Current Affairs – August 28, 2026

{GS1 – MIH} Mahatma Ayyankali (1863–1941)

• Context (PIB): Prime Minister paid homage to Mahatma Ayyankali on his birth anniversary (Jayanti).

• He was a pioneering social reformer who worked for social justice, equality and the empowerment of marginalised communities in Kerala.
• Known as the “Grand Old Man of Kerala’s Renaissance“, Mahatma Gandhi bestowed upon him the title “Pulaya Raja” (King of the Pulayas).

Key Contribution

• Villuvandi Samaram (1893): Rode an ox-cart (bullock cart) on public roads restricted for upper castes to break discriminatory travel bans
• Education: He played a major role in securing access to education for children from oppressed and marginalised communities, challenging their exclusion from schools. In 1904, he started a school for Pulaya children in Venganoor.
• Agricultural Labourers Strike: Ayyankali organized the first agricultural labor strike in Kerala history. Dalit laborers refused to work in paddy fields until Dalit children were permitted to attend school.
• Sadhu Jana Paripalana Sangham (SJPS): He founded the SJPS in 1907 to raise funds and promote education for the marginalized.
• Legislative Representation: Became the first Pulaya leader and Dalit member nominated to the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly (Prajasabha) of Travancore in 1910.

{GS1 – MIH} Sree Narayana Guru (1856–1928)

• Context (AIR): The 172^nd birth anniversary of Sree Narayana Guru observed on 28^th August.

• He was a prominent social reformer, philosopher and spiritual leader from Kerala. He played a major role in challenging caste discrimination and social inequality.

Key Contributions

• Social Reform: Worked against caste hierarchy, untouchability and social discrimination. His core message was “One Caste, One Religion, One God for Man” (Oru Jathi, Oru Matham, Oru Daivam Manushyanu).
• Temple Entry and Equality: Established temples that were open to all, challenging the traditional monopoly over religious spaces. He supported Vaikom Satyagraha for temple entry (1924-25) in Travancore.
• Aruvippuram Consecration (1888): He consecrated a Shiva idol at Aruvippuram, a village in Kerala. It was an important symbolic challenge to caste-based restrictions.
• He emphasised education, organisation and economic progress as instruments of social transformation.
• His ideas inspired the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam, associated with social reform and the upliftment of the Ezhava community.
• Founded the Adwaithasramam in Aluva, Kerala, in 1913 to propagate non-dualistic philosophy and human equality.
• Literary Work: Atmopadesa Satakam, Daiva Dasakam, Jati Mimamsa and Darsanamala.

{GS2 – Polity} Expansion of Lok Sabha **

• Context (TH): The 131^st Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2026, proposes to increase the maximum constitutional limit of Lok Sabha seats from 550 to 850.

Arguments in Favour of Expanding the Lok Sabha

• Demographic Proportionality: Anchoring seats to the 1971 population (54.8 crore) severely distorts democratic representation for India’s current population of 1.4 billion.
• Quota Accommodation: The proposed enlargement enables the 106^th Amendment’s 33% women’s reservation to take effect without reducing the absolute number of unreserved constituencies.
• Constituent Accessibility: Expanding the House reduces the average burden from 25 lakh to 17 lakh citizens per MP, facilitating direct public grievance redress.
• Demographic-Penalty Shield: Under a pro-rata 816-seat formula, southern states increase their absolute representation from 129 to 195 members while maintaining their 23.8% legislative share.
• Representation Equity: Unfreezing the seat count restores constitutional parity and proportional legislative power to high-growth northern states such as Bihar (TFR: 3.0).
• Executive Capacity: A larger total membership automatically scales the 91^st Amendment’s 15% ceiling from 81 to 122 ministers to accommodate modern governance complexities.

Arguments Against Expanding the Lok Sabha

• Federal Asymmetry: A 50% pro-rata expansion distorts absolute legislative power by widening the numerical voting gap between Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu from 41 to about 61 members.
• Policy Penalty: Unfreezing the 1971 seat allocation penalizes southern states for meeting national family-planning targets while rewarding high-growth regions with parliamentary dominance.
• Deliberation Deficit: Crowding the lower house with more than 800 members drastically reduces individual floor time for questions.
• Federal Disruption: Enlarging the Lok Sabha bypasses the safer administrative alternative of expanding State Assemblies to meet local accessibility demands without disturbing the inter-state balance.
• Exchequer Strain: Adding 272 new parliamentarians increases the MPLADS allocation by ₹1,360 crore annually, creating a steep recurring financial burden on public revenue.

Committee and Commission Recommendations

• Law Commission of India (170^th Report, 1999): Augment the total Lok Sabha strength by 25% (136 additional seats) via a proportional party-list system to correct vote-share distortions.
• Punchhi Commission (2010): Grant equal representation to all states in the Rajya Sabha to protect the federal balance against population-driven expansion of the lower house.
• NCRWC (2002): Establish rationalized, predictable intervals for boundary adjustments to eliminate the administrative culture of ad hoc constitutional seat freezes.
• Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990): Rotate constituencies reserved for SCs and STs during delimitation to prevent permanent geographic disenfranchisement of general candidates.
• Sachar Committee (2006): Relocate Dalit-reserved seats away from high-minority clusters to unlock fair electoral competition opportunities for minority candidates in their demographic strongholds.
• Economic Advisory Council to PM (2026): Split 170 oversized constituencies into two-way and three-way segments to scale the Lok Sabha to 824 seats without altering inter-state proportional weightage.

Read More> Expansion of Lok Sabha Seats | The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026

{GS3 – IE} 12 Years of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) **

• Context (PIB): PMJDY, India’s flagship programme for financial inclusion, completed 12 years in 2026.

• It was launched on 15^th August 2014 as the National Mission for Financial Inclusion.
• Nodal Ministry: Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.
• Objective: To provide universal access to financial services, particularly to the poor, unbanked and underserved population.
• Core Tenets of the Scheme: Banking the unbanked, Securing the unsecured, and Funding the unfunded.

Key Features of PMJDY

• Universal Banking Access: Provides a basic savings bank deposit account to every unbanked person.
  • The scheme initially focused on providing a bank account to “every household.” In 2018, its focus expanded to ensure that “every unbanked adult” had access to a bank account.
• Zero-Balance Account: No minimum balance is required to be maintained.
• Interest on Deposits: Account holders earn interest on deposits, as applicable to savings bank accounts.
• RuPay Debit Card: Every eligible PMJDY account holder is provided with a RuPay Debit Card, promoting digital payments and financial inclusion.
• Accident Insurance Cover: RuPay cardholders receive accident insurance of ₹1 lakh, enhanced to ₹2 lakh for new PMJDY accounts opened after 28 August 2018.
  • No premium is charged from the beneficiary and the premium is paid by the National Payments Corporation of India.
• Overdraft Facility: Eligible account holders can avail an overdraft (OD) facility of up to ₹10,000, providing access to short-term credit.
• Gateway to Social Security and Welfare: PMJDY accounts facilitate access to Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and are linked with key schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), and Atal Pension Yojana (APY).

Major Achievements

• Expansion of Banking Access: The number of PMJDY accounts increased from 14.72 crore in 2015 to 59.09 crore as of 19 August 2026. Of these 45.95 crore accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas.
• Women’s Financial Inclusion:  As on 19th August 2026, there are 32.92 crore female beneficiaries of PM-JDY accounts, highlighting the scheme’s role in promoting gender equality in financial access.
• Growth in Deposits: PMJDY deposits have surged ~20x, rising from ₹15,670 crore in March 2015 to ₹3,16,514 crore as of 19th August 2026, reflecting growing savings habit among low-income households and deeper participation in the formal financial system.
• Promotion of Digital Payments: As of 19 August 2026, 41.29 crore RuPay debit cards had been issued to PMJDY account holders, strengthening access to digital payments and formal financial services.
• India’s Financial Inclusion Index: Risen from 53.9 in 2018 to 67 in 2026, showcasing deeper access to credit, insurance, savings and digital payments.

{GS3 – IE} Ease of Doing R&D in India Report **

• Context (TH): NITI Aayog published the Ease of Doing Research & Development (R&D) in India report.

Key Findings of the Report

• Investment Intensity: India’s Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) stood at about 0.65% of GDP in 2020-21 against about 3.5% in the United States and 5.3% in South Korea.
• Private Shortfall: Private industry accounted for about 36% of GERD, compared with about 70% in the United States and 76% in South Korea.
• Grant Concentration: IITs receive about 80% of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) funding, contrary to ANRF’s mandate to support other higher education and state institutions.
• Approval Squeeze: Indian agencies funded fewer than 10% of applications, well below the 26% at the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the 19% at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
• Process Delay: Approvals, fund releases, procurement, and reporting each take an average of six to seven months across the project cycle.
• Researcher Density: The research workforce stands at 262 full-time equivalent researchers per million people, compared with 1,585 in China and 4,821 in the United States.
• Funding Opacity: The funding ecosystem lacks a unified record of who is funded, by whom, and whether the same work has already received public support.

Key Recommendations by NITI Aayog

• Spend Target: Raise Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) to 2% of GDP over five years to increase research intensity toward that of advanced innovation economies.
• Fiscal Relief: Restore the 5% GST on research inputs and grant 125% Corporate Social Responsibility deductions to reduce input prices and attract private investment.
• Grant Clock: Complete proposal clearance and the first fund release within six months of submission to reduce the current delay of more than a year.
• Single Portal: Route all public grants through the Unified Project Management System (UPMS) to replace scattered agency portals with a single official lifecycle record.
• Fellowship Rail: Disburse doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships via the proposed Vigyan Nidhi platform to automate payouts and expand the thin postdoctoral pipeline.

Read More> India’s R&D Architecture | India’s Innovation Ecosystem | Science Funding Ecosystem

{Prelims – Geo} Gandak River *

• Context (NDTV): Flash floods in Nepal led to a rise in water levels in the Narayani-Gandak river system, prompting flood alerts in parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

• The Bhote Koshi River is part of the upper tributary system feeding into the Trishuli River, which ultimately forms part of the Narayani/Gandak river basin.
• Gandaki river, Known as Narayani in Nepal and Gandak in India; it is a major transboundary Himalayan river and a left-bank tributary of the Ganga.
• Origin & Course: Rises near the Tibet–Nepal border, flows through Nepal, enters India at Valmikinagar (Bihar), passes through Bihar & Uttar Pradesh, and merges into the Ganga near Patna (at Hajipur and Sonepur).
• Key Facts: About 630 km long, with ~445 km in India; mentioned as Sadanira in the Shatapatha Brahmana.

Read More> Flash Flood in Nepal

{Prelims – Geo} Western Disturbances

• Context (TH): Western Disturbances significantly affected weather extremes during the 2026 monsoon and may have contributed to flash floods in Nepal and Tibet.

• A Western Disturbance (WD) is an extratropical cyclonic condition originating over the Mediterranean Sea, fueled by cold polar air meeting warmer Mediterranean moisture.
• Unlike tropical cyclones driven by low-level winds, WDs are embedded in and propelled eastward by the high-altitude Subtropical Westerly Jet Stream (STWJ).
• Traveling eastward across Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, they gather added moisture from the Caspian, Black, and Arabian Seas before reaching the Indian subcontinent.
• The Himalayas force these moisture-laden winds to rise and precipitate over North and Northwest India, including J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi.
• Major Impacts:
  • Boon: Gentle winter showers help Rabi crops like wheat, mustard, and barley by naturally irrigating during dry periods. They also replenish mountain snow cover and provide chilling hours for apple and saffron in J&K and Himachal Pradesh.
  • Bane: These intense disturbances often trigger cloudbursts, flash floods, avalanches, and destructive hailstorms that destroy standing crops.

Read More > Western Disturbances

{Prelims – PIN World} Lake Ontario *

• Context (IE): U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for federal geographic use following trade standoffs with Canada.

• Lake Ontario is the smallest by surface area (19,011 sq km) and the easternmost of the five Great Lakes (from west to east: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario).
• Bordered to the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario and to the south and east by the U.S. state of New York.
• Rivers: Fed primarily by the Niagara River from Lake Erie and drained by the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean.
• Littoral Cities: Toronto and Hamilton in Canada, and Rochester in the United States.
• Welland Canal connects Lake Ontario to Lake Erie, bypassing Niagara Falls.

{Prelims – IR} H-1B Visa

• Context (DDN): U.S. employers seeking to hire skilled foreign workers using the H-1B visa programme.

• It is a non-immigrant work visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations requiring specialised knowledge and typically at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• H-1B visa is issued for employment in specialised fields such as information technology, engineering, finance, healthcare and research.
• It is initially granted for up to three years and can generally be extended up to a total of six years.
• H1B visas are typically capped each year and allocated through a lottery system managed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Read More>What is H-1B Visa Program?

{Prelims – Social Sector} GIPCi Inhibitor Drug for Pancreatic Cancer

• Context (IE): Mayo Clinic (US) and Sravathi AI Technology (India) co-developed GIPCi, a first-in-class small-molecule inhibitor of the GIPC1 protein for treatment-resistant pancreatic cancer.

• GAIP-interacting protein C-terminus 1 (GIPC1) regulates cell signaling and receptor trafficking, but its overexpression or dysregulation promotes tumor growth and drug resistance.
• GIPC1 remained “undruggable” because its PDZ domain has broad, shallow protein-interaction surfaces that hinder the binding of conventional small molecules.
• Researchers used advanced computational modelling, machine learning, and predictive analytics to engineer the drug GIPCi to bind the challenging GIPC1 PDZ domain.
• Preclinical Result: The drug increased sensitivity to standard chemotherapy, suppressed tumor growth, and prolonged survival in preclinical models.

Read More> Potential Cure for Pancreatic Cancer

{Prelims – Social Sector} Salmonella

• Context (TH): Experts have highlighted the need for addressing Salmonella infections, particularly due to the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the broader One Health dimension.

• Salmonella is a group of bacteria that can cause different infections, ranging from mild gastroenteritis to serious bloodstream infections.
• Typhoidal Salmonella: Typhoid and paratyphoid (enteric fever) are caused by Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi, respectively. For typhoid, humans are the reservoir.
• Non-Typhoidal Salmonella (NTS): It commonly causes gastroenteritis, characterised by diarrhoea, stomach cramps, fever and sometimes vomiting.
  • For NTS reservoir is a wider ecology involving animals, food and the environment. Poultry, eggs, meat and other animal-derived foods can be sources.
• Both typhoidal and non-typhoidal Salmonella infections spread primarily through the faecal-oral route.
• Treatment: Uncomplicated non-typhoidal Salmonella gastroenteritis is mainly managed through adequate fluids and electrolyte replacement.
  • Antibiotics are generally reserved for severe or invasive infections and individuals at a higher risk of complications.

{Prelims – Misc} One Liners

• IR – Protocol Agreement-2026 (BS): Pakistan and Kuwait signed an agreement to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, including in areas such as training, capacity building and border management. It enhances the existing military cooperation framework established under the ‘Defence Cooperation Agreement-2023’.
• A&C – Onam (PIB): A 10-day harvest festival celebrated in the Malayalam month of Chingam, primarily in Kerala, marking the Malayali New Year. It marks the annual return of the benevolent Asura King Mahabali, who offered his own head for Lord Vishnu’s Vamana avatar to step on
• In News – World Sanskrit Day (PIB): Celebrated annually on the full-moon day (Purnima) of the Hindu calendar month of Shravana. Its celebration was initiated by the Government in 1969. 1^st World Sanskrit Day was celebrated in 1969.
• Sports – Grand Chess Tour Title (AIR): Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa became the 1^st Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour (GCT). GCT is a circuit of chess tournaments in which players compete for multiple prize pools.