Current Affairs Quiz - May 2025

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:
President Draupadi Murmu recently presented the 58th Jnanpith Award to Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya and poet-lyricist Gulzar at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. Jagadguru Rambhadracharya, despite being blind, has made great contributions to Sanskrit and Hindi literature by memorizing texts like ‘Ramcharitmanas’ and the ‘Gita’. Gulzar is a famous poet, songwriter, and Oscar and Grammy winner, known for his work in literature, cinema, and television. The Jnanpith Award is India’s highest literary honour, established in 1961 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust. It is given to writers working in the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and in English. The award includes ₹11 lakh, a bronze statue of Goddess Saraswati, and a citation. The first award was given in 1965 to Malayalam poet G. Sankara Kurup for ‘Odakkuzhal’.

Notes:
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy launched the ‘Indira Saura Giri Jala Vikasam’ scheme in Macharam, Amrabad mandal of Nagarkurnool district. The scheme aims to provide irrigation using solar-powered borewells in tribal lands without electricity. It will cover 6 lakh acres of land held by Scheduled Tribe (ST) farmers under the Forest Rights Act (FRA). Farmers with over 2.5 acres will get individual units, while smaller landholders will form borewell user groups. The Tribal Welfare Department will identify eligible farmers by May 25.

Notes:
The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation recently launched the new Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Portal in New Delhi. The Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Scheme was introduced in August 2005 by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955. A foreign national can apply for OCI if they were an Indian citizen on or after 26th January 1950, or were eligible to become one on that date. OCI status is also open to those whose ancestors belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15th August 1947. The new OCI portal aims to simplify and modernize the application process for eligible foreign nationals.

Notes:
During recent excavations at Nineveh in Iraq, archaeologists found a large relief showing King Assurbanipal, the last ruler of the Assyrian Empire, with two deities and other figures. Nineveh was a major city in northern Mesopotamia and became the capital of the Assyrian Empire under King Sennacherib in the 8th century BCE. It lies on the east bank of the Tigris River in modern-day Mosul, Iraq. It was once the largest and most populated city of the Assyrian Empire and an important religious center for worshipping the goddess Ishtar. Nineveh was fully developed during the Neo-Assyrian Empire (912–612 BCE) and known for its cultural beauty, gardens, and parks. The city was destroyed in 612 BCE by a coalition of Babylonians and Medes, marking the end of the Assyrian Empire.

Notes:
The Supreme Court recently directed Tamil Nadu and Kerala to resolve disputes over the Mullaperiyar Dam with expert help. The Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in Thekkady, Idukki district, Kerala. It is located 881 meters above sea level in the Western Ghats mountains. The dam stands at the meeting point of the Mullayar and Periyar rivers. It is one of India’s oldest dams, built between 1887 and 1895.

Notes:
National Anti-Terrorism Day 2025 is observed on 21st May across India. It marks the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated by a suicide bomber in 1991 in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. The day aims to spread awareness about the harmful effects of terrorism and honour those who lost their lives in terrorist attacks. It promotes peace, national unity, and harmony among all citizens. The goal is to educate people, especially the youth, to reject violence and uphold human rights and democratic values.

Notes:
In November 2022 and July 2023, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) observed Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Keck Observatory. Titan is the second-largest moon in the solar system and the only one with a thick atmosphere and surface lakes of methane and ethane. It has Earth-like weather patterns, including clouds, rainfall, and changing seasons. Scientists detected clouds in Titan’s mid- and high northern latitudes that rose over time, showing convection-driven weather. This is the first confirmed evidence of such cloud activity near Titan’s northern seas like Kraken Mare and Ligeia Mare. The findings deepen our understanding of Titan’s methane cycle, which works like Earth’s water cycle, and offer clues about prebiotic chemistry on icy moons.

Notes:
The Spices Board recently launched the “Sustainability in Spice Sector through Progressive, Innovative and Collaborative Interventions for Export Development (SPICED)” scheme for 2025–26. The Spices Board, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is responsible for the scheme’s implementation. The scheme aims to make the spice sector more sustainable and boost spice exports from India. It helps improve the productivity of small and large cardamom through financial support. It promotes organic farming and good agricultural practices to ensure better quality. The scheme provides funds for modern post-harvest machines like dryers, polishers, and slicers. It also supports startups, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and small businesses through Spice Incubation Centres. It ensures spices meet global food safety and plant health standards.

Notes:
The BrahMos-NG (Next Generation) missile is nearing flight testing with an extended range of 800 km. It is a smaller, lighter, and more versatile supersonic cruise missile. BrahMos-NG is designed to be used on fighter aircraft, ships, and submarines. It is jointly developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia under BrahMos Aerospace. The missile aims to be miniaturized, stealthier, and more agile for ultra-precise strikes on land and sea targets.