Daily Current Affairs – 20-08-2026

National News

31st Southern Zonal Council Meeting

The 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council was scheduled to be held on August 20 at Kovalam near Chennai under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The Zonal Councils, including the Southern Zonal Council, were established under Sections 15 to 22 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, and India has five Zonal Councils. Amit Shah serves as the Chairman of the Southern Zonal Council, while Tamil Nadu Chief Minister S. Joseph Vijay serves as its Vice-Chairman for the present term on a rotational basis. The meeting was organised by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs with the cooperation of the Tamil Nadu government. It included representatives from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana, along with the Union Territories of Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. Key issues for discussion included inter-State border disputes, matters related to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, river water sharing, fast-track courts for crimes against women and children, women's safety, speedy investigation of sexual assault cases, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Gramin, civil aviation and education. Since June 2014, a total of 69 meetings of various Zonal Councils and their Standing Committees have been held.

Personalities, Awards and Events

Wanchuwa Festival of the Tiwa Tribe

The Tiwa tribal community of Assam celebrated Wanchuwa, a traditional agricultural festival, at Morton village in Karbi Anglong district. The festival is associated with the traditional agricultural practices and cultural traditions of the Tiwa community.

States’ News

Kerala’s Anti-Drug Campaign

Operation Toofan, the anti-drug campaign of Kerala, resulted in the registration of 10,213 cases and the arrest of 9,941 persons within 76 days of its launch, with authorities seizing MDMA, ganja and other synthetic drugs worth more than ₹100 crore. The campaign was launched after Ramesh Chennithala assumed office as Home Minister of Kerala. It is based on three pillars: Toofan Strike, which focuses on enforcement against drug traffickers; Toofan Warriors, which mobilises citizens, students, community groups and public figures against drug abuse; and Toofan Care, which focuses on rehabilitation and treatment of drug-dependent persons. Preliminary assessments indicated a 30% reduction in overall crime and a 40% decline in road accidents after the launch of the campaign.

Tamil Nadu News

Agasthyamalai Encroachment: Supreme Court Directions

The Supreme Court directed Tamil Nadu to adopt a structured, time-bound and closely monitored framework to remove encroachments in the Agasthyamalai landscape, covering protected areas such as the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve and Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary. A Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta considered the issue. The Court had earlier directed the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to conduct a comprehensive survey to identify non-forestry activities violating the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The CEC recommended a time-bound, division-wise encroachment eviction plan. In the Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, 427.40 hectares were reported as encroached, with 237.09 hectares involved in litigation. In the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve, official records of 2020 indicated encroachment of 5,071.27 hectares of reserved forest land by around 4,595 individuals, along with 116 government and public utility structures constructed without prior approval. The CEC also identified 118 serving or retired government employees among the encroachers. In the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, 10.16 hectares were reported as encroached by 998 families. The Supreme Court directed disciplinary and legal action against the 118 government employees identified as encroachers and ordered a complete prohibition on approval or commencement of new non-forestry activities within Agasthyamalai.

Tamil Nadu Elderly Health Insurance Scheme

Tamil Nadu will launch the Chief Minister’s Elderly Health Insurance Scheme for nearly 38 lakh senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of income. The scheme will provide free treatment for cancer care, advanced cardiac surgeries, organ transplants and high-end diagnostic services at empanelled government and private hospitals. The scheme will be integrated with the Union government’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). In 2024, the Union government expanded AB-PMJAY to provide health coverage to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of income. Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme was integrated with AB-PMJAY in 2018. The State has also announced 1,000 Mobile Geriatric Treatment Centres as part of its geriatric healthcare initiatives. By 2050, one in five people in India is projected to be above 60 years of age.

AI Database for Tamil Inscriptions

Tamil Nadu will develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based database at a cost of ₹1.50 crore to facilitate the understanding of ancient Tamil inscriptions. The State will renovate 76 protected monuments and archaeological sites at a cost of ₹49 crore. The prehistoric excavation museum at Pattaraiperumbudur in Tiruvallur district, the folk excavation museum at Courtallam, and the Nadukal excavation museum at Adhiyaman Kottai in Dharmapuri district will be upgraded using modern display technologies at a cost of ₹12 crore. A modern archaeological laboratory will be established at ₹2 crore for scientific analysis of artefacts and samples, and a ₹3-crore study will be undertaken on Tamil maritime trade, ports and riverbank culture. 15 historically significant monuments will be declared protected monuments. The galleries of the Chennai Government Museum will be digitised, and a Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared for establishing a Tamil Civilization Museum in Madurai. Museums currently functioning in 23 districts will be expanded to 15 additional districts, including Namakkal, Tiruvallur, Kanyakumari and Ariyalur. Two Art Research Centres will be established at a cost of ₹2 crore, and the monthly assistance of ₹3,000 provided to indigent folk artists will be extended to an additional 1,500 artists. The salary of guest lecturers working in colleges under the Department of Art and Culture will be increased by ₹5,000. These announcements were made by Tamil Nadu Minister Rajmohan during the discussion on the demands for grants for the Department of Art and Culture, Archaeology and Museums in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

Tamil Nadu Health Insurance and Milk Procurement

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay announced that the coverage under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme will be increased from ₹5 lakh to ₹25 lakh. A 400-bed multi-specialty hospital will be established in Perambur at a cost of ₹300 crore. Medical and surgical services for transgender persons will be extended to seven government medical college hospitals in Chennai, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Chengalpattu, Tiruvarur, Dharmapuri and Kanyakumari. A total of 6,098 additional seats will be created in medical, dental and nursing education. The Chief Minister’s Cancer Care Mission will be strengthened with an allocation of ₹673.44 crore, while an integrated cancer treatment unit will be established at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai, at a cost of ₹471.80 crore. Regional cancer centres will be established at hospitals in Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirunelveli and Villupuram, with ₹84 crore allocated for each centre. ₹106.17 crore will be allocated for modern equipment including robotic surgery systems and Linear Accelerator radiation machines. HPV-DNA testing will be conducted for 1.22 lakh women in Dharmapuri, Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai, Perambalur and Ariyalur at a cost of ₹8.70 crore. The government also announced an increase of ₹3 per litre in the milk procurement price, with the total procurement price rising from ₹38 to ₹41 per litre and the government incentive increasing from ₹1 to ₹5 per litre, benefiting more than 3.16 lakh milk producers.

Chennai MRTS Integration with Metro Rail

The Ministry of Railways has given final approval for integrating the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), popularly known as the Flying Train, with Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL). An official draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Southern Railway and the Tamil Nadu Government. The MRTS has been operated under Southern Railway since 1997 and initially covered 19 km between Chennai Beach and Velachery. It was later extended from Velachery to St. Thomas Mount, with the extension becoming operational on March 15, 2026, taking the total route length to 23.98 km. Around one lakh passengers use the service daily. The Railway Board had granted in-principle approval for integrating MRTS with Metro Rail on July 31, 2025. Under the proposed arrangement, Southern Railway will transfer its assets and general operations and maintenance responsibilities, excluding core train operations and maintenance, within 90 days, while complete train operations will be transferred to CMRL within a two-year transition period. The MRTS corridor is planned to receive Metro-grade facilities, including AC trains, parking facilities, CCTV cameras, escalators and lifts.