August 2025

In short: India's schemes, budget and infrastructure this month — distilled for SI/Constable Prelims.

Current Affairs — India › Economy & Infrastructure · 17 min read · Free to read · English & Telugu

Bilingual study notes for the Andhra Pradesh Police SI & Constable exams (SLPRB AP) by AP Police Hub, a product of Anvil Academy.

31 economy stories from August 2025 — S&P's sovereign-rating upgrade, the US tariff hike to 50%, the new Income-tax Act, a wave of central schemes (PAN 2.0, Apna Ghar, PM SVANidhi restructuring), and fresh energy/infrastructure milestones.

Sea buckthorn (Leh Berry) branches laden with orange berries, Ladakh — Sea buckthorn ('Leh Berry'), Ladakh — the high-altitude Himalayan crop this month's digest flags as a livelihood option for cold-desert farming communities · Karunakar Rayker / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

August 2025 — At a Glance

August 2025 mixed good and bad economic news. S&P upgraded India's sovereign rating for the first time in 18 years even as the US doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50%. Parliament passed the new Income-tax Act; the government launched or expanded a wide range of schemes — from PAN 2.0 to Apna Ghar for truckers — and hit fresh milestones in green hydrogen, waterways and sustainable aviation fuel.

1. Macro-Economy, Tax & Trade

S&P upgrades India's sovereign credit rating

What — S&P Global raised India's long-term sovereign credit rating from BBB- to BBB — the first upgrade by S&P in 18 years (previous one in 2007).
Why — Improved fiscal discipline (fiscal deficit below 3% of GDP for only the second time since FRBM Act 2003), robust real GDP growth, low stable inflation.
Note — BBB remains the lowest rung of investment grade.

US raises tariffs on Indian goods to 50%

What — US added a further 25% tariff, taking the total to 50% from 27 August 2025 — citing India's continued purchase of discounted Russian crude oil.
Impact — Could shave over 0.5 percentage points off India's GDP; labour-intensive exports (textiles, gems & jewellery, carpets) hit hardest; IT services and pharma largely unaffected.
India's response — 'Quiet non-submission' — resisting without public confrontation; red lines on sovereignty (Russia ties, BRICS) and protecting agriculture/dairy.

New Income-tax Act, 2025

What — Replaces the six-decade-old Income-tax Act, 1961; retains existing tax rates/regimes/penalties unchanged, focuses on simplifying language and introducing a 'tax year' concept.
Dates — President's assent 21 August 2025; applies from 1 April 2026 (AY 2026-27).

Other fiscal & trade developments

Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025 — Amends direct-tax provisions to align with the new Income-tax Act, 2025 and close transitional gaps between the old and new tax regimes.
Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 — Amends RBI, Banking Regulation and public-sector-bank Acts — raises the nominee limit per bank account to four, tweaks 'substantial interest' thresholds for directorships.
Shortfall in cess transfer — Parliamentary scrutiny flagged that cesses collected by the Centre (e.g., health/education cess) are not fully transferred to their designated funds — reducing states' effective share of central revenue.
Supply & Use Tables — A national-accounts statistical tool mapping the supply and use of goods/services across the economy — used to refine India's GDP estimation methodology.
Public Accounts Committee on toll collection — PAC flagged irregularities and revenue leakage in National Highway toll collection, recommending tighter audit and FASTag-based monitoring.
Special Rupee Vostro Accounts — RBI's mechanism allowing foreign banks to hold Rupee accounts for trade settlement in INR, reducing dependence on the US dollar for bilateral trade.
RBI's '7 Sutras' — AI in financial sector — An RBI committee recommended 26 actionable steps under seven guiding principles (trust, people-first, innovation-over-restraint, fairness, accountability, explainability, safety) for responsible AI adoption in finance, including an AI innovation sandbox.

2. Government Schemes & Digital Platforms

Several central schemes reported fresh scale milestones in Parliament this month — from free legal aid to trucker welfare and jobseeker services.

Nyaya Bandhu (NB) Legal Aid Programme — Government's flagship Pro Bono Legal Services scheme (launched 2017, under DISHA scheme). Nearly 14,888 women beneficiaries registered by June 2025; Pro Bono Clubs in 109 law colleges.
Apna Ghar Initiative — Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas welfare scheme via Oil Marketing Companies — safe rest facilities for truckers at highway fuel outlets. 368 'Apna Ghar' units with 4,611 beds as of July 2025.
National Career Service (NCS) Portal — One-stop digital jobseeker-employer platform (launched 2015). More than 48 lakh employers registered by July 2025; 6.43 crore+ vacancies mobilised.
Sikkim's Sabbatical Leave Scheme — Sikkim became the first state to formalise Sabbatical Leave for government staff — up to 1,080 days (3 years) at 50% basic pay for employees with 5+ years' service.
PAN 2.0 Project — Upgrades PAN into a unified 'business identifier' with a QR code and paperless, real-time issuance — integrating with other government digital platforms.
Saksham Niveshak — SEBI/exchange-backed financial literacy and investor-education initiative aimed at building informed retail participation in capital markets.
Inoperative PMJDY accounts — Government data flagged a large share of Jan Dhan (PMJDY) accounts turning inoperative, prompting a re-activation and financial-inclusion follow-up drive.
Restructuring & extension of PM SVANidhi — The street-vendor micro-credit scheme was restructured and extended, raising loan slabs and easing repeat-loan eligibility for street vendors.
Skill Impact Bond — An outcomes-based financing model where investors fund skilling programmes upfront and are repaid by the government/donors based on verified employment outcomes.
Export Promotion Mission — A dedicated mission to support exporters — especially MSMEs — with credit access, market intelligence and compliance support amid rising global tariff barriers.
Project Aarohan — A government initiative to scale up support for social enterprises and grassroots innovation, expanding access to funding and mentorship.
Women-led Economic Growth for Viksit Bharat 2047 — A policy push framing women's workforce participation and entrepreneurship as central to India's goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047.
NITI Aayog's Model Framework for Homestays — Report 'Rethinking Homestays' recommends a light-touch regulatory framework, a centralised digital registration portal, and destination-level incentives — tourism sector employs 4.325 crore people (1 in 11 Indian jobs).

3. Infrastructure, Industry & Energy

National Waterway 57 operationalised — A new inland waterway declared operational, expanding India's push for cost-effective, low-carbon cargo movement on rivers/canals under the National Waterways programme.
First auction of Green Ammonia — India held its first competitive auction for green-ammonia production/offtake under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, discovering benchmark prices for the sector.
Green Hydrogen Plant at Kandla — A new green-hydrogen production facility commissioned at Kandla (Gujarat), supporting India's National Green Hydrogen Mission target of 5 MMT annual production by 2030.
India's 1st Sustainable Aviation Fuel plant — India commissioned its first Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production plant, a step toward the government's SAF-blending mandate for domestic flights.
Mega Tinkering Day — A nationwide innovation-showcase event under the Atal Tinkering Lab network, encouraging school-level STEM experimentation and grassroots innovation.
Mines & Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2025 — President's assent given; lets lease-holders add critical/strategic minerals (lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, gold, silver) to an existing lease without extra payment, aligned with the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM).
IMEC's future in doubt — The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (announced at the 2023 G20 New Delhi Summit) faces fundamental obstacles as the Gaza war strains Israel-Jordan-Gulf ties central to its western leg.
H-1B visa changes affecting Indian professionals — US officials criticised the H-1B programme amid immigration-tightening moves; Indians accounted for over 72% of approved H-1B petitions in 2023, making any restriction economically significant for India's IT/skilled-worker exports.

4. Agriculture & International Partnerships

AI-based Agri Advisory Services — Government-backed AI tools now advise farmers on crop selection, pest alerts and weather-linked decisions, integrated with the Digital Agriculture Mission's data stack.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana — Umbrella food-processing scheme supporting cold-chain, mega food parks and agro-processing clusters — reduces post-harvest losses and boosts farmer income.
Grant-in-aid to National Cooperative Development Corporation — Central grant boosting NCDC's lending capacity for cooperative-sector agri-projects — storage, processing and marketing infrastructure for farmer cooperatives.
Sea buckthorn and Himalayan Buckwheat — High-altitude Himalayan crops being promoted for their nutritional/medicinal value and as a livelihood option for cold-desert farming communities (e.g., Ladakh, Spiti).
India & World Food Programme Partnership — India deepened cooperation with the UN's World Food Programme on food-security technology and South-South knowledge sharing, building on India's own PDS/nutrition expertise.