Current Affairs 25 July 2026

India–Romania Business Forum

President Droupadi Murmu addressed the India–Romania Business Forum in Bucharest on 24 July 2026 in the presence of Romanian President Nicușor Dan, government representatives, and business delegations from both countries. She invited Romanian companies to participate actively in India’s economic growth and the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

Key Points for Exams:

• President of Romania: Nicușor Dan
• India and Romania aim to double bilateral trade over three years.
• Capital of Romania: Bucharest
• Currency of Romania: Romanian leu
• Romania is a member of the European Union and NATO.

Jonnagiri Gold Mine Renamed as Swarnagiri Gold Mine

The Andhra Pradesh government has officially renamed the Jonnagiri Gold Mine in Kurnool district as the Swarnagiri Gold Mine. The mine covers approximately 597.82 hectares across Jonnagiri, Pagidirai, and Yerragudi villages in Tuggali mandal. It is operated by GeoMysore Services India Private Limited, which holds a 30-year mining lease. Apart from gold, the mineralised area also contains silver, copper, lead, and zinc.

The mine lies within the Jonnagiri Greenstone Belt of the Eastern Dharwar Craton, an ancient geological formation known for mineral deposits. Archaeological and geological evidence indicate that gold-mining activities were undertaken in the region several centuries ago.

Vandemataram Bill 2026

The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 24 July 2026. It seeks to amend the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which protects the Indian National Flag, the Constitution of India, and the National Anthem from intentional insult or disrespect. The proposal is a Bill and has not yet become law.

At present, Section 3 of the 1971 Act penalises any person who intentionally prevents the singing of the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, or causes disturbance to an assembly engaged in singing it. The offence is punishable with imprisonment for up to three years, a fine, or both.

The Amendment Bill proposes to extend the same legal protection to India’s National Song, Vande Mataram. Thus, intentionally preventing its singing or disturbing an assembly singing it would attract the same punishment prescribed for interference with the National Anthem.

For a second or subsequent conviction, the existing Act prescribes imprisonment of at least one year. The Bill seeks to apply this enhanced punishment provision to repeated offences involving the National Song as well.

Key Points for Exams:

• The bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 24 July 2026.
• This bill seeks amendments to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971
• Proposed amendment: Legal protection for the National Song, Vande Mataram
• Vande Mataram was composed in Sanskrit by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and appeared in his novel Anandamath.
• The Constituent Assembly accorded it an honoured position alongside the National Anthem on 24 January 1950.

Right to Protest and Limits on Police Use of Force in India

A recent protest in New Delhi has renewed debate over how authorities should balance the constitutional right to demonstrate with the responsibility to maintain public order. The reported use of tear gas and lathi charges against protesters has raised questions about whether the police response was necessary, proportionate, and limited to the minimum force required.

The right to assemble peacefully and without arms is guaranteed to citizens under Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitution. However, Article 19(3) permits the State to impose reasonable restrictions in the interests of India’s sovereignty and integrity and public order. Thus, the right to protest is constitutionally protected but is not absolute.

Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, a gathering does not become unlawful merely because it consists of five or more persons. It becomes an unlawful assembly only when its common object involves specified unlawful purposes, such as committing an offence, resisting the execution of law or using criminal force.

Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 empowers an authorised Executive Magistrate to issue written orders in urgent cases to prevent obstruction, danger to life or safety, disturbance of public tranquillity, riots or affrays. Such orders may apply to an individual, people in a particular area or the general public visiting that area.

The BNSS also permits an Executive Magistrate or authorised police officer to order an unlawful assembly, or an assembly likely to disturb public peace, to disperse. Force may be used if the assembly refuses to comply. However, constitutional policing requires persuasion, warning, and de-escalation to be attempted wherever practicable, with only the minimum necessary force used thereafter.

In Anita Thakur v. Government of Jammu and Kashmir (2016), the Supreme Court held that police action became unlawful when officers continued assaulting protesters after they had already been overpowered. The Court found that such excessive force violated their fundamental rights and stressed that police power must remain reasonable and accountable.

In Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan v. Union of India (2018), the Supreme Court recognised peaceful protest as an important democratic right while accepting that authorities may regulate its time, place, and manner to protect public order and the rights of other citizens. In the Shaheen Bagh case, Amit Sahni v. Commissioner of Police (2020), the Court held that public roads and spaces cannot be occupied indefinitely for demonstrations.

Key Points for Exams:

• Right to peaceful assembly: Article 19(1)(b)
• Permissible restrictions: Article 19(3)
• The right to protest is a fundamental right, but not an absolute right.
• Restrictions must be reasonable and connected with public order or India’s sovereignty and integrity.
• Relevant prohibitory provision: Section 163 of the BNSS, 2023
• A gathering does not automatically become unlawful merely because it has five or more members.

Kutki Herb (Picrorhiza kurroa)

Farmers in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district have adopted a sustainable cultivation method to conserve Kutki (Picrorhiza kurroa), a valuable Himalayan medicinal herb threatened by destructive harvesting from the wild.

Kutki naturally grows in the alpine and sub-alpine Himalayan regions at elevations of about 2,700–4,500 metres. Traditionally, collectors uprooted the entire plant, causing a sharp decline in its natural population. Under the new method, farmers harvest only the plant’s lateral stems, known as stolons, while leaving the mother plant intact.

Kutki is treated as an endangered Himalayan medicinal plant and is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Appendix II permits regulated international trade, provided it does not threaten the species’ survival in the wild.

BHAVYA Rasayan Scheme

The Union Cabinet has approved the Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana Rasayan (BHAVYA Rasayan) scheme for establishing three dedicated chemical parks in India. The scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2026–27 and will be implemented for five years from 2026–27 to 2030–31.

The scheme has a total financial outlay of ₹3,030 crore. Of this, ₹3,000 crore will be used for developing common infrastructure and basic utilities inside the chemical parks, while ₹30 crore has been allocated for administrative expenditure.

The Central Government will provide a grant of up to ₹1,000 crore per park. The concerned State government must contribute at least ₹500 crore. The three parks will be selected through the Challenge Route, under which States compete based on project readiness and suitability.

Each chemical park must have at least 8 square kilometres or 2,000 acres of contiguous, encumbrance-free land. The parks will provide plug-and-play infrastructure such as Common Effluent Treatment Plants, hazardous-waste facilities, water-supply systems, solvent-recovery units, steam networks, pipelines, logistics centres, and warehouses.

BHAVYA Rasayan aims to reduce logistics and production costs, attract domestic and foreign investment, promote exports and import substitution, and integrate India’s chemical industry with global value chains. It will also support downstream sectors such as agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals, construction, automobiles, and electronics.

Key Points for Exams:

• Number of chemical parks: Three
• Total financial outlay: ₹3,030 crore
• Implementation period: 2026–27 to 2030–31
• Maximum Central grant per park: ₹1,000 crore
• Minimum State contribution per park: ₹500 crore
• Selection method: Challenge Route

One District One Product (ODOP)

The One District One Product (ODOP) initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has identified 1,244 products across 773 districts in India. The initiative aims to select, brand, and promote at least one distinctive product from every district to support balanced regional development, local entrepreneurship, and employment generation.

Key Points for Exams:

• Implementing department: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
• Implementing Ministry: Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• ODOP products are selected by State and Union Territory governments.
• International ODOP retail stores: Two in Singapore and one in Kuwait
• No separate district-wise financial allocation is made under ODOP.

Q1. Which part of the Kutki plant is selectively harvested under the sustainable cultivation method adopted by farmers in Himachal Pradesh?
A. Fibrous roots
B. Flowers
C. Stolons
D. Seeds

Q2. Which Article of the Constitution guarantees citizens the right to assemble peacefully and without arms?
A. Article 19(1)(a)
B. Article 19(1)(b)
C. Article 21
D. Article 25

Q3. The Swarnagiri Gold Mine of Andhra Pradesh is located within which geological formation?
A. Singhbhum Craton
B. Bundelkhand Craton
C. Eastern Dharwar Craton
D. Aravalli–Delhi Fold Belt

Q4. What is the currency of Romania?
A. Euro
B. Leu
C. Forint
D. Dinar

Q5. What is the total financial outlay of the BHAVYA Rasayan Scheme?
A. ₹2,030 crore
B. ₹2,500 crore
C. ₹3,030 crore
D. ₹3,500 crore

Q6. As of July 2026, how many products had been identified under the One District One Product initiative across India?
A. 734
B. 1,024
C. 1,244
D. 1,300

Q7. Consider the following statements regarding the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026:
1. It was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 24 July 2026.
2. It seeks to replace the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, with an entirely new law.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2