1 Sundarban Tiger Reserve becomes India’s second largest tiger reserve
The Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal has become India’s second largest tiger reserve with an area of 3,629.57 sq km . It has been added with three ranges in South 24 Parganas district, Matla, Raidighi and Ramganga, totalling 1,044.68 sq km . The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), headed by the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has approved the West Bengal government’s proposal to increase the area of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve (STR). The Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal has become India’s second largest tiger reserve after the National Board for Wildlife approved the expansion of 1,044.68 sq km. The sanctuary now covers an area of 3,629.57 square kilometres (sq km). The move has elevated the reserve from being India’s seventh largest tiger reserve to the second largest, improving tiger management and potentially increasing funding and tourism opportunities. With this expansion, the STR now slightly surpasses the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (3,727.82 sq km) in Andhra Pradesh in size.
2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off ‘Made in India’ battery-powered electric vehicle ‘e-Vitara’ and inaugurated hybrid battery electrodes manufacturing plant in Gujarat
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday flagged off the company’s first global battery electric vehicle (BEV) ‘ e-Vitara ‘ from Suzuki Motor Plant in Hansalpur, Gujarat . This electric car manufactured in India will be exported to more than 100 countries including advanced markets like Europe and Japan . On this occasion, PM Modi visited Suzuki’s EV manufacturing facility in Hansalpur and inaugurated the local production of hybrid battery electrodes at the TDS lithium-ion battery plant in Hansalpur in Ahmedabad district . This plant is a joint venture of Toshiba, Denso and Suzuki . Through this, more than 80 percent of the battery value will be manufactured in India itself, which will give strength to the self-reliant India campaign. Japanese automobile company Suzuki Motor Corporation on Tuesday announced that it will invest Rs 70,000 crore in India in the coming 5 to 6 years . This investment will be used to increase production capacity, bring new car models and maintain its strong position in the Indian market. It is worth noting that India is the third largest automobile market in the world. Company President Toshihiro Suzuki made this announcement at the launch of Maruti Suzuki’s first electric SUV e-Vitara at Hansalpur plant in Gujarat.
3 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched two advanced warships of the Indian Navy, INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, in Visakhapatnam
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched two advanced warships of the Indian Navy, INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri , in Visakhapatnam . This is the first time that two major surface combat ships of two prestigious Indian shipyards have been commissioned together . The second ship of the stealth frigates under Project 17A , ‘Udaygiri’ , has been built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai , while ‘Himgiri’ is the first ship of the same project built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Kolkata . Another major achievement for the Indian Navy is that Udaygiri is the 100th ship designed at the Naval Warship Design Bureau . In terms of design, Udaygiri and Himgiri are next generation ships. With a displacement of about 6,700 tonnes, these Project 17A frigates are about five per cent larger than their predecessor Shivalik-class frigates. According to the Navy, they are powered by combined diesel or gas propulsion plants using diesel engines and gas turbines driving controllable-pitch propellers and managed through an integrated platform management system. The weapon suite includes supersonic surface-to-surface missiles, medium-range surface-to-air missiles, 76 mm MR guns and a combination of 30 mm and 12.7 mm close-in weapon systems and anti-submarine/underwater weapon systems.
4 Amit Shah launches Vibrant Villages Programme workshop
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday inaugurated the two-day Vibrant Villages Program (VVP) workshop in New Delhi . The workshop was organized by the Border Management Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs . On this occasion, Amit Shah also launched the logo of the program. During this, Amit Shah said that the Vibrant Villages Program is based on three main points – first, stopping migration from border villages; second, providing 100% benefits of all the schemes of the central and state government to every citizen; and third, making these villages a means of strengthening national security. He told that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisioned this program, it was decided that it would be implemented in a phased manner.
5 ADR Report- 10 richest and most criminal Chief Ministers of India by 2025
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has recently released a report on India’s Chief Ministers with the most criminal cases and the richest Chief Ministers . According to this , Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is the top Chief Minister with criminal cases and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is the richest Chief Minister in the country . In contrast, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has declared the least assets , only Rs 15.38 lakh, which is entirely movable, she has no immovable assets. A new analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has revealed that 40% of India’s Chief Ministers have criminal cases registered against them, highlighting the current issue of criminalization of politics. The report comes at a crucial time when the government is introducing three new bills to remove the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and Ministers arrested for 30 days on serious criminal charges. The ADR analysis is based on self-sworn affidavits submitted by the Chief Ministers before contesting their recent elections. These affidavits are legally binding documents that reveal details of assets, liabilities, education and criminal background. Of the 30 sitting chief ministers of states and union territories, 12 chief ministers (40%) have declared criminal cases. 10 chief ministers (33%) have serious criminal charges against them, including attempt to murder, kidnapping, bribery and criminal intimidation.
6 Anish Dayal Singh appointed as Deputy National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister
The Government of India has appointed Aneesh Dayal Singh, a 1988 batch veteran IPS officer of Manipur cadre, as Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi . In a strategic move to strengthen India’s national security leadership, the Government has appointed Aneesh Dayal Singh, a 1988 batch veteran IPS officer of Manipur cadre, as Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rajinder Khanna has been appointed as additional NSA. This is the first time an appointment has been made to the post of additional NSA.
7 NDB appoints Rajiv Ranjan as Vice President, Chief Risk Officer
The New Development Bank (NDB) , set up by the BRICS countries, has appointed Dr Rajiv Ranjan, former member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as its Vice President and Chief Risk Officer (CRO) . The announcement was made on August 23, 2025, under which Dr Ranjan will have a tenure of five years. Dr Ranjan is a seasoned economist and central banker with over 35 years of experience. He started his career with RBI in 1989.
8 Project Aarohan launched to fulfil educational aspirations of toll plaza employees
The National Highways Authority of India-NHAI has launched the Aarohan project to fulfill the educational aspirations of toll plaza employees . The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said that the initiative aims to remove financial barriers and provide equal access to quality education to students from economically weaker sections. Five hundred students from class 11 to the final year of graduation will be covered under the project. Each student will get an annual scholarship of Rs 12 thousand during the financial year 2025-26 . In addition, fifty meritorious students aspiring for postgraduate and higher education will be provided scholarships of Rs 50,000 each .
9 To ensure overall food security and to prevent hoarding, the government imposed storage limits on wheat
The government has imposed storage limits on wheat to manage overall food security and prevent hoarding . The storage limits will apply to traders, wholesalers, retailers, large retail chains and processing units in all states and union territories. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said that the storage limit of wheat for traders and wholesalers has been reduced from 3000 metric tonnes to 2000 metric tonnes . In this sequence, the storage limit for retailers has been reduced to 8 metric tonnes. The ministry has directed all wheat storage units to declare the storage status every Friday on the wheat storage portal.
10 Cabinet approves Divyangjan Udyam Yojana and many important proposals in Bihar
The Bihar government has approved the new ” Mukhyamantri Divyangjan Udyami Yojana ” for disabled persons in the cabinet meeting held on Tuesday . This scheme will start under the ” Sambal ” scheme of the Social Welfare Department and will be run on the lines of the Chief Minister Minority Udyami Yojana of the Industries Department. The purpose of this scheme is to encourage Divyangjan towards self-employment and entrepreneurship . Rs 10.25 crore will be spent for its operation in the financial year 2025-26. A total of 26 agendas were approved in the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The most important decision among these was to approve the Bihar Industrial Investment Promotion Package, 2025. Along with this, the government also decided to increase the dealer commission under the National Food Security Act, 2013. Earlier this rate was Rs 90 per quintal (Rs 45 central share and Rs 45 state share), but now it will be increased to Rs 258.40 per quintal from September 2025. In this, Rs 90 will be added from the center and state share and Rs 47 additional from the state scheme.
11 Mirabai Chanu won gold in Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship
Tokyo Olympics silver medalist and former world champion Mirabai Chanu won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Ahmedabad on Monday . With the gold medal, Chanu directly qualified for the 2026 Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow . Mirabai Chanu won the gold medal in the 48 kg category . Chanu not only won the gold medal by lifting a total of 193 kg (84 kg snatch + 109 kg clean and jerk) , but also set new Commonwealth records in snatch, clean and jerk and total weight. Malaysia’s Irene Henry (161 kg) won the silver and Wales’ Nicole Roberts (150 kg) won the bronze medal. The International Weightlifting Federation has removed the 49 kg category. Because of this, Chanu returned to the 48 kg category. Chanu participated in this weight category in 2018. She has been the world champion in this weight category.
12 MCA unveils Gavaskar’s statue
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) took a historic initiative at the Wankhede Stadium on 23 August 2025. Paying tribute to the legends of Indian cricket, the MCA unveiled the statue of former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar and inaugurated the Sharad Pawar Cricket Museum . The move salutes Mumbai’s rich cricket tradition, honouring the contributions of both a great batsman and a visionary administrator.