Current Affairs – August 21, 2026

{GS1 – IS} Offences Against Religion in India

• Context (TH): Punjab’s act, providing for stringent punishment, for acts of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib, has reignited debate over the constitutional balance between protection of religious sentiments, secularism, freedom of speech and social reform.

• Indian law draws a distinction between expressive offences and acts of physical defilement against religious entities.

Arguments in Favour of Such Laws

• Article 25: Freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess and practice religion extend to practicing one’s faith without facing state-tolerated vilification or physical desecration of sacred symbols.
• Maintaining Public Order: In a religiously diverse society, deliberate acts or expressions targeting religious beliefs, places or objects can trigger communal tensions and violence.
  • SC in Ramji Lal Modi v. State of Uttar Pradesh upheld the constitutionality of Section 295A on this ground.
• Protecting Religious Harmony: Legal protection against deliberate and malicious attacks on religion can promote mutual respect and prevent the escalation of religious hostility among communities.
• Preventing Intentional Vilification: These provisions can distinguish genuine criticism from acts deliberately intended to insult, humiliate or provoke a religious community.
• Protecting Sacred Entities from Physical Harm: Physical desecration, defilement or destruction of places of worship and sacred objects constitutes a tangible wrongful act and may legitimately attract criminal sanctions.

Arguments Against Laws on Offences Against Religion

• Threat to Freedom of Expression: Broad restrictions may criminalise criticism, satire, artistic expression and scholarly inquiry, creating a chilling effect on the freedom guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a).
  • E.g., The arrests of editor B.V. Seetaram over published articles questioning religious practices.
• Vagueness and Subjectivity: Terms such as insult, outrage and hurt religious feelings may depend upon subjective interpretations, creating scope for arbitrary enforcement and misuse.
• Threat To Social Reform: India’s social reform movements have often involved challenging religious orthodoxy, superstition and discriminatory practices. Overbroad laws may discourage social reforms.
• “Heckler’s Veto”: Threat of FIR, arrest, and public outrage creates a severe chilling effect on journalists, authors, filmmakers, and academics, effectively giving offended groups a veto over public discourse.
  • E.g., Perumal Murugan, M.F. Husain and Wendy Doniger.
• Undermines Secularism: Religion-specific laws or unequal protection to different faiths may undermine the secular principle of State neutrality and raise concerns under Article 14.

{GS2 – IR} India-Japan Defence Cooperation

• Context (NOA | TH): India and Japan signed a Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation at the bilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi.

Key Pillars of the Agreement

• Joint Shipbuilding: Co-development by combining Japan’s technological expertise with India’s manufacturing capabilities under Make in India.
• UNICORN Project: Fast-tracking the deployment of the Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) system to enhance the stealth profile of Indian Navy warships.
• Research Cooperation: Institutionalization of deep-tech research collaboration between DRDO and Japan’s ATLA through a dedicated Defense Industry Forum.

Read More > 16th India-Japan Annual Summit | India-Japan Relations

{GS2 – MoPPGP} Global Digital Capacity Building Alliance (GBDCA) *

• Context (PIB): GDCBA, an initiative of the Capacity Building Commission (CBC), has completed six months and is entering its next phase, with an Annual Summit and State of Capacity Building Report planned to benchmark global progress.

About Global Digital Capacity Building Alliance (GDCBA)

• Launched on 20th February, 2026 at the India AI Impact Summit, New Delhi.
• Purpose: Platform for international cooperation on public-sector capacity building, bringing together governments, multilateral and development institutions, DPI ecosystem, etc., to exchange knowledge.
• Builds on Mission Karmayogi, India’s National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building.
• Four goals:
  1. Strengthen institutional capability across public-sector systems.
  2. Support evidence-informed capacity-building decisions.
  3. Foster a global community of practice for governance.
  4. Build a repository of implementation knowledge, case studies and practical guidance.
• Key Achievements:
  • Engagement has extended across 10 countries, including Brazil, Sri Lanka and Mauritius.
  • Expansion of the Institutional partners like Gates Foundation, World Bank, NCGG, RIS, Dakshin, UNICEF, the Commonwealth, BRICS/FICCI, ADBI, ORF, Apolitical and Nalanda University.

{GS2 – MoSJE} Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED)

• Context (PIB): Government is empowering De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DNTs, NTs and SNTs) through the SEED Scheme.

• It was launched in 2022 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Objective: To uplift DNTs, NTs and SNTs communities by providing free coaching, health insurance, livelihood support, and housing assistance.
• Type: It is Central Sector Scheme with budget of ₹200 crore for 5 years.
• Components (4):
  1. Education Support: Free, high-quality coaching for competitive exams (like UPSC, NEET, JEE, and banking) and professional courses for eligible students.
  2. Health Insurance: Health cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year through Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme.
  3. Livelihood: Income-generation support through community-level Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
  4. Housing Assistance: Financial aid to build houses via convergence with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

{GS3 – Agri} Improvement of Crop Statistics (ICS) Scheme

• Context (DTE): National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation published the Annual Report on the Improvement of Crop Statistics (ICS) Scheme for 2023-24.

• ICS is a centrally sponsored quality-control mechanism under the NSO, launched in 1973-74 to oversee and strengthen the collection of state crop statistics.
• Objective: To audit, verify, and improve the accuracy of state-generated agricultural statistics.
• Focus Area: 1. Area Enumeration (total land planted with a crop in a season) and 2. Crop Cutting Experiments (average production per unit area, measured by weighing produce from a small random plot).
• Implementing Agencies: Patwari (Village Accountant) conducts village-level crop enumeration (Girdawari), State Agricultural Statistics Authorities (SASA) collect data and execute CCEs, and NSO’s Field Operations Division provides guidance and supervision.
• Digital Shift: Agrisoft Android app replaced paper schedules for crop-area enumeration, and the geotagged DGEs App transmits real-time harvest data.

{GS3 – Infra} India’s Infrastructure Transformation **

• Context (PIB): India’s infrastructure landscape has undergone a major transformation from transport and logistics to housing and water, moving towards integrated planning and large-scale expansion.

Key Transformative Measures Taken to Enhance Infrastructure Development

Read More> Infrastructure at the Core of India’s Development I India’s Logistics Sector

{Prelims – IE} SC Scraps the Old Definition Of ‘Industry’

• Context (TH): A nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court has held that the expansive interpretation of the term ‘industry’ laid down in the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board v. R. Rajappa judgment (1978) will not govern the interpretation of ‘industry’ under the Industrial Relations Code (IRC), 2020.

• However, the 1978 judgment will continue to govern legacy disputes and pending proceedings arising under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
• Implications: The definition of ‘industry’ determines the entities and workers covered by important labour protections, including mechanisms relating to industrial disputes; and collective bargaining. Therefore, a narrower interpretation in the future could potentially affect the scope of labour-law protection.

Read More> New Labour Codes

{Prelims – IS} Coast Guard Global Summit (CGGS)

• Context (PIB): India will host the 5^th Coast Guard Global Summit (CGGS) in New Delhi in February 2027.

• The summit will coincide with the golden jubilee marking 50 years of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
• CGGS, founded in 2017 by the Japan Coast Guard and Nippon Foundation, is a biennial summit that promotes cooperation in maritime safety, search and rescue, marine pollution response, and countering transnational crimes.

{Prelims – PIN World} Central African Republic

• Context (NIE): A landslide at an illegal gold mine has killed at least 100 people in Central African Republic.

• Central African Republic is a landlocked country located in the centre of Africa. Capital: Bangui
• Bordering Countries: Chad (North), Sudan and South Sudan (North and East), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) and Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) (South), and Cameroon (West).

{Prelims – Polity} Zonal Councils

• Context (NOA): The 31^st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council concluded in Tamil Nadu.

• Zonal Councils are statutory bodies established under Part III of the States Reorganization Act, 1956. They act as deliberative and advisory bodies with non-binding recommendations.
• Objective: Center-state cooperation, socio-economic planning, and linguistic minority protection.
• Proposed by: PM Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956 during debates on the linguistic reorganization of states.
• The 1956 Act established five zonal councils—Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern; a sixth was later created under the North-Eastern Council Act, 1971, for the Northeast.
• Composition:
  • Members: Chief Minister and two nominated ministers from each member state, Administrators or Lieutenant Governors of member Union Territories; NITI Aayog representative, Chief Secretaries and Development Commissioners as advisors (without voting rights).
  • Leadership: Union Home Minister chairs all five Zonal Councils, with member-state CMs serving as Vice-Chairman on an annual rotating basis.

• Secretariat: Inter-State Council Secretariat (ISCS), under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Read More > Zonal Councils

{Prelims – Social Sector} National Medical Commission (NMC)

• Context (TH): National Medical Commission (NMC) proposed “One Nation, One License” framework to allow doctors to practice anywhere in India without separate state registrations.

• Once a doctor’s primary registration is verified by the State Medical Council, the Ethics and Medical Registration Board would allot a Unique Identification Number linked to the National Medical Register.
• NMC is the apex statutory body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, regulating medical education, professionals, institutions, and research.
• Established in September 2020 under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, which replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI).
• Boards: NMC is decentralized into four autonomous boards to ensure separation of powers:
  1. Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB): Sets standards and oversees the curriculum for undergraduate medical education such as MBBS.
  2. Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB): Regulates standards and accreditation of postgraduate medical education and courses.
  3. Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB): Inspects and rates medical institutions and grants permission to establish new medical colleges or increase seat capacity.
  4. Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB): Maintains the National Medical Register, registers practitioners, and enforces the professional code of conduct.
• Composition: Chairperson, 10 ex officio members, and 22 part-time members. At least 60% of members must be medical practitioners.
  • Ex-Officio Members: Presidents of the 4 autonomous boards, the Director General of Health Services, the Director General of the ICMR, a Director from one of the AIIMS, two Directors from other designated postgraduate institutes, and a representative from the MoHFW.
  • Part-Time Members: 3 experts, 10 members appointed on a rotational basis from State and UT nominees to Medical Advisory Council, and 9 members appointed from elected members of State Medical Councils.
• Key Functions: Frames guidelines to regulate tuition fees for up to 50% of seats in private and deemed-university colleges, approves international medical degrees, and sets infrastructure and policy standards.

{Prelims – Social Sector} One Day, One University

• Context (TH): Union Cabinet has proposed a nationwide initiative called “One Day, One University”, after a period of heightened student mobilisation over NEET paper leak issue, including protests in Delhi.

• Union Education Minister and Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister have been tasked with coordinating the proposed initiative with final formal yet to be announced.
• Key Idea: A type of Gen Z outreach programme, where an Union minister will be assigned a university and will spend a day interacting with its students.

{Prelims – Social Sector} Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD)

• Context (TH): A patient from Visakhapatnam has been diagnosed with the rare Kikuchi–Fujimoto disease.

• Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD), also called histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis, is a rare, benign, self-limiting inflammatory disorder of the lymph nodes.
• First identified in Japan in 1972, the disease shows a higher prevalence among young adults in East Asia.
• The exact etiology of KFD remains unknown. It may be triggered by an abnormal immune response to certain infectious agents.
• Symptoms: Swollen lymph nodes, fever, fatigue, night sweats, and unexplained weight loss, skin issues (redness, raised bumps, facial rashes, or hives). It closely mimics lymphoma, tuberculosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
• No specific cure exists; management focuses on symptom relief.

{Prelims – Social Sector} Friedreich’s Ataxia (FRDA)

• Context (TH): Scientists have identified a genetic explanation for why Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) is found predominantly among people of Eurasian people.

• Researchers identified “protomutations” in the FXN gene that can serve as a reservoir from which disease-causing expanded GAA alleles develop. These protomutations are found only in Eurasian populations.
• FRDA is a rare, inherited genetic disorder that progressively damages the nervous system and heart.
• Symptoms: Generally, begin during childhood or adolescence, often between 5–15 years.
• Cause: Primarily caused by an abnormal expansion of GAA trinucleotide repeats in the FXN (frataxin) gene. The mutation reduces production of frataxin, a protein important for normal mitochondrial function and iron–sulfur cluster formation. It is generally inherited in an autosomal recessive manner.
• Has no treatment that completely reverses the underlying genetic defect.

{Prelims – Misc} One Liners

• Governance – Justice R Subhash Reddy Committee (AIR): The Supreme Court has constituted a five-member High-Powered Enquiry Committee headed by former Justice R Subhash Reddy to independently examine allegations of violence during the student demonstrations held at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
• Envi – Impatiens Nimspurjai (TOI): Himalayan plant discovered in Myagdi, Nepal. Named in honor of legendary Nepali mountaineer, Nirmal Purja. Belongs to Balsaminaceae family which includes balsams and touch-me-not plants. Found in temperate forests and forest margins.