Daily Current Affairs – 24-07-2025
International News
India resumes issuing visas to Chinese tourists after 5 years
India will start issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals after a gap of five years, the Indian Embassy in Beijing announced on Wednesday. The announcement, called “positive” by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), marks another step in normalising ties between the neighbouring countries that were ruptured by the military stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and Galwan clashes in 2020.
PM Modi’s Britain Visit - Trade Agreement to be Signed Today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his four-day official visit to Britain and Malaysia on Wednesday.
Initially, he will travel to Britain, where he will participate in various events for two days, including meetings with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and King Charles III. According to the previous plan, the agreement on bilateral relations was to be signed today (Thursday, July 24).
Following this, the Prime Minister will travel to Malaysia to meet with his counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim, and other leaders. During these meetings, bilateral relations, trade, investment, defense, technology, education, and culture will be discussed in detail.
A free trade agreement between India and Britain is set to be signed on Thursday (July 24) in the presence of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Keir Starmer.
Although the agreement will be signed, its implementation requires the approval of the British Parliament.
This process could take about a year. In India, the Union Cabinet approved this agreement last Tuesday. The key features of the agreement are as follows: The agreement is expected to increase bilateral trade between the two countries to $120 billion by 2030. In the last financial year, 2023-24, bilateral trade between India and Britain stood at $21.34 billion. 99% of goods exported from India to Britain will receive full tariff exemption. Import duties on British alcoholic beverages like whisky and gin will be reduced in the first phase from 150% to 75%, and further down to 40% by the 10th year of the agreement. Customs duty on vehicles, which was over 100%, will be reduced to 10% for a few specific cars. Import duties on products such as cosmetics, refrigerators, electrical machinery, chocolates, and biscuits will be reduced. New export opportunities will open up in the British market for India’s sectors including textiles, marine products, leather, footwear, sporting goods, toys, gems, jewelry, heavy machinery, auto parts, and steel. The agreement will facilitate easier travel for Indian professionals such as contract service suppliers, business persons, investors, professionals, short-term employees, students, musicians, and chefs to Britain.
Economy News
LIC Agreement with Ministry of Rural Development
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, to promote its Bima Sakhi scheme in rural areas.
To promote the company’s Bima Sakhi scheme among rural customers, the company has signed an MoU with the Rural Development wing of the Union Ministry of Rural Development.
This MoU was signed during the three-day national conference ‘Anubhav’ recently held in Goa.
LIC’s Bima Sakhi scheme has been exclusively designed to help women gain a strong position in the insurance business.
The press release stated that this scheme for women not only provides a performance-based stipend but also offers other benefits available to agents.
Trade Agreement with Japan: Trump Announces
U.S. President Donald Trump, announcing a new trade agreement with Japan, stated that the import tariff on Japanese goods will be reduced to 15 percent.
Under this agreement, Japan will invest $55 billion in the United States. Japan will open its market to American automotive products and rice. In the post, Trump mentioned that the 25 percent import tariff imposed on Japanese goods will be reduced to 15 percent from August 1.
National News
Procedures for Vice Presidential Election Begin
While the term of Jagdeep Dhankhar, who was the Vice President, was set to conclude on August 10, 2027, he resigned from his post on Monday (July 21) by sending a letter to the President. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs released his resignation statement on Tuesday. The information regarding this statement was also formally conveyed in the Rajya Sabha.
Once the pre-election preparations are complete, a 30-day period is stipulated from the day the notification inviting the electoral college (MPs) to vote is issued to the day of polling. This means the election must be completed within 30 days of the notification.
The election for the office of the Vice President is conducted under Article 66(1) of the Constitution, by means of a secret ballot using the proportional representation system. Accordingly, the voter must mark their preference next to the candidate’s name.
According to the rules, a person to be elected as Vice President must be an Indian citizen, have completed 35 years of age, and be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha. A person who does not meet these qualifications cannot be elected as the Vice President.
Furthermore, it is noteworthy that any person holding an office of profit under the Central Government, a State Government, or any subordinate local authority is also considered ineligible to be elected as the Vice President.
Caste-wise census in Karnataka from Sep. 22
Bengaluru, July 23: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced that a new caste-wise census is planned to be conducted in Karnataka starting from September 22.
Speaking to reporters after a consultative meeting on the caste-wise census held in Bengaluru on Wednesday, he stated: The Backward Classes Commission has submitted a proposal to the state government to conduct a socio-economic and educational survey.
The state government has accepted this proposal and plans to collect the details of the 70 million people living in Karnataka through this caste-wise census.
The primary objective of this census is to eliminate caste-based discrimination.
This caste-wise census will be conducted for 15 days, from September 22 to October 7.
We have instructed that the report containing the census data be submitted to the state government by the end of October.[1][5]
In 2015, the Backward Classes Commission headed by Kantharaj had previously conducted a caste-wise census with 54 questions. This time, more questions will be added.