Weekly Current Affairs & Key Questions for NDA & Competitive Exams – 4 August 2025 – 10 August 2025
Introduction
The week of August 4-10, 2025, brought significant developments across politics, defence, economy, science & technology, and sports that are crucial for NDA preparation and other competitive examinations. This comprehensive weekly update covers the most important current affairs with their defence implications, helping NDA aspirants stay ahead in their preparation. From major defence agreements and military exercises to economic policy updates and technological breakthroughs, these developments form the backbone of current affairs questions expected in NDA General Ability Test and SSB interview discussions. Understanding these weekly highlights ensures comprehensive knowledge for NDA coaching and competitive exam success.
Key Recent Current Affairs Highlights
Politics & Governance
India-Russia Strategic Partnership Strengthened: India and Russia signed a significant Protocol to deepen industrial and technological cooperation during this week, reaffirming their long-standing strategic partnership. This bilateral agreement has major implications for defence cooperation and technology transfer agreements.
Monetary Policy Committee Decisions: The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee maintained the repo rate at 5.50% during its August 2025 meeting, while revising inflation forecast for FY26 downward to 3.1% from the earlier 3.7%. The neutral stance provides flexibility for future policy adjustments based on economic conditions.
Employment Generation Initiative: The government launched the PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana from August 1, 2025, with an outlay of Rs 99,446 crore aimed at creating over 3.5 crore jobs over two years. This employment-linked incentive scheme focuses particularly on manufacturing sector development.
Defence & International Relations
Operation Sindoor Success: The Indian Air Force confirmed shooting down five Pakistani fighter jets and one large military aircraft during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, marking the largest surface-to-air kill by India. Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh officially confirmed this achievement, showcasing India’s enhanced defence capabilities.
Major Defence Production Milestone: India’s defence production reached an all-time high of Rs 1,50,590 crore in FY 2024-25, representing an 18% growth over the previous fiscal year and a 90% increase since FY 2019-20. Defence Public Sector Undertakings contributed 77% while private sector accounted for 23% of total production.
Exercise Bold Kurukshetra 2025: India and Singapore conducted the 14th edition of their joint military exercise from July 27 to August 4, 2025, at Jodhpur, focusing on mechanised warfare and operational procedures. The exercise strengthened bilateral defence cooperation and enhanced interoperability.
DRDO Achievements: The Defence Research and Development Organisation successfully conducted multiple tests including Astra missile trials with indigenous RF seeker from Su-30 Mk-I aircraft off the Odisha coast. DRDO also established new testing facilities including a hypersonic wind tunnel and scramjet test facility at Hyderabad.
Economy & Environment
GDP Growth Projections: India maintained its economic growth momentum with GDP expansion of 6.5% in FY2024-25, positioning it as the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Multiple agencies projected continued growth between 6.4-6.7% for FY2025-26.
Trade Challenges: The United States imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods starting August 6, 2025, citing India’s continued procurement of Russian oil. Moody’s warned this could slow India’s GDP growth by 0.3 percentage points if sustained.
Financial Sector Developments: The RBI confirmed that the Cash Reserve Ratio cut announced in June would begin implementation from September 2025, aimed at maintaining adequate liquidity for credit growth. Bank credit grew 12.1% in 2024-25, above the 10-year average.
Export Targets: DRDO Chairman Dr Samir V Kamat expressed confidence that India would achieve its defence export target of Rs 50,000 crore by 2028-29, driven by strong international interest in indigenous systems like Pinaka, ATAGS, BrahMos, and Akash.
Science & Technology
NISAR Mission Launch: The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite was successfully launched on July 30, 2025, from Sriharikota aboard GSLV-F16. This first joint Earth observation mission between NASA and ISRO will provide comprehensive global monitoring capabilities with 12-day repeat coverage.
Human Spaceflight Achievement: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became India’s first astronaut to visit the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission in June 2025, marking a historic milestone in India’s space program. The mission lasted 14 days and included important scientific experiments.
Gaganyaan Program Progress: India’s indigenous human spaceflight program entered its final phase with the first uncrewed test flight scheduled for Q4 2025, followed by two more test flights before the inaugural crewed mission in Q1 2027.
Space Analog Mission: ISRO organized a 10-day Space Analog Mission in Tso Kar Valley, Ladakh, from August 1-10, 2025, to study human health and performance challenges for future space missions.
Sports
England vs India Test Series: India concluded their five-match Test series against England with a 2-2 draw in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Shubman Gill scored a record 754 runs in the series, while Mohammed Siraj emerged as the highest wicket-taker with 23 wickets.
National Games 2025: The 38th National Games concluded in Uttarakhand with Services Sports Control Board topping the medal table with 121 medals (68 gold, 26 silver, 27 bronze). The games featured 11,354 athletes from various states competing in 32 sports.
World Games 2025: India sent a 17-member contingent to the World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China (August 6-17), competing in archery, billiards, racquetball, roller sports, and wushu. Rishabh Yadav won a bronze medal in men’s individual compound archery.
Asia Rugby Championship: The Indian Women’s team advanced to the semi-finals at the Asia Rugby Under-20 Championship Sevens held in Rajgir, Bihar, after defeating Kazakhstan and UAE.
Importance for NDA and Other Aspirants
Understanding weekly current affairs is fundamental for NDA success as approximately 10 questions worth 40 marks are asked from current affairs in the General Ability Test. These developments directly impact multiple sections of the NDA exam including history, geography, polity, economics, and science & technology. Defence-related current affairs hold special significance as they appear frequently in both written examination and SSB interviews, where candidates must demonstrate awareness of national security issues, defence policies, and geopolitical developments. The recent achievements in defence production, space missions, and military exercises showcase India’s growing capabilities and technological advancement, topics that are highly relevant for future defence officers. Regular tracking of such developments enhances analytical thinking and provides comprehensive knowledge base essential for NDA coaching success and competitive examination performance.
Repeated Past Important Questions Section
Question 1: Which organization successfully launched the NISAR satellite in July 2025?
a) NASA independently
b) ISRO independently
c) Joint mission between NASA and ISRO
d) European Space Agency
Answer: c) Joint mission between NASA and ISRO
Question 2: What was India’s defence production value in FY 2024-25?
a) Rs 1,27,000 crore
b) Rs 1,50,590 crore
c) Rs 1,75,000 crore
d) Rs 2,00,000 crore
Answer: b) Rs 1,50,590 crore
Question 3: The PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana aims to create how many jobs over two years?
a) 2.5 crore
b) 3 crore
c) 3.5 crore
d) 4 crore
Answer: c) 3.5 crore
Question 4: Which Indian Air Force officer became the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station in 2025?
a) Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma
b) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla
c) Squadron Leader Ajit Singh
d) Air Marshal Pradeep Airankar
Answer: b) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla
Question 5: The RBI maintained the repo rate at what percentage during its August 2025 monetary policy meeting?
a) 5.25%
b) 5.50%
c) 5.75%
d) 6.00%
Answer: b) 5.50%
Closing Words
Consistent weekly current affairs study is the key to NDA success and competitive examination excellence. Stay updated with national and international developments, particularly those related to defence and security. Ground Zero Defence Academy offers the best NDA coaching in Dehradun with expert strategy on how to crack NDA exam through comprehensive current affairs coverage and strategic preparation methodology.
