Daily Current Affairs- 17th August 2025

Daily Current Affairs- 17th August 2025

RBI’s FREE-AI Committee Report

In the News: On August 13, 2025, the Reserve Bank of India released the “Framework for Responsible and Ethical Enablement of Artificial Intelligence” (FREE-AI), providing guiding principles and recommendations to ensure safe, inclusive, and innovative use of AI in the financial sector while managing risks.

Key Points:

• The report lays down seven guiding sutras (principles): Trust as the foundation, People First, Innovation over restraint, Fairness and equity, Accountability, Understandable by design, and Safety, resilience, and sustainability.
• The committee proposed six strategic pillars with 26 recommendations, covering infrastructure, policy, capacity building, governance, consumer protection, and assurance frameworks.
• Under infrastructure, it calls for shared digital platforms, AI innovation sandboxes, indigenous finance-specific AI models, and democratized access to compute resources for smaller players.
• On policy, it recommends adaptive regulations, graded AI liability to promote experimentation, and a permanent multi-stakeholder AI Standing Committee to oversee developments.
• Capacity measures include upskilling boards and executives, building training ecosystems, creating best-practice frameworks, and incentivising socially impactful AI projects.
• Governance reforms mandate board-approved AI policies, lifecycle management to prevent model drift, and inclusion of AI risk assessment in new product approvals.
• The protection framework strengthens consumer protection, cybersecurity, red-teaming of AI systems, grievance redress, and a tolerant supervisory stance toward early-stage AI errors.
• Assurance measures include maintaining AI inventories, introducing audit frameworks (internal and third-party), requiring AI disclosures in annual reports, and adopting compliance toolkits.
• The committee highlighted that Generative AI could enhance banking sector efficiency by nearly 46 percent, especially in areas like fraud detection, compliance, customer engagement, and new-to-credit inclusion using alternative data sources.

C.P. Radhakrishnan, Maharashtra Governor and Former Coimbatore MP, Named NDA’s Vice-Presidential Pick

In the News: On August 17, 2025, during a meeting of the BJP’s Parliamentary Board—chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by key party leaders—the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) officially announced Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the upcoming Vice‑Presidential election scheduled for September 9.

Key Points:

• Veteran statesman from Tamil Nadu: Born on 20 October 1957 in Tiruppur, Radhakrishnan is a former two-term Lok Sabha MP representing Coimbatore and a long-time Vijay organization (RSS) member and BJP leader.
• Governor with varied administrative experience: He has held gubernatorial roles in Jharkhand (2023–24), and briefly held additional charges in Telangana and Puducherry before being appointed Maharashtra Governor in July 2024.
• Symbolic representation for Tamil Nadu and OBCs: Radhakrishnan, from the influential Gounder OBC community, is seen as a non-controversial, widely respected figure with cross-party acceptance in Tamil Nadu.
• Strategic regional appeal: His nomination is part of BJP’s strategy to broaden its base in southern India, particularly Tamil Nadu where the party has historically struggled.
• NDA aiming for consensus: BJP chief J.P. Nadda emphasized efforts to secure an unopposed or unanimous election, with outreach to opposition parties already underway

Cloudbursts, Landslides Hit Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua

In the News: In the early hours of Sunday, August 17, 2025, twin disasters struck Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district. A cloudburst in Jodh Ghati village (Rajbagh area) triggered flash floods and mudslides, while a landslide hit Janglote (Bagra village)—together claiming the lives of seven people, including five children.

Key Points:

• The disasters occurred amid intense overnight rainfall, causing sudden flooding and hillside collapse that engulfed homes and blocked access in affected villages.
• In Jodh Ghati, five fatalities—including three young sons aged 2 to 6—were reported due to the flash flood; in Janglote, a mother and her nine-year-old daughter were killed in the landslide.
• Damage extended to critical infrastructure: roads and mud houses were destroyed, railway lines—including the Jammu–Pathankot route—and a section of National Highway‑44 were disrupted, and a police station was also damaged.
• Army, SDRF, and NDRF teams were swiftly mobilized to the site. Helicopters were deployed to evacuate the injured, and rescue operations remain ongoing.
• Authorities reported that the Ujh River levels surged near danger limits, submerging low-lying areas and exacerbating the flooding risk.
• Political leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and LG Manoj Sinha, affirmed the Centre’s support; CM Omar Abdullah announced ex-gratia compensation for affected families and ordered intensified rescue efforts.
• This incident comes just three days after a devastating cloudburst in Kishtwar’s Chashoti village, which killed over 60 people—highlighting the region’s recurring vulnerability to sudden extreme weather events.

Ajay Kumar Bhalla Given Additional Charge as Nagaland Governor

In the News: Following the demise of Nagaland Governor La. Ganesan on August 15, President Droupadi Murmu appointed Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to also discharge the functions of the Governor of Nagaland, effective immediately.

Key Points:

• Ajay Kumar Bhalla, a 1984‑batch IAS officer of the Assam‑Meghalaya cadre, was appointed Governor of Manipur in December 2024 and continues in that role.
• He previously served as Union Home Secretary from August 2019 to August 2024, overseeing key national crises including J&K’s status change, the CAA protests, and the COVID‑19 response.
• The appointment comes after the passing of La. Ganesan, a long-time RSS and BJP leader, who served as Governor of Nagaland from February 2023 until his death on August 15, 2025.
• Bhalla will hold additional charge of Nagaland along with his ongoing responsibilities in Manipur, ensuring continuity of governance in Nagaland until a regular appointment is made.
• The move is seen as strategically significant, given the sensitive political climates in both Manipur (currently under President’s Rule) and Nagaland.

Uttarakhand Minority Educational Institutions Bill, 2025

In the News: The Uttarakhand Cabinet approved the Uttarakhand Minority Educational Institutions Bill, 2025, to be presented in the monsoon legislative session beginning August 19. The bill expands minority status benefits beyond Muslim-run institutions to include those run by Sikh, Jain, Christian, Buddhist, and Parsi communities, and will repeal the existing Uttarakhand Madrasa Education Board Act, 2016, along with the Non-Government Arabic and Persian Madrasa Recognition Rules, 2019, effective July 1, 2026. This move makes Uttarakhand the first state in India to enact such inclusive legislation.

Key Points:

The Bill aims to extend minority educational institution status to Sikh, Jain, Christian, Buddhist, and Parsi communities—previously limited to Muslim institutions only—marking a historic first in the country.

Existing laws—the Madrasa Education Board Act, 2016, and the Arabic and Persian Madrasa Recognition Rules, 2019—will be formally repealed from July 1, 2026.

It mandates the creation of a Uttarakhand State Minority Education Authority (SMEA) to review applications, grant recognition, and monitor compliance with standards set by the State Board of School Education, ensuring academic quality and governance transparency.

Recognition under the new law will be mandatory for institutions run by minority communities and require registration under the Societies Act, Trust Act, or Company Act, with institutional ownership of property and bank accounts, upholding institutional autonomy within a framework of accountability.

The authority will monitor institutions for misuse of funds, lack of transparency, or conduct affecting social harmony—and has the power to revoke recognition if standards are violated, emphasizing regulatory oversight alongside institutional freedom.

The legislation also introduces the possibility of Gurmukhi and Pali language instruction within minority institutions, broadening cultural inclusion.

Critics, including former CM Harish Rawat and Muslim bodies, have voiced concerns that abolishing the madrasa board may infringe constitutional rights under Articles 26 and 30 and weaken religious education structures; defenders argue the Bill promotes transparency and inclusiveness.

Income Tax Bill, 2025

In the News: On February 13, 2025, the Income Tax Bill, 2025 was introduced in Lok Sabha, marking the first comprehensive revamp of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to simplify, streamline, and digitise India’s tax framework. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 11, 2025, and subsequently approved by both Houses of Parliament by August 12, 2025.

Key Points:

• The Bill reduces the total number of sections from 819 to 536, restructures them into 23 chapters, and introduces 16 schedules, using modernised and simplified language to reduce redundancy.
• The new law will come into effect from April 1, 2026, and introduces the concept of “Tax Year”, replacing the earlier terms “Previous Year” and “Assessment Year.”
• A faceless, digital-first tax assessment system has been introduced to curb human interface, reduce corruption, and enhance compliance ease.
• The ₹12 lakh basic exemption limit has been retained, with tax rates for individuals and corporations remaining largely unchanged.
• Taxpayers will benefit from faster TDS refunds, even after ITR deadlines without penalty, and tax authorities will be required to provide prior notice before initiating action.
• The Bill restricts anonymous donations to religious trusts that do not provide social services, thereby increasing transparency in such contributions.
• The definition of “undisclosed income” has been expanded to include virtual digital assets like cryptocurrencies, ensuring regulatory clarity in emerging financial instruments.
• Clarifications have been provided on deductions such as standard deduction for house property, pre-construction interest for home loan borrowers, and a full deduction for commuted lump-sum pensions under specified schemes.