25th July 2025 Daily Current Affairs

🇮🇳 National Highlights

📌 Cooperative & Financial Reforms

• The government unveiled the National Cooperative Policy 2025, aiming to triple the cooperative sector’s GDP contribution by 2034, with digital integration and inclusion of villages, women, tribes, Dalits, and youthThe National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) is now empowered with enhanced oversight powers, strengthening reporting standards across companies

🛒 Governance & Regulatory Moves

• Ajay Seth, former Finance Secretary, has been appointed as the new Chairman of IRDAI, signaling a more reform‑oriented regulatory phase in India’s insurance sector

• Karnataka’s Cabinet passed the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2025, criminalising minor engagements and offering expanded social security for gig workers under new legislation

🛡️ Security & Education Advisory

• The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a nationwide security advisory to Centrally Funded Higher Education Institutions, specifically flagging potential terror threats in campuses like Allahabad University and MNNIT

🚹 Social Policy Initiative

• The Palna Scheme, under Mission Shakti, provides safe crèche facilities, nutrition, growth monitoring, and immunization services for children aged 6 months to 6 years

🌍 International & Diplomatic Affairs

🤝 Major Trade Breakthrough

• The India–UK Free Trade Agreement, signed on 24 July, eliminates tariffs on 99% of Indian exports and gradually eases UK tariffs on Indian imports; also includes provisions for work visas, qualification recognition, and temporary Indian workers’ social security exemption. It now awaits parliamentary ratification and should enter into force by mid‑2026

📅 State Visits

• Indian Prime Minister Modi is on a state visit to the Maldives on 25–26 July, aiming to reinforce strategic ties, regional cooperation, climate resilience, and infrastructure development

📈 Economy & Finance

📊 Growth & Monetary Projections

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) lowered India’s 2025–26 GDP forecast to 6.5% (from 6.7%), citing global trade volatility and uncertainty from U.S. tariff policies. Simultaneously, India Ratings & Research (Ind‑Ra) revised growth projections to 6.3%

• A Reuters poll anticipates the Reserve Bank of India will maintain its repo rate at 5.50% in early August, with potential further cuts later in the year. Inflation is projected at 3.4%, and GDP growth is expected at 6.4% for FY26

🧠 Tech & Industry

🤖 Fusion AI Summit in Visakhapatnam

• The Fusion AI Summit, held in Vizag on 25–26 July, aims to position Andhra Pradesh as a national AI hub by 2030. Topics include generative, physical, edge, decentralized, and hyperautomation AI. Key participants include NVIDIA and state IT/MicroSmall‑Business ministers

🏅 Sports & Culture

♟️ Chess Milestones

• Indian chess player Divya Deshmukh became the first-ever Indian woman to reach the final of the FIDE Women’s World Cup, reflecting India’s rising prominence in global chess

📋 At‑a‑Glance Summary