Current Affairs: August 01, 2025

India-US Relations and Global Trade

US-India relations face strain as the US implemented new tariffs, including a 25% duty on Indian goods, citing trade imbalances and India's continued ties with Russia,. President Trump welcomed unconfirmed reports that India might cease Russian oil imports. Despite these tensions, India reiterated its commitment to the strategic partnership, asserting that its defense and energy sourcing are based on national security interests,. The Ministry of External Affairs rejected a British parliamentary report listing India among countries engaged in transnational repression as "baseless".

Economy and Finance

The {Link: Indian equity markets https://www.angelone.in/news/market-updates/top-gainers-and-losers-on-august-1-2025} closed lower after the US reaffirmed steep tariffs. The Sensex dipped 0.72% to 80,599.91, while the Nifty 50 fell 0.82% to 24,565.35. Pharma and IT sectors saw significant declines, impacted by US tariff pressure. In contrast, consumer stocks performed well, with Trent and HUL among the top gainers.

New UPI rules, issued by the NPCI, came into effect on August 1, 2025. These rules aim to improve system performance and reduce fraud risks by capping balance inquiry limits (50 per app per day), restricting List Account API access (25 requests per app per day), modifying autopay timings, and deactivating inactive UPI IDs. Additionally, stricter bank account verification and reduced API response times were implemented. From August 31, UPI payments and withdrawals via credit lines will be permitted, with specific limits on daily transactions, cash withdrawals, and P2P transfers.

The Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025, also became effective on August 1, 2025,. Key provisions include redefining the 'substantial interest' threshold, aligning director tenures in cooperative banks with the 97th Constitutional Amendment, and enabling PSBs to transfer unclaimed shares to the IEPF. {Link: This Act https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=2150371} aims to enhance governance standards, protect depositors and investors, and improve audit quality in the banking sector. The Central government's GST revenue for July 2025 increased by 7.5% to ₹1.96 lakh crore. However, refunds surged by nearly 67% to ₹27,147 crore.

Government Initiatives & Schemes

The PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PM-VBRY) came into effect on August 1, 2025,. This Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme aims to incentivize the creation of over 3.5 crore jobs in two years, with a financial outlay of Rs 99,446 crore,. The scheme provides financial assistance of Rs 15,000 to first-time jobseekers in two installments, disbursed via DBT through the Aadhaar Bridge Payment System,. A new single-window system was notified to standardize appointments for State Director Generals of Police (DGPs). {Link: The Election Commission of India https://m.economictimes.com/news/newsblogs/india-news-live-updates-weather-today-rains-us-india-trade-talks-tariffs-pm-modi-lok-sabha-speech-amit-shah-parliament-session-operation-sindoor-donald-trump-india-pakistan-trade-deals-ukraine-russia-war-august-1-2025/liveblog/123032746.cms} shared draft electoral rolls for Bihar with political parties. The Indian Army launched Operation Shiv Shakti in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, eliminating two infiltrating terrorists.

Science and Technology

ISRO announced the completion of the failure analysis report for the PSLV-C61/EOS-09 mission, with details to be submitted to the Prime Minister soon. ISRO is preparing for the launch of the Block 2 BlueBird communications satellite, developed by the US-based AST SpaceMobile, continuing the Indo-US collaboration seen with the recently launched NISAR satellite. Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh announced a Rs 1 lakh crore fund and the RDI Scheme to boost private sector R&D, particularly in sunrise and strategic sectors. A dedicated Deep-Tech Fund of Funds will also be established.

Awards and Culture

The 71st National Film Awards were announced on August 1, 2025,. Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey jointly won the Best Actor award for "Jawan" and "12th Fail" respectively,. Rani Mukerji won Best Actress for "Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway",. "12th Fail" also bagged the Best Feature Film award.

Sports

The World Championships of Legends semifinal between India and Pakistan was canceled due to India's refusal to play. In cricket, Karun Nair scored an unbeaten half-century in the 5th Test against England, though India was bowled out for 224 in the first innings on Day 2,. India is set to participate in the WTT Star Contender Brazil 2025 table tennis tournament. In badminton, Lakshya Sen and Tharun Mannepalli advanced to the semifinals of the Macau Open Super 300 tournament.