Current Affairs 18 September 2025

PIB Current Affairs

Person in News

• President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
• President of Guyana Dr Irfaan Ali
• Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon
• Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese
• Prime Minister of Bhutan  Tshering Tobgay
• Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni
• Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu
• Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Kamla Persad-Bissessar
• Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape
• Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit

Prime Minister visit to Madhya Pradesh

• Prime Minister Visited Madhya Pradesh on his birth anniversary which coincides with the Birth anniversary of Lord Vishwakarma.
• Prime Minister launched ‘Swasth Nari, Sashakt Parivar (SNSP) Abhiyaan’ and  8th Rashtriya Poshan Maah at Dhar, Madhya Pradesh.
• 10 lakh health camps organized from 17 September 2025 to 02 October 2025.
• The Swasth Nari Sashakt Parivar Abhiyaan marks the largest ever health outreach for women and children in India.
• The Prime Minister laid foundation stone for the Country’s first Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar District.
• The Government of India has declared 15th November 2024 to 15th November 2025 as Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh. 
• The Prime Minister has launched the Adi Karmayogi Abhiyan – a responsive governance mission envisaged as the world’s largest tribal grassroots leadership programme, covering 11 crore tribal citizens across 1 lakh villages in 30 States/UTs.

Election Commission of India revises guidelines

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) has revised the existing guidelines under Rule 49B of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, for the design and printing of EVM Ballot Papers to enhance their clarity and readability.
• Colored photographs of candidates will be printed in colour on the EVM Ballot Paper. 
• Serial numbers of candidates/NOTA will be printed in the international form of Indian numerals. The font size will be 30 and in bold for clarity.
• The EVM Ballot Papers will be printed on 70 GSM paper. 
• For Assembly Elections, pink-coloured paper of specified RGB values shall be used.
• For the first time Colored photographs and upgraded Ballot Papers will be used in Bihar elections.

Yatri Sewa Diwas 2025

Minister of Civil Aviation Rammohan Naidu launched the initiative of ‘Yatri Sewa Diwas’ at airports across the country. The occasion was marked with free medical check-ups and health awareness campaigns at the airports, with a special focus on women travelers under the Swastha Nari, Sashakt Parivar Abhiyan. This initiative was launched from Hindon Airport at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

PM Vishwakarma and National SC-ST Hub Mega Conclave

The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India organised a ‘PM Vishwakarma and National SC-ST Hub Mega Conclave’ today in Bodh Gaya, Bihar. The event was held to commemorate the second anniversary of PM Vishwakarma Scheme. 

About PM Vishwakarma Scheme

• Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman Yojana or simply PM Vishwakarma Scheme was launched by MSME Ministry on 17 September 2023 in Coimbatore.
• Objective: To provide end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople who work with their hands and tools.
• Aim: It was proposed to support more than 3 million families through the scheme with a budgetary allocation of ₹130 billion (US$1.5 billion) between 2023-24 and 2027-28.
• The scheme provides two training levels both with a ₹500 daily stipend. It further supports artisans with up to ₹15,000 in tool kit e-vouchers, and comprehensive marketing assistance from the National Committee for Marketing (NCM), covering all the required documentation. 
• The scheme also offers collateral-free business development loans with an interest rate of 5%.
• The Tamil Nadu government stopped implementing the PM Vishwakarma Scheme stating it as ineffective.

National Policy on Geothermal Energy (2025)

The Government of India has notified the National Policy on Geothermal Energy (2025), reinforcing its commitment towards achieving the ambitious 2070 Net Zero Goal and strengthening the country’s energy security through diversified renewable energy sources. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) acts as the Nodal Agency for Geothermal Energy related initiatives.

Know more about National Policy on Geothermal Energy.

15th Finance Commission Grants for  Rural Local Bodies

The Union Government has released 15th Finance Commission grants for Rural Local Bodies during financial year 2025–26, disbursing the 1st installment of untied grants amounting to Rs.127.586 crores for Tamil Nadu and Rs.214.542 crores for Assam.

Grants for Rural Local Bodies/Panchayat Raj Institutions

• Recommend: The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Jal Shakti (Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation) assess and recommend XV-FC grants for Rural Local Bodies (RLBs/PRIs).
• Release: The Ministry of Finance (MoF) releases the approved amount to States in 2 installments each financial year.
• Transfer: States pass funds to Gram Panchayats, Block Panchayats, Zilla Parishads as per eligibility.
• Use:
• Untied Grants: For local felt needs across the 29 subjects in the Eleventh Schedule — not for salaries/establishment costs.
• Tied Grants: Strictly for (a) sanitation & ODF maintenance (incl. household waste & fecal sludge mgmt) and (b) drinking water, rainwater harvesting, water recycling.

India’s First 240-Volt Electric Motorcycle Platform

The Technology Development Board (TDB), Department of Science & Technology, has extended support for the development and commercialization of a 240-volt electric motorcycle platform, a first-of-its-kind technology in the Indian two-wheeler segment. The supported project is being undertaken by Raptee Energy Pvt. Ltd., Chennai.

Hindu Current Affairs

‘Dheera’ shifted from Kuno to Gandhi Sagar

On the third anniversary of Project Cheetah, a 7.5-year-old female cheetah Dheera was released into the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (Mandsaur–Neemuch, MP) to join male cheetahs Prabhas and Pavak.

Currently 24 cheetahs are there at Kuno and 3 at Gandhi Sagar (Dheera + 2 male cheetahs).

About Kuno National Park (Madhya Pradesh)

• Location & name: North-west Madhya Pradesh (Sheopur region), named after the Kuno River.
• Status: Wildlife Sanctuary (1981) → National Park (2018); dry deciduous–savanna mosaic (Khathiar-Gir ecoregion).
• Role in Project Cheetah: First Indian site to host reintroduced African cheetahs (Namibia 2022; South Africa 2023).

About Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (Madhya Pradesh)

• Location & area: Mandsaur & Neemuch districts, 368.62 km²; established 1974 (area added in 1983).
• Landscape: Chambal River cuts the sanctuary into two; habitat is dry deciduous woodland and grassland around the Gandhi Sagar reservoir.

Development & Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic & Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNC)

Two members of the Development & Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic & Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNC) wrote to the Prime Minister seeking statutory backing, permanent Commission status, more members & staff, financial powers, and dedicated budgets for nomadic community welfare.

Background: Bhiku Ramji Idate Commission (Dec 2017): listed ~1,200 DNT/NT/SNT communities already in SC/ST/OBC lists + 269 yet unclassified; Anthropological Survey recommended categorisation; action pending with Social Justice Ministry.

Board creation: Feb 2019 under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment as a Board (not a permanent Commission). Current Board Members Bharatbhai Patni and Pravin Ghuge.

CAG building an AI LLM for audits

The Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) is developing a large language model (LLM) to help auditors mine decades of inspection reports and institutional know-how—improving data analysis, risk spotting, and drafting of audit documents. Version 1 is slated for November.

A new “Connect” portal will give ~10 lakh auditee entities a single digital window to respond to audit queries; launch targeted for November 2025 (unveiling during the State Finance Secretaries’ Conference week).

Japanese Encephalitis

• Agent: Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a flavivirus
• Vector: Culex mosquitoes (esp. C. tritaeniorhynchus), breeding in rice fields & stagnant water.
• Reservoir/Amplifier: Wading birds (natural reservoirs); pigs = major amplifying hosts. Humans are dead-end hosts (no person-to-person transmission).
• Geography: Rural/suburban Asia–Pacific; season peaks around monsoon/post-monsoon.
• Incubation: ~5–15 days.
• Clinical spectrum: Most infections asymptomatic. Symptomatic: acute fever, headache, vomiting → encephalitis (altered sensorium, seizures, focal deficits). Case fatality can be high; neurological sequelae common in survivors.
• Diagnosis: JE IgM MAC-ELISA in CSF/serum
• Treatment: Supportive (no specific antiviral): airway/ICP control, seizure management, fluids, complications care.

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