Official releases, distilled into exam-ready intelligence.

The Ministry of Cooperation has launched Bharat Taxi, a cooperative‑led digital mobility app operated by Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited (STCL), in Delhi‑NCR, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. As of 04 Aug 2026 the platform records 8.48 lakh registered drivers (Sarathis) and 44.27 lakh customers. The model follows a zero‑commission, transparent‑fare structure, uses subscription‑based participation to stabilise driver earnings, and links drivers to social‑security benefits. Expansion to other cities will depend on operational readiness, driver availability, statutory clearances and coordination with state governments and cooperative bodies. Bharat Taxi is registered under the Multi‑State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah clarified that no government funds have been allocated for its expansion.

The Ministry of Education released Rs 13,839.43 crore to the UGC in 2021‑22, increasing to Rs 20,527.43 crore in 2025‑26, with expenditures closely matching releases each year. Of the total released, Rs 73,148.65 crore went to Central Universities and Rs 2,743.04 crore to Institutions Deemed to be Universities. Under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM‑USHA/RUSA), the central share released to States/UTs rose from Rs 249.13 crore in 2021‑22 to Rs 864.25 crore in 2025‑26, with Rs 507.00 crore released in 2026‑27 (as of 06‑08‑2026). The UGC also disbursed Rs 931.44 crore for reimbursement‑based grants and Rs 1,818.46 crore as a fixed salary grant to Punjab University during 2021‑26. The Ministry also introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhisthan Bill, 2025, referred to a Joint Committee.

The third meeting of the Hindi Advisory Committee of the Ministry of AYUSH was convened on 12 August 2026 at Kartavya Bhawan‑I, New Delhi, chaired by Minister of State (Independent Charge) Shri Prataprao Jadhav. Attended by MPs, senior officials and non‑official members, the committee emphasized using Hindi as a medium for governance, communication and public outreach in AYUSH. Minister Jadhav linked the initiative to the ‘Viksit Bharat @2047’ vision and Prime Minister’s emphasis on Indian languages, noting efforts to conduct official work in Hindi, promote Hindi in publications, websites, social media, and through training and incentive schemes. The Hindi house journal ‘Apratim Ayush’ was also launched.

The Ministry of Cooperation launched Bharat Taxi, a cooperative‑led digital mobility platform operated by Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited (STCL), in Delhi‑NCR, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. By 4 August 2026 the platform had registered 8.48 lakh drivers (Sarathis) and 44.27 lakh customers, facilitating 11,106 daily rides and generating cumulative earnings of ₹83.70 crore for drivers. Daily rides per city are listed (e.g., 5,574 in Delhi‑NCR). Expansion to other cities depends on operational readiness, statutory compliance and state coordination. On 19 July 2026, STCL signed an MoU with the West Bengal government to support the Yatri Sathi platform. The information was provided by Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah in a Rajya Sabha reply.

The Ministry of Cooperation reports that National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) is coordinating with State Cooperative Federations to advance organic farming and related value‑chain activities. Coordination mechanisms include Memoranda of Understanding with State Cooperative Departments or Nodal Agencies, and the inclusion of cooperative institutions such as Cooperative Societies, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, and Farmer Producer Organizations as members or partners. These partnerships aim to facilitate aggregation, procurement, processing, packaging and marketing of organic produce under the "Bharat Organics" brand and to support the formation of NPOP‑certified Internal Control System groups. The information was provided by Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

During India’s BRICS Chairship 2026, the Ministry of Education virtually convened a BRICS Network University (BRICS NU) conference on 20 July 2026, focusing on the need and challenges of preserving traditional and indigenous knowledge systems in the digital age. The meeting comprised three sessions on mapping and documentation, preservation and protection, and the role of digital technologies. India shared its “Guiding Principles on Strengthening Collaboration on Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge System” and later proposed a 12th International Thematic Group on this subject. The International Governing Board met on 21 July 2026, updating activities of 178 universities across 11 thematic groups, and the proposal was reflected in the declaration of the 13th BRICS Education Ministers Meeting (7 August 2026). The information was provided by Minister of State for Education Dr Sukanta Majumdar in a Rajya Sabha reply.

The Ministry of Cooperation has created Bhartiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) under the Multi‑State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 to serve as an apex body for the production, processing, branding, packaging, storage, marketing and R&D of quality seeds. BBSSL has launched seeds of 18 crops and 124 varieties under the ‘Bharat Beej’ brand and, in FY 2025‑26, produced 75,535 metric tonnes of seeds through its associated farmers. It is also undertaking quality‑testing standards for vegetable seeds and a conservation programme in Uttarakhand to identify, multiply and document traditional indigenous varieties, aiming to cut import dependence and boost farmer self‑reliance.

The Ministry of Electronics & IT has scaled up the CyberShakti programme, approved for two years from October 2024, to enhance cyber‑security awareness and skills among women government officials. Since its inception in 2024, 978 women officials—including police officers, cyber‑cell staff and officials handling cyber‑crime victims—have been trained through a 2‑week virtual instructor‑led and a 1‑week offline residential programme. State‑wise training covered 694 officials and Union Territory‑wise 284 officials. Additionally, 573 women participants attended webinars on cyber‑security sensitisation. The expansion follows the 2026 Standing Committee Report on Women’s empowerment and was presented by Union Minister of State Shri Jitin Prasada in the Rajya Sabha on 07‑08‑2026.

The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying clarified that coastal states govern fisheries up to 12 nautical miles under their Marine Fishing Regulation Acts, reserving near‑shore waters (5‑10 km) for artisanal and non‑mechanized vessels to protect traditional livelihoods. Under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), satellite‑based transponders are fitted on mechanised vessels for real‑time tracking, geofencing and alerts to prevent incursions. A uniform 61‑day annual fishing ban is imposed in the Exclusive Economic Zone, with parallel bans by coastal states, and PMMSY provides livelihood and insurance support during the ban. The scheme also funds sea‑ranching, artificial reefs, mariculture and the development of 100 climate‑resilient coastal fishermen villages.

The Ministry of Education clarified that education falls under the Concurrent List, so schools not owned by the Centre are regulated by the respective State/UT governments. Consequently, fee‑related matters for private schools, including safeguards for students and action against violations, are under State/UT jurisdiction. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 mandates at least 25 % reservation for weaker sections in private unaided schools and expressly prohibits capitation fees. Institutions deemed universities must follow UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2023, which prescribe fee‑structure rules. The CBSE’s bye‑laws require school management committee approval for fee revisions and forbid mandatory purchases of books, uniforms or stationery from specific vendors. The response was provided by Minister of State for Education Shri Jayant Chaudhary in the Rajya Sabha.

An international team led by Indian astronomers, headed by Dr. Rahul Sharma and Prof. Chandreyee Maitra of IUCAA, Pune, has identified a binary white‑dwarf system designated eRASSU J0608 (eRASSU J060839.5–704014). The two dead stars orbit each other every six minutes and their orbit is shrinking faster than any similar known system, indicating strong gravitational‑wave emission. Using data from the Chinese‑led Einstein Probe, NASA’s NICER, and earlier XMM‑Newton observations over 3.5 years, the team measured an orbital‑decay rate exceeding that of HM Cnc and V407 Vul and estimated a chirp mass of ~0.43 M☉. The system’s predictable gravitational‑wave signal makes it a promising target for ESA’s upcoming LISA mission.

The Ministry of Education’s response to a Rajya Sabha question outlines several government initiatives aligned with NEP 2020’s emphasis on multilingualism. It highlights the BharatGen project – a multimodal Large Language Model for all 22 scheduled languages, anchored at IIT Bombay and developed by a consortium of premier institutes. The BHASHINI platform, under Digital India, hosts over 360 AI‑based language models offering services such as ASR, MT, TTS, OCR and transliteration, and supports tribal languages like Bhili and Santhali. The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), in collaboration with NCERT, has produced primers, datasets and a 12‑week Santhali course on SWAYAM, while the Linguistic Data Consortium for Indian Languages (LDC‑IL) provides speech and text corpora for Santhali and Mundari.

The Ministry of Education, in response to the rise of unregulated private coaching centres and associated issues such as high fees, safety hazards, and mental‑well‑being concerns, issued Guidelines for Regulation of Coaching Centres to States/UTs on 16 January 2024. The guidelines prescribe registration requirements, fee structures, infrastructure standards, a code of conduct, record‑keeping, grievance redressal, and mandatory disclosure of tutor qualifications, course details, fees, exit and refund policies, and placement outcomes. Following the central guidelines, several states and union territories have enacted their own regulations between 2024‑2026. Additionally, the Central Consumer Protection Authority issued guidelines on 13 November 2024 under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to curb misleading advertisements and unfair practices in the coaching sector.

The Ministry of Education, under the National Education Policy 2020, has launched the Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) Scheme to engage Indian‑origin researchers with international experience. The scheme offers three fellowship categories – Research Chair, Senior Fellow and Young Research Fellow – and has identified seven lead institutions. To date, more than 3,600 fellowship applications and over 400 host‑institution applications have been received. The government has allocated Rs 200 crore for the scheme for FY 2026‑27. The details were provided by Minister of State for Education Dr Sukanta Majumdar in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The Ministry of Electronics & IT’s SAMRIDH (Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth) programme, which aims to accelerate about 300 startups across sectors such as health‑tech, ed‑tech, agri‑tech, consumer‑tech, fin‑tech, SaaS and sustainability, concluded on 31 January 2026. In Andhra Pradesh, one accelerator – Kalpataru Centre of Excellence (CoE) by AIC STPINEXT Initiatives – was selected. Through this accelerator, five startups (Aerogravity, Cairovision, Epsum Labs, Scraptechies Solutions and Voptimaise Climate Tech Solutions) received financial support, with ₹2 lakh per startup to the accelerator and matching funding up to ₹40 lakh per startup. A total of ₹1.81 crore was allocated and disbursed to the Kalpataru CoE.

The Ministry of Cooperation announced that Tribhuvan Cooperative University (TSU) has launched three new MBA programmes for the academic year 2025‑26 – MBA in Cooperative Management, MBA in Cooperative Banking and Finance, and MBA in Agribusiness Management. In addition, TSU has designed five certificate courses aimed at the professional management of cooperative societies, covering business management and governance for PACS, fisheries and dairy cooperatives, leadership development for district credit cooperative bank boards, and cybersecurity for cooperative banks. The MBA programmes are already operational, while the certificate courses are slated for 2026‑27. The details were provided by Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

On 11 August 2026, Air Marshal Yalla Umesh, VSM, PhD, AOC‑in‑C of the IAF Maintenance Command, met Governor Shri Jishnu Dev Varma at Raj Bhavan, Maharashtra. He briefed the Governor on the Command’s role in maintenance, repair, overhaul, logistics support and indigenisation, stressing its contribution to self‑reliance under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision and to sustained operational readiness. The discussion also covered civil‑military cooperation, the IAF’s nation‑building efforts, and the upcoming Sekhon IAF Marathon (04 Oct 2026). The Governor praised the professionalism and dedication of Maintenance Command personnel.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the autobiography of former President Ram Nath Kovind, titled “Triumph of the Indian Republic: My Life, My Struggles”, at Vigyan Bhawan on 12 August 2026. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla praised the book, noting Kovind’s rise from a modest, economically‑disadvantaged background to the presidency, his commitment to constitutional values, welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and his role during the COVID‑19 pandemic in fostering public confidence and making Rashtrapati Bhavan more accessible. Birla also highlighted Kovind’s contributions to transparency and technological innovation in higher education and his efforts in strengthening India’s diplomatic relations.

On 12 August 2026, Vice‑President Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan flagged off the Har Ghar Tiranga Bike Rally at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, with Members of Parliament and other public representatives. The rally, organised by the Ministry of Culture, commemorated the 150th anniversary of the National Song ‘Vande Mataram’ and proceeded to the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, promoting national pride, unity and citizen participation. In his address, the Vice‑President linked Vande Mataram to India’s freedom struggle, recalled his recent visit to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and urged MPs to further the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign in their constituencies.

The Vice‑President, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, flagged off the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga Bike Rally 2026’ at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, as part of the Har Ghar Tiranga 2026 campaign dedicated to the national song Vande Mataram. The rally, attended by several Union Cabinet Ministers and over 350 CAPF bikers, underscores the government’s push for citizens to hoist the national flag at homes and workplaces between 9‑17 August, linking the celebration to the Prime Minister’s vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. The Vice‑President highlighted the 150‑year legacy of Vande Mataram and urged continued patriotic spirit beyond the event.