Current Affairs for Competitive Exams: 25 July 2026, Daily Roundup
Current Affairs – 25 July 2026
National Affairs
1. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Tenders Resignation: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan formally tendered his resignation following widespread student protests over competitive examination irregularities and paper leaks.
2. Paper-Leak Crisis & Public Examination Reforms: Competitive-examination irregularities remained a major national issue, with Parliament witnessing disruptions for the fifth consecutive day over the NEET paper-leak controversy and student protests.
Key Developments:
- The Union Cabinet approved a draft Bill for fast-track courts and stricter punishment in paper-leak and examination-malpractice cases.
- The Supreme Court directed the Centre and NTA to explain progress on institutional reforms following the NEET-UG paper leak.
- Naresh Pal Gangwar, a 1994-batch Rajasthan-cadre IAS officer, was appointed Secretary, Department of Higher Education.
Correction to supplied note: The uploaded source reports the resignation of Union Minister Ravneet Singh, not Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. President Droupadi Murmu accepted Ravneet Singh’s resignation with immediate effect.
3. 16th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting: India hosted the 16th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting in Chandigarh under its 2026 BRICS Chairmanship.
Major Outcomes:
- BRICS Good Practices (GxP) White Paper
- Compendium on Digital Health Architecture
- BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Mental Wellness
Exam Focus: Digital health, mental healthcare, pandemic preparedness and multilateral health cooperation.
4. BHAVYA-Rasayan Scheme: The Union Cabinet approved BHAVYA-Rasayan (Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana–Rasayan) for developing dedicated chemical manufacturing clusters.
- Outlay: ₹3,030 crore
- Period: FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31
- Target: Three dedicated chemical parks
- Focus on common infrastructure, utilities and globally competitive chemical manufacturing.
5. Karnataka Semiconductor Park: Karnataka plans a 200-acre Semiconductor Park at KWIN City near Bengaluru, targeting operations from December 2026. It will support chip manufacturing, packaging, testing and electronics production.
International Current Affairs
1. Global Mining & Metals Water Dataset: The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) released its global water dataset.
Key Finding: Around 38% of global mining facilities reportedly operate in catchments facing high or extremely high baseline water stress.
Significance: Water scarcity could affect production of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt and copper, essential for batteries and the green-energy transition.
2. India–Romania Relations: President Droupadi Murmu met Romanian PM Ilie Bolojan in Bucharest. India and Romania signed agreements covering Science & Technology, Education and Sports.
3. India on Indus Waters Treaty: India rejected Pakistan’s assertions at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, reiterating that its position on the Indus Waters Treaty remains unchanged.
4. Red Sea & Bab-el-Mandeb Maritime Crisis: Persistent threats to shipping around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait continue to affect Asia-Europe trade. Bab-el-Mandeb links the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope can add roughly 10–14 days to voyages and raise freight, fuel and insurance costs.
5. Important World Updates
- Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned, citing health reasons.
- The US imposed tariffs of up to 12.5% on imports from several trading partners.
- Major wildfires in France and Spain triggered mass evacuations and requests for EU assistance.
- US military strikes against Iran continued amid tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.
Defence Update
1. Samudra Pradakshina Expedition: The historic tri-service all-women Samudra Pradakshina expedition concluded in Mumbai.
- Nine women officers from Army, Navy and Air Force
- Vessel: IASV Triveni
- Duration: 314 days
- Distance: about 25,500 nautical miles
- Covered four oceans
2. Project Kusha – Long-Range Air Defence: DRDO is advancing Project Kusha, an indigenous long-range surface-to-air missile system intended to create a layered air-defence capability against aircraft and missile threats.
3. Bhargavastra Counter-Drone System: Indigenous Bhargavastra, developed by Solar Defence and Aerospace Ltd, is nearing completion of internal trials.
4. Coast Guard MALE Drones: The Defence Ministry initiated procurement of 10 MALE drones for the Indian Coast Guard at an estimated ₹2,000 crore, aimed at strengthening maritime surveillance and domain awareness.
Science & Technology
Indigenous Semiconductor Process Design Kit: NIELIT and SCL Mohali integrated an indigenous 1.2 μm Process Design Kit (PDK) with the eChipHub platform. It will Provide students and researchers a domestic design-to-fabrication pathway for integrated-circuit development, supporting semiconductor skill development and hardware R&D.
Sports
- Durand Cup 2026: The 135th edition features the historic East Bengal–Mohun Bagan Kolkata rivalry. First held in 1888, the Durand Cup is Asia’s oldest football tournament.
- ISSF World Cup: India’s Sainyam won silver in the women’s 10 m air pistol, scoring 243.4 in the final.
- FIDE: Viswanathan Anand took charge as Interim President of FIDE following developments involving President Arkady Dvorkovich.
- Commonwealth Games 2026: Glasgow is hosting the Games from 23 July–2 August.
World Drowning Prevention Day – 25 July
Established by the UN General Assembly in 2021 to highlight drowning as a preventable public-health problem.
Miscellaneous One-Liners Current Affairs
- Punjab: Sarbat.AI initiative aims to expand AI education across school classes.
- Andhra Pradesh: Quantum-finance ecosystem proposed at Amaravati Quantum Valley.
- Telangana: Raghu Vamsi Aerospace announced a ₹600-crore superalloy manufacturing facility near Hyderabad.
- Assam: Conservation focus on the critically endangered Pygmy Hog.
- J&K: Government is preparing an Eco-Tourism Policy, expected within six months.
- SEBI: Proposed review of Portfolio Managers Regulations, 2020; PMS minimum client investment remains an important exam fact at ₹50 lakh.
