Current Affairs Quiz - May 2025

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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.

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The American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have recently launched formal hydrogen exploration initiatives. Hydrogen is seen as the fuel of the future due to its ability to help decarbonize the global economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Natural hydrogen, or white hydrogen, is hydrogen that naturally occurs in the Earth’s crust, unlike industrially produced hydrogen. It forms through geological processes such as serpentinisation, where water reacts with iron-rich rocks, radiolysis, the breakdown of water by radioactive rocks, and the decomposition of organic matter in deep geological formations.

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The 28th National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) will take place on June 9-10 in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The theme of the two-day conference is ‘Viksit Bharat: Civil Service and Digital Transformation.’ It will include six plenary sessions and six breakout sessions. The event is jointly organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), with Andhra Pradesh’s collaboration. The conference will discuss strategies to enhance public service quality and promote “minimum government, maximum governance.” National e-Gov Awards (NAeG) 2025 will be conferred, and notable leaders will participate, including Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister.

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Mizoram’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department has reported over 3,050 pig deaths since March 2025 due to an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the districts of Siaha, Lawngtlai, Lunglei, and Mamit. African Swine Fever (ASF) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs with a mortality rate that can reach 100%. Though ASF does not affect humans, it severely impacts pig populations and causes major economic loss to farmers. The virus originated in Africa and has now spread globally.

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The United States has recently approved a military hardware and logistics support package for India to assist in the Integrated Platform for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA). IPMDA is a technology and training initiative designed to boost maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific region and increase transparency in its vital waterways. It was announced by the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), which includes India, Australia, Japan, and the United States, during the Tokyo summit in 2022. The initiative uses innovative technology to provide near real-time information on maritime activities to partners in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean region, and the Pacific.

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Every year on May 3, World Press Freedom Day is celebrated to highlight the vital role of the media, known as the fourth pillar of democracy. The day spreads awareness about the struggles faced by journalists and supports the free flow of information. It honours media professionals who have risked or lost their lives in search of truth. This year’s theme is ‘Reporting In The Brave New World – The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence On Press Freedom And The Media.’ The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1993 after a 1991 recommendation by UNESCO.

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The Lakkundi temples in the Gadag district of Karnataka are set to be finalized for UNESCO’s tentative listing as World Heritage Sites. Lakkundi, historically referred to as ‘Lokki Gundi’ in ancient inscriptions, was built during the reign of the Kalyana Chalukyas or Western Chalukyas. The village is home to over 50 ancient temples and 101 stepped wells, known as Kalyani. The Kasi Vishwanatha Temple is the most ornate and elaborately furnished among them. Lakkundi is also an important Jain center, with a significant Jain temple dedicated to Mahavira, which is one of the largest and oldest Jain shrines in the area.

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At least six people died and more than 70 were injured in a tragic stampede during the annual Lairai Jatra procession at Shree Lairai Devi Temple in Shirgaon, North Goa. The Lairai Devi Temple, located in Shirgao village, is dedicated to Goddess Lairai, believed to be an incarnation of Goddess Parvati. The temple is significant to both local Hindus and Catholics, who regard Lairai Devi and the Virgin Mary of Mapusa as sisters. The Lairai Jatra includes a fire-walking ritual where devotees walk across embers, believing the righteous will be protected. The tragedy occurred during the late-night procession and ritual celebrations.

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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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A research team from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has made the first-ever experimental observation of a two-dimensional layered altermagnet at room temperature. Altermagnets are a new class of antiferromagnetic materials that show momentum-dependent spin splitting without needing spin–orbit coupling (SOC) or overall magnetization. This spin splitting is caused by exchange interactions between magnetic sublattices connected by crystal symmetry, known as C-paired spin-valley locking (SVL). Altermagnets combine the stable spin properties of antiferromagnets with spin-split energy bands, making them promising for next-generation spintronic devices.