NATIONAL NEWS

MY Bharat and School of Ultimate Leadership Foundation Signed MoU

MY Bharat (Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports) signed an MoU with the School of Ultimate Leadership Foundation (SOUL) to collaborate on knowledge sharing, capacity building, and youth leadership development.

The partnership aims to create 1,00,000 youth leaders aged 18–29 years from across India through joint programs in governance, public policy, social entrepreneurship, digital literacy, financial literacy, and other domains.

The MoU will remain valid for three years and can be extended with mutual consent.

It includes design and delivery of leadership programs, organisation of conclaves and workshops, joint research, and capacity building of youth-serving organisations.

Participant selection will follow a pan-India, inclusive approach ensuring representation from rural, urban, aspirational, tribal, women, and marginalised communities.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Kenya Becomes 10th African Country to Eradicate Sleeping Sickness

Kenya has eradicated Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, as confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) on August 8, 2025.

This is Kenya’s second victory over a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD), after eliminating guinea worm disease in 2018.

Kenya is now the 10th African country to eliminate HAT as a public health concern, contributing to a global total of 57 countries that have achieved elimination of at least one NTD.

Kenya now joins nine African nations that include Benin, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Rwanda, Togo and Uganda in eliminating HAT as a public health problem in Africa.

HAT was first detected in Kenya in the early 20th century; with sustained control measures, no indigenous cases have been recorded since 2009.

In 2020, all WHO member countries adopted the Road Map for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021–2030, aiming to free 100 countries from at least one NTD by 2030.

With less than 5 years to go, 57 countries have already eliminated at least one NTD.

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Bose Institute Discovers ‘Pseudo-Intelligence’ In Immune Protein TAK1

Bose Institute researchers, led by Shubhra Ghosh Dastidar, have discovered that the protein TAK1 kinase may exhibit rudimentary intelligence-like behavior.

TAK1 kinase is crucial for immune response, cellular stress signaling, inflammation, and survival.

The research, published in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, suggests that the protein's three-dimensional folding and atom-to-atom interactions create internal circuits that allow it to process signals and respond in a context-dependent manner.

This work extends the traditional biochemical principle of "sequence-structure-function" to a new paradigm: "sequence-structure-function-intelligence" for certain molecules.

The discovery has implications for drug development, as TAK1's ability to sense and respond to signals makes it a potential target for therapeutic interventions.

IN- SPACE Picks Pixxel-Space India Consortium

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACE) has selected the Pixxel-Space India-led consortium to set up India's first fully indigenous commercial earth observation (EO) satellite constellation.

This project is being implemented under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The consortium is based in Bengaluru and includes Piersight Space, Satsure Analytics India, and Dhruva Space.

The private consortium will invest over ₹1,200 crore over five years to launch a constellation of 12 state-of-the-art EO satellites.

These satellites will provide Analysis Ready Data (ARD) and Value-Added Services (VAS) for various applications, including climate change monitoring, disaster management, agriculture, marine surveillance, and national security.

The initiative aims to reduce India's reliance on foreign satellite data and ensure data sovereignty.

 

BANKING

ICICI Bank Hikes Minimum Balance for New Savings Accounts to ₹50,000

ICICI Bank has increased the minimum balance requirement for new savings bank accounts opened on or after August 1, 2025 by five times, from ₹10,000 to ₹50,000.

The minimum monthly average balance (MAB) for savings accounts until July 31, 2025 was ₹10,000.

MAB is the minimum balance that a customer is required to maintain in the bank account.

If the balance in the bank account falls below the required amount, then banks levy a penalty.

For semi-urban branches, the MAB has been raised to ₹25,000 and for rural branches to ₹10,000 both representing a fivefold increase.

If account holders fail to maintain the required MAB, a penalty of 6% of the shortfall or ₹500 (whichever is lower) will be charged.

Savings bank accounts with ICICI Bank earn 2.5% interest per annum.

The revised MAB applies only to accounts opened on or after August 1, 2025; accounts opened before this date will continue under the previous MAB requirement.

Exemptions from the higher MAB include salary accounts, PM Jan Dhan accounts, and Basic Savings Bank Deposit accounts, all of which are zero-balance accounts.

Customers maintaining higher MAB will receive benefits such as free NEFT fund transfers and three complimentary cash transactions per month; after that, ₹150 per transaction will be charged (plus GST).

Punjab and Sind Bank Launches ‘PSB Naari Shakti’ Savings Account

Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) launched “PSB Naari Shakti”, a savings account initiative to empower women with financial and health benefits.

The scheme has two variants – PSB Pink and PSB Smile, offering exclusive advantages.

Health coverage includes: Cancer cover up to ₹10 lakh and Group accidental insurance up to ₹20 lakh

The Beneficiaries get free annual preventive health checkups and tele-consultation services for regular health management.

It provides a complimentary Platinum Rupay debit card for digital transactions.

 

SPORTS

India’s Bid to Host Commonwealth Games 2030

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has formally approved India’s bid to host the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2030 during its Special General Meeting in Delhi.

India will now submit its final bid proposal by 31st August 2025.

2030 marks 20 years since India hosted the Games for the first and only time in New Delhi (2010).

Besides India, Nigeria and two other countries had shown interest.

Canada withdrew from the race in June 2025.

A Commonwealth Sport delegation, led by Director of Games Darren Hall, visited Ahmedabad to inspect venues and meet Gujarat government officials.

Final host nation will be announced in the last week of November 2025 at the General Assembly of Commonwealth Sport in Glasgow.

India Hosted CWG in New Delhi 2010 – 101 medals (38 gold, 27 silver, 36 bronze), India’s best-ever performance, finishing 2nd in medal tally.Second-best haul – 69 medals (30 gold) at Manchester 2002.CWG 2022 (Birmingham, UK) – 61 medals (22 gold, 16 silver, 23 bronze).

IOA aims for a full-fledged CWG 2030, unlike CWG 2026 Glasgow which will be scaled down (sports like hockey, badminton, wrestling, shooting excluded).

Joint Secretary Kalyan Chaubey supports inclusion of indigenous sports like kho kho and kabaddi.

Mascot for Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025

The mascot and logo for the first-ever Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) were unveiled in Srinagar on August 14, 2025.

The event is scheduled to take place at the iconic Dal Lake from August 21 to 23, making it the first water games event under the Khelo India umbrella.

This major sports initiative, held under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and organized in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), is expected to boost both sports culture and eco-tourism in the Kashmir Valley.

The colorful Himalayan Kingfisher was revealed as the official mascot of KIWSF 2025.

Logo: A Tribute to the Valley

The newly launched logo captures the essence of Kashmir’s landscape and its connection to water

 

IMPORTANT DAYS

Independence Day

Every year Independence Day in India is observed on the 15th of August.

On this Independence Day in India 2025-day people across India commemorate the country’s independence from 190 years of British colonial rule in India.

Independence Day marks the day when India got freedom from British rule after a tough battle for independence.

During World War I, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the leader of the Indian Independence Movement.

On August 14, 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India conveyed an iconic speech “Tryst with Destiny”. After this speech at midnight, India officially declared free from British rule and turned into an independent nation on August 15, 1947.

On 15th August 1947, the National Flag was raised by Jawaharlal Nehru at the Red Fort which is located in Delhi.