The Government has constituted a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to examine the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026. Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Jaiswal head the committee, which includes members from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha approved the referral of the Bill to the JPC on August 12, 2026 for detailed scrutiny. The Bill seeks to further amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA). Its key objective is to make the use of foreign contributions more transparent and accountable.

The Subarnarekha River breached its banks again in Balasore, Odisha, affecting more than 45,000 people across 22 gram panchayats in three blocks. The Subarnarekha River originates near Nagri village in Ranchi district, Jharkhand, and flows through Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha before draining into the Bay of Bengal. It is an important east-flowing interstate river of eastern India and its major tributaries include the Kharkai and Kanchi rivers.

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh launched BIO-NIVESH, a strategic platform to strengthen collaboration between biotechnology innovators, startups and investors. BIO-NIVESH aims to catalyse private investment in biotechnology innovations and support their scale-up and commercialisation. The platform is being developed as a recurring initiative, with future editions planned across different cities to connect regional biotech ecosystems with investment networks. BIO-NIVESH seeks to help promising technologies move from laboratory to market and from India to global markets. Make a quiz like which initiative

Botanists Birina Bhuyan and Selim Mehmud have discovered a new perennial herb species named Ophiorrhiza assamensis in Kamrup Metropolitan district, Assam. The plant belongs to the Rubiaceae family, commonly known as the coffee family, and the Ophiorrhiza genus. It is a small shade-loving herb with large ribbed leaves and clusters of small white flowers. Species of the Ophiorrhiza genus are known for producing camptothecin, a compound used in anti-cancer medicines. Ophiorrhiza assamensis has been provisionally assessed as Data Deficient (DD) under IUCN guidelines because of its highly localised population and threats from local development.

The Pickleball World Cup 2026 is held from August 30 to September 6, 2026 at the Tien Son Sports Palace in Da Nang, Vietnam. This is the first time the Pickleball World Cup is being hosted in Asia. India has won 37 medals so far, including 6 gold, 16 silver and 15 bronze, placing it fourth in the medal tally.