August 2026 Current Affairs
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📚 Day 12 Current Affairs
Welcome to Day 12 of your August 2026 Current Affairs preparation.
Today's topics cover important developments in Indian Navy, defence technology, military culture, space technology and medical research.
Read each topic carefully and attempt the 5-question quiz at the end.
INS Sudarshini – Lokayan 2026
The Indian Navy's sail training ship INS Sudarshini reached Lisbon, Portugal as part of the Lokayan 2026 transoceanic expedition.
The ship entered Lisbon through the Tagus River. Lisbon was the 15th port visited by the ship during the seven-month expedition.
The expedition started on 20 January 2026 from Kochi, India.
🎯 Exam Facts
- Ship: INS Sudarshini
- Organisation: Indian Navy
- Expedition: Lokayan 2026
- Destination mentioned: Lisbon, Portugal
- River used to enter Lisbon: Tagus River
- Port visited: 15th port
- Started from: Kochi
- Start date: 20 January 2026
- Total distance: Over 22,000 nautical miles
- Planned route: 18 ports in 13 countries
🇵🇹 Portugal – Quick Revision
- Capital: Lisbon
- Currency: Euro (€)
- President: António José Seguro
- Prime Minister: Luís Montenegro
Divyastra Mk3 – Indigenous Jet-Powered Loitering Munition
Divyastra Mk3 is described in the PDF as India's first fully indigenous, jet-powered loitering munition, also referred to as a kamikaze drone.
It has been developed by Kawa UAV Pvt. Ltd. (HoverIt), a Lucknow-based company.
The system is designed to destroy enemy targets using an explosive warhead and is powered by an indigenous jet propulsion system.
🎯 Exam Facts
- Name: Divyastra Mk3
- Type: Jet-powered loitering munition
- Also known as: Kamikaze drone
- Developer: Kawa UAV Pvt. Ltd. (HoverIt)
- Location: Lucknow-based
- Power: Indigenous jet propulsion system
- Warhead: Explosive warhead
🤖 Key Features
- AI-enabled target engagement
- Autonomous flight control
- High-speed operation
- Reduced enemy reaction time
Indian Army Literary Festival 2026
The Indian Army organised "Adab Aur Saqafat – Literary Festival 2026" in Kargil.
The festival focused on the cultural and literary heritage of the Ladakh region.
🎯 Exam Facts
- Event: Adab Aur Saqafat – Literary Festival 2026
- Organised by: Indian Army
- Location: Kargil
- Theme: "Celebrating the Culture of Ladakh Highland"
- Aim: Promote Ladakh's culture and literature
📚 Related Literary Event
The PDF also mentions the Leh Literature Festival 2026, organised by the National Book Trust.
Its theme mentioned in the source is "Indian Military History : Valour and Wisdom".
GISAT-1A (EOS-05) Mission
ISRO is scheduled to launch GISAT-1A (EOS-05) in September 2026.
The satellite is described as a geostationary Earth observation satellite.
It is planned to be launched using the GSLV Mk-II (Flight F17) launch vehicle.
🎯 Exam Facts
- Mission: GISAT-1A
- Other designation: EOS-05
- Organisation: ISRO
- Expected launch: September 2026
- Launch vehicle: GSLV Mk-II
- Flight: F17
- Orbit: Geostationary
- Approximate altitude: 36,000 km above Earth
- Mission life: 10 years
🛰️ Imaging Capability
- India can be imaged every 30 minutes.
- Important locations can be imaged every 5 minutes.
🌍 Applications
- Disaster management
- Agriculture monitoring
- Environmental monitoring
- National security
RK-251 – Experimental Smart Cancer Drug
Indian researchers have developed RK-251, an experimental "smart" cancer drug designed to become active mainly inside cancer cells.
The research was carried out through a collaboration involving scientists from the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST) and IIT-Guwahati.
According to the PDF, RK-251 has shown promising activity against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in preclinical studies.
🎯 Exam Facts
- Drug: RK-251
- Type: Experimental smart cancer drug
- Activation: Mainly inside cancer cells
- Research institutions: IASST and IIT-Guwahati
- Target: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)
- Stage mentioned: Preclinical studies
🧬 Why It Matters
The important exam point is that the drug is designed to become active mainly inside cancer cells, with promising preclinical activity against TNBC.
📝 Day 12 Quick Quiz
Test yourself on today's five important current affairs.