Current Affairs 20 August 2026 — Part 2

Attempt the quiz above first, then review every question with its correct answer and a short explanation below.

1. Q1.A camera-trap survey in Telangana's Amrabad Tiger Reserve recorded how many individual tigers, a 16.6% rise from the previous count of 36?

   • A.38
   • B.40
   • C.42✓ Correct Answer
   • D.45

   Explanation: The survey, conducted from November 2025 to June 2026 using 2,240 camera traps, comes ahead of the ongoing 6th All-India Tiger Estimation.

2. Q2.The State of India's Environment 2026 report found that what share of India's population lives within 10 km of an air-quality monitoring station?

   • A.About 15%✓ Correct Answer
   • B.About 35%
   • C.About 55%
   • D.About 75%

   Explanation: This leaves most small towns and industrial belts without reliable pollution data, the report noted.

3. Q3.In mid-August 2026, which GRAP stage was enforced across Delhi-NCR after the city's air quality slipped into the 'poor' category?

   • A.GRAP Stage 1✓ Correct Answer
   • B.GRAP Stage 2
   • C.GRAP Stage 3
   • D.GRAP Stage 4

   Explanation: GRAP Stage 1 restrictions include curbs on dust-generating activity and a ban on open burning.

4. Q4.The State of India's Environment 2026 report found that extreme weather events occurred on what share of days in 2025?

   • A.79%
   • B.89%
   • C.99%✓ Correct Answer
   • D.100%

   Explanation: These events caused 4,419 deaths and damaged 17.41 million hectares of crop area, prompting calls for climate-resilient planning.

5. Q5.At the 2026 BWF World Championships in New Delhi, fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty received a first-round bye and will face which country's pair in the Round of 32?

   • A.England
   • B.Scotland✓ Correct Answer
   • C.Denmark
   • D.Malaysia

   Explanation: India is hosting the championships at the Indira Gandhi Arena from 17-23 August 2026.

6. Q6.At the same BWF World Championships, ninth seed PV Sindhu opened her women's singles campaign against a player from which country?

   • A.Ireland✓ Correct Answer
   • B.Scotland
   • C.Wales
   • D.Austria

   Explanation: 14th seed Lakshya Sen, a 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, opened against Austria's Collins Valentine Filimon.

7. Q7.Hockey India's 20-member men's squad for the Asian Games 2026, led by Harmanpreet Singh, begins its title defence against which team on 20 September?

   • A.Japan
   • B.Indonesia✓ Correct Answer
   • C.South Korea
   • D.Bangladesh

   Explanation: India will also face Sri Lanka, Korea, Japan and Bangladesh in the group stage as defending champions.

8. Q8.The National Anubhav Awards 2026, conferred by Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, recognise the contributions of which group?

   • A.Newly recruited civil servants
   • B.Retiring central government employees✓ Correct Answer
   • C.State government officers
   • D.Private sector CEOs

   Explanation: 15 retiring employees received the award in New Delhi, which also helps build an institutional-knowledge repository for governance.

9. Q9.The 140-year-old Parichha Weir in Jhansi, headworks of the Betwa Canal System, was recognised as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure by which body?

   • A.UNESCO
   • B.ICID✓ Correct Answer
   • C.FAO
   • D.World Bank

   Explanation: The weir irrigates over 4.28 lakh hectares; ICID is the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage.

10. Q10.The government's new incentive scheme for domestic Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections offers City Gas Distribution companies additional allocations of which type of gas?

    • A.Regasified LNG
    • B.APM gas✓ Correct Answer
    • C.Shale gas
    • D.Coal-bed methane

    Explanation: India currently has 1.74 crore domestic PNG connections; the scheme aims to expand this further.

11. Q11.PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana crossed how many rooftop-solar households, with July 2026 recording its highest-ever monthly addition of 5.06 lakh homes?

    • A.30.06 lakh
    • B.40.06 lakh
    • C.50.06 lakh✓ Correct Answer
    • D.60.06 lakh

    Explanation: Rs 28,024 crore in subsidies has been released via Direct Benefit Transfer under the scheme so far.

12. Q12.The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin has completed over 2.82 crore rural houses out of how many sanctioned so far?

    • A.3.12 crore
    • B.3.62 crore
    • C.4.12 crore✓ Correct Answer
    • D.4.62 crore

    Explanation: The scheme's overall target is 4.95 crore rural houses by 2029.

13. Q13.The Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh became India's 45th UNESCO World Heritage Site after being inscribed at the World Heritage Committee's session held in which city?

    • A.Paris
    • B.Busan✓ Correct Answer
    • C.New Delhi
    • D.Baku

    Explanation: The inscription came at the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea.

14. Q14.New research on Bihar's decade-long alcohol prohibition found it prevented an estimated how many cases of intimate-partner violence?

    • A.11 lakh
    • B.16 lakh
    • C.21 lakh✓ Correct Answer
    • D.26 lakh

    Explanation: The same research found 18 lakh obesity cases prevented, even as state excise revenue fell by roughly 14%.

15. Q15.The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approved the 'NAMAN Mission' for the conservation of which river, alongside sanctioning over Rs 1.46 lakh crore for welfare and development schemes?

    • A.Chambal
    • B.Narmada✓ Correct Answer
    • C.Betwa
    • D.Tapti

    Explanation: The Narmada is one of India's major west-flowing rivers, running through Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.