Current Affairs 21 August 2026

RSSDI Introduces Diabetes Rural Outreach Portal and VISHWAS.

RSSDI launched the Diabetes Rural Outreach Digital Portal and VISHWAS video library to improve diabetes care in rural areas.
VISHWAS promotes diabetes awareness, early screening and healthy lifestyle practices.
The digital portal enables patient registration, treatment records and long-term follow-up.
It supports anonymised real-world data for future public health planning.
The programme uses local and colloquial languages to improve accessibility.
It has already been implemented in around 30 villages across multiple states.
RSSDI members adopt villages to provide specialist diabetes care in underserved areas.
The initiative supports the India@2047 vision of a healthier and developed India.

Tata Power and IIT Bombay signed a Master Research Agreement (MRA) on August 17, 2026.
The partnership aims to develop and commercialise next-generation clean energy technologies.
Key research areas include smart grids, power electronics, energy storage and electric mobility.
It will also focus on AI for power systems, digital grids and cybersecurity.
Other areas include carbon capture and the circular economy.
The collaboration aims to develop indigenous, scalable solutions to strengthen India’s energy security and decarbonisation efforts.

Qatar Post and India Post launched PosTransfer, an instant remittance service for transferring money to UPI-enabled accounts in India.
The service was developed with support from UPU-IP and NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL).
Customers can send money through Qatar Post outlets using the recipient’s UPI ID.
The transfer limit ranges from QAR 10 to QAR 4,000, with a maximum of ₹1 lakh per transaction.
A flat fee of QAR 15 is charged per transaction.
The service creates a digital remittance corridor for the Indian diaspora in Qatar.

Central Zoo Authority (CZA) approved Asia’s first desert-themed drive-through night safari and zoological park in Deesa, Gujarat.
The project will be developed on 103 hectares of government land at Juna Deesa, Banaskantha.
Estimated cost: ₹542.14 crore.
The park will house around 2,700 animals across 83 species.
It will feature night and day safaris, reptile safari, rainforest biome, aquarium and butterfly park.
Indian species will include Asiatic lions, leopards, chinkaras, blackbucks and Indian wild asses.
Exotic species will include African cheetahs, giraffes, Grevy’s zebras and Australian kangaroos.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas approved a new incentive scheme on August 18, 2026 to boost household Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections.
The scheme will come into effect from September 1, 2026 and will run in two tranches over six months.
India currently has around 1.74 crore domestic PNG connections.
CGD companies will receive an additional 200 SCM of lower-priced APM gas for every new billed connection.
The scheme aims to reduce reliance on costlier LNG and speed up PNG network expansion.
It is expected to reduce the capital expenditure payback period from 10 years to 3 years.
The Centre has urged states to reduce VAT on natural gas to 5%