Welcome to the Ujiyari Bihar Current Affairs notes for 7 August 2026, prepared for BPSC and other State PCS aspirants. The sharpest item is a Rajya Sabha intervention on the Farakka Water Treaty, delivered a day earlier but reported and relevant to this edition, raising a live centre-state and international river-water question ahead of the treaty’s December 2026 expiry. This is joined by Bihar Museum’s Foundation Day, a footwear-sector investment at a national trade fair, and Bihar’s handloom traditions on National Handloom Day. Each item has a Prelims fact table and a Mains angle, followed by five practice MCQs.

1. JD(U)'s Sanjay Kumar Jha Urges the Centre Not to Renew the Farakka Water Treaty

Why in News: JD(U) Working National President and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, in a Special Mention in the Rajya Sabha on 6 August 2026, urged the Centre not to renew the India-Bangladesh Farakka Water Treaty, which expires on 12 December 2026.

What he argued: The treaty, signed 12 December 1996 to maintain flow to the Hooghly River and Kolkata Port, has, in Jha’s argument, caused three decades of lean-season water shortage, declining groundwater and drinking-water stress in south Bihar. He called for a new arrangement based on a scientific assessment of Ganga-basin states’ needs through 2050, citing a shortfall of roughly 2,000 cusecs for Bihar specifically, and noted that JD(U) and Nitish Kumar have opposed the treaty since its inception.

The mechanism worth understanding. The Farakka Barrage diverts Ganga water into a feeder canal to the Hooghly, maintaining navigability for Kolkata Port. The treaty apportions the Ganga’s dry-season flow between India and Bangladesh at Farakka on a fixed formula. Bihar’s grievance is that a treaty negotiated around the needs of one downstream Indian city, Kolkata, and one downstream foreign state, Bangladesh, does not account for the water needs of the upstream Indian state, Bihar, through whose territory the river runs before reaching the barrage at all. This is a genuine three-way, not two-way, water allocation problem dressed as a bilateral treaty.

Bihar Relevance:

  • Prelims: Special Mention delivered 6 August 2026, Rajya Sabha, by Sanjay Kumar Jha, JD(U) Working National President; Farakka Water Treaty signed 12 December 1996, term 30 years, expiring 12 December 2026; Bihar’s cited shortfall ~2,000 cusecs; demand for assessment through 2050. The Farakka Barrage maintains navigability of the Hooghly River and Kolkata Port.
  • Mains: Examine the Farakka Water Treaty as a case of an upstream Indian state’s needs being excluded from a bilateral river-water arrangement, and assess the case for a basin-wide, rather than a two-party, allocation framework.

2. Bihar Museum Foundation Day 2026

Why in News: Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary presided over Bihar Museum’s Foundation Day 2026 in Patna on 7 August 2026, lighting the ceremonial lamp, releasing two museum publications, and remotely inaugurating a Mithila art exhibition at Patna Museum.

What happened: Deputy CM Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Culture Minister Dr Pramod Kumar, Museum Director General Anjani Kumar Singh and Chief Secretary Pratyay Amrit attended. Choudhary called for international folk-art participation in the 2027 edition. Bihar Museum’s Foundation Day is observed annually on 7 August, marking the museum’s partial public opening on 7 August 2015, so the 2026 observance marks its eleventh anniversary since that opening.

Bihar Relevance:

  • Prelims: Bihar Museum Foundation Day observed annually 7 August, marking the museum’s partial opening on 7 August 2015; Museum Director General Anjani Kumar Singh; Deputy CM Bijendra Prasad Yadav; Culture Minister Dr Pramod Kumar; Bihar Museum is located in Patna.
  • Mains: Assess the role of state museums in cultural heritage preservation and public folk-art promotion, using Bihar Museum’s programming as a case study.

3. Bihar Secures Rs 125 Crore in Footwear-Sector Investment at IIFF 2026

Why in News: At the 10th India International Footwear Fair 2026, held 6 to 8 August 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, Bihar signed MoUs worth a combined Rs 125 crore, with potential for 1,800 direct jobs.

What was signed: Lehar Footwear Pvt Ltd committed Rs 100 crore with potential for 1,500 jobs; Patna Leather Garment committed Rs 25 crore with potential for 300 jobs, an MoU originally signed in Patna on 30 July 2026 and reaffirmed at the Delhi fair. Industries and Sports Minister Shreyasi Singh and Industries Secretary Kundan Kumar promoted Bihar’s Mega Leather, Footwear and Accessories Park at Mahwal, Muzaffarpur.

Bihar Relevance:

  • Prelims: 10th India International Footwear Fair 2026, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, 6 to 8 August 2026; Bihar MoUs totalling Rs 125 crore, potential 1,800 jobs; Lehar Footwear (Rs 100 crore, 1,500 jobs) and Patna Leather Garment (Rs 25 crore, 300 jobs); Bihar’s Mega Leather, Footwear and Accessories Park at Mahwal, Muzaffarpur; Industries and Sports Minister Shreyasi Singh.
  • Mains: Examine industrial-corridor and sector-park strategy as a tool for footwear and leather-sector investment promotion in Bihar.

4. National Handloom Day: Bihar’s Handloom Traditions

Why in News: India observed the 12th National Handloom Day on 7 August 2026, commemorating the Swadeshi Movement launched at Calcutta Town Hall on 7 August 1905. National coverage highlighted Bihar’s own handloom traditions alongside the day’s central ceremony in New Delhi.

Bihar’s handloom profile. Bhagalpuri Silk (Tussar), centred on Bhagalpur, is Bihar’s principal handloom silk product. In June 2026, Bawan Buti Saree and Fabric (Nalanda) received a Geographical Indication tag, alongside Patharkatti Stone Craft (Gaya) and Pidiya Painting (Bhojpur).

Bihar Relevance:

  • Prelims: National Handloom Day, 12th edition, 7 August 2026, commemorating the Swadeshi Movement of 7 August 1905, Calcutta Town Hall; Bihar’s principal handloom silk: Bhagalpuri (Tussar) Silk, centred on Bhagalpur; Bawan Buti Saree and Fabric (Nalanda) received a GI tag in June 2026, alongside Patharkatti Stone Craft (Gaya) and Pidiya Painting (Bhojpur).
  • Mains: Examine the potential for Geographical Indication tagging to translate into realised export and livelihood value for Bihar’s craft and handloom producers.

Practice MCQs

1. The Farakka Water Treaty, whose renewal Sanjay Kumar Jha opposed in the Rajya Sabha, was originally signed in which year and for what term?

a) Signed 1996, for a term of 30 years b) Signed 1975, for a term of 25 years c) Signed 2001, for a term of 20 years d) Signed 1996, for a term of 50 years

Answer: a Explanation: The Farakka Water Treaty was signed on 12 December 1996 for a term of 30 years, expiring 12 December 2026. Jha, JD(U) Working National President and Rajya Sabha MP, urged the Centre in a 6 August 2026 Special Mention not to renew it, citing Bihar’s lean-season water shortage and a shortfall of roughly 2,000 cusecs, and calling instead for a fresh arrangement based on a scientific assessment of Ganga-basin states’ needs through 2050.

2. The Farakka Barrage’s primary function, around which the 1996 treaty’s water apportionment is structured, is to maintain the navigability of which river or port?

a) The Bhagirathi river and Murshidabad port b) The Sundarbans waterway system c) The Brahmaputra and Guwahati port d) The Hooghly River and Kolkata Port

Answer: d Explanation: The Farakka Barrage diverts Ganga water into a feeder canal to maintain flow to the Hooghly River, which sustains the navigability of Kolkata Port. Bihar’s grievance is that this arrangement, negotiated primarily around the needs of Kolkata (downstream in India) and Bangladesh (downstream internationally), does not account for the water needs of Bihar, which lies upstream of the barrage within India, making it a three-way rather than genuinely two-way allocation question.

3. Bihar Museum’s Foundation Day, observed on 7 August, marks the anniversary of what event?

a) The museum’s foundation-stone laying in 2013 b) The museum’s partial public opening on 7 August 2015 c) The passage of the Bihar Museum Act d) The transfer of Patna Museum’s collection to Bihar Museum

Answer: b Explanation: Bihar Museum’s Foundation Day is observed annually on 7 August, marking the museum’s partial public opening on 7 August 2015; the 2026 observance therefore marked eleven years since that opening. Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary presided over the 2026 event in Patna, lighting the ceremonial lamp, releasing two museum publications, and remotely inaugurating a Mithila art exhibition at Patna Museum.

4. Bihar’s Mega Leather, Footwear and Accessories Park, promoted at the 10th India International Footwear Fair 2026, is located at which site?

a) Bihta, Patna b) Barauni, Begusarai c) Mahwal, Muzaffarpur d) Bhagalpur

Answer: c Explanation: Bihar’s Mega Leather, Footwear and Accessories Park is located at Mahwal, Muzaffarpur. At the fair, held 6 to 8 August 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, Bihar signed MoUs worth Rs 125 crore with potential for 1,800 direct jobs, led by a Rs 100 crore, 1,500-job commitment from Lehar Footwear Pvt Ltd and a Rs 25 crore, 300-job commitment from Patna Leather Garment.

5. Which Bihar handloom product received a Geographical Indication tag in June 2026, alongside Patharkatti Stone Craft and Pidiya Painting?

a) Bhagalpuri Tussar Silk b) Madhubani Painting c) Bawan Buti Saree and Fabric, from Nalanda d) Sujani Embroidery

Answer: c Explanation: Bawan Buti Saree and Fabric, from Nalanda district, received a Geographical Indication tag in June 2026, alongside Patharkatti Stone Craft (Gaya) and Pidiya Painting (Bhojpur). Bhagalpuri Tussar Silk remains Bihar’s principal handloom silk product, centred on Bhagalpur, but is a separate and earlier-established craft tradition, distinct from this specific 2026 GI addition.