Daily Current Affairs UPSC: News Based MCQs Quiz | 22nd August 2025

Answer: (A) 1 only

Detailed Explanation

• The first-ever Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) set to begin today at the scenic Dal Lake in Jammu & Kashmir. Over 400 top athletes from 36 states and Union Territories compete for 24 gold medals in rowing, kayaking, and canoeing in the three-day national event.
• This is the first open-age national championship where all 24 medal events are part of the Olympic sports program. The festival will also feature three demonstration events, water skiing, shikhara boat sprint, and dragon boat race, aiming to boost tourism.
• Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, and Kerala, sending the largest contingent of 44 athletes. Services will not be competing this time. Olympian Arjun Lal Jat, a silver medallist from the 2022 Asian Games, will be a star attraction, representing Delhi.
• The competition starts today with three kayaking and canoeing gold medals to be decided. All rowing finals will take place on the last day, August 3.
• KIWSF is part of the Khelo India initiative launched in 2017-18 to promote grassroots sports, with 2025 also featuring the Khelo India Beach Games held in Diu in May. Live streaming of the Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 will be available on the Prasar Bharati Sports YouTube channel. The event will also be telecast live on DD Sports TV channel in India.

Answer: (B) Prime Minister of India

Detailed Explanation

• In order to amend the Constitution to enable introduction of GST, the Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 was introduced in the Parliament. The Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in May, 2015. The Bill with certain amendments was finally passed in the in the Rajya Sabha on 3rd August, 2016 and thereafter by the Lok Sabha on 8th August, 2016. The Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by more than 15 States and received Hon’ble President’s assent on 8th of September, 2016 and has been enacted as the 101st Constitution Amendment Act, 2016 conferring simultaneous power upon Parliament and the State Legislatures to make laws governing goods and services tax and creation of Goods and Services Tax Council.
• As per Article 279A(1) of the Constitution, the GST Council had to be constituted by the President within 60 days of the commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and First) Amendment Act, 2016. The notification for bringing into force Article 279A with effect from 12th September, 2016 was issued on 10th September, 2016.
• As per Article 279A(2) of the Constitution, the GST Council shall consist of the following members: –
• a) The Union Finance Minister
• b) The Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue or Finance
• c) The Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State Government
• d) Any person nominated by the Governor of the State where there is a proclamation of emergency under Article 356 of the Constitution of India.

Answer: (D) None of the above

Detailed Explanation

• The office of RGI is primarily responsible for the following activities:
• (i) Housing & Population Census: The Census Commissioner, India is the statutory authority vested with the responsibility of conducting the Housing & Population Census in India under Census Act, 1948 and the Rules framed thereunder. Planning, coordination and supervision of the field activities; data processing; compilation, tabulation and dissemination of Census results are the primary duties of this office.
• (ii) Civil Registration System (CRS): The Census Commissioner, India is also designated as Registrar General, India under the Registration of Births & Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969, which provides for the compulsory registration of births and deaths. In this role, the RGI coordinates the functioning of the civil registration and vital statistics system in the country through all States and UTs.
• (iii) Sample Registration System (SRS): Implementation of Sample Registration System, wherein large scale sample survey of vital events is conducted on a half-yearly basis, is also the responsibility of the ORG&CCI. SRS is an important source of vital rates like Birth Rate, Death Rate, Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate at the State level in the country.
• (iv) National Population Register (NPR): In pursuance to provisions contained in Citizenship Rules, 2003 framed under the Citizenship Act, 1955, the National Population Register is prepared by collecting information relating to all persons who are usually residing in the country.
• (v) Mother Tongue Survey: The project surveys the mother tongues, which are returned consistently across two and more Census decades. The research programme documents the linguistic features of the selected mother tongues.

Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2

Detailed Explanation

• Aadhaar number is a 12-digit random number issued by the UIDAI (“Authority”) to the residents of India after satisfying the verification process laid down by the Authority. Any individual, irrespective of age and gender, who is a resident of India, may voluntarily enrol to obtain Aadhaar number.
• Person willing to enrol has to provide minimal demographic and biometric information during the enrolment process which is totally free of cost.
• An individual needs to enrol for Aadhaar only once and after de-duplication only one Aadhaar shall be generated, as the uniqueness is achieved through the process of demographic and biometric de-duplication.
• Aadhaar number is verifiable in an online, cost-effective way. It is unique and robust enough to eliminate duplicates and fake identities and may be used as a basis/primary identifier to roll out several Government welfare schemes and programmes for effective service delivery thereby promoting transparency and good governance. This is the only program of its kind globally, wherein a state-of-the-art digital and online Id is being provided free of cost at such a large scale to people, and has the potential to change the way service delivery functions in the country.
• Aadhaar number is devoid of any intelligence and does not profile people based on caste, religion, income, health and geography. The Aadhaar number is a proof of identity, however, it does not confer any right of citizenship or domicile in respect of an Aadhaar number holder.
• Aadhaar is a strategic policy tool for social and financial inclusion, public sector delivery reforms, managing fiscal budgets, increase convenience and promote hassle-free people-centric governance. Aadhaar can be used as a permanent Financial Address and facilitates financial inclusion of the underprivileged and weaker sections of the society and is therefore a tool of distributive justice and equality. The Aadhaar identity platform is one of the key pillars of the ‘Digital India’, wherein every resident of the country is provided with a unique identity. The Aadhaar programme has already achieved several milestones and is by far the largest biometrics based identification system in the world.
• Aadhaar identity platform with its inherent features of Uniqueness, Authentication, Financial Address and e-KYC, enables the Government of India to directly reach residents of the country in delivery of various subsidies, benefits and services by using the resident’s Aadhaar number only.

Answer: (B) 2 only

Detailed Explanation

Answer: (B) Yemen

Detailed Explanation

Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2

Detailed Explanation

• The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a massive infrastructure project, part of China’s larger Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). CPEC aims to connect Gwadar port in southwestern Pakistan to China’s Xinjiang province through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines. This corridor is intended to boost trade, improve connectivity, and facilitate energy and resource transportation between the two countries.
• Purpose:
• CPEC is designed to enhance China’s access to the Indian Ocean through Pakistan’s Gwadar port, potentially reducing reliance on the Strait of Malacca. It also aims to stimulate economic development in Pakistan by improving infrastructure, creating jobs, and addressing energy shortages.