Current Affairs — 29 August 2026

1. Nuclear Energy in India: The SHANTI Act and the Road to Viksit Bharat

Core Context

India is positioning nuclear power as a secure, low-carbon and future-ready pillar of its energy strategy. This push rests on two recent foundations: the Nuclear Energy Mission for Viksit Bharat, which sets an ambitious capacity target, and the SHANTI Act, 2025, which refreshes the legal and regulatory framework governing the sector. Nuclear plants generate electricity by harnessing the heat released during a controlled nuclear fission reaction, which turns water into steam that drives a turbine-generator, all within layered safety systems overseen by the regulator.

Latest Developments

• India currently operates 24 nuclear power reactors with a combined installed capacity of 8.78 GW, with nine more reactors of 7.5 GW under construction.
• In 2026, India commissioned the world's first nuclear process heat based hydrogen generating plant at Kalpakkam, linking nuclear energy directly to the National Green Hydrogen Mission and India's Net Zero goals.
• A major milestone was reached in April 2026 when the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam achieved first criticality, formally launching Stage II of India's nuclear programme.
• The Nuclear Energy Mission has set aside ₹20,000 crore to develop indigenous Small Modular Reactors, targeting at least five operational SMRs by 2033 and an overall capacity of 100 GW by 2047.
• The government has also approved ten indigenously built Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors in fleet mode, along with preparatory work on two 500 MW Fast Breeder Reactors.
• Beyond electricity, nuclear technology is being applied in healthcare (cancer therapy and medical device sterilisation), agriculture (radiation-bred crop varieties), food preservation, rare earth mineral processing, and even semiconductor-grade material production.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• India's Three-Stage Nuclear Power Programme was conceived by Dr Homi J. Bhabha in 1954 to make the best use of India's limited uranium but abundant thorium reserves.
• Stage I uses Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors running on natural uranium; Stage II uses Fast Breeder Reactors fuelled by plutonium to also breed Uranium-233 from thorium; Stage III would use this Uranium-233 to tap India's thorium reserves.
• India works with the International Atomic Energy Agency on nuclear safety, security and safeguards, while the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) prescribes domestic radiation dosage limits.
• Indian reactor safety follows the "Defence-in-Depth" principle, with radiation protection guided by the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) concept.
• Remember the difference between a Small Modular Reactor (compact, factory-built reactors under 300 MW) and a conventional large reactor, since SMRs are being pushed as India's next big nuclear bet.

2. India-US Deal to Procure Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missiles

Core Context

India and the United States have signed a government-to-government deal worth about ₹292 crore for around 60 Javelin anti-tank guided missiles for the Indian Army. This purchase adds a new capability to India's anti-armour arsenal and comes at a time when India-US defence ties continue to deepen across technology, training and joint exercises.

Latest Developments

• The FGM-148 Javelin is a man-portable, fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile developed jointly by Lockheed Martin and RTX for the US military, designed to destroy tanks, armoured vehicles, bunkers and fortified positions.
• Its defining feature is "top-attack" capability: after launch, the missile climbs to about 150 metres before diving onto its target from above, striking where armour is typically weakest.
• The missile's infrared seeker locks onto the target before launch, so the operator does not need to guide it after firing, unlike older wire-guided systems.
• The Javelin will supplement, not replace, India's indigenous DRDO-developed NAG missile, which is a third-generation, fire-and-forget system but is primarily platform-mounted rather than man-portable.
• This purchase builds on a broader relationship: India has signed all four foundational defence agreements with the US (GSOMIA, LEMOA, COMCASA and BECA) and holds "Major Defense Partner" and Strategic Trade Authorization-1 status.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• Know the four foundational India-US defence agreements: GSOMIA (2002, classified information sharing), LEMOA (2016, logistics), COMCASA (2018, secure communications) and BECA (2020, geospatial data).
• India-US joint military exercises to remember: Yudh Abhyas (Army), Malabar (Navy, with Japan and Australia), Cope India (Air Force), Tiger Triumph (tri-service humanitarian assistance) and Vajra Prahar (special forces).
• CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) is relevant here because India's earlier purchase of the Russian S-400 system has been a point of friction with US sanctions law.
• India's indigenous anti-tank missile NAG and its variants (Helina, when helicopter-launched) are a recurring Prelims and Mains theme under indigenous defence manufacturing.

3. India's Growth Paradox: Rising GDP, Persistent Regional Inequality

Core Context

Since the 1991 economic reforms, India has become one of the world's largest economies, yet the gains have not spread evenly across states. This "growth paradox," where aggregate national growth coexists with sharp regional and per capita income disparities, has become a central concern for policymakers working toward the Viksit Bharat@2047 goal.

Latest Developments

• The 1991 LPG reforms (liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation) integrated India more closely with the world economy and made it the sixth-largest economy in nominal terms and the third-largest in purchasing power parity terms.
• According to the International Monetary Fund, India's per capita income has grown more than 40 times over three and a half decades, yet India still trails more than 140 countries on this measure, reflecting the drag of a very large population.
• Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand remain persistently low per capita income states, while Delhi, Goa and, more recently, Karnataka rank among the higher-income economies.
• Even historically strong states such as Maharashtra and Punjab show that past advantages do not guarantee continued leadership, since structural rigidities and agricultural dependence can slow relative growth.
• Suggested correctives include place-based development policies, greater investment in education and health, stronger cooperative federalism with outcome-based fiscal transfers, and a push for employment-intensive manufacturing and MSMEs.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• Distinguish nominal GDP ranking from Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) ranking; India is currently placed differently on each scale, a favourite Prelims trap.
• GST is described as a "destination-based" tax, meaning revenue accrues to the state where goods or services are finally consumed rather than produced; this has implications for how it affects poorer, consumption-heavy states.
• Viksit Bharat@2047 is the government's vision of India becoming a developed economy by the 100th year of independence.
• Keep track of India's current world ranking by nominal GDP and by PPP, since these rankings shift year to year and are commonly tested.

4. Meta's New Teen Safety Rules and the Global Push to Regulate Social Media for Minors

Core Context

Meta is introducing new default safety restrictions for teenagers on Instagram and Facebook in the United States after agreeing to an eighteen billion dollar settlement with attorneys general from 52 states. The states had alleged that Meta designed its platforms to keep young users compulsively engaged while downplaying known risks, and had also collected personal data from children under 13 in violation of American children's privacy law.

Latest Developments

• New default features for teen accounts include a cumulative two-hour daily time limit across both platforms, a "night mode" blocking feeds, stories and reels between midnight and 6 am, an option to disable autoplay, and the removal of visible like and reaction counts.
• Teens or their parents can also opt for a non-algorithmic feed showing only content from accounts they already follow, alongside stronger age-verification technology to keep users under 13 off the platforms entirely.
• India does not yet have a central regulatory framework specifically restricting social media use by minors, though preliminary discussions are understood to have begun at the ministry level, and the Economic Survey 2025-26 recommended age-based limits on both social media use and targeted digital advertising for children.
• Australia remains the global frontrunner here, having become the first country to set a minimum social media age of 16 through the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act, which requires platforms to identify and remove existing accounts of under-16 users.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• In India, children's data protection is governed under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which requires verifiable parental consent before processing a child's personal data.
• COPPA, the American law referenced in this case, stands for the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and is a useful comparative reference point for children's data protection frameworks globally.
• Note the balance policymakers must strike between child online safety, the digital divide, and freedom of expression, a recurring ethical and governance theme for Mains answers.

5. PARIVARTAN Scheme: Cleaning Up Commercial Vehicles in Delhi-NCR

Core Context

The PARIVARTAN Scheme is a Union Cabinet-approved programme to accelerate the replacement of old, polluting trucks and buses in Delhi and the neighbouring NCR districts of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with cleaner BS-VI compliant or electric vehicles, directly targeting the region's chronic air pollution problem.

Latest Developments

• The scheme carries a total outlay of about ₹99,585 crore, including roughly ₹5,041 crore in central government support, and targets more than two lakh trucks and buses that still run on BS-IV or older emission norms.
• Benefits on offer include interest savings on vehicle loans, discounts from vehicle manufacturers, tax concessions, monthly fuel vouchers for eligible diesel and CNG vehicle owners, and dedicated financial assistance for those switching to electric vehicles.
• Since its rollout in mid-2026, the scheme has been gaining momentum, with over 1,300 beneficiaries registered on the PARIVARTAN portal and dozens of banks and non-banking financial companies onboarded to disburse loans.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• BS-VI (Bharat Stage VI) is India's current vehicle emission standard, aligned closely with Euro 6 norms, and is a recurring reference point in questions on vehicular pollution control.
• Link this scheme conceptually with other air-quality interventions in the Delhi-NCR region, such as the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) and the National Clean Air Programme.
• Remember that vehicular emissions are one of the largest contributors to particulate pollution in the Indo-Gangetic plain, making fleet renewal schemes like this one a recurring policy theme.

6. India's Forex Reserves Hit a Record $729.33 Billion

Core Context

India's foreign exchange reserves rose to an all-time high of about $729.33 billion for the week ended 21 August 2026, extending eight straight weeks of gains and comfortably surpassing the earlier peak recorded in February 2026.

Latest Developments

• Reserves jumped by $12.4 billion in just one week, driven by a $9.5 billion rise in foreign currency assets and a $2.8 billion increase in the value of gold holdings.
• A major driver behind this surge has been a sharp rise in FCNR(B), or Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank), deposits, which recorded an accretion of about $65.4 billion between June and August 2026 under a concessional RBI swap facility.
• This build-up follows a set of measures the RBI announced earlier in 2026 to boost dollar inflows, including discounted hedging facilities for overseas borrowings by state-run entities and free hedging facilities for banks raising foreign currency deposits.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• India's forex reserves comprise four components: Foreign Currency Assets, Gold, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) held with the IMF, and India's Reserve Tranche Position with the IMF.
• FCNR(B) is a deposit scheme that allows Non-Resident Indians to hold fixed deposits in foreign currency in Indian banks, insulating the depositor from rupee exchange rate fluctuations.
• The Reserve Bank of India is the custodian and manager of India's foreign exchange reserves, a basic but frequently tested fact.

7. Barrier Lakes and the Himalayan Flood Threat

Core Context

As Nepal continues to recover from a devastating flood, it now faces a fresh threat from a large barrier lake, more commonly called a landslide dam or landslide lake, that has formed on the Tibetan side of the Himalayas and could breach without much warning.

Latest Developments

• A barrier lake forms when landslide debris, usually triggered by an earthquake or intense rainfall, completely blocks a river valley, trapping a large and growing volume of water with no natural outlet.
• If the trapped water continues to rise, it can overflow or breach the natural dam, causing what is known as a Landslide Lake Outburst Flood (LLOF), a phenomenon similar in effect to a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), which happens when a glacier or moraine-dammed lake bursts.
• The time between a landslide dam's formation and its eventual breach can range from a few days to several decades, making these hazards difficult to predict and manage.
• Historically, the world's worst recorded LLOF occurred in 1786 in China's Sichuan province, when an earthquake-triggered landslide dammed the Dadu River; the dam breached ten days later, sending floodwaters roughly 1,400 km downstream and killing around one lakh people.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• Clearly distinguish a Landslide Lake Outburst Flood (LLOF) from a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF): both are outburst floods, but one is dammed by landslide debris and the other by glacial ice or moraine.
• The Himalayas, being young, seismically active fold mountains with steep slopes and narrow valleys, are particularly prone to both landslide dams and glacial lake formation.
• Disaster management questions often link such hazards to the role of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and early warning systems for transboundary river basins shared with Nepal, Bhutan and China.

8. ECLGS 5.0: Fresh Credit Support Amid the West Asia Shock

Core Context

The Emergency Credit Linked Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 5.0 has been approved to extend fresh credit guarantees to MSMEs and the airline sector affected by the recent West Asia geopolitical shock, echoing the original ECLGS launched in 2020 as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Latest Developments

• ECLGS 5.0 will remain open only until its total guarantee cover of ₹2.5 lakh crore is exhausted, with guarantees sanctioned strictly on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Eligible borrowers include MSMEs and non-MSMEs facing working capital pressure, as well as scheduled passenger airlines, provided their loan accounts were classified as standard as of 31 March 2026.
• The scheme offers a 100 percent credit guarantee for MSMEs and a 90 percent guarantee for non-MSMEs and airlines, with no guarantee fee charged, and allows additional credit of up to 20 percent of peak working capital used in the fourth quarter of FY 26, subject to caps.
• Loan tenures are set at five years (with a one-year moratorium) for MSMEs and non-MSMEs, and seven years (with a two-year moratorium) for the airline sector.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• ECLGS was originally launched in May 2020 under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan to help businesses meet operational liabilities disrupted by COVID-19; know this origin story well, since later versions build on it.
• The scheme operates through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC), which administers credit guarantee schemes for lending institutions.
• Remember the MSME classification criteria (based on investment in plant/machinery and annual turnover) as they often intersect with scheme-eligibility questions.

9. New Tank Overhaul Facility Laid in Jabalpur

Core Context

The Defence Minister laid the foundation stone for a new T-Series tank overhauling facility at the Vehicle Factory in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, aimed at boosting the Indian Army's capacity to keep its armoured fleet combat-ready.

Latest Developments

• The new facility is designed to overhaul T-72 and T-90 tanks, with an annual capacity of 80 tanks once operational.
• The Indian Army currently needs around 230 tanks overhauled every year, while the existing Heavy Vehicles Factory in Chennai can handle only about 150 tanks annually, leaving a significant capacity gap.
• The Jabalpur facility is expected to close much of this gap, ensuring faster turnaround and availability of refurbished tanks for frontline units.

UPSC Prelims Pointers

• T-72 and T-90 are Russian-origin main battle tanks that form the backbone of the Indian Army's armoured corps; India also manufactures the indigenous Arjun tank.
• The Vehicle Factory Jabalpur and Heavy Vehicles Factory Chennai are both units under India's defence public sector ecosystem involved in armoured vehicle production and maintenance, relevant to questions on indigenous defence manufacturing infrastructure.