Daily Current Affairs and GK | 22 August 2025

Topic: Sports

1. Tapasya secured India’s first-ever gold at the 2025 U20 World Wrestling Championships.

• The tournament was held in Bulgaria. She defeated Norway’s Felicitas Domajeva 5-2 in the women’s 57kg final.
• In the quarter-finals, she overcame France’s Romaissa El Kharroubi.
• She then won over Japan’s Sowaka Uchida 4-3 in semi-final.
• Srishti won silver in the women’s 68kg category. She lost 0-7 to Japan’s Ray Hoshino in the final.
• Earlier, Srishti had defeated Germany’s Laura Koehler 7-3 in the semi-finals.
• Priya Malik advanced to the final in the women’s 76kg category.
• She won over Serbia’s Evelin Ujhelji 10-0 in the semi-final.
• Reena also reached the final in the women’s 55kg category.
• She defeated Romania’s Voiculescu Alexandra 11-1 in the semi-final.
• Sumit Malik won silver in the men’s 57kg division. He lost 5-8 to Russia’s Magomed Odzamiro in the final.
• So far, India has earned three medals in the 2025 championships. These include one gold and two silver.
• In last year’s world championships in Spain, India won seven medals.
• The medals included one gold, one silver, and five bronze.
• Jyoti Berwal was the only Indian gold medallist last year. She won in the women’s 76kg category.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

2. The ToR to begin Free Trade Agreement negotiations signed by India and the EAEU.

• India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

• The EAEU comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Russia.
• Additional Secretary of the Department of Commerce Ajay Bhadoo and Eurasian Economic Commission’s Deputy Director of the Trade Policy Department Mikhail Cherekaev signed the ToR in Moscow.
• The proposed FTA will boost exports, support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and diversify market access.
• Trade turnover between India and the EAEU reached 69 billion dollars in 2024.
• This marked a 7% increase compared to 2023.
• Both sides also reaffirmed their commitment to early conclusion of the agreement and establishment of a long-term institutional framework for trade cooperation.
• The ToR is intended to unlock trade potential, attract investment, and strengthen long-term economic partnership.

Topic: Space and IT

3. ISRO's Gaganyaan mission will begin test flights in December.

• India’s maiden human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan, is set to conduct its first uncrewed test flight, G1, in December this year.
• The announcement was made by ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan during a press conference in New Delhi.
• A half-humanoid robot named Vyommitra will be sent aboard the mission.
• Around 7,700 tests, which constitute 80% of the planned experiments, have already been completed.
• The remaining 2,300 tests are targeted to be finished by March next year.
• A total of 196 scientific and technological achievements have been recorded by ISRO this year.
• Among these, GLEX-2025 and a high-thrust electric propulsion system are considered key highlights.
• Apart from this, a communication satellite weighing 6,500 kilograms from the USA will soon be launched from India.
• ISRO has already shared 13 terabits of data from Aditya L1 with the scientific community.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

4. International Meeting on Public Health Research held in New Delhi.

• On 21 August, a two-day international meeting, Health Research and Innovations in Public Health: Exchange of Good Practices across the RESEARCH Platform has been organised in New Delhi.
• The event has been jointly hosted by the Department of Health Research and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
• It was held under the Regional Enabler for South and Southeast Asia Research for Health (RESEARCH) Platform.
• Delegates from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Timor-Leste participated in the conference.
• Various aspects of health research systems, including governance structures, research funding, mechanisms for prioritizing research agendas, and approaches to ensuring transparency and ethics, were key topics of discussion.
• The meeting reinforced collaboration among regional partners to generate knowledge relevant to local health realities.
• This first-of-its-kind conference is a significant milestone in promoting regional collaboration and knowledge-sharing in health research.

Topic: New Developments

5. NASA discovered the 29th moon of Uranus with the James Webb Telescope.

• A new moon of Uranus, designated S/2025 U1, has been detected using the James Webb Space Telescope.

• The discovery was led by a team from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Colorado.
• The celestial body was identified on February 2, 2025, through a series of long-exposure images.
• The newly spotted moon is only about 10 kilometers in diameter.
• Voyager 2 could not detect this moon during its Uranus flyby almost 40 years ago.
• Scientists believe Uranus now has 29 confirmed moons in its satellite family.
• This new moon is the 14th member of a complex system of smaller moons orbiting the largest moons, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon.
• The orbit of the moon is nearly circular, located 56,000 kilometers from Uranus.
• Its position lies between the orbits of Ophelia and Bianca.
• The name of the newly discovered moon will need to be approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the leading authority in assigning official names and designations to celestial bodies.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Economy

6. The center's two-rate GST proposal gets approval from the Group of Ministers.

• The Group of Ministers (GoM) on Rate Rationalisation constituted by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has decided to accept the Centre's two-rate structure proposal for GST and will recommend it to the GST Council
• The decision now awaits final approval from the GST Council in its upcoming meeting.
• The proposed reform will remove the existing 12% and 28% GST slabs.
• Instead, a simplified structure of 5% and 18% rates will be retained.
• Most goods in the 12% category will move to 5%, while many items in the 28% category will shift to 18%.
• Certain goods like tobacco and online gaming will be placed in a 40% tax bracket.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the reforms as a “Deepavali gift” aimed at easing the burden on citizens.
• Economists believe the change will benefit households and MSMEs, but careful planning is required to balance revenues.

Topic: Indian Polity

7. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, has been passed by Parliament.

• The Rajya Sabha gave its approval to Bill. The Bill supports e-sports and online social games.
• It bans harmful online money gaming activities. An Online Gaming Authority will be created.
• The authority will manage policies and oversee the sector.
• The Bill aims to protect vulnerable groups, especially youth.
• The Bill addresses the social, psychological, and financial harms of online gaming.
• It prohibits offering, operating, or facilitating online money games.
• Violations can result in up to three years in prison and fines up to one crore rupees.
• Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw described online money gaming as a public health issue.
• He said it has caused financial trouble for many families.
• The Bill covers e-sports, online social games, and online money games.
• The government plans to promote e-sports and online social gaming.
• It also aims to regulate harmful practices in the gaming sector.

Topic: Indian Polity

8. The Election Commission of India has appointed two observers for the Vice Presidential Election.

• Sushil Kumar Lohani is from the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. D. Anandan is from the Ministry of Finance.
• They will serve as observers for the election. The election is scheduled for the 9th of next month.
• The election was announced after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned last month. He stepped down due to health reasons.
• This will be the 17th Vice Presidential election. The Vice-President is elected by an Electoral College.
• The Electoral College consists of members from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
• The NDA has chosen CP Radhakrishnan as its Vice Presidential candidate.
• The opposition INDIA bloc has fielded B Sudershan Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge, as its candidate.

Topic: Miscellaneous

9. Tribeny Rai’s debut film, Shape of Momo, has been officially chosen for the Vision Section at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) 2025.

• BIFF, held every year in Busan, South Korea, is recognized as Asia’s top film festival.
• The festival is celebrated for uncovering fresh talent and bridging Asian cinema with global audiences.
• The Vision Section highlights innovative and daring works from independent filmmakers across Asia.
• Shape of Momo will be showcased alongside some of the most exciting films from the region.
• The film is also set to be screened at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in September.
• This marks a key milestone in the film’s path to international recognition.
• Tribeny Rai is an independent filmmaker from Sikkim, India.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

10. The Union Home Ministry has approved the renaming of Jalalabad in Uttar Pradesh.

• The new name will be Parashurampuri. Jalalabad is known as the birthplace of the saint Parashuram.

• The town also has an ancient temple dedicated to him. The renaming approval was granted on August 20, 2025.
• The Centre has asked the state to register the new name in Devnagri, Roman, and regional languages.
• The Uttar Pradesh government requested the name change because of the town’s historical connection to Parashuram.
• The Jalalabad municipal board had passed a resolution to rename the town.
• Jalalabad is a town near Shahjahanpur City. It is a municipal board in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.