Current Affairs Quiz – June 2025

Notes:
On the first day of the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), France and Brazil launched the Blue Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Challenge. This new global initiative urges countries to put oceans at the center of their climate strategies ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) to be held in Brazil in November 2025. The initiative aims to scale up ocean-focused climate action to limit global warming and build resilience. Countries like Australia, Fiji, Kenya, Mexico, Palau, and Seychelles have already joined the challenge.

Notes:
President of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, announced that Russia will build eight nuclear power plants in Iran under an existing agreement. This statement was made during a visit by the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee to AEOI headquarters in Tehran. The Bushehr nuclear plant, Iran’s only operational facility, was completed by Russia in May 2011. It plays a key role in Iran’s civilian nuclear energy program.

Notes:
The United Nations (UN) is observing the first-ever “International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations” to promote global cooperation and peace. This special day is celebrated on June 10 every year following a resolution sponsored by China and adopted by the UN last year. The day aims to encourage civil dialogue, mutual understanding, and peaceful relations between nations.

Notes:
Indian racewalkers performed well at the Austrian Racewalking Championships held in Innsbruck. Priyanka Goswami won gold in the women’s 10-kilometre race with a time of 47 minutes and 54 seconds, marking her first win of the season. In the men’s 35-kilometre event, Sandeep Kumar won silver with a time of 2 hours, 38 minutes, and 45 seconds. Ram Baboo secured bronze in the same event, finishing in 2 hours, 41 minutes, and 47 seconds. Sandeep Kumar holds India’s national record in the 50-kilometre racewalk and won bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Notes:
India now ranks second globally in social security coverage, protecting over 94 crore people. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO)’s ILOSTAT database, India’s coverage rose from 19% in 2015 to 64.3% in 2025. This 45 percentage point rise is the fastest expansion in the world, achieved through pro-poor and labour welfare schemes. The Ministry of Labour and Employment highlighted this during the International Labour Conference in Geneva. India is the first country to update its 2025 social protection data in the ILOSTAT system.

Notes:
Recently, the Eurasian otter was spotted in the Kashmir Valley after nearly 30 years. Eurasian otter is also called European otter, common otter, and Old-World otter. It is a semi-aquatic carnivorous mammal native to Eurasia. It has a wide distribution across the Middle-East, Europe, Northern Africa, Eastern Russia, China, and other parts of Asia. In India, it is found in northern, northeastern, and southern regions. In Kashmir, it is locally known as Vuder and was once common in water bodies.

Notes:
For the first time ever, scientists have captured direct images of the Sun’s north and south poles. This was made possible by the Solar Orbiter mission. The Solar Orbiter mission is a collaborative effort between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA to study the Sun. It aims to observe the Sun’s surface and the solar wind, providing valuable insights into solar activity and its effects on Earth and the solar system.

Notes:
Lake Natron in Tanzania is gaining global attention due to environmental threats from climate change and development projects. It is a shallow, hyper-alkaline salt lake located in the Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region, near the Kenya-Tanzania border. It is fed by the Ewaso Ng’iro River and mineral-rich hot springs. Lake Natron is listed as a Ramsar wetland site.

Notes:
Recently, the Jammu and Kashmir Government formed a Divisional Level Committee to monitor the Eco-Sensitive Zone around the Surinsar-Mansar Wildlife Sanctuary. This sanctuary is located in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and is named after the twin lakes Surinsar and Mansar. It spreads across Jammu, Udhampur, and Samba districts, with most of it lying in Jammu district.

Notes:
Karnataka was awarded first place for adding the highest wind power capacity of 1,331.48 Megawatts (MW) in financial year 2024-25. The award was received by State Energy Minister K J George from Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi, during Global Wind Day 2025 in Bengaluru. Global Wind Day 2025 was themed ‘Pawan-Urja: Powering the Future of India’. Tamil Nadu and Gujarat ranked second and third with 1,136.37 MW and 954.76 MW additions respectively. Karnataka’s wind capacity now surpasses that of countries like South Africa, Portugal, and New Zealand, and is close to Sweden and Australia.