Current Affairs Quiz - April 2025

Notes:
A degraded area called the Polo Ground inside Guindy National Park is being restored to support wildlife, especially blackbucks. Guindy National Park is a rare protected urban area located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is home to spotted deer and blackbucks, which rely on open grasslands to survive. Restoration work includes removing invasives, planting seven native grass species, and adding legume plants to improve soil health.

Notes:
Juspay, a Bengaluru-based payments infrastructure company, became India’s first unicorn of 2025 after raising $60 million in a Series D funding round. The round was led by Kedaara Capital, with participation from SoftBank and Accel, pushing Juspay’s valuation over $1 billion. The company plans to improve its technology using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and expand into international markets like Asia-Pacific (APAC), Latin America, Europe, United Kingdom (UK), and North America. Despite losing major clients like Razorpay and PhonePe, Juspay remains focused on AI-driven productivity and global growth to sustain its momentum.

Notes:
Kerala and Tamil Nadu jointly conducts a Nilgiri Tahr census to mark 50 years of Eravikulam National Park. Eravikulam National Park, Kerala’s first national park, was a sanctuary in 1975 and became a national park in 1978. It was mainly established to protect the endangered Nilgiri Tahr, a mountain goat species found only in the Western Ghats of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The park also shelters species like Lion-tailed Macaques and Nilgiri Langurs. Nilgiri Tahr is also the state animal of Tamil Nadu.

Notes:
A fire broke out at Daulatabad Fort in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra, prompting the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to assess the damage and plan disaster management. It is located in Maharashtra. Specifically, it is situated near the city of Aurangabad, also known as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Daulatabad Fort was originally called Devgiri, meaning “Hill of Gods”, and was renamed by Muhammad bin Tughlaq in the 14th century when he shifted his capital there. It served as the capital for many dynasties like the Yadavas, Tughlaqs, Bahmanis, Nizam Shahis, Mughals, Marathas, and the Nizams of Hyderabad. It is a UNESCO-nominated heritage site known for its rich history, architecture, and ecology. The fort has three-layered defense walls called Ambarkot, Mahakot, and Kalakot, with moats, bastions, and iron-spiked gates.

Notes:
Nature Genetics published results from the GenomeIndia Project, which sequenced whole genomes of about 10,000 people from 85 different population groups, including 32 tribal and 53 non-tribal communities across India. The study found 180 million genetic variants, with 130 million on autosomes, which are non-sex chromosomes, and 50 million on sex chromosomes, X and Y. Some of these variants are linked to diseases, some are rare, and many are unique to India or certain communities. The GenomeIndia Project was launched in 2020 by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to map India’s genetic diversity.

Notes:
April 13 is observed as Siachen Day to honour the Indian Army’s Operation Meghdoot, launched in 1984 to secure the Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battlefield. Indian troops captured Bilafond La Pass, gaining a major strategic edge in Kashmir. The operation was led by Lieutenant General Manohar Lal Chibber, Lieutenant General P.N. Hoon, and Major General Shiv Sharma. It was supported by the Indian Air Force (IAF) using aircraft like An-12, An-32, IL-76, and helicopters Mi-17, Chetak, and Cheetah. Siachen guards routes to Gilgit Baltistan, Shaksgam Valley, and the Karakoram Pass, making it vital for national security.

Notes:
Kerala has become the first state in India to achieve total digital literacy through the Digi Kerala initiative, training over 21 lakh digitally illiterate people. The training covered skills like making voice/video calls, accessing government services, using Internet banking, and navigating social media. The Local Self-Government (LSG) department’s initiative surpassed National Digital Literacy Mission guidelines, including people of all ages.

Notes:
A long-lost velvet worm species, Typhloperipatus williamsoni, has been rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh, India, after a 111-year gap. It is a part of the Onychophora phylum, one of the oldest living fossils. The Onychophora group is over 350 million years old, with only two families and fewer than 200 species. These worms evolved alongside dinosaurs and were likely wiped out in the mass extinction event, leaving only those species that survived.

Notes:
Chief Minister M. Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated Northeast India’s first onco-robotic surgery facility at the State Cancer Institute, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati, Assam. This advanced facility uses ‘Medi JARVIS’, a Made-in-India robotic system, to perform precise, low-cost, minimally invasive cancer surgeries. The launch was called a Bihu gift, marking the start of Bohag Bihu, Assam’s biggest festival. Similar robotic surgery units will be set up in Dibrugarh and Silchar for better cancer care in upper Assam and Barak Valley.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the 800 megawatt (MW) 3rd unit of Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant in Yamunanagar, Haryana on 14 April 2025. The new unit is an ultra-supercritical thermal plant, which uses less coal and produces lower carbon emissions compared to older plants. Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant is located in Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana. It is named after Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram, a prominent freedom fighter and social reformer. It is operated by Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL), a government-owned company.