UPSC Current Affairs 19 August 2026 — The Hindu

• Ready to drop FIRs against student protesters, says SC
• Nearly 2,000 left in the lurch as Jharkhand govt. cancels exams
• Railway Board clears MRTS merger with Metro Rail
• Education must change to account for AI
• NTA removes 600 experts; four-tier paper checking system to be put in place
• HC refuses to interfere with decision on Ritabrata
• SC dismisses petition seeking alternative to execution by hanging
• India’s crude import bill up 41% in July on West Asia crisis
• India’s economic growth to slow to 6.8% in FY27: Ind-Ra
• What drives corporate investment?
• Employment guarantee has slipped into limbo
• SC to check ‘proportionality’ of use of facial recognition at NEET protest
• Census questionnaire seeks data on parents’ religion, place of birth
• BRICS calls EU’s carbon tax ‘punitive, unilateral’
• Pakistan SC directs shifting of Khan from prison to hospital for check-up
• Bihar’s alcohol ban has been a success for social wellness, data show