📰 Daily Current Affairs

📅 17 August 2026 • ✅ 17/8/2026, 4:01:03 pm

1. Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 Introduced

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 was introduced in Parliament to establish a uniform, Centre-directed fiscal framework for mining and restrict state-level taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands.

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2. NASA Invites ISRO to Participate in Permanent Moon Base Programme

NASA formally invited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to participate in its permanent Moon Base programme under the Artemis Accords framework, marking a significant advancement in India's lunar future.

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3. Union Government to Launch Three-Month Reform Utsav Campaign

The Union Government plans to launch a three-month Reform Utsav campaign, likely from October 2, 2026, to systematically capture citizens' suggestions and translate them into actionable governance reforms.

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4. Central Electricity Authority Notifies Cyber Security Regulations for Power Sector

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has notified comprehensive Cyber Security in Power Sector Regulations, 2026 under the Electricity Act, 2003, coming into force from April 1, 2027, to enhance cybersecurity infrastructure in the power sector.

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5. India's VIHAAN Chip Achieves First-Pass Silicon Success

VIHAAN, India's first domestically designed broadband networking System-on-Chip (SoC) built on open-standard RISC-V architecture and powered by the indigenous VEGA processor developed by C-DAC, achieved first-pass silicon success, delivering high-throughput, secure semiconductor solutions.

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6. SEBI Proposes Mandatory Colour-Coded Credit Risk-o-Meter for Debt Securities

In August 2026, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) released a consultation paper proposing a mandatory, colour-coded Credit Risk-o-Meter for debt securities to make credit risk easier for investors to assess and compare.

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7. IFSCA Grants Investment Banking License to Nexent Capital in GIFT City

In August 2026, the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) granted an Investment Banking license to Nexent Capital IFSC Private Limited to operate from the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

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8. L&T Secures Order to Build India's Largest Nvidia B300 AI Factory in Chennai

In August 2026, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) secured a Rs 10,000–15,000 crore order to build India's largest single-cluster NVIDIA B300 AI factory at its Chennai data centre campus for USA-based Together AI, marking a major advancement in AI infrastructure.

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9. NCLT Launches e-Inspection and e-Certified Copy Services

In August 2026, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) launched its electronic Inspection and e-Certified Copy Services to provide faster digital access to judicial records under the e-Courts 2.0 initiative in New Delhi, improving transparency and efficiency.

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10. IN-Space Approves India's First Fully Commercial Earth Observation Satellite Constellation

In August 2026, Indian Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) approved and signed an agreement for the country's first indigenous, fully commercial Earth Observation constellation under the Public Private Partnership model with private consortium Allied Orbits Private Limited.

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