Daily Current Affairs Quiz: May 24, 2025

Notes:
The Self Reliant India Fund, known as SRI Fund, supports Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by providing equity funding to help them grow into large businesses. The total size of the fund is Rs. 50,000 crore, out of which Rs. 10,000 crore comes from the Government of India and Rs. 40,000 crore is mobilized from private equity and venture capital investors. The SRI Fund uses a mother-fund and daughter-fund model to invest in MSMEs through equity or quasi-equity instruments. It is managed by NSIC Venture Capital Fund Limited (NVCFL), a Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). As of March 2025, the scheme has already invested about Rs. 10,979 crore in 577 MSMEs, showing strong progress in supporting India’s small businesses.

Notes:
India recently welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to return the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, including the Diego Garcia atoll, to Mauritius under a historic agreement. The Chagos Islands are located in the central Indian Ocean, about 1,600 km south of India’s southern tip. These islands have been a British Overseas Territory since November 8, 1965. Key islands in the group include Diego Garcia, Danger Island, Egmont Islands, Eagle Islands, Nelsons Island, Peros Banhos, Three Brothers, and the Solomon Islands. Diego Garcia, the largest island covering 30 square kilometers, hosts a major United States military base. The islands are flat and low-lying, with most areas not rising more than 2 meters above sea level and having no rivers or lakes. They experience a tropical marine climate with high heat and humidity, moderated by trade winds.

Notes:
Chinese scientists recently discovered a new species of bacteria named Niallia tiangongensis aboard the Tiangong Space Station. The Tiangong Space Station, meaning ‘Sky Palace’, is a Chinese-owned and permanently crewed space station in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). It is the final phase of China’s Manned Space Program, developed after earlier missions Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2. The first module, Tianhe, was launched in April 2021 and connects two science modules, Wentian and Mengtian, with a planned space telescope called Xuntian.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Rising North East Investors Summit in New Delhi, emphasizing zero tolerance towards terrorism and Maoist unrest. He described EAST as Empower, Act, Strengthen, and Transform, highlighting the North East’s diversity as India’s strength. The region, once called a Frontier, is now a front-runner in growth with strong tourism, bio-economy, bamboo, tea, petroleum, sports, and eco-tourism sectors. The two-day summit focuses on tourism, agro-food processing, textiles, healthcare, IT, infrastructure, energy, and entertainment, aiming to attract global and domestic investment. The summit brings investors, policymakers, and stakeholders together to promote Make in India, Make in the Northeast, and Make for the World initiatives.

Notes:
Recently, 52 Jenu Kuruba tribal families in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (NTR) put up a board claiming land rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA). It is located in Karnataka, specifically in the districts of Mysore and Kodagu. The reserve is an ecological meeting point of the Western and Eastern Ghats mountain ranges. It is named after the Nagarahole River, which flows inside the reserve and joins the Kabini River. Nagarahole is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is bordered by Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. The Kabini River is to the north and Moyar River to the south of the reserve.