Published on August 31, 2025 · 5 minutes read
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioning INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri | Photo- X/@IN_HQENC
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- Both are Nilgiri-class (Project 17A) frigates → commissioned on 26 August 2025 at Naval Base, Visakhapatnam and will be part of the Eastern Fleet.
- Designed in-house by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau (WDB) → INS Udaygiri is 100th ship designed by WDB.
- INS Udaygiri is built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai and INS Himgiri is built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers in Kolkata → used nearly 75% indigenous content (promoting MSMEs).
- Powered by Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion plants using diesel engines and LM2500 gas turbines.
- Features: enhanced stealth capabilities, advanced weaponry including BrahMos, and modern sensor systems.
Centre issues guidelines for transfusion of animal blood
- By Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (formed as a new Indian ministry in 2019).
- Establishes State-regulated veterinary blood banks with biosafety standards and mandates blood typing and cross-matching to prevent incompatibility.
- Introduces a National Veterinary Blood Bank Network with digital registries and real-time inventory.
- Sets donor eligibility norms and an ethical framework emphasizing voluntary, donations and informed consent.
India establishes National Designated Authority (NDA) under Paris Agreement
- Announced by MoEF&CC → mandatory under Article 6 of the 2015 Paris Agreement, to enable a carbon emissions trading regime.
- Article 6 of the Paris Agreement was approved at the CoP29 of UNFCCC in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2024.
- Composition: 21-member committee headed by the Secretary of the MoEF&CC → representatives include officials from the Ministries of External Affairs, Steel, and Renewable Energy, and NITI Aayog.
- Responsibilities of the NDA include:
- Suggesting projects to the central government for carbon trading under Article 6 and modifying them according to India’s national priorities.
- Accepting, reviewing, and approving projects aimed at reducing emissions.
- Approving the use of emission reduction units from projects to help India meet its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
- NDCs: commitments by countries to reduce emissions by diverting their energy consumption towards renewable energy sources and taking action to reduce carbon concentrations in the atmosphere.
- India’s NDCs (by 2030):
- Reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% from 2005 levels.
- Achieving 50% electric power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources.
- Creating an additional carbon sink equivalent to 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide through afforestation.
Comprehensive Modular Survey (Education) for April-June 2025
- Part of the 80th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS).
- Reveals that govt schools account for 55.9% of total enrolments → 66% in rural areas and 30.1% in urban areas.
India suspends cotton import duty until 30 September
- A 11% import duty on cotton was announced in the 2021 Budget → to protect the interests of Indian cotton growers.
- The 11% import duty was suspended w.e.f. 19 August 2025 until 30 September 2025. This decision aims to:
- Enhance the availability of raw cotton in the domestic market.
- Stabilize cotton prices, thereby reducing inflationary pressure on finished textile products.
- Support India’s cotton textile export competitiveness by lowering production costs.
- Protect SMEs in the textile sector.
U.S. seeks mineral access in DR Congo in exchange for security support
- The US is negotiating with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC/DR Congo) to gain direct access to mineral reserves in return for security cooperation against armed groups like the Rwanda-backed M23 militia.
- The US aims to counter China’s dominance in DR Congo’s mining sector and secure supplies of critical minerals for clean energy, electronics, and defence industries.
- Lobito Corridor: being developed by the US to transport minerals from southeastern DR Congo to the Atlantic Ocean.
- Critical minerals in DR Congo:
- Cobalt: essential for EVs and electronics → DR Congo accounts for more than 75% of global supplies (2024) → mostly co-mined with copper in the Katanga region.
- Coltan (Tantalum ore): critical for capacitors → DR Congo has around 70% of the world’s coltan reserves.
- Lithium: critical for EVs and grid storage → DR Congo’s Manono-Kitolo region is emerging as a major global lithium deposits.
- Katanga and Kasai regions of DR Congo are known for copper and diamonds, respectively → DR Congo is among the top three copper producers and ranks 4th in diamond production.
- Shinkolobwe mine (closed) of DR Congo was known for Uranium.
India reduces wheat stock limits to maintain food security
- Stock limit is revised until 31 March 2026 to manage “overall food security and prevent hoarding and unscrupulous speculation.”
- Stock limits:
- Trader/wholesaler: 2,000 metric tonne (MT)
- Retailer: 8 MT
- Big-chain retailers: 8 MT for each retail outlet
- Processors: 60% of Monthly Installed Capacity (MIC) multiplied by the remaining months of 2025-26
- India produced 1175.07 lakh metric tonne of wheat in 2024-25.
Miscellaneous
- Chakki River: a tributary of the Beas River → flows through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
- RAN SAMWAD-2025: a 2-day Tri-Service dialogue on war, warfare and warfighting organised at the Army War College in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
- Australia has cut diplomatic ties with Iran, citing Iran’s involvement in anti-Semitic attacks on Australian soil.
- 15th India-Japan Annual Summit to be held in Tokyo during 29-30 August 2025 ⇒ Quad grouping to be on the agenda for talks between PM Modi and Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba.
- PM Modi will attend the SCO’s 25th Council of Heads of State in Tianjin on August 31st and September 1st.
- Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only nations where polio remains endemic.
- The U.S. is India’s largest market for textiles and apparel, accounting for nearly 28% of exports, valued at almost $11 billion in 2024-2025. However, Trump tariffs could impact Indian readymade garment exports to the US, according to Crisil.
- The US has imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports, effective from 27 August 2025, increasing the total tariff on India to 50%.
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