Current Affairs Quiz - April 2025

Notes:
Uttar Pradesh MSME Minister announced India’s first Textile Machine Park near Kanpur on 875 acres in Chaparghata village, Bhongaon. The park will follow the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to reduce imports and promote Make in India. It aims to manufacture textile machines currently imported from China, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, and Europe. More than 200 large and medium units will be set up for machine production. Machines like circular knitting, flat knitting, printing, and technical textile machines will be manufactured. Local technical experts will be trained for repair and maintenance. Uttar Pradesh’s textile sector is witnessing rapid growth.

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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) funds the Strengthening Multimodal and Integrated Logistics Ecosystem (SMILE) Program. It aims to improve India’s logistics infrastructure, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. It supports the National Logistics Policy and PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. Focus areas include multimodal logistics, warehousing standardization, and digitalization in trade logistics. It enhances supply chain resilience, especially for India’s manufacturing sector. The program promotes gender inclusion through gender audits at land ports. SMILE aligns with Atmanirbhar Bharat by improving domestic manufacturing and global trade integration.

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SpaceX recently launched a private astronaut crew on a historic polar-orbiting mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. A Polar Orbit (PO) is a type of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) between 200 km and 1,000 km in altitude. Unlike equatorial orbits, satellites in a polar orbit travel from pole to pole. Polar orbits allow satellites to cover the entire Earth’s surface as the planet rotates. These orbits are crucial for Earth observation, climate monitoring, and reconnaissance. The Fram2 mission is the first human spaceflight to use this trajectory, marking a milestone in space exploration.

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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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A three-day India-Nepal Literature Festival was organized in Vrindavan, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. It was conducted by Geeta Shodh Sansthan, affiliated with Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad, and Krantidhara Sahitya Academy, Meerut. More than 180 litterateurs, writers, journalists, and educationists from India and Nepal participated. The festival aimed to promote and enhance the literary and cultural heritage of both countries. It encouraged the exchange of literature and culture. Cooperation between Indian and Nepali litterateurs was strengthened. Traditional and contemporary literature gained new direction and recognition.

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Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented since 2021-22. It has three components: ‘Adarsh Gram’, ‘Grants-in-aid for District/State-level Projects for Socio-Economic betterment of Scheduled Caste (SC) Communities’, and ‘Hostel’. The scheme aims to improve socio-economic indicators in SC-dominated villages by ensuring infrastructure and services. It reduces poverty by generating employment through skill development and income-generating schemes. 25 states submitted Perspective Plans for 2023-26, and Rs. 457.82 Crore was released for 8146 projects, including 987 for skill development in 2023-25. In 2024-25, 4,991 villages were declared as Adarsh Gram. The Hostel component provides residential facilities in quality institutions and schools to boost SC literacy and enrolment. A total of 891 hostels have been sanctioned under PM-AJAY, including 27 in 2024-25. In 2024-25, Rs. 6.64 Crore was used for administrative expenses under PM-AJAY.

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Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company Limited (CSPGCL) is building its first Supercritical Thermal Power Project (SCTPP) in Korba district to boost power generation. The new plant is an expansion of the existing Hasdeo Thermal Power Station (HTPS) and was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 30, 2025. The project involves an investment of ₹15,800 crore and will add 1,320 megawatts (MW) to the current 1,340 MW capacity. Supercritical thermal power plants operate above the critical pressure of 22.1 mega pascals (MPa) and temperature of 374°C for higher energy efficiency. In supercritical conditions, water and steam merge into a single phase, improving power output with less fuel.

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The Prime Minister of Thailand gifted a copy of the Tipitaka in Pali language to the Indian Prime Minister during his ongoing visit. Tipitaka, meaning “three baskets,” is a collection of Buddhist scriptures written in the Pali language and is the core of Theravada Buddhism. The Vinaya Pitaka contains rules and guidelines for monks and nuns in the monastic community, called the sangha. The Sutta Pitaka includes the sermons and teachings of Gautama Buddha. The Abhidhamma Pitaka explains deep philosophical ideas about the nature of reality. Theravada Buddhism is the oldest surviving Buddhist tradition followed by those called theravadins, meaning followers of the old teachers or theras.

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An international team of astronomers has used the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to discover a new warm Jupiter-type exoplanet over 1,000 light years away. TESS is a NASA mission launched in March 2018 to detect exoplanets orbiting bright dwarf stars by observing small dips in star brightness caused by planet transits. It followed the Kepler space telescope and used the transit method to study planet size and orbit. In its two-year prime mission, which ended in July 2020, TESS imaged 75% of the sky and discovered 66 new exoplanets. TESS continues its work under an extended mission.

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The Kodungalloor Bharani is a vibrant annual festival held at the Sree Kurumba Bhagavathy Temple in Kodungalloor, Thrissur, Kerala during the Malayalam month of Meenam (March–April). It celebrates the birth of Goddess Bhadrakali, who, according to legend, emerged from Lord Shiva’s third eye to destroy the demon Darika. The festival is marked by the intense presence of Oracles (called Komaram or Velichappadu) dressed in red attire who perform sacred rituals. The celebration is one of Kerala’s most mystical and culturally rich traditions, drawing large crowds every year.