Current Affairs Quiz – August 2025

Notes:
Infrastructure work on Bhutan’s 1125 MW Dorjilung Hydropower Project began recently. This marks deeper India-Bhutan economic diplomacy with private sector involvement. Tata Power Company Limited from India is partnering with Bhutan’s Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) in a joint venture. Dorjilung is a run-of-river project located in Lhuentse and Mongar districts of Bhutan on the Kurichhu River. It houses six Francis turbines to produce 4.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually.

Notes:
Recently, sacred Piprahwa relics of Lord Buddha were returned to India on July 30, 2025, after 127 years. These relics were about to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on May 7, 2025. Government of India intervened and halted the auction by issuing a legal notice on May 5, 2025. The relics were originally discovered in 1898 by British engineer William Claxton Peppé in Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh. They include bone fragments, soapstone and crystal caskets, sandstone coffer, gold ornaments, and gemstones. An inscription in Brahmi script confirmed these as relics of Bhagwan Buddha deposited by the Sakya clan.

Notes:
Recently, the Odisha government announced plans to introduce tigers in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Bargarh district. Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary is located near the Hirakud Dam on the Mahanadi River in Odisha. Hirakud Dam is the longest dam in India and the longest earthen dam in the world. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1985.

Notes:
Recently, Kerala High Court directed the State Government and State Wetland Authority Kerala (SWAK) to set up an Ashtamudi Wetland Management Unit within two months of notification. The direction aims to conserve the Ashtamudi wetland, which is facing pollution and encroachment issues. Ashtamudi Lake is located in Kollam district, Kerala. It is the second largest lake in Kerala after Vembanad Lake. It was declared a Ramsar site in 2002 under the Ramsar Convention for wetland conservation.

Notes:
World Wide Web Day is observed on 1st August every year to celebrate the invention and impact of the World Wide Web (WWW). In 2025, the theme is “Empowering the Future: Building an Inclusive, Safe, and Open Web”. The day marks the creation of WWW by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 and its public launch in 1991, triggering a global digital revolution. It highlights the transformation from simple web pages to interactive platforms, social media, and mobile-first internet access. The Web is key to India’s Digital India Mission, enabling services like Unified Payments Interface (UPI), DigiLocker, and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

Notes:
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch the Block 2 BlueBird communication satellite in 3–4 months. BlueBird is developed by U.S.-based AST SpaceMobile. The launch will take place from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, using Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3), formerly GSLV-Mk III. This follows ISRO’s successful launch of NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission on July 30 using GSLV. BlueBird is an advanced American satellite designed for direct smartphone-to-satellite communication. It enables users to make calls and access internet directly from space without ground towers.

Notes:
Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) developed an agriculture waste-based packaging material. It offers a sustainable alternative to plastic foams like Expanded Polystyrene (EPS). Fungi such as Ganoderma lucidum (medicinal mushroom) and Pleurotus ostreatus (edible mushroom) were grown on waste. Five substrates were used: cardboard, sawdust, paper, cocopith, and hay. Ganoderma on cardboard showed higher compressive strength than EPS. India generates over 350 million tonnes of agricultural waste annually. This innovation can help reduce four million tonnes of plastic waste produced in India.

Notes:
Seeds of seabuckthorn and Himalayan tartary buckwheat grown in Ladakh’s cold desert are part of NASA’s Crew-11 experiment on the International Space Station (ISS). The seeds were sourced by Indian space start-up Protoplanet based in Bengaluru. The mission launched on August 1, 2025, from Florida and docked at ISS on August 2, 2025. The experiment aims to test how seeds react to space stress and microgravity before germination. It focuses on gene activation and metabolic processes vital for space agriculture. Himalayan tartary buckwheat and seabuckthorn are rich in nutrients and suitable for long-duration space missions.

Notes:
Ministry of Women and Child Development extended the special registration drive for Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY). is a centrally sponsored scheme under Mission Shakti’s sub-scheme ‘Samarthya’. It aims to give financial help through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM). The goal is to support nutritious diets, improve health-seeking behaviour, and compensate for wage loss. It aligns with Section 4 of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.

Notes:
Moldova became the 107th member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a global initiative launched in 2015 by India and France during COP21 in Paris. Moldova handed over the Instrument of Ratification in New Delhi. It aims to unlock solar investments by 2030 and lower technology and finance costs. It promotes solar energy use in agriculture, health, transport, and power sectors.