Current Affairs Quiz - March 2025

Notes:
Uttarakhand government launched the Chief Minister Single Women Self-Employment Scheme. The scheme aims to support women’s economic independence. Single, deserted, or widowed women will receive financial assistance up to ₹2 lakh. The initiative helps women start their own businesses and achieve self-reliance.

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CM Mohan Yadav inaugurated the 42nd National Senior Rowing Championship in Bhopal’s Upper Lake. More than 500 competitors from across India are participating in the event, which runs until March 7, 2025. 14 events are featured, including Para Single Scull categories for men and women. Sports complexes will be developed in every assembly constituency to boost sports infrastructure.

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World Obesity Day 2025 was observed on March 4 to address the global obesity crisis. It is organized by the World Obesity Federation with global partners. The theme for 2025 is “Changing Systems, Healthier Lives”. It aims to raise awareness, improve policies, and promote obesity prevention and treatment. India is projected to have over 440 million obese and overweight people by 2050, second only to China. Obesity among Indian boys may rise to 1.6 crore and among girls to 1.44 crore by 2050.

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Lantana camara is the most aggressive invasive species in Haryana, affecting 89 sq km of forests and reducing biodiversity. Lantana camara is a perennial shrub from the American tropics, belonging to the Verbenaceae family. It adapts well to climate change, tolerating high temperatures and moisture. It is among the world’s ten worst invasive species and a major concern for India. Introduced as a decorative shrub during British rule, it quickly spread, invading many ecosystems.

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Assam’s opposition raised concerns over the plight of ‘D’ (Doubtful) voters and demanded the closure of the state’s only detention centre. D-voters are individuals who couldn’t prove their Indian nationality and have cases pending with the Foreigners Tribunals. The D-Voter concept is specific to Assam, where migration and citizenship are major political issues. The Election Commission of India introduced the D-voter category in 1997. D-voters cannot vote or contest elections as their citizenship is unverified. The Citizenship Act, 1955, and Citizenship Rules, 2003, do not define ‘doubtful voter.’ A decision on D-voters must be made within a specific timeframe, and they may be deported or detained if found to be foreign nationals.

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DRDO has unveiled the BM-04, a short-range ballistic missile with hypersonic speed. It enhances India’s military capability against anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) threats. The missile has a range of 400 to 1500 km and carries a 500 kg warhead. It has high accuracy with a circular error probability (CEP) of less than 30 metres. Designed for quick deployment using a mobile launcher. It places India among the few nations with hypersonic missile technology. BM-04 shares design similarities with Agni I-class missiles, showing progress in hypersonic weaponry.

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Chinese architect Liu Jiakun won the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize for designs that celebrate everyday life. The Pritzker Prize is the most prestigious award in international architecture. Liu is the 54th laureate and was chosen for his focus on people and communities over his 40-year career. He is the third Chinese architect to win, after IM Pei and Wang Shu. The Pritzker Architecture Prize, often called “architecture’s Nobel Prize,” is an international award established in 1979 by the Pritzker family through their Hyatt Foundation, recognizing a living architect (or architects) for their significant contributions to humanity and the built environment.

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Assam announced the launch of its own satellite, ASSAMSAT, in the 2025-26 state budget to boost socio-economic initiatives and border security. Assam becomes the first Indian state to launch its own satellite. ASSAMSAT will support agriculture, disaster management, infrastructure development, and security operations. The satellite will be developed in collaboration with IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center) and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). This initiative strengthens Assam’s technological capabilities and enhances governance through satellite-based surveillance and monitoring systems.

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The Pratibimb Module has led to 6,046 arrests, 17,185 linkages, and 36,296 cyber investigation requests. It is a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based software launched by the Union Home Ministry’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). It helps law enforcement map cybercriminals in real time and dismantle their networks. The software tracks mobile numbers used in cybercrimes and projects them on a GIS map. It enables law enforcement agencies and service providers to locate criminal activities through mobile data.

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A powerful eruption of Guatemala’s Volcán de Fuego has triggered strong explosions, incandescent material, and pyroclastic flows, endangering nearby communities. Volcán de Fuego, meaning “Volcano of Fire,” is one of three large stratovolcanoes near Antigua, Guatemala. Guatemala lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and frequently experiences seismic and volcanic activity. Fuego is one of Central America’s most active volcanoes, with eruptions recorded since the 16th century. A deadly eruption in 2018 killed 194 people and left 234 missing. Its eruptions involve explosions, lava flows, and pyroclastic flows, posing severe risks.