Current Affairs Quiz - April 2025

Notes:
Researchers in China successfully transplanted a gene-modified pig liver into a human with brain death to evaluate its function. Xenotransplantation involves transplanting cells, tissues, or organs from non-human animals into humans. Early attempts at xenotransplantation began in the 1980s with heart transplants. Genetic modifications are necessary to prevent immune rejection of animal organs in humans. Post-transplant monitoring is essential to assess organ function and immune responses.

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The Sagarmala Programme, launched in March 2015, aims to revolutionize India’s maritime sector. It was launched by Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways. India’s 7,500 km coastline and 14,500 km of waterways offer significant growth potential. It focuses on streamlining logistics, reducing costs, and improving trade competitiveness via efficient coastal and waterway networks. The program emphasizes port modernization, industrial growth, job creation, and sustainable development. The Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 sets targets for shipbuilding and port handling, aiming to make India a top global maritime leader. 839 projects worth ₹5.79 lakh crores, with 272 completed, investing ₹1.41 lakh crore.

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Concerns have been raised over land grants within the core area of Nagarahole National Park (Nagarahole Tiger Reserve), particularly in its ecologically sensitive swampy grasslands. Nagarahole National Park, also known as Rajiv Gandhi National Park, is a notified Tiger Reserve and part of Project Tiger. It is located in Kodagu and Mysuru districts, Karnataka. It was named after the Nagarahole River, it serves as a critical wildlife corridor.

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A rare set of copper plates from the early 15th century, during the reign of Devaraya I of the Sangama Dynasty, was unveiled in Bengaluru. Falcon Coins Gallery collaborated with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to present these historical artifacts. The plates are inscribed in Sanskrit and Kannada using Nāgarī characters and were issued during the coronation of Devaraya I. Unlike the traditional Varaha insignia of the Vijayanagara Empire, the seal on these plates features Vamana. Dated to Saka 1328 (1406 CE), they confirm the coronation date of Devaraya I. The inscriptions detail the genealogy of the Sangama Dynasty, tracing lineage from Chandra, Yadu, and Sangama to rulers like Harihara, Kampa, Bukka, Mãrapa, and Muddapa.

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Indonesia’s Mount Marapi, an active volcano in western Sumatra, recently erupted, sending ash 1.5 km (4,900 ft) into the sky. It is a stratovolcano, made of hardened lava, ash, and rocks from earlier eruptions. Marapi lies within the Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone around the Pacific Ocean. Standing at 2,891 meters (9,485 feet), it is the tallest volcano in the Padang Highlands. Its summit has the Bancah Caldera, with overlapping craters. A deadly lahar in 1979 killed 60 people. It is often confused with Mount Merapi, a different volcano in Java.

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Assam government will withdraw Foreigner Tribunal cases filed against the indigenous Koch-Rajbongshi community. The Koch-Rajbongshi community is primarily found in the northeastern region of India, particularly in the states of Assam and West Bengal, with significant populations also residing in parts of Meghalaya. The Koch-Rajbongshi community is primarily found in the northeastern region of India, particularly in the states of Assam and West Bengal, with significant populations also residing in parts of Meghalaya.

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Around 300 Pakistani citizens of Indian origin from Sindh visited the Dwarkadhish Temple in Devbhumi Dwarka, Gujarat, and offered prayers. The Dwarkadhish Temple, also called Jagat Mandir, is dedicated to Lord Krishna, known as Dwarkadhish or ‘King of Dwarka’. It is part of the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit, along with Badrinath, Rameshwaram, and Puri. Archaeological evidence suggests the original temple dates back to 200 BCE and was built by Vajranabha, Krishna’s great-grandson, over Krishna’s residence. The current temple was expanded in the 16th century with five stories and 72 limestone and sand pillars. It reflects 16th-century Chalukya architecture with carved mythical legends. It follows Pushtimarg tradition, based on teachings of 15th-century saint Vallabhacharya.

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India became the third-largest producer of electricity from wind and solar energy in 2024, overtaking Germany, as per Ember’s Global Electricity Review. Wind and solar generated 10% of India’s electricity in 2024, and 15% globally. Clean energy sources like renewables and nuclear power made up 40.9% of global electricity – the highest since the 1940s. India added 24 gigawatts (GW) of solar in 2024, becoming the third-largest market after China and the US. Solar power contributed 7% of India’s electricity, doubling since 2021. India aims for 50% of installed power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030 under its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). India also targets 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, but needs 20% more annual funding to meet it, according to Ember.

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China has launched the “Three Gorges Antarctic Eye,” a 3.2-metre aperture radio and millimetre-wave telescope at Zhongshan Station in Antarctica. It is designed to study interstellar gas like hydrogen and ammonia and to explore star formation in deep space. The telescope can operate in Antarctica’s extreme cold and strong winds, making it a major engineering success. It builds on China’s earlier Antarctic Survey Telescopes (AST3) projects. The telescope was developed by China Three Gorges University and Shanghai Normal University to boost China’s space science research.

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POEM-4, or PSLV Orbital Experiment Module-4, recently re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and fell into the Indian Ocean, as tracked by ISRO’s IS4OM (System for Safe and Sustainable Space Operations Management). It is a space research platform developed by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) using the spent fourth stage (PS4) of the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket as an orbiting lab. POEM-4 is part of the SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) mission and is the fourth in the POEM series, after POEM-3. It has three times more payload capacity than POEM-3, showing major progress in reusing rocket stages for science.