Current Affairs Quiz - April 2025

Notes:
The 37th Kathak Mahotsav 2025, organized by Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, a unit of Sangeet Natak Akademi, concluded successfully. The six-day festival featured the world’s first-ever Kathak Literary Festival, along with seminars, exhibitions, and dance performances. All major Kathak gharanas—Lucknow, Jaipur, Banaras, and Raigarh—were showcased through performances by renowned artists. The event was a landmark celebration of Kathak, bringing together scholars, dancers, and art enthusiasts.

Notes:
The Arctic region is a global flashpoint due to geopolitical tensions, climate change, and resource competition. The Arctic Council, formed in 1996 through the Ottawa Declaration, governs the Arctic. The Council has 8 member states: Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. These countries control land territories and have rights over resources within their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). Six Indigenous groups are permanent participants representing Arctic inhabitants. Thirteen countries, including India, and various organizations are observers. All decisions require consensus from the eight Arctic States and consultation with permanent participants.

Notes:
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav launched the four-day School Chale Hum campaign in Bhopal on April 1, 2025. All CM RISE Schools in the state will be renamed Maharishi Sandipani Vidyalaya. The Education Portal 3.0 was launched to digitize school education processes. The campaign runs from April 1-4, 2025, aiming to improve enrollment, retention, and timely textbook distribution. 5.6 crore textbooks (Classes 1-12), 1.02 crore Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) workbooks, and 26 lakh Bridge Course books will be provided for free.

Notes:
A new species of damselfly, Euphaea wayanadensis, was discovered in the Wayanad region of Kerala, adding to Kerala’s 191st and the Western Ghats’ 223rd recorded odonate species. The discovery was published in the peer-reviewed journal ENTOMON. Euphaea wayanadensis belongs to the family Euphaeidae. It was first observed in 2013 at the Kalindi River in Thirunelli, Wayanad. Further sightings were made from 2013 to 2019 in Wayanad, and between 2019 and 2023 in Aralam (Kannur) and Coorg (Karnataka). Initially misidentified as Euphaea pseudodispar from Maharashtra, it was later confirmed as a new species through morphological and genetic analysis.

Notes:
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government to retrieve Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka. Katchatheevu is a 285-acre uninhabited island located in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. It is 33 km northeast of Rameswaram (India) and 62 km southwest of Jaffna (Sri Lanka). The island serves as a maritime boundary marker between the two nations and is rich in fisheries, crucial for Tamil Nadu’s fishing economy.

Notes:
A new study has decoded how the venom of snake species, Pope’s Pit Viper (Trimeresurus popeiorum) works, helping understand its toxicity and aiding in better antivenom development. This research is key for pharmaceutical progress and supports India’s goal to reduce snakebite deaths by 50% by 2030. The snake is found in India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia, especially in northern and northeastern India. It lives in tropical and sub-tropical wet mountain forests, bamboo forests, scrublands, and swamps. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), its status is Least Concern.

Notes:
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian astronaut, will pilot the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS), marking a milestone for India in global space missions. Axiom Space, a private company in Houston, is organizing Ax-4 in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), European Space Agency (ESA), Poland, and Hungary. The mission crew includes Peggy Whitson (commander), Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The team will stay for 14 days aboard the ISS and carry out around 60 scientific experiments, highlighting international cooperation in space exploration.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the ‘Mithra Vibhushana’ medal from the Government of Sri Lanka for strengthening India-Sri Lanka ties and shared cultural heritage. This is the highest civilian honour of Sri Lanka, instituted in 2008 by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The award was given by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at a ceremony in Colombo. It is the 22nd international award given to PM Modi by a foreign nation. The medal features the Dharma Chakra for Buddhist heritage, Pun Kalasa for prosperity, Navarathna for deep friendship, and the Sun and Moon for eternal relations.

Notes:
The indigenously developed Hansa-3 trainer aircraft has been approved for training aircrew to get pilot licences. It will now be manufactured in India by private industry. Hansa-3 is India’s first indigenous flying trainer aircraft. It was designed and developed by the CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-NAL), Bangalore. It was built to meet the needs of Indian flying clubs. It is ideal for Commercial Pilot Licensing (CPL) because of its low cost, simple operation, and low fuel consumption.