Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 2nd August 2025

Bio-fortified Potatoes:

India is taking a significant step in tackling micronutrient deficiencies and improving agricultural sustainability by introducing bio-fortified potatoes with enhanced iron content, developed by the International Potato Center (CIP) based in Peru.

• Bio-fortified potatoes are a new variety enriched with higher iron content aimed at addressing iron deficiency and hidden hunger. These are developed using conventional breeding and biotechnology without altering taste or yield.
• The initiative is led by the International Potato Centre (CIP), based in The CIP is a global research leader in tuber crops and is working actively to promote nutritionally improved potatoes in India.
• Bio-fortified sweet potatoes enriched with Vitamin A are already available in Karnataka, Assam, West Bengal, and Odisha. Plans are underway to expand their access to more farmers across India.
• The current focus is on iron-fortified potato varieties, for which germplasm has been shared with ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla.
• A variety has already been released in Peru and is currently under evaluation and adaptation for Indian agro-climatic conditions.
• CIP is establishing a South Asia regional centre in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, acknowledging the Indo-Gangetic plains as the world’s largest potato-producing region.
• This centre will boost regional R&D and seed access.
• ICAR has released biofortified seed varieties across 61 crops, including 34 field crops (cereals, pulses, millets, oilseeds) and 27 horticultural crops (tubers, vegetables, medicinal plants).
• Biofortification is the process of enhancing the nutrient content of crops using conventional breeding, agronomic techniques or modern biotechnology.
• It helps increase vitamin and mineral levels in staple crops.

ICRISAT’s AI-based Agromet Advisory Service:

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and ICAR have launched an AI-based context-specific Agromet Advisory Service to boost farming.

• ICRISAT’s AI-based Agromet Advisory Service is a new initiative harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to provide real-time, personalized climate advisory services to farmers.
• It aims to equip smallholder farmers with hyper-local, actionable weather and climate insights, enabling them to make informed decisions amid increasing climate variability.
• The initiative will provide farmers with timely, actionable recommendations for critical decisions such as sowing, irrigation, and pest management.
• These advisories will be delivered through user-friendly digital channels, including an AI-powered WhatsApp bot, ensuring easy access even in remote farming communities. ​
• The project is supported under the Government of India’s Monsoon Mission III.
• The project will first be implemented in Maharashtra, through ICAR’s Agro-Meteorological Field Units (AMFUs) to reach smallholder farmers. Insights from this phase will inform a national rollout and serve as a model for South-South expansion.
• The Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA-ICAR), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) joined the initiative.
• The Intelligent Systems Advisory Tool (iSAT), a digital platform developed and piloted by ICRISAT and partners during Monsoon Mission II is now being upgraded into a fully functional AI-powered tool under this new initiative.
• iSAT was initially designed to transform complex climate and agronomic data into personalised, science-based advisories.

Collusive Litigation:

The Supreme Court has taken a suo motu cognisance of “collusive litigations” by officials of the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) recently.

• It is defined as a lawsuit where the parties involved are not genuinely adversarial, but rather cooperate to achieve a desired outcome or to challenge the constitutionality of a law.
• These suits often involve a degree of cooperation between the parties, who may share a common goal or interest in the outcome.
• The potential for abuse, where parties may collude to manipulate the judicial process or achieve an outcome that might not be possible through other means.
• The risk of undermining the adversarial system, where the court’s decision is based on a genuine dispute between parties.
• The potential for collusive suits to be used as a means of circumventing the normal legislative process.
• In India, collusive decrees can be set aside if the party challenging the decree is not a party to it and can prove collusion or fraud.
• The High Court has the authority to intervene in cases where a decree is found to be collusive, particularly under Article 227.
• A party to a collusive decree cannot seek to have it set aside. This principle is established in various cases where the courts have ruled that only parties not involved in the collusion may challenge the decree.
• The burden of proving that a decree was obtained collusively lies with the party seeking to set it aside.
• Courts have held that under a general prayer for relief, they can set aside a decree if it is found to be collusive, even if a specific prayer for setting aside was not made.

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve : Population Of Tiger Increased

The tiger population in Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) has increased to around 80, up from 71 over the past three years, according to an internal survey conducted jointly by PTR and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

• It is located in the Pilibhit District, Lakhimpur Kheri District and Bahraich District of Uttar Pradesh, in the upper Gangetic Plain Biogeographic Province.
• It lies along the India-Nepal border in the foothills of the Himalayas and is part of the Terai Arc Landscape.
• The total area of the reserve is 730 sq.km., inclusive of 602 sq.km. core zone.
• The river Gomti originates from the PTR, which is also the catchment of several others like Sharda, Chuka, and Mala Khannot.
• The habitat is characterized by dense sal forests and tall alluvial grasslands, savannahs, and impenetrable swamps, maintained by periodic flooding from rivers.
• The Sharda Sagar Dam, extending up to a length of 22 km, is on the boundary of the reserve.
• It has a dry and hot climate, which brings a combination of dry teak forest and Vindhya Mountain soils.
• It is home to a myriad of wild animals, including the endangered tiger, swamp deer, Bengal florican, hog deer, leopard, etc.

July Declaration:

Bangladesh’s interim government under Muhammad Yunus will unveil the “July Declaration” on August 5, 2025, marking one year since the student-led uprising that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

• The July Declaration is a proposed constitutional document drafted by Bangladesh’s interim government to officially recognize the 2024 student-led uprising, aiming to symbolise a political break from authoritarianism and affirm democratic renewal.
• The July Uprising (2024) was led by Students Against Discrimination (SAD).
• It triggered mass protests across Bangladesh, leading to the fall of the Awami League regime on August 5, 2024.
• Public calls for the declaration intensified, branding the movement as a push for a “Second Republic”.
• Objectives of the July Declaration:
  • To grant constitutional recognition to the July Uprising.
  • To unify the nation under the ideals of anti-fascism, democratic resurgence, and inclusive governance.
  • To chart a transitional roadmap for political reforms and citizen participation in governance.

Central Industrial Security Force : Recruitment Of Additional Personnel

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently approved the recruitment of 58,000 additional personnel for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), anticipating future industrial hubs in areas now affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE).

• It is a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) in India.
• It is directly under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and its headquarters are in New Delhi.
• Motto: “Protection and Security”
• The CISF came into existence in 1969 through the CISF Act 1968 with a sanctioned strength of only three battalions.
• The original charter of CISF was to provide integrated security cover to certain sensitive public sector undertakings.
• The Act was amended in 1983 declaring the CISF as an Armed Force of the Union.
• The force has since grown into a premier multi-skilled organization with a present strength of more than 188,000 personnel.
• The CISF at present provides security cover to 359 establishments across the country.
• CISF is headed by an Indian Police Service officer with the rank of Director-General, assisted by an IPS officer in the rank of Addl. Director-General.
• The force is divided into seven sectors (Airport, North, North-East, East, West, South, and Training), and also has a Fire Service Wing.
• The CISF security umbrella includes India’s most critical infrastructure facilities, like nuclear installations, space establishments, airports, seaports, power plants, etc.
• The specialized task of airport security was assigned to CISF in the year 2000 in the wake of the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814 to Kandahar.

China and Russia began joint naval drills:

China and Russia began joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan recently.

• The Sea of Japan, or East Sea, is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean.
• It is bound by Japan and Sakhalin (Sakhalin Oblast, Russia) to the east and by mainland Russia, North Korea and South Korea to the west.
• It covers an area of 978,000 sq.km.
• The sea is almost elliptical, having its major axis from southwest to northeast.
• It is connected with the East China Sea in the south via the Tsushima and Korea straits and with the Okhotsk Sea in the north by the La Perouse and Tatar straits.
• In the east, it is connected with the Inland Sea of Japan via the Kanmon Strait and the Pacific Ocean by the Tsugaru Strait.
• The average depth is 1,667 meters. Dohoku Seamount, an underwater volcano, is its deepest point.
• Its relatively warm waters contribute greatly to the mild climate of Japan.
• Few rivers discharge into the sea, and their total contribution to the water exchange is within 1%.
• Its water balance is mostly determined by the inflow and outflow through the straits connecting it to the neighboring seas and the Pacific Ocean.
• Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean.
• The sea has no large islands, bays, or capes. Except for the South Korean island of Ulleungdo, all the other small islands are situated near the eastern coast of the sea.
• The sea is known for its high concentration of oxygen (dissolved in the seawater), which results in high biological productivity.
• Mining for mineral deposits like magnetite, natural gas, and petroleum are some of the major economic activities that are carried out in the Sea of Japan.

India Ranks Second Globally in Fish Production:

India has once again affirmed its strong position in the global fisheries sector, securing the second rank in fish production worldwide, according to Union Minister of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Rajiv Ranjan Singh. The announcement was made during a meeting in Kolkata, where the minister chaired discussions with representatives from West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh to explore ways of further boosting fish production.The Union Minister revealed that India’s fish production has increased by 103% in 2024–25 compared to 2013–14. This remarkable growth reflects the impact of government schemes and the increasing participation of rural communities in fisheries and aquaculture. The minister stressed that West Bengal, with its abundant ponds and water resources, especially in rural areas, holds immense potential to further contribute to the nation’s fish output.

Sikkim has become the first state in India to introduce a Sabbatical Leave Scheme:

Sikkim has become the first state in India to introduce a Sabbatical Leave Scheme for government employees, offering them a unique opportunity for personal and professional development while retaining job security. This progressive policy is aimed at improving workforce well-being, career growth, and administrative efficiency in the state’s governance system.The scheme applies to regular state government employees who have served at least five years continuously. Under the policy, employees can avail of sabbatical leave ranging from 365 days to a maximum of 1,080 days.

• Employees will receive 50% of their basic pay during the leave period.
• Seniority is preserved, ensuring smooth continuity in their service records.
• The government retains the right to recall employees with a one-month notice, if required.
• This balance between flexibility for employees and safeguards for the government makes the scheme a model for employee-friendly governance.

India Post Payments Bank Launches Aadhaar-Based Face Authentication for Digital Banking:

The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has launched a nationwide Aadhaar-based face authentication feature for customer transactions. Developed under the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) framework, this innovation is designed to ensure financial inclusion while enhancing both security and convenience.The new feature allows customers to carry out banking transactions using facial recognition, eliminating the need for fingerprints or one-time passwords (OTPs). This contactless method is particularly beneficial for individuals who face challenges with biometric verification, such as the elderly, differently-abled, or those with worn fingerprints.