Current affairs relevant to GS1.
A PIB backgrounder of 3 September 2026 reviews Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari, launched on 6 September 2024 to build low-cost groundwater recharge and storage structures with people's participation. JSJB 1.0 built over 27 lakh structures and JSJB 2.0 over 1.5 crore. In June 2026 it merged with Catch the Rain, and the total crossed 1.58 crore.
3 Sep 2026
On 1 September 2026 Air Vice Marshal Shakti Sharma became the first non-medical woman officer in the Indian Defence Forces to attain the rank of Air Vice Marshal or equivalent. She took over as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Education) at Air Headquarters. Commissioned into the IAF Education Branch on 18 June 1994, she earlier commanded a Sainik School.
1 Sep 2026
The government told Rajya Sabha on 10 August 2026 that 30 river interlinking projects were identified under the National Perspective Plan: 16 in the Peninsular component and 14 in the Himalayan component. The Ken-Betwa Link, costing ₹44,605 crore, is the only priority link under implementation. The Polavaram-linked Godavari-Krishna link has been completed by Andhra Pradesh.
10 Aug 2026
El Niño conditions that developed in May 2026 are likely to persist from June 2026 to February 2027, with probabilities of 70 to 90 per cent, the Earth Sciences Minister told Lok Sabha on 5 August. The outlook comes from INCOIS's indigenous AI/ML-based ENSO prediction system. He said El Niño is not the only factor for the monsoon.
5 Aug 2026
The Gyan Bharatam Mission of the Ministry of Culture, announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, aims to survey, catalogue, conserve and digitise India's manuscripts, the Culture Minister told Lok Sabha on 3 August 2026. ₹491.66 crore is sanctioned for 2025 to 2031. A National Manuscript Survey launched in March 2026 has reported over 1.19 crore manuscripts.
3 Aug 2026
A pollen study by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences links the shrinking of the Harappan Civilization to a weak Indian Summer Monsoon between about 5100 and 4000 years before present, the Science Ministry said on 29 July 2026. Sediments from Deoria Tal in the Garhwal Himalaya show an abrupt dry spell, the "4.2 ka event".
29 Jul 2026
On 25 July 2026 the 48th World Heritage Committee in Busan inscribed the "Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath" on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is India's 45th property. The serial site in Varanasi covers Chaukhandi Stupa and the Archaeological Remains of Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon.
25 Jul 2026
Housing and Urban Affairs told Parliament that urban planning sits with States and urban local bodies under the Twelfth Schedule. NDMA's 2019 heat-wave guidelines ask cities to assess urban heat islands. Heat Action Plans exist in 23 States, 195 districts and 64 cities.
20 Jul 2026
Indiahandmade is a digital marketplace for handloom and handicraft products, launched in 2023 by the Digital India Corporation under the Ministry of Textiles. It links artisans directly with buyers and showcases GI-tagged and ODOP goods. India has an estimated 64.66 lakh handloom and handicraft artisans; women are 71% of handloom weavers and 64% of total artisans (August 2025).
6 Jul 2026
INCOIS began specialised El Niño bulletins for maritime sectors; the first was released on 22 June 2026. The event continues and should peak from November 2026 to January 2027. Indian Ocean sea surface temperature is likely above normal until April/May 2027, with coral bleaching, marine heatwaves and lower sardine and mackerel catch risk.
23 Jun 2026