Current Affairs 06 August 2026

IIT Hyderabad Launches India’s 1st Nuclear Technology Programme – ANUGYAN.

IIT Hyderabad launched ANUGYAN, India’s first industry-academia programme for civil nuclear energy.
Developed jointly with Crimson Energy Experts Pvt. Ltd. (CEEPL).
Duration: 3-month fully residential Nuclear Technology Orientation Programme.
Focus: Reactor physics, thermal hydraulics, SMRs, radiation safety and nuclear regulations.
Target: Supports India’s goal of increasing nuclear capacity from 8.8 GWe to 100 GWe by 2047.
Establishes CODENE for advanced nuclear engineering design, simulation and research.

India’s first Telecom Manufacturing Zone (TMZ) is being established in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
Investment: Cumulative commitments reached ₹5,500 crore — ₹3,500 crore from Delhi and ₹2,000 crore from Mumbai.
Target Investment: ₹10,000 crore.
Employment: Expected to generate 18,000+ jobs.
Facilities: Integrated ecosystem for R&D, semiconductors, optical fibre and telecom manufacturing.
Implementation: Jointly steered by DoT and Madhya Pradesh Government through an SPV.

India’s first indigenous African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine developed by ICAR-NIHSAD, Bhopal.
Dedicated by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on 4 August 2026.
Uses a live attenuated ASFV Genotype II platform with gene deletions.
Dosage: For healthy pigs above 8 weeks; 1 mL intramuscular dose with a booster after 14 days.
Significance: Enables cost-effective domestic vaccine production and reduces dependence on foreign technology.
ASF has near-100% mortality and caused major economic losses in Indian pig-rearing states.

India’s installed power capacity projected to reach 874 GW by 2031–32.
Current capacity (June 2026): 548.86 GW, with 54.18% from non-fossil sources.
Coal: 224.16 GW; Solar: 162.15 GW.
Under-construction renewable capacity: 147.72 GW, including solar and wind.
Energy storage pipeline: Over 31.6 GW through pumped storage and battery systems.
Transmission: 1.91 lakh circuit km of new transmission lines planned by 2031–32.
AT&C losses: Reduced from 21.91% (FY21) to 15.04% (FY25).
Power supply: Rural availability rose to 22.6 hours/day and urban supply to 23.4 hours/day in FY26.

Bill introduced in Parliament to amend the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, enabling MDR on UPI and select digital payments.
Large merchants: MDR may apply to businesses with turnover above ₹50 crore.
Small businesses: Merchants with turnover up to ₹1.5 crore proposed to remain exempt.
Proposed MDR: Below 0.5%, potentially for transactions above ₹2,000.
Objective: Create a revenue model to support the sustainability and expansion of India’s digital-payment ecosystem.
UPI scale: Accounts for about 88% of digital transactions in India.