Current Affairs Quiz - April 2025

Notes:
Sikkim hosts the International Youth Conclave from 12th April to 14th April at Yanggang Helipad in Namchi district. It is organized by the Department of Tourism, Government of Sikkim. The conclave celebrates “50 Years of Statehood” and highlights Sikkim’s progress in sustainable tourism and cultural preservation. The conclave includes heritage walks, cultural rallies, expert talks, panel discussions, and tourism excursions, promoting local culture and sustainable growth.

Notes:
The Telangana government launched the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Rising Grand Challenge to solve public sector problems using AI technologies. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy inaugurated the initiative, which will act as a unified data exchange platform with high-quality datasets from government and partner agencies. The platform enables real-world development, testing, and scaling of AI solutions with secure access to structured data. It encourages collaboration between the government, startups, industries, and academic institutions. The initiative is led by the IT Electronics and Communication Department with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). It focuses on sectors like education, healthcare, and transport to enhance governance and services. Each winning team for a use case will receive ₹15 lakh to run pilot projects in Telangana.

Notes:
Industrial output grew by only 2.9% in February 2025, the slowest in six months and below the market expectation of 4%. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) measures short-term changes in industrial production and is published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). The current base year is 2011–12 to reflect the modern industrial structure.

Notes:
Farmer leaders, environmentalists, religious heads, and advocates are protesting the proposed Bandura Nala water diversion project in the Mahadayi River basin. The Mahadayi River, also known as Mandovi or Mhadei, is a rain-fed river shared by Karnataka and Goa for their water needs. It originates from Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, flows briefly through Maharashtra, and then enters Goa, where it empties into the Arabian Sea at Panaji. Out of its 111-km total length, about 76 km lies in Goa. Important tributaries include Rogaro, Kushavati, Nanorem, Nanuz, Valvota, and Mapusa. The river also hosts the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary on Chorao Island, and the towns of Panaji and Old Goa lie on its left bank.

Notes:
Renowned Kathak dancer Kumudini Lakhia passed away at the age of 94, leaving behind a legacy of innovation in Indian classical dance. Kathak, derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Katha’, means ‘story’, and is a classical dance form traditionally focused on mythological storytelling. Kumudini Lakhia transformed Kathak from a solo narrative form to a group ensemble, introducing contemporary and non-narrative elements. She received the Padma Shri (1987), Padma Bhushan (2010), and Padma Vibhushan (2024) for her contributions to Indian dance.

Notes:
Work has begun to revive the historic Ramgarh Lake near Jaipur, Rajasthan, which once served as the main water source for the city. The lake, built in 1876 by Sawai Ram Singh II, is a man-made water body created by constructing an embankment on forested hills. Four rivers — Roda, Banganga, Tala, and Madhoveni — once fed the lake but have dried due to deforestation and mining. Ramgarh Lake hosted rowing events in the 1982 Asian Games, and houses Jamwa Mata temple nearby. It also has a renowned Polo Ground and is part of a wildlife sanctuary notified in 1982, home to animals like Nilgai, Chital, and lions.

Notes:
Camera traps at Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve in East Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh detected nine big cats, showing healthy wildlife presence. The reserve is surrounded by Tenga Reserve Forest (north), Doimara Reserve Forest (west), Nameri National Park and Tiger Reserve (south), and Papum Reserve Forest (east). It lies in the Eastern Himalayas foothills, with Kameng River on the west and north, and Pakke River on the east. The area covers 862 sq.km and has a subtropical climate with cold winters. The Nyishi tribe lives here and actively supports conservation. It won the India Biodiversity Award 2016 for the Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme.

Notes:
Two people in the United States are believed to have died recently from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a rare and incurable brain disorder. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) causes dementia and belongs to a group of diseases called prion disorders or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Its symptoms are similar to Alzheimer’s disease but progress much faster and lead to death. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is very rare, with only 1 to 2 cases diagnosed per million people each year worldwide. It mostly affects older adults and is always serious. The disease is caused by abnormal proteins called prions, which damage the brain by turning healthy prions into harmful ones. These abnormal prions clump together in the brain, leading to nerve cell loss and severe brain damage.

Notes:
Tension recently arose near the buffer zone in the Thangjing Hill range of Churachandpur district in Manipur, which separates Kuki and Meitei inhabited areas. Thangjing Hill, also known as Thangching Hill or Thangting Hill, is a mountain peak in Manipur. It lies west of Moirang in Churachandpur district and forms part of the Thangjing range. The range runs north to south and marks the western boundary of the Imphal Valley. The hill is believed to be the sacred abode of Thangching, the ancestral deity of Moirang. The Meitei community considers it a holy site and traditionally visits it during the Manipur month of Sajibu, which falls in April.

Notes:
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warned that the world economy is heading towards recession. Its report, Trade and Development Foresights 2025, highlighted growing trade tensions, financial instability, and uncertainty as key causes of the slowdown. The report titled “Trade and Development Foresights 2025: Under pressure – uncertainty reshapes global economic prospects” was released by the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The report predicts a global growth slowdown to 2.3% in 2025, indicating a potential recessionary path for the world economy. Rising tariffs are disrupting supply chains and increasing unpredictability in trade. This uncertainty has delayed investments and reduced job creation. UNCTAD called for strong international cooperation and better coordination of economic policies to protect development goals.