Current Affairs Quiz - May 2025

Notes:
The National Archives of India (NAI) has added the private papers of former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to its rich collection, making a major contribution to India’s historical records. It works under the Ministry of Culture and stores old government records that are no longer active but important for research and administration. It is the largest archival repository in South Asia and protects records of lasting value to the Government of India. NAI was started as the Imperial Record Department on 11 March 1891 in Kolkata and moved to New Delhi in 1911. The full transfer of records to Delhi was completed in 1937. NAI also enforces the Public Records Act, 1993 and Public Record Rules, 1997. It preserves over 34 crore pages, including official files, maps, censuses, treaties, debates, rare manuscripts, and government documents.

Notes:
International Labour Day, also called International Workers’ Day, is celebrated every year on May 1 to honour the hard work and contributions of workers across all sectors. The day highlights the need for fair wages, safe working conditions, and reasonable working hours for all employees. It also reminds us of the struggle of workers in history and the continued importance of protecting their rights. The International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency, plays a key role in setting global labour standards.

Notes:
Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil held a review meeting on 30 April with the Wildlife Institute of India to assess the progress of the ‘Jalaj’ project. The ‘Jalaj’ project is a key initiative developed by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to support the rejuvenation of the Ganga River and biodiversity conservation. It involves setting up floating platforms on the Ganga River to promote livelihood activities for local communities. These platforms also raise awareness about conserving the river and its ecosystem. The project blends ecological restoration with sustainable development for Ganga-dependent populations.

Notes:
The European Red Admiral butterfly, scientifically called Vanessa atalanta, has been recorded for the first time in India near Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. This rare sighting was confirmed during a butterfly survey at Thatharna Hill in the Dhauladhar mountain range, at an altitude of 2,500 metres. The observation was verified by Himalayan butterfly expert Lovish Garlani from the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department. This raises the total number of butterfly species in Himachal Pradesh to 440, highlighting the region’s rich biodiversity. The species is known for long migrations across Europe and North America and was last seen in South Asia in 2022 in Pakistan after a 93-year gap. It has no confirmed records from China, Mongolia, or Afghanistan, making its presence in India a significant eastward range expansion.

Notes:
India recently halted the flow of water through the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River, a significant move impacting water access to Pakistan. The Baglihar Dam, also known as the Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project, is located on the Chenab River in the Doda District of Jammu and Kashmir. It features a concrete gravity dam that is 144.5 meters high and 363 meters long, with a reservoir capacity of 475 million cubic meters. The underground powerhouse of the project measures 221 meters long, 24 meters wide, and 51 meters high.

Notes:
India has become the first country in the world to develop genome-edited rice varieties. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed two such varieties named DRR Rice 100 (Kamla) and Pusa DST Rice. These rice varieties were developed using genome editing technology based on Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-CRISPR Associated Protein (CRISPR-Cas). This technology allows precise changes in the genetic material without adding any foreign DNA. Genome editing targeted the Site Directed Nuclease 1 (SDN1) and SDN2 types of genes, which are approved under India’s biosafety rules. The development was supported by the National Agricultural Science Fund (NASF), which funds strategic agricultural research.

Notes:
Scientists from the University of Oxford have suggested a new way to monitor volcanic eruptions using a method called shear-wave splitting. Shear-wave splitting happens when seismic waves travel at different speeds depending on their direction, especially through rocks with tiny cracks. This technique was studied at Mount Ontake in Japan, which is an active stratovolcano located on Honshū Island, near Tokyo. Mount Ontake is Japan’s second-highest volcano and lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Notes:
Santhara, also known as Sallekhana, Pandit-maran, or Sakham-maran, is a Jain religious ritual in which a person voluntarily ends their life through fasting. It has been practised since the origin of Jainism and is mentioned in Jain scriptures called agams. There are two main types: Trivihar, where the person gives up food but not water, and Chauvihar, where both food and water are given up. According to Jain belief, Santhara is followed when death is near or religious duties cannot be performed due to age, illness, or extreme hardship. In 2015, Rajasthan High Court declared Santhara illegal, calling it suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), but this decision was later stayed by the Supreme Court (SC). The practice has recently come back into news, drawing attention to its religious, ethical, and legal aspects.

Notes:
The Indian Security Forces have launched Operation Shiva to secure the Amarnath Yatra amid the Pahalgam terror attack and rising tensions between India and Pakistan. Shri Amarnath Ji is located in the Anantnag district at an altitude of 13,000 feet. The Amarnath Cave houses an ice lingam, symbolizing Lord Shiva, along with two smaller ice stalagmites representing Parvati, his wife, and Ganesha, his son. The pilgrimage takes place during the Shravan month, when the lingam reaches its full size. The origin of the pilgrimage is mentioned in the Sanskrit text “Bringesha Samhita.”

Notes:
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has recently released detailed data, infographics, and graphical summaries on over 100 bacterial genomes under the ‘One Day One Genome’ initiative. A genome is the complete genetic material of an organism, made of unique DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) or RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) sequences. These sequences are made of chemical units called nucleotide bases, and identifying their order is known as genomic sequencing. The ‘One Day One Genome’ initiative was launched in November 2024 by Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC). It is coordinated by BRIC-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), West Bengal. Data contributions come from 13 BRIC institutions and two bodies: International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, and Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad.