters in Gwalior to boost legitimate pharmaceutical exports and strengthen regulatory cooperation.

Prize distribution of the 58th Youth Parliament Competition 2025-26 will be held on 25 August 2026 at GMC Balayogi Auditorium, Parliament Library Building, New Delhi; Bal Bharti Public School, Pitampura, Delhi stood first.

Kailash Mansarovar Yatra 2026 via Lipulekh Pass route in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand concluded successfully with 477 pilgrims in ten batches; it began on 4 July 2026.

West Bengal government announced 20% reservation for Agniveers in Fire and Emergency Services, Forest Department, Police and Disaster Management; new disaster-response force 'Arjun Bahini' to become operational in September 2026 with 200 personnel initially.

Tamil Nadu announced free travel for women, girl students and transgenders in state-run buses from 2 October 2026 on Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary at a cost of ₹6,000 crore.

BJP announced it will contest all 117 seats in the Punjab Legislative Assembly election due in February 2027; BJP General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santosh addressed the first zonal meeting in Patiala.

Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini said MoUs worth over ₹66,000 crore were expected during 'Happening Haryana 2.0' investor summit held from 23-25 August 2026.

MP CM Mohan Yadav inaugurated Samriddh Madhya Pradesh–2047 conclave in Bhopal; 13 MoUs signed and One Institute-One Promise initiative highlighted with 130 central institutions including IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, ISRO and DRDO.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis ordered a high-level inquiry into Amravati District Women's Hospital fire that killed 3 newborns and announced ₹5 lakh assistance per family; 36 of 39 infants were rescued.

First session of the 16th Puducherry Legislative Assembly began with Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan's address; Puducherry's GSDP growth recovered from -2.21% in 2020-21 to 8.12% in 2025-26, with per capita income ₹3,44,926.

Union Government empowered West Bengal to conduct CAA hearings and issue citizenship certificates; as of 24 August 2026, 23,000 of about 2,30,000 applicants were recognised as eligible.

In Odisha, Baitarani river crossed danger mark at Anandapur and Hirakud Dam released water through 12 gates; Joda recorded 169.4 mm rainfall in 24 hours.

IMD issued red warning for five Odisha districts—Cuttack, Angul, Dhenkanal, Kalahandi and Nabarangpur—for very heavy rainfall and orange warnings for 18 districts.

Bihar urged West Bengal to open all gates of Farakka Barrage as Ganga's water level rose above danger mark at major ghats in Patna.

Jharkhand High Court stayed the state government's decision to cancel the JPSC examination and directed the government to file response by 15 September 2026.

Tamil Nadu CM C. Joseph Vijay announced proposed Parandur Greenfield airport dropped; state will partner with AAI to develop fifth terminal of Chennai Airport to handle 55 million passengers annually.

Punjab completed 17,000 houses under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin with financial assistance of ₹478.45 crore out of 36,792 sanctioned since 2024-25.

Enforcement Directorate searched nine premises in UP and Haryana in bogus Input Tax Credit case involving Jambudwip Exports and Imports Ltd, with fraudulent ITC of ₹9.63 crore and over ₹10 crore passed on.