UPI Completes 10 Years, National Space Day Celebrated, RRBs Post Record Profit & ₹36,441 Crore Khelo India Push Headlines the Week

The fourth week of August 2026 brought major exam-relevant developments in digital payments, rural banking, space technology, defence indigenisation, international cooperation, sports and governance. UPI completed a decade, Regional Rural Banks reported a record ₹10,176 crore net profit, India celebrated its third National Space Day, the new Khelo India Scheme 2026–31 received a ₹36,441 crore provision, and India advanced cooperation with Morocco, Seychelles, New Zealand and Vietnam.

Master Weekly Highlights

🇮🇳 National Affairs

• India Post launched upgraded Dak MITRA and Dak Sewa mobile applications on 24 August and inaugurated 14 renovated Post Office buildings. The apps are intended to expand technology-enabled postal services and citizen access.
• The restructured PM SVANidhi Scheme completed one year on 27 August. Lending under the restructured scheme has been extended to 31 March 2030, with a target of benefiting 1.15 crore street vendors, including 50 lakh new beneficiaries.
• During the first year after restructuring, 21.86 lakh loans worth ₹6,294 crore were disbursed to 10.56 lakh new beneficiaries. Eligible vendors can also access a UPI-linked RuPay Credit Card with a limit up to ₹30,000.

🌍 International Affairs

• The 7th India–Morocco Joint Commission was held during the Indian ministerial visit of 24–25 August. The two countries agreed to work towards doubling bilateral trade within five years; bilateral trade was around US$4 billion in 2025.
• India and Morocco agreed to create a Joint Working Group to examine bilateral trade and the feasibility of a Preferential Trade Agreement. An MoU on food safety was signed between Morocco’s ONSSA and India’s FSSAI, along with a Cultural Exchange Programme for 2026–2030.
• India and Seychelles held a high-level bilateral meeting on 25 August to expand cooperation in fisheries, aquaculture and the Blue Economy. Areas included mariculture, tuna fisheries, hatcheries, marine conservation, digital fisheries systems and the use of AI in harvest management.
• India reported fish production of 19.7 million tonnes and seafood exports valued at US$8.46 billion during the India-Seychelles discussions.

💰 Economy & Banking

• UPI completed 10 years during the week. In FY 2025–26, UPI processed more than 24,162 crore transactions worth around ₹314 lakh crore; its average daily transaction volume in 2026 was around 66 crore.
• July 2026 recorded UPI’s highest monthly volume at 2,366 crore transactions, worth ₹29.88 lakh crore. UPI was operational in 11 countries, and 741 banks were live on UPI as of July 2026.
• Regional Rural Banks recorded an all-time-high net profit of ₹10,176 crore in FY 2025–26, up from ₹6,820 crore a year earlier. Their combined business crossed ₹13.5 lakh crore.
• India had 28 RRBs, operating through 22,273 branches across 26 states and 3 Union Territories. Gross NPA declined to 5.3% and Net NPA to 2.1%.
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana completed 12 years. As of 19 August, it had 59.09 crore accounts, including 32.92 crore women beneficiaries, with deposits of around ₹3.17 lakh crore.
• India’s Index of Industrial Production grew 6.7% in July 2026. Manufacturing grew 7.3%, while Electricity & Gas Supply grew 8.7%. The IIP series uses 2022–23 as the base year.

🛡️ Defense & Security

• The 2nd India–New Zealand Defence Strategic Dialogue was held in Wellington on 24 August, focusing on maritime security, joint military training and implementation of the India-New Zealand Strategic Partnership Roadmap 2030.
• The Defence Minister approved the Transfer of Technology of DRDO-developed conventional missile systems to qualified Indian defence industries for domestic production.
• ICGS Ajit, a Fast Patrol Vessel built by Goa Shipyard Limited, was handed over to the Indian Coast Guard on 25 August. It contains more than 65% indigenous content, has a speed above 27 knots and an endurance of 1,500 nautical miles.
• The 7th India-Vietnam Coast Guard High-Level Meeting was held in Chennai on 25 August under the 2015 MoU on Coast Guard Cooperation. Areas included Search and Rescue, maritime law enforcement and marine-pollution response.

🚀 Science & Technology

• India celebrated its third National Space Day on 23 August. The 2026 theme was “Towards Viksit Bharat: Innovating, Collaborating and Aspiring to Global Space Leadership.”
• The Semiconductor Laboratory at Mohali has developed space-grade indigenous chips. A made-in-India camera chip was used on Chandrayaan-3, the Vikram processor is used in launch vehicles, and Aditya-L1 uses radiation-hardened ADC chips developed by SCL.
• CSIR-NAL unveiled three indigenous Micro and Small Gas Turbine Engines: NJ-05 with 5 kg thrust, NJ-50 with 50 kg thrust and NJ-100 with 100 kg thrust. Potential uses include UAVs, drone interceptors and compact missile systems.
• DoT and C-DOT signed a five-year agreement to establish an End-to-End Optical Network Test Bed at C-DOT, New Delhi, covering optical core, optical access and quantum-security technologies.

🏆 Awards & Honours

• 21 teachers and faculty members from higher-education institutions and polytechnics were selected for the National Awards to Teachers 2026. The group comprises 12 from central HEIs, 5 from state universities/colleges and 4 from polytechnics.
• The Publications Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting won 7 honours at the FIP Awards for Excellence in Book Production 2026 — four second prizes and three third prizes.
• Bharat 2026 won second prize in the Hindi Reference Books category, while Dharti Ki Sehat received third prize in the Hindi Children’s Books category.
• The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances was selected for the Rajbhasha Utkrishtta Sammaan 2025–26, securing first position in its category.

🥇 Sports

• The new Khelo India Scheme 2026–31 has a provision of ₹36,441 crore, described by the Sports Ministry as the largest investment under Khelo India to date. It aims to expand district-level talent identification, infrastructure, coaching, sports science and technology.
• The scheme is intended to benefit about 10 times more athletes than the earlier framework.
• Khelo India Samvaad was held nationwide on 27 August as part of National Sports Day celebrations. More than 10 lakh young people, including athletes and volunteers, were reported to have participated.
• Its youth-dialogue themes included sports, Olympic aspirations, youth leadership, Viksit Bharat and Nasha Mukt Yuva.

📅 Important Days & Themes

• National Space Day was observed on 23 August; 2026 marked its third edition. Theme: “Towards Viksit Bharat: Innovating, Collaborating and Aspiring to Global Space Leadership.”
• Onam was celebrated on 26 August 2026, highlighting Kerala’s harvest traditions, cultural heritage and themes of unity and prosperity.
• Raksha Bandhan was observed on 28 August 2026.

⚖️ Polity & Governance

• A High-Powered Task Force chaired by Nandan Nilekani was constituted to recommend comprehensive reforms in the conduct, security, design and governance of public examinations, including examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency.
• The Task Force is examining examination integrity, technology, infrastructure, accessibility, inclusion and student well-being.
• India showcased its Bharat Land Stack and Bhu-Aadhaar digital land-governance systems to an African and UNDP delegation. More than 40.58 crore land parcels had been assigned Bhu-Aadhaar, also called ULPIN.
• The CAG and IIT Madras launched the Certification on Audit of Digital Systems — CADS, aimed at building audit capacity for Digital Public Infrastructure, AI and enterprise platforms through SWAYAM Plus.

🌿 Environment & Ecology

• At UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, India called for a shift from reactive drought relief towards drought resilience, preparedness and technology-enabled prevention.
• India also called for community-led restoration of rangelands, emphasising pastoralists, biodiversity conservation and water and carbon cycles.
• India participated in a Russia-India Roundtable on Snow Leopard Study and Conservation in Moscow on 26 August. India highlighted scientific tools including population estimation, radio telemetry and genetic analysis.
• The snow-leopard cooperation takes place under a partnership between Russia’s Irbis association and the International Big Cat Alliance — IBCA