Current Affairs Quiz – June 2025

Notes:
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) released its 2025 State of World Population (SOWP) Report titled ‘The Real Fertility Crisis’. It highlights that one in three adult Indians face unintended pregnancies. It also states that 30% of Indians experience unfulfilled desires to have more or fewer children. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was created to support population and reproductive health programmes. Its mission is to ensure every pregnancy is wanted, childbirth is safe, and youth potential is fulfilled.

Notes:
The Finance Minister recently chaired the 29th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC). FSDC is a top-level non-statutory body formed by the Government of India in December 2010. Its main aim is to ensure financial stability and promote development in the financial sector. The council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister and includes key members like the Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Finance Secretary, and heads of regulatory bodies like Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

Notes:
India has recently expressed deep reservations over the European Union (EU)’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). CBAM is a policy tool by the European Union (EU) to put a fair price on carbon emissions linked to imported carbon-intensive goods like steel, aluminium, and cement. It aims to push industries in non-EU countries to adopt cleaner production methods. CBAM is part of the EU’s “Fit for 55” strategy, which targets a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Its transitional phase runs from 2023 to 2025, and full enforcement will begin in 2026.

Notes:
Recently, Ohler’s Spiny Frog was discovered near a waterfall in Vietnam, measuring over 4 inches in length. It is a large and stout frog with a spiny chest, belonging to the Quasipaa or related genera. These frogs are found in fast-flowing rocky streams in evergreen forests. Their habitat includes northern Vietnam, southern China, and the Himalayan foothills. The discovery challenges existing conservation norms due to its unique features and habitat needs. It highlights the rich but fragile biodiversity of Southeast Asia’s forest ecosystems.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
The World Bank released the State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2025 as carbon pricing now covers 28% of global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and raises over $100 billion in revenue. Carbon pricing attaches a cost to emitting GHGs to encourage emission reductions and reflect environmental costs. There are 80 active carbon pricing instruments, up from 5 in 2005, including Emissions Trading Systems (ETS), carbon taxes, and carbon credit markets. India introduced ETS rules in 2024 for its industrial sector, using rate-based benchmarks instead of emission caps.

Notes:
Bihar has become the top state in India for using the ‘Scan and Share’ feature under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), with a 92% online Out-Patient Department (OPD) registration rate. As per the National Health Authority (NHA), Bihar alone accounts for 2.94 crore of the 11.38 crore total OPD registrations under ABDM since 2021. ABDM is a national initiative to build a digital health ecosystem that connects patients, doctors, and hospitals using interoperable systems.

Notes:
Vietnam has officially joined BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) as a partner country. This makes Vietnam the 10th nation in the BRICS partner category. The partner country category was introduced during the 2024 BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia. Other BRICS partner countries include Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.

Notes:
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched the DhartiAaba Janbhagidari Abhiyan, the largest tribal empowerment campaign in India. The campaign covers 549 tribal-dominated and 207 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG)-dominated districts, reaching over 1,00,000 villages and habitations. It is a key initiative under Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh, honouring tribal legacy and ensuring doorstep delivery of schemes. The Abhiyan is linked with PM-JANMAN and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA).

Notes:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) resolved 4,493 investor complaints in May 2025 through its online platform SCORES. The SCORES (Sebi Complaints Redress System) portal is an online platform launched by SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) to address investor grievances related to the securities market. Under the updated SCORES 2.0, complaints are sent directly to listed companies or SEBI-registered intermediaries who must respond with an Action Taken Report (ATR) within 21 days.