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Today’s important current affairs, which are essential for students preparing for government jobs…
NATIONAL
1. PM Modi met with players who won medals in the Commonwealth Games
- On 9 August, PM Narendra Modi met with Indian athletes who won medals at the Commonwealth Games 2026.
- Medal winners including boxer Lovlina Borgohain and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu arrived at the PM’s residence.
- India won a total of 39 medals at the Commonwealth Games 2026, including 13 gold, 17 silver and 9 bronze. India ranked fourth in the medal tally.
- Boxing made the biggest contribution to India’s 39 medals. Boxers won a total of 10 medals including 7 gold and 3 silver.
- Additionally, 8 medals came from weightlifting, 6 from para athletics, 4 from judo and 1 from para powerlifting.
- PM Modi also met with the Indian women’s cricket team that won the World Cup in November 2025, making a spectacular comeback. The captain of this team was Harmanpreet Kaur.
- In the year 2024, PM Modi also met with the Indian cricket team that won the World Cup.
INTERNATIONAL
2. Nepal’s PM Balen Shah will meet India’s Ambassador
- On 10 August, Nepal’s PM Balen Shah will meet with India’s Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava.
- This is the first time that Balen Shah will meet with any country’s ambassador alone.
- Until now, Shah had avoided the practice of meeting with any ambassador alone.
- Balen has so far preferred collective meetings with foreign ambassadors.
- In this meeting, discussions are likely to take place on bilateral relations and issues related to mutual cooperation between the two countries.
- After this, Balen will also hold talks with China’s Ambassador Zhang Maoming.
- On Tuesday, Shah will have a one-to-one meeting with Scott Arboum, the officer in charge of the American Embassy.
- Shah’s meeting with these ambassadors was scheduled about two weeks ago. However, the programme was postponed after the communal violence that occurred in Sunsari and other districts.
- After becoming Prime Minister, Shah had adopted a practice of not having separate meetings with foreign ambassadors and senior foreign officials.
Naveen Srivastava will be the first ambassador to have a one-to-one meeting with Nepal PM Balen.
SPORTS
3. Ashmita Chaliha wins Victor Korea Masters 2026
- On 9 August, Indian badminton player Ashmita Chaliha won the singles category title of the Victor Korea Masters 2026.
- Ashmita defeated China’s Han Qian Xi 14-21, 21-14, 21-14 in the final.
- This is Ashmita Chaliha’s first BWF World Tour title.
- Ashmita won the women’s singles title at the Dubai International in 2018. The same year, she was also included in the Indian team for the Asian Games.
- In 2019, Ashmita won gold in both singles and team competition at the South Asian Games.
- Ashmita had previously won a gold medal at the 2024 Asia Team Championship.
- Made a comeback to international badminton after middle meniscus knee injury surgery and approximately 8 months of rehabilitation.
Ashmita achieved her career-best BWF 42nd ranking in 2023.
4. Athlete Shahnawaz Khan won bronze in long jump
- Indian athlete Shahnawaz Khan won the bronze medal in long jump at the Under-20 World Athletics Championship being held in Eugene, USA on Sunday.
- 18-year-old Shahnawaz secured a podium finish with a jump of 7.84 meters in the third round of the final.
- Italy’s Inzoli won gold with a jump of 7.97 meters and Australia’s McGroder won silver medal with 7.96 meters.
- Earlier in May 2026, Shahnawaz had won gold in long jump at the 22nd Asian Under-20 Athletics Championship.
- Before Shahnawaz, on Saturday, Ashish Yadav won silver in javelin throw and Basant Kumar Meghwal won silver in high jump. India now has 3 medals.
Shahnawaz made a jump of 8.23 meters in the 24th National Junior Athletics Federation Cup.
AWARD
5. Author Gurcharan Das Lifetime Libertarian Award
- Indian author Gurcharan Das received the ‘Lifetime Libertarian Award’ on 8 August.
- Gurcharan Das was given this award at the World Conference of Liberty International in Kathmandu.
- The 82-year-old Das is the first Indian author to receive this honour.
- Gurcharan Das was given this award for his contribution in the field of freedom and liberalism and for promoting the idea of liberty.
- This award was given to Das as a foundation of literary contribution.
- Das’s books include ‘India Unbound’, ‘The Difficulty of Being Good’, ‘Kama: The Riddle of Desire’ and ‘Another Sort of Freedom’.
- Das has also edited a 17-volume series on India’s economic and business history for Penguin.
Gurcharan Das has also written a novel, a book of essays, and a collection of plays.
6. Central Government signs MoU with Cashfree Payments, Darwin Dynamics
- On 8 August, the government announced MoUs with 5 institutions – Cashfree Payments, Darwin Dynamics, Vultr India, Cars24, and Council for Startup India (CSI).
- These MoUs have been signed by the ‘Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade’ (DPIIT) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the purpose of the MoUs signed with Cashfree Payments is to strengthen digital infrastructure support for startups.
- These MoUs aim to incorporate Cashfree Payments’ expertise in digital payments, so that startups can progress efficiently and contribute to India’s innovation-based growth.
- The MoU signed with Darwin Dynamics will strengthen Entrepreneurship Development and the Startup Ecosystem.
- The objective of these MoUs is to expand the reach of the ‘Startup India’ initiative by promoting entrepreneurship in Tier II, Tier III and rural areas.
- Additionally, these aim to provide startups with better access to mentorship, institutional networks, market opportunities and capacity-building support.
- Meanwhile, the agreement with Vultr India Private Limited will focus on strengthening the technology infrastructure available for DPIIT-recognized startups.
- Its objective is to improve startups’ access to cloud computing resources, technology capacity and digital infrastructure.
- These MoUs aim to strengthen the startup ecosystem by supporting AI-based innovation, founder development, skilling, investment opportunities and road safety initiatives.
Today in History
- In 1793, the famous Louvre Museum of Paris was officially opened to the public.
- In 1963, Phoolan Devi, known as the Bandit Queen, rebel of Chambal and Indian politician, was born.
- In 1989, American space agency NASA’s Magellan spacecraft was established in Venus’s orbit.
