Current Affairs Quiz - April 2025

Notes:
Sarhul Festival is celebrated by Adivasi communities in Jharkhand and the Chotanagpur region to mark spring and the new year. Sarhul means “worship of the Sal tree”, symbolizing the union of the Sun and Earth for life. The Sal tree is sacred and believed to be the abode of Sarna Maa, the village deity. Three-day celebration includes cleaning, gathering Sal flowers, fasting, rituals at Sarna Sthals (Sacred Groves), sacrifices, prayers, and a community feast with Handia (rice beer). Tribes like Oraon, Munda, Santal, Khadia, and Ho celebrate it.

Notes:
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Tonga, triggering a tsunami warning. Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an archipelago of 169 islands, with 36 inhabited. It lies south of Samoa, east of Fiji, and north of the Tropic of Capricorn in the South Pacific Ocean. The western islands are volcanic, with four active volcanoes, while the eastern islands are coral and low-lying. Tongatapu, Ha’apai, and Vava’u are the largest islands, with Nuku‘alofa as the capital. Located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, Tonga frequently experiences volcanic activity.

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Lok Sabha passed a bill to establish Tribhuvan Sahkari University in Anand, Gujarat. The university is named after Tribhuvandas Patel, a pioneer of India’s cooperative movement. Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and politician. He was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and involved in movements like civil disobedience and rural development. He founded Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd. (KDCMPUL) in 1946. Inspired by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, he fought against farmers’ exploitation by Polson Dairy. He served as President of Harijan Sevak Samiti from 1948 to 1983.

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Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) CARTOSAT-3 satellite captured high-resolution images of earthquake damage in Myanmar. A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28, 2025. Post-disaster images from March 29 were compared with pre-event data from March 18 to assess damage in Mandalay and Sagaing. CARTOSAT-3 is a third-generation agile advanced Earth observation satellite developed by ISRO. It replaces the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) series and has high-resolution imaging capabilities. It was launched aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C47).

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The Army Commanders’ Conference is held in New Delhi from April 1-4, 2025. It is a platform for senior Indian Army officials to review security and discuss key operational priorities. The conference aims to make the Army more agile, adaptive, and technologically enabled while improving decision-making, welfare, and quality of life for soldiers and their families.

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Uttar Pradesh government has announced a dolphin safari in Varanasi to boost conservation and eco-tourism. The safari will be set up between Kaithi and Dhakhwa villages, home to the highest number of dolphins in the region. Dolphin Mitras have been appointed for Ganges River Dolphin conservation. The goals include increasing dolphin populations, protecting their habitat, promoting eco-tourism, and educating people on dolphin conservation.

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The Indian Army’s Air Defence warriors from the White Tiger Division demonstrated their operational skills in a live missile-firing exercise using the 9K33 Osa-AK missile system. The 9K33 Osa-AK is a Russian-built, highly mobile, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air defence missile system. It was developed in the 1960s and fielded by the Soviet Union in 1972. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) designates it as “SA-8 Gecko.” The missile system has a length of 9.1 meters, a width of 2.78 meters, and weighs up to 18 tonnes. It integrates the transporter-erector-launcher and radar (TELAR) for independent detection, tracking, and engagement of aerial threats.

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The Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Steel informed Parliament about four Smart Advanced Manufacturing and Rapid Transformation Hub (SAMARTH) Centres. These centres were established under the Scheme for Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector. SAMARTH Udyog Bharat 4.0 is an Industry 4.0 initiative by the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises. Industry 4.0 involves digital technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and robotics to improve efficiency and decision-making. These centres assist industries, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), by training the workforce through workshops, consultancy, and incubation support for startups.

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Vibe coding became a trending term in Silicon Valley after being coined by OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy. It refers to using Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) not just for coding assistance but to generate entire applications. Users communicate with Large Language Model (LLM)-based systems like ChatGPT in natural language to create apps. Andrej Karpathy, a founding engineer at OpenAI and former head of AI at Tesla, introduced the term. Vibe coding allows people to build tools, apps, and services without deep programming knowledge. However, it raises security concerns as AI-generated code may lack efficiency, scalability, and proper security frameworks. AI code generators might produce functional code but may not consider optimization, cost, or security risks.

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Warangal Chapata chilli, also called Tomato chilli, has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the GI Registry, Government of India, on March 28, 2025. It is named Tomato chilli because of its bright red color and round shape, resembling a tomato. This is the 18th product from Telangana to receive a GI tag. The chilli is less spicy but has a bright red color and strong flavor due to its capsicum oleoresin properties. It has been cultivated for over 100 years, with farmers expecting its price to nearly double from ₹300 per kg to ₹550.