Current Affairs Quiz - May 2025

Notes:
The Telangana government recently sanctioned 10,000 Indiramma houses for Chenchu tribal families to improve their living conditions. The Chenchus are a food-gathering tribe mainly living in the Nallamalai forests of Andhra Pradesh. They are classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) by the government due to their isolated lifestyle and low development indicators. Chenchus are also found in Telangana, Karnataka, and Odisha. Their language, also called Chenchu, belongs to the Dravidian language family, and many speak Telugu as well. A Chenchu village is called a “Penta”, with huts spaced based on family closeness. They live in small families, with men and women having equal social roles.

Notes:
Neeraj Chopra has been given the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army, effective from April 16, as per The Gazette of India. He made history by winning India’s first Olympic gold in athletics at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and followed it with a silver at the 2024 Paris Games. With two Olympic medals, he is now India’s most successful individual Olympian. He joined the Indian Army as a Naib Subedar in 2016 and was promoted to Subedar in 2021 after his Tokyo win.

Notes:
The National Commission for Women (NCW) recently launched the ‘Campus Calling’ programme to promote gender sensitivity and student safety. It aims to prevent sexual harassment and raise awareness about cybercrimes affecting students in colleges and universities. The programme is being implemented in collaboration with ‘Yuvamanthan’, a youth development platform. It plans to reach over 1,000 higher education institutions, making it one of NCW’s largest youth-focused initiatives. Each college will have two male and two female campus ambassadors to lead gender awareness efforts. These ambassadors will promote safety, equality, and respect, and drive youth participation in creating secure campuses.

Notes:
A recent large-scale study from South Korea, published in the European Heart Journal, found that people vaccinated against shingles have a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes. Shingles, or herpes zoster, is caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. The virus stays dormant in nerve cells and can reactivate later in life when the immune system weakens. Shingles appears as a painful rash with blisters, usually on one side of the body, and can cause symptoms like burning, headache, and fever. The most common complication is postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a nerve pain that can last for months. Shingles is not directly contagious but the virus can infect someone who never had chickenpox. It mainly affects people over 50 or those with weak immune systems.

Notes:
In Nigeria, 138 people have died from the Lassa fever outbreak since the start of this year. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed 717 cases so far. This has raised the case fatality rate to 19.2 percent, which the NCDC says is very alarming. The disease has affected at least 18 out of 36 states in Nigeria. Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, which belongs to the arenavirus family. People usually get infected by touching food or household items contaminated with urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats. The World Health Organization (WHO) says early diagnosis and quick treatment are very important to survive the disease.

Notes:
India’s rank in the World Press Freedom Index 2025 improved to 151 out of 180 countries, up from 159 last year. The index is published by Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), also known as Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based non-profit that defends freedom of information. Finland, Estonia, and the Netherlands secured the top three ranks in the index. Over 5,000 people globally, including journalists, policymakers, and stakeholders, participated in the survey. India has nearly 900 privately-owned TV channels and about 1,40,000 publications in over 20 languages. The United States slipped two spots to rank 57 this year. Reporters Without Borders highlighted rising economic, social, and legal challenges as major threats to global press freedom. For the first time, RSF described the global press freedom situation as “difficult,” showing a worsening trend worldwide.

Notes:
India won the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-19 Championship by defeating Bangladesh 4-3 in a tense penalty shootout. The final match was held on May 18, 2025, at Golden Jubilee Stadium, Yupia, Arunachal Pradesh. India showed great composure and converted penalties to win their second SAFF U-19 title, the first being in 2023. This win shows India’s growing strength in youth football in South Asia.

Notes:
The Jharkhand High Court recently directed the state government to strictly enforce an old ban on meat, alcohol, and intoxicants on Parasnath Hill. Parasnath Hill, the highest peak in Jharkhand at 4,478 feet, is located in the Giridih district. It holds sacred value for both the Jain and Santal Adivasi communities. For Jains, it is a holy pilgrimage site where 20 out of 24 Tirthankaras are believed to have attained moksha, or liberation. The hill has over 40 Jain temples and dhams, attracting both Shwetambar and Digambar sects. Santals call it Marang Buru or “Great Mountain,” their most sacred spiritual site. It houses Jug Jaher Than, similar in importance to Mecca for Santals. It is also where Lo Bir Baisi, the Santal tribal council, meets to resolve key disputes.

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the PSLV-C61 mission from Sriharikota to place the EOS-09 satellite into a Sun-synchronous polar orbit. The mission failed due to a problem in the third stage. PSLV stands for Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, a four-stage rocket designed by ISRO. It mainly places satellites into Sun-synchronous polar orbits, ideal for Earth observation. The PSLV uses alternating solid and liquid propulsion stages for precision. The first stage uses HTPB-based solid fuel with six strap-on boosters in XL version, producing 4.8 MegaNewtons (MN) thrust. The second stage runs on liquid fuel, with the Vikas engine using Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) and Nitrogen Tetroxide (N₂O₄), generating about 8 MN thrust. The third stage uses solid HTPB fuel again. The fourth stage has two liquid engines burning Monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and Mixed Oxides of Nitrogen (MON).

Notes:
Kandha women from Odisha’s Kandhamal district are giving up the old tradition of facial tattooing, once used for protection and identity. Kandha, also known as Khond, is the largest tribal group in Odisha, living mainly in Kandhamal, Rayagada, Kalahandi, and Koraput districts. They speak Kui or Kuvi languages, which belong to the Dravidian language family. The word “Kandha” comes from the Telugu word “Konda,” meaning hill, showing their link to forest life. Sub-groups include Desia Kandha, Dongria Kandha, and Kutia Kandha, with Dongria and Kutia listed as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).