Daily Current Affairs Quiz: May 16, 2025

Notes:
Recently, Cambodia and China launched their largest-ever Golden Dragon joint military exercise. Golden Dragon is a yearly bilateral military drill between China and Cambodia started in 2016 to boost strategic and defense cooperation. The 2025 edition focuses on joint counter-terrorism operations and humanitarian relief, showcasing peace and capacity-building goals. It is being held at the Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, which was inaugurated in April 2025 with the arrival of Chinese warships. The exercise includes high-tech tools like reconnaissance and attack drones, surgical robots, and robot dogs, showing a move towards tech-driven warfare.

Notes:
Recently, the Chhattisgarh High Court has been closely monitoring development works at Madku Dweep due to its cultural and historical value. Madku Dweep is located on the Shivnath River, the longest tributary of the Mahanadi River, in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. The island covers about 24 hectares and is named Madku because its shape resembles a frog. It is also called Kedar Tirth and Harihar Kshetra Kedar Dweep. Archaeologists have found ancient stone tools, coins, and inscriptions dating back to the 3rd century BC.

Notes:
Recently, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed a high-pressure nanoporous multilayered polymeric membrane for seawater desalination. The project was carried out by Defence Materials Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur, under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative. This membrane is made to suit the needs of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), especially to resist chloride ion damage in salty seawater. It will be used on Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) of the Coast Guard to ensure a self-reliant supply of freshwater onboard. Desalination means removing salts from seawater to make it usable for drinking or industry.

Notes:
On May 15, 2025, the Inclusive India Summit was held at India International Centre, New Delhi, to mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). The event was conducted in hybrid mode and organized with the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), under the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It was supported by the State Bank of India (SBI) Foundation, National Association for the Blind (NAB), Association of People with Disability (APD), and Mission Accessibility. The summit highlighted that accessibility and inclusion for persons with disabilities is a shared duty of all society. It focused on three key areas of life for Divyangjan: Life, Learning, and Livelihood. The importance of using technology to ease daily challenges for persons with disabilities was stressed, with a call to make it more accessible.

Notes:
The International Day of Families is observed on 15 May every year. The United Nations General Assembly declared this day in 1983 following recommendations from the Commission for Social Development and the Economic and Social Council. The 2025 theme is “Family-Oriented Policies for Sustainable Development: Towards the Second World Summit for Social Development.” The theme highlights the role of family-focused policies in dealing with global changes like technology, migration, climate change, urbanisation, and population shifts. The day aims to raise awareness about family-related issues and promote their role in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).