🔆 CURRENT AFFAIRS – 17 AUGUST 2026 | MONDAY
🔆 HISTORY, ART & CULTURE
📍 18 Monuments Delisted from Protected List
✅ Since 2021, the Centre has delisted 18 monuments under the AMASR Act, 1958, as they ceased to be of national importance
✅ Uttar Pradesh: Ancient Banyan Grove, Closed Cemetery, Gunner Burkill’s Tomb, Cemeteries at Gaughat & Jahraila Road, Tombs on Lucknow–Fyzabad Road, 3 Linga Temples at Ahugi, Telia Nala Buddhist Ruins, Treasury Building Tablet
✅ Other states: Nicholson Statue, Bara Khamba Cemetery, Inchla Wali Gumti, Kos Minars, Bachhaun Fort Inscription, 12th-century Temple & Fort Inscription, Kutumbari Area
✅ ASI currently maintains 3,688 centrally protected monuments/sites
✅ Section 35, AMASR Act permits delisting of monuments that have ceased to be of national importance
✅ India retrieved 662 historical artefacts from abroad till June 2026
✅ Retrieved artefacts: USA – 589 | Australia – 51 | UK – 21 | Netherlands – 1
🔆 GEOGRAPHY & ENVIRONMENT
📍 Oil Spill Threatens Hara Mangrove Forests
✅ Major oil spill in the Persian Gulf has threatened the Hara mangrove forests amid disruption of cleanup operations due to the West Asia conflict
✅ Hara mangroves are a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
✅ Mainly composed of Grey Mangrove trees
✅ Serve as nurseries for shrimp, crabs, fish and migratory birds
✅ Mangrove roots help filter saline water, prevent coastal erosion and act as carbon sinks
✅ Spill threatens marine food chains, fisheries, tourism and local livelihoods
📍 Wildfires in Protected Tropical Forests
✅ More than 4 million hectares of protected tropical forest were destroyed globally between 2001–2024
✅ Area is roughly twice the size of Wales
✅ Around 89% of the losses occurred in tropical Americas, particularly Brazil
✅ Rate of destruction has increased 9 times since 2016
✅ Nearly one-third of total losses occurred in 2024 alone
✅ Protected forests generally burn less than unprotected areas but are experiencing the same worsening wildfire trend
✅ Study highlights the need to integrate fire prevention and community participation into conservation planning
🔆 SOCIAL ISSUES
📍 Cancer as a Notifiable Disease
✅ Supreme Court directed 19 States/UTs to consider declaring cancer a notifiable disease
✅ 17 States/UTs have already notified cancer as a notifiable disease
✅ Health is a State subject
✅ Objective: strengthen early detection, reporting, treatment and nationwide cancer screening
✅ Remaining States/UTs have been asked to consider the recommendation and file affidavits
🔆 POLITY & GOVERNANCE
📍 Sapta Dhara Framework
✅ Prime Minister introduced Sapta Dhara (Shakti Ki Sapta Dhara) framework on the 80th Independence Day
✅ Aim: achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047
✅ Seven areas: Manufacturing; Agriculture & Food Processing; Technology & Innovation; Gati Shakti; Defence Self-Reliance; Green & Blue Economy; India’s Soft Power
✅ Government plans to train 1 crore youth in AI over the next year
✅ India targets 100 GW nuclear energy capacity by 2047
✅ 5 new nuclear reactors are expected to become operational over the next 6–7 years
📍 Trading of Major Minerals on Electronic Exchange
✅ Government will allow transparent trading of major minerals through an electronic platform from the next financial year
✅ Rules notified by the Ministry of Mines
✅ Indian Bureau of Mines will act as nodal regulator
✅ Initial minerals: Iron ore, bauxite, limestone and manganese
✅ Benefits: transparent price discovery, quality verification and market surveillance
✅ Expected to reduce disputes, cartelisation and insider trading
✅ 4 Critical Mineral Parks planned in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat and Maharashtra
✅ Initiative forms part of the National Critical Mineral Mission
#CurrentAffairs
Forwarded fromCSE EXAM upsc prelims mains CAPF CDS NDA
August 18, 2026 401
