Current Affairs Quiz – June 2025

Notes:
India ranked 131 out of 148 countries in the Global Gender Gap Report 2025 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), slipping two places from 129 in 2024. The Global Gender Gap Index measures gender parity in Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. India scored 64.1% in overall gender parity, among the lowest in South Asia.

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Scientists have recently discovered a giant planet named TOI-6894b orbiting a very small red dwarf star, which challenges existing theories. TOI-6894b is a gas giant, around 1.07 times the diameter of Saturn but with just over half its mass. This makes it extremely low in density, like a beach ball. It was found about 241 light-years away in the constellation Leo. The planet orbits very close to its host star and completes one full orbit in less than three Earth days.

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The Indian Army successfully tested Rudrastra, a Hybrid Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) developed by Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited (SDAL). The trial met all Army requirements, including vertical takeoff, high endurance, precision targeting, and mission flexibility. Rudrastra flew over 50 km radius with a stable real-time video link and returned safely to its launch point. Its total range exceeded 170 km with about 1.5 hours of flight endurance. It dropped a precision-guided anti-personnel warhead that detonated in air, showing strong tactical impact.

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Recently, India’s first agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) named Kruti was launched by the startup Krutrim. It is a next-generation Generative AI (GenAI) tool that goes beyond just providing information. Kruti can act independently to manage complex tasks, make decisions, and solve problems for users and organizations. It uses advanced reasoning and step-by-step planning to handle multi-layered challenges without constant human input. It processes large amounts of data from various sources to create strategies and complete tasks on its own.

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The Maharashtra Forest Department has recently launched a bus safari service at Nandur Madhyameshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Nashik district. The sanctuary is known as the “Bharatpur of Maharashtra,” a title given by famous Indian ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali. It is located in Nashik district, Maharashtra. The new safari aims to boost eco-tourism and create awareness about wetland biodiversity.

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The Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report is an annual publication by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It gives a detailed, evidence-based analysis of global education progress, challenges, and trends. The report was first launched in 2002 as the Education for All Global Monitoring Report and was renamed in 2016. Its main aim is to guide governments and stakeholders by offering policy recommendations to improve education systems. In the latest context, the GEM report shows that 272 million children are out of school globally, which is 21 million more than the previous estimate

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The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite has recently reached the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) spaceport at Sriharikota. It is a joint mission between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and ISRO to study Earth’s changes. NISAR uses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology to send energy pulses and measure how much is reflected back from Earth. This helps in capturing sharp images of the Earth even during darkness or cloudy weather. It detects changes in land, forests, and ice, and is useful for monitoring natural disasters and soil conditions.

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The Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu (HUTN) announced it will host the first Hockey India Masters Cup from June 18 to 27, 2025, at Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Chennai. The tournament is for men above 40 years and women above 35 years. It will feature 12 men’s and 8 women’s teams, starting with group matches and ending with knockouts and finals. Famous former players like Olympian Sudha Chaudhari and Adam Sinclair will participate. Men’s teams are divided into 4 pools and women’s into 2 pools, with states like Haryana, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu taking part.

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Under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U), some cities are now using electric vehicles (EVs) for household waste collection. This move is supported by the Sustainable Cities Integrated Approach Pilot (SCIAP) Project. SCIAP was launched in 2016 to promote sustainable urban planning and management. It aligns with the goals of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) to support India’s urban development. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It is jointly implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UN-Habitat, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

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Scientists have discovered 24-million-year-old fossilized Nothopegia leaves in Assam’s Makum Coalfield, revealing new insights into South Asia’s ancient biodiversity. The discovery was made by researchers from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology (DST). These fossils from the late Oligocene epoch are the world’s oldest known record of the Nothopegia genus. Today, Nothopegia is found only in the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and major biodiversity hotspot, far from Assam.