Karnataka & Group C Current Affairs – August 3rd, 2026

Awards

Booker Prize 2026

Context: The longlist for the Booker Prize 2026, comprising 13 selected books, was officially announced.

Salient Features & Key Exam Facts:

• Booker Prize Criteria: Awarded annually to an author for a novel originally written in English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between October 1 and September 30.
• Prize Money: The winner receives £50,000, while each of the six shortlisted authors receives £2,500.
• 2025 Winner: David Szalay won the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel Flesh.
• Indian Booker Prize Winners:
  • Arundhati Roy: The God of Small Things (1997)
  • Kiran Desai: The Inheritance of Loss (2006)
  • Aravind Adiga: The White Tiger (2008)
    (Note: V.S. Naipaul won in 1971 for ‘In a Free State’).

Miscellaneous

1. Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS)

Why in News: IACS, India’s oldest scientific research institute, marked its 150th anniversary in 2026.

Salient Features & Key Exam Facts:

• Foundation: Established in 1876 in Kolkata, West Bengal.
• Founder: Dr. Mahendralal Sircar.
• Significance: India’s first national institution dedicated to scientific research by Indians.
• Current Status: Autonomous institution jointly funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Government of West Bengal.
• Historical Milestone: Prof. C.V. Raman discovered the Raman Effect at IACS laboratories, earning the 1930 Nobel Prize.

Prominent Scientists Associated:

2. India’s First Telecom Manufacturing Zone (TMZ)

Why in News: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Government of Madhya Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish India’s first dedicated Telecom Manufacturing Zone (TMZ) in Gwalior.

Salient Features & Key Exam Facts:

• Location: Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
• Scale: An integrated 350-acre plug-and-play industrial cluster. (Phase-I covers 170 acres).
• Governance: A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with a 51% equity stake for the MP Government and 49% for the DoT.
• Funding (Phase-I): The Central Government (DoT) is providing 100% funding support of ₹493 crore for core infrastructure, while the MP government has provided 170 acres of land free of cost.
• Objective: To reduce reliance on imported telecom hardware, boost domestic manufacturing (Make in India), and accelerate R&D for 5G/6G technologies.
• Expected Impact: Projected long-term investments of ₹12,000 to ₹15,000 crore and the creation of roughly 14,000 direct skilled jobs.