Science & Technology (August 2025)

1: Space Exploration (The "NSpD" Momentum)

1. 2nd National Space Day (August 23, 2025)

• The Theme: "Aryabhatta to Gaganyaan: Ancient Wisdom to Infinite Possibilities."
• The Event: Held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. It commemorated the 2nd anniversary of the Chandrayaan-3 soft landing.
• Key Announcement: The Government unveiled the "Space Vision 2047" roadmap, targeting a functional Indian Space Station (Bharatiya Antariksh Station) by 2035 and an Indian on the Moon by 2040.

2. Gaganyaan & Chandrayaan-4 Updates

• Gaganyaan Status: In August, ISRO successfully completed the Drogue Parachute Deployment Tests, a critical safety milestone for the re-entry of the crew module.
• Vyommitra Flight: ISRO confirmed the first uncrewed flight with the humanoid robot Vyommitra is scheduled for December 2025.
• Chandrayaan-4: The government formally approved the ₹2,104 crore budget for this "Sample Return" mission, which aims to bring lunar soil back to Earth by 2027.

2: Defence & Strategic Systems

1. Agni-5 Test-Firing (August 20, 2025)

• The News: India successfully test-fired the Agni-5 nuclear-capable ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range in Odisha.
• Significance: The test validated its MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle) technology, which allows a single missile to deliver multiple warheads to different targets.
• Range: Confirmed at 5,000+ km, placing India in an elite group of nations with ICBM-level reach.

2. Naval Inductions: Aatmanirbhar Bharat

• INS Udaygiri & INS Himgiri: Two advanced stealth frigates under Project 17A were commissioned/delivered in August 2025.
• INS Ikshak: The third of the Survey Vessels (Large) was inducted in August, boasting over 80% indigenous content.
• Mission Sudarshan Chakra: Announced by the PM on Aug 15, this mission aims for 100% self-reliance in Jet Engine technology and advanced drone-neutralizing systems by 2035.

3: IT, AI & 6G Roadmap

1. Bharat 6G Vision (August 21)

• The News: The Ministry of Communications released a roadmap for the Rollout of 6G Technology by 2030.
• Investment: As of July 31, 2025, the government has already approved 104 projects related to 6G technology worth ₹275.88 Crore.
• Key Goal: Transitioning from 5G to "AI-Native" 6G networks with ultra-low latency.

2. AI & DeepTech Initiatives

• India AI Compute Capacity: The PM announced that India will add 24,000 GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) within the next 6 months to bolster the domestic AI ecosystem.
• Sovereign AI Stack: Andhra Pradesh and Telangana launched competing "AI War Rooms" and "Sovereign AI Stacks" in August to localize AI data processing and governance.