KARNATAKA

• Government data from Karnataka shows a worrying rise in stillbirths, with the state recording 3.41 per 1,000 births in 2024–25. Five districts—Haveri, Dharwad, Chamarajanagar, Gadag, and Mysuru—reported the highest rates, with urban areas (7.28%) faring worse than rural (0.19%). Out of 9.91 lakh births, 3,244 were stillbirths. Causes include birth-related stress, breathing complications, poor fetal growth, strenuous maternal work, lifestyle factors like diabetes and obesity, and delays in reaching hospitals or accepting C-sections.
• Karnataka reported 13,235 snakebite cases and 100 deaths in 2024, a sharp rise from 6,596 cases (19 deaths) in 2023. Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao attributed the surge to shrinking habitats, poor waste management, and human-snake encounters. Tumakuru recorded the highest fatalities, Hassan the highest cases. Snakebite was declared a notifiable disease under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act, 2024. With 2,138 PHCs and 20 taluk hospitals stocked with anti-venom, officials assured sufficient medical preparedness.
• Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru was ranked the most punctual “large” airport globally in July 2025 by aviation analytics firm Cirium. The airport achieved an on-time performance (OTP) of 92.35% for departures and 86.10% for arrivals, serving 105 routes with 38 airlines. In the first six months of 2025, KIA, which is the country’s third-busiest airport, handled 21.9 million passengers. Other Indian airports that made it to Cirium’s top 20 list for large airports were Chennai (2nd), Kolkata (5th), Hyderabad (10th), and Delhi (14th). Chennai had an OTP of 87.35% for departures and 82.39% for arrivals.
• A Sanskrit inscription reading “Sri Gopalakrishnaya Namaha Sri,” written in the Nandi Nagari script, has been discovered on a pillar at the Sri Venugopala Swamy Temple in Mereddipalli, Sri Sathya Sai district. According to historian MyNaa Swamy, this single-line inscription dates back to the early Vijayanagar period of the 14th century and may belong to the Sangama dynasty, specifically the reigns of Devaraya I or Devaraya II. The pillar, located in the shrine’s “Mukha Mandapam,” also features sculptures of Narasimha Swamy and Sri Mahavishnu. The historian also noted a separate, neglected Telugu inscription from Bukka Raya II, which records the construction of a tank and a water supply canal in 1388 CE.

POLITY

• In August 2025, the Supreme Court intervened twice where High Courts allowed criminal proceedings in civil disputes, ruling that business disagreements like unpaid consignments cannot automatically be treated as criminal offences. The SC stressed the distinction between civil law (remedy-focused, plaintiff vs. defendant, proof on preponderance of probabilities) and criminal law (punishment-focused, state vs. accused, proof beyond reasonable doubt). Civil cases generally take longer, with only 37.91% resolved within a year compared to 70.17% of criminal trials.
• Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai inaugurated the Bombay High Court’s new circuit Bench in Kolhapur district. The Bench was inaugurated after years of demands raised by different stakeholders to ease the burden for litigants and lawyers facing difficulty in travelling to Mumbai. At present, apart from the principal Bench in Mumbai, the High Court has two more Benches — at Nagpur in the Vidarbha region and Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) in the Marathwada region. A third Bench of the High Court sits in adjoining Goa.

ENVIRONMENT

• At least 65 people died and over 50 went missing in flash floods caused by torrential rains in Chasoti village, Kishtwar, en route to Machail Mata temple. An IMD study notes Jammu & Kashmir witnessed 2,863 extreme weather events (2010–22), with flash floods and landslides frequent. Climate change, warming Himalayas, western disturbances, glacial lake outbursts, and human activities intensify such disasters. Mitigation includes resilient infrastructure, water management, early warning systems, afforestation, community training, and climate-smart agriculture.
• A new term, “healthocide,” has been coined by researchers in a BMJ Global Health article to describe the deliberate, large-scale destruction of a population’s healthcare system in conflict zones. The word aims to capture a more extreme pattern of violence than “attacks on healthcare” and equates such actions to genocide. The authors argue that this coordinated strategy to dismantle health systems, including killing clinicians and bombing hospitals, demands stronger legal protections. The term has received mixed reactions, with some experts supporting its use to galvanize the medical community, while others question its necessity.

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

• The Trump-Putin Alaska Summit underscored renewed US-Russia trade cooperation, with bilateral trade rising 38% to $2.5 billion despite global tensions over Ukraine. While Trump praised Russia as a key partner, India faced backlash as the US imposed 25% tariffs on Indian imports for buying Russian crude. India called the move “unfair”, citing energy compulsion. The summit exposes contradictions in Washington’s policy—boosting trade with Moscow while penalizing partners like India—raising concerns over future Indo-US trade ties.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS

• On the 79th Independence Day, PM Modi delivered the longest-ever 103-minute address, unveiling key initiatives under the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. Major highlights included the ₹1 lakh-crore PM-VBRY for job creation, GST reforms by Diwali 2025, a Reform Task Force to drive a $10 trillion economy, and missions on defence security, nuclear energy (100 GW by 2047), and semiconductors (domestic chips by 2025). The PM stressed self-reliance across defence, technology, and energy as the foundation of national growth.