NEWS 23-08-2025. News For 29th-Aug (Friday) *National News* 1. Parliament has passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill to safeguard youth and vulnerable groups from its adverse impact. 2. The govt has sanctioned 23 chip-design projects under the Design Linked Incentive Scheme to boost India’s semiconductor design ecosystem. 3. PM Modi flagged off the Made-in-India battery electric vehicle ‘E-Vitara’ and inaugurated a hybrid battery electrodes plant in Gujarat, calling it a new chapter in Make in India. *Defence News* 1. India successfully test-fired its Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile ‘Agni-5’. 2. HAL will conduct the final weapons firing trials of the indigenous TEJAS Mk-1A fighter jet in Sep '25. 3. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh commissioned two advanced frigates, INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, in the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam. 4. The Indian Army is set to operationalize its newly raised Bhairav commando battalions by the end of Aug '25. They will be deployed in the northern sector facing China and Pakistan. *International News* 1. PM Narendra Modi will visit Japan and China later this week to strengthen strategic partnerships. 2. In Tokyo (29–30 Aug), he will attend the 15th India–Japan Annual Summit with Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba. 3. In Tianjin (31 Aug–1 Sept), he will participate in the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting. 4. External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar co-chaired the Inter-Governmental Commission with Russia in Moscow and address the India–Russia Business Forum. 5. Russia reaffirmed its energy partnership with India, offering a 5% discount on crude oil sales. 6. The 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) will be held in Belem, Brazil, in Nov '25. *Sport News* 1. India’s Anant Jeet Singh Naruka won gold in the men’s skeet event at the Asian Shooting Championships in Kazakhstan. 2. The Indian men’s 10m air rifle team, comprising Arjun Babuta, Rudrankksh Patil, and Kiran Jadhav, clinched gold in the same event. 3. Shooter Elavenil Valarivan secured gold in the women’s 10m air rifle, while Sift Kaur Samra created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual gold in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions. 4. In weightlifting, Mirabai Chanu claimed gold in the women’s 48kg category at the Commonwealth Championships in Ahmedabad. 5. Srinagar’s Dal Lake hosted the inaugural Khelo India Water Sports Festival, drawing over 800 participants from India and abroad. < < Back