Current Affairs Quiz - April 2025

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) developed “venom maps” using local climate conditions to predict the venom characteristics of Russell’s viper, a deadly snake in India. A team from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, stated that these maps could help clinicians select the best treatment for snakebite patients. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Researchers highlighted the role of climate, temperature, humidity, and rainfall in venom composition. They analyzed venom samples from 115 snakes across 34 locations, linking venom characteristics with local climate conditions. The maps could aid in predicting venom types and developing targeted therapies for snakebites.

Notes:
After two years of civil war, Sudan’s Tuti Island was reclaimed by the national army but is now devastated and depopulated. Tuti Island is located at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers in Khartoum, Sudan and was known for its lush greenery and agriculture. The island spans 8 square kilometers and was called “Khartoum’s garden” due to its farming and fishing activities. The Mahas community, who settled there in the 15th century, consider the island a symbol of indigenous identity. The war has displaced 13 million people and caused severe famine in Khartoum. Climate change has worsened the island’s vulnerability, disrupting the Nile’s flooding cycle. To preserve the Taya system and document community knowledge, the HEART (Heritage Empowered Action for Risk in Tuti) Project was initiated.

Notes:
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah launched the e-SEHAT App to improve healthcare access in the Union Territory. The app was developed by the Jammu and Kashmir Health Department. e-SEHAT stands for Electronic Solutions for Enabling Health Access Through Technology. It aims to serve both patients and healthcare providers like doctors and paramedics. The app allows users to access healthcare services in public and private hospitals across Jammu and Kashmir. It provides details on doctor availability, appointment booking, diagnostic and surgical services, teleconsultation, and telemedicine.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has reduced the stipend for about eight lakh women under the Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. These women also receive benefits from the Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi (NSMN) scheme. Under the revised rule, they will now get Rs 500 per month instead of Rs 1,500 from the Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. This is because they already receive Rs 1,000 monthly under the NSMN scheme. As per the scheme rules, the total financial help from the government per woman cannot exceed Rs 1,500. The Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana was launched in 2024 to support women across Maharashtra.

Notes:
Uttar Pradesh has ranked first in India for implementing the Pradhan Mantri Micro Food Processing Enterprises Upgradation Scheme (PMFME). The average loan approval time in Uttar Pradesh is 101 days, compared to 110 days in Bihar and 190 days in Telangana. Uttar Pradesh has achieved a 14% growth in loan disbursement under the scheme. The state spent Rs 250 crore more than in 2024. For the year 2025–26, the budget for Uttar Pradesh increased by 56%, with an additional Rs 300 crore allocated. The PMFME scheme was launched in 2020 under the Atmanirbhar Abhiyaan to support micro food enterprises.

Notes:
A rare and nearly complete fossil of Alamosaurus was recently discovered by geology students at Big Bend National Park in the United States of America. Alamosaurus was one of the largest herbivorous dinosaurs and lived during the late Cretaceous period around 100.5 to 66 million years ago. It was a sauropod with a long neck, long tail, and pillar-like legs, and had armoured spikes on its back for protection. Alamosaurus is the only known sauropod from North America’s Upper Cretaceous period and was the largest land animal in the region at that time. It stood about 11 meters tall, stretched 30.5 meters long, and weighed up to 80 metric tons, rivaling the size of Argentinosaurus from South America. Alamosaurus went extinct during the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, making it one of the last non-avian dinosaurs to exist.

Notes:
The Poas volcano in Costa Rica, one of the country’s top tourist spots, erupted recently, drawing global attention. It is one of the most active volcanoes in Costa Rica and is located inside the Poás Volcano National Park. The volcano is a composite stratovolcano with an irregular shape and a base covering around 400 square kilometers. It stands 2,708 meters above sea level and features a huge main crater about 1.5 kilometers wide and 300 meters deep. This crater is one of the largest active volcanic craters in the world.

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The International Conference on “Buddha Dharma and Culture of Northeast India” was held in Namsai, Arunachal Pradesh. It was organised by the International Buddhist Confederation in partnership with Mahabodhi Maitri Mandala, under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India (GoI). The event saw participation from Buddhist monks and scholars from India, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. Discussions focused on the art, culture, and influence of Buddha Dhamma in Northeast India and its ties with neighbouring countries. The aim was to let global scholars explore and appreciate the Buddhist heritage of the region.

Notes:
AIIMS Raipur has successfully performed its first Swap Kidney Transplant, also known as a Kidney Paired Transplant. With this, it became the first among the newer All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the first government hospital in Chhattisgarh to perform this complex surgery. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare highlighted it as a major step in advanced healthcare. This procedure helps patients with end-stage kidney disease by increasing transplant options through donor pairing. Swap Kidney Transplant is estimated to boost the number of kidney transplants by 15 percent. The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) has recommended all states and Union Territories adopt this method to improve donor availability.

Notes:
Indian scientists from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have developed a novel method to estimate Helium abundance in the Sun’s photosphere. Helium is the second most abundant element in the Sun but is hard to detect directly in its photosphere. Traditional methods used solar wind, corona data, hotter stars, and helioseismology but lacked precision. The new method uses spectral lines of Magnesium (Mg I), Carbon (C I), and molecular lines of MgH, CH, and C₂ observed in the Sun’s photosphere. By analyzing the relationship between Helium and Hydrogen, the method accurately estimates Helium’s abundance.