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Daily Current Affairs – 17 August, 2026

    AI Can Be Optimised for Better Healthcare

    Context

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be optimised for better healthcare where delays can be reduced, clinicians can make better-informed decisions, and more patients can receive appropriate care.

    • About

  • In 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized more than 1,000 AI-enabled medical devices. These include tools used in radiology, cardiology, and other areas of diagnosis. 
  • In the U.K., the NHS issued a guidance in 2025 for the use of AI-enabled ambient scribing. 
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    India’s Campaign For a UN Security Council (UNSC) Seat in 2028-29 

    Context

  • India has launched its campaign for a non-permanent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seat for 2028–29, with the election scheduled for June 2027.

    • About UNSC & Its Composition

  • The UNSC is the UN’s principal organ for maintaining international peace and security. It has 15 members:
  • 5 Permanent Members (P5): United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom, with veto power.
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    Meghalaya’s Delay in Implementing Mine Closure Policy

    Context

  • A committee constituted under Justice (retired) B.P. Katakey has criticised the Meghalaya government for delays in implementing a comprehensive mine closure policy and in addressing illegal rat-hole coal mining in the state.

    • Background

  • The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned the practice of rat-hole coal mining in 2014, as it causes environmental degradation and is a threat to the lives of miners. 
  • The Meghalaya High Court appointed a single-member committee under Justice Brojendra Prasad Katakey in 2022 to recommend measures to the state government in compliance with the directions issued by NGT.
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    The Sweet Revolution: Promoting Beekeeping and Protecting Pollinators

    Context

  • India’s honey production has nearly doubled over the last decade, but the sustainability of its sweet revolution depends on protecting bees as essential pollinators and an unpaid agricultural workforce.

    • Bees as an Unpaid Agricultural Workforce

  • According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), pollinators contribute to almost one-third of global crop production and enhance yields in 87 of the 115 leading food crops.
  • Pollination by bees is particularly important for crops such as oilseeds, fruits, vegetables and several other food crops, making bees an important component of sustainable agriculture.
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    Coastal Erosion in Odisha

    Context

  • Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways said that about 28% of Odisha’s 564-km coastline is undergoing erosion.

    • About

  • This is based on a study by the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), which carried out a comprehensive assessment and mapping of shoreline change analysis along the Odisha coast for the period 1990-2022.
  • The NCCR monitors long-term shoreline changes across the Indian coastline.
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    News In Short 17-08-2026

    Context

  • PM Modi paid tribute to Sri Aurobindo (15 August 1872–5 December 1950) on his birth anniversary.

    • Early Life

  • He received his primary education in England at St. Paul’s School, London, and King’s College, Cambridge. 
  • He returned to India in 1893 and worked for the next thirteen years in the Princely State of Baroda and as a professor in Baroda College. 
    • Read More
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