Daily Current Affairs - 29 August 2026

Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour title, defeating defending champion Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in the final at St. Louis and winning USD 2,00,000.

Neeraj Chopra qualified for the 2026 Diamond League Finals in Brussels with 12 points and a season-best throw of 88.05m at Lausanne.

In the FIH Hockey World Cup, Netherlands and Argentina will meet in the final; Netherlands beat Belgium 1-0 and Argentina beat Australia 1-0 in the semifinals, a rematch of the 2022 title clash.

The Indian women's hockey team defeated Germany 3-1 in the fifth-place match at the FIH World Cup in Amstelveen, securing its best World Cup finish in 52 years.

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana completed 12 years on 28 August 2026; over 59 crore accounts have been opened with deposits of ₹3.1 lakh crore, and India's Financial Inclusion Index rose from 53.9 in 2018 to 67 in 2026.

The PARIVARTAN Scheme, approved by the Union Cabinet on 3 June 2026 with an outlay of ₹9,585 crore and launched on 14 July 2026, aims to replace over 2 lakh BS-IV or older trucks and buses in Delhi-NCR with BS-VI or electric vehicles.

Sanchar Saathi, the Department of Telecommunications' citizen-centric initiative, recovered a record 77,692 lost or stolen mobile handsets in July 2026.

Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan launched 'Gnani Artha', a sovereign AI stack comprising the large language model Evon 3.3 and the platform Plexus, developed by GNANI AI, at Uprashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi on 28 August 2026.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu approved the establishment of India's first dedicated Quantum and AI University campus in Amaravati by NIELIT, with a proposed investment of ₹730.7 crore over five years.

Assam launched Project S.W.I.F.T (Sustainable Wetland and Integrated Fisheries Transformation) with ₹796.88 crore, supported by the Asian Development Bank, to rejuvenate 71 waterbodies across 23 districts covering around 4,000 hectares.

The inaugural India-Kuwait Joint Defence Committee (JDC) meeting was held in New Delhi on 28 August 2026, co-chaired by Joint Secretary Amitabh Prasad and Brigadier General Raed Alsakran; India and Kuwait upgraded ties to a Strategic Partnership in December 2024.

The Ministry of Defence simplified the Defence Export SOP and Open General Export Licence (OGEL) framework; OGEL validity was increased from two to three years and coverage expanded from 41 to all countries except negative/sensitive nations and those under UN Security Council sanctions or arms embargoes.

India operates 24 nuclear power reactors with a total installed capacity of 8.78 GW; nine more reactor units of 7.5 GW are under construction, and India aims to achieve 100 GW nuclear power capacity by 2047.

The Union Budget 2025-26 allocated ₹20,000 crore for indigenous Small Modular Reactors (SMRs); the Nuclear Energy Mission for Viksit Bharat and SHANTI Act, 2025 support expansion of India's nuclear programme towards 100 GW by 2047.

The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam attained first criticality in April 2026, marking a milestone in the second stage of India's three-stage nuclear power programme.

Justice V. Ramasubramanian is the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC); NHRC held a two-day Open Hearing and Camp Sitting at Gandhinagar, Gujarat on 2-3 September 2026.

The High-Powered Task Force (HPTF) on public examination reforms, chaired by Nandan Nilekani, invited public suggestions till 13 September 2026 through examreforms-taskforce.dopt.gov.in.

Justice Biswaroop Chowdhury was appointed a permanent Judge of the Calcutta High Court; six Additional Judges were appointed for a fresh six-month term with effect from 31 August 2026.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake his fourth visit to Uzbekistan on 29-30 August 2026 for talks with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit will be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic from 31 August to 1 September 2026; the Summit marks the SCO's 25th anniversary, and India has been a full member since 2017.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the Opening Ceremony of the 6th World Nomad Games during his visit to the Kyrgyz Republic.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began a six-day visit to the US on 28 August 2026; she will lead India at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting under the US G20 Presidency on 31 August-1 September 2026.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visited Japan from 24 to 27 August 2026; India and Japan have set a target of JPY 10 trillion in Japanese private investment in India over the next decade.

India's Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 6.7% year-on-year in July 2026; manufacturing grew 7.3% and electricity and gas supply grew 8.7%, with the Quick Estimate at 124.8.

India's foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 12.4 billion to a record USD 729.3 billion in the week ended 21 August 2026, as per RBI data.

India recorded a nearly 80% decline in malaria cases and deaths between 2015 and 2025; high-burden districts decreased from 155 to 33, and 160 districts reported zero indigenous malaria cases during 2022-2025.

The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) launched seven Indian Pharmacopoeia Phytochemical Reference Standards (IPPRS) and five Indian Pharmacopoeia Botanical Reference Standards (IPBRS) at NIPER Guwahati on 27 August 2026, the first-ever such standards by the Commission.

The Government introduced a fortnightly sugar allocation system from September 2026, replacing the monthly quota; mills must sell at least 40% of allocation in the first week, and ex-mill sugar prices declined by around 20%.

India's total telephone subscribers stood at 1,354.28 million at the end of July 2026, with an overall tele-density of 94.68%.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) signed a strategic five-year agreement with C-DOT to establish an End-to-End Optical Network Testbed at C-DOT Campus, New Delhi on 27 August 2026.

World Sanskrit Day was observed on Shravana Purnima, 28 August 2026.

Raksha Bandhan was celebrated across India on 28 August 2026; President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the nation on the occasion.

The 172nd birth anniversary of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru was observed on 28 August 2026; Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah paid tributes to him.

King Harald V of Norway passed away; his son Crown Prince Haakon succeeds him as king.

The 57-day Amarnath Yatra concluded on 28 August 2026, with over 4.8 lakh devotees performing the pilgrimage; the Chhari Mubarak was led by Mahant Deependra Giri.

Delhi Police Special Cell busted an alleged ISI-backed, Pakistan-based espionage network and arrested a Delhi-based couple accused of procuring Indian SIM cards for Pakistani intelligence operatives since 2024.

India sent a third tranche of 10 tonnes of relief supplies to flood-hit Nepal on 28 August 2026; 84 Indians have been rescued, while 290 remain uncontactable.

The National Test House (NTH), Department of Consumer Affairs, celebrated its 115th Foundation Day on 29 August 2026 in Bengaluru; Union Minister Pralhad Joshi was the Chief Guest and the NTH Suvidha mobile app was launched.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed Gujarat Vidyapith's 72nd convocation and stated that the National Education Policy 2020 rests on five pillars - mother tongue, skills, multidisciplinary education, Indian knowledge tradition and holistic personality development.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the 137th episode of Mann Ki Baat on Akashvani at 11 AM on Sunday.