The United States removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, rescinding a decades-old designation that came with severe economic restrictions and marking another step in warming ties between the countries.
The U.S. Department of State also revoked its designation of al-Nusra Front
— as a global terrorist organisation. The Treasury Department announced corresponding sanctions relief.HTS was earlier known as al-Nusra Front and was formerly the branch of Al-Qaeda in Syria. It broke ties with the jihadist group in 2016.
The action eliminates the final major barriers for private sector investment in Syria and promotes Syria's economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy.
The Tamil Nadu government unveiled a ₹107-crore project to create a rabies-free Tamil Nadu.The government would purchase vehicles to transport street dogs after they are captured and implement animal birth control programme, and establish surgical centres and after-care centres.
The government announced a multi-level parking facility at a cost of ₹40 crore in Kanniyakumari for the benefit of tourists.The Minister also said a multi-purpose commercial complex would be constructed at the Thanjavur Municipal Corporation. The government would renovate the bus stand in Polpet in Thoothukudi,
which had not been in use for more than 30 years. The renovation would include a multi-level parking facility and a commercial complex at a cost of ₹90 crore.
The government would spend ₹20 crore to restore 30 water bodies in town panchayats to facilitate groundwater recharge.
The central government has appointed former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin, ex-bureaucrat Annie George Mathew, and consultancy BCG India Chairman Janmejaya Kumar Sinha to RBI central board. The have been appointed as part-time, Non-official Directors on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India for four years with effect from August 24
or until further orders, whichever is earlier.the government had re-appointed industrialist Anand Gopal Mahindra as part-time, Non-official Director on the board.
Former ISRO Chairman Somanath Sreedhara Panicker was also appointed on the board.Other members of the board include Revathy Iyer, a retired officer from the Indian Audit & Accounts service
who went on to become the Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General, Government Accounts, and Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General of think tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).
Annual UPI transaction volume rose from 1.78 crore in 2016-17 to more than 24,162 crore in 2025-26, an almost 13,000-fold increase.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched on 25 August, 2016, by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has completed 10 years of transforming digital payments in India.
Transaction value rose sharply from Rs.0.07 lakh crore in FY17 to approximately Rs.314 lakh crore in FY26, translating into a more than 4,000‑fold increase in transaction value.The unprecedented scale, reliability, and interoperability achieved by UPI have
received global recognition,with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) acknowledging it as the world’s largest real‑time payment system by transaction volume, underscoring India’s leadership in building scalableand innovative digital public infrastructure.
Growth in gross direct premium underwritten by non-life insurers slowed to 5.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in July, compared with nearly 16 per cent in June 2026 on moderating premium growth of multi-line general insurers. According to data released by the General Insurance Council (GIC),
the total gross direct premium underwritten by non-life insurers, including multi-line general insurers, standalone health insurers and specialised PSU insurers, stood at Rs.31,397.6 crore in July.
Kerala's 19-year-old Kaziah Liz Mejo was crowned the prestigious Miss Universe India 2026 at the grand finale held at Zee Studios in Jaipur.
Mejo beat 52 finalists from across the country to win the title. During the grand finale, Miss Universe India 2025 Manika Vishwakarma crowned her successor.
Kaziah will now represent India at the 75th Miss Universe pageant, which will be held in Puerto Rico in November.
This International Day is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples. In accordance with the goals of the intercultural project "The Routes of Enslaved Peoples", it should offer an opportunity for collective consideration of the historic causes, the methods and the consequences of this tragedy,
and for an analysis of the interactions to which it has given rise between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.On the night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in Saint Domingue, today the Republic of Haiti, saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports is organising ‘Khelo India Samvad – Khel Ki Baat PM Ke Saath’ in two colleges in every district of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh on August 27 with an aim to connect youth with the national vision of sports, fitness and youth-led nation building.
The Samvad will be organized by Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) of the Department of Youth Affairs of the Ministry.During the programme, youth will also be encouraged to register on the MY Bharat portal and will have the opportunity to submit their suggestions digitally through the MY Bharat Suggestions Box.
The Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue (VBYLD) 2027 Quiz will also be promoted among the participants.
YES BANK has launched YES Essence, a credit card designed specifically for women, combining rewards on everyday spending with preventive healthcare and lifestyle-focused benefits. Th new offering is aimed at young professionals, salaried women and digitally savvy customers, reflecting the growing participation of women in India’s consumption.
The YES Essence Credit Card offers welcome vouchers across fashion, beauty, travel and fitness brands. Cardholders can also earn accelerated rewards on everyday spending categories including dining, grocery, shopping, beauty and travel.The card also incorporates healthcare benefits,
including an annual preventive health checkup with cancer marker screening. Additional lifestyle benefits include a special birthday voucher, buy-one-get-one movie tickets and complimentary coffee at select mall outlets across India.Cardholders can earn up to 10,000 YES Rewardz through milestone spending, adding further value to the proposition.
SBI, the country’s largest lender, is planning to raise the threshold for artificial intelligence-led cheque processing to Rs.1 lakh, up from the existing Rs.10,000 limit. The move could enable more than 50–55% of the bank’s cheque volumes, by number,
to be processed through automated models, marking a significant expansion of SBI’s use of AI.
SBI currently uses image-based AI models for cheque truncation and has fully automated the processing of cheques up to Rs.10,000.
Sophie Adenot made history on 18 August 2026 by becoming the first French woman to perform a spacewalk (EVA) outside the
International Space Station
(ISS). The milestone came during her Epsilon mission as a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, alongside NASA astronaut
Anil Menon.
Adenot became the first French woman ever to walk in space, nearly 30 years after Claudie Haigneré became the first French woman in space in 1996.
Mission objective: She and Anil Menon conducted a 6.5-hour spacewalk to replace a critical space-to-ground communication antenna on the ISS.
Born in 1982 in France.Former French Air and Space Force colonel and France's first female helicopter test pilot (2018).
Selected as an ESA astronaut in 2022.Launched to the ISS aboard SpaceX Crew-12 on 13 February 2026 for her first long-duration mission.
The CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI), New Delhi, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education under the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), organised a one-day workshop on “Road Asset Management Systems & Predictive Analysis” on 24 August 2026 at the CSIR-CRRI Auditorium.
The workshop brought together researchers, practitioners and industry experts to deliberate on modern Road Asset Management Systems (RAMS) and the application of predictive analytics for pavement performance, maintenance prioritisation and life-cycle cost optimisation.
The inaugural session was graced by Shri Rajesh Verma, IAS, Chairperson,
Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and Adjoining Areas, as the Chief Guest. The session commenced with the welcome of the Chief Guest and dignitaries, followed by the National Song and National Anthem and ceremonial lighting of the lamp. Dr. Ch. Ravi Sekhar, Director, CSIR-CRRI, delivered the Welcome Address,
Dr. Sampath Kumar Pasupunuri, Scientist ‘E’ and Workshop Coordinator, CSIR-CRRI, provided an overview of the workshop. The workshop highlighted that road networks constitute critical public assets and their systematic management is essential for ensuring safe, efficient and cost-effective mobility.
In a significant step towards facilitating legitimate international trade and preventing the diversion of pharma products, the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (PHARMEXCIL), set up by Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
Govt of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today at the CBN Headquarters in Gwalior.
Role of CBN under the NDPS Act, 1985 - Functioning under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) is the agency administering the facilitation,
regulations and enforcement provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Under the NDPS Act, the CBN holds the critical mandate of supervising the licit cultivation of opium poppy, issuing authorizations for the import and export of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances,
and ensuring that essential chemical inputs are not diverted for illicit use.
This collaborative framework with PHARMEXCIL is a strategic extension of the Government of India’s National Roadmap of Ease of Doing Business. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) executed today broadens this comprehensive approach by integrating,
voluntary compliance mechanisms directly into the pharmaceutical export ecosystem to secure international supply chains.
Key Highlights of the MoU:
• Voluntary Code of Conduct (VCC): The Government, in close consultation with PHARMEXCIL, will develop a Voluntary Code of Conduct setting out recommended practices for the industry.
This code will remain voluntary and non-binding, ensuring it does not interfere with normal business operations or create additional statutory or financial burdens on exporters beyond applicable laws.
• Trade Facilitation & Ease of Doing Business: The partnership will focus on identifying operational bottlenecks and recommending measures to streamline
legitimate export procedures for compliant pharmaceutical exporters.
• Capacity Building: Both parties will organize joint workshops, seminars, and awareness campaigns for exporters, in coordination with relevant government institutions like CDSCO and Customs wherever required.
• Information Sharing: The MoU establishes a framework for the exchange of necessary information to achieve regulatory objectives, subject to applicable laws and confidentiality obligations. Furthermore, the pharma industry will endeavor to nominate ‘Contact Persons’ from member companies to coordinate matters associated with the VCC.
