India Current Affairs [Nation & States] MCQs

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Recently, Jenu Kuruba families began re-occupying their ancestral homes inside Nagarhole National Park after a long wait. Jenu Kuruba is listed as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) and mainly lives in Karnataka’s Kodagu and Mysore districts. The name “Jenu Kuruba” comes from Kannada, where “jenu” means honey, reflecting their traditional work of honey collection and forest gathering. Their livelihood depends on forest and land resources, and they live in small settlements called Hadi. They follow a semi-nomadic lifestyle with a headman called Yajamana and a ritual leader called Gudda. They believe in supernatural beings and express their faith through songs and dances about farming, marriage, and myths.

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Recently, Indian Army Engineers under the Spear Corps joined hands with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to conduct a major disaster relief exercise named Exercise Raahat at Rangapahar Military Station in Nagaland from May 13 to 15. The aim was to improve readiness and coordination ahead of the monsoon season. The first two days focused on planning, war-gaming, and case study discussions for better disaster response strategies. On the final day, both Army and NDRF teams demonstrated rescue and medical operations using advanced equipment.

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Recently, Rajasthan’s famous sangri bean from the Thar Desert received the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag. This tag officially links the sangri bean to its region, recognising it as a unique product of Rajasthan’s harsh desert climate. Sangri, from the khejri tree, is used in the traditional dish ker sangri, which is slow-cooked with regional spices and curd. The GI tag gives sangri global recognition and legal protection, ensuring authenticity and boosting local pride and economy.

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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.

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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.

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On May 21, 2025, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched the Mahavistar app and Digital Sheti Shala to give farmers easy access to agricultural knowledge . These platforms will guide farmers from sowing to harvesting with videos, real-time price data, and AI chatbots. It was launched during the Kharif season review meeting at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in Mumbai.

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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.

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Recently, Diu became the first district in India to meet its entire power demand using solar energy, achieving a capacity of 11.88 megawatts (MW). Minister for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Pralhad Joshi praised Diu as a national model for adopting clean energy. Diu now meets all its daytime electricity needs through solar power, showing strong progress in renewable energy use.

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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched the Honorary Rank Promotion Scheme for retiring personnel of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles. This scheme, led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, grants a one-rank honorary promotion from Constable up to Sub-Inspector. It is given on the retirement day to boost morale, pride, and self-respect of the personnel. The promotion is symbolic and does not involve any financial or pension benefits. It applies only if the higher rank exists within the service’s structure. The promotion does not affect the seniority of personnel. This move recognises dedicated service and aims to honour commitment with dignity.

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Telangana government has launched a Composite Backwardness Index (CBI) using data from a caste survey covering over 3.5 crore people. Composite Backwardness Index (CBI) is developed by an expert panel using 42 indicators across nine categories to measure caste-wise backwardness scientifically. This approach moves away from older methods like the Mandal Commission, which used population size and just 11 indicators for identifying backwardness. It marks a global first in using detailed data to assess social and economic backwardness more accurately.