Current Affairs is the most important area in all competitive exams. But the difficulty level is very high. That’s why many aspirants get confused, how to select Current Affairs for Preparation of Competitive Examination? In this Post, Daily Current Affairs 15 July 2025, we have tried to cover each and every point and also included all important facts from National/ International news that are useful for upcoming competitive examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Railway, State Govt. etc.

Daily Current Affairs – 15 July 2025

India’s First Digital Nomad Village Opens in Sikkim

On July 15, 2025, the Yakten village of Sikkim’s Pakyong district was launched as India’s first digital nomad village. This initiative will help remote workers by providing them with access to modern facilities in a quiet Himalayan environment. The initiative will also assist local families to earn a sustainable income through homestays, particularly in the low-season months.

A New Way to Work: digital nomad village in the Hills

The project, called ‘Nomad Sikkim’ is a collaborative approach developed by the Pakyong district administration and an NGO named Sarvahitey – with the aim of addressing the seasonal income gap of homestay owners from April to October when visitors are rare. Yakten now officially offers homestays for digital professionals which are equipped with broadband, and the owners have been well-trained to provide opportunities for guests to work well and live well.

Great Internet Connections and Reliable Electric Power

In order to accommodate remote work, Yakten will receive significant upgrades to improve accessibility for remote workers, including new dual internet lines, village level wifi, and electric power backups to avoid power cuts. This means remote working professionals can work effectively without interruption. As an additional note, the Jal Jeevan Mission is in the process of establishing improved water supply for the village.

Pathways to Yakten from the rest of Sikkim are accessible by road and the village is in close proximity to the Pakyong Airport.

Homestays that Embrace Locals

The homestays around Yakten provide more than just availability of rooms; they provide an opportunity for visitors to live with home-stay families and experience the food, living experience and welcoming culture of Sikkim. Visitors can also dance to folk music, dance at celebrations, visit monasteries and experience trails that are rich in nature. They allow an intermix of work that modernity provides, and the natural intermix that rural life provides.

Local Economic Enterprise

This new model from the village is a way to minimize the local community’s reliance on temperamental, seasonal tourism. It allows families to forget reliance on contractors and have consistent income and is a model to show other rural areas how to enter the digital market while preserving their traditions. Experts believe this model has the potential to be replicated in other villages across India that will allow for rural sustainable livelihoods to be created to support balanced local economic growth.

Explore, Unwind or Work

The visitors to Yakten can immerse themselves in nature while walking in tranquility and peace or have fun in the community garden or trail, hike the 7-km trek to Jhandi Dara View Point, or enjoy stunning views of Mt. Kanchenjunga. Yakten can accommodate visitors in a work setting with decent workspaces, while allowing you to be hailed by nature and the local heritage that Yakten offers. In short, it has offered the opportunity to combine where people work, play and unwind.

BITS Pilani to Launch India’s First AI Plus Campus in Amaravati with Rs 1,000 Crore Investment, Admissions from 2027

BITS Pilani announced it will establish India’s first AI Plus Campus in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh. The new campus will focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related areas. The institution is projected to accept students in 2027. With an estimated cost of Rs 1,000 crores, this is a huge investment for tech-related education in India.

A First-of-its-Kind Campus

BITS Pilani (Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani) is a prominent private university in India. It is developing a campus whose main focus is on AI and digital learning. This unique campus will be situated on 70 acres of land donated by the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) in Amaravati.

The project was announced by Kumar Mangalam Birla, the Chancellor of BITS and Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group. Birla said that the aim was to establish a “digital-first, AI-based” centre for learning with global standards and real-world experience.

Global Exposure and Green Design

The campus will include modern features such as “smart” buildings, renewable energy systems, and IoT-enabled services. It will offer AI-related programmes in areas such as Data Science, Robotics, Cyber-Physical Systems, and Computational Linguistics.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu praised the project and said it aligned with his vision to support Amaravati as a centre for advanced learning. He also stated on social media (X) that the students would receive international exposure and do internships in the industry to prepare them for the jobs of the future.

Artificial Intelligence for Real-World Issues

BITS Vice Chancellor V. Ramagopala Rao stated this would be India’s first full AI-focused campus. He added that students would learn the basics of AI while applying its use in the fields of agriculture, climate change, and health care. The campus will partner with global universities to provide the most up-to-date knowledge and techniques.

Design and Facilities

The new campus will be built adjacent to the Venkateswara Swamy Temple with an architecture reflecting a combination of the old traditional Indian temple style with modern design. An access road will also be built to the site to allow for easy access.

As part of “Project Vistar”, BITS plans to invest Rs 1,200 crore to upgrade the campuses at Pilani, Hyderabad, and Goa. The aim is to grow the total number of students across BITS campuses to 26,000 by 2030-31

World’s Oldest Marathon Runner Fauja Singh Dies at 114

Fauja Singh, the oldest marathon runner in the world, passed away at 114 after being struck by the unknown vehicle on July 14, 2025. He was out for a walk on the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway, near his village of Bias, at 3:30 PM, when he was hit. Singh’s death was confirmed by writer Khushwant Singh saying he spoke with the family and went online to post; Khushwant Singh did post that it was on the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway, of unknown vehicle. The police are investigating the accident.

Fauja Singh’s life shows strength and inspiration. He was born on April 1, 1911, and for a long time didn’t know running but picked it up after losing his wife and son. Singh ran his first marathon at the age of 89 in London in 2000. He ran nine full marathons; in London, New York, and Toronto. He carried the Olympic torch in the 2004 Athens and the 2012 London Olympics.

Strangely enough, his life was captured in global sport’s campaigns with icons like Muhammad Ali and David Beckham, to Singh: an unremarkable strong-willed person and an expositor of fitness, regardless of age.

E5 Trials in 2026: Japan Prepares India for Next-Gen E10 Bullet Trains

India will become the first country worldwide outside of Japan, to operate the brand new E10 Shinkansen bullet train, beginning with the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project, by the early 2030s. Before then, trials will be conducted using the older E5 trains, which will allow Japan to collect critical data under Indian conditions, such as heat and dust. These are all part of India taking major steps along its modern high-speed transport long journey.

E5 for Testing, E10 for Operational Start

To prepare for the operational start, two E5 train sets will be shipped from Japan in early 2026, and will be used for trial runs. These E5 trains, also known as Hayabusa, can run at speeds of 320 kmph, and will have some inspection systems installed on them to cope with trials in weather conditions including high heat and dust for testing bullet train performance.

This data will be fed to engineers to enhance the new E10 Shinkansen. The E10 is a bullet train that can go at speeds of up to 400 kmph, and will be design features to improve safety and energy savings, and provide better comfort. The E10 train is known as Alfa-X and is being developed by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), and is anticipated to commence full commercial operation in Japan by 2030.

India First to Receive E10 Outside Japan

According to Ministry of Railways sources, India will be the first country to operate the E10 series outside of Japan for commercial bullet train service. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor will be the launch site. Originally, the plan was for India to operate E5 trains for commercial service, but discussions with Japan led to the newer model arriving instead.

Japan’s move clearly demonstrates their commitment to supporting the modernization of Indian infrastructure to a level that comes with the latest technology.

Bullet Train Project Updates

The ₹1.1 lakh crore Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project will be India’s first bullet train line. Civil work is being completed at speed and scale:

• A 21 km tunnel section of the line between Ghansoli and Shilphata in Maharashtra is completed.

• 310 km of viaduct has been constructed.

• 15 river bridges are completed.

• 5 of 12 stations are complete.

• 4 more river bridges under construction and 3 new stations are nearing completion.

The full corridor is 508 km covering 352 km in Gujarat and 156 km in Maharashtra. The government is also planning future bullet train corridors.

Indian Army Conducts ‘Prachand Shakti’ in Meerut

The Ram Division of the Indian Army held a significant military exhibition known as ‘Prachand Shakti’ at the Kharga Corps Field Training Area in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. The exhibition demonstrated how the Army would equip its frontline units to be stronger and faster using modern technology tools such as drones, AI systems and loitering weapons.

Modern Warfare Demonstrated

The exhibition included the demonstration of how infantry troops in Strike Corps operations can use disruptive technology for actual use on the battlefield such as:

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
• AI-enabled combat systems
• Autonomous platforms
• Loitering munitions

These disruptive technology tools are intended to make soldiers more agile, accurate and safer when conducting deep manoeuvres and attacks behind enemy lines.

A Step Towards Technological Self-Reliance

The exercise forms part of the ‘Year of Tech Absorption’ campaign the Army is presently conducting; in other words, the Army is aimed at using home-grown and advanced technologies from Indian innovators and enterprises and integrating them into the Army’s military customs.

An official from the Ministry of Defence stated the motive is enable the Army to become increasingly less reliant on foreign equipment, and to use Indian talent and innovation to help enhance the Army’s future readiness.

Enhancing Strike Corps Capabilities

The Ram Division, renowned for its unique creation within a true Theatre of War (Strike Corps), to test what new technologies could mean for the execution of offensive missions. The concept is to enhance infantry formations, make them more resilient and able to better survive high-risk conditions, and operate faster.

Overall, the demonstration proved that the Indian Army means business in terms of being more technologically capable to face the new world order.

NCDEX and IMD Join Hands for India’s First Weather Derivatives

National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to launch India’s first weather derivatives. This new futures market instrument will enable farmers and related industries to adapt to the current climate by hedging against the rising risks associated with climate-related adverse weather events including abnormal weather patterns that cause reduced rainfall such as the extended summer of 2023, heat domes and unseasonal wind, rain and storms.

What Are Weather Derivatives?

Weather derivatives are specialized financial products that can help give assistance to farmers, transporters and all weather-reliant industries hedge against the risks posed by climate-related weather loss events. Accordingly, NCDEX will develop futures contracts with rainfall based triggers. This development is possible through IMD’s high quality weather data with sufficient granularity to create location-based features. Specifically, NCDEX will develop season-based contracts that will represent real farming activities pertaining to location and climate.

With this agreement, this is the first instance with which such a product will be launched in India, supporting climate resilience for all associated with rural activity.

Voices from the Leadership

Arun Raste, Managing Director & CEO of NCDEX, stated that this orthodoxy creates a “new era in commodity markets.” Raste reinforced climate challenges that reduced incomes and challenged crops. Specifically, Raste assertedthat a market-based solution such as weather derivatives will allow our demonstrated ability to prepare for these climate disasters. Raste

further referred to a well-functioning operating model that could support other industries in addition to agriculture.

Dr. M. Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology , India Meteorological Department said that IMD has provided support for agriculture and disaster warning systems and it has always been supportive of an inclusive response. Mohapatra stated, “with this MoU, IMD’s data will now have a financial component to provide support for livelihoods for farmers and associated industries sensitive to the impacts of climate.

Training, Research, and Growth Initiatives

This collaboration will establish new weather-indexed products, but also offer

• Training and workshops for farming groups, FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations), and traders

• Collaborative research to help develop a more thorough understanding of weather risk

• Improved market tools to assist with price and risk to the farmers, traders, and possibly the insurers

• The weather derivatives will be supported heavily by historical and real-time weather data and not only be statistically sound but very actionable.

About the Partners

NCDEX is India’s largest dedicated agricultural commodity exchange, it provides opportunities for price discovery and risk management for farmers and traders of agri-commodities. Since it has been established in 2003, NCDEX has played a major role in establishing a modern or tech-based agri-market or system.

IMD was founded in 1875 and is the national weather agency. IMD exists to provide forecasts and warnings on weather and natural hazards. IMD also provides support to critical sectors such as agriculture, aviation, irrigation, and oil exploration, and serves to help mitigate against life and property losses due to extreme weather events.