Today in History (August 25th, 1948)
On this day, in 1948, Jana Gana Mana was made the provisional National Anthem till the Constituent Assembly made a final decision.
Summary of Today’s News
15th BRICS Summit
BRICS nations announced the inclusion of Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and the UAE in a landmark expansion, reinforcing the group’s multipolar world vision, at the 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg. The entry of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, representing the Gulf’s energy dynamics, holds special importance. During the summit, PM Modi conducted bilateral meetings with leaders from Senegal, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Iran and addressed the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus dialogue session, inviting participant countries to collaborate on initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, One Sun, One World, One Grid, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, One Earth, One Health, Big Cat Alliance, and Global Centre for Traditional Medicine.
Northern Sea Route (NSR)
The Northern Sea Route (NSR) links the eastern and western sectors of the Arctic Ocean, stretching from the Barents Sea near Russia’s Norway border to the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alaska. Distinguished from the Northwest Passage, which potentially connects the Atlantic and Pacific via the Canadian Arctic, the NSR solely traverses Arctic waters within Russia’s exclusive economic zone. Notably, it covers a third of the distance compared to the conventional Suez Canal route.
Sodium-ion Batteries
Coimbatore-based start-up AR4 Tech has partnered with Singapore’s Sodion Energy to manufacture sodium-ion battery packs for domestic and global markets. AR4 Tech plans to use these packs for converting traditional petroleum-based vehicles, especially two-wheelers, into electric vehicles (EVs). The emerging sector needs to establish quality and safety standards in India, highlighting the need for a conducive regulatory environment.
NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR)
NISAR, the joint venture of NASA and ISRO, stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar. It is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory that maps the globe in just 12 days. NISAR aims to offer consistent spatial and temporal data to comprehend shifts in Earth’s ecosystems, ice mass, vegetation biomass, sea levels, groundwater, and natural calamities such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and landslides.
