KARNATAKA ISSUE

• The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) said that it had won two awards at the Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards-2025 held in Singapore.
• Bengaluru Rural police have launched a new initiative to combat rising cybercrime. Spearheaded by SP C.K. Baba, the campaign includes a QR code-enabled website and awareness videos. These resources, now accessible at all rural police stations, allow citizens to file complaints online via email or WhatsApp and access crucial information. The move aims to empower citizens with knowledge to prevent scams, emphasizing the “golden hour” for reporting to increase chances of fund recovery. The drive will also feature workshops and seminars to ensure a broad reach.
• Karnataka’s ‘Shakti’ scheme, offering free bus travel to women, has been recognized by the Golden Book of World Records for facilitating over 500 crore rides in just two years.
• The Karnataka High Court has ruled that a woman can also be charged with the offence of sexual assault under the gender-neutral POCSO Act. The court refused to dismiss a case against a 52-year-old woman accused of compelling a 13-year-old boy to have sex with her in 2020. The ruling clarifies that the POCSO Act’s provisions apply to any person, regardless of gender, who commits sexual assault against a minor, challenging traditional stereotypes about offenders.

POLITY

• The Union Home Ministry informed the J&K and Ladakh High Court that the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir can nominate five members to its Legislative Assembly without ministerial advice. While Parliament and Legislative Councils allow nominated members, Lok Sabha and State Assemblies ended Anglo-Indian nominations in 2020. Under the J&K Reorganisation Act (2019, amended 2023), 90 members are elected and five nominated. Judicial rulings highlight tensions between Union powers and UT autonomy, raising concerns about democratic accountability.

SCHEMES

• The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by K.C. Venugopal, has urged reforms in toll collection on National Highways, highlighting issues of perpetual tolling despite cost recovery. Recommendations include ending indefinite tolls, setting up an independent regulatory authority, ensuring commuters pay less during roadworks, and fixing FASTag glitches. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, with NITI Aayog, is reviewing the toll framework to balance infrastructure financing, user affordability, and transparency in line with public interest.
• The Ministry of Education has launched five free Artificial Intelligence (AI) courses on the SWAYAM Plus portal to boost digital skills. The courses include AI/ML Using Python, Cricket Analytics with AI, AI in Physics, AI in Accounting, and AI in Chemistry. Each course spans 25–45 hours, ending with assessments and certifications. SWAYAM, launched in 2017, is India’s MOOC platform, while SWAYAM Plus (by IIT Madras) adds industry collaborations, AI-enabled guidance, and multilingual content
• On 14 August 2025, the National Health Authority (NHA) and C-DAC signed an MoU to launch e-Sushrut@Clinic, a lightweight cloud-based Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) for small and medium healthcare providers. The platform, adapted from the e-Sushrut model used in 17 AIIMS and 4000+ facilities, is ABDM-enabled, offering modules for patient records, billing, prescriptions, and telemedicine. It aims to bridge digitization gaps, ensure data security, and strengthen the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission ecosystem.

SCIENCE

• A new IISc study, led by Dr. Nikhil Gandasi, has uncovered mechanisms in glucose uptake that could shape future Type-2 diabetes treatments. Using advanced live-cell imaging, researchers tracked GLUT1 and GLUT2 transporters, showing how in healthy cells they cycle via clathrin-mediated endocytosis to trigger insulin release. In Type-2 diabetes, this process falters, impairing glucose entry. The study shifts focus from glucose metabolism to glucose entry, highlighting therapeutic potential in restoring GLUT function to improve insulin response.
• Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will begin commercial production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) at its Panipat refinery by December 2025, after securing ISCC CORSIA certification to manufacture SAF from used cooking oil. SAF, a biofuel derived from sustainable feedstocks like cooking oil, algae, and residues, can cut emissions by up to 80%, offering major environmental and energy security benefits. However, high costs, feedstock constraints, and infrastructure requirements remain challenges as India prepares for aviation decarbonisation mandates.
• Kerala’s health department issued an alert in Kozhikode after three cases of Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) caused by Naegleria fowleri, the “brain-eating amoeba,” were detected. One child died, while two others remain critical. PAM, a rare but often fatal disease, enters through the nose during water exposure and affects the brain. Kerala, which reported its first case in 2016, has pioneered India’s first treatment protocol, reducing the fatality rate to 25% against the global 97%.
• India, with over 530 million livestock and 125 million companion animals, lacks a national framework for veterinary transfusion medicine. To address this, the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying has released draft SOPs for Animal Blood Transfusion & Blood Banks. The SOPs propose strict donor selection norms, establishment of 24×7 blood banks at veterinary institutions, creation of a National Veterinary Blood Bank Network (N-VBBN), and stress on voluntary donations with owner consent, aiming to improve animal health, rural economy, and biosafety.
• Larsen & Toubro’s green arm, L&T Energy Greentech, has won a tender to build India’s largest green hydrogen plant at IOCL’s Panipat refinery, aligning with the National Green Hydrogen Mission for decarbonisation and energy security. The plant will support green ammonia production, a 100% renewable and carbon-free alternative to conventional ammonia. Green ammonia, produced via electrolysis-powered hydrogen and atmospheric nitrogen through the Haber-Bosch process, has applications in fertilisers, industry, clean fuel, and power generation.