Current Affairs Quiz — 14 August 2026

13 current affairs MCQs for 14 August 2026, framed UPSC-style from the day's reporting, each verified against its source and explained. Click a question to reveal the answer, or take the quiz interactively.

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13 Questions with Answers & Explanations
Q1. In August 2026, the Ministry of Heavy Industries received 20 bids under a global tender for setting up sintered rare-earth permanent magnet manufacturing facilities; what target annual production capacity is the scheme aiming to build across India?
  1. (a) 2,000 metric tonnes
  2. (b) 10,000 metric tonnes
  3. (c) 6,000 metric tonnes
  4. (d) 15,000 metric tonnes

Answer: (c) 6,000 metric tonnes

The Rs. 7,280 crore scheme, approved by the Cabinet in November 2025, will select five manufacturers to share the capacity (up to 1,200 tonnes each annually) for producing NdFeB magnets used in EVs, wind turbines and defence systems, reducing India's import dependence over a seven-year implementation period.

Q2. India Optel Limited, a defence PSU under the Department of Defence Production, launched 'Garud' in August 2026 — an indigenous product for the civilian market of what type?
  1. (a) A high-magnification binocular-style telescope
  2. (b) A drone-detection radar
  3. (c) A night-vision camera
  4. (d) A GPS tracking device

Answer: (a) A high-magnification binocular-style telescope

Manufactured at Ordnance Factory Dehradun, the 8x-magnification, 610-gram Garud telescope — adapted from optics used by the armed forces — was launched for uses including bird-watching, wildlife observation, and maritime and security operations.

Q3. According to a NITI Aayog report identifying key manufacturing sectors, released in August 2026, India's installed solar photovoltaic capacity (106 GW as of March 2025) is targeted to reach how much by 2030?
  1. (a) 150 GW
  2. (b) 500 GW
  3. (c) 200 GW
  4. (d) 280 GW

Answer: (d) 280 GW

The report, part of a four-sector study covering chemicals, textiles, telecom equipment and solar PV manufacturing, also noted that India's textiles and apparel sector contributes about 2% to GDP and employs over 40 million people, the second-largest employer after agriculture.

Q4. The Union Law Minister launched a restructured 'India Code Portal' in August 2026 with AI-powered features; the portal aims to eventually provide AI-assisted legal access in how many languages listed in the Constitution's Eighth Schedule?
  1. (a) 18
  2. (b) 22
  3. (c) 15
  4. (d) 8

Answer: (b) 22

Inaugurated by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, the revamped portal adds semantic and speech search, e-gazette integration and QR-enabled access, transforming India Code from a static document repository into an interactive digital legal gateway accessible in all 22 scheduled languages.

Q5. The Drug-Free India Campaign (Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan) has made over 30.52 crore people aware nationally as of August 2026; which toll-free helpline number supports addiction recovery under this campaign?
  1. (a) 1098
  2. (b) 14446
  3. (c) 14567
  4. (d) 112

Answer: (b) 14446

The campaign has engaged over 11.8 crore youth and 8.4 crore women, supported by a network of 344 Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts (IRCAs) and 155 Addiction Treatment Facilities nationwide; the 14446 helpline has received over 4.6 lakh calls.

Q6. India's Principal Scientific Adviser's office released the S&T Cluster Annual Report 2025-26 in August 2026, covering eight regional science and technology clusters. Which of these correctly pairs a cluster acronym with its host city?
  1. (a) AMTZ - Pune
  2. (b) RICH - Delhi
  3. (c) AMTZ - Visakhapatnam
  4. (d) JCKIC - Bhubaneswar

Answer: (c) AMTZ - Visakhapatnam

The eight clusters span Visakhapatnam (AMTZ), Bengaluru (BeST), Bhubaneswar (BCKIC), Delhi (DRIIV), Jodhpur (JCKIC), Punjab-IIT Ropar (PI-RAHI), Pune (PKC) and Hyderabad (RICH); the report, released under Chief Scientific Adviser Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, highlighted progress in AI-enabled agriculture and indigenous medical device components.

Q7. According to the government's August 2026 review of senior citizen welfare, the Atal Vayo Abhyudaya Yojana (AVYAY) — a comprehensive scheme covering shelter, healthcare and assistive devices for elderly citizens — falls under which ministry?
  1. (a) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  2. (b) Ministry of Rural Development
  3. (c) Ministry of Women and Child Development
  4. (d) Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

Answer: (d) Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

With India's senior citizen population projected to grow from 100 million (2011) to 230 million by 2036, AVYAY works alongside schemes like the National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly (which has set up 17 regional geriatric centres) and Ayushman Bharat, which now covers seniors aged 70+ with Rs. 5 lakh health coverage.

Q8. In August 2026, the Lok Sabha Speaker met the Speaker of Kenya's National Assembly and thanked Kenya for approving the installation of a statue of which Indian leader in the Kenyan Parliament?
  1. (a) Jawaharlal Nehru
  2. (b) B.R. Ambedkar
  3. (c) Mahatma Gandhi
  4. (d) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Answer: (c) Mahatma Gandhi

Speaker Om Birla and Kenya's Dr. Moses Wetang'ula discussed deepening bilateral ties; Kenya has recognised persons of Indian origin as an indigenous community and endorsed India's candidacy for permanent UN Security Council membership, while India's Parliament Institute for Democracies (PRIDE) trains Kenyan legislators.

Q9. Scientists from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and international collaborators developed a 3D magnetohydrodynamic computer model in August 2026 to better forecast the impact of which solar phenomenon on Earth?
  1. (a) Solar eclipses
  2. (b) Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)
  3. (c) Sunspot cycles
  4. (d) Auroral substorms

Answer: (b) Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)

The study found a clear relationship between magnetic reconnection rates and CME velocity — faster reconnection correlates with faster CME acceleration — improving early warning capability for these massive plasma eruptions that can disrupt satellites and power grids, and was published in the Astrophysical Journal.

Q10. Under the PM-AJAY (Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana) scheme, smart classrooms with interactive touch panels have been set up in SC-majority villages of Kathua district, including villages near the international border, in which Union Territory?
  1. (a) Ladakh
  2. (b) Chandigarh
  3. (c) Jammu and Kashmir
  4. (d) Puducherry

Answer: (c) Jammu and Kashmir

Since 2022-23, 14 smart classrooms have been established in SC-majority villages of Kathua district — including the border villages of Chak Chabba and Chak Nathal — under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment's PM-AJAY scheme, bringing interactive digital learning to communities that previously lacked such access.

Q11. The BeST Cluster, one of eight regional science and technology clusters featured in India's S&T Cluster Annual Report 2025-26, is based in which city and focuses on health, urban life and futuristic technologies?
  1. (a) Hyderabad
  2. (b) Bengaluru
  3. (c) Pune
  4. (d) Chennai

Answer: (b) Bengaluru

Launched in November 2022 at the Bengaluru Tech Summit with the Indian Institute of Science as a key stakeholder, the Bengaluru Science and Technology (BeST) Cluster runs working teams on precision agriculture, urban transportation, quantum technologies and other themes, operating on a 'ground-up pyramid model' connecting industry, academia and government.

Q12. In August 2026, Karnataka's IT-BT Department unveiled a 'Government First' policy under which the state pilots and pays for successful trials of deeptech startup solutions. In what kind of environment do startups test their solutions under this policy?
  1. (a) Secure sandboxes using government datasets
  2. (b) Private cloud environments only
  3. (c) Sandboxes restricted to IT-BT department data
  4. (d) Open public datasets with no government involvement

Answer: (a) Secure sandboxes using government datasets

Announced by IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge at the NASSCOM Future Forge event in Bengaluru, the policy has the state government act as an early customer for startups solving problems in healthcare, mobility, water, tourism, agriculture and urban governance, paying only upon successful pilot completion.

Q13. According to Karnataka's IT Secretary in 2026, the state hosts over 1,080 Global Capability Centre (GCC) units — accounting for approximately what share of India's total GCC units?
  1. (a) 30%
  2. (b) 50%
  3. (c) 15%
  4. (d) 70%

Answer: (a) 30%

Karnataka, home to about 34% of India's GCC talent concentrated in Bengaluru, is also rolling out a Data Centre Policy and planning India's first public sector-led AI University on roughly 100 acres, aimed at building the digital infrastructure needed for AI-led innovation.

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