Current Affairs Quiz - May 2025

Notes:
Rajasthan has joined India’s first inter-state cheetah conservation corridor with Madhya Pradesh. This wildlife corridor is designed to connect protected areas in both states, allowing reintroduced cheetahs to roam safely across a vast ecosystem. The corridor covers 17,000 square kilometers, with 10,500 square kilometers in Madhya Pradesh and 6,500 square kilometers in Rajasthan. Key locations include Palpur Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, which will serve as cheetah habitats. Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, along with several districts like Kota and Sawai Madhopur, has been identified as a cheetah habitat.

Notes:
The Thrissur Pooram has officially begun with the ceremonial flag hoisting called Kodiyettam at the participating temples. Thrissur Pooram is an annual Hindu temple festival celebrated in Thrissur, Kerala during April-May. It was started by Shakthan Thampuran, the Maharaja of Kochi. Ten temples participate in the festival, including Paramekkavu, Thiruvambadi, Kanimangalam, Karamucku, Laloor, Choorakottukara, Panamukkampally, Ayyanthole, Chembukkavu, and Neythilakavu. The festival features grand Poorams or processions of decorated elephants with traditional percussion music.

Notes:
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are now working together under the wastepickers component of the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme. UNDP is providing financial support to State Project Management Units (PMUs) to strengthen the scheme’s implementation. The NAMASTE Scheme was jointly launched by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in 2023 to protect the safety and dignity of sanitation workers. Its wastepicker component was launched in 2024 with the goal to digitally profile and register 2.5 lakh wastepickers across India. It also provides health insurance under Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), and offers skill development training.

Notes:
Operation Kagar has successfully encircled the last remaining Naxal strongholds in the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border regions. Operation Kagar was launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs to eliminate Maoist insurgents and dismantle the political ideology of Maoism. The operation combines military action, surveillance technology, and development outreach to combat Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). The campaign has reduced Naxal-affected districts from 106 in 2015 to just 6 in 2025. In 2024, 287 Naxals were neutralized, with over 150 already in 2025.

Notes:
NITI Aayog, along with the Institute for Competitiveness (IFC), released a report titled ‘Enhancing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Competitiveness in India’. The report highlights reforms needed in credit access, skill development, innovation, and market linkages to boost MSMEs. Using firm-level data and Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), it suggests ways to integrate MSMEs into global value chains. Focus sectors include textiles, chemicals, automotive, and food processing. Credit access improved between 2020 and 2024, yet only 19% demand was met formally by 2021, with ₹80 lakh crore unmet. The Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) expanded but still needs redesign for wider impact.

Notes:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently projected that global public debt may surpass the COVID-19 pandemic level of 98.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded in 2020. Sudan now has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the world at 252%, due to long-term conflict and economic struggles. Among developed countries, Japan ranks second with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 234.9%, mainly due to fiscal deficits and an ageing population. The United States ranks eighth with a ratio of 123%, while France and Canada follow with 116.3% and slightly lower respectively. China ranks 21st globally with a public debt ratio of 96%, which is lower than many advanced economies. India stands at 31st with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 80%, and the central government aims to reduce it to 50±1% by March 31, 2031.

Notes:
A new non-contact wearable device developed by researchers from the United States and South Korea can monitor health by measuring skin flux without touching the skin. The device is about the size of a smartphone and tracks molecular movements like vapour leaving the body and chemicals entering through the skin. It was developed under the leadership of Professor John A. Rogers at Northwestern University, USA. It creates a small sealed microclimate next to the skin and uses wireless electronics and tiny sensors to detect water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO₂), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A remote-controlled valve adjusts the chamber’s openness for accurate comparisons.

Notes:
Recently, all political parties in Punjab united and firmly opposed releasing any extra water to Haryana from the Bhakra Dam, showing strong regional consensus. The Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam built across the Sutlej River, located near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. It stands near Bhakra village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. It is the world’s highest straight gravity dam with a height of 207.26 meters. It is Asia’s second tallest dam after the 261-meter-high Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand. The dam is 518.25 meters long and about 9.1 meters wide at its crest.

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The Governor of Telangana, Jishnu Dev Verma, inaugurated Babuji Vanam, the world’s first energy transmission garden in Hyderabad. The garden was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Babuji Maharaj and the end of a year-long national celebration. Located in Kanha Village, Ranga Reddy district, Telangana, the site promotes yogic energy transmission called Pranahuti. The initiative is led by Heartfulness and promotes meditation, wellness, and sustainable living. More than 50,000 people attended the event in person, while millions joined online from 165 countries.

Notes:
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted the first flight trial of the Stratospheric Airship Platform in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh. The platform was developed by DRDO’s Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) based in Agra. The airship carried an instrumental payload and reached a high altitude of about 17 kilometres. The total flight lasted 62 minutes and helped gather important data through onboard sensors. This data will help in building accurate simulation models for future high-altitude missions. The test also checked the envelope pressure control and emergency deflation systems, and the airship was safely recovered.