Monthly Current Affair GK Digest: August 2025

International News

India was hit with a 25% tariff, one of the highest in South Asia, citing “obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers” and strong ties with Russia.
Other regional competitors like Pakistan (19%), Bangladesh (20%), and Sri Lanka (20%) faced slightly lower rates.
Despite the blow, India has opted not to retaliate at the WTO and continues negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the US, expected to be finalized by Fall 2025.

Starlink India was designated as a Sub-Authentication User Agency (Sub-AUA) and Sub-eKYC User Agency (Sub-KUA), allowing secure, paperless customer verification.
This initiative aims to connect remote regions using satellite internet while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Over 20 lakh users are expected to be onboarded in the initial phase.
The move highlights India’s digital infrastructure capabilities and supports transparent service delivery.
Starlink is also collaborating with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio for distribution.

₹1,920 crore added to strengthen components like value addition, cold chain, etc.
₹1,000 crore allocated for:
50 Food Irradiation Units under ICCVAI
100 NABL-accredited Food Testing Labs under FSQAI
Goal: Reduce post-harvest losses and enhance food safety/export potential
Launched in 2017, PMKSY focuses on food processing infrastructure and modernization
Expected to raise preservation capacity by 20–30 lakh metric tonnes/year
Enhances India's competitiveness in food processing and long-term food security.

Includes USD 2 billion for renewable energy infrastructure (solar & wind) to power the facility sustainably
Part of Alphabet’s USD 75 billion global expansion of cloud and AI infrastructure in 2025
Will support cloud computing, AI applications, and massive data storage needs
Strengthens Visakhapatnam’s position as a digital hub, with plans for 3 cable landing stations and chip design centres
Aligns with Google’s goal of 24/7 carbon-free operations by 2030

India’s forex reserves rose by $2.703 billion to $698.192 billion (week ending July 25, 2025).
Foreign Currency Assets (FCA): Up $1.316 billion to $588.926 billion.
Gold Reserves: Increased by $1.206 billion to $85.704 billion.
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs): Rose $126 million to $18.809 billion (held with IMF).
Reserves now cover 11 months of imports and 96% of external debt.

Focus: Launching with passive investment products like Index Funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Objective: Build a stable, scalable, and professionally managed AMC under strong regulatory governance.
Target Segments: Retail, emerging affluent, and institutional investors across India.
Vision: Democratize access to modern financial tools like SIPs and goal-based investing.

This digest is not complete. Read the complete digest on the General Awareness Course.