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One Liners 25-08-2026
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Geography
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Global Ocean – Hottest Day Record
Recently, On Aug 22, 2026, global sea surface temperature hit 21.1°C, highest ever.
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Region – Extra‑polar oceans (60°N–60°S) averaged 21.104°C, above previous record (March 2024).
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Timing – Unusual peak in August; normally highest in March–April.
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Cause – Strong El Niño is developing in the tropical Pacific.
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Adding warmth to an ocean that has already been heating over many decades because of human-driven climate change.
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Impact – Risks to marine ecosystems, coastal communities; marine heatwave days tripled since 1990s.
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Significance – Warmer oceans drive sea‑level rise, intensify storms, weaken carbon absorption.
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Economy
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Kanda Express for Onion Transport
Onion prices up 19% in a month
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Measure – Centre launches ‘Kanda Express’ trains from Nashik to Delhi, Chennai, Kochi, Guwahati.
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Cause - Lower onion output and tighter supplies.
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Objective – Move onions from surplus to deficit markets, ease supply pressure.
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Impact – Aims to control food inflation, reduce household burden, stabilise retail prices.
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Agriculture
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First Non‑GMO High‑Expansion Popcorn Maize Hybrid
Recently, Vice‑President unveiled India’s first indigenous non‑GMO popcorn maize hybrid in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh.
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Non-Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) High-Expansion Popcorn Maize Hybrid Seed – Hybrid seed fo r high‑expansion popcorn.
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Features – High‑expansion kernels, premium popcorn quality; integrated value chain with processing, storage, packaging.
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Significance – Reduces dependence on imported hybrids, conserves foreign exchange, strengthens Aatmanirbhar Bharat, builds globally competitive popcorn ecosystem.
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Environment
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ALTERRA – UAE Climate Fund
USD 30 billion climate fund launched by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at COP28.
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Purpose – Finance clean energy and climate resilience projects in developing countries.
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Context – Western nations caused most emissions; UAE uses hydrocarbon wealth to help fill climate‑finance gap.
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Principle – Based on CBDR-RC (Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities), nations with more economic capacity must take more responsibility.
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Significance – Shows emerging financial powers like UAE can support global climate goals along with traditional donors.
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Science
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Green AI Data Centre
Andhra Pradesh govt sanctions AM AI Factory project.
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Location – Amanam village, Bheemunipatnam mandal, Visakhapatnam district.
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Aim – To facilitate the rapid development of the large-scale AI data centre, highlighting the state's commitment to attracting significant digital infrastructure investments and fostering regional growth in Visakhapatnam.
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Capacity – The facility will have a 512-MW capacity and is targeted for completion in two years and four months.
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Support – State to provide power infra, water supply, fiscal incentives (stamp duty, electricity duty exemptions).
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Employment – Up to 1,000 jobs expected.
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First module of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS)
Union Cabinet clears first module BAS‑1 under revised Gaganyaan Programme.
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Timeline – Eight missions by Dec 2028; BAS‑1 launch in 2028; full station by 2035.
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Scope – Human spaceflight extended to precursor missions, uncrewed flight, new hardware.
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Vision – Operational BAS by 2035, Indian crewed lunar mission by 2040.
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Significance – Boosts microgravity research, tech spin‑offs, industrial participation, jobs in high‑tech space sectors.
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India’s First Indigenous 5 kN Air‑Breathing RDE
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Launch – Defense startup D‑Propulse demonstrated 5 kN Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) with aerospike nozzle.
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Hot‑fire test at DRDO facility; incubated at IIT Madras.
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Validation – Achieved Technology Readiness Level‑5 (TRL‑5) in relevant environment.
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Features – Pressure‑gain combustion, 15–25% higher efficiency, simpler design without moving parts.
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Target – Flight‑ready engine by Dec 2027.
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Applications – Future defense platforms: cruise missiles, drones, high‑speed UAVs.
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Significance – Strengthens India’s indigenous propulsion ecosystem and advanced air‑breathing capabilities.
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Index
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Information Technology Resilience Index – SEBI Framework
SEBI launches IT Resilience Index (ITRI) for Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs).
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Scope – Applies to stock exchanges, depositories; assesses IT systems across 9 parameters.
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Parameters – Availability, security (20% each); integrity, governance, reliability, monitoring, continuity, flexibility (10% each); scalability, incident handling (5% each).
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Mechanism – MIIs to compute ITRI half‑yearly, submit comparative analysis with corrective actions.
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Support – Early Warning System (EWS) for detecting deterioration; real‑time monitoring of service delivery.
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Deadline – Full rollout by Feb 28, 2027.
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Significance – Strengthens resilience, oversight, and governance of market IT systems.
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Miscellaneous
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Sophie Adenot - First French Woman to Walk in Space
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Mission– With NASA astronaut Anil Menon, worked 6.5 hrs on ISS antenna replacement.
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Challenge – Task unfinished due to time limits; electrical connections delayed installation.
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Scheduled second spacewalk on Aug 25 using Canadarm2 to complete antenna job.
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Significance – Historic achievement for European astronauts; adds to ISS maintenance programme.
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