Current Affairs including General Knowledge MCQs for CLAT UG, Page 10

India and the United Kingdom signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, in London on 24 July 2025. Negotiations had been concluded on 6 May 2025. The agreement was signed by India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds, in the presence of the two Prime Ministers. Official material stated that the agreement secured zero-duty access for Indian goods on 99 percent of tariff lines, covering nearly all trade value. It also contained commitments concerning services and professional mobility. Trade agreements create market access, but actual gains depend on competitiveness, standards compliance, logistics, awareness among firms, and effective implementation.

The Union Cabinet approved the National Sports Policy 2025 on 1 July 2025. Notified as Khelo Bharat Niti 2025, it superseded the National Sports Policy 2001. Its vision is "Sports for Nation Building: Harness the Power of Sports for Nation's Holistic Development." The policy links sporting excellence with economic and social development. Its five pillars address excellence on the global stage, sports for economic development, sports for social development, sports as a people's movement, and alignment with the National Education Policy 2020. The policy emphasises grassroots access, talent identification, athlete support, sports science, governance, infrastructure, inclusion, and integration of sport with education. Its results will depend on funding, coordination, access, and measurable implementation.

The Union Cabinet approved the National Critical Mineral Mission, or NCMM, on 29 January 2025. It covers seven years from 2024-25 to 2030-31. The mission provides for government expenditure of Rs 16,300 crore and expected investment of Rs 18,000 crore by public-sector undertakings and other stakeholders, producing a combined outlay of Rs 34,300 crore. NCMM addresses the full value chain, including exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, recycling, and recovery from end-of-life products. It also supports overseas mineral assets, stockpiling, research, skills, and processing parks. Critical minerals matter to clean energy, advanced industry, and defence. Resilience requires diversified supply, efficient use, environmental safeguards, technology, and recycling rather than extraction alone.

GenomeIndia created a national resource based on whole-genome sequencing of more than 10,000 individuals from diverse Indian population groups. The data was dedicated to researchers on 9 January 2025. The project involved over twenty academic and research institutions and was funded by the Department of Biotechnology. The Indian Biological Data Centre stores the resource and supports responsible research access. The dataset can help researchers study genetic variation, improve genomic tools, and support more population-relevant diagnostics and precision medicine. Genomic data is powerful but sensitive. Its use requires security, privacy, informed governance, fair access, and care against treating genetic patterns as fixed social categories.

The National Turmeric Board was launched on 14 January 2025. Its headquarters is at Nizamabad in Telangana, and Palle Ganga Reddy was announced as its first chairperson. The Board coordinates work concerning turmeric production, research, value addition, quality, marketing, and exports. It includes representation from relevant Union ministries and turmeric-producing states. Official figures for 2023-24 placed India's turmeric production at 10.74 lakh tonnes from 3.05 lakh hectares. India accounted for more than 70 percent of global production and more than 62 percent of world trade. Increasing export value requires more than output. Quality, traceability, farmer returns, processing, branding, and compliance with destination-market standards also matter.

On 6 June 2025, the Monetary Policy Committee reduced the policy repo rate by 50 basis points, from 6.00 percent to 5.50 percent. The Standing Deposit Facility rate consequently became 5.25 percent, while the Marginal Standing Facility rate and Bank Rate became 5.75 percent. The Reserve Bank of India also announced a 100-basis-point reduction in the Cash Reserve Ratio, implemented in four equal tranches, ultimately taking it to 3.0 percent. Policy-rate changes influence borrowing, saving, liquidity, inflation, and growth through financial institutions. Their actual effect depends on transmission by banks, credit demand, inflation expectations, and wider economic conditions.