News In Short 08-08-2026

Dhansiri River

Syllabus: GS1/Geography

Context

• According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the Dhansiri River is flowing above the danger mark, raising concerns that the flood situation in low-lying areas could worsen.

About

• Origin: It originates from the Laisang peak in Nagaland.
• Course: It is situated in north-east India, is a transboundary river running through the states of Assam and Nagaland.
  • It flows 352 kilometres through Dimapur, Chümoukedima, and Assam’s Golaghat district before joining the Brahmaputra.
• Confluence: It joins the Brahmaputra on its south bank in Assam, near Dhansirimukh.
• Covering a catchment area of 1,220 square kilometres, the river supports both ecological systems and human settlements.
• Being heavily rain-fed, its water level rises sharply during the monsoon, and high flows can cause flooding in areas of Golaghat and adjoining Assam.

Source: TH

16th BRICS Trade Ministers Meeting 

Syllabus: GS2/ IR

Context

• India concluded the 16th BRICS Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Jaipur under its BRICS Chairship 2026.

Key Outcomes

• Jaipur Consensus: BRICS members agreed to examine the feasibility of a BRICS Invoice Discounting Mechanism to improve access to trade finance for small businesses.
• The meeting adopted Guiding Principles for Credit Assessment Frameworks for Export-Oriented MSMEs, encouraging financial institutions to assess enterprises on the basis of cash flows rather than conventional collateral.

• To strengthen industrial cooperation, ministers adopted the BRICS Shared Understanding on Global Value Chains, which includes the Global Value Chains Action Plan 2026–2030. 
  • The plan envisages the establishment of a BRICS Technical Council, the BRICS Connect initiative, joint studies on value chains, and the exploration of strategic supply chain and investment promotion platforms in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and food security.
• BRICS Principles to Facilitate Digitally Delivered Services Across Borders: It aimed at promoting secure digital trade and expanding cooperation in services among member countries.

Source: DD News

Official Secrets Act, 1923

Syllabus: GS3/ Security 

Context

• A Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was arrested under provisions of the Official Secrets Act for allegedly leaking sensitive defence-related information.

Official Secrets Act, 1923

• The Official Secrets Act (OSA), 1923 is a colonial-era law designed to protect official secrets and safeguard national security.
• The law, applicable to government servants and citizens, provides the framework for dealing with espionage, sedition, and other potential threats to the integrity of the nation. 
• The law makes spying, sharing ‘secret’ information, unauthorised use of uniforms, withholding information, interference with the armed forces in prohibited/ restricted areas, among others, punishable offences.
  • If guilty, a person may get up to 14 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
• The information could be any reference to a place belonging to or occupied by the government, documents, photographs, sketches, maps, plans, models, official codes or passwords.

Source:  IE

India’s First Privately-built 800 kN FFSC Engine Unveiled

Syllabus: GS3/Science and Technology

Context

• Space-tech company Astrobase Space Technologies has unveiled India’s first privately developed 800 kN Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) rocket engine.

About

• The engine, named EVEREST, has been developed by Astrobase making it only the fourth commercial company to successfully develop a high thrust flow FFSC engine globally.
  • It is targeting the first flight of its reusable launch vehicle for 2028.
• The development marks a significant shift for India’s private space industry, which is now moving beyond small satellite launch systems into high-thrust propulsion technologies that underpin reusable orbital-class rockets.
• Everest is part of a broader push to build domestic capability in reusable rocket propulsion and high-cadence launch systems.

Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) Rocket Engine

• The Full-Flow Staged Combustion rocket engine is one of the most advanced, high-performance liquid propellent cycles in aerospace engineering.
  • The technology is so efficient as it uses every bit of its fuel and oxidiser. 
• In a rocket engine, fuel and an oxidiser, usually liquid oxygen is pumped into the combustion chamber at extremely high pressure.
  • The FFSC engine sends all of the fuel and the oxidiser through the turbines before they enter the main combustion chamber. This is why this type of engine is called ‘full-flow’.
  • The result is a rocket that produces more thrust with the same amount of propellant, runs cooler, lasts longer, and can be used multiple times. 
• India currently accounts for less than 2% of the global space economy, and indigenous propulsion and scalable launch infrastructure are critical to increasing the country’s share of the rapidly expanding satellite-launch market.

Source: TH

PM-YASASVI Scheme

Syllabus: GS2/Governance

In News

• The Government reaffirmed its commitment to expanding educational opportunities for students belonging to the OBC, Economically Backward Classes (EBC) and Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNT) through the PM-YASASVI scheme.

Prime Minister Young Achievers Scholarship Award Scheme for Vibrant India(PM-YASASVI) Scheme

• It is being implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
• It comprises four major scholarship components designed to support students at different stages of education.
  • These include the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme, Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme, Top Class Education in Schools Scheme, and Top Class Education in Colleges Scheme for eligible students belonging to OBC, EBC and DNT communities
• Eligibility: Students from OBC/EBC/DNT categories having annual family income up to ₹2.5 lakh admitted to eligible full-time courses in notified institutions are eligible to benefit from the scheme, subject to availability of allocated slots.
  • The maximum benefit is limited to two siblings per household.
• Benefits:  Eligible students will receive full tuition fees and non-refundable charges (subject to prescribed ceilings), ₹3,000 per month for living expenses, ₹5,000 annually for books and stationery, and a one-time assistance of up to ₹45,000 for a computer/laptop with accessories.
  • The tuition fee will be paid to the institutions directly, and the other benefits will be transferred to the students through DBT. 
• Objectives:  The scheme aims to motivate OBC, EBC and DNT students to take quality higher education after Class XII. It is operational in institutions notified by the Ministry from 2021-22 onwards.
  •  Scholarships are renewable annually and shall continue till completion of the course subject to satisfactory performance. 

Source: PIB 

Slender-Billed Vultures

Syllabus: GS3/Species 

In News

• Five captive-bred slender-billed vultures along with white-rumped vultures were released at Jatayu Soft Release Center in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, Assam, the first release of its kind anywhere in the world. 

Slender-Billed Vultures (Gyps tenuirostris)  

• The slender-billed vulture is a dark, lean scavenger with broad wings, a long bare neck and pale underparts. 
• Habitat:  It inhabits dry open and forested regions away from human settlements.
  • It feeds almost entirely on carrion and often forms large colonies with other vultures at carcasses and communal roosts. 
• Distribution: It is found mainly in the northern Indian subcontinent including the Gangetic plains, parts of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Assam, Nepal and Bangladesh.
  • The species’ former range in Southeast Asia has been greatly reduced, with populations believed to be extinct in Thailand and Malaysia and existing mainly in Cambodia, southern Laos and Myanmar. 
• Ecological Role:  It is an important scavenger and a provider of ecosystem services that helps to dispose of animal remains naturally and maintain environmental hygiene.
• Threats: The main cause of the decline of the slender-billed vulture is diclofenac poisoning, which leads to kidney failure.
  • Other threats include food shortage, pesticide poisoning, habitat and tree loss, persecution, and electrocution or collisions.
• Protection status :   Gyps tenuirostris is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN .
  • It is included in CITES Appendix II,

Source :TH

National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA) 2026

Syllabus: Miscellaneous

Context

• The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying has invited nominations for the National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA) 2026.

About

• The NGRA is one of the highest national honours in the livestock and dairy sector. 
• Under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), the Department has been conferring the National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA) annually since 2021 on the occasion of National Milk Day (26 November).
  • Launched in 2014, the RGM focuses on the scientific conservation and development of indigenous bovine breeds. 
• The awards are given in three categories: 
  • Best Dairy farmer rearing indigenous cattle/buffalo breeds.
  • Best Dairy Cooperative Society (DCS)/Milk Producer Company (MPC)/Dairy Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO). 
  • Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT).
• A Special Award for the North Eastern Region (NER) and Himalayan States is also provided in each category. 
• For the Best Dairy Farmer and Best DCS/MPC/FPO categories, the prize money is ₹5 lakh, ₹3 lakh and ₹2 lakh for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd ranks, respectively. The Special Award carries ₹2 lakh. 
• In the AIT category, awardees receive a certificate of merit and a memento, with no cash prize. 

Source: PIB