Current Affairs Quiz – July 2025

Correct Answer!
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) recently announced the Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students (CSSS) for the academic year 2025–26 and invited applications through the National Scholarship Portal at scholarships.gov.in. The scheme is officially called “Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan (PM-USP) Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students” and is run by the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education. It aims to provide financial help to bright students from poor families to support their daily expenses while pursuing higher studies.

Correct Answer!
Recently, the Union Minister for Education distributed Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) footballs under the Football for Schools (F4S) programme at PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) Kendriya Vidyalaya, Fort William, Kolkata, West Bengal. It is run by FIFA in collaboration with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It aims to help educate, develop, and empower about 700 million children. In India, it runs through the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) with help from the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Correct Answer!
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla recently launched path-breaking Myogenesis experiments on the International Space Station (ISS), showing India’s progress in space research. Myogenesis is the process of forming muscle fibers. It is a complex and controlled process important for developing and maintaining skeletal muscle tissue. Myogenesis helps build body muscles that support movement, posture, and metabolism. It happens through the transformation of precursor cells called myoblasts into multinucleated muscle fibers. Studying myogenesis helps understand muscle diseases and develop therapies.

Correct Answer!
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.

Correct Answer!
Forest officials in Arunachal Pradesh recently discovered a new flowering plant species named Begonia nyishiorum in the East Kameng district. Begonia nyishiorum is a flowering plant that grows only in East Kameng, making it an endemic species. It grows on moist, shaded mountain slopes at altitudes between 1,500 and 3,000 metres above sea level. The name “nyishiorum” honours the Nyishi tribal community for their forest protection efforts.

Correct Answer!
The Supreme Court recently dismissed a plea alleging illegal mining in Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh, calling it a frivolous abuse of law and imposed a ₹1 lakh penalty on the petitioner. Bandhavgarh National Park is located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. It lies across the Vindhya hills, known for their forested terrain and wildlife. It was declared a national park in 1968 and became a Tiger Reserve in 1993 under Project Tiger. The park is famous for its Royal Bengal Tigers.

Correct Answer!
The National Archives of India (NAI) has added the private papers of former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to its rich collection, making a major contribution to India’s historical records. It works under the Ministry of Culture and stores old government records that are no longer active but important for research and administration. It is the largest archival repository in South Asia and protects records of lasting value to the Government of India. NAI was started as the Imperial Record Department on 11 March 1891 in Kolkata and moved to New Delhi in 1911. The full transfer of records to Delhi was completed in 1937. NAI also enforces the Public Records Act, 1993 and Public Record Rules, 1997. It preserves over 34 crore pages, including official files, maps, censuses, treaties, debates, rare manuscripts, and government documents.

Correct Answer!
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are now working together under the wastepickers component of the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme. UNDP is providing financial support to State Project Management Units (PMUs) to strengthen the scheme’s implementation. The NAMASTE Scheme was jointly launched by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in 2023 to protect the safety and dignity of sanitation workers. Its wastepicker component was launched in 2024 with the goal to digitally profile and register 2.5 lakh wastepickers across India. It also provides health insurance under Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), and offers skill development training.

Correct Answer!
A research team from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has made the first-ever experimental observation of a two-dimensional layered altermagnet at room temperature. Altermagnets are a new class of antiferromagnetic materials that show momentum-dependent spin splitting without needing spin–orbit coupling (SOC) or overall magnetization. This spin splitting is caused by exchange interactions between magnetic sublattices connected by crystal symmetry, known as C-paired spin-valley locking (SVL). Altermagnets combine the stable spin properties of antiferromagnets with spin-split energy bands, making them promising for next-generation spintronic devices.

Correct Answer!
US President Donald Trump plans to rename the ‘Persian Gulf’ as the ‘Arabian Gulf’ during his visit to Saudi Arabia, aligning with Arab Gulf nations’ preferences. The term ‘Persian Gulf’ has been used since the 16th century, recognized in historical records and international treaties. Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE, prefer the term ‘Arabian Gulf’ and use it in national maps. In 2012, Iran threatened to sue Google for not labeling the water body correctly, asserting its historical naming rights. The Persian Gulf is a vital geopolitical area, connected to the Arabian Sea via the Strait of Hormuz.