Current affairs relevant to GS2.
A fresh survey in all districts under the Manual Scavengers Act, 2013 found no manual scavengers, the Social Justice Ministry told Rajya Sabha on 2 August 2026. Under the NAMASTE scheme, launched in 2023-24, 89,915 sewer and septic tank workers have been validated. The scheme pushes mechanised cleaning, safety gear and health insurance.
2 Aug 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan on 2 August 2026, a 100-week campaign against substance abuse. Over one crore young people joined by video from more than 28,000 locations. The idea began as a Kashi pilot last year, backed by over 125 spiritual organisations under the Kashi Declaration.
2 Aug 2026
India and Rwanda held the first session of their Joint Trade Committee in New Delhi on 30 and 31 July 2026, the Commerce Ministry said on 1 August. They named critical minerals, healthcare and digital technologies as priorities. India supplies about 24.5 per cent of Rwanda's pharmaceutical imports, and is its second largest foreign investor.
1 Aug 2026
The Maldives Monetary Authority announced on 30 July 2026 that its instant payment system, Favara, is now linked with India's UPI, the Finance Ministry said on 31 July. People in the Maldives can send money in real time from their mobile banking apps to UPI-enabled bank accounts in India. Payments start in Rufiyaa and arrive in Rupees.
31 Jul 2026
India's social protection systems now cover about 101 crore people, or over 68 per cent of the population, Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on 31 July 2026. He spoke at the 4th Global Industrial Relations Summit in New Delhi. The ILO had highlighted the figure at the BRICS Labour Ministers' Meeting in Hyderabad the week before.
31 Jul 2026
The External Affairs Ministry answered four questions in Parliament on 30 and 31 July 2026. Operation Amistad sent relief and an Army field hospital to Venezuela after two earthquakes in June. The Tehran embassy helped 2,557 Indians leave Iran by land. India has met its USD 120 million Chabahar commitment, but the US sanctions waiver ended in April.
31 Jul 2026
Cases registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 for crimes against Scheduled Castes rose from 45,995 in 2020 to a five-year high of 53,372 in 2023, the Social Justice Ministry told Rajya Sabha on 30 July 2026. Cases eased to 48,669 in 2024. Convictions rose to 5,192 in 2024, but trials pending kept rising.
30 Jul 2026
The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 gives the National Song, Vande Mataram, the same legal protection as the National Anthem, a PIB backgrounder said on 30 July 2026. It amends Section 3 of the 1971 Act. Intentionally stopping the song, or disturbing people singing it, could bring up to three years in jail.
30 Jul 2026
Indian Railways ran the first direct commercial container freight train from Kolkata Port to the Biratnagar Customs Yard in Nepal, the Railways Ministry said on 28 July 2026. The 40-wagon train carried canola. It ran under the revised India-Nepal Rail Transit Protocol, with no transshipment at the border, cutting time, cost and handling.
28 Jul 2026
Since 2018, India's National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme has offered free screening, diagnostics and drugs for hepatitis B and C, a PIB backgrounder said on 27 July 2026, a day before World Hepatitis Day. The 2021 HIV Sentinel Surveillance found about 0.85 per cent positive for hepatitis B and 0.29 per cent for hepatitis C.
27 Jul 2026