Daily Current Affairs Quiz: September 11, 2025

Notes:
Swachh Vayu Survekshan (SVS) 2025 is an annual survey by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). It evaluates 130 cities on eight parameters like road dust, solid waste, vehicular and industrial emissions, construction and demolition (C&D) waste, public awareness, and particulate matter reduction. Indore topped million-plus-population cities, followed by Jabalpur and Agra/Surat. Navi Mumbai ranked 4th, Kanpur 5th, Bhopal 6th, Delhi 32nd, Bengaluru 36th, Kolkata 38th, and Chennai 41st. In 3–10 lakh category, Amravati ranked first; in under 3 lakh category, Dewas ranked first. PM10 levels reduced in 103 cities, with Mumbai showing the highest decline (44%), followed by Kolkata (37%), Hyderabad and Bengaluru (26%), Delhi (15%), and Chennai (12%).

Notes:
Russia recently struck Ukraine’s Cabinet building with an Iskander-K missile. Iskander-K is a Russian-made mobile short-range cruise missile launcher vehicle on an 8×8 military truck chassis. It looks similar to Iskander-M, which is a ballistic missile launcher vehicle. Also called SSC-8, it entered service with Russian Armed Forces in February 2017. It is built for tactical-operational strikes.

Notes:
Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) launched SPREE-2025 and AMNESTY Scheme-2025 to strengthen social security and ease compliance. SPREE-2025 (Scheme for Promoting Registration of Employers and Employees) will run till 31st December 2025. It allows industries and employees not yet in ESIC to register via ESI Portal, Shram Suvidha Portal, and Company Affairs Portal without old dues. It promotes voluntary compliance, reduces litigation, and builds trust between employers and employees. AMNESTY Scheme-2025 will run from 1st October 2025 to 30th September 2026. It resolves disputes related to damages, interest, and coverage under the ESI Act. For the first time, disputes over damages and interest are included in settlement.

Notes:
A recent wildlife survey in Arunachal Pradesh recorded first-ever photographic evidence of the elusive Pallas’s cat. It was first described in 1776 by Peter Simon Pallas, based on specimens near Lake Baikal, Russia. It is mainly found in Central Asia, with its range extending to western Iran, Mongolia, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It inhabits rocky montane grasslands and shrublands with snow cover below 15–20 cm. It preys mainly on lagomorphs (hares, pikas) and rodents. This finding is a major addition to Arunachal Pradesh’s wildlife records.

Notes:
Innovations for Defence Excellence – Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) signed an MoU with EdCIL (India) Limited on 9th September 2025 in New Delhi. The collaboration is under the new ASPIRE (Accelerating Strategic Progress in Research and Education) programme. The objective is to link defence expertise with emerging ed-tech solutions and extend iDEX’s innovation model to the civilian sector.iDEX is the flagship initiative of the Ministry of Defence, launched in 2018 by Government of India. EdCIL is a Mini Ratna Category-I Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under Ministry of Education with expertise in ed-tech and consultancy.