Daily Current Affairs - 24 August 2026

Introduction

The CareerUdaya Daily Current Affairs - 24 August 2026 edition brings together ten examination-focused developments for APSC, ADRE, Assam Police, Assam TET, SSC, Banking and Railway aspirants. The notes cover the Supreme Court's restoration of the Karimganj election petition, AssamSAT's private-partner selection, a mission-mode makhana push, Service Producer Price Indices for Q1, the India-Cambodia trade working group, Talabira's record coal output, GENESIS EIR Cohort-3, an indigenous popcorn-maize hybrid, West Bengal's Agniveer quota, and a Jorhat Openbill colony hit by a storm. Attempt the Daily Current Affairs Quiz - 24 August 2026 after revising the notes.

Assam & Polity - Supreme Court Restores the Karimganj Election Petition

A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran on 24 August 2026 set aside the Gauhati High Court's 4 April 2025 order that had dismissed, at the threshold, the election petition against Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kripanath Mallah from Assam's Karimganj (No. 7) Lok Sabha constituency. The appeal, Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury v. Kripanath Mallah, was under Section 116A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Choudhury, who lost by 18,360 votes (5,26,733 to 5,45,093), had alleged corrupt practices under Section 123.

The High Court had treated defects in the Form 25 affidavit and mixed "attested" and "certified" stamps as fatal under Section 86. The Supreme Court held that Section 81(3) does not prescribe a particular form of attestation, that "attested to be true copy" and "certified to be true copy" convey the same meaning, and that a Section 83 defect does not entail peremptory dismissal under Section 86, following the Constitution Bench in Murarka Radhey Shyam Ram Kumar. The High Court must verify whether the original Form 25 was affirmed before a Commissioner of Affidavits: if yes, it proceeds on merits including corrupt-practice pleadings; if not, those pleadings drop but other independent grounds still go to trial. This is not a finding that the 2024 poll was void, and it is not a new High Court Bench.

Source: Bar and Bench report on the Karimganj election-petition judgment

Assam & Space - AssamSAT Enters Final Partner Selection

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on 23-24 August 2026 that Assam is in the final stage of selecting a private-sector partner for AssamSAT, which the State describes as India's first State-level Earth-observation system. The partner will work under the DBLOTT model - Design, Build, Launch, Operate, Train and Transfer - so that capability is transferred to the State rather than remaining a purchased-imagery contract. The project was announced in the 2025-26 Assam Budget, with collaboration envisaged with IN-SPACe.

The Assam State Space Application Centre (ASSAC) floated an Expression of Interest in March 2026 (window closed 28 May). Reports on the EOI describe a constellation of at least five Low Earth Orbit satellites for flood monitoring, agriculture, infrastructure, border management and police operations. Thirteen companies, including BEL, Tata Advanced Systems, Agnikul Cosmos, Dhruva Space and GalaxEye, have been admitted to evaluation. Dedicated committees are now assessing bids. AssamSAT is not launched, is not an ISRO mission, and is not a substitute for NESAC's regional services. Pair it with the Indian Space Policy, 2023, under which IN-SPACe authorises non-government space activity.

Source: The Hindu report on AssamSAT partner selection

Assam & Agriculture - Mission-Mode Makhana and High-Value Crops

Agriculture Minister Pijush Hazarika, at a State-level workshop of about 250 progressive farmers at Srimanta Shankardev Kalakshetra, Guwahati, on 24 August 2026, asked cultivators to keep paddy but add double and triple cropping and shift towards high-value horticulture. The government will promote makhana (Euryale ferox, fox nut) in mission mode. Bihar remains India's leading producer; Assam's wetlands and fisheries ponds are the intended base. Officials put a possible additional return at about ₹40,000-50,000 per bigha beside fisheries, with makhana seed to be supplied from February 2027.

About seven crore fruit saplings are to be distributed next season; coconut saplings will go first to Sivasagar and Charaideo. The workshop also launched a schemes booklet and the portal of the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm. Irrigation now covers about 21% of Assam's agricultural land; the aim is another 20 percentage points over five years, backed by proposed externally aided projects of about ₹5,000 crore for agriculture and ₹6,000 crore for irrigation. Treat this as a State horticulture-and-wetland strategy, not as a notified Central makhana board for Assam and not as a replacement for MSP paddy procurement.

Source: Assam Tribune report on the high-value crops workshop

Economy & Indices - Service PPI for Q1 of FY 2026-27

The Office of the Economic Adviser in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade released, on 24 August 2026, provisional Service Producer Price Indices for Q1 of FY 2026-27 and final indices for Q4 of FY 2025-26. The series uses base year 2022-23 and covers seven services. No all-services weights are assigned because the seven do not represent the entire services sector.

The sharpest movement was Air (Passenger) Service Price Index: 126.4, with year-on-year inflation of 31.94%. The Banking Service Price Index was 100.9 (-3.35% YoY), while the Banking Service Contribution Index rose to 134.8 (6.90% YoY). Management of Pension Funds jumped to 113.3 (5.20%). Insurance held at 102.9; telecom at 112.2; railways at 103.4. Securities Transaction slipped to 89.9 (-1.32%). Service PPI measures prices received by producers, unlike CPI (household consumption) and WPI (goods at wholesale). Q2 data are due on 25 November 2026.

Source: PIB release on Service Producer Price Indices

International Relations - Third India-Cambodia Trade Working Group

The third meeting of the India-Cambodia Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment (JWGTI) was held in Phnom Penh on 24 August 2026. The two sides agreed to work towards the early signing of a Bilateral Investment Treaty and discussed an MoU on Customs Cooperation. They welcomed UPI acceptance at KHQR-enabled merchants in Phnom Penh from 2 June 2026 and talked of a next phase in which Cambodian apps would scan UPI QR codes in India.

Bilateral trade rose from $299 million in 2024-25 to $406.78 million in 2025-26 (more than 36%). April-June 2026 trade was up 63.25% year-on-year. Cambodia is India's eighth-largest ASEAN trading partner, with 0.31% of India's ASEAN trade. Talks also covered pharmaceuticals, including recognition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia, agriculture, traditional medicine, e-governance, dyes and pigments, and banking and insurance. An "Invest in Cambodia" roadshow in India was discussed. The next JWGTI will be in India in 2027. The BIT and Customs MoU are not yet signed; this is not a free-trade agreement.

Source: PIB release on the India-Cambodia JWGTI

Energy - Talabira II & III Hits 19.14 MT

The Ministry of Coal reported on 24 August 2026 that Talabira II & III Open Cast Mine in Odisha, allocated to NLC India Ltd. on 2 May 2016 under Schedule III of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, produced a record 19.14 million tonnes in FY 2025-26, up 11.28%. Dispatch was a record 17.69 MT (10.72 MT to power, 6.97 MT to the non-regulated sector). The mine straddles Sambalpur and Jharsuguda. Cumulative production to 14 August 2026 is 72.23 MT.

A Digital Logistics Management System uses RFID, AI cameras and geo-fencing. The mine has a Five-Star Rating from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 and reports no fatal accident since inception. It supports 3,277 jobs (1,277 direct). Nominated Authority allocation is the post-2014 commercial/captive route, distinct from Coal India production and from the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026 covered earlier this month.

Source: PIB release on Talabira II & III

Science & Startups - GENESIS EIR Cohort-3

MeitY, through MeitY Startup Hub, publicised on 24 August 2026 the call for GENESIS Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Cohort-3. The cohort was launched on 4 August 2026 at the GENESIS NextGen Startup Summit, Rathinam Global University, Coimbatore. GENESIS (Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups) has an outlay of ₹490 crore and is aimed at Tier-II and Tier-III cities. EIR offers up to ₹10 lakh plus incubation for ideas at Technology Readiness Level 1-4.

Applications are open from 4 August to 3 September 2026. Focus areas include electronics, IT, DeepTech, AI/ML, IoT, semiconductors/VLSI, cybersecurity, blockchain, quantum, and AR/VR. Incorporated startups must be less than two years old and based in a Tier-II or Tier-III city; prior Central or State aid for the same idea must not exceed ₹10 lakh. GENESIS is not Startup India as a whole, not the ₹1,000-crore space Venture Capital Fund, and not a PLI scheme.

Source: PIB release on GENESIS EIR Cohort-3

Agriculture & S&T - India's First Non-GMO Popcorn Maize Hybrid

Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan on 24 August 2026 launched India's first non-GMO, high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed at Musunuru in Eluru district, Andhra Pradesh, with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The hybrid, developed with Gourmet Popcornica, is meant to cut dependence on imported popcorn-maize technology. More than 17,500 farmers across eight States on nearly 40,000 acres are in the initiative.

Non-GMO means conventional hybrid breeding, not genetic engineering that would need GEAC approval under the Environment (Protection) Act rules. High-expansion popcorn is a processing trait, not a food-security cereal replacement. Distinguish this private-farmer hybrid from ICAR/IARI notified varieties and from the Lakhimi IVF calf covered yesterday.

Source: DD India report on the popcorn-maize hybrid launch

Defence & Governance - 20% Agniveer Quota in West Bengal

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on 23-24 August 2026 announced a 20% reservation for Agniveers in the State police, fire services, forest department and civil defence. The State will also raise a 200-member disaster-response unit, Arjun Bahini, from September 2026. The quota uses the four-year military training under Agnipath, notified in 2022.

CAPFs have separately reserved 50% of constable (GD) vacancies for former Agniveers, with lists to come from the armed forces. Several States already give 10-30% horizontal reservation in uniformed posts. This is a State recruitment policy, not an amendment of the Agnipath scheme itself, not a new Central Armed Police Force, and not a replacement for NDRF.

Source: ETV Bharat report on the West Bengal Agniveer quota

Environment & Wildlife - Storm Hits Jorhat's Asian Openbill Colony

A severe storm in the early hours of 23 August 2026 killed at least 62 Asian Openbill storks (Anastomus oscitans) and injured 68 at a long-established nesting colony along DCB Road, Jorhat. Most of the dead were chicks. The Forest Department moved carcasses and injured birds to the Jorhat Regional Forest Office; the injured are to be treated at Panbari and later released in Kaziranga National Park. More than 10 Openbills had died at the same site in the previous week.

The Asian Openbill is a resident stork of the Indian subcontinent that feeds mainly on apple snails; it is not a Schedule I species on the lines of the Bengal florican recorded at Laokhowa yesterday. The episode is a habitat-and-extreme-weather note, not a new protected-area notification and not a census of Kaziranga.

Source: Assam Tribune report on the Jorhat Openbill deaths

Revision Notes

Revise these ten anchors: Karimganj petition - Section 116A appeal; Form 25 defect not fatal under Section 86; 18,360-vote margin; AssamSAT - first State EO claim; DBLOTT; ASSAC; five LEO satellites; 13 bidders; Makhana - Euryale ferox; mission mode; ₹40,000-50,000 per bigha; irrigation 21%; Service PPI - base 2022-23; seven services; air passenger 31.94%; India-Cambodia JWGTI - third meeting, Phnom Penh; early BIT; UPI-KHQR; $406.78 million; Talabira - 19.14 MT; NLC; Schedule III of the 2015 Act; GENESIS EIR - ₹490 crore; ₹10 lakh; TRL 1-4; 3 September deadline; Popcorn maize - non-GMO hybrid, Musunuru, Eluru; Agniveer quota - 20% in four West Bengal departments; Arjun Bahini; Openbill - Anastomus oscitans; 62 dead, 68 injured, Jorhat. Attempt the Daily Current Affairs Quiz - 24 August 2026 to test these facts.

Exam Snapshot Table

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the Supreme Court unseat the Karimganj MP?

No. It only restored the election petition to the Gauhati High Court. A Form 25 defect does not automatically dismiss the petition under Section 86 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The High Court must still try the case.

Is AssamSAT already in orbit?

No. The State is selecting a private partner under the DBLOTT model for a planned Earth-observation constellation. IN-SPACe is the authoriser; the satellites have not been launched.

What is makhana, and why is Assam promoting it?

Makhana (Euryale ferox) is fox nut, an aquatic crop grown in ponds and wetlands. Assam wants it in mission mode as a high-value add-on to fisheries. Bihar is still the country's main producer.

How is Service PPI different from CPI and WPI?

Service PPI tracks prices received by producers of selected services (base 2022-23). CPI tracks household consumption prices; WPI tracks wholesale goods. The seven Service PPIs are not a complete services-sector inflation rate.

What did India and Cambodia agree in Phnom Penh?

They agreed to work towards early signing of a Bilateral Investment Treaty, discussed a Customs Cooperation MoU, and reviewed the UPI-KHQR linkage. Trade was $406.78 million in 2025-26. The BIT itself is not yet signed.

Is there a quiz for this edition?

Yes. The Daily Current Affairs Quiz - 24 August 2026 contains 10 exam-focused MCQs with explanations.