UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | August 25 to August 31, 2025

— An official statement from the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) said it was honouring the group for its “commitment to addressing cultural stereotyping through the education of girls and young women, liberating them from the bondage of illiteracy and infusing them with skills, courage, and agency to achieve their full human potential.”

— Past Indian recipients include former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, journalist Ravish Kumar, activist Bezwada Wilson and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk.

— Launched in 1958, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, widely considered to be Asia’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize, recognises outstanding leadership and communitarian contributions in Asia.

— The winners are presented with a certificate and a medallion with an embossed image of Ramon Magsaysay facing right in profile.

 

Event

• E Vitara

— On August 26, the Prime Minister inaugurated and flagged off the “e Vitara”,  Maruti Suzuki’s first Made-in-India global Battery Electric Vehicle at the Suzuki Motor plant in Hansalpur, Ahmedabad.

—  The Battery Electric Vehicle replaces the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, with Li-ion making it fully powered by electricity. It is more efficient compared to hybrid and plug-in hybrids.

 

Polity

Satnavari became India’s first ‘smart intelligent village’ under a pilot project launched by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. (Express photo)

• India’s first ‘smart intelligent village’

— Satnavari, a Maharashtra village with a population of just over 1,800, became India’s first ‘smart intelligent village’ under a pilot project launched by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

— Satnavari, located 31 km from Nagpur city, is equipped with technologies ranging from smart farming and telemedicine to AI-powered water monitoring and digital classrooms.

— The “smart and intelligent village” project was proposed by the Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises (VoICE), a consortium of major Indian players in the telecom sector.

— A Smart Intelligent Village is envisaged as representing a model of rural development that uses digital technologies, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and seamless connectivity to improve everyday living in India’s villages.

MAINS VALUE ADDITION In cases involving dowry deaths, here are some data. ⇒ According to a World Bank study that examined 40,000 rural weddings between 1960 and 2008, 90 per cent of marriages in India involve dowry. ⇒ According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, in 2022 alone, 6,516 dowry deaths were reported. In 2022, NCRB recorded 1,44,593 cases under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code—cruelty by husband or his relatives. ⇒ According to the NCRB, 35,493 brides were killed in India between 2017 and 2022 — averaging nearly 20 deaths a day — over dowry demands, sometimes occurring even years after the wedding.

 

International Cooperation 

• Exercise Bright Star 2025

— Exercise Bright Star is a multilateral exercise hosted by Egypt in conjunction with the US since 1980 and is amongst the largest Tri-Service multilateral exercises in the region. The exercise is held biennially, with the last edition having taken place in 2023, which witnessed the participation of a host of nations including India along with troops.

— More than 700 personnel from the Armed Forces & Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff are set to participate in the Multilateral Exercise ‘BRIGHT STAR 2025’ from August 28 to September 10, 2025.

(Source: PIB)

They also launched the India-Japan Small and Medium Enterprises Forum to strengthen collaboration between Indian and Japanese SMEs, “which are the engines of our respective economies”, as per the MEA. (Photo: Narendra Modi/X)

• 15th India-Japan Economic Forum

— Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Japan to attend the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit with his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba, from August 29-30.

— Modi last travelled to Japan for the Annual Summit in 2018; he has since visited the country for multilateral engagements such as the G20 summit in Osaka in 2019, and the G7 summit in Hiroshima in 2023.

— Notably, the year 2025 is being celebrated as the India-Japan Year of Science, Technology and Innovation Exchange, marking the 40th anniversary of the first MoU on science and technology signed between the two countries.

Outcome of the Summit

— India and Japan agreed to raise the Japanese investment target in India to 10 trillion yen ($67.9 billion), with special emphasis on small and medium enterprises and startups.

— India and Japan will exchange about 5 lakh people in the next 5 years, including 50,000 skilled professionals from India.

— India and Japan also agreed on an annual dialogue of their National Security Advisors, who will take a comprehensive stock of the security situations facing India and Japan.

— The two Prime Ministers announced the India-Japan Economic Security Initiative to provide momentum for bilateral cooperation in the field of economic security

—  They announced the launch of a Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative, which is aimed at deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation on artificial intelligence

— An agreement was signed between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for an exploration of the Moon’s polar region under the forthcoming Chandrayaan-5 mission.

— JAXA will launch the Moon mission onboard its H3-24L launch vehicle, carrying the ISRO-made lunar lander, which, in turn, will carry the Japan-made lunar rover.

To know the historical ties between India and Japan, click here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being presented a Daruma Doll by Chief Priest of Shorinzan Daruma Temple, in Tokyo, Japan. (PMO via PTI Photo)

• Daruma Doll

— Prime Minister Narendra Modi was presented with a traditional Daruma doll during his visit to the Shorinzan Daruma-Ji Temple in Kitakatsuragi, Japan, on Friday, August 29, 2025.

— The Daruma is a traditional Japanese wish doll, which is typically made of papier-mâché. It is modelled after Bodhidharma, the 5th-century founder of Zen Buddhism.

— The doll is considered a symbol of perseverance and good luck, often used to represent setting and achieving goals.

— The doll’s distinctive rounded bottom allows it to pop back up when tipped over, reflecting the Japanese proverb ‘Nana korobi ya oki,’ which translates to ‘fall seven times, get up eight.’

— The Daruma symbolises meditation of Bodhidharma, an Indian monk from Kancheepuram, known in Japan as Daruma Daishi. Bodhidharma is said to have meditated in a cave in Henan Province, China, after travelling there from India.

— “Daruma” is a derivative of the Sanskrit word Dharma, which has no direct equivalent in Japanese or Chinese.

— Shorinzan Darumaji Temple in Takasaki, Gunma, built in 1697, is considered the place of origin of Daruma.

 

Defence

• INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri

— The Indian Navy on August 26 commissioned two Nilgiri-class stealth guided-missile frigates, the INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, at Visakhapatnam.

— This is the first time that two major surface combatants from two different Indian shipyards have been commissioned simultaneously.

— INS Himgiri is the first of the Project 17A ships constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.

— INS Udaygiri is the second ship of the Project 17A stealth frigates built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. It is the 100th ship designed by the Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau.

— The Nilgiri-class stealth frigates are being constructed under the codename Project 17 Alpha. They are follow-ons of the Shivalik class or Project 17 frigates that are currently active in service.

— Of the seven-member class of ships, four – Nilgiri, Udaygiri, Taragiri, and Mahendragiri – are being built by MDL, and three by GRSE (Himgiri, Dunagiri, and Vindhyagiri).

— Notably, Year 2025 has been declared by the Ministry of Defence as ‘Year of Reforms’ aiming to transform the Armed Forces into a technologically-advanced combat-ready force capable of multi-domain integrated operations.

 

Environment

Blue dragons (Glaucus atlanticus) are a small type of sea slug. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

• Blue Dragons

— Several beaches in Spain were closed earlier this month after a tiny species of sea slug began to wash ashore in droves. These were blue dragons — barely four centimetres long but capable of delivering one of the most ferocious stings in the animal world.

— Blue dragons (Glaucus atlanticus) are a small type of sea slug that live on the ocean surface, drifting with the currents.

— While other sea slugs live on the seabed, blue dragons float upside down, like when we float on our backs. They can do so by swallowing and maintaining an air bubble in the stomach.

— Blue dragons have another unique trait. They feed on jellyfish and venomous siphonophores such as the Portuguese man o’ war, and incorporate the stinging cells of the jellies into multiple finger-like structures protruding from their bodies.

— Blue dragons occur in the warm tropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. However, they have been rarely seen in the Mediterranean Sea. Being at the coast of Spain is a cause for concern. Scientists suggest that the blue dragons’ arrival could be linked to rising Mediterranean temperatures.

• Portuguese man o’ war

— Portuguese man o’ war is a species of siphonophore, a group of animals that are closely related to jellyfish.A siphonophore is unusual in that it is comprised of a colony of specialized, genetically identical individuals called zooids — clones — with various forms and functions, all working together as one.

— Each of the four specialized parts of a man o’ war is responsible for a specific task, such as floating, capturing prey, feeding, and reproduction.

(Source: oceanservice.noaa.gov)

• Ghaggar River

— Villages in Mohali and Patiala districts in Punjab were placed on heavy alert on Friday (August 29) after the Ghaggar River crossed the 10-foot danger mark at Bhankarpur in Mohali.

— The Ghaggar originates in the Shivalik foothills near Dagshai in Himachal Pradesh and enters the plains near Kalka and Panchkula in Haryana. Flowing southwest, it briefly runs along the Haryana-Punjab border before entering Punjab near Dera Bassi.

— The Ghaggar is regarded as Malwa’s “river of sorrow” due to its repeated flooding and devastation. Almost dry for most of the year, it suddenly swells during the monsoon, inundating fields and villages.

— Ghaggar receives water from several tributaries and seasonal choes or streams that originate in the Shivalik foothills. Major tributaries include Kaushalya Nadi, Tangri, Markanda, Sarsa, Patiala Badi Nadi, Patiala Ki Rao, Jhabo Wali Choe, and Sirhind Choe.

— There is no major dam on the river. However, the Kaushalya Dam on the Kaushalya Nadi, near Pinjore in Haryana, serves as the main flood-control and water conservation structure in the basin.

 

Science and Technology

ISRO successfully accomplishes first Integrated Air Drop Test for end to end demonstration of parachute based deceleration system for Gaganyaan missions. (@isro/X via PTI Photo)

• Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-1)

— The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully carried out its first Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-1) on 24th August to evaluate the parachute-based deceleration system for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission.

— The system is critical for ensuring safe recovery of the crew module — the capsule in which astronauts sit during a human flight — during re-entry and landing.

— An air drop test recreates the final leg of a spacecraft’s journey back to Earth. An aircraft or helicopter drops the spacecraft from a height to test various systems under different circumstances.

• Three hyperspectral imaging satellites

— SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has placed the three hyperspectral imaging satellites developed by the Indian startup Pixxel.

— The launch of the three satellites, along with the three launched earlier in January, marked the completion of the first phase of the Firefly constellation.

— Pixxel plans to create an 18-24 satellite constellation, depending on customer needs. With the first six satellites, the company will be able to provide global coverage every 24 hours. The satellites will also provide high-resolution images of the Earth at a 5-metre resolution, captured in 135 spectral bands.

• UPM J1040−3551 AabBab

— A team of scientists has discovered an extremely rare quadruple star system in the Milky Way, according to a new study. The system — known as UPM J1040−3551 AabBab — consists of a pair of cold brown dwarfs orbiting a pair of young red dwarf stars, a configuration never seen before.

— Brown dwarfs form like stars from collapsing clouds of gas and dust. However, they do not have enough mass to consistently fuse hydrogen, a process that heats a star and makes it shine. That is why they are often known as “failed stars”.

— They have atmospheres similar to gas giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. Their atmospheres can consist of clouds and molecules like H2O. Brown dwarfs can also be up to 70 times more massive than Jupiter.

 

Economy

• Fitch Ratings on Indian economy

— Fitch affirmed its BBB- rating on India with a stable outlook. It has maintained the previous rating for India. At BBB-, Fitch’s rating on India is the lowest possible investment-grade rating, although the outlook on the rating is stable.

— According to Fitch, India’s general government debt – which combines that of the Centre and the states – is expected to inch up in 2025-26 to 81.5 per cent of GDP from 80.9 per cent in 2024-25 due to a decline in nominal GDP growth.

 

Diseases

(Just FYI: UPSC has consistently included questions on health and diseases in its examinations over the years. For instance, in 2014, a question about the Ebola virus appeared in the Prelims, and in 2017, a question about the Zika virus was featured. Therefore, it is crucial to stay updated on diseases that are currently in the news.)

• New World screwworm myiasis 

— The Department of Health and Human Services on August 24 reported the first human case of the flesh-eating parasite, the New World screwworm, in the United States.

— Screwworms are a type of blue-grey blowfly, typically found in South America and the Caribbean.

— Screwworms — specifically females — are attracted to and lay eggs on and in open wounds or another entry point like a nasal cavity in warm-blooded animals and, rarely, humans. One female can lay up to 300 eggs at a time and may lay up to 3,000 eggs during her 10- to 30-day lifespan.

— These eggs hatch into larvae (known as maggots), which burrow into the wound using their sharp mouth hooks to feed on the living flesh, leading to infestation.

— The parasites are named after the screwlike way they burrow into the tissue. Their Latin name, Cochliomyia hominivorax, “literally means man-eater”.

— New World screwworm infestations can be extremely painful, especially in humans, with a high mortality rate if left untreated.

 

Persons in News

(Just FYI: Noting historical personalities’ anniversaries aids UPSC prep. UPSC often includes such personalities in questions, so revisiting their lives refreshes your static syllabus.)

Urjit Patel took over as the RBI governor from Raghuram Rajan in September 2016. (File)

• Urjit Patel

— The government has named former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel as Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

— Patel served as the RBI Governor from September 4, 2016 to December 11, 2018. His appointment as an Executive Director at the IMF comes almost seven years after his surprise resignation as RBI Governor in December 2018.

— Set up in 1945 , the IMF works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 191 member countries.

— Unlike development banks, the IMF does not lend for specific projects. Instead, the IMF provides financial support to countries hit by crises to create breathing room as they implement policies that restore economic stability and growth. It also provides precautionary financing to help prevent crises.

— IMF funds come from three sources: member quotas, multilateral and bilateral borrowing agreements. Quotas are the IMF’s main source of financing, wherein each member of the IMF is assigned a quota, based broadly on its relative position in the world economy.

— Kristalina Georgieva has been serving as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund since October 1, 2019. She began her second term on October 1, 2024.

 

Places in News

(Just FYI: The location of the place is important, considering that UPSC has asked several questions about places that were in the news, such as Aleppo and Kirkuk, in the 2018 UPSC Prelims. The best way to remember them is to plot them on a world map.)

• Tawi River

—  India has alerted Pakistan about “high flood” in the Tawi river on “humanitarian grounds”, even as the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) continues to remain in abeyance.

— A major left bank tributary of the Chenab river, Tawi originates from Kailash Kund glacier in Doda district’s Bhaderwah, and flows through Udhampur and Jammu districts before entering Sialkot in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

• Duduma Waterfalls

— The search for a 22-year-old man, a YouTuber from Odisha’s Berhampur, who was swept away into the 175-metre Duduma waterfall in Koraput, has entered its fourth day with officials saying they’ve found no trace so far.

— At 175 metres, Duduma is one of the highest waterfalls in Odisha. It originates from the Machkund river in Koraput district and is a major source of hydroelectric power. It is also a popular tourist destination, located at the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border.

Map showing the Madhopur barrage.

• Madhopur barrage

— Two of the 54 gates of the Madhopur barrage, located downstream of the Ranjit Sagar Dam on the Ravi River, gave way after heavy rains.

— This barrage was first built in the 19th century and rebuilt in 1959 near Pathankot to regulate the Ravi’s flow.

— Barrages are different from Dams. Barrages are low structures with sluice gates to regulate and divert water. Rather than storing water, they regulate its flow, acting more like a tap.

—  Located on the Ravi in the Gurdaspur district near Pathankot, the Madhopur Headworks diverts water into the Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) for irrigation in Punjab, and supplies water to Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and nearby regions through canals.

 

Sports

(Just FYI: With the unpredictability of the UPSC examinations and questions like the ICC World Test Championship question 2021, you can’t be sure of anything. It is wise to know what it is and not go into too much detail.)

• National Sports Day 2025

— August 29 of every year is celebrated as India’s National Sports Day. The day marks the birth anniversary of the legendary Major Dhyan Chand, widely regarded as the greatest field hockey player of all time.

— The theme of this year is ‘Ek Ghanta, Khel ke Maidan Main’

— National Sports Day was first celebrated in 2012, with the significance behind observing the day being to promote sports in the country and acknowledge the efforts of Indian athletes.

Satwik-Chirag in action at the BWF World Championships. Credit: BWF/BadmintonPhoto

• Badminton World Championship 2025

— Shi Yuqi of the People’s Republic of China defeated Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand to win his maiden title in the Men’s category.

— Akane Yamaguchi of Japan won the Women’s Singles final match of the Badminton World Championships after defeating Chen Yufei of China.

— Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have won a Bronze medal in the Men’s Double category.

— Eleven Indian badminton players have won 15 medals at the BWF World Championships over the years, with only PV Sindhu going on to become a world champion. Sindhu won gold in 2019.

(Source: Olympics)

• Goa to host World Chess Championship

— The FIDE World Cup has announced that the World Chess Championship will be hosted in Goa. The World Cup will be played from October 30 to November 27.

— The FIDE World Cup 2025 will feature 206 players competing in a head-to-head, two-game knockout format over eight rounds. Each round spans three days: two classical games (between two players) on the first two days, followed by tie-breaks on the third day, if necessary.

— In the first round, the top 50 players receive byes, while players seeded from 51 to 206 compete, with pairings based on the principle of the top half versus the reversed lower half.

• Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2025

— The Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship 2025 was held at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Naranpura, Ahmedabad, from August 24 to 30.

— India won a total of 13 senior medals – three gold, seven silver, and three bronze.

Test Your Knowledge

(Note: The best way to remember facts for UPSC and other competitive exams is to recall them through MCQs. Try to solve the following questions on your own.)

(1) Consider the following types of vehicles: (UPSC CSE 2025)

I. Full battery electric vehicles

II. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles

III. Fuel cell-electric hybrid vehicles

How many of the above are considered as alternative powertrain vehicles?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All the three

(d) None

(2) Consider the following:

1. A type of sea slug

2. Floats upside down in the sea

3. Feed on Portuguese man o’ war

The above description is accurate for?

(a) Blue rayed limpet

(b) Blue Dragon

(c) Flat periwinkle

(d) Whelk

(3) Consider the following statements about the Tawi River:

1. Left bank tributary of the Chenab River

2. Originates from the Kailash Kund glacier

3. Flows through Jammu district

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Prelims Answer Key

1.  (c)                    2. (b)                    3. (d)

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