Current Affairs Quiz - February 2025

Notes:
The 51st Khajuraho Dance Festival in Madhya Pradesh set a Guinness World Record. 139 artists performed a classical dance marathon for 24 hours, 9 minutes, and 26 seconds. The Guinness team certified the record and presented the certificate to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. The event was organized by the MP Department of Culture.

Notes:
Himachal Pradesh government has launched a bio-engineering initiative to combat landslides using vetiver grass. The Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA) is leading the pilot project. The initiative is in collaboration with Vetiver Foundation-Climate Resilience and Sustainability Initiatives (CRSI), Tamil Nadu. 1,000 vetiver saplings have been planted in a nursery at Berti village, Solan. Vetiver’s deep roots (up to 4 meters) bind soil, prevent erosion, and reduce landslide risks by slowing water runoff.

Notes:
The first International Conference on Carbon Markets-Prakriti was held in New Delhi on 24-25 February 2025. It brought together experts, policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and practitioners in carbon credit trading. The conference aims to understand and expand the Indian carbon market while discussing global carbon credit trends. It was organized by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Union Ministry of Power. The event was inaugurated by Union Minister for Power and Housing & Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar.

Notes:
The Indian Coast Guard conducted the ‘Sagar Kavach’ exercise on February 21-22, 2025, along the 158 km West Bengal coast. The exercise aims to strengthen coastal security and improve coordination among multiple agencies. It tested security measures against threats like kidnapping, smuggling, and IED attacks. The two-day operation focused on refining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Notes:
India will host the 12th Regional 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) and Circular Economy Conference in Jaipur from March 3-5, 2025. The theme is “Realizing Circular Societies Towards Achieving SDGs and Carbon Neutrality in Asia-Pacific.” More than 500 participants will attend plenary sessions, country-specific discussions, and theme-based roundtables. A 3R trade and technology exhibition will feature 40+ Indian and Japanese businesses.

Notes:
TRIFED signed MoUs with Reliance Retail, HCL Foundation, and Torajamelo Indonesia to boost tribal entrepreneurship and economic inclusion. Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) operates under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, to support tribal communities. It was established in August 1987 under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984. The organization promotes the marketing of tribal products to improve socio-economic conditions. Its mandate includes institutionalizing the trade of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) and Surplus Agricultural Produce (SAP) collected or cultivated by tribals.

Notes:
NASA is preparing for the PUNCH mission, a first-of-its-kind solar mission to study the solar atmosphere. PUNCH (Polarimetry to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) will be launched by SpaceX. It consists of four suitcase-sized satellites, each weighing 64 kg, placed in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The mission will use three Wide Field Imagers and one Narrow Field Imager to capture polarised and unpolarised images. It will provide 3D measurements of the corona and solar wind using light polarisation. The data will help improve space weather predictions and protect space missions. The mission is expected to last two years.

Notes:
Mount Fentale in northern Ethiopia released huge methane plumes starting January 31, 2025. This event, described as a “burp,” involved large amounts of methane escaping from underground gas deposits. The phenomenon was first detected through satellite monitoring and later confirmed by GHGSat. This unprecedented natural event could have significant climate change implications due to the high potency of methane as a greenhouse gas.

Notes:
India’s External Affairs Minister and Heads of Missions from 61 countries took elephant and jeep safari in Kaziranga National Park. Kaziranga National Park is in Assam, northeastern India. It is the largest undisturbed area in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplain. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. The terrain consists of forests, tall elephant grass, reeds, marshes, and shallow pools.

Notes:
NASA plans to launch the SPHEREx telescope aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) is a megaphone-shaped space telescope with a 2-year mission. It will map the universe using optical and infrared cosmic light. It will study cosmic inflation, which occurred 14 billion years ago when the universe expanded faster than light. It will analyze galaxy formation, cosmic evolution, and life-forming molecules in the Milky Way. It will use spectroscopic imaging to map 450 million galaxies in 3D. It will complement the work of the James Webb and Hubble telescopes.