Mon Aug 18 05:10:00 UTC 2025: ## Key Highlights from UPSC Weekly Current Affairs Quiz: Energy Independence, Defense, and Digital Literacy

**New Delhi, August 10, 2025** – This week’s UPSC Essentials quiz, a current affairs resource for competitive exam aspirants, covered critical developments in India’s journey towards energy independence, enhanced national security, and digital empowerment.

**Energy Independence Boost:** Prime Minister Modi announced a significant push for energy self-reliance during his Independence Day address. He emphasized the government’s commitment to opening the nuclear energy sector to private players and aims to increase nuclear generation capacity tenfold by 2047. This initiative seeks to curb India’s reliance on costly petroleum imports, which accounted for over 22% of total imports in the last fiscal year. The PM also highlighted the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), aimed at boosting self-sufficiency in vital resources.

**”Sudarshan Chakra Mission” for Enhanced Security:** Inspired by Lord Krishna, PM Modi unveiled the “Sudarshan Chakra Mission,” a major defense initiative to safeguard strategic, civilian, and religious sites. This comprehensive security shield aims to integrate cutting-edge technology to protect public spaces nationwide by 2035.

**India to Join Elite Deep-Sea Club:** Union Science Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh announced that by 2027, India will send its first manned deep-sea mission under the Samudrayaan project. The indigenously developed Matsya6000 submersible will carry a crew of three to a depth of 6,000 meters, enabling exploration and access to valuable seabed minerals. Only five other countries currently possess this capability.

**Kerala Set to Become India’s First Digitally-Literate State:** Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will declare Kerala as India’s first digitally-literate state on August 21st, following the successful “Digi Keralam” program. This initiative has trained volunteers to provide digital literacy to over 2.1 million individuals across the state, bridging the digital divide.

**Other Key Developments Covered:**

* India’s first hydrogen trainset is ready for trials, developed with a 1200 horsepower engine by RDSO. The government is set to run 35 Hydrogen-powered trains on various heritage/hill routes.
* The ISRO-NASA joint mission, NISAR, successfully deployed its antenna, promising unprecedented Earth observation capabilities.
* Air Chief Marshal A P Singh said the Indian Air Force (IAF) took down “at least” five Pakistani fighter jets and “one large aircraft”, and that the S-400 missile system, bought from Russia, had been a “game-changer”.
* Parliament recently passed a new income tax Bill to replace the six-decade-old Income Tax Act, 1961. The new Bill clarified that there will be nil TCS on Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) remittances for education purposes financed by any financial institution, a provision that had gone missing in the earlier version.

This weekly quiz serves as a valuable tool for UPSC aspirants to stay updated on key national and international developments. For more detailed information and explanations, readers can access the UPSC Essentials magazine for July 2025.

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