Current Affairs Quiz – July 2025

Notes:
Recently, the National Sample Survey Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) launched the Government of India Statistics (GoIStats) mobile application on Statistics Day 2025. The GoIStats app aims to build a strong data ecosystem where everyone can easily access official data anytime. It has an interactive Key Trends dashboard showing important socio-economic indicators like Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation, and employment through dynamic visuals.

Notes:
The United Kingdom has officially launched the Synthetic Human Genome Project, a groundbreaking effort to build human DNA from scratch. This project shifts from reading DNA, like in the Human Genome Project, to writing and assembling it synthetically. Scientists aim to create disease-resistant cells to repair damaged organs such as the heart, liver, and immune system. It could help treat genetic and age-related diseases by studying how genes control repair and development.
Critics warn about ethical concerns like designer humans and synthetic life.

Notes:
The world celebrates June 30 as World Asteroid Day to mark the Tunguska event, a huge asteroid explosion over Siberia, Russia, in 1908. The Tunguska event flattened about 2,000 square kilometres of forest with energy equal to 185 Hiroshima bombs. World Asteroid Day aims to raise awareness about asteroid risks and encourage investment in space science and technology. The United Nations General Assembly passed resolution A/RES/71/90 in 2016 to declare June 30 as International Asteroid Day after a proposal from the Association of Space Explorers, supported by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

Notes:
The Shakti Bhatt Prize 2025 was awarded to debut author Zara Chowdhary for her memoir The Lucky Ones, about surviving the 2002 Gujarat riots. She will receive a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh with the award. This year marks the final Shakti Bhatt Prize, which started in 2008 to honour debut authors in memory of publisher Shakti Bhatt, who died in 2007. The prize celebrated South Asian literature from countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, remaining independent and free from corporate sponsorship.

Notes:
Recently, the President of India inaugurated the Guru Gorakhnath AYUSH University in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The university was described as a modern centre preserving India’s ancient health traditions and values. It is expected to become a milestone for health services in Uttar Pradesh and the entire country. The President highlighted India’s age-old yoga and health traditions and stressed carrying them forward for development by 2047.

Notes:
Recently, Japan launched the Global Observing Satellite for Greenhouse gases and Water cycle (GOSAT-GW) from Tanegashima Space Centre. GOSAT-GW is an Earth observation satellite developed by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It was launched using the H-2A rocket. Its objectives are to monitor global-mean concentrations of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), verify national anthropogenic GHG emissions inventories, and detect GHG emissions from large sources like megacities and power plants.

Notes:
Recently, INS Udaygiri, the second ship of Project 17A stealth frigates, was delivered to the Indian Navy. Project 17A is a follow-on of the Shivalik class frigates under Project 17 already in service. INS Nilgiri is the first indigenously built stealth frigate under Project 17A. A frigate is a multi-role vessel used for protecting fleet surface ships against enemy ships and aerial threats. These multi-mission frigates can operate in a Blue Water environment to tackle both conventional and non-conventional threats around India’s maritime interests.

Notes:
Recently, the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development was renamed as Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Child Development. This change reflects its stronger focus on region-specific and mission-driven support for women and child development across India. The institute’s headquarters is in New Delhi with regional centres in Bangalore, Guwahati, Lucknow, Indore, and Mohali, supporting women and child welfare training and research nationwide.

Notes:
Recently, the Uttar Pradesh government said 97,158 criminals were convicted under Operation Conviction since July 2023. Operation Conviction was launched on 1 July 2023 to ensure fast justice, especially for serious crimes. Out of 1,14,029 identified cases, 74,388 cases were disposed of, with 69,422 convictions secured. Under the campaign, 68 criminals got the death penalty, 8,172 got life imprisonment, 1,453 were sentenced to over 20 years, and 87,465 got up to 20 years imprisonment. It focused on organised crime, convicting 395 gang members in 272 cases involving top 10 notorious criminals.

Notes:
The endangered white-eared night heron was recently camera-trapped in Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh. Namdapha is a national park and tiger reserve on the India–Myanmar border in Changlang District, Arunachal Pradesh. It lies at the meeting point of the Indian subcontinent and Indo-China biogeographic regions. The Namdapha River, a tributary of Noa-Dihing River, flows north to south across it.