Daily Current Affairs Quiz: September 27, 2025

Notes:
The National Geoscience Awards (NGA) 2024 were conferred by President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, New Delhi, on 26th September 2025. The award was instituted in 1966 by the Ministry of Mines. These awards were earlier called National Mineral Awards till 2009. They honour excellence in mineral discovery, mining technology, beneficiation, and applied geosciences. For 2024, 208 nominations were received, and 12 awards were finalized through a three-stage process. A total of 20 geoscientists received the awards, including 9 individual and 3 team awards.

Notes:
The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered a halt on all construction within one kilometre of the Pallikaranai Marshland until a scientific study identifies its zone of influence. The order came in a suo motu case based on reports of landfilling and construction in Perumbakkam wetland, which is hydrologically linked t Pallikaranai. Pallikaranai Marshland is a freshwater marsh and partly saline wetland located about 20 km south of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It acts as an aquatic buffer for the flood-prone Chennai and Chengalpattu districts.

Notes:
Recently, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the 4th issue of Children in India 2025 Report at the 29th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (CoCSSO) in Chandigarh on 25th September 2025. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) declined from 44 in 2011 to 25 in 2023, with male IMR at 26 and female at 25. Under-five mortality rate improved to 29 in 2023, lower in urban areas (20) than rural (33). Birth rate in 2023 declined to 18.4 per 1,000 population, with higher rural rate (20.3) than urban (14.9). Gender Parity Index (GPI) in education achieved parity nationally, highest at secondary level with 1.1. Adoptions increased from 3,927 in 2017-18 to 4,515 in 2024-25, with more female children adopted than male.

Notes:
Every year on 26th September, World Environmental Health Day (WEHD) is observed globally, led by the International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH). In 2025, the theme is “Clean Air, Healthy People”, highlighting the role of air quality in public health. The aim is to spread awareness and push for action that clean air is essential for human well-being, not just an environmental issue. The focus is especially urgent for India, which faces one of the world’s highest burdens of indoor air pollution (IAP).

Notes:
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has formally recognised India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay at the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi. The reserve, established on 21st September 2022 under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, covers 448.34 sq. km in northern Palk Bay. It hosts 12,250 hectares of seagrass meadows, crucial for dugongs (Dugong dugon), listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.