6 August 2026 — Current Affairs Quiz

Explanation

The Union Health Ministry deployed the National Joint Outbreak Response Team to Gujarat and Rajasthan on 5 August 2026 over the Chandipura Virus Disease outbreak. The team draws experts from the National Centre for Disease Control, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and assists with outbreak investigation, clinical management and vector surveillance. Exam angle: the NCDC Public Health Emergency Operations Centre was also activated.

Explanation

Chandipura virus belongs to the Rhabdoviridae family and the genus Vesiculovirus. It was first isolated in 1965 at Chandipura village in the Nagpur district of Maharashtra. It spreads mainly through Phlebotomus sandflies and causes sporadic monsoon outbreaks in western, central and southern India. It largely affects children under 15 and produces acute encephalitis syndrome. Exam angle: no specific vaccine or antiviral exists, so management is symptomatic and vector control is the main defence.

Explanation

The Monetary Policy Committee, chaired by Governor Sanjay Malhotra, met from 3 to 5 August 2026 and unanimously kept the repo rate at 5.25 per cent. This was the fourth consecutive review with no change, the last revision having come in December 2025. The committee retained its neutral stance. The Standing Deposit Facility rate stayed at 5.00 per cent, and the Marginal Standing Facility rate and Bank Rate at 5.50 per cent. Exam angle: the next MPC meeting is set for 5 to 7 October 2026.

Explanation

On 5 August 2026 the RBI raised its real GDP growth projection for FY 2026-27 to 6.7 per cent from the 6.6 per cent estimated in June. The quarterly path is 7.0, 6.4, 6.5 and 6.8 per cent. The consumer price inflation forecast was trimmed to 5.0 per cent from 5.1 per cent, with Q2 at 4.7, Q3 at 5.9 and Q4 at 5.5 per cent. Exam angle: the Governor said headline inflation would peak in the third quarter, driven by food and fuel prices, before moderating.

Explanation

The Air India Board appointed Tewolde Gebremariam as the airline's new CEO and Managing Director on 5 August 2026, after a global search. He succeeds Campbell Wilson, who had held the post since July 2022. Gebremariam led Ethiopian Airlines Group for over a decade, during which its revenue grew more than fourfold and its fleet nearly tripled, making it Africa's largest and most profitable airline group. Exam angle: Air India is owned by the Tata Group, chaired by N. Chandrasekaran.

Explanation

NITI Aayog released the report Reimagining Care on 5 August 2026. It was launched by Vice-Chairperson Ashok Kumar Lahiri with Member Dr R Balasubramaniam. The report recommends a National Policy on Caregiving, a National Caregiver Council to regulate and accredit caregivers, a dedicated caregiver workforce and a digital portal. It studies global models and stresses global mobility for Indian caregivers. Exam angle: NITI Aayog was set up on 1 January 2015, replacing the Planning Commission.

Explanation

Professor Annapurni Subramaniam, Director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, received the Vikram Sarabhai Medal 2026 at the 46th COSPAR Scientific Assembly in Florence, Italy, on 3 August 2026. She is the first Indian woman scientist and only the fourth Indian to win it. The award recognised her work on stellar populations, blue straggler stars and the UVIT instrument on AstroSat. Earlier Indian winners were U R Rao (1996), Gurbax Singh Lakhina (2014) and Anil Bhardwaj (2024).

Explanation

Harshita Jakhar, 19, from Rajasthan became the first Indian woman to feature at the Tour de France Femmes. On 2 August 2026 at Aigle in Switzerland she led a group on the 4.5 km neutralised ride at the ceremonial start of Stage 2. She was one of eight riders picked for the UCI World Cycling Talent Programme, alongside cyclists from Afghanistan, Algeria, Chile, Ethiopia, Namibia and Uganda. She trains at the SAI National Centre of Excellence in Patiala under her father and coach Rakesh Jakhar.

Explanation

The Integrated Test Range of the Defence Research and Development Organisation is located on Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, in the Bay of Bengal about 10 km off the Odisha coast. Missiles including Agni, Prithvi, Akash and Astra have been tested from here. In September 2015 the Odisha government renamed it from Wheeler Island in honour of the former President and Missile Man of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The island covers about 390 acres and its nearest port is Dhamra.

Explanation

On 6 August 2026 the Union Cabinet approved GOBARdhan, the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme, with an outlay of Rs 23,731 crore. It is administered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and runs from FY 2026-27 to FY 2035-36, aiming to raise domestic Compressed Biogas output nearly ten-fold. Exam angle: the scheme has six components, fixes an administered CBG price of Rs 2,110 per MMBTU, and builds on SATAT, under which over 200 CBG plants were commissioned.

Explanation

GOBARdhan, the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme, was approved on 6 August 2026 with a total outlay of Rs 23,731 crore. It converts crop residue, cattle dung, press mud and municipal organic waste into Compressed Biogas and organic manure. Exam angle: the CBG blending obligation for City Gas Distribution entities is 3 percent in FY 2026-27, 4 percent in FY 2027-28 and 5 percent from FY 2028-29; greenfield projects get capital assistance up to Rs 2 crore per TPD of capacity.

Explanation

Under India's BRICS 2026 Chairship, the BRICS Trade Ministers' Meeting was held at Jaipur, Rajasthan's capital, on 6-7 August 2026, with India represented by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Talks centred on intra-BRICS trade, resilient value chains, digital commerce and MSME cooperation. Exam angle: this is India's fourth BRICS Chairship (2012, 2016, 2021, 2026); the theme is Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability, and the 18th Summit goes to New Delhi.