CURRENT AFFAIRS
22 July, 2025
1. PUNJAB CABINET APPROVES PUNJAB PREVENTION OF OFFENCES AGAINST HOLY SCRIPTURES BILL 2025 –
• Recently, the Punjab Cabinet approved the Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture(s) Bill, 2025, proposing stringent punishment for acts of sacrilege.
About Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scripture Bill 2025
• Objective of the Bill: To criminalize acts of sacrilege against sacred religious texts and strengthen communal harmony in the state.
• Scope of the Bill: Covers sacred texts including the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagavad Gita, Holy Bible, Quran Sharif, and other revered scriptures.
Proposed Punishments
• Sacrilege (actual act): 10 years to life imprisonment
• Attempt to commit sacrilege: 3 to 5 years imprisonment
• Abetment of sacrilege: Punishment same as the main offence
• Legal Intent: Addresses the lack of existing legal provisions by directly criminalizing sacrilege acts across all faiths.
• Earlier Attempt: IPC Section 295 & 295A dealt with outraging religious feelings but lacked specificity.
• The 2018 Punjab Bill to add IPC 295AA mandating life imprisonment for sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib was returned by the President, for being too religion-specific and lacking uniformity.
What is Sacrilege?
• Sacrilege refers to the deliberate violation, desecration, or disrespect towards sacred religious objects, texts, or places.
• Social Impact: Can incite violence, disturb public order, and deepen communal rifts.
2. INTERNATIONAL MOON DAY –
• 20th July is observed annually as International Moon Day to mark the historic first human landing on the Moon by the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
• The United Nations General Assembly officially recognised this observance in 2021, following a recommendation by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), to promote global cooperation in space exploration.
Apollo 11 Mission
• Apollo 11, launched by NASA on 16th July 1969, was the first successful crewed mission to land on the Moon and return safely to Earth.
• On 20th July 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit aboard the Command Module.
• In total, there were six successful lunar landings under the Apollo program: Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17.
India’s Lunar Mission
• India’s Moon missions began with Chandrayaan-1 (2008), which discovered water on the Moon, followed by Chandrayaan-2 (2019), whose orbiter remains active despite a failed landing.
• Chandrayaan-3 (2023) achieved a historic soft landing at the South Pole, making India the first to do so (fourth nation to land on the Moon).
• Upcoming missions include Chandrayaan-4 (2027) for sample return, and Chandrayaan-5 (LUPEX), a joint mission with Japan (JAXA) to explore lunar water and ice, planned for 2027–28.
3. INDIA’S FIRST HORNBILL CONSERVATION CENTRE –
• The Tamil Nadu government has initiated India’s first Centre of Excellence for Hornbill Conservation at the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Coimbatore district. This pioneering effort aims to protect hornbills, vital seed dispersers in tropical forests, threatened by habitat loss and climate change. Funded with ₹1 crore under the Endangered Species Conservation Corpus Fund, the Centre will focus on research, habitat restoration, and community involvement to safeguard four hornbill species native to the Western Ghats.
Ecological Importance of Hornbills
• Hornbills are crucial for forest regeneration. They disperse seeds of native trees, maintaining biodiversity and forest health. Known as farmers of the forest, these birds support the growth of species like fig and canarium trees. Their decline affects entire ecosystems and other wildlife dependent on forest habitats.
4. INDIA’S INFLATION EASES AMID STRONG MONSOON AND CROP SURPLUS –
• India’s consumer price index (CPI) inflation in June 2025 fell to 2.1% year-on-year. This rate is lower than the United States’ 2.7% and the United Kingdom’s 3.6%. Food inflation in India even turned negative at -1.1%, contrasting with rises of 3% in the US and 4.5% in the UK.
• This decline is the lowest since January 2019, providing relief to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which had struggled to control inflation in the past year. The easing is mainly due to a bumper crop harvest following a surplus monsoon season in 2024.
Impact of the 2024 Monsoon on Agriculture
• The 2024 monsoon delivered 7.6% above-average rainfall. This helped replenish soil moisture, groundwater and reservoirs. Wheat production benefited the most. Government wheat stocks rose to 358.78 lakh tonnes by July 2025, a four-year high. Combined with record rice stocks, India has ample cereals. This supports the public distribution system and helps stabilise market prices.
5. CHINA BEGINS WORLD’S LARGEST HYDROPOWER DAM PROJECT –
• China has initiated construction of the world’s largest hydropower dam on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The project, costing over $170 billion, is set to become China’s most ambitious hydropower venture since the Three Gorges Dam.
• It aims to generate 300 billion kilowatt-hours annually, matching the electricity consumption of the United Kingdom in 2024. The dam is located on the Yarlung Zangbo River, which flows into India and Bangladesh as the Brahmaputra. The project has sparked environmental and geopolitical concerns while also boosting Chinese markets.
MCQ QUIZ
Q1. National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was launched by which ministry ?
a) Ministry of Education
b) Ministry of Home Affairs
c) Ministry of Tribal Affairs
d) Ministry of Science and Technology
Q2. Mount Kilimanjaro, that was recently seen in news, is located in which country ?
a) Australia
b) Kenya
c) Russia
d) Tanzania
Q3. What is Baby Grok ?
a) A new humanoid robot
b) A kid-friendly version of the Grok AI chatbot
c) Elon Musk’s book on AI safety
d) A Tesla app for children
Q4. With reference to India’s Tourism Vision 2047, consider the following statements:
1. The goal is to double tourism’s contribution to GDP by 2047.
2. It aims to make India the most visited country by international tourists in Asia by 2047.
3. The initiative was launched by the Ministry of External Affairs and NITI Aayog.
Which of the above statements is/are correct ?
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1 and 3 only
Explanation-
• Statement 1 is correct: The “India Tourism Vision 2047”, supported by NITI Aayog, aims to double tourism’s contribution to GDP from 5% to 10% by the centenary of India’s independence.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: While enhancing foreign tourist arrivals is a goal, there’s no explicit target to become the most visited country in Asia.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: The initiative involves NITI Aayog and Ministry of Tourism, not the Ministry of External Affairs.
Q5. With reference to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), consider the following statements:
1. UPI was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
2. UPI transactions require users to enter account numbers and IFSC codes for every transaction.
3. UPI enables both peer-to-peer and peer-to-merchant payments.
Which of the statements given above is/are not correct ?
a) 2 only
b) 1 and 3 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Explanation-
• Statement 1 is correct: UPI was developed by the NPCI and launched in 2016.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: UPI eliminates the need to enter account numbers and IFSC codes. Instead, it uses Virtual Payment Addresses (VPAs), mobile numbers, or QR codes.
• Statement 3 is correct: UPI supports both peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, including bill payments and subscriptions.
Answer Key
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
A | D | B | A | A |