PIB Current Affairs 25 August 2026

Science & TechLowquizQuiz

JNCASR develops TZ-48 fluorescent probe and ADxFluor smartphone platform for Alzheimer's detection

•Scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, have developed TZ-48, a fluorescence lifetime-responsive small-molecule probe that detects amyloid-beta (Abeta), the earliest and most Alzheimer's-specific biomarker of the disease.
•The team paired the probe with ADxFluor, a smartphone-integrated platform that reads TZ-48's change in fluorescence intensity and quantifies the Abeta load in blood serum, turning what today needs a PET or MRI suite into a potential point-of-care test.
•TZ-48 crosses the blood-brain barrier, labels Abeta plaques in transgenic Alzheimer's mouse brains, works with confocal laser scanning microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, and detected Abeta in cerebrospinal fluid and serum accurately enough to separate diseased from healthy mice; the work is published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience.

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Science & TechLowquizQuiz

DST-Backed Study Finds South Asian Gut Microbiomes Distinct, Builds SAMBAR Resource

•Scientists from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow - an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology - with the University of Chicago and collaborators in India, Sri Lanka and the USA, have found that South Asian gut microbiomes are distinct from those reported elsewhere and are shaped by local culture, diet, geography and lifestyle.
•Stool samples with dietary, lifestyle and health information were collected from 575 healthy adults across ten culturally and geographically distinct South Asian communities in India and Sri Lanka, and characterised by high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes.
•The work created the South Asian MicroBiome ARray (SAMBAR), described as the first baseline gut microbiome resource from healthy individuals in India, and was published in the journal Gut Microbes; the team was led by Dr Niraj Rai of BSIP, with Maanasa Raghavan and colleagues.

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DefenceLowquizQuiz

2nd India-New Zealand Defence Strategic Dialogue in Wellington Advances Roadmap 2030

•The second edition of the India-New Zealand Defence Strategic Dialogue was held in Wellington on 24 August 2026, co-chaired by Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Amitabh Prasad and Deputy Secretary in the New Zealand Ministry of Defence Richard Schmidt.
•Talks focused on maritime security, joint military training and broader defence cooperation, and on implementing the strategic targets in the India-New Zealand Strategic Partnership Roadmap 2030 agreed at the summit-level meeting the previous month.
•Both sides reaffirmed a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, reviewed options for joint exercises, cross-service personnel exchanges and defence staff college partnerships across maritime, air and land units, and agreed to sustain regular high-level and ministerial exchanges.

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Polity & GovernanceLowquizQuiz

NHRC Takes Suo Motu Cognizance of Bhavnagar Spurious Liquor Deaths, Notices to Gujarat

•The National Human Rights Commission took suo motu cognizance on 25 August 2026 of reports that at least 9 people died and 39 others were hospitalised in critical condition after consuming spurious Indian-Made Foreign Liquor in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat.
•The illicit liquor was reportedly spiked with a high concentration of methanol and sold in counterfeit bottles carrying a popular brand's label; the racket surfaced during investigation of an accidental death case registered for the death of a police recruit.
•The Commission issued notices to the Gujarat Chief Secretary and Director General of Police seeking a detailed report within two weeks on the death toll, the investigation and the methanol supply chain, departmental action against suspended police personnel, relief and compensation, and long-term measures to enforce the prohibition law.

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InternationalMediumquizQuiz

Goyal in Tokyo: India and Japan Agree to Accelerate CEPA Review, Push Chips and AI

•Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal chaired an India-Japan industry roundtable on semiconductors and artificial intelligence in Tokyo on 25 August 2026, attended by around 21 leading Japanese companies including Tokyo Electron, Kyocera, NEC, ROHM, Fujifilm Holdings, MUFG Bank and JETRO.
•In a bilateral meeting with Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akazawa Ryosei, both sides agreed to accelerate the review of the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to make it more forward-looking.
•Goyal told the roundtable that India's domestic semiconductor demand is projected to reach USD 150 billion by 2032, citing a government commitment of USD 10 billion under Semicon India 1.0 and an additional USD 15 billion under Semicon India 2.0.

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Schemes & CommitteesMediumquizQuiz

Sewerage Takes 36% of AMRUT 2.0 Investment: Ministry Answers Standing Committee

•Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu chaired reviews at Sankalp Bhawan, New Delhi on 25 August 2026 covering the Gurugram metro connectivity project, AMRUT 2.0 and CITIIS 2.0.
•Responding to the 10th Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs, the Ministry said sewerage and septage projects account for about Rs 71,133 crore of the Rs 1,97,191 crore approved project cost under AMRUT 2.0 - nearly 36% of investment, though only about 6.8% of the number of projects.
•394 sewerage projects worth about Rs 47,230 crore are under implementation; on completion they are expected to give new sewer connections to about 48.76 lakh households and benefit about 60.59 lakh households through system upgrades and servicing.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

ICMR Says Circulating H1N1 Shows Only Normal Antigenic Drift, No New Strain

•The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with the Department of Health Research, ICMR and NCDC, said on 25 August 2026 that seasonal respiratory illness trends are being tracked through a pan-India surveillance network and there is no cause for alarm.
•DHR Secretary and ICMR Director General Dr Rajiv Bahl said the circulating Influenza A (H1N1) viruses are A/Missouri/11/2025 (H1N1) pdm09-like, with haemagglutinin gene analysis placing the isolates in clade 6B.1A.5a2a, subclade D.3.1.1.
•This lineage has circulated in India since 2025 and the genetic changes observed are ordinary antigenic drift, not the emergence of a new or dangerous strain.

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NationalMediumquizQuiz

Home Minister Sets Internal Security Agenda at IB's National Security Strategies Conference

•Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah addressed the valedictory session of the Intelligence Bureau's National Security Strategies Conference (NSSC) in New Delhi, a two-day conference attended by Directors General of Police of all states and representatives of central security agencies.
•He said strong internal security is the first condition for the goal of a developed India by 2047, and asked the NSSC forum to look at the trends of the coming 15 to 20 years and frame preventive strategies rather than only consolidating past gains.
•On criminal justice, he said 100 per cent implementation of the three new criminal laws will be achieved within the next year, enabling disposal of criminal cases up to the Supreme Court within three years and, in his statement, raising the conviction rate by 25 per cent.

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Polity & GovernanceMediumquizQuiz

PM Reviews Six Projects Worth Over Rs 30,000 Crore Across Nine States at 53rd PRAGATI Meeting

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the 53rd meeting of PRAGATI - the ICT-enabled, multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation - at Seva Teerth on 25 August 2026.
•Six key infrastructure projects in the Railway, Road and Power sectors were reviewed, spanning nine states with a cumulative cost of more than Rs 30,000 crore, with emphasis on timelines, inter-agency coordination and resolution of pending issues.
•The Prime Minister said infrastructure projects must be monitored as an integrated whole rather than as isolated sections, stretches or packages, and asked ministries and states to adopt an end-to-end approach so that individual package progress translates into commissioning of the full project.

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DefenceMediumquizQuiz

Goa Shipyard Hands Over ICGS Ajit as Navy Prepares to Commission Diving Support Vessel Nipun

•Goa Shipyard Limited formally handed over ICGS Ajit (Yard 1277), a Fast Patrol Vessel, to the Indian Coast Guard on 25 August 2026, built with more than 65 per cent indigenous content.
•ICGS Ajit is 51.43 metres long and 8 metres wide, displaces 330 tonnes at a draught of 2.5 metres, exceeds 27 knots and has an endurance of 1,500 nautical miles, with a crew of 6 officers and 35 sailors.
•The vessel is powered by twin marine diesel engines driving controllable pitch propellers - described by the shipyard as a first-of-its-kind feature in this class of Fast Patrol Vessels - along with an integrated machinery control system.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

CSIR-NAL Unveils Indigenous NJ-05, NJ-50 and NJ-100 Micro and Small Gas Turbine Engines

•CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) unveiled three indigenous micro and small gas turbine engines - NJ-05 with 5 kg thrust, NJ-50 with 50 kg thrust and NJ-100 with 100 kg thrust - at the SSB Auditorium, CSIR Headquarters, New Delhi.
•The engines are intended for tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, drone interceptors and compact missile systems, addressing a class of propulsion India has largely imported.
•The scientific team, led by Shri R. Prathapanayaka, attributed the development to advances in high-RPM turbomachinery and high-temperature combustion technologies.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

India Produces 56.2 MT Crude Steel in April-July 2026 but Stays a Net Importer of Finished Steel

•The Ministry of Steel's review for April-July 2026 records crude steel production of 56.2 million tonnes, up 2.4 per cent over the corresponding period last year, with hot metal at 31.9 MT and finished steel at 54.7 MT.
•Finished steel consumption for April-July 2026 reached 56.0 MT, a 7.9 per cent rise over the same period a year earlier and higher than finished steel production - the demand side of why India remained an importer.
•India was a net importer of finished steel in quantity terms during April-July 2026: imports of 2,766.2 thousand tonnes (Rs 28,330.8 crore) against exports of 2,292.3 thousand tonnes (Rs 18,105.4 crore). China (30.9 per cent) and Korea (30.2 per cent) supplied over three-fifths of imports; Vietnam and the UAE were the largest export destinations.

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Science & TechMediumquizQuiz

CSIR-TKDL Expands Beyond Medicinal Formulations to Diagnostics, Devices and Surgical Practices

•Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh visited the CSIR-Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (CSIR-TKDL) and called for traditional knowledge to be integrated with modern science, medicine and emerging technologies rather than confined to indigenous systems of medicine.
•He was briefed that TKDL has evolved from an initiative to digitise traditional knowledge into a structured knowledge resource that renders such knowledge in modern scientific and intellectual-property terminology, understandable to patent examiners.
•The repository, institutionalised in 2001 with an initial focus on Ayurveda formulations, has since expanded to other traditional knowledge systems and now covers areas including diagnostic methods, devices and surgical practices.

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

PAIMANA Portal Tracks 1,775 Central Infrastructure Projects Worth Rs 37.11 Lakh Crore

•MoSPI's flash report for July 2026 records 1,775 ongoing central sector infrastructure projects with a total revised cost of Rs 37.11 lakh crore, monitored on the PAIMANA platform across 17 Central Ministries and Departments.
•Cumulative expenditure on these projects stands at Rs 19.26 lakh crore, about 51.91 per cent of the revised cost; 675 projects (roughly 38 per cent) have crossed 80 per cent physical progress and 305 (about 17 per cent) have crossed 80 per cent financial completion.
•The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways accounts for the largest share by count with 993 projects (56 per cent) worth Rs 9.62 lakh crore (26 per cent), followed by Railways with 190 projects (11 per cent) worth Rs 6.38 lakh crore (17 per cent).

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EconomyMediumquizQuiz

Mines Ministry Launches Critical Minerals Innovation Hackathon Under National Mission

•Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy launched the Critical Minerals Innovation Hackathon 2026 (CMiH 2026) to strengthen the objectives of the National Critical Mineral Mission.
•The hackathon invites students, researchers, academic and R&D institutions, start-ups and innovators to develop technical solutions to identified challenges in critical minerals.
•It carries two problem statements: Mineral Prospectivity Mapping from Open Data, requiring a prospectivity heatmap for lithium or rare earth element pegmatites validated against known mineral occurrences; and a Smart Technology and Patent Tracker for Critical Minerals, a web-based R&D and patent tracking system.

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Banking & FinanceMediumquizQuiz

Regional Rural Banks Post Record Rs 10,176 Crore Net Profit in FY 2025-26

•A review meeting on Regional Rural Bank performance, chaired by the Secretary, Department of Financial Services, recorded an all-time high consolidated net profit of Rs 10,176 crore for RRBs in FY 2025-26, up from Rs 6,820 crore in FY 2024-25.
•The total business of all 28 RRBs crossed Rs 13.5 lakh crore, surpassing the business level of a few individual Public Sector Banks; 28 RRBs now operate 22,273 branches across 26 States and 3 Union Territories, covering about 700 districts.
•Gross and Net Non-Performing Assets fell to all-time lows of 5.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively, while the Credit-Deposit Ratio reached an all-time high of 75.2 per cent.

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DefenceMediumquizQuiz

Defence Minister Clears Transfer of All DRDO Conventional Missile Technologies to Industry

•Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has approved the transfer of DRDO-developed technologies of ALL conventional missile systems to the Indian defence industry for production within the country.
•The transfer is subject to applicable qualifications, certifications and regulatory requirements, and is intended to move missile systems from development into industrial production.
•The Ministry of Defence states the objective as enhancing domestic manufacturing capability, strengthening the defence industrial base, and creating supply-chain opportunities for Indian MSMEs and other technology partners.

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EnvironmentMediumquizQuiz

India Urges Shift From Drought Response to Drought Resilience at UNCCD CoP17

•Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav addressed the Ministerial Dialogue on 'Accelerating Drought Resilience' at the 17th Conference of Parties (CoP17) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
•He argued that drought must be managed as a predictable, preventable risk rather than as a recurring disaster demanding emergency response, and described it as 'no longer an occasional event, but a defining development challenge' affecting water security, food systems, biodiversity and economic stability.
•India's approach, as he described it, integrates rainfall monitoring and satellite-based drought assessment to trigger inter-ministerial and state-level preparedness, with catchment and riverscape forestry summed up in the phrase 'restore the forest, before the flow'.

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Banking & FinanceMediumquizQuiz

UPI Marks Ten Years Since Its Public Rollout by NPCI in August 2016

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked ten years of the Unified Payments Interface, calling its rollout a major turning point in India's digital payments journey and inviting citizens to share their UPI experiences under the hashtag #10YearsOfUPI.
•UPI was piloted by the National Payments Corporation of India on 11 April 2016 and rolled out to the public on 25 August 2016, when participating banks made their UPI-enabled apps available for download — the anniversary being marked in August 2026.
•Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi described the ten-year journey as an example of the digital revolution that made India a new power in digital payments before the world.

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EconomyHighquizQuiz

National Shipping Board's First Sagar Samvad Proposes 100 New Ships in Five Years

•The National Shipping Board (NSB) held its first 'Sagar Samvad' in New Delhi, themed 'Charting the Roadmap Towards Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047'.
•Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal chaired the inaugural edition, launched the Board's first official website and received its annual report for 2025-26 from NSB Chairperson Sameer Kumar Khare.
•An NSB panel proposed a five-pillar roadmap — fiscal reform, assured cargo support, access to competitive financing, regulatory streamlining and ease of doing business — which it argued could add 100 ships to India's fleet within five years.

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Ranks & ReportsHighquizQuiz

NITI Aayog Skilling Blueprint Clarifies 8.7 Crore NEET Youth Are Not Unemployed

•NITI Aayog released 'Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047', a blueprint for a skilling architecture aligned to the goals of a developed India by 2047.
•The report identifies five key segments of learners and workforce, one of which is NEET youth in the 15-29 age group — Not in Education, Employment or Training.
•NITI Aayog clarified that the report's figure of 8.7 crore NEET youth has been misread as a count of the unemployed. NEET refers to those NOT SEEKING employment; the unemployed form a separate category drawn from a different population base, so the figure cannot be added to the unemployment rate.

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Schemes & CommitteesHighquizQuiz

e-Shram Portal Completes Five Years With 31.89 Crore Registered Unorganised Workers

•The e-Shram portal, run by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, completes five years on 26 August 2026; it was launched on 26 August 2021 and built India's first Aadhaar-authenticated National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW).
•Every registered worker receives a unique 12-digit Universal Account Number (UAN). Registrations stood at 31.89 crore as on 18 August 2026, with women forming 54.28 per cent of registrants and men 45.72 per cent.
•The e-Shram One-Stop Solution, launched on 21 October 2024, converted the registry into a service-delivery platform that now carries 15 social security and welfare schemes, including PM-SYM, PMSBY, PMJJBY, NSAP, ONORC and PMAY-Gramin.

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Current Affairs Pulse

PIB Current Affairs — 25 August 2026

JNCASR develops TZ-48 fluorescent probe and ADxFluor smartphone platform for Alzheimer's detection

DST-Backed Study Finds South Asian Gut Microbiomes Distinct, Builds SAMBAR Resource

2nd India-New Zealand Defence Strategic Dialogue in Wellington Advances Roadmap 2030

NHRC Takes Suo Motu Cognizance of Bhavnagar Spurious Liquor Deaths, Notices to Gujarat

Goyal in Tokyo: India and Japan Agree to Accelerate CEPA Review, Push Chips and AI

Sewerage Takes 36% of AMRUT 2.0 Investment: Ministry Answers Standing Committee

ICMR Says Circulating H1N1 Shows Only Normal Antigenic Drift, No New Strain

Home Minister Sets Internal Security Agenda at IB's National Security Strategies Conference

PM Reviews Six Projects Worth Over Rs 30,000 Crore Across Nine States at 53rd PRAGATI Meeting

Goa Shipyard Hands Over ICGS Ajit as Navy Prepares to Commission Diving Support Vessel Nipun

CSIR-NAL Unveils Indigenous NJ-05, NJ-50 and NJ-100 Micro and Small Gas Turbine Engines

India Produces 56.2 MT Crude Steel in April-July 2026 but Stays a Net Importer of Finished Steel

CSIR-TKDL Expands Beyond Medicinal Formulations to Diagnostics, Devices and Surgical Practices

PAIMANA Portal Tracks 1,775 Central Infrastructure Projects Worth Rs 37.11 Lakh Crore

Mines Ministry Launches Critical Minerals Innovation Hackathon Under National Mission

Regional Rural Banks Post Record Rs 10,176 Crore Net Profit in FY 2025-26

Defence Minister Clears Transfer of All DRDO Conventional Missile Technologies to Industry

India Urges Shift From Drought Response to Drought Resilience at UNCCD CoP17

UPI Marks Ten Years Since Its Public Rollout by NPCI in August 2016

National Shipping Board's First Sagar Samvad Proposes 100 New Ships in Five Years

NITI Aayog Skilling Blueprint Clarifies 8.7 Crore NEET Youth Are Not Unemployed

e-Shram Portal Completes Five Years With 31.89 Crore Registered Unorganised Workers