Current Affairs – August 29, 2026

{GS2 – MoHUA} PM SVANidhi

• Context (PIB): Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) has disbursed 1.18 crore loans worth ₹19,171 crore to 78.68 lakh street vendors.

• PM SVANidhi is a Central Sector micro-credit scheme providing collateral-free working capital loans to urban street vendors.
• Coverage: Hawkers selling fruits, vegetables, street food, apparel, footwear, stationery, and service providers like barbers, cobblers, and laundry operators.
• Timeline: Launched in 2020, restructured in 2025, and extended until March 2030.
• Nodal Agency: Jointly managed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Department of Financial Services (DFS). SIDBI serves as the technical implementation agency.
• Loan Tranches: First loan of up to ₹15,000 for a 1-year tenure, followed by a second loan of ₹25,000 (18-month) and a third loan of ₹50,000 (36-month) unlocked upon repayment of the preceding loan.
• Interest Subsidy: 7% per annum, credited quarterly via DBT for timely EMI payments.
• Key Restructured Features (2025-2030 Phase)
  • City-Region Approach: Expands coverage beyond statutory urban limits into census towns and peri-urban areas.
  • Digital Lending Platform: To ensure simplified, paperless loan processing.
  • UPI-linked RuPay Credit Card: For eligible vendors with a limit of up to ₹30,000.
  • Vendor Migration Module: Enables seamless transfer of Letters of Recommendation for vendors shifting locations.
  • PM SVANidhi Startup Challenge: Encourages startups to develop tech solutions for vendors.
  • Street Food Hubs (SFHs): 50 hubs will be set up to improve vending infrastructure.
  • Lok Kalyan Melas: Bring together street vendors, banks, and Urban Local Bodies to improve last-mile access to credit and welfare schemes.

Read More> PM SVANidhi Scheme

{GS3 – Infra} Strategic Fuel System for India’s Energy Resilience **

• Context (TH): West Asia disruptions exposed India’s energy security vulnerabilities, prompting consideration of a decade-long strategic fuel program to build crude, LNG, and LPG storage.

• The proposed program would add 41 MT of new strategic storage capacity, comprising 28 MT of crude oil, 9 MT of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and 4 MT of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
• It aims to cover nearly two months of crude oil demand, 56 days of LNG imports, and six weeks of LPG.

Current Landscape of India’s Fuel System

• Crude Base: India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) system has a total capacity of 5.33 MT of crude oil, stored in underground rock caverns, operating at 64% utilization.
• LPG Framework: Depends mainly on Oil Marketing Companies’ inventories, with semi-strategic underground capacities totaling only about 0.14 MT.
• LNG Framework: India lacks operational underground gas storage; LNG depends on commercial terminal tanks for routine flows.

Need for a Strategic Fuel System

• Import Reliance: India imports roughly 88% of crude oil and over 50% of LNG, exposing the economy to severe balance-of-payments shocks during global supply shocks.
• Buffer Deficit: India’s oil stocks of roughly 74 days are below the IEA-recommended 90-day benchmark for managing severe supply disruptions.
• Gas Storage Vacuum: Lack of underground gas storage forces industries to depend on surface inventories, providing under 14 days of supply during disruptions.

Challenges in Building Strategic Fuel Reserves

• Capital Burden: The $42 billion strategic fuel program imposes a significant public financing burden.
• Logistics Deficit: Expanding the existing underground LPG capacity to the proposed 4 MT target requires a thirty-fold infrastructure scale-up across internal pipeline and distribution networks.
• Procurement Hurdle: High global market prices limit the upfront purchasing power needed to fill the newly constructed caverns to full capacity.
• Execution Friction: Ongoing land acquisition requirements and pending PPP frameworks stall expansion.
• Cryogenic Constraints: Storing LNG needs insulated tanks with continuous active cooling to −162°C to prevent fuel loss over time.
• Regulatory Ambiguity: India lacks formal rules on strategic-stock ownership, financing responsibilities, and triggers for emergency release.

Read More > India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves

{Prelims – A&C} Thiruvathira Dance

• Context (BT): Traditional cultural performances, including Chenda Melam and the Thiruvathira dance, were performed during Onam celebrations.

• Thiruvathira is a traditional group dance of Kerala, predominantly performed by women.
• Dancers move in a circular formation around a traditional lit brass lamp or a floral arrangement (Pookkalam), clapping their hands in sync with rhythmic vocal lyrics.

{Prelims – Agri} Carbosulfan Insecticide

• Context (NIE): Centre has proposed banning the import, manufacture, sale and use of Carbosulfan in India.

• Carbosulfan is a broad-spectrum carbamate insecticide and nematicide used to control chewing and sucking pests in crops like rice, cotton, and vegetables.
• The Registration Committee (RC) constituted under the Insecticides Act, 1968, had recommended a ban due to its toxicity and risks to human health, birds, aquatic animals and the environment.
• Carbosulfan can break down into Carbofuran, a highly toxic substance, raising concerns regarding non-target organisms and ecosystem health.
• While atropine and supportive treatment may be used for symptomatic management, no specific antidote exists to reverse Carbosulfan’s toxic effects.
• Several countries have already restricted or prohibited its use due to safety concerns.

{Prelims – PIN World} Morocco *

• Context (DDN): India and Morocco have agreed to work towards doubling bilateral trade in the next 5 years.

• Morocco (capital : Rabat) is the most westerly of North African countries known as the Maghreb – “the West”.
• It is strategically located near the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Morocco from Spain/Europe. Located at the crossroads of Africa, Europe and the Arab world.
• Bordered by: Atlantic Ocean (west), Mediterranean Sea (north), Algeria (east and southeast), and Western Sahara (south). Spanish enclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, are situated on the country’s northern coast.
• Mountains: Atlas Mountains, Rif Mountains, and Jebel Toubkal etc.

{Prelims – PIN World} Uganda

• Context (CTVN): WHO officially declared Uganda Ebola-free after a mandatory 42-day countdown with no new confirmed cases.

• Uganda (capital: Kampala) is a landlocked East African country located almost entirely within the Nile River basin. The Equator passes directly through the country.
• Bordering Nations: South Sudan (north), Kenya (east), Tanzania and Rwanda (south), and the DRC (west).
• Major Lakes: Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest freshwater lake, forms Uganda’s boundary with Tanzania and Kenya. Lake Albert and Lake Edward border the DRC.
  • Lake Victoria serves as the primary source of the White Nile.
• Mountains: Glaciated peaks like Margherita Peak (Uganda’s highest point) in the Rwenzori Mountains, and the extinct volcanic shield of Mount Elgon on the Kenyan border.

{Prelims – PI} Liberation of Goa

• Context (PIB): Union Defence Minister inaugurated the redeveloped Martyrs’ Memorial at Patradevi, Goa.

• The memorial honours Satyagrahis, including martyr Karnail Singh Benipal, killed on August 15, 1955, when Portuguese forces fired on unarmed protesters demanding an end to colonial rule.

Phases of Goa Liberation

• Genesis of Nationalism: T.B. Cunha, the “Father of Goan Nationalism,” founded the Goa Congress Committee in 1928 to align the local struggle with India’s independence movement.
• Civil Disobedience: Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia defied a ban on public assemblies on June 18, 1946, sparking a widespread movement. June 18 is now observed as Goa Revolution Day to commemorate the event.
• Deadlock: After India’s independence in 1947, Portugal refused to transfer power and classified Goa as an integral “overseas province” rather than a colony, in 1951 to evade UN decolonization mandates.
• Armed Resistance: Militant groups such as the Azad Gomantak Dal launched armed attacks, liberating the Portuguese enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli in 1954.
• Military Intervention: After years of stalled diplomacy, the Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy, and Air Force) launched the coordinated Operation Vijay on December 17-18, 1961.
• Surrender: Portuguese Governor-General Manuel António Vassalo e Silva signed the instrument of surrender on December 19, 1961, ending 451 years (1510–1961) of colonial rule.
• Aftermath: Goa, Daman and Diu were integrated into India as a Union Territory via the 12^th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1962. Goa attained full statehood on May 30, 1987, under the 56^th CAA.

Read More> Goa Liberation Day

{Prelims – Misc} One Liners

• Agri – Indigenous Breed Registration (DTE): Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) registered 16 new indigenous breeds, raising India’s animal genetic resources to 262 breeds (258 indigenous & 4 synthetic). These breeds span 9 species across 13 states and J&K, covering diverse agro-ecological regions.
  • Nodal Authority: Karnal-based ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) is the central institute for characterizing and registering India’s livestock and poultry genetic resources.
• Envi – Ammannia telanganensis (NIE): Flowering freshwater plant species discovered in the wetland areas of Ranga Reddy district and the Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telangana. Named after the state Telangana.
  • Habitat: Grows in wet sandy soil, seasonally flowing streams, and along the margins of water bodies.