Current Affairs Quiz – August 2025

Notes:
Shayok village in eastern Ladakh is converting 10 hectares of barren land into a botanical garden. It will be the first-ever botanical garden in the Union Territory of Ladakh. The garden will conserve fruits, medicinal plants, flora, and fauna of the region. Leh Hill Council is supporting the project through the Command Area Development department. The site lies on the Galwan Valley route, under consideration for Battlefield Tourism. It is part of the “Go Green Go Organic” initiative by Drikung Kyabsgon Chetsang Rinpoche. Garden will showcase apricots, apples, mountain trees, medicinal plants, and Ladakh’s rock varieties. Project is expected to be completed by 2029.

Notes:
India has achieved a record-low price of ₹55.75/kg for Green Ammonia in the first Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) auction. This milestone was achieved under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) Scheme. The scheme is a flagship financial component of the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The scheme aims to scale up green hydrogen production and use in India. It seeks to make green hydrogen cost-competitive with fossil fuels. It also focuses on creating domestic demand in key sectors like industry and transport.

Notes:
Uttar Pradesh (UP) Government has doubled the maintenance allowance for disabled students under the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme from ₹2,000 to ₹4,000 per month. This hike will benefit 2,650 disabled students in 28 residential schools across the state. More than 50 lakh students benefit from UP’s scholarship and fee reimbursement programs yearly, including 14–15 lakh from the Scheduled Castes (SC). Students above 40 years are now ineligible for scholarships. Those passing high school from state boards outside UP are excluded, but CBSE and ICSE board students remain eligible. Students of UP campuses run by universities domiciled outside the state are also excluded.

Notes:
Recently, the United States deployed its “Dark Eagle” Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) during the Talisman Sabre military drills in Australia. The Dark Eagle hypersonic missile system is developed by the United States. It is designed for strategic attack missions to penetrate anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) defenses and deliver rapid precision strikes. The land-based weapon can hit targets up to 1,700 miles (2,735 km) away.

Notes:
Scientists have recently discovered a new plant species, Heptapleurum assamicum, in Assam’s Dima Hasao and West Karbi Anglong districts. It is a lush evergreen shrub from the family Araliaceae, which includes the ornamental umbrella plant. It has narrow lance-shaped leaflets under 1.2 cm wide and purple flowers instead of greenish-yellow. Its population is very small and localised, and it is listed as “Data Deficient” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Notes:
Pfizer recently launched its 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV20) for adults in India. PCV20 protects against 20 serotypes causing most pneumococcal diseases. Pneumococcal disease is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. It can cause mild infections like ear infections and severe ones like pneumonia, meningitis, and bloodstream infections. Around 90 serotypes exist globally; few cause most diseases. It is a major global health issue, especially affecting young children and the elderly in developing countries.

Notes:
Assam government launched Operation Falcon last year to protect one-horned rhinos from poachers. It is a joint anti-poaching drive by Assam Police and Assam Forest Department to end rhino poaching and illegal wildlife trade. It integrates digital tracking, on-ground surveillance, and rapid deployment teams for swift action. In 2025, 42 poachers were arrested, six major gangs dismantled, and nine poaching attempts foiled. The effort led to zero rhino killings in 2025 and an 86% drop in poaching since 2016. Assam has 2,895 rhinos according to the 2022 census, mostly in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

Notes:
Recently, an expert panel of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change recommended environmental clearance for the 3,087 Megawatt (MW) Etalin Hydroelectric Project. Etalin is a large run-of-river hydro project on the Dri and Tangon Rivers in Arunachal Pradesh’s Dibang Valley. The Dri River meets Mathun, then joins Tangon near Etalin village, after which it is called the Dibang River. The project will build concrete gravity dams to divert water through two separate waterway systems.

Notes:
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently launched the State Health Regulatory Excellence Index (SHRESTH) virtually. It is India’s first national initiative to benchmark and strengthen state drug regulatory systems using a transparent, data-driven framework. It is proposed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). It ensures consistent drug safety and quality standards. It has 27 indices for manufacturing states and 23 for primarily distribution states, covering themes like human resources, infrastructure, licensing, surveillance, and responsiveness.

Notes:
Haryana’s young boxers won overall team titles at the Sub Junior, Under-15 Boys and Girls National Championships in Greater Noida. Haryana outperformed Services and other states with skill, power, and consistency. In the Boys category, Haryana won 4 gold, 2 silver, and 6 bronze medals, claiming the team crown. Key boys’ winners included Ravi Sihag and Sanchit Jayani with clean-sweep victories. In the Girls category, Haryana also topped, with champions like Garima, Princi, Sunaina, Jivika, and Radhika Sharma. Maharashtra secured third place with standout performances from Riya Shinde and Ovi Adwant. The event highlights Haryana’s rising strength in junior boxing talent.