India Current Affairs [Nation & States] MCQs

Notes:
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated India’s first port-based Green Hydrogen Pilot Project at V.O. Chidambaranar (VOC) Port, Tamil Nadu. The pilot project, costing ₹3.87 crore, has a capacity of 10 Nm³/hour to generate green hydrogen for streetlights and an EV charging station in the port colony. VOC Port becomes the first port in India to produce green hydrogen.

Notes:
Bhubaneswar became the first Indian city to release an Integrated Heat and Cooling Action Plan (IHCAP). Integrated Heat and Cooling Action Plan (IHCAP) aims to tackle rising heat stress and soaring air-conditioning (AC) demand. Heat stress in Bhubaneswar now spans February to October, with night-time temperatures increasing risks. Rapid urbanisation increased built-up area by 23%, reduced vegetation by 10%, and water bodies by 75%, intensifying the urban heat island (UHI) effect.

Notes:
Recently, an encounter broke out in Guddar forest, Kulgam, Jammu & Kashmir, under Operation Guddar after terrorists fired at security forces. Operation Guddar is a counter-terrorism mission by J&K Police, Army (Chinar Corps), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). It is named after the Guddar forest area where militants were suspected to be hiding. The aim of operation is to neutralize active terrorists in South Kashmir and secure forested areas and villages used as hideouts. It focuses on intelligence-based, coordinated actions with minimum civilian harm. Operations are high-risk due to dense forest terrain.

Notes:
ACME Group and Japan’s IHI Corporation announced a joint venture to set up India’s largest green ammonia project in Gopalpur, Odisha. The plant will produce 0.4 million tonnes of green ammonia annually mainly for Japanese power and chemical sectors. It will help cut 0.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year and support India’s Green Hydrogen Mission. The project is targeted for commissioning by 2029-30 with focus on exports to Japan. It aligns with the 15th Japan–India Annual Summit 2025 Joint Declaration on Clean Hydrogen and Ammonia. The project will boost Odisha’s green energy hub status, create jobs, and strengthen India-Japan clean energy partnership.

Notes:
Namo Bharat has officially become India’s fastest train, operating at 160 km/h on the 55-km Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) stretch. Earlier semi-high-speed trains like Gatimaan Express and Vande Bharat were capped at 130 km/h after a June 2024 directive. The current operational corridor runs from New Ashok Nagar, East Delhi, to Meerut South, Uttar Pradesh, with full corridor expected to have 16 stations from Sarai Kale Khan, Delhi, to Modipuram, UP. Namo Bharat RRTS is a joint venture: Government of India (50%) and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan (12.5% each). The system is India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System, enhancing speed, connectivity, and regional travel efficiency.

Notes:
Prime Minister inaugurated Mizoram’s first-ever railway line, the Bairabi–Sairang broad-gauge project. It connects Bairabi on the Assam–Mizoram border to Sairang, 20 km from Aizawl, the state capital. Aizawl becomes the fourth northeastern state capital linked to India’s railway network after Guwahati, Agartala, and Itanagar. The rail line is 51.38 km long, passing through hilly and challenging terrain.

Notes:
Around 550 residents of Fulwariya hamlet in Koderma district, mostly from the Birhor tribe, will soon receive electricity after nearly 80 years of darkness. The Birhor are a semi-nomadic forest-dependent tribe mainly in Jharkhand, also found in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal. They are among eight Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Jharkhand. Their language, Birhor, belongs to the Munda group of Austroasiatic family, similar to Santali, Mundari, and Ho. Birhors live in small forest settlements called tandas or bands, with huts of leaves and branches.

Notes:
Puducherry became the first Union Territory to reduce maternal mortality to zero in 2024–25, earning a Platinum Certificate from the Union government. Lieutenant Governor K Kailashnathan announced this milestone at the Mega Women’s Health Festival, Swasth Nari, Sashakt Parivar Abhiyaan, in Puducherry. Nearly 62,000 young women were screened and treated for anaemia by the Health Department. Health camps and nutrition kit distribution were also launched during the festival.

Notes:
Karnataka has proposed raising Almatti Dam height from 519.60 metres to 524.256 metres. The dam’s capacity will increase from 173 Thousand Million Cubic feet (TMC) to 300 TMC. Almatti Dam is a hydroelectric and irrigation project forming the main reservoir of the Upper Krishna Irrigation Project. The dam was commissioned in 2005 with an installed power generation capacity of 290 Megawatts (MW). It is located in Bijapur (Vijayapura) district, Karnataka, with submergence in Bagalkot district. The dam is built across the Krishna River, one of South India’s major east-flowing rivers.

Notes:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) initiative to improve urban sanitation. Swachh Shehar Jodi (SSJ) initiative is a structured mentorship program involving 72 mentor cities and around 200 mentee cities based on Swachh Survekshan rankings. Top-performing cities act as mentors, paired with low-performing mentee cities for knowledge sharing and peer learning. The initiative is time-bound, with a 100-day program to develop collaborative action plans with defined milestones.