Daily Current Affairs - 13 August 2026

Introduction

The CareerUdaya Daily Current Affairs - 13 August 2026 edition covers ten examination-focused developments for APSC, ADRE, Assam Police, Assam TET, SSC, Banking and Railway aspirants. The selection includes July CPI inflation, Assam's share in biodiversity benefit-sharing, India-SACU trade talks, multilingual AI for governance, AI-based manuscript preservation, AI skilling, the Tribunal Reforms Bill, Vibrant Villages Programme-II, Kavach 4.0 and ISRO's improved SSLV first stage. Attempt the Daily Current Affairs Quiz - 13 August 2026 after revising the notes.

Economy - CPI Inflation for July 2026

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on base 2024=100 for July 2026. The year-on-year all-India CPI inflation rate for July 2026 was 4.45%. Rural inflation stood at 4.84%, while urban inflation was 3.96%.

The official release also reported Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) inflation at 5.52% for July 2026, with rural food inflation at 5.79% and urban food inflation at 5.05%. For Banking, SSC and APSC examinations, remember that CPI is a retail inflation indicator and CFPI tracks food-price inflation within the consumer basket. The July 2026 data is also important because it uses the updated base year of 2024.

Source: MoSPI CPI July 2026 release

Assam & Northeast - Biodiversity ABS Proceeds from Mustard Genetic Resources

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) released ₹15.52 crore in Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) proceeds linked to ten commercial mustard hybrid varieties developed using India's biological resources. The amount will be shared among 26 State Biodiversity Boards and 3 Union Territory Biodiversity Councils according to mustard cultivation area.

Rajasthan receives the highest share because it accounts for nearly 42% of India's mustard cultivation. Among the top ten receiving States, Assam receives ₹0.53 crore. The proceeds must be used under Section 32 of the Biological Diversity Act for conservation-linked work, People's Biodiversity Registers, Biodiversity Management Committees, ecosystem restoration and related community benefits. The exam hook is the difference between using biological resources commercially and sharing benefits with biodiversity institutions.

Source: NBA mustard ABS proceeds release

International Relations & Economy - India-SACU Terms of Reference

India and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) signed the Terms of Reference for negotiations towards a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). The signing took place at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi, and marks the formal start of a structured process for deepening India-SACU trade engagement.

The negotiations will cover eight important chapters, including trade in goods, market access for goods and rules of origin. India highlighted possible cooperation in affordable medicines, IT talent, global supply-chain integration, engineering goods, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agriculture and agri-processing. Candidates should distinguish a PTA from a broad free trade agreement: a PTA generally provides selected tariff preferences on agreed product lines.

Source: India-SACU ToR release

Science & Digital Governance - BHASHINI and NITI Aayog Statement of Intent

The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) and NITI Aayog signed a Statement of Intent to advance multilingual, voice-first AI solutions for citizen-centric governance and public service delivery. The collaboration will use the BHASHINI ecosystem to make government information and services accessible in citizens' preferred Indian languages.

The partnership covers BHASHINI Udyat, Mitra, AppMitra, Sahayogi and Pravakta. It will support language translation APIs, reference applications, voice bots, terminology improvement and linguistic data collection through BhashaDaan. The important governance point is that multilingual AI is being treated as digital public infrastructure for inclusion, not merely as a translation tool.

Source: BHASHINI-NITI Aayog SoI release

Polity & Culture - Parliamentary Report on Manuscripts and AI

The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture presented its 393rd Report titled "From Manuscript to Mission: Preserving, Mapping and Sustaining India's Cultural Heritage in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" on 12 August 2026. The report was adopted by the Committee on 11 August 2026.

Key recommendations include better digitisation standards, multispectral recovery for damaged manuscripts, surface-relief imaging for palm-leaf manuscripts, the Akshar Mitra citizen platform, open national training pages, a time-layered atlas of Indian knowledge and scientific extraction of astronomical and weather observations from manuscripts. The report is useful for Polity and Culture because it links parliamentary committee work, cultural heritage and AI-enabled public knowledge systems.

Source: Rajya Sabha Secretariat 393rd Report release

Skill Development - AI Integration and PM-SETU

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship outlined measures for integrating Artificial Intelligence into the national skilling ecosystem. The Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) serves as the core digital platform, while the Skilling for AI Readiness (SOAR) programme has expanded to 50 AI and AI-application qualifications. As of 6 August 2026, 5,17,477 learners had enrolled and 1,00,664 learners had been certified under SOAR courses on SIDH.

The release also mentioned the Cabinet-approved PM-SETU scheme, with an estimated cost of ₹60,000 crore, for upgrading 1,000 ITIs through hub-and-spoke arrangements in collaboration with State Governments and industry. For exams, connect this topic with Digital Public Infrastructure, future skills, ITI modernisation and employability.

Source: AI integration in skill development release

Polity - Tribunal Reforms Bill, 2026

The PIB factsheet on tribunal reform stated that the Tribunal Reforms Bill, 2026 passed by Parliament in August 2026 aims to create a more independent, transparent and professionally administered tribunal system. The Bill provides for a judiciary-led National Tribunals Commission (NTC) to make selections to tribunals and exercise oversight over their functioning.

The NTC is expected to conduct selections through Search-cum-Selection Committees, monitor tribunal performance, supervise inquiries into complaints, maintain the National Tribunals Data Grid and prepare annual reports. The Bill follows Supreme Court judgments on tribunal independence, including the Madras Bar Association line of cases. The exam distinction is between ordinary departmental control and an independent tribunal-administration framework.

Source: PIB tribunal reforms factsheet

Northeast & Border Governance - Vibrant Villages Programme-II

The Ministry of Home Affairs stated that Vibrant Villages Programme-II (VVP-II) was approved as a Central Sector Scheme on 2 April 2025 with a total outlay of ₹6,839 crore up to FY 2028-29. It targets comprehensive development of 1,954 select villages in 334 blocks abutting international land borders other than the northern border already covered under VVP-I.

The listed States and Union Territories include several Northeast States such as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. A High-Powered Committee under the Cabinet Secretary has been approved to enable relaxations in scheme guidelines for effective implementation in border villages. For Assam and Northeast aspirants, VVP-II is important as a border-area development and internal security governance initiative.

Source: MHA Vibrant Villages Programme-II release

Railways - Kavach Version 4.0 for North Eastern Railway

Indian Railways approved Kavach Version 4.0 on 660 route km of the Izzatnagar Division of North Eastern Railway at an estimated cost of ₹295 crore. The work falls under the umbrella project for providing Kavach with a Long-Term Evolution communication backbone on balance sections of Indian Railways.

Kavach is India's indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. It is designed to prevent Signal Passed at Danger incidents and train collisions by continuously monitoring train movement and automatically applying brakes when required. The system also supports safer operations during adverse weather such as dense fog. The key exam angle is railway safety technology and indigenous ATP.

Source: Railways Kavach Version 4.0 release

Space - ISRO Tests Improved First Stage of SSLV

ISRO successfully conducted a ground static test of an improved version of the solid booster stage SS1 of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) on 11 August 2026 at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The improvements include enhanced propellant burn rate in two motor segments, an optimised thermal protection system, production-friendly nozzle process improvements and mass reduction.

The motor performance was monitored using more than 600 parameters. ISRO stated that the test qualifies the design improvements in SSLV's first stage and is expected to enhance SSLV payload capability by about 100 kg to Low Earth Orbit. SSLV is important because it is designed as a production-friendly, quick-turnaround, launch-on-demand vehicle for small satellite launches, with transfer of technology to Indian industry already underway.

Source: ISRO improved SSLV first-stage test release

Revision Notes

Revise these ten anchors from 13 August: CPI July 2026 - retail inflation 4.45% on base 2024; ABS proceeds - NBA released ₹15.52 crore, with Assam receiving ₹0.53 crore; India-SACU - ToR signed for PTA negotiations; BHASHINI-NITI - multilingual AI for governance; 393rd parliamentary report - manuscripts, AI and cultural heritage; AI skilling - SOAR enrolments and PM-SETU; Tribunal Reforms Bill - judiciary-led National Tribunals Commission; VVP-II - ₹6,839 crore for 1,954 border villages; Kavach 4.0 - 660 route km in North Eastern Railway; SSLV SS1 - improved first stage to add about 100 kg LEO payload capability. Attempt the Daily Current Affairs Quiz - 13 August 2026 to test these concepts.

Exam Snapshot Table

Frequently Asked Questions

What was India's CPI inflation for July 2026?

The all-India CPI inflation rate for July 2026 was 4.45% on the 2024=100 base.

What is Access and Benefit Sharing in biodiversity governance?

ABS refers to sharing benefits from commercial use of biological resources with biodiversity institutions and communities for conservation-linked purposes.

What did India and SACU sign?

India and SACU signed Terms of Reference for negotiations towards a Preferential Trade Agreement.

What is PM-SETU?

PM-SETU is the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs scheme for upgrading 1,000 ITIs.

What is Kavach?

Kavach is India's indigenous Automatic Train Protection system for preventing train collisions and Signal Passed at Danger incidents.

Is there a quiz for this edition?

Yes. The Daily Current Affairs Quiz - 13 August 2026 contains 10 exam-focused MCQs with explanations.