Daily Current Affairs and GK | 8 July 2025

Topic: Sports

1. Harvinder Singh won the gold medal in the men’s recurve open category at the Asian Para-Archery Championships in Beijing.

• He defeated Hanreuchai Netsiri of Thailand with a strong 7-1 score.
• This was his first individual gold at the event in six years.
• Harvinder also won gold in the mixed recurve event with Bhawna.
• He secured a silver medal in the men’s team recurve event with Vivek Chikara.
• Sakshi Chaudhary claimed the gold medal in the women’s 54kg category at the World Boxing Cup in Astana.
• She defeated Yoseline Perez of the USA in the final. Sakshi won with a unanimous 5-0 decision in the final.
• In addition to Sakshi (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) and Nupur (80+kg) won gold medals.
• India finished with 11 medals at the World Boxing Cup Kazakhstan 2025 in Astana.
• India won three gold medals, five silver medals and three bronze medals.

Topic: Miscellaneous

2. S.R.N. Mehta School won the NASA-NSS Space Design Contest.

• Kalaburagi-based S.R.N. Mehta CBSE School has secured the first prize in the 8th grade category of the prestigious NASA Ames Research Center–National Space Society (NSS) Space Settlement Design Contest 2025.
• The winning project, titled IRA, was conceptualized and developed by 11 students from the school, showcasing a sustainable space colony design.
• The contest witnessed participation from over 4,900 students across 25 countries.
• The team was invited to present its project at the International Space Development Conference (ISDC-2025) held in Orlando, Florida, US, from June 19 to 22.
• On June 21, the students presented their project before 250 global space scientists, astronauts, and officials.
• The project was praised for its scientific accuracy, creativity, and clarity in both poster and oral formats.
• The students also visited NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and interacted with astronauts during their U.S. visit.
• The students participated under the mentorship of Principal Rajashekhar Reddy and returned to India on June 30.

Topic: National News

3. The Modi government is planning to invest Rs 5,000 crore for the development of North-East waterways.

• On 7 July, multiple initiatives to boost the waterways and maritime sector in the region were announced by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal.
• A release from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways stated that with an investment of ₹5,000 crore, the central government has undertaken major initiatives in this regard.
• Record growth in cargo handling, port capacity, and coastal shipping has been registered by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways over the past eleven years.
• Fifty thousand youths from the region are to be trained in maritime skills during the next decade, with assured job prospects in the sector.
• The Maritime Skill Development Centre (MSDC) in Guwahati and the Centre of Excellence (CoE) to be built in Dibrugarh aim to accelerate this transformation.
• The CoE will be developed with an investment of Rs 200 crore.
• The two centers are expected to generate 500 jobs annually.
• The ministry has undertaken projects worth ₹1,000 crore in the inland waterways sector of the Northeast in the last two years, of which works worth ₹300 crore have been completed and works worth ₹700 crore are targeted to be completed by 2025.
• The Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project has been targeted for full operational status by 2027 to give the Northeast direct sea access through Myanmar.
• Key initiatives include deploying 100 barges on NW2 & 16 by 2025 and 10 dredgers with a ₹610 crore investment to boost cargo movement and ensure year-round navigability.

Topic: State News/Bihar

4. Four Amrit Bharat trains and major rail investments were announced by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for Bihar.

• Four new Amrit Bharat trains will be introduced on the Patna–Delhi, Darbhanga–Lucknow, Malda–Lucknow, and Saharsa–Amritsar routes as an additional gift from the Prime Minister.
• A regular service from Jogbani has been sanctioned to enhance Seemanchal’s links with southern India.
• The 53‑km Bhagalpur–Jamalpur third line is set to receive approval along with a budget of ₹1,156 crore.
• A budget outlay of more than Rs 2,000 crore will also be approved for the doubling of the 104-km-long Bakhtiyarpur-Rajgir-Tilaiya rail section.
• A separate sanction of about ₹3,000 crore has been proposed for doubling the 177‑km Rampurhat–Bhagalpur line.
• Two new Software Technology Parks of India (STPIs) have been completed for Bihar in Patna and Darbhanga, which will be inaugurated soon.
• STPI Patna has been constructed at a cost of about Rs 53 crore, while STPI Darbhanga has been constructed at a cost of about Rs 10 crore.

Topic: International Appointment

5. Sanjog Gupta appointed as Chief Executive Officer of ICC.

• Top Indian broadcaster Sanjog Gupta has been appointed as the new chief executive officer by the International Cricket Council.
• Gupta will succeed Geoff Allardice, who resigned in January after serving for four years.
• A two-decade career in media, entertainment, and sports strategy has earned Gupta wide respect in the industry.
• In 2010, Gupta joined Star India (now JioStar), and a decade later became the head of sports at Disney and Star India.
• In November last year, he was appointed CEO of JioStar Sports.
• The ICC position was awarded after a unanimous recommendation by the nominations committee chaired by Jay Shah.
• International Cricket Council:
  • The International Cricket Council is the global governing body of cricket.
  • It was established in 1909 by the representatives of Australia, England, and South Africa as the Imperial Cricket Conference.
  • It is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Topic: Sports

6. Vaibhav Suryavanshi holds the record for the fastest youth ODI century.

• Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashed a century off 52 balls in the 4th England Under-19 vs. India Under-19 youth ODI at Worcester, breaking the earlier record of scoring a century off 53 balls.

• Pakistan's Kamran Ghulam held this record since 2012, but now it has been broken.
• The left-handed batsman's century included ten fours and seven sixes and is recorded as the fastest century in men's youth ODIs.
• His innings ended at 143 from 78 deliveries, featuring thirteen fours and ten sixes.
• Last year, the 14-year-old hit the second-fastest century in a men's youth Test against Australia Under-19 in Chennai.
• He reached the three-figure mark off just 56 balls, behind England's Moeen Ali, who hit a hundred off 56 balls in 2005.
• During the 2025 IPL, he became the youngest player—at 14 years 32 days—to register a century, doing so off 35 balls.
• Fastest Hundreds in Youth ODIs

Topic: Geography

7. Typhoon Danas swept through Taiwan and left two people dead and injured more than 500.

• Most of the injuries occurred in the southern part of the island.

• Taiwan’s weather bureau warned that wind and rain would likely continue into the night.
• By early morning, Danas had weakened into a tropical storm. It moved north into the East China Sea.
• Typhoon Danas is known as Typhoon Bising in the Philippines.
• It is a currently active tropical cyclone. It impacted the Philippines and Taiwan. It is is currently threatening East China.
• Danas is the fourth named storm of the season. It is also the first typhoon of the annual typhoon season.
• It formed on July 4. The storm developed from a weather disturbance about 550 kilometers southeast of Hong Kong.
• A cyclone is called a ‘hurricane’ in the American continent. In Philippines and Japan it is called a ‘typhoon’.

Topic: Reports and Indices

8. NITI Aayog has released the second edition of the North Eastern Region District SDG Index (2023-24).

• A total of 85% of districts in the region showed improvement in their overall SDG scores.
• All districts in Mizoram, Sikkim, and Tripura have attained Front Runner status.
• Hnahthial district in Mizoram achieved the highest SDG score in the region, with a composite score of 81.43.
• Three districts from Nagaland ranked among the top 10 performing districts in the region.
• The goal of Good Health & Well-being saw improved scores in 93 districts.
• Sikkim displayed the most consistent performance across its districts.
• It had the smallest score gap of just 5.5 points between its highest and lowest scoring districts.
• All districts in Assam made progress in Zero Hunger, Quality Education, Clean Water and Sanitation, and Decent Work and Economic Growth.
• The index was developed by NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
• The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided technical support.
• This edition builds on the first report, which was launched on 26 August 2021.
• The index tracks district-level progress across all eight northeastern states.
• It uses the SDG India Index framework created by NITI Aayog.
• District scores range from 58.71 in Longding, Arunachal Pradesh, to 81.43 in Hnahthial, Mizoram.
• Districts are categorized into Achiever, Front Runner, Performer, and Aspirant based on their scores.
• No district scored 100 to be classified as an Achiever.
• No district scored below 50 to fall into the Aspirant category.
• Tripura had high-performing districts with very little variation between them.
• The score difference among Tripura’s districts was just 6.5 points.
• Mizoram and Nagaland had high-scoring districts but wider variation.
• Mizoram’s districts showed a score gap of 13.72 points.
• Nagaland’s districts had a variation of 15.07 points.
• The index represents a collaborative effort across all eight northeastern states.
• It aims to promote inclusive and sustainable growth in the region.
• It is a valuable tool for policy planning, data-based decision-making, and resource allocation.
• The index supports progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
• State-wise Highest and Lowest Scores of Districts within states:
  • Arunachal Pradesh: Lower Dibang Valley (73.36) to Longding (58.71)
  • Assam: Dibrugarh (74.29), South Salmara-Mankachar (59.71)
  • Manipur: Imphal West (73.21), Pherzawl (59.71)
  • Meghalaya: East Khasi Hills (73.00), East Jaintia Hills (63.00)
  • Mizoram: Hnahthial (81.43), Lawngtlai (67.71)
  • Nagaland: Mokokchung (78.43), Zunheboto (63.36)
  • Sikkim: Gangtok (76.64), Gyalshing (71.14)
  • Tripura: Gomati (78.79), Dhalai (72.29)
• Top 10 Districts in NER District SDG Index 2023-24:

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Personality in News

9. Sukanya Sonowal, a student at IIT Guwahati, has been named a Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassador.

• She will serve on the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network (CYPAN) for the 2025–2027 term.
• CYPAN is a youth-led platform active across 56 Commonwealth nations.
• It focuses on promoting peace, mutual respect, and countering violent extremism.
• Sonowal is currently a fourth-year B.Tech. student in Biosciences and Bioengineering.
• She will take on the role of Lead for Communications and Public Relations within the committee.
• Her selection was based on her background in peacebuilding and community service.
• She was also evaluated on her alignment with Commonwealth values and understanding of global peace frameworks.
• Sonowal is a native of Lakhimpur district in Assam.
• She is the co-founder of STEMvibe, a STEM outreach initiative for the Viksit Bharat mission.
• She also leads The Integral Cup, a national undergraduate mathematics competition.

Topic: International News

10. Jennifer Simons has been elected as Suriname’s first female president.

• Her election follows a historic coalition formed after a tightly contested vote.
• Simons is a medical doctor. She is also a former speaker of Suriname’s parliament.
• She will lead the country at a time of expected economic transformation.
• Suriname is on the verge of a predicted oil boom.
• The May 25 parliamentary elections were closely fought.
• Simons’ National Democratic Party won 18 seats.
• President Chan Santokhi’s Progressive Reform Party secured 17 seats.
• Smaller parties won the remaining 16 seats.
• Suriname’s president is not elected by the public directly.
• The National Assembly elects the president.
• A candidate must receive a two-thirds majority in the Assembly to win.
• Simons was elected six weeks after the nearly tied election.
• The deadlock was resolved through coalition negotiations.
• Suriname is the smallest country in South America. Its capital is Paramaribo. National Assembly is the Parliament of Suriname.
• An oil boom refers to period of large income inflow due to high global oil prices or due to large oil production in an economy.