Daily Current Affairs and GK | 22 July 2025

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

1. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is developing a malaria vaccine called AdFalciVax.

• It is an indigenous, homegrown initiative aimed at combating Plasmodium falciparum.
• ICMR is working in collaboration with RMRC Bhubaneswar, NIMR, and DBT’s National Institute of Immunology.
• AdFalciVax is a genetically engineered, multistage vaccine.
• It targets both the pre-erythrocytic and sexual stages of the malaria parasite.
• The vaccine uses Lactococcus lactis, a safe and food-grade bacterium, as its production platform.
• Unlike existing vaccines that focus on one life stage, this vaccine covers two critical phases.
• It is designed to prevent infection and also reduce malaria transmission through mosquitoes.
• Preclinical trials have shown encouraging results.
• AdFalciVax has demonstrated high thermal stability. It can remain effective for over nine months at room temperature.
• ICMR intends to license the vaccine to suitable developers under non-exclusive agreements.
• The vaccine is still in its early development stage. It has not yet received approval for clinical or human use.

Topic: Indian Economy

2. India led global investment confidence growth in the third quarter of 2025, recording a rise of 12.6%.

• India recorded the highest year-on-year confidence growth of 12.6% among 32 economies in Q3 2025, despite a slight 1.4% dip in business investment confidence.
• This data was revealed in the D&B Global Business Investment Confidence Index of Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), a data and analytics firm.
• According to the report, global investment confidence dropped 13.1% quarter-on-quarter, marking a third consecutive decline
• Nearly half of global businesses (46.8%) rated supply chain stability as a key determinant in investment decisions for the third quarter.
• In the global scenario, investment confidence declined more in advanced economies than in emerging economies.
• Except for the US, which has the highest weightage and fell 16.7% quarter-on-quarter, confidence in advanced economies declined more than in emerging economies.
• Significant declines were recorded in France, Japan, Germany, and Spain, wiping out prior gains seen in Q2 2025.
• Among emerging economies, the largest quarter-on-quarter declines were recorded in the Russian Federation (-26.1%), Brazil (-23.9%) and South Africa (-20.7%).
• The manufacturing sector recorded a larger drop (-17.2%) in investment confidence than the services sector (-10.8%) for Q3 2025.
• The biggest declines were in the manufacturers of capital goods (-33.1%), food (-26.9%), and automotives (-26.4%).

Topic: Personality in News

3. Former Chief Minister of Kerala, VS Achuthanandan, passes away.

• Veteran leader of CPM and former CM of Kerala VS Achuthanandan passed away at the age of 101 after a prolonged illness.
• He had been a lifelong fighter for the rights of disadvantaged sections.
• He had been the leader of opposition from 2001 to 2006.
• In 2006, he led the CPM led Left Democratic Front to victory and served as the Chief Minister of Kerala till 2011.

Topic: Indian Economy

4. As per IMF, India has become global leader in fast payments as UPI records 18.39 billion transactions in June 2025.

• According to a recent IMF note titled ‘Growing Retail Digital Payments: The Value of Interoperability’, India leads the world in fast payments with UPI recording 18.39 billion transactions worth over 24.03 lakh crore rupees in June 2025.
• IMF said, UPI has revolutionised the country’s payment ecosystem by helping users to link multiple bank accounts to a single mobile app and make instant transactions with ease.
• It has not only simplified peer-to-peer payments but also enabled millions of small businesses to accept digital payments at minimal cost.
• Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• According to government data, UPI now processes over 18 billion transactions every month, accounting for 85 per cent of India’s total digital payments.
• With 491 million users and 65 million merchants onboard, UPI connects 675 banks through a single digital framework. This shift has taken India away from cash and card-based payments and pushed it towards a digital-first economy.

Topic: Indian Polity

5. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar gives his resignation to the President.

• Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has resigned citing health reasons. The President Draupadi Murmu has accepted the resignation.
• He was elected as the Vice President of India in 2022.
• Previously, he served as the governor of West Bengal from 2019 to 2022.
• He is the third Vice President to resign before completion of his term.
• Previously, V V Giri and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat resigned in 1969 and 2007 respectively.
• As per the constitution, the deputy chairman will serve as the interim chair until a new Vice President is elected.
• The election for a Vice President usually takes place "no later than 60 days" from the expiry of the term of outgoing leader. However, in case of a resignation, no such deadline exists.
• Vice President of India:
  • It is the second highest constitutional post in India.
  • He is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
  • The term of Vice-President is 5 years.
  • Vice President is elected by an Electoral College comprising members of both Houses of Parliament, through a system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
  • The Vice-Presidential candidate must be a citizen of India and at least 35 years of age. The candidate must qualify to become a member of Rajya Sabha and must not hold any office of profit.
  • Dr. S Radhakrishanan was the first Vice President of India.

Topic: Space and IT

6. ISRO to launch Earth Observation Satellite NISAR, jointly developed with NASA.

• On 31^st July 2025, ISRO will launch the NISAR Earth Observation satellite, developed jointly with the NASA.
• GSLV F16 heavy lift rocket will place the satellite into a 743 km Sun Synchronous orbit.
• The NISAR satellite will scan the entire globe every 12 days and provide high-resolution, all-weather, day and night data.
• NISAR:
  • It is the first satellite to observe the Earth with a dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar.
  • NASA’s L band and ISRO’s S band radar will use NASA’s large 12-metre unfurlable mesh reflector antenna that is integrated into ISRO’s modified satellite.
  • The L band radar can penetrate thick forests and dense vegetation, while the S band provides crystal clear surface details.
  • It will observe Earth using SweepSAR technology for the first time.
  • The radars can subtle changes in Earth’s surface to monitor sea ice, vegetation, storm tracking, soil moisture changes, surface water mapping and disaster probabilities.

Topic: State News/ Bihar

7. Bihar is the first state where no polling station will serve more than 1,200 voters.

• This move is aimed at easing voter congestion. It also aims to improve the overall voting experience.
• To make this possible, 12,817 new polling stations have been added across the state.
• This has increased Bihar’s total number of polling stations from 77,895 to 90,712.
• Earlier, each station could handle up to 1,500 voters. That limit has now been reduced to 1,200.
• This change is part of the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of the electoral rolls.
• Under this revision process, over 7.16 crore enumeration forms have been collected so far.
• Starting from the 1st of next month, citizens can file objections to the Draft Electoral Rolls.
• They may raise concerns about any additions, deletions, or corrections needed.

Topic: Indian Economy

8. India’s core infrastructure output rose by 1.7 percent in June 2025.

• This is in comparison to the same month in 2024. The data comes from the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI).

• The increase was mainly due to strong performance in steel, cement, and refinery products.
• Steel production grew by 9.3 percent. Cement output went up by 9.2 percent.
• Refinery production increased by 3.4 percent during the month. However, not all sectors performed well.
• Coal production declined by 6.8 percent in June 2025. Crude oil production was down by 1.2 percent.
• Natural gas output fell by 2.8 percent. Fertilizer production dropped by 1.2 percent.
• Electricity generation also saw a decrease of 2.8 percent.
• The ICI tracks the output of eight major sectors. These include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity.
• Together, these industries make up 40.27 percent of the total weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Topic: Indian Polity

9. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar administered the oath to five new members of Rajya Sabha.

• The ceremony took place in the Upper House of Parliament.

• Two of the members were elected from Assam.
• They are Birendra Prasad Baishya of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Kanad Purkayastha of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• Three members were nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
• The nominated members are Dr. Meenakshi Jain, C. Sadanandan Master, and Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
• The Rajya Sabha also paid homage to seven former members.
• These former members had passed away recently.
• The members of Rajya Sabha have a term of six years and one-third of the members retire after every second year.
• Chairman of the Rajya Sabha administers the oath to the members.
• Vice-President of India is the ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha.

Topic: Space and IT

10. July 22, 2025 marks the sixth anniversary of the launch of Chandrayaan-2.

• ISRO launched Chandrayaan-2 on July 22, 2019.

• The launch occurred at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
• The mission focused on studying the Moon’s surface features, seismic activity, mineral content, and composition.
• A special emphasis was placed on the lunar south pole.
• Chandrayaan-2 included an orbiter, a lander named Vikram, and a rover called Pragyan.
• The Vikram lander experienced a software failure and crash-landed on September 6, 2019.
• Despite the lander’s failure, the orbiter continues to function successfully.
• The orbiter is equipped with eight scientific instruments.
• It is collecting data on minerals and water ice in the Moon’s polar regions.
• The mission’s data has been released to the public.
• This enables researchers around the world to conduct further studies.
• Chandrayaan-2 showcases ISRO’s expertise and commitment to space exploration. The mission also inspires future lunar exploration efforts.