Current Affairs - National

Angikaar 2025 is a two-month nationwide campaign launched by the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs to strengthen the implementation of PMAY-U 2.0. Running from 4th September to 31st October 2025, the campaign focuses on bridging last-mile delivery gaps, raising awareness about housing benefits, and fast-tracking applications for urban housing. It covers more than 5,000 Urban Local Bodies, prioritises vulnerable groups, and integrates related welfare schemes like CRGFTLIH and PM Surya Ghar. Angikaar 2025 is designed to ensure that no eligible urban family is left behind in the mission of affordable and sustainable housing for all.

UIDAI achieved a record milestone by registering 221 crore Aadhaar authentications in August 2025, marking a 10.3% growth compared to the same period in 2024. This surge reflects India’s increasing reliance on digital identity verification for various services. A significant highlight was face authentication, which rose sharply to 18.6 crore in August 2025 from 6.04 crore in August 2024, bringing the cumulative total of face-based transactions to over 213 crore. More than 150 entities now utilise AI-driven face authentication, offering secure and convenient service delivery across multiple sectors, thereby strengthening India’s digital transformation journey.

The memoir Mother Mary Comes To Me by Arundhati Roy was launched in Kochi, marking the first time one of her books was unveiled in her home state, Kerala. The launch event was jointly organised by Penguin Random House and DC Books at St Teresa’s College, Kochi. The memoir is deeply personal, reflecting on her mother’s influence, her own journey as a daughter and writer, and her relationship with her brother LKC. The celebrated writer K. R. Meera introduced the book during the event, which added to its cultural significance and highlighted Roy’s strong literary presence in Kerala.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced a new intraday monitoring framework with the objective of ensuring greater market stability and reducing systemic risks. Under this framework, net intraday positions in equity index derivatives are capped at ₹5,000 crore, replacing the earlier end-of-day cap of ₹1,500 crore. The gross intraday exposure limit of ₹10,000 crore per entity remains unchanged. Exchanges are instructed to take multiple random snapshots during trading hours, including peak sessions, to monitor compliance. This framework officially comes into effect on October 1, 2025, marking a significant regulatory shift in market risk management.

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of 26 judges to the Allahabad High Court, which is currently struggling with a record number of vacancies. Out of a sanctioned strength of 160 judges, only 84 are in position, leaving 76 seats vacant—nearly half the court’s capacity. The fresh recommendations consist of 14 judicial officers and 12 advocates, including two senior women lawyers, Garima Parshad and Swarupama Chaturvedi. This move represents one of the largest single batches of recommendations for any High Court in recent years. By strengthening the Allahabad High Court, the initiative aims to reduce case backlogs, improve efficiency, and ensure faster delivery of justice while also promoting greater gender diversity in the judiciary.