- Eight healthy babies were born in Britain with the help of an experimental technique called Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy (MRT).
- The mothers were all at high risk for passing on life-threatening diseases to their babies due to mutations in their mitochondria.
- The four boys and four girls were born to seven women and have no signs of the mitochondrial diseases they were at risk of inheriting.
- The UK became the first country to approve the use of mitochondrial donation in 2015.
- The procedure is not yet permitted in India. Read More
Home / Daily Current Affairs / 18-07-2025
Daily Current Affairs – 18 July, 2025
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- The Bombay High Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, dismissing a petition that challenged the law as being ultra vires and violative of fundamental rights.
- Enactment: Brought into force in 1967, being amended several times—most notably in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2019—to include terror-related offences and empower the government with wider discretionary powers.
- Purpose: To prevent unlawful activities, including terrorism, that threaten the sovereignty and integrity of India.
- Provisions: It grants the government powers to ban organisations, designate individuals/organisations as terrorists, and prescribe enhanced investigation and detention procedures (including extended pre-charge detention and stringent bail conditions). Read More
Constitutional Validity of UAPA Upheld by Bombay High Court
In News
What is UAPA?
- India has firmly pushed back against NATO Secretary’s warning of secondary sanctions over its continued trade with Russia.
- India is the world’s third largest crude oil importer, it depends on imports to meet around 88% of its crude oil needs.
- Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India has ramped up the purchase of discounted Russian oil.
- India's main sources of crude oil imports are Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Russia, United States and the United Arab Emirates. Read More
NATO Secondary Sanctions: India calls out ‘double standards’
Context
Crude Oil Imports of India
- The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has issued directions to all State Adoption Resource Agencies (SARAs) under powers conferred by Section 70(1)(a) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021), and as per the Adoption Regulations, 2022.
- Designation of Qualified Counsellors: SARAs are mandated to designate or empanel qualified counsellors at district and state levels, ideally with backgrounds in child psychology, mental health, or social work.
- Post-Adoption Counselling: Psychosocial intervention to be provided under circumstances as assessed by Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) or District Child Protection Units (DCPUs).
- Counselling for Biological Parents: Biological parents surrendering children for adoption must be counselled about the legal finality of their decision after 60 days and the child's future right to undertake a root search (Regulations 7(11) and 30(2)(c)).
- Documentation: All counselling sessions and psychosocial interventions must be systematically recorded and documented at both SAA and DCPU levels to ensure transparency and continuity of care. Read More
CARA Issues Directions to States for Strengthening Counselling Support
In News
Key Provisions of the Directives
- The Swachh Survekshan Awards 2024-25 were presented by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
- It is a flagship initiative under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) and has played a pivotal role in driving cleanliness in urban India—engaging communities, changing mindsets, and motivating action for the past nine years.
- Beginning with just 73 urban local bodies in 2016, the latest edition now covers over 4,500 cities.
- The SS 2024-25 awards emphasize the theme of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
- In total, 78 awards were presented, recognising cities, cantonments, and institutions for their exemplary performance across a range of sanitation parameters. Read More
Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 Rankings
In News
Swachh Survekshan (SS)
- China’s transformation from the world’s largest polluter to a global clean energy superpower is the result of decades of strategic planning, massive state investment, and technological dominance across the renewable energy supply chain.
- It has emerged as a cornerstone of sustainable development, as the world confronts the climate crisis.
- It refers to energy generated from natural, renewable sources that have minimal environmental impact and produce little to no greenhouse gas emissions.
- These sources include solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, biomass and geothermal energy. Read More
China’s Green Energy Transformation
Context
About the Green Energy
- The United States has deported five foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes to Eswatini.
- It is a landlocked country bordering South Africa and Mozambique in Southern Africa.
- It is a member of the Common Monetary Area (CMA), with Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa.
- It was formerly known as Swaziland and it changed its name in 2018 to reflect its pre-colonial identity.
- It remains one of the few countries in the world, and the only one in Africa, governed by an absolute monarch. Read More
