23 August 2026 — Current Affairs Quiz

Explanation

The Central Government appointed former ISRO Chairman Somanath Sreedhara Panicker as a part-time non-official Director on the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India for four years with effect from 20 August 2026. Anand Mahindra was re-appointed for four years from the same date. Somanath retired from ISRO in January 2025. The RBI was established on 1 April 1935 under the RBI Act, 1934; its Central Board is chaired by the Governor, currently Sanjay Malhotra.

Explanation

MeitY notified the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme in August 2026 with a budgetary outlay of Rs 62,500 crore, following Union Cabinet approval in July 2026. It runs five years, from FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. Incentives on eligible sales range from 2.25 per cent to 5 per cent, with up to 1.5 per cent extra for domestic sourcing of key components and an additional 3 per cent for Indian brands doing design and R&D. It succeeds PLI-LSEM, which ended on 31 March 2026.

Explanation

India and Japan signed the Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation on 20 August 2026 at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, during the Defence Ministers' Meeting. The signatories were Rajnath Singh and Japan's Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. The MoA frames cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on maritime domain awareness, information sharing, search and rescue and logistics, under the Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

Explanation

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri visited Mauritius from 20 to 21 August 2026. On 20 August he called on Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, in whose presence a Government-to-Government MoU on oil and gas cooperation was exchanged. Alongside it, Indian Oil Corporation and the State Trading Corporation of Mauritius signed a five-year supply agreement covering petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel for Mauritius.

Explanation

The second Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships will be held from 7 to 10 October 2026 at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, Ahmedabad, the first time India hosts the event. The inaugural edition was in Mauritius in 2025. Players from 45 countries will contest 10 medal events across five disciplines: 10-Ball, Heyball, Blackball, Snooker and English Billiards. It is hosted by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India. Ahmedabad will also host the 2030 Commonwealth Games.

Explanation

Flying Wedge Defence and Aerospace, a private defence technology firm based in Bengaluru, unveiled FWD Supreme in June 2026, describing it as India's first AI-piloted fighter jet concept. It remains at the concept stage. The programme is built around the company's Mobbing Doctrine, under which several AI-enabled aircraft attack high-value targets in coordinated swarms. The first flight of the technology demonstrator, FWD Supreme Lite, is targeted for the third quarter of 2026.