🗞️ MONTHLY CURRENT AFFAIRS DIGEST — August 2026

The important, exam-relevant changes of the month, grouped by GS area. This page is refreshed monthly. Always cross-verify each item with a primary source (PIB, PRS, ministry sites) before quoting it in an answer — coaching aggregators occasionally get details wrong.

How to use: read this once a month, add each item to your notes beside the static concept it connects to (e.g., a new scheme → the relevant Economy/Society note). UPSC asks the static concept applied to the current event, never the event alone.

🏛️ Polity & Governance

• National Food Security (Amendment) Bill, 2026 — proposes to restructure Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) foodgrain entitlements. Debate: impact on vulnerable households, nutritional diversity, and beneficiary coverage. → link to your notes on food security / DPSP Art 47 / PDS.

💰 Economy

• RBI Monetary Policy (5 Aug 2026): repo rate held at 5.25% for the fourth straight meeting; stance kept "Neutral." Governor Sanjay Malhotra noted temporary supply factors pushed June inflation above the 4% target for the first time in 17 months. → link to monetary policy tools / inflation / MPC (Economy note).
• PM-KISAN extended to 2030–31 — ₹3.15 lakh crore outlay approved. → agriculture / income support / DBT.
• Rural employment: record ₹95,692 crore allocated under the Guarantee for Rozgar & Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 for FY 2026–27 (the restructured rural-jobs guarantee). → employment / social security.
• ESIC extended the Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (unemployment relief for insured workers) to 30 June 2027. → social security / labour.

🌱 Environment & Energy

• Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana (31 Jul 2026): develop 5,000 MW of floating solar PV with co-located storage. → renewable energy / net-zero 2070 / land-water-energy nexus.
• Samudra Manthan — National Offshore Exploration Scheme: ₹84,084 crore outlay for offshore mineral/energy exploration. → blue economy / resources / EEZ.

🔬 Science & Technology

• ISRO's role change: ISRO to exit launch-vehicle manufacturing, handing production to private sector / PSUs, and refocus on R&D and scientific missions (per IN-SPACe). → space sector reforms / private participation / IN-SPACe.

🏅 Schemes & Society

• Revamped Khelo India Scheme + enhanced support approved with a ₹36,441 crore outlay (1 Aug 2026). → sports policy / youth.
• Border connectivity: 111 road projects approved for all-weather connectivity to unconnected villages along the northern (India–China) border. → infrastructure / border area development / security.

📌 How to revise current affairs (the method that works)

 DAILY    1 newspaper (The Hindu / Indian Express) — editorials + national + IR
          + note schemes/bills/judgments on a running page
 WEEKLY   consolidate the week's items into your static notes (by subject)
 MONTHLY  read one magazine (Vision/Vajiram) + this digest; test with a monthly quiz
 ALWAYS   verify on PIB/PRS before using a fact in an answer

Primary sources to track

• PIB — official government announcements
• PRS Legislative Research — bills & Acts explained
• The Hindu / Indian Express — daily
• RBI, NITI Aayog, ministry websites
• Yojana / Kurukshetra magazines — thematic depth

Sources for this digest: Vajiram & Ravi — July 2026 · Adda247 Govt Schemes · Insights on India — 13 Aug 2026 · IndiaBonds — RBI Aug 2026 · FocusEconomics — RBI Aug 2026

Next update: September 2026. Verify every item on PIB before exam use.