Daily Current Affairs – 13-08-2025
International News
Sri Lankan Government Recognizes Sabarimala Pilgrimage
The Sri Lankan government has decided to declare the annual pilgrimage undertaken by Sri Lankan devotees to the famous Sabarimala Ayyappan temple in Kerala as an officially recognized sacred pilgrimage. Devotees from various countries around the world undertake the pilgrimage to Sabarimala. In this regard, more than 15,000 devotees from Sri Lanka make the sacred pilgrimage to Sabarimala every year. At the Sri Lankan cabinet meeting held last Monday, a decision was made to recognize the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage of the country’s devotees as a sacred pilgrimage. The annual Mandala Pooja at the Sabarimala Ayyappan temple takes place during the months of November and December. Following that, the temple is reopened for the Makaravilakku pilgrimage. The temple is closed after the pilgrimage season ends in January.
Sports News
National Sports Administration Bill Passed in Parliament
The National Sports Administration Bill and the National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025, were passed in Parliament on Tuesday. These bills, which were passed by a voice vote in the Lok Sabha on Monday, were also passed by a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday afternoon. Following this, both bills have now been sent for the President’s assent. An announcement regarding their implementation as law will be made after receiving his assent. The passage of the National Sports Administration Bill in Parliament has been welcomed by the President of the Indian Olympic Association, P.T. Usha, and the administrators of the country’s sports federations and associations. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters after the passage of the bills, Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “These bills are modeled on the laws representing 20 countries globally. India is now set to join this list as the 21st nation. Through this reform in the sports sector, strategies will be formulated to increase the number of medals in future competitions. Based on this, India will be within the top 10 in the medal tally of international competitions in the next 10 years. Through the new bills, the sports sector will become athlete-centric. There will be transparency in the administration of federations. The participation of women and differently-abled athletes will also increase,” he said. The key features of the National Sports Administration Bill include the establishment of a National Sports Board to effectively manage national federations, a National Sports Tribunal to resolve disputes, a National Sports Election Commission to ensure that federation elections are conducted properly, age relaxation for those competing for administrative posts, and bringing national federations under the purview of the Right to Information Act.
Economy News
₹5.82 Lakh Crore Bad Loans of Public Sector Banks Written Off From Records
The central government has stated that bad loans amounting to ₹5.82 lakh crore from public sector banks have been removed from the banks’ loan records over the last 5 years. When non-performing assets (NPAs) cannot be recovered for a certain period, they are removed from the bank’s records. This removal is carried out for financial management purposes. This is not a loan waiver. Banks will continue their efforts to recover that loan amount. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary further stated: In the financial year 2024-25, bad loans of public sector banks amounting to ₹91,260 crore have been removed from the bank records. In the previous year, this figure was ₹1.15 lakh crore. In the financial year 2020-21, a maximum of ₹1.33 lakh crore in bad loans was removed from the bank records. In total, ₹5.82 lakh crore of bad loans have been written off in the last 5 years. The amount of bad loans written off in the previous 5 years was ₹1.65 lakh crore. This is 28 percent of the total bad loans written off.
National News
Hydropower Project in Arunachal Pradesh at ₹8,146 Crore
The Union Cabinet approved the implementation of the ‘Tato-2’ hydropower project with a capacity of 700 MW in the Shi-Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh, at an investment of ₹8,146.21 crore.
Lucknow Metro Rail Project
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the implementation of a new metro rail project (Phase 1B) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, at an estimated cost of ₹5,801 crore, covering a distance of 11.165 km.
4 ‘Chip’ Manufacturing Plants in 3 States Including Andhra: Union Cabinet Approval
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to set up 4 semiconductor (chip) manufacturing plants in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Punjab, which will attract a total investment of ₹4,594 crore. The approval was given at the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi. This approval has been granted under the central government’s ‘India Semiconductor Mission’ scheme. Under this scheme, the central government has allocated ₹76,000 crore to provide financial assistance for setting up chip manufacturing centers in the country. Regarding this, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said: The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of 4 semiconductor manufacturing centers in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Punjab. In Odisha’s Bhubaneswar, a Signetics semiconductor manufacturing center will be set up with an investment of ₹2,066 crore. It will have a capacity to produce 9.6 crore ‘chips’ annually. Silicon carbide is a strong metal that can withstand high temperatures. Silicon carbide is used in missiles, satellites, telephone towers, rockets, and train engines. With an investment of ₹1,943 crore, a 3D Plus Intel India Technology semiconductor manufacturing center will be set up in Muparimandala, Odisha, by the private company Hettej Integration Packaging Solutions, with assistance from the major US chip manufacturing company Lockheed Martin. This center will be set up with a capacity to produce 5 crore chips annually. In Andhra Pradesh, a semiconductor manufacturing center will be set up by ‘Advanced System in Packaging Technologies’ with an investment of ₹468 crore and an annual production capacity of 9.6 crore ‘chips’. Similarly, in Punjab, a semiconductor manufacturing center will be set up by CIOS with an investment of ₹117 crore and an annual production capacity of 15.8 crore ‘chips’. Furthermore, he said, ‘Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country’s electronics manufacturing sector has seen a 6-fold growth in the last 11 years, reaching a value of ₹12 lakh crore. The export of electronic goods has grown 8-fold to ₹3.3 lakh crore. Mobile phone production has grown 28 times to ₹5.5 lakh crore. From September 2 to 4, India will host the ‘Semicon India 2025’ international semiconductor conference and exhibition in collaboration with Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and Korea.’