Defence Exams (NDA, CDS, CAPF) Current Affairs – August 2026 — Full notes
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Defence Exams (NDA, CDS, CAPF) Current Affairs – August 2026 — 67 news items
At a glance
the top events
The most important events of this page, and how many news items each topic holds.
Top events
- The Indian Air Force held the week-long counter-drone exercise ROTOR CLAP-III at the Pokhran Field Firing Range, Jaisalmer. It tested readiness to counter enemy drone attacks quickly and reliably.
- The Cabinet also approved the draft Rajasthan Tree Protection Bill, 2026 to control felling of trees on non-forest land. It protects 29 species, including Khejri, Rohida, banyan, peepal, lasora, tendu, mahua, ker and chironji.
- 2 Aug — India finished fourth at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games with 39 medals (13 gold, 17 silver, 9 bronze). Australia topped the table, and the Games flag passed to India, host of the 2030 edition at Ahmedabad.
- 6 Aug — India test-fired the nuclear-capable Agni-4 medium-range ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha. The Strategic Forces Command conducted the launch, and the missile has a range of about 4,000 km.
- 12 Aug — N. Chandrasekaran said he will not seek another term as Chairman of Tata Sons and will leave when his present term ends on 20 February 2027. He has led the group since February 2017.
- 20 Aug — Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir of the BNP was elected the 23rd President of Bangladesh by Parliament, receiving 255 votes against 88 for Oli Ahmed. It was the first contested presidential election there in 35 years.
- 23 Aug — National Space Day is observed every year on 23 August to honour the successful Chandrayaan-3 Moon landing; the 2026 theme was about India's innovation, cooperation and leadership in space.
News by topic
- Defence & Security
- 16 one-liners
- International Relations
- 5 one-liners
- Science, Space & Environment
- 12 one-liners
- Sports, Awards, Posts & Days
- 34 one-liners
Defence & Security
16 one-liners
Forces · weapons · exercises · border.
National
2 one-liners
2 National — 20 Aug.
- The Indian Air Force held the week-long counter-drone exercise ROTOR CLAP-III at the Pokhran Field Firing Range, Jaisalmer. It tested readiness to counter enemy drone attacks quickly and reliably.
- 20 Aug — The Union Cabinet approved a permanent bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in Ladakh. It will be the court's third seat after Srinagar and Jammu, sparing people of Leh and Kargil long journeys.
Economy & Banking
1 one-liners
1 Economy & Banking — Defence Exams (NDA, CDS, CAPF) Current Affairs – August 2026.
- The Centre started the exploration licence system in 2024 and held the first auction in 2025. Rare earths are used in electric vehicles, renewable energy, defence, aerospace, semiconductors and telecom, so local finds reduce import dependence.
Defence & Security
6 one-liners
6 Defence & Security — 2 Aug – 18 Aug.
- 2 Aug — The Indian Air Force concluded Exercise ROTOR CLAP-III, a week-long counter-drone drill for helicopters at the Pokhran range near Jaisalmer. Apache, Prachand, Chinook and Mi-17 helicopters took part.
- 6 Aug — India test-fired the nuclear-capable Agni-4 medium-range ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha. The Strategic Forces Command conducted the launch, and the missile has a range of about 4,000 km.
- 6 Aug — Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth became the first woman to complete the Fighter Combat Leader course at the IAF's Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (the 'Top Gun' school) at Gwalior.
- 14 Aug — The Defence Ministry signed contracts worth about Rs 1,577 crore with Tata Advanced Systems and NIBE for loiter munition systems for the Army. Tata gets 64% of the order and NIBE 36%, with delivery due within a year.
- 18 Aug — The 15th edition of the India-Thailand army exercise MAITREE began at Surat Thani, Thailand, and ran until 31 August. Each side sent 85 personnel, and India's group came mainly from the 9 Gorkha Rifles.
- 18 Aug — Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flagged off 'Aparajita - Parang La 2026', an all-girls NCC high-altitude trek of about 250 km from Spiti Valley to Changthang over the 5,578 m Parang La pass.
Appointments
2 one-liners
2 Appointments — 1 Aug – 20 Aug.
| Date | Name | Appointed as |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Aug | Alka Nangia Arora | Controller General of Defence Accounts |
| 20 Aug | S. Somanath; Anand Mahindra | Non-official directors, RBI Central Board (four years from 20 August 2026) |
Summits, Agreements & Exercises
3 one-liners
3 Summits, Agreements & Exercises — 10 Aug – 20 Aug.
- 10 Aug — The Indian Navy and the US Navy began the 8th bilateral Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) exercise at the Southern Naval Command, Kochi, running from 10 to 14 August 2026.
- 14 Aug — The Indian Air Force and the Royal Malaysian Air Force held the bilateral exercise Udara Shakti 2026 at Subang Air Base, Malaysia. Indian Rafale fighters took part for the first time.
- 20 Aug — Japan's Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi paid his first visit to India on 19-20 August and held talks with Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on maritime security and defence equipment cooperation.
Obituaries
1 one-liners
1 Obituaries — 13 Aug.
- 13 Aug — Major General Sunil Kumar Razdan (retd), a Kirti Chakra and VSM awardee and the Army's first wheelchair-bound general, died in New Delhi. He was wounded while leading a 1994 hostage rescue in Jammu and Kashmir.
Art, Culture & Tourism
1 one-liners
1 Art, Culture & Tourism — Defence Exams (NDA, CDS, CAPF) Current Affairs – August 2026.
- In November 1913, about 1.5 lakh Bhils gathered at Mangarh at the call of tribal leader and freedom fighter Govind Guru. British police firing killed about 1,500 tribals, and it is called the 'Jallianwala Bagh of Rajasthan'.
International Relations
5 one-liners
Bilateral · summits · agreements.
Summits, Agreements & Exercises
- 3 Aug — Heads of the national statistical offices of BRICS countries met in Lucknow on 3-4 August under India's 2026 BRICS chairship. A draft BRICS joint statistical publication was released at the meeting.
- 12 Aug — India and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) signed Terms of Reference in New Delhi for talks on a Preferential Trade Agreement. It could become India's first major trade pact with an African regional bloc.
- 18 Aug — India hosted the 12th BRICS Environment Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi, chaired by Bhupender Yadav. It ended with a consensus joint statement and four knowledge compendiums, and China will host the next meeting in 2027.
- 21 Aug — During Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's visit to Mauritius, Indian Oil signed a five-year fuel supply agreement with Mauritius's State Trading Corporation, and the two governments exchanged an oil and gas MoU.
- 21 Aug — The BRICS Tourism Ministers' Meeting in Jaipur, chaired by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, adopted the Jaipur Declaration. Its priorities are AI in tourism, sustainability, skilling and seamless travel.
Science, Space & Environment
12 one-liners
ISRO · DRDO · tech · ecology.
Science & Technology
- Rajasthan decided to strengthen digital tracking of high-risk pregnancies and its maternal referral system, after more than 20 maternal deaths in government hospitals in two months. Chief Secretary V. Srinivas chaired the review meeting at Swasthya Bhawan, Jaipur.
- An ANM (auxiliary nurse midwife) will be assigned to every high-risk pregnancy to monitor it continuously and connect the woman to a doctor when needed. The 104 and 108 ambulance services will also be strengthened for timely referral.
- The NHRC (National Human Rights Commission) sent a notice to the Rajasthan government asking for a detailed report on the maternal deaths.
- The main causes of maternal death cited were heavy bleeding after delivery, very high blood pressure, severe anaemia (lack of blood) and failure of many organs together.
- The Indian Council of Agricultural Research developed India's first fully annotated telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome of pigeonpea, using the variety 'Asha'. The genome has about 752.65 million base pairs across 11 chromosomes.
- 8 Aug — At the 57th convocation of IIT Delhi, PM Modi inaugurated Param Pragya, an AI-focused high-performance supercomputing facility at the institute's Sonipat campus in Haryana.
Environment & Ecology
- The Cabinet also approved the draft Rajasthan Tree Protection Bill, 2026 to control felling of trees on non-forest land. It protects 29 species, including Khejri, Rohida, banyan, peepal, lasora, tendu, mahua, ker and chironji.
- Under the Tree Protection Bill, felling without permission can bring up to one year in jail, a fine up to ₹1 lakh, or both. A fixed number of new trees must be planted in place of each tree cut.
- Zoological Survey of India scientists completed India's first Catalogue of Lepidoptera. It lists 13,703 species of butterflies and moths, about 8.25% of the world's known species.
- Five captive-bred slender-billed vultures bred by the Bombay Natural History Society were released at Kaziranga National Park, the first such release in the world. Gyps vulture numbers in India have fallen by about 99% in 20 years.
- Kerala researchers described a new seahorse species, Hippocampus amandavincentae, named after marine biologist Amanda Vincent. It shows that the thorny seahorse once treated as one species is actually three species.
- 4 Aug — Glaw Lake in Arunachal Pradesh's Lohit district became India's 101st Ramsar site and the state's first. It lies inside the Kamlang Tiger Reserve, and India had only 26 Ramsar sites in 2014.
Sports, Awards, Posts & Days
34 one-liners
Results · honours · chiefs · days.
Sports
5 one-liners
5 Sports — 2 Aug – 21 Aug.
- 2 Aug — India finished fourth at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games with 39 medals (13 gold, 17 silver, 9 bronze). Australia topped the table, and the Games flag passed to India, host of the 2030 edition at Ahmedabad.
- 6 Aug — Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa won the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz title, a leg of the Grand Chess Tour, finishing 1.5 points ahead of Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan. It was his first title at the event.
- 15 Aug — Magnus Carlsen of Norway, playing for Team Liquid, retained the Esports World Cup chess title in Paris, beating Belarus's Denis Lazavik 2-0 in the final without losing a single game.
- 15 Aug — The men's FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 began on 15 August in Belgium and the Netherlands. India was drawn in Pool D with England, Pakistan and Wales, and the quarter-final stage was dropped.
- 21 Aug — Neeraj Chopra finished second at the Lausanne Diamond League with a season-best 88.05 m, just 9 cm behind Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage, who won with 88.14 m.
Awards & Honours
6 one-liners
6 Awards & Honours — 3 Aug – 18 Aug.
| Date | Award | Winner / reason |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Aug | COSPAR Vikram Sarabhai Medal 2026 | Annapurni Subramaniam, Director, Indian Institute of Astrophysics |
| 5 Aug | Kroll Celebrity Brand Valuation 2025 | Shah Rukh Khan first (USD 177.9 million); Ranveer Singh second; Virat Kohli third |
| 10 Aug | Dirac Medal 2026 (ICTP) | Deepak Dhar (shared with Bernard Derrida, Marc Mezard and Haim Sompolinsky) |
| 11 Aug | Hurun India Most Valuable Family Businesses 2026 | Ambani family first (about Rs 25.8 lakh crore); Birla second; Jindal third |
| 13 Aug | Gaj Gaurav Award 2026 | Jaldapara National Park (West Bengal) mahouts, for flood-time rescue of elephants and rhinos |
| 18 Aug | National Sports Awards 2025 | 17 Arjuna Awards (incl. Divya Deshmukh, Tejaswin Shankar); no Khel Ratna |
Appointments
9 one-liners
9 Appointments — 3 Aug – 20 Aug.
| Date | Name | Appointed as |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Aug | A. S. Rajeev | Acting Central Vigilance Commissioner |
| 3 Aug | Monisha Chakraborty | Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India |
| 3 Aug | Prasanta Mahapatra | Executive Director, SEBI |
| 5 Aug | Tewolde Gebremariam | CEO and Managing Director, Air India |
| 5 Aug | T. V. Somanathan; Govind Mohan | Cabinet Secretary (to 30 Aug 2027); Home Secretary (to 22 Aug 2027) |
| 11 Aug | András Baka | President of Hungary (elected by Parliament) |
| 12 Aug | N. Chandrasekaran | Tata Sons Chairman, not seeking a new term after 20 February 2027 |
| 18 Aug | Hakainde Hichilema | Re-elected President of Zambia (results announced 18 August) |
| 20 Aug | Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir | 23rd President of Bangladesh (elected 255-88) |
Important Days
14 one-liners
14 Important Days — 3 Aug – 23 Aug.
- 3 Aug — India observed the 16th Indian Organ Donation Day on 3 August. NOTTO reported a record 20,138 organ transplants in 2025, and more than five lakh people have taken the Aadhaar-verified donation pledge.
- 6 Aug — Hiroshima Day on 6 August marked the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the United States in 1945, during the Second World War.
- 7 Aug — The 12th National Handloom Day was observed on 7 August. The day recalls the 1905 Swadeshi Movement against the partition of Bengal and was first celebrated in 2015.
- 8 Aug — Quit India Movement Day (August Kranti Diwas) on 8 August recalls the 1942 movement in which Mahatma Gandhi gave the call 'Do or Die' at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay.
- 9 Aug — The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples on 9 August had the 2026 theme 'Honouring Indigenous Midwives: Safeguarding Life and Well-being'.
- 10 Aug — World Biofuel Day on 10 August promotes renewable fuels. It recalls Rudolf Diesel's 1893 demonstration of an engine running on peanut oil, and India has marked the day since 2015.
- 12 Aug — International Youth Day was observed on 12 August with the 2026 theme 'Different Contexts, Common Aspirations'. The UN first marked the day in the year 2000.
- 12 Aug — World Elephant Day is observed on 12 August. It was first marked in 2012 to raise awareness of elephant conservation.
- 14 Aug — Partition Horrors Remembrance Day was observed on 14 August for the sixth time. PM Modi declared the day in 2021 to remember the victims of the 1947 Partition.
- 19 Aug — World Humanitarian Day on 19 August remembers aid workers and the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad. The UN General Assembly created the day in 2008.
- 19 Aug — World Photography Day was observed on 19 August with the 2026 theme 'HOME'. The day commemorates Louis Daguerre's daguerreotype process, announced in 1837.
- 20 Aug — Sadbhavana Diwas was observed on 20 August, the 82nd birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, to promote harmony and national integration. World Mosquito Day also fell on 20 August, marking Ronald Ross's 1897 malaria discovery.
- 22 Aug — The International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief is observed on 22 August. The UN General Assembly created it in 2019, and it was first marked that year.
- 23 Aug — National Space Day is observed every year on 23 August to honour the successful Chandrayaan-3 Moon landing; the 2026 theme was about India's innovation, cooperation and leadership in space.
Quick quiz
test yourself
Practice questions on this period. Tap an option to check your answer.
Fill in the blank: one-liner flashcards
- The Indian Air Force held the week-long counter-drone exercise _____ at the Pokhran Field Firing Range, Jaisalmer. It tested readiness to counter enemy drone attacks quickly and reliably.
- ROTOR CLAP-III
- The Cabinet also approved the draft _____ to control felling of trees on non-forest land. It protects 29 species, including Khejri, Rohida, banyan, peepal, lasora, tendu, mahua, ker and chironji.
- Rajasthan Tree Protection Bill, 2026
- India finished _____ at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games with 39 medals (13 gold, 17 silver, 9 bronze). Australia topped the table, and the Games flag passed to India, host of the 2030 edition at Ahmedabad.
- fourth
- India test-fired the nuclear-capable _____ medium-range ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha. The Strategic Forces Command conducted the launch, and the missile has a range of about 4,000 km.
- Agni-4
- _____ said he will not seek another term as Chairman of Tata Sons and will leave when his present term ends on 20 February 2027. He has led the group since February 2017.
- N. Chandrasekaran
- _____ of the BNP was elected the 23rd President of Bangladesh by Parliament, receiving 255 votes against 88 for Oli Ahmed. It was the first contested presidential election there in 35 years.
- Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir
- _____ is observed every year on 23 August to honour the successful Chandrayaan-3 Moon landing; the 2026 theme was about India's innovation, cooperation and leadership in space.
- National Space Day
- Under the Tree Protection Bill, felling without permission can bring up to _____ in jail, a fine up to ₹1 lakh, or both. A fixed number of new trees must be planted in place of each tree cut.
- one year
- In November 1913, about 1.5 lakh Bhils gathered at Mangarh at the call of tribal leader and freedom fighter _____. British police firing killed about 1,500 tribals, and it is called the 'Jallianwala Bagh of Rajasthan'.
- Govind Guru
- Rajasthan decided to strengthen digital tracking of _____ and its maternal referral system, after more than 20 maternal deaths in government hospitals in two months. Chief Secretary V. Srinivas chaired the review meeting at Swasthya Bhawan, Jaipur.
- high-risk pregnancies
MCQs
Where was the Air Force exercise ROTOR CLAP-III held?
- Suratgarh
- Pokhran Field Firing Range
- Tanot
- Mahajan Field Firing Range
Show answer
Answer: Pokhran Field Firing Range — The week-long counter-drone exercise was held at Pokhran in Jaisalmer district.
How many tree species are protected under the draft Rajasthan Tree Protection Bill, 2026?
- 9
- 19
- 29
- 39
Show answer
Answer: 29 — Species such as Khejri, Rohida, banyan, peepal and mahua are protected.
Which commission sent a notice to Rajasthan over maternal deaths in government hospitals?
- NCW
- NCPCR
- NITI Aayog
- NHRC
Show answer
Answer: NHRC — The National Human Rights Commission asked for a detailed report.
Who was named CEO and Managing Director of Air India in August 2026?
- Campbell Wilson
- Tewolde Gebremariam
- Natarajan Chandrasekaran
- Rajesh Kumar
Show answer
Answer: Tewolde Gebremariam — He previously led Ethiopian Airlines Group and succeeds Campbell Wilson.
Agni-4, tested on 6 August 2026, is classified as a:
- Cruise missile
- Surface-to-air missile
- Medium-range ballistic missile
- Anti-tank missile
Show answer
Answer: Medium-range ballistic missile — The two-stage solid-fuel missile has a range of about 4,000 km.
Which Indian physicist shared the 2026 Dirac Medal of the ICTP?
- Ashoke Sen
- Deepak Dhar
- Spenta Wadia
- Rajesh Gopakumar
Show answer
Answer: Deepak Dhar — Dhar shares the medal with Bernard Derrida, Marc Mezard and Haim Sompolinsky.
India signed Terms of Reference for a Preferential Trade Agreement with which bloc on 12 August 2026?
- ECOWAS
- East African Community
- Southern African Customs Union
- ASEAN
Show answer
Answer: Southern African Customs Union — SACU has five members: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.
Who did Magnus Carlsen beat in the final of the 2026 Esports World Cup chess in Paris?
- Hikaru Nakamura
- Denis Lazavik
- Alireza Firouzja
- Nihal Sarin
Show answer
Answer: Denis Lazavik — Carlsen won 2-0 without losing any game in the event.
World Humanitarian Day on 19 August remembers the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in which city?
- Kabul
- Beirut
- Damascus
- Baghdad
Show answer
Answer: Baghdad — The attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad killed 22 people, and the UN created the day in 2008.
Glaw Lake, India's 101st Ramsar site, is in which state?
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Assam
- Meghalaya
- Nagaland
Show answer
Answer: Arunachal Pradesh — It is in Arunachal Pradesh's Lohit district, inside the Kamlang Tiger Reserve.
Who was elected President of Hungary by parliament on 11 August 2026?
- Tamás Sulyok
- Péter Magyar
- András Baka
- Viktor Orbán
Show answer
Answer: András Baka — Baka, a former Supreme Court head, won 140 votes to 6.
Where is the IAF's Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment, where Sqn Ldr Bhawana Kanth completed the Fighter Combat Leader course?
- Jodhpur
- Hyderabad
- Bareilly
- Gwalior
Show answer
Answer: Gwalior — TACDE at Gwalior is called the IAF's 'Top Gun' school.