1. Census 2027: Two Phases, Self-Enumeration and a Mobile App
- Census 2027 will be India's first fully digital Census.
- It runs in two phases, with self-enumeration possible in both.
- Enumerators use an Android/iOS app in several languages.
Daily Current Affairs: 8 July 2025
Current affairs of 8 July 2025: NDB Adds Colombia and Uzbekistan as New Members; NIF Progress Report 2025: SDG Gains and UNESCO SDG-4 Gaps; Census 2027: Two Phases, Self-Enumeration and a Mobile App, and 14 more topics. Key facts for every exam, with a quiz.
In this issue: 17 topics
National Affairs
- Census 2027: Two Phases, Self-Enumeration and a Mobile App
- Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0: Decriminalising Minor Offences
Government Schemes
- National Overseas Scholarship Funds Shortage Hits FY26 Awardees
- ECMS Draws ₹7,500-8,000 Crore Proposals From Over 100 Firms
Banking & Finance
- SEBI Proposal to Ease Broad-Basing Rules for AMCs
- IoT-Enabled UPI: NPCI Plan for Smart Device Payments
- SEBI Tightens Derivatives Surveillance After Jane Street Case
- DFS Secretary Urges AI-Led Financial Inclusion by Fintechs
- SEBI AIF Norms Review: Pro-Rata and Pari-Passu Rules
Economy
International Affairs
Agriculture & Rural
- Urea in Indian Farming: Uses, Best Practice and Losses
- iTrapper: IoT Light Trap That Spares Beneficial Insects
Reports & Indexes
- NIF Progress Report 2025: SDG Gains and UNESCO SDG-4 Gaps
- India’s MMR Eases to 87 in 2022-24: SRS Bulletin Notes
- Northeast District SDG Index 2023-24: Front Runner Districts Rise to 85%
Awards & Persons
National Affairs
2. Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0: Decriminalising Minor Offences
- Budget 2025-26 speech announced Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0 to decriminalise over 100 outdated legal provisions.
- Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 (August 2023) decriminalised minor offences across 42 central acts, removing 183 criminal provisions.
- DPIIT is working on roughly 100 rules and laws from various departments for the new Bill.
- Serious violations will keep stringent punishment; minor lapses get proportionate penalties.
Government Schemes
3. National Overseas Scholarship Funds Shortage Hits FY26 Awardees
- Award letters for 66 of 106 selected NOS candidates (FY26) were withheld for lack of funds.
- NOS is a Central Sector Scheme of the Social Justice Ministry for Master's and Ph.D. study abroad.
- 125 slots yearly: 115 SC, 6 denotified tribes, 4 labourers or artisans; 30% reserved for women.
- One state can take at most 10% of the slots.
4. ECMS Draws ₹7,500-8,000 Crore Proposals From Over 100 Firms
- MeitY received ECMS proposals worth ₹7,500-8,000 crore.
- Over 100 Indian and global firms applied.
- The scheme targets a stronger electronics supply chain.
Banking & Finance
5. SEBI Proposal to Ease Broad-Basing Rules for AMCs
- SEBI proposed relaxing broad-basing rules so AMCs can advise non-broad-based pooled funds via a ring-fenced unit.
- Non-broad-based: fewer than 20 investors, or one investor holding over 25%.
- Safeguards include a ban on performance-linked fees and insider-trading compliance.
6. IoT-Enabled UPI: NPCI Plan for Smart Device Payments
- NPCI is developing an IoT-ready UPI so wearables, cars and appliances can start payments independently.
- Each device would get its own virtual payment address linked to the owner's main UPI account.
- The move backs NPCI's goal of a tenfold rise in UPI use.
7. SEBI Tightens Derivatives Surveillance After Jane Street Case
- SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey announced stronger surveillance of India's derivatives market.
- Tighter checks apply to both stock exchanges and the regulator's own systems.
- The aim is to deter manipulation, algo and HFT abuse, insider trading and front-running.
- SEBI called its action against US-based HFT firm Jane Street a surveillance matter.
8. DFS Secretary Urges AI-Led Financial Inclusion by Fintechs
- DFS Secretary M. Nagaraju urged fintechs to use AI for inclusion at CII's summit on July 7.
- Seven of 17 UN SDGs link directly to financial inclusion.
- Adult account access rose from 35% to 99% by 2024.
9. SEBI AIF Norms Review: Pro-Rata and Pari-Passu Rules
- SEBI was re-examining its 13 December 2024 circular on Alternative Investment Funds after industry pushback.
- The circular brought in pro-rata and pari-passu rights for investors in AIFs.
- AIFs are governed by the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012.
- Entry ticket is ₹1 crore, lock-in runs at least 3 years, and a scheme can hold up to 1,000 investors.
Economy
10. Rupee Falls to 85.86 per USD on Trump BRICS Tariff Threat
- The rupee settled at 85.86 per USD on Monday, weaker by 47 paise, after touching 86.03 intraday.
- Donald Trump announced a 10% tariff on countries aligned with BRICS, calling such alignment anti-American.
- RBI dollar sales helped the rupee recover partly; the Dollar Index rose to 97.36.
International Affairs
11. NDB Adds Colombia and Uzbekistan as New Members
- Colombia and Uzbekistan became the latest members of the New Development Bank (NDB), also called the BRICS Bank.
- The NDB's total membership now stands at 11 countries.
- The news came at the 10th Board of Directors meeting, ahead of the 17th BRICS Summit.
- NDB was set up in 2015 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
Agriculture & Rural
12. Urea in Indian Farming: Uses, Best Practice and Losses
- Department of Fertilizers barred urea plant shutdowns in FY2025-26 to secure kharif and rabi supply.
- Urea holds 46% nitrogen by weight and is the most widely used nitrogenous fertiliser.
- Up to 50% of nitrogen can be lost to volatilisation or leaching.
13. iTrapper: IoT Light Trap That Spares Beneficial Insects
- iTrapper is an IoT-enabled light trap by Delta Things Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad, with PJTSAU.
- It targets crop pests and switches off when beneficial insects are active.
- Cotton setting traps pink bollworm at sunset; paddy setting traps gall midge after midnight.
Reports & Indexes
14. NIF Progress Report 2025: SDG Gains and UNESCO SDG-4 Gaps
- MoSPI's NIF Progress Report 2025 tracks 17 SDGs through 284 indicators (290 in 2024).
- Social protection coverage rose from 22% (2016) to 64.3% (2025).
- UNESCO's SDG-4 scorecard shows India 11 percentage points off-track on primary reading proficiency.
15. India’s MMR Eases to 87 in 2022-24: SRS Bulletin Notes
- India's Maternal Mortality Ratio moved from 88 in 2021-23 to 87 in 2022-24, per the SRS bulletin.
- MMR fell from 212 in 2007-09 to 88 in 2020-22.
- Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest MMR at 154, nearly twice the national average.
- SDG 3.1 aims for a global MMR below 70 per 1,00,000 live births by 2030.
16. Northeast District SDG Index 2023-24: Front Runner Districts Rise to 85%
- Second Northeast District SDG Index (2023-24) came from NITI Aayog, MDoNER and UNDP.
- Front runner districts rose from 62% to 85%.
- Hnahthial in Mizoram ranked first with a score of 81.4.
Awards & Persons
17. CONCACAF Gold Cup: Mexico Beat USA for Record 10th Title
- Mexico beat the USA 2-1 to retain the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
- The win gave Mexico a record-extending 10th Gold Cup title.
- Edson Alvarez scored the winning header 13 minutes from full time.
- Mexico came from behind in a tense clash between the two North American rivals.
Test yourself
15 questions from the news of 8 July 2025, with answers and explanations.
Start the quiz