Current Affairs Quiz – August 2025

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:
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:
The Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, is organising the 5th edition of Lok Samvardhan Parv at Marine Drive Ground, Shanmugham Road, Kochi, Kerala, from 26th August to 4th September 2025. Lok Samvardhan Parv is a flagship initiative to provide artisans, craftspersons, weavers, culinary experts, and entrepreneurs from minority communities with market linkages and national exposure. The Kochi edition is the first-ever in Kerala, reflecting the city’s cosmopolitan spirit and diversity.

Notes:
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched India’s first “Smart and Intelligent Village” in Satnavari, Nagpur district. Satnavari, 31 km from Nagpur city, features smart farming, telemedicine, AI-powered water monitoring, and digital classrooms. The project is proposed by the Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises (VoICE), a telecom consortium. Smart interventions include IoT-based agriculture, drones for precision farming, AI surveillance, smart streetlights, telemedicine, digital classrooms, drinking water monitoring, fire control, and smart waste management. The initiative models rural transformation using technology, AI, and Internet of Things (IoT) for improved living standards.

Notes:
Researchers at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, are developing a nanotechnology-based tool for early detection of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a rapidly growing neurological disorder in India, often diagnosed after significant neurodegeneration. The team focused on α-synuclein, a protein that changes from harmless to toxic forms, damaging brain cells. They created gold nanoclusters (AuNCs), ultrasmall particles coated with amino acids to selectively bind normal or toxic protein forms. The tool enables early-stage detection, improving treatment, quality of life, and reducing healthcare costs.

Notes:
The Government of India is considering support measures worth about ₹25,000 crore for exporters under the Export Promotion Mission for six years (FY 2025-31). Export Promotion Mission was announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 as a flagship initiative. It aims to promote inclusive and sustainable export growth, especially supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). It is jointly driven by the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, MSME, and Finance, with the Department of Commerce as lead. The mission has two sub-schemes: Niryat Protsahan (₹10,000+ crore) and Niryat Disha (₹14,500+ crore).

Notes:
A Supreme Court-appointed committee has given conditional approval for constructing the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) headquarters in the ecologically sensitive Morphological Ridge area of Delhi. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is a specialized disaster response force under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in India. It was constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, after establishing the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Its mandate includes responding to natural and man-made disasters, including floods, earthquakes, and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) emergencies. The motto is “Aapda Seva Sadaiv Sarvatra” meaning disaster service always, everywhere.

Notes:
The Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, has launched a new module on the UMEED Portal to strengthen inclusive welfare. The module enables widows, divorced women, and orphans to apply for maintenance support from Waqf-alal-aulad properties under Rule 8(2) of the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Rules, 2025. UMEED Portal is a centralized platform to register and manage Waqf properties nationwide. The initiative promotes digital, people-centric Waqf administration and welfare for women and children in minority communities. The module supports the charitable objectives of Waqf endowments while modernizing governance and financial delivery.

Notes:
On the inaugural day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan, Rev Seishi Hirose, chief priest of the Daruma-ji temple, presented him with a Daruma Doll , an iconic cultural symbol of Japan. These dolls, considered a lucky charm in the country, vary in height from a couple of inches to several feet. The doll 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.

Notes:
The dragonfly Crocothemis erythraea was recently reconfirmed in the high-elevation areas of Southern Western Ghats using morphological and DNA methods. This species favors cooler, montane habitats and is rare in India, surviving in areas like Munnar and Parambikulam since the Pleistocene epoch.