Current Affairs Quiz - May 2025

Notes:
Recently, L.R. Srihari from Tamil Nadu became India’s 86th Grandmaster (GM) in chess. He crossed the required 2500 Elo rating in May 2023 at the Dubai Open. He earned his first Grandmaster norm at the Sixdays Budapest Grandmaster Round-Robin in August 2023, and the second at the 2023 Qatar Masters. After nearly a year and nine tournaments, he finally achieved his third and final Grandmaster norm at the ongoing Asian Individual Championships in Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi.

Notes:
Recently, over 20 people died in the southern United States due to severe storms and tornado outbreaks in Missouri and Kentucky. A tornado is a vertical column of violently rotating air that stretches from a thunderstorm to the ground. It usually appears as a funnel-shaped cloud, but in dry conditions, it may only be seen as swirling dust or debris. If this rotating column forms over water, it is called a waterspout. Tornadoes have wind speeds ranging from 105 to 322 kilometres per hour (km/h), but some can be even stronger. They can move rapidly, often at about 97 km/h, making them extremely dangerous.

Notes:
India has received the Certificate of Elimination of Trachoma as a Public Health Problem from the World Health Organisation (WHO) during the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva. This marks a major success for India’s long-term efforts in disease elimination and preventive healthcare. WHO had earlier confirmed on October 8th that India had met the criteria for elimination of Trachoma as a public health issue. India is now the third country in the Southeast Asia region to achieve this milestone. The National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI) played a key role in tackling Trachoma. Since 2019, NPCBVI has used a special WHO format to collect Trachoma case data from all districts. A National Trachomatous Trichiasis survey was carried out in 200 endemic districts between 2021 and 2024, as required by WHO.

Notes:
On May 19, 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) honoured Austria, Norway, Oman, and Singapore for eliminating industrially produced trans fats from their national food supply. The announcement was made at the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. Trans fats, also called trans-fatty acids (TFA), are harmful unsaturated fats linked to over 278,000 deaths each year. WHO launched the global goal in 2018 to eliminate trans fats by 2025, but progress remains slow. By May 2025, 60 countries had adopted best-practice policies, covering only 46% of the global population. India implemented such a policy in 2022 through the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Second Amendment Regulations, 2021. India is among the leading Asian countries in enforcing best-practice policies, alongside Thailand.

Notes:
Member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) have adopted the first-ever WHO Pandemic Agreement at the 78th World Health Assembly, Geneva. This agreement is the result of over three years of negotiations following the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to improve global cooperation for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response through fair access to vaccines, medicines, and tests. A Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS) will be developed to ensure countries sharing virus samples receive timely support. Under PABS, pharma companies will give WHO 20% of real-time production for equitable distribution, especially to developing nations.

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The Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT) Karmayogi platform has crossed a major milestone of 1 crore registered users. iGOT Karmayogi is launched under Mission Karmayogi, which is India’s National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB). It acts as a central learning hub for all levels of government officials through online, anytime, and role-based digital training. The platform replaces traditional classroom training with continuous and modular learning. It is designed as a scalable Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for long-term learning. iGOT Karmayogi is developed as a key part of the Digital India stack.

Notes:
The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2025 shows that over 295 million people in 53 countries faced acute hunger. This marks an increase of 13.7 million people compared to 2023, showing a worsening food crisis. The report was published by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) with the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). The GRFC is released every year to track and analyse global food insecurity and malnutrition. It highlights that conflicts, extreme climate events, economic troubles, and forced displacement are the main causes. The report warns of a deepening global hunger and nutrition emergency.

Notes:
Recently, the Maharashtra government notified its long-awaited Aggregator Policy for app-based cab services like Ola and Uber. The policy aims to ensure fair practices and better experiences for both riders and drivers. It includes rules for fare regulation, driver training, electric vehicle (EV) adoption, and penalties for unjustified cancellations. If a driver cancels a ride without a valid reason, a penalty of 10% of the fare or ₹100—whichever is less—will be charged. If a passenger cancels without reason, 5% of the fare or ₹50 will be awarded to the driver. These penalties will be deducted automatically through the app. The policy also limits peak-hour fares to a maximum of 1.5 times the base fare, as fixed by the Regional Transport Authority (RTA).

Notes:
Recently, researchers from the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Cairo studied Lake Manzala in Egypt from 2015 to 2022. The study found that dredging in the lake led to higher salinity and lower nutrient levels in 2022 compared to 2015. These changes affected the lake’s water chemistry and zooplankton in the northern and middle parts of the lake. The findings were published in May 2025 in the journal Nature under the title “Evaluating the restoration of Lake Manzala after dredging using water quality parameters and zooplankton changes.” Lake Manzala, located in northern Egypt, borders the Mediterranean Sea and acts as a flood buffer for nearby coastal cities. It also supports biodiversity in the Mediterranean region and protects farmland from seawater intrusion.

Notes:
Nagshankar Temple in Biswanath district of Assam has recently been designated as a model temple for turtle conservation. It is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River. The temple was originally built by King Narasankar of Nagakha in the 4th century AD and later renovated by Ahom king Su-sen-pha in 1480. The temple has a large pond that is home to around 250–300 turtles, including rare species like black softshell, Indian softshell, and Malayan softshell turtles. Some turtles in the pond are believed to be hundreds of years old. The temple campus also houses peacocks, deer, and pythons, adding to its biodiversity significance.