Current Affairs – August 22, 2026

{GS2 – Governance} Bharat Taxi

• Context (PIB): Bharat Taxi has emerged as India’s first cooperative led ride hailing platform reflecting the vision of “Sahkar se Samriddhi” aligning technological innovation with principles of cooperation.

• Bharat Taxi has nearly 8 lakh registered sarathis and around 41 lakh registered customers (July 2026).
• It is operational in Delhi-NCR, Gujarat, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kanpur and Pune aiming to achieve a nationwide presence by 2029.

Foundation of Bharat Taxi

• Establishment: Formally established on 6 June 2025 by eight national-level cooperative institutions.
• Nature: Registered under Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 (Governing Cooperative Societies operating across more than one state).

Key Features of Bharat Taxi

• Cooperative Ownership Model: Structured around cooperative framework placing Sarathis at centre, recognizing them not only as drivers but also as stakeholders in its functioning and growth.
• Zero Commission Financial Model: It operates on zero-commission, surge-free pricing model following a subscription-based model, enabling drivers to retain full fare earnings.
  • 20% of the cooperative’s earnings are credited to Bharat Taxi as Sarathis’ capital. 80% is distributed among Sarathis based on kilometres travelled by their taxis.
• Transparent Fare System: Riders pay only applicable trip fare based on distance, time, and market conditions with no additional convenience fees, platform fees, or surge pricing through the application.
• Sarathi Partners as Owners: It is based on cooperative principle as per which those who contribute labour should also share ownership and decision-making, reflecting vision of “Saarthi Hi Maalik“.
• Women Empowerment: Sarathi Didi feature introduced to allow women passengers to choose rides operated by women drivers through the application.
  • Also launched Bike Didi initiative with more than 150 women drivers in the platform. (February 2026).
• Social Security for Sarathis: Registration on e-Shram portal making Sarathis and their families eligible for free medical treatment up to Rs.5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
  • Personal accident insurance of Rs. 5 lakh provided through IFFCO Tokio at nominal rates.
  • Group health insurance coverage for drivers and families supported through Paytm partnership.

Read More> Bharat Taxi

{GS2 – IR} BRICS Condemns EU’s CBAM

• Context (TH): BRICS condemned the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as unilateral, discriminatory, and protectionist at the 12^th BRICS Environment Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi.

About EU CBAM

• CBAM imposes a carbon tax on certain emissions-intensive goods entering the EU, charging importers based on the carbon emitted during production.
• It is operational from January 2026 and aims to promote cleaner industrial production worldwide.
• The framework targets six carbon-intensive industrial sectors: iron and steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, hydrogen, and electricity.
• Exemption: Companies operating under a domestic carbon pricing regime equivalent to the EU's can export without purchasing CBAM certificates.

BRICS Concerns over CBAM

• Equity Violation: Penalizing developing nations for their historical emission baselines violates the UNFCCC principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).
• Capital Drain: Redirecting the financial proceeds from carbon certificates into the EU budget deprives exporting developing countries of crucial revenue for their green transition.
• Compliance Deadweight: The installation-level calculation of embedded emissions creates a major compliance barrier for small suppliers in developing economies.

BRICS Demands and Alternatives

• Adaptation Finance: Triple grant-based adaptation finance to developing countries by 2035 to honor commitments made at the 2025 UN Climate Conference in Belém.
• Concessional Support: Distribute predictable climate finance via non-debt-creating mechanisms instead of penalizing industrial output with trade barriers.
• Domestic Markets: Accelerate domestic pricing frameworks like the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) to claim carbon-cost deductions against European border levies.
• Institutional Alignment: Utilize the voluntary Network of BRICS Institutions to share sustainable transition knowledge and build collective climate resilience.

{GS2 – MoSJE} SMILE Scheme

• Context (PIB): Govt is strengthening rehabilitation, livelihood support and social inclusion of marginalized communities through Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE) Scheme.

• Under the scheme, about 12,710 persons have been rehabilitated and 23 Garima Grehs have been established to provide shelter and support to destitute transgender persons.

Key Features

• Launched in 2022 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Type: Umbrella Central Sector Scheme
• Aim: Promote an inclusive society by enabling marginalised individuals to access welfare services, develop skills & livelihood capabilities and reintegrate into society with dignity & self-confidence.
• Core Objective: "Bhiksha Vritti Mukt Bharat" (Begging-Free India).
• Two sub-schemes:
  1. Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging: Focuses on identification, rehabilitation, healthcare, counselling, education, skill development and livelihood opportunities.
  2. Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Persons: Provides shelter, healthcare, identity documentation, skill, entrepreneurship and employment support to transgender persons.
• Target Groups: Persons engaged in the act of begging and Transgender persons.
• Coverage: Currently operates in 216 cities across the country. It aims to expand to 295 cities by FY 2030-31.
• Implementation: The scheme runs through coordination among the Central Government, State Governments, UTs, district administrations, urban local bodies, and municipal corporations.

{GS3 – Agri} Makhana Sector in India

• Context (PIB): Makhana has emerged as one of India's fastest-growing agri-food products, driven by its nutritional value, rising health awareness, and increasing global demand.

Status of Makhana Sector

• Global Leadership: India is the world's largest makhana producer, with an output of 80,590 metric tonnes (2025-26) and productivity of 2.34 MT per hectare.
• Regional Concentration: Bihar (primarily the Kosi basin of North Bihar) accounts for 75% of India's production and 80–85% of global supply. The Mithila region has a GI tag for Mithila Makhana.
• Market Value: The domestic market grew 17–18% annually from 2021-22 to 2024–25 and is projected to reach ₹11,000–12,000 crore by 2029-30.
• Export: India exports about 40% of its makhana output. US (40%), Canada (20%), and UAE (17%) are the top export destinations.

Challenges with Makhana Sector

• Labor Burden: Manual seed collection from pond floors pushes labor costs to nearly 36% of the ₹1 lakh per hectare cultivation cost.
• Price Ceiling: Concentrating 77% of makhana exports in three countries caps average returns below the premium prices offered in Eurozone markets like Germany.
• Capital Barrier: The ₹12 to ₹14 lakh capital cost of mechanical popping units confines marginal cultivators to selling low-margin, unprocessed raw seeds.
• Storage Loss: Fungal contamination due to inadequate post-monsoon storage destroys up to 25% to 30% of the hygroscopic raw seed harvest.
• Flood Exposure: Monsoon flooding across the Kosi Basin causes an annual 20% to 30% yield loss in vulnerable districts.
• Credit Exploitation: Lack of formal pond ownership and lease records forces seasonal cultivators to borrow from local moneylenders instead of institutional banks.

Government Initiatives

• National Makhana Board: Coordinates post-harvest processing, branding, and export logistics to integrate the fragmented domestic value chain.
• Central Sector Scheme for the Development of Makhana: Allocated ₹476.03 crore to improve seed availability, post-harvest infrastructure, and farmers' capacity.
• Finance Bill 2025: Introduced a dedicated Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) code for popped makhana to enable product-specific export tracking.
• National Research Center for Makhana: Develops high-yielding varieties and mechanized processing equipment to increase wetland farm productivity.
• PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme: Designated makhana as a priority product under the One District One Product to fund and upgrade local processing units.

Read More> Makhana

{GS3 – Agri} Resilience of India’s Agriculture and Allied Sector

• Context (PIB): Agricultural and allied-sector support has shifted from fragmented subsidies to integrated missions that combine credit access, market linkages, and livestock development.

Overview of Agriculture and Allied Sector

• Economic Weight: Agriculture employs about 46.1% of the Indian workforce and contributed an estimated ₹52.08 lakh crore to Gross Value Added in 2025–26.
• Output Volumes: Total foodgrain production reached 376.56 million tonnes in 2025–26, while horticultural and oilseed output expanded to 377.78 million tonnes and 43.06 million tonnes, respectively.
• Export Value: The total value of agricultural exports reached $54.70 billion in 2025–26, with processed foods accounting for 20.4% of exports in FY25.
• Input Base: Rainfed agriculture occupies about 51% of India's net sown area. India's agricultural mechanization level stands at 40–45% of farm operations.
• Fertilizer Profile: India is the second-largest fertilizer consumer globally, and chemical formulations supply 83% of domestic market demand.
• Livestock Economy: India produces 248 million tonnes of milk annually, accounting for nearly 25% of global output. Total meat production expanded to 10.50 million tonnes in 2024–25.

Key Government Schemes for Agriculture and Allied Sectors

Income Support & Credit Access

• Direct Transfer: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi provides cash transfers to 9.49 crore beneficiaries to supplement agricultural input costs.
• Yield Insurance: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana covers pre- and post-harvest crop losses to stabilize incomes for 24.31 crore farmers.
• Price Guarantee: Minimum Support Price guarantees baseline procurement rates, protecting farmers from distress sales and securing 1,229.2 million tonnes of produce since 2014.
• Working Capital: Kisan Credit Card extends institutional short-term credit to finance agricultural inputs across 7.28 crore operational accounts.
• Old-Age Pension: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojana provides a guaranteed monthly pension to 24.96 lakh enrolled small and marginal cultivators.

Sustainable Agriculture

• Nutrient Advisory: Soil Health Cards issued 26.09 crore tailored field-level nutrient prescriptions to help cultivators optimize chemical fertilizer application.
• Organic Clusters: Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana promotes cluster-based traditional agriculture across 18.93 lakh hectares to reduce reliance on synthetic inputs domestically.
• Value Chains: Mission Organic Value Chain Development for the North Eastern Region develops dedicated export-oriented organic clusters across 2.36 lakh hectares.
• Natural Farming: National Mission on Natural Farming scales pesticide-free agricultural practices through community clusters, certifying 14.43 lakh participating farmers.

Digital Extension & Knowledge Ecosystems

• Digital Identity: Digital Agriculture Mission constructs a foundational agrarian registry of 10.31 crore unique Farmer IDs to target government service delivery.
• Pest Surveillance: National Pest Surveillance System uses artificial intelligence to automate crop disease diagnosis for 436 pest varieties and protect yields.
• Automated Advisory: BharatVistaar deploys an AI platform to provide rapid agronomic guidance to more than 3 lakh registered farmers.
• Technical Extension: Krishi Vigyan Kendras operate 731 frontline demonstration centers to transfer modern agricultural technologies and train local cultivators.

Market Linkages, Cooperatives & Agri-Logistics

• Commercial Aggregation: Central Sector Scheme for Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs organizes smallholders into 10,000 commercial collectives to enhance market bargaining power.
• Electronic Trading: National Agriculture Market integrates fragmented physical mandis into a unified digital network to improve price discovery for 1.89 crore farmers.
• Infrastructure Finance: Agriculture Infrastructure Fund provides interest subsidies and credit guarantees to finance 18,893 rural warehouses for post-harvest logistics.
• Processing Clusters: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana co-finances 1,256 modern agro-processing and cold-chain facilities to minimize agricultural supply-chain waste.

Read More> India’s Agriculture Sector | Fisheries Sector in India | India’s Dairy Sector

{Prelims – Agri} Glyphosate

• Context (DTE): Environmentalists have raised concerns over alleged glyphosate use to clear forest land for pea cultivation in parts of Himachal Pradesh.

• Glyphosate is a non-selective systemic herbicide used to control broadleaf weeds and grasses; WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies it as a probable carcinogen, while prolonged exposure may cause health and ecological risks.
• Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC) permits its use only in tea plantations and adjacent non-plantation areas, with application applied only by certified Pest Control Operators (PCOs).

{Prelims – Envi} Deep-Sea and Distant-Water Fishery Resources of Indian EEZ

• Context (PIB): Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology (CMLRE), Ministry of Earth Sciences released the comprehensive National Report on Deep-Sea and Distant-Water Fishery Resources of the Indian EEZ.

• It compiles nearly four decades of pioneering oceanographic research and three decades of systematic surveys across India's 2.37 million square kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
• The document assesses fishery resources, emphasises biodiversity conservation, and reinforces India’s Vision 2047, prioritising Blue Economy, UN SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Key Highlights of the Report

• Unlocking "Twilight Zone" (Mesopelagic Layer): Extending from 200 to 1,000 meters deep, this zone houses dense communities of lanternfishes (myctophids), deep-sea shrimps, and cephalopods.
  • The report details how their nightly vertical migration drives the ocean's "biological carbon pump," transferring carbon from the surface to the deep sea to regulate global climate.
• Deep-Sea Demersal Resources: Provides a meticulous assessment of living resources inhabiting continental slope beyond 200 meters, identifying currently underexploited stocks of deep-sea shrimps, perches, scombroids, flatfishes, and eels.
• Distant-Water Fisheries: Comprehensive data is compiled on high-value open-ocean and deep-water species, including tunas, billfishes, sharks, oceanic squids, and Antarctic krill.
• Safeguarding Marine Biodiversity Hotspots: It documents ecologically vital regions that serve as nurseries and habitats for vulnerable ecosystems. Key areas highlighted include:
  • Kollam Bank & Angria Bank
  • Off-Mangalore Deep-Sea Slope
  • Terrace off Trivandrum
  • The Lakshadweep and Andaman-Nicobar Islands

Read More> Deep-Sea Fishing in Exclusive Economic Zone

{Prelims – S&T} Thermal Protection System (TPS)

• Context (TH): Gaganyaan crew module uses an ablative TPS, which can withstand extreme thermal loads during atmospheric re-entry without requiring complex or delicate surface maintenance.

• TPS is a specialised system designed to protect a spacecraft from the extreme heat generated during atmospheric re-entry and ensure the safety of astronauts during the critical re-entry phase.

Types

• Ablative TPS: An ablative TPS is generally a single-use system that removes heat by sacrificing its outer layers through chemical and physical processes.
  • Gaganyaan crew module uses an ablative TPS as it handles extreme thermal loads, robust and reliable, cost-effective and suitable for single-use missions
• Radiative TPS: It manages the extreme heat of re-entry by absorbing heat and releasing it back into space as electromagnetic radiation, primarily in the infrared spectrum and, at very high temperatures, as visible light.
• Heat Sink TPS: It manages thermal energy by absorbing and storing heat within the protective material, thereby preventing excessive heat from reaching the spacecraft structure.