Current Affairs Quiz – August 2025

Notes:
NASA announced that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) discovered a new 29th satellite of Uranus, named S/2025 U1. The moon has an estimated diameter of 10 kilometres and orbits Uranus at a distance of about 56,000 kilometres. S/2025 U1 will receive an official name from the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in the future. Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and the third-largest planet in the solar system. Uranus is an ice giant, composed mainly of hydrogen, helium, water, methane, and ammonia. Uranus now has 29 moons, with five major moons: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon.

Notes:
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini launched the ‘Swachh Kurukshetra – Mera Kurukshetra, Mera Abhimaan’ cleanliness mission at Gita Gyan Sansthanam, Kurukshetra. The mission is scheduled for 11 weeks, from August 24 to November 7, 2025, aiming to make Kurukshetra the cleanest and most beautiful city in India. The mission is part of Haryana Shehr Swachhta Abhiyan – 2025 and involves mass mobilization to clean every street and corner.

Notes:
Cheteshwar Pujara, India’s Test specialist, announced retirement from all forms of cricket on August 24, 2025. The 37-year-old last played a Test over two years ago, with his final First Class match being Saurashtra’s Ranji Trophy quarterfinal loss in February 2025. He played 103 Test matches for India, scoring 7195 runs at an average of 43.60, with 19 hundreds and 35 fifties. Pujara was the hero of India’s 2018–19 historic Test series win in Australia, scoring 521 runs and facing 1258 balls. He finished with 21301 First Class runs, 18 double hundreds, and three triple hundreds.

Notes:
The first Pravasi Rajasthani Diwas will be observed on December 10 along with the ‘Rising Rajasthan’ partnership conclave. The event recognises contributions of migrants from Rajasthan to other States and countries. Investor roadshows will be organised at key domestic and international locations before the conclave. The two-day conclave follows the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit 2024 and aims to promote industrial alliances and partnerships. Pravasi Rajasthani Diwas provides Non-Resident Rajasthanis (NRRs) an opportunity to reconnect and invest in the State.

Notes:
Women’s Equality Day is celebrated every August 26 in the United States. It commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote. The day honors the heroic women who faced violence and discrimination to advance the women’s movement. In the early 19th century, American women could not inherit property and earned half of men’s wages. Women began organizing to demand political rights and representation. The day highlights continuing efforts for full equality in education, employment, and political participation.

Notes:
Heavy rain continues to batter Jammu, prompting India to forewarn Pakistan about potential flooding in the Tawi River as a humanitarian gesture. The warning comes despite the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) being in abeyance after the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April 2025. Tawi River is a major left-bank tributary of Chenab River, originating from Kailash Kund glacier in Bhaderwah, Doda district, and flowing through Udhampur and Jammu districts into Sialkot, Pakistan. Tawi River divides Jammu city into old town on a hill and new town across the river, providing the main water source. The river is sacred, also called “Surya Putri” in ancient texts.

Notes:
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), in collaboration with Vertis Infrastructure Trust, launched ‘Project Aarohan’ to support the education of children of toll plaza employees. It aims to remove financial barriers, bridge socio-economic gaps, and provide quality education to students from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), minority communities, and first-generation learners. The project will support 500 students from Class 11 to graduation with annual scholarships of Rs. 12,000 each. Fifty bright students aspiring for postgraduate studies will receive scholarships of Rs. 50,000 each. Project Aarohan combines financial aid with mentorship, skill-building workshops, career guidance, and long-term progress tracking.

Notes:
According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), 12 out of 30 Chief Ministers (40%) in India have declared criminal cases against themselves. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has declared the highest number with 89 cases. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has declared 47 cases. Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu declared 19 cases, Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah 13, and Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren five. Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis and Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh declared four each, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan two, and Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann one. 10 Chief Ministers (33%) declared serious criminal cases like attempt to murder, kidnapping, bribery, and criminal intimidation.

Notes:
The First International Pali Conference was organized at Kandy, Sri Lanka, by India’s Assistant High Commission in Kandy in partnership with the University of Peradeniya, in August 2025. The conference focused on “The Future of the Pali Language”. The event brought together scholars from Sri Lanka, India, and other countries. Discussions focused on Theravada traditions, manuscript studies, and Pali’s journey from a classical medium to a living language. It was the first international Pali conference hosted by the University of Peradeniya. Pali is recognised as a classical language in India by the Government of India.

Notes:
The Indian Army’s Territorial Army, with IIT Madras, Indian Army Research Cell (IARC) and CyberPeace, is conducting Indian Army Terrier Cyber Quest 2025 in New Delhi. It is a national-level challenge under the Decade of Transformation to tackle real defence and cybersecurity threats. The event unites academia, industry, and government to address modern defence challenges using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Quantum Computing, and Drone Technology. The competition also explores drone anomaly detection and quantum-enhanced malware identification.