📊 Index & Rankings
India emerged as the 5th biggest aviation market in 2024, transporting 241 million passengers—an 11.1% rise from the previous year.
The Mumbai-Delhi route ranked as the 7th busiest in the world. Premium travel grew by 11.8%.
Top aircraft globally: Boeing B737 and Airbus A320
These numbers reflect India’s growing significance in both domestic and international aviation sectors.
🇮🇳 National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the inauguration of India’s first indigenously built megawatt-scale green hydrogen facility at Kandla Port in Gujarat.
Developed under the Make in India program, this plant signifies Gujarat’s prominent position in renewable energy and green infrastructure.
Deendayal Port has become the first in the Indian port sector to operate a megawatt-scale green hydrogen unit.
PM Modi’s initiative, Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC), set a Guinness World Record with 3.53 crore registrations on the MyGov platform—the highest for a citizen engagement initiative in a single month.
The 2025 edition recorded a viewership of 21 crore, reimagining exam season as a celebration of learning.
Rooted in the National Education Policy 2020, PPC emphasizes stress-free, hands-on education and fosters a joyful exam experience to support the vision of Viksit Bharat.
The Sawalkote Hydropower Project, a 2,185 MW run-of-the-river scheme on the Chenab River, is being revived by NHPC in partnership with JKSPDC.
Estimated at ₹22,704 crore | Largest hydropower project in Jammu & Kashmir | Annual generation: 7,000 million units
Apart from energy generation, it will aid flood control and reflects India’s recent move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty, signaling a major policy shift in regional water governance.
SIMBEX 2025, the 32nd edition of the India-Singapore maritime drill, concluded between July 28 and August 1 in the South China Sea.
The exercise included warships, aircraft, and professional exchanges, emphasizing naval coordination and operational synergy.
The event marked 60 years of diplomatic ties between India and Singapore, reinforcing their maritime security cooperation.
The Archery Association of India announced the launch of the country’s first Archery League, scheduled for October 2025 at Delhi’s Yamuna Sports Complex.
Key features:
- Six franchise teams
- Top Indian and international archers
- Endorsed by World Archery, World Archery Asia, and the Sports Ministry
The league aims to enhance Indian archery’s competitiveness and global stature.
The Ministry of Ayush’s National Medicinal Plants Board signed two major MoUs:
- With IshVed-Bioplants Venture to conserve rare medicinal plants using tissue culture
- With AIIA and AIIMS to establish a National Medicinal Plants Garden
These initiatives are aimed at biodiversity preservation, public education, and promoting health and sustainability under the vision of a self-reliant India.
💼 Business & Economy
Palm oil imports dropped by 10% in July 2025 to 858,000 tons, largely due to cancelled contracts.
Meanwhile, soyoil imports surged by 38% to 495,000 tons—the highest in three years—driven by delayed shipments and price advantages.
Although sunflower oil imports dipped 7%, overall edible oil imports increased 1.5% to 1.53 million tons—the highest since November.
India’s tea output fell by 9% year-on-year in June 2025 to 133.5 million kg, down from 146.72 million kg in June 2024.
Reasons for decline:
- Unfavorable weather
- Widespread pest infestations
All major tea varieties—CTC, orthodox, and green—saw reduced production, raising concerns across the industry.
Fitch Ratings revised India’s projected GDP growth for FY26 down to 6.3%, balancing strong infrastructure demand with potential external trade risks.
Sector outlook:
- Thriving sectors: Cement, petroleum, and construction
- Pressured sectors: IT, auto parts, and pharmaceuticals (due to U.S. tariffs and global supply shifts)
- Resilient sectors: Telecom, utilities, and oil & gas
Fitch also highlighted India’s assertive trade negotiations with the U.S., particularly around agriculture and dairy products.
The Income Tax Department awarded LTIMindtree the PAN 2.0 project worth ₹811.5 crore, aimed at revamping PAN and TAN services through digital transformation.
Cleared in November 2024, the initiative is set to be operational in 18 months.
The upgraded system will streamline Aadhaar-PAN linking, issuance, reissuance, and authentication via a single digital platform, improving user security and service delivery.
🌐 International News
The Krasheninnikov Volcano in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula erupted for the first time since 1463, releasing an ash plume that rose 4 km into the sky.
Officials issued an orange-level aviation warning due to the potential threat to air travel.
The eruption is suspected to be related to a recent 8.7 magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.
Though no inhabited areas are endangered, authorities have advised travelers and residents to avoid nearby volcanic zones.
Hong Kong has implemented a new regulatory framework for stablecoins, mandating full reserve backing and a selective licensing system.
This step reinforces the city’s ambition to be a global frontrunner in digital finance.
The policy aligns with international standards like the U.S. GENIUS Act and the EU’s MiCA, heralding a new phase in programmable finance and tokenized assets.
👔 Appointments
The Telangana government has appointed RP Sanjiv Goenka Group Chairman, Sanjiv Goenka, to lead the Telangana Sports Hub.
Leadership team:
- Co-Chairwoman: Upasana Kamineni (founder of URLife, granddaughter of Apollo Hospitals’ founder Prathap Reddy)
- Notable members: Sporting legends Kapil Dev and Pullela Gopichand
The Hub will guide strategic policy in sports infrastructure, athlete training, and educational development in the sector.
Tata Motors has announced that PB Balaji, currently serving as Group CFO, will take over as CEO of Jaguar Land Rover on November 17, 2025.
He will succeed Adrian Mardell, who is retiring after a distinguished 35-year tenure.
Balaji’s leadership is expected to fast-track JLR’s “Reimagine” strategy focused on luxury, sustainability, and electric vehicle development.
🔬 Science & Technology
Hyderabad-based space startup Dhruva Space will deploy its first commercial satellite mission, LEAP-1, aboard SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket by Q3 2025.
The mission will utilize an indigenous P-30 platform, previously space-tested with ISRO’s PSLV-C58 in January 2024.
Applications: Defense, environmental monitoring, agriculture, mining, and disaster management.
ICRISAT, in collaboration with ICAR and backed by the Monsoon Mission III, introduced an AI-based advisory tool to help smallholder farmers cope with changing weather.
The pilot begins in Maharashtra, utilizing platforms like WhatsApp bots to deliver hyper-local climate forecasts.
The service aims to expand across India and inspire global adoption.
India, supported by the International Potato Center, is preparing to introduce iron-enriched bio-fortified potatoes to fight nutrient deficiencies and hidden hunger.
The move complements ongoing efforts with Vitamin A-rich sweet potatoes and ICAR’s biofortification campaign across 61 crops.
This initiative boosts food security and promotes health-conscious, climate-smart agriculture.
Indian and UK scientists have discovered the world’s rarest blood group, CRIB, in a 38-year-old woman from Bengaluru.
Falling under the Cromer blood group system, CRIB lacks a common antigen, making matched blood transfusion virtually impossible.
The woman’s condition showed panreactivity, requiring surgery without a blood transfusion.
Experts believe this could redefine rare blood management and prenatal diagnostics globally.
📅 Important Days
Hiroshima Day is observed on August 6 to commemorate the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and call for nuclear disarmament and global peace.
2025 observance includes:
- Remembrance events
- Educational outreach
- Policy discussions to promote a nuclear-free world
Against rising global tensions, the day serves as a strong moral and political reminder to prevent future nuclear disasters.
🕊️ Obituaries
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM founder Shibu Soren passed away on August 4, 2025, at the age of 81.
He had been undergoing treatment for kidney ailments and stroke at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
Revered as “Dishom Guru”, Soren was pivotal in Jharkhand’s statehood movement and championed tribal and marginalized communities.
His son, Hemant Soren, confirmed the news, prompting national mourning.
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