Daily Current Affairs- 2nd August 2025

Daily Current Affairs- 2nd August 2025

Indigenous Kavach 4.0 Safety System Commissioned

In the News: Indian Railways formally commissioned its indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection system, Kavach 4.0, on the Mathura–Kota section of the high‑density Delhi–Mumbai rail corridor. This marks the first deployment of Version 4.0 after approval by an Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) and underscores the nation’s push toward modern, indigenous rail‑safety infrastructure aligned with the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative .

Key Points

• First Section Commissioned: The 324 km Mathura–Kota stretch became the first railway segment to host Kavach 4.0 in live service, approved by ISA after exhaustive trials. It aims to prevent train collisions and enhance operational safety .
• Version Upgrades & Certification: Kavach 4.0 was certified by RDSO in July 2024, and upgraded for safe operation at up to 160 km/h motion (approved in 2025). It introduces improved positioning accuracy, signal-degree logic for rail yards, station‑to‑station optical‑fibre communications, and direct interfacing with Electronic Interlocking systems.
• World‑class Safety Integrity (SIL‑4): The system operates at Safety Integrity Level 4, the highest level defined in CENELEC standards. It enforces automatic braking, in‑cab signalling, even in poor visibility conditions like fog .

Telecom‑scale Deployment: Deployment requires building a complex telecom‑style infrastructure:

• RFID tags at ~1 km intervals and near signals for precise train localization.
• Optical fibre cables spanning 5,856 km.
• 619 telecom towers installed along the track.
• Integration with station Kavach units and onboard Loco Kavach systems with direct Brake Interface Units .

New Textile Parks Under PM MITRA Scheme to Boost India’s Textile Sector

In the News: The Government of India formally approved the establishment of seven PM Mega Integrated Textile Region & Apparel (PM MITRA) parks across Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. These parks are anchored by a central ₹4,445 crore outlay (FY 2021–22 to FY 2027–28), with a strategic goal of attracting ₹70,000 crore in investments and generating roughly 20 lakh direct and indirect jobs .

Key Points

• Seven Strategic Locations Selected: Identified PM MITRA sites include: Tamil Nadu (Virudhnagar), Telangana (Warangal), Gujarat (Navasari), Karnataka (Kalaburagi), Madhya Pradesh (Dhar), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow), and Maharashtra (Amravati) .
• Scale and Investment Ambition: The scheme earmarks ₹4,445 crore in capital support over seven years. It targets ₹70,000 crore of total investment and creation of ~2 million jobs .
• Integrated "Fiber‑to‑Fashion" Value Chain: Each park is designed to host the entire textile value chain—spinning, weaving, processing/dyeing, and garment manufacturing—within a contiguous area of over 1,000 acres with plug-and-play infrastructure .
• Financial Incentives Framework:
  • Development Capital Support (DCS): Up to 30% of project cost, capped at ₹500 crore (greenfield) or ₹200 crore (brownfield).
  • Competitiveness Incentive Support (CIS): Up to ₹300 crore per park, to accelerate land/building development and onboarding anchor units.
• Job Creation Potential per Park: Each MITRA Park is expected to generate ~1 lakh direct jobs and ~2 lakh indirect jobs, intensifying employment opportunities in both manufacturing and ancillary services .
• Skill Development Synergies:
  • The Samarth Scheme supports demand-driven, placement-oriented training across the textile value chain (excluding fiber and weaving), with 80 centres already active in Haryana .
  • The National Technical Textiles Mission, backed by ₹1,480 crore (2020–26), nurtures innovation in the higher-value technical textiles segment .
• State-Level Momentum:
  • Tamil Nadu’s Virudhnagar Park: A ₹1,900 crore (~US $221 million) project on 1,052 acres, slated for completion by September 2026, targeting 1 lakh jobs and export-grade infrastructure including zero-liquid-discharge effluent treatment, hostel accommodation and built-to-suit units .
  • Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar Site: 1,550 acres to be offered in Q2 FY 2025–26 with ₹1 lakh crore investment aspirations and creation of 100,000 jobs; includes facilities such as logistics, healthcare and dormitories .

71st National Film Awards (2023) – Officially Announced August 1, 2025

In the News: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) publicly unveiled the winners of the 71st National Film Awards, honoring Indian films certified between 1 January and 31 December 2023 by the Central Board of Film Certification. The announcement took place at the National Media Centre, New Delhi, following submission of the jury’s report to Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Dr L Murugan . The film 12th Fail won Best Feature Film, while veteran actors Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji secured acting honours for the first time in their careers .

Key Points

Major Awards

• Best Feature Film (Swarna Kamal): 12th Fail (Hindi), produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s RSVP, credited for its narrative blend of realism and emotional depth .
• Best Actor in Leading Role (Rajat Kamal + ₹2 lakh):
  • Shah Rukh Khan for Jawan (his first-ever National Film Award), celebrated for combining mass appeal and substance .
  • Vikrant Massey had a joint win for 12th Fail, marking his first NF⁠A and spotlighting his underdog, patriotic turn .
• Best Actress in Leading Role: Rani Mukerji for Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway, awarded her first National Film Award for a deeply empathetic portrayal .

Direction & Popular Film

• Best Direction: Sudipto Sen for The Kerala Story (Hindi), a controversial yet impactful portrayal of identity and radicalisation .
• Best Popular Film for Wholesome Entertainment: Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (Hindi), director Karan Johar’s rom‑com epic recognized for its high-octane spectacle and mass appeal 

India’s Resolution on the Wise Use of Wetlands Adopted at Ramsar COP15

In the News: On 30 July 2025, at the conclusion of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP15) to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, India’s resolution titled “Promoting Sustainable Lifestyles for the Wise Use of Wetlands” was formally adopted by all 172 Contracting Parties along with 6 International Organisation Partners—marking the first-ever Indian-led resolution embraced by the global Ramsar community .

Key Points

• Resolution Title: “Promoting Sustainable Lifestyles for the Wise Use of Wetlands”—India’s maiden resolution to the Ramsar Convention.
• Adoption Details: Garnered unanimous support from all 172 Parties plus 6 co-developing international institutions, and was endorsed in the COP15 plenary session on 30 July 2025.
• Core Message: Underlines the critical role of individual and societal lifestyle choices (e.g., sustainable consumption, resource conservation, waste minimization) as drivers for wetland conservation—advocating a pro‑planet behavioural shift in line with India’s Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) .
• Whole‑of‑Society & CEPA: Calls for a multi-stakeholder engagement—including governments, civil society, communities, academia, and private sectors—backed by targeted Communication, Education, Participation & Awareness (CEPA) interventions, echoing Ramsar Resolution XIV.8 and the UNEA 6/8 (2024) sustainable lifestyle mandate .
• Integration into Planning & Finance: Recommends embedding lifestyle-centred interventions in wetland‑management plans, investment portfolios, and development programmes, empowering public-private collaboration, education-at-all-levels, and evidence-based local action .
• Alignment with Global Frameworks: Anchored in Ramsar resolution XIV.8, the 10‑Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption & Production (10YFP), and India’s Mission LiFE (launched at UNFCCC COP26) as its behavioral-change engine.
• India’s National Wetland Actions:
  • Mission Sahabhagita & Save Wetlands Campaign mobilized over 2 million citizen-volunteers, mapping 170,000 wetlands and demarcating 120,000 boundaries in the last three years.
  • Within 1 year, India restored 68,827 small wetlands through a GIS‑enabled, participatory programme linked with Amrit Sarovar, Mission Sahabhagita, and cross-sector convergence.
• India’s Global Position: India has declared 91 Ramsar‑wetlands, covering 1.36 million hectares—the largest such network in Asia, and the third‑largest globally.
• COP15 Wider Outcomes:
  • Formal adoption of 13 resolutions, including ones on migratory bird flyway conservation, river dolphin and freshwater restoration policies, and refinement of Ramsar site criteria using IUCN Red List data .
  • Launch of the 5th Ramsar Strategic Plan (2026–2035) featuring 4 goals and 18 measurable targets, to be monitored by STRP (Scientific & Technical Review Panel).

Ashtamudi Wetland Conservation

In the News: The Kerala High Court ruled on a Public Interest Litigation, ordering the State Government and the State Wetland Authority Kerala (SWAK) to establish a dedicated Ashtamudi Wetland Management Unit within two months. The unit must hold its inaugural meeting promptly, develop a standard operating procedure (SOP), and complete a site-specific Integrated Management Plan (IMP) within six months—with an interim draft in the meantime. It must also host a public feedback platform, including audio‑visual reporting tools, on its website to facilitate local involvement.

Key Points

• Ramsar Site with International Significance: Ashtamudi Lake—a palm-shaped estuarine wetland in Kollam district—was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2002. It spans ~61 km² and supports unique mangrove ecosystems, migratory birds, fisheries and inland navigation; yet it has been closely monitored due to mounting ecological stress.
• Legal Mandate Under Environment Laws: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a ₹10
  crore penalty on Kerala in 2023 for non‑compliance with the Wetlands (Conservation & Management) Rules, 2017, citing industrial and residential pollution, untreated sewage, solid‑waste dumping, and encroachment into the lake’s natural basin.
• Severe Ecological Stress: Surveys (2019–2021) revealed fecal coliform counts well above permissible norms, dissolved oxygen levels dipping below biological norms at several stations, and loss of mangroves and fish‑breeding habitats. The lake's area has reportedly shrunk from ~61 km² to under ~34 km² due to dredging, sedimentation, sand‑mining and unregulated shoreline development.
• Withdrawal of Old IMP / New One in Progress: Kerala’s previously approved Integrated Management Action Plan has lapsed. A revised IMP is being prepared under the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA), in collaboration with Wetlands International South Asia and expert agencies, incorporating hydrology, ecology, human‑dimension and pollution control strategies.

SpaceX Launches NASA’s Crew‑11 Mission to the International Space Station

In the News: On August 1, 2025, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center with the Crew Dragon ‘Endeavour’ carrying NASA’s Crew‑11, marking the 11th crew rotation mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Key Highlights

• Launch & Vehicle: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the reusable Crew Dragon Endeavour from KSC at 11:43 a.m. EDT, overcoming a one-day delay due to bad weather NASA.
• Crew Composition: The four-person team includes Commander Zena Cardman (NASA) on her first flight, Pilot Mike Fincke (NASA) making his fourth station flight (382 cumulative days in space), Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui (JAXA) on her second mission, and Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov (Roscosmos) on his first flight.
• Docking & Arrival: The spacecraft autonomously docked to the Harmony module at 2:27 a.m. EDT on August 2 after ~15 hours in orbit; hatches opened ~2 hours later before a brief handover with Crew‑10.
• Mission Duration & Research Focus: Crew‑11 is scheduled for a ~six‑month stay, with NASA evaluating an up-to‑eight‑month extension to better align U.S.–Russia ISS crew schedules; research tasks include lunar landing simulations, astronaut vision protection, plant & cell biology studies, and on‑demand nutrient generation experiments.
• Programmatic & International Significance: This mission reinforces NASA’s reliance on private-sector crew transport via SpaceX, and underscores continued collaboration among NASA, JAXA, and Roscosmos, even amid broader geopolitical tensions and high-level talks between agency leadership during the launch window.
• Operational Context: Zena Cardman and Oleg Platonov were reshuffled onto Crew‑11 following delays with the Boeing Starliner crewed programme; Fincke’s experience includes flights on Soyuz and the Space Shuttle relapse-end Endeavour final mission; Yui’s involvement reflects Japan’s ongoing ISS partnership