Daily Current Affairs – 04-08-2025
States’ News
Delete caste column from appraisal forms: T.N. police panel
As part of several measures recommended to eradicate caste conflicts in the State and bring about uniformity in the police force, the Tamil Nadu Fifth Police Commission has called for deleting the caste/community column from the performance appraisal forms of police personnel, official sources said. The performance appraisal or Annual Confidential Report (ACR) is a crucial document that decides the professional growth of police personnel and officers in the force with regard to increments, promotions, medals, empanelment, deputation, etc. In the Tamil Nadu Police, the ACR forms meant for Head Constables and Special Sub-Inspectors, who form a sizeable chunk of the 1.25 lakh force, have a reference to their caste/community. There is also a column that seeks to know their contribution in lawfully assisting the oppressed classes during their period of appraisal, the sources said.
₹52.44 Crore for Millet Production Increase
The Tamil Nadu government has announced that a project to increase millet production will be implemented in the current financial year (2025-2026) in two special millet zones at a cost of ₹52.44 crore. Accordingly, a target of 39.28 lakh metric tonnes of millet production has been set for 10 lakh hectares. It is noteworthy that last year (2024-25), 4.15 lakh farmers benefited from this scheme with an allocation of ₹46 crore. Millets are small in size, rich in nutrition, and strengthen the body. To further strengthen this, the United Nations announced 2023 as the International Year of Millets. The Tamil Nadu government, endorsing this, announced a five-year plan for 2023-2024 through the Tamil Nadu Millet Mission. Accordingly, two special millet zones have been created in Tamil Nadu. Special Zone-1 comprises 12 districts: Tiruvannamalai, Salem, Kallakurichi, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Vellore, Namakkal, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, and Erode. Special Zone-2 comprises 13 districts: Tiruchy, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Pudukkottai, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Tenkasi, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Dindigul, and Theni. Through these special zones, the Tamil Nadu government has allocated ₹52.44 crore to increase the area under millet cultivation and production. This will enable all farmers cultivating millets in the 25 districts covered by these two special zones to benefit. Under this scheme, production increase projects for Kodo millet, Foxtail millet, Finger millet, Little millet, Barnyard millet, Pearl millet, and Sorghum will be implemented, and necessary technological assistance will be provided to farmers. Additionally, the millet package demonstration includes seeds, micronutrient mixtures, bio-fertilizers, bio-agents, organic inputs, and harvesting subsidies. A subsidy of ₹6,000 per farmer per hectare is provided.
Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Plant at ₹16,000 Crore
The Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will inaugurate Tamil Nadu’s first electric vehicle manufacturing plant, valued at ₹16,000 crore, in Thoothukudi on Monday (Aug 4). The Vietnam-based VinFast, a leading global electric vehicle manufacturer, had signed an agreement with the Tamil Nadu government to establish its plant in Thoothukudi at a cost of ₹16,000 crore. This Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the Global Investors Meet held in Chennai in 2024. This factory is located on 408 acres at SIPCOT, Vilangurichi, on the Madurai bypass road in Thoothukudi. In its first phase, the factory will be built on 114 acres at a cost of ₹1,119.67 crore, including 2 workshops, 2 warehouses, and a vehicle testing center. VL-6 and VL-7 type cars will be produced here. There are plans to produce 1.50 lakh vehicles annually. This factory will be Tamil Nadu’s first electric vehicle manufacturing plant.
Transport Services Commence at Thoothukudi Airport
Air transport services commenced on Sunday from the expanded Thoothukudi Airport, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Thoothukudi is a district in Tamil Nadu that boasts excellent connectivity, including a port, road transport, rail transport, and air transport, second only to Chennai. All transport infrastructures in this district are being upgraded. As part of this, the Thoothukudi Airport was expanded to international standards at a cost of ₹452 crore, spread over 886 acres. The airport, with its completed works, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 26. Following this, air services from the airport began on Sunday.
Sports News
Anirudh-Ramkumar Pair Wins Lexington Challenger
Second seeds Anirudh Chandrasekar and Ramkumar Ramanathan clinched the doubles title in the $100,000 Challenger in Lexington, USA. They defeated Yu Hsiou Hsu and Tsung-Hao Huang with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the final. This was the 29th doubles title for Ramkumar. It was Anirudh’s 13th doubles title and third of the season. Anirudh achieved a career-best ranking of 87.
Indian Doubles Pairs Finish Runners-Up in Brazil WTT
The top-seeded Indian mixed doubles pair of Manush Shah and Diya Chitale lost to the Japanese duo of Satoshi Aida and Honoka Hashimoto in the final of the WTT Star Contender tournament in Foz do Iguacu (Brazil) on Sunday. The scores were 4-11, 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 2-11. Earlier on Saturday, the men’s doubles duo of Manush and Manav Thakkar (seeded No.1) lost to second seeds Benedict Duda and Dang Qui in the final. The scores were 3-11, 11-7, 7-11, 15-13, 5-11.
Brazil Becomes Champion for the 9th Time in Copa América
In the South American Women’s Copa América football tournament, held in the South American continent, Brazil defeated Colombia in a penalty shootout to become champions. This is the 10th edition of the tournament, and Brazil has now won the title for the 9th time. Notably, they have claimed the championship despite losing one of the five matches they played this year. The top scorers of the tournament, with six goals each, were Amanda Gutierrez from Brazil and Gloria Martinez from Paraguay.
Athletics: Murali Sreeshankar Wins Gold
In the Kosanov Memorial Athletics Meet held in Kazakhstan, Indian long jump athlete Murali Sreeshankar impressed by winning the championship title. This is notably his third gold medal in his first full season of complete recovery. Having earlier won gold at the Indian Open and Vilnius meets, he outperformed the current competitor in this event as well, who jumped 7.75 meters.
Science and Technology News
Ladakh Seeds Studied at the International Space Station
Seeds of the important sea buckthorn and buckwheat plants, which grow in the cold desert region of Ladakh in India, have been sent to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard NASA’s Crew-11 mission. A study will be conducted on how these seeds perform in the microgravity environment of space. The American bioastronautics company, Jaguar Space, is leading this research. Seeds from 11 countries across five continents, including India, the Maldives, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Egypt, and Pakistan, are part of this study. From India, the sea buckthorn and nutrient-rich buckwheat seeds grown in Ladakh have been selected for this research. A Bangalore-based space startup, Protoplanet, supplied these seeds. Siddharth Pandey, the director of Protoplanet, stated, “A study will be conducted on whether these seeds can be used as a food source during long-duration space missions. The seeds will be kept in microgravity at the space station for a week and will then be brought back to Earth by the Crew-10 spacecraft. Upon their return to Earth, the seeds will be extensively studied by Indian researchers. Jaguar Space has expressed confidence that this research will help in identifying new crop varieties resilient to climate change and will also aid future space agriculture.
International News
5 Years Imprisonment for Advertising on Social Media
The British government has toughened its stance, implementing a plan to impose 5-year prison sentences on individuals who advertise on social media to facilitate illegal immigration and the acquisition of fake passports. The British government issued an announcement regarding this on Sunday. This measure has been taken by the British government due to the increasing number of individuals illegally entering Britain via small boats across the English Channel. Strict action will be taken against human trafficking gangs who advertise through unsafe social media and other online platforms to aid illegal immigration and fake passport procurement, and they will face severe government penalties. Individuals advertising on social media will be subject to up to 5 years imprisonment and fines.