VidBodh

Current affairs

Latest edition: September 2026. Covered from 1 June to 30 September 2026. Next edition, October 2026, publishes on 5 November 2026.

The monthly magazine

August 2026

5 lead articles · 32 new articles · 8 updates

LeadPrelims and MainsGrid, power sector and energy policy

The grid is the limit: 300 GW and curtailment

India's non fossil capacity crossed 300 GW on 31 July 2026, and renewables supplied a record 20 per cent of generation in July. In the same weeks solar plants were being told to switch off output, because the grid could not carry it.

300.50 GWnon fossil capacity, over 54 per cent of installed capacity
500 GWthe target for non fossil capacity by 2030
20 per centrenewables' share of generation in July 2026, a record

LeadPrelims and MainsHydrogen and bioenergy

GOBARdhan becomes the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme

The Cabinet on 6 August 2026 approved GOBARdhan as the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme, to run to 2035 to 2036. It brings the compressed biogas programmes of four ministries under one, and requires city gas distributors to blend compressed biogas into the gas they sell.

LeadPrelims and MainsCritical minerals and rare earths

Critical minerals: the refinery problem

August 2026 brought three developments on one problem: twenty bids came in under India's scheme for rare earth magnets, two pilot plants in Odisha were set to recover rare earths from industrial waste, and fresh data showed how tightly the refining of critical minerals is held by a few countries.

LeadPrelims and MainsNuclear power programme

Nuclear power: the liability cap before the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on 17 August 2026 issued notice on a challenge to the liability caps in the SHANTI Act, 2025. It asked whether a cap written into a statute can stop a constitutional court from awarding fair compensation to the victims of a nuclear accident.

LeadPrelims and MainsAI governance, safety and ethics

The European Union's AI Act comes into application

The European Union's AI Act became applicable on 2 August 2026, two years after it came into force, and the European Union launched a team to enforce it. It is the first comprehensive law on artificial intelligence anywhere.

Science and Technology

1Space

1.1Launch vehicles, satellites and applications

1.1.1Everest and full-flow staged combustionNewPrelims and Mains
Everest is an 800 kN rocket engine built by a Bengaluru startup on the full flow staged combustion cycle, the demanding end of engine design.

1.2Human spaceflight and space stations

1.2.1Re-entry heat shieldingNewPrelims and Mains
A heat shield is the thermal protection system that keeps a returning crew module from burning up, because the whole energy of orbit has to be shed as heat in a few minutes.

1.3Moon, Sun and planetary missions

1.3.1Space weather forecasting from Aditya-L1NewPrelims and Mains
Space weather forecasting is the attempt to read the Sun's atmosphere for a sign of a solar flare hours before it erupts.
1.3.2The lunar south poleNewPrelims and Mains
The lunar south pole is the part of the Moon where long sunlight and water ice almost sit together, which is why every serious lunar plan, China's as much as America's, now points at the same few hundred kilometres.

1.4Astronomy and cosmology

1.4.1The Sun: corona, flares and stormsBrief
13 Aug 2026A total solar eclipse crossed Greenland, western Iceland, northern Spain, north eastern Portugal and northern Russia, Europe's first in 27 years; it was not seen from India. The Hindu, 13 Aug 2026: Total solar eclipse over northern Spain (opens in a new tab)

1.5Space policy, private sector and governance

1.5.1IN-SPACeNewPrelims and Mainsnewly added
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), set up in 2020 under the Department of Space, is the single window through which a private company gets permission for any space activity.
1.5.2Space debris: tracking, dodging and the Debris Free Space MissionNewPrelims and Mains
Space debris is dead satellites, spent rocket stages and fragments left in orbit at orbital speed, so that even a small piece can destroy a working spacecraft.
1.5.3The Artemis AccordsNewPrelims and Mains
The Artemis Accords are a set of principles, drafted by the United States in 2020, that a country signs to take part in NASA's Artemis programme to return to the Moon.
1.5.4India's first commercial Earth observation constellationNewPrelims and Mains
India's first fully commercial Earth observation constellation is a set of twelve satellites to be built, owned and operated by a private consortium by 2029 under IN-SPACe authorisation.
1.5.5Indian Space Policy 2023Brief
16 Aug 2026A study put the cost of a kilogram to low Earth orbit on Indian rockets at $13,302 in 2025, the highest among major nations, against a world average of $3,868. The cause is rarity rather than inefficiency: India flew five launches that year, mostly on small rockets. The Hindu, 16 Aug 2026: Despite its reputation, India's per-unit space launch cost highest: study (opens in a new tab)

2Defence technology

2.1Missiles and air defence

2.1.1Agni-4NewPrelims
Agni-4 is an indigenously developed missile of the intermediate range class, with a range of about 4,000 km.

2.2Military platforms, drones and new weapons

2.2.1MQ-9B Sea GuardianNewPrelims and Mains
The MQ 9B Sea Guardian is a high altitude long endurance remotely piloted aircraft, flown by a crew on the ground.
2.2.2Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft engineNewPrelims and Mains
The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft is India's planned fifth generation stealth fighter.
2.2.3Micro gas turbine enginesBrief
25 Aug 2026Three indigenous micro gas turbine engines were unveiled, NJ 05, NJ 50 and NJ 100, of 5, 50 and 100 kg thrust, for tactical drones, drone interceptors and compact missiles. PIB, 25 Aug 2026: CSIR-NAL unveils indigenous micro gas turbine engines (opens in a new tab)

2.3Defence indigenisation and exports

2.3.1Positive Indigenisation ListNewPrelims and Mains
A Positive Indigenisation List is a written assurance to private firms that an order is waiting for the defence parts it names.

3Health and disease

3.1Communicable diseases, animal health and One Health

3.1.1LeptospirosisNewPrelims and Mains
Leptospirosis is a bacterial zoonosis caused by Leptospira from the urine of rodents and other animals.

3.2Drugs, diagnostics and medical technology

3.2.1Indian Pharmacopoeia CommissionBrief
4 Aug 2026The WHO South East Asia Regulatory Network (SEARN) named the IPC its Regional Centre of Excellence in Pharmacovigilance. The IPC is also the network's Technical Centre in Quality of Medicines. PIB, 4 Aug 2026: Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission named WHO-SEARN Centre of Excellence (opens in a new tab)

4Biotechnology

4.1Genomics, gene editing and cell therapy

4.1.1Stem cell therapy: what is proven and who regulates itNewPrelims and Mains
Stem cell therapy treats disease with stem cells, and every proven use replaces a tissue with the same tissue.
4.1.2EpigeneticsNewPrelims and Mains
Epigenetics is heritable change in how active a gene is, without any change to the DNA sequence itself.

4.2Agricultural and food biotechnology

4.2.1Pigeonpea telomere-to-telomere genomeNewPrelims
The pigeonpea telomere-to-telomere genome is a gapless reading, from one chromosome end to the other, of the genome of pigeonpea, the pulse sold as arhar or tur.

5Computing and AI

5.1AI and robotics: technology and India's capability

5.1.1The Cyber-Physical Systems missionNewPrelims and Mains
The National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) funds India's work where software drives machinery, and is also where much of its artificial intelligence research sits.
5.1.2BHASHININewPrelims and Mains
Bhasha Interface for India (BHASHINI) is the platform built to solve, once for everybody, the problem of India's languages, the first problem any Indian artificial intelligence service has to solve.
5.1.3IndiaAI MissionBrief
31 Aug 2026A foundation model is trained once on broad data and adapted afterwards to many tasks. BharatGen, led by IIT Bombay, released Param-2, a model of 17 billion parameters covering all 22 scheduled languages. PIB, 31 Aug 2026: Cyber-Physical Systems mission: translation parks and BharatGen (opens in a new tab)

5.2AI governance, safety and ethics

5.2.1The European Union's AI Act comes into applicationLead
The European Union's AI Act became applicable on 2 August 2026, two years after it came into force, and the European Union launched a team to enforce it. It is the first comprehensive law on artificial intelligence anywhere.

5.3Digital public infrastructure and platforms

5.3.1Safe harbour and the Meta takedownNewPrelims and Mainsnewly added
Safe harbour is the protection that Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 gives a platform from liability for what its users post.

6Communications

6.1Telecom networks, spectrum and internet infrastructure

6.1.1Cable landing stationsNewPrelims
A cable landing station is where a subsea fibre cable comes ashore and joins the domestic network.

6.2Satellite and emerging communications

6.2.1Satellite internet: the ground segment, the licence and the spectrumNewPrelims and Mains
Satellite internet carries a user's traffic from a dish to a passing low Earth orbit satellite, which relays it to a satellite earth station gateway that hands it to the ordinary internet.

7Energy technology

7.1Solar energy

7.1.1PM-KUSUMNewPrelims and Mainsnewly added
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), launched in 2019, supports decentralised solar plants, standalone solar pumps and the solarisation of grid connected agricultural pumps.
7.1.2Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar YojanaPrelims and Mains
1 Aug 2026The Cabinet approved the ₹5,070 crore scheme. The Hindu, 1 Aug 2026: Cabinet approves scheme to promote floating solar plants (opens in a new tab) · PIB, 31 Jul 2026: Cabinet approves 'Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana (PM-SSY)' for Development of Floating Solar Photovoltaic Projects (opens in a new tab) · PIB, 2 Aug 2026 · The Indian Express, 24 Aug 2026: Floating solar: can it be India's next renewable energy success story? (opens in a new tab)
Earlier coverage

7.2Hydrogen and bioenergy

7.2.1GOBARdhan becomes the National Circular Bioenergy SchemeLead
The Cabinet on 6 August 2026 approved GOBARdhan as the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme, to run to 2035 to 2036. It brings the compressed biogas programmes of four ministries under one, and requires city gas distributors to blend compressed biogas into the gas they sell.
7.2.2E20Prelims and Mains
18 Aug 2026Maize is now the largest source of blending ethanol, ahead of Food Corporation rice and sugarcane juice. Government estimates put E20 above petrol in cost while crude is below about $70 a barrel. The Chief Economic Adviser would hold at E20 until the food against fuel trade off has been costed. The Hindu, 18 Aug 2026: The E20 fuel debate (opens in a new tab)
Earlier coverage

7.3Storage, batteries and electric mobility

7.3.1Pumped storageNewPrelims and Mains
A pumped storage project pumps water uphill when power is cheap and releases it through turbines when demand peaks, so it stores energy rather than generating it.

7.4Grid, power sector and energy policy

7.4.1The grid is the limit: 300 GW and curtailmentLead
India's non fossil capacity crossed 300 GW on 31 July 2026, and renewables supplied a record 20 per cent of generation in July. In the same weeks solar plants were being told to switch off output, because the grid could not carry it.
7.4.2Renewable projects near the international borderNewPrelims and Mains
Solar, wind and hybrid renewable energy projects near India's frontiers are restricted by their distance from the international border, the Line of Control and the Line of Actual Control.

8Nuclear technology

8.1Nuclear power programme

8.1.1Nuclear power: the liability cap before the Supreme CourtLead
The Supreme Court on 17 August 2026 issued notice on a challenge to the liability caps in the SHANTI Act, 2025. It asked whether a cap written into a statute can stop a constitutional court from awarding fair compensation to the victims of a nuclear accident.

9Materials and nanotechnology

9.1Critical minerals and rare earths

9.1.1Critical minerals: the refinery problemLead
August 2026 brought three developments on one problem: twenty bids came in under India's scheme for rare earth magnets, two pilot plants in Odisha were set to recover rare earths from industrial waste, and fresh data showed how tightly the refining of critical minerals is held by a few countries.

9.2Materials, nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing

9.2.1Lab grown diamondsNewPrelims
A lab grown diamond is a diamond grown in a reactor, the same substance as a mined stone and not an imitation of it.

10IPR and science policy

10.1Intellectual property and Geographical Indications

10.1.1Geographical IndicationsNewPrelims and Mains
A Geographical Indication (GI) is a tag registered to a region rather than to a firm, so a producers' body or a market committee holds it rather than any one grower.

10.2Research funding, institutions and awards

10.2.1Research, Development and Innovation FundNewPrelims and Mains
The Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund is a ₹1 lakh crore fund that lends to private deep tech firms, where ANRF pays for academic research.
10.2.2Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026NewPrelims and Mains
The Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026 would repeal the Act of 1959 under which the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is run as a society, and remake ISI as a statutory body corporate.
10.2.3India's research spendingPrelims and Mains
6 Aug 2026Industry now employs more core researchers than the public sector, and part of the rise may be better measurement under new disclosure norms rather than new money. Close to 80 per cent of ANRF money goes to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Public research money is spread across agencies that cannot see what the others fund. NITI Aayog proposes a Unified Project Management System to plan, fund and monitor public research in one place. Without a persistent identifier and standard metadata on every grant, money still cannot be traced to results. The Hindu, 6 Aug 2026: Quantum shift: on private industry and national research spending (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 27 Aug 2026: Why India's research ecosystem needs a map of where the money really goes (opens in a new tab)
Earlier coverage

10.3Ocean, polar and earth science missions

10.3.1Deep Ocean MissionNewPrelims and Mains
The Deep Ocean Mission, begun in 2021 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, develops the technology for exploring and using the deep sea through six verticals, shown in the figure.

11Basic science in news

11.1Physics, chemistry and mathematics in news

11.1.1India at FAIRNewPrelims
The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) is an international particle accelerator being built in Germany, and India has been a founding member since 2010.

11.2Biology in news

11.2.1DNA replicationNewPrelims and Mains
DNA replication is the copying of a cell's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) before the cell divides, and that copying is mechanical work.

11.3Quantum science and technology

11.3.1C-DOT quantum security productsNewPrelims and Mains
C-DOT's quantum security products protect communications against a quantum computer able to break today's encryption.