Current Affairs 28 August 2026: 20 Exam Facts and 15 MCQs for SSC, Railway, Banking, BPSC and JSSC
Current Affairs 28 August 2026: 20 Exam Facts and 15 MCQs for SSC, Railway, Banking, BPSC and JSSC
Patna decided the biggest story of the last 24 hours. On 27 August 2026 the Bihar government scrapped the two-stage plan for BPSC TRE-4 and brought back a single-stage exam, ending a hunger strike that had run since 18 August. If you are a teaching aspirant in Bihar, that one decision changes your whole timetable.
The rest of the day was busy too. Praggnanandhaa did something no Indian had done before, the women's hockey team recorded its best World Cup finish since 1974, and UNCCD CoP17 wrapped up in Mongolia. Below are 20 verified facts with exam tags, four quick-revision tables, and 15 objective questions built only from these facts.
National
- Khelo India Dialogue: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in the Khelo India Dialogue with young athletes on 27 August 2026, two days before National Sports Day. The interaction was carried by PIB and Akashvani. [All exams]
- Duty-free sugar import: The Centre allowed duty-free import of 10 lakh metric tonnes of raw sugar up to 31 October 2026, the first such window in roughly a decade. Retail sugar had climbed from Rs 48.18 per kg on 20 July to Rs 55.70 per kg by 20 August 2026. Sugarcane FRP for the 2026-27 season stands at Rs 365 per quintal at 10.25% recovery. [SSC, Banking, BPSC]
- GOBARdhan gets one national scheme: The Union Cabinet approved GOBARdhan, a National Unified Scheme for Compressed Biogas, with an outlay of Rs 23,731 crore on 6 August 2026. It merges the earlier scattered CBG and biogas programmes into a single framework. [SSC, Railway, All exams]
Two more national items worth a line in your notebook. The Union Cabinet cleared four railway multitracking projects worth about Rs 9,450 crore on 19 August, adding roughly 410 km across West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. And the e-Shram portal, the national database of unorganised workers, completed five years on 26 August with 31.89 crore registrations.
Appointments in focus (Person and Post)
International
- UNCCD CoP17 closes in Mongolia: The 17th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification ran in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 17 to 28 August 2026, the first UNCCD COP hosted in East Asia. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav led India and argued on 26 August that land restoration should be treated as an investment rather than an expense. A rangeland restoration finance package of about USD 1.3 billion covering 23 countries was launched on 24 August. 2026 is the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. India also released its first Guide to Grasslands and Other Open Natural Ecosystems at the COP on 17 August. [All exams]
- New UNGA President: Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh will preside over the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, which opens on 8 September 2026. He defeated Cyprus's Andreas Kakouris by 99 votes to 91 in a secret ballot on 2 June 2026. [Banking, SSC, BPSC]
Keep one date ready for September. India holds the BRICS chair for 2026 and hosts the 18th BRICS Summit on 12 and 13 September 2026. The Philippines chairs ASEAN for 2026, and the United States chairs the G20 with its summit set for December.
Economy and Banking
- Repo rate unchanged: The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee held the repo rate at 5.25% on 5 August 2026, with the Standing Deposit Facility at 5.00% and the Marginal Standing Facility and Bank Rate at 5.50%. The stance stayed neutral. Governor Sanjay Malhotra raised the FY27 real GDP forecast to 6.7% and projected FY27 CPI inflation at 5.0%. The next MPC meets from 5 to 7 October 2026. [Banking, SSC, Railway]
- Forex reserves jump: India's foreign exchange reserves rose USD 9.905 billion to USD 716.907 billion in the week ended 14 August 2026. Foreign currency assets stood at USD 581.851 billion and gold at USD 111.417 billion. The all-time high remains USD 728.494 billion, set in the week ended 27 February 2026. [Banking]
- Inflation and the GDP date: Retail inflation measured by CPI came in at 4.45% for July 2026 on the revised 2024=100 base, up from 4.38% in June. Gross GST collections for July 2026 crossed Rs 2.11 lakh crore, a rise of 15.4% year on year. MoSPI releases Q1 FY27 GDP on 31 August 2026, so ignore any figure circulating before that. [Banking, SSC]
Sports
- Best hockey World Cup finish in 52 years: India's women beat Germany 3-1 in the fifth-place playoff of the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup 2026 at the Wagener Stadium, Amstelveen, on 27 August 2026. Ishika Chaudhary scored in the 43rd minute and Navneet Kaur struck twice, in the 44th and 47th. Only the fourth place of the inaugural 1974 edition ranks higher. [All exams]
- Praggnanandhaa makes history: R. Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour, beating Fabiano Caruana 15-13 in the Finals at the Saint Louis Chess Club on 27 August 2026. He lost the classical segment 3-9 and then swept the rapid 8-0 to take the USD 200,000 first prize. [All exams]
- India take the Sri Lanka series: The second Test at Colombo ended in a draw on 27 August 2026, giving India the two-match series 1-0. India had won the Galle Test by 165 runs, with left-arm spinner Manav Suthar taking 10 wickets for 131 runs in the match and Devdutt Padikkal scoring 167. [All exams]
Sports results (Event and Winner)
The BWF World Championships came back to India for the first time since 2009, held at the Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi from 17 to 23 August 2026. India's only medal was a women's doubles bronze for Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. That is a thin return for a home championship, and you should expect a question on it precisely because it was disappointing.
Awards
- Sarnath joins the World Heritage List: The Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List at the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, Republic of Korea, on 25 July 2026. India's tally is now 45 sites: 37 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed. The property covers the Chaukhandi Stupa and the Dhamek and Dharmarajika Stupas. [All exams]
- A first for an Indian teacher: Soma Mandal of GD Goenka Public School, Delhi, became the first Indian to win the overall Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Award on 2 June 2026, taking 40% of the public vote against eight regional winners drawn from more than 12,000 nominations across 129 countries. [Teaching, CTET, BTET, JTET]
Two award lists are pending, so do not trust anything circulating on them yet. The Ramon Magsaysay Award 2026 winners will be named on 31 August 2026 in Manila, and the National Sports Awards 2026 have not been announced at all. The 2026 Booker Prize longlist of 13 novels came out on 28 July with no Indian or Indian-origin author on it.
Science and Defence
- Parachute test at 22,000 feet: DRDO successfully tested the indigenous Military Combat Parachute System (MCPS) at Nyoma, Ladakh on 26 August 2026. The jump was made at 22,000 feet, the canopy deployed at 20,000 feet and the landing was at 13,700 feet. It was developed by ADRDE Agra and DEBEL Bengaluru, with an indigenous para-computer, oxygen system and jumpsuit. [SSC, Railway, Defence, All exams]
- Navy's second diving support vessel: The Indian Navy will commission DSV Nipun, its second Nistar-class Diving Support Vessel, at Naval Dockyard Mumbai on 31 August 2026. It was built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam and delivered on 30 July 2026. The vessel handles deep-sea saturation diving and submarine rescue. [Defence, SSC, Railway]
Space corner. The 3rd National Space Day was marked at Ahmedabad on 23 August 2026 on the theme "Towards Viksit Bharat: Innovating, Collaborating and Aspiring to Global Space Leadership", with ISRO Chairman Dr V. Narayanan presiding. On 9 August he said India is targeting at least 300 satellite launches over the next five to six years and its own space station by 2035, with the first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission (G1) planned from Sriharikota by the end of 2026. On the exercise front, Exercise MAITREE-XV with Thailand is under way at Surat Thani from 18 to 31 August with 85 personnel a side.
Bihar and Jharkhand Special
This is the section that decides marks in BPSC, BSSC, Bihar Police, JSSC, JPSC and the state TETs. Read it twice.
- BPSC TRE-4 becomes a single-stage exam: Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary announced on 27 August 2026 that TRE-4 will be conducted in a single stage instead of the proposed Prelims plus Mains format, and set up a Special Expert Committee on Examination Reforms headed by a sitting judge of the Patna High Court. Students who had been on hunger strike since 18 August called off the protest the same day. [BPSC, BTET, Bihar STET]
- Nine more Bihar exam reforms: Along with the TRE-4 decision the state announced a BSSC recruitment calendar with fixed exam timelines, a probe into the 1,799-post Sub-Inspector recruitment exam, a transparency review of the 70th BPSC exam, a review of Bihar Eligibility Test concerns for assistant professor recruitment, fresh recruitment for vacant librarian posts, a review of upper age limits, mandatory release of question papers, OMR sheets and answer sheets, a probe into alleged AEDO and Sanitary exam paper leaks, and a Student Assistance Portal that resolves complaints within 30 days. [BPSC, BSSC, Bihar Police]
- All-women university announced: At the Samriddh Mahila, Samriddh Bihar event in Patna on 27 August 2026, CM Samrat Choudhary announced that Bihar will get a university where the Vice-Chancellor, professors, employees and students will all be women. The event transferred Rs 600 crore to 5 lakh beneficiaries and set a target of employment for 1 crore women. The university's name and location have not been announced yet. [BPSC, BSSC, Bihar Police]
- Jharkhand cancels 44 recruitment exams: The Jharkhand government notified a list of 44 recruitment examinations cancelled over irregularities on 19 August 2026, covering JPSC and JSSC tests for assistant professors, deputy collectors, engineers and civil judges among other posts. Roughly 2,000 already-appointed JSSC CGL candidates are protesting the cancellation. Separately, the JPSC age-eligibility cut-off date was rolled back to 2022 in February 2026. [JSSC, JPSC, JTET]
One more from Ranchi. The Jharkhand Cabinet chaired by CM Hemant Soren approved 53 proposals on 25 August 2026. The list includes Rs 721.43 crore for 100 new Adarsh Vidyalaya "Schools of Excellence", 9,006 CCTV cameras across all 606 police stations in the state at about Rs 90 crore, Rs 393.91 crore for seat expansion at MGM Medical College Jamshedpur, an increase from 100 to 250 UG seats at Shaheed Nirmal Mahto Medical College Dhanbad, Rs 184.29 crore for Topchanchi Lake beautification on a PPP basis, and the Jharkhand Student Research and Innovation Policy 2026. The retirement age for non-teaching and specialist doctors was reduced from 67 to 65 years.
A political fact that BPSC and BSSC papers will keep testing for the next two years: Samrat Choudhary took office as Bihar's Chief Minister on 15 April 2026, becoming the state's first BJP Chief Minister, after Nitish Kumar was sworn in as a Rajya Sabha MP on 10 April 2026. The NDA had won 202 of 243 seats in the November 2025 Bihar Assembly election.
Where India stands (Index, India's Rank, Topper)
The Global Innovation Index 2026 has not been published. WIPO has scheduled it for 29 September 2026, so any "India GII 2026 rank" doing the rounds right now is either last year's number or made up.
Important Days
- National Sports Day, 29 August 2026: The day marks the 121st birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand, born on 29 August 1905. The 2026 theme is "Khelega Bharat, Jeetega Bharat". UGC has asked higher education institutions and Institutions of National Importance to run a three-day campaign from 28 to 30 August 2026 following Sports Authority of India guidelines, with a nodal officer nominated by each institution. [All exams]
Days this week (Day and Theme)
Today's 15 Objective Questions
All 15 come from the facts above. Attempt them before you look at the answers, and keep a note of the ones you miss.
- Q1. Who announced on 27 August 2026 that BPSC TRE-4 will be held in a single stage?
A) Nitish Kumar B) Samrat Choudhary C) Hemant Soren D) Vijay Kumar Sinha
Answer: B. Samrat Choudhary, Bihar's Chief Minister since 15 April 2026, made the announcement. - Q2. UNCCD CoP17, held from 17 to 28 August 2026, took place in which city?
A) Riyadh B) Samarkand C) Ulaanbaatar D) Astana
Answer: C. Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia hosted the first UNCCD COP held in East Asia. - Q3. What was the repo rate after the RBI MPC meeting of 5 August 2026?
A) 5.00% B) 5.25% C) 5.50% D) 5.75%
Answer: B. The repo rate stayed at 5.25% with a neutral stance; SDF is 5.00% and MSF 5.50%. - Q4. Who became the first Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour?
A) D. Gukesh B) Arjun Erigaisi C) R. Praggnanandhaa D) Vidit Gujrathi
Answer: C. Praggnanandhaa beat Fabiano Caruana 15-13 at Saint Louis on 27 August 2026. - Q5. Where did India finish at the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup 2026?
A) 4th B) 5th C) 6th D) 8th
Answer: B. India beat Germany 3-1 in the fifth-place playoff, their best finish since 1974. - Q6. What is the outlay of the GOBARdhan National Unified Scheme for Compressed Biogas?
A) Rs 13,731 crore B) Rs 18,231 crore C) Rs 23,731 crore D) Rs 31,723 crore
Answer: C. The Union Cabinet cleared Rs 23,731 crore for the scheme on 6 August 2026. - Q7. DRDO tested the Military Combat Parachute System at which location?
A) Pokhran, Rajasthan B) Nyoma, Ladakh C) Chandipur, Odisha D) Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Answer: B. The 26 August 2026 test at Nyoma involved a jump at 22,000 feet. ADRDE Agra developed the system, but the test was in Ladakh. - Q8. After Sarnath's inscription, how many UNESCO World Heritage Sites does India have?
A) 43 B) 44 C) 45 D) 46
Answer: C. India has 45 sites: 37 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed. - Q9. What is the theme of National Sports Day 2026?
A) Fit India, Hit India B) Khelega Bharat, Jeetega Bharat C) Sports for All D) Khelo India, Badho India
Answer: B. UGC circulated the theme along with a three-day campaign from 28 to 30 August 2026. - Q10. Who will preside over the 81st session of the UN General Assembly?
A) Philemon Yang B) Andreas Kakouris C) Khalilur Rahman D) Csaba Korosi
Answer: C. Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh beat Kakouris of Cyprus 99-91 on 2 June 2026. - Q11. How many recruitment examinations did the Jharkhand government cancel over irregularities?
A) 24 B) 34 C) 44 D) 54
Answer: C. The list of 44 cancelled JPSC and JSSC exams was notified on 19 August 2026. - Q12. India's foreign exchange reserves in the week ended 14 August 2026 stood at:
A) USD 694.2 billion B) USD 716.907 billion C) USD 728.494 billion D) USD 701.3 billion
Answer: B. Reserves rose USD 9.905 billion to USD 716.907 billion. Option C is the record high of February 2026. - Q13. DSV Nipun, the Navy's second Nistar-class Diving Support Vessel, was built by:
A) Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders B) Cochin Shipyard C) Hindustan Shipyard, Visakhapatnam D) GRSE Kolkata
Answer: C. Hindustan Shipyard delivered it on 30 July 2026; commissioning is on 31 August 2026. - Q14. Where did India finish in the overall medal tally at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow?
A) 2nd B) 3rd C) 4th D) 5th
Answer: C. India finished 4th with 39 medals, though it topped the boxing table with 7 golds. - Q15. The Jharkhand Cabinet approved 9,006 CCTV cameras covering how many police stations?
A) 404 B) 506 C) 606 D) 706
Answer: C. All 606 police stations in Jharkhand will be covered at a cost of about Rs 90 crore.
Before you close this page
An honest caveat on sourcing. The RBI, ISRO, PIB, UNESCO, UN and MoSPI items above come from official releases. The Bihar STET 2026 application window (17 to 31 August) and the postponement of the BPSC 72nd prelims are aggregator-sourced, so open bsebstet.org and bpsc.bihar.gov.in yourself before you plan around them. Two lists land on 31 August 2026, Q1 FY27 GDP and the Ramon Magsaysay Award 2026, and coaching sites will publish guesses before then.
Practical suggestion for the next 48 hours. National Sports Day questions repeat every single year, so learn the Dhyan Chand facts once and stop re-reading them. Put your time into the Bihar exam-reform package instead, because a policy change that big usually shows up in the very next BPSC and BSSC cycle.
Aaj ka full CA quiz: ExamAtlas.com