Daily Current Affairs Quiz: April 20-21, 2025

Notes:
NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is a joint satellite mission by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is set to be launched in June 2025 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh using the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II (GSLV Mk II). This is the first radar-based Earth observation mission jointly developed by India and the United States. NISAR will map the entire Earth’s surface every 12 days to provide frequent and accurate data. It will track ecosystem changes, ice movements, vegetation shifts, sea level rise, groundwater levels, and natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and landslides.

Notes:
China is set to unveil the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, the world’s highest bridge. The suspension bridge is under construction in Zhenfeng County, Guizhou Province, located 800 miles west of Shenzhen. Guizhou is known for impressive structures, with nearly half of the top 100 tallest bridges in the world situated there. The bridge will stand 625 meters (2,051 feet) above Beipan River, 200 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower. It will surpass the Millau Viaduct in France, which held the record at 343 meters (1,125 feet). The bridge is 2,890 meters (9,482 feet) long and weighs 22,000 tons.

Notes:
A recent study shows that the Mahadev Koli tribe holds rich medicinal and ecological knowledge useful for global climate resilience. The Mahadev Koli tribe is primarily found in the state of Maharashtra. They are named after their god Mahadev and live mainly in the Mahadev hills of Maharashtra. They are mostly found in Pune, Ahmednagar, and Nasik districts and are classified as a Scheduled Tribe. They speak Marathi using the Devanagari script and have twenty-four exogamous clans, using clan names as surnames. They know over 50 native tree species used for traditional medicine. Tanaji Malusare, a heroic general in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s army, belonged to this tribe and is known for his bravery in the Battle of Sinhagad.

Notes:
Indian athletes won 11 medals at the 6th Asian Under-18 (U18) Athletics Championship 2025 held in Saudi Arabia from April 15 to 18. The event was organised by the Asian Athletics Association at Prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz Sports City. Athletes under 18 years from 31 Asian countries took part in the championship. India won one gold, five silver, and five bronze medals in total. Himanshu won the gold medal in the boys’ javelin throw event. In the previous 5th edition held in 2023 at Tashkent, Uzbekistan, India had won 24 medals.

Notes:
BRICS nations launched the BRICS Land Restoration Partnership to tackle land degradation, desertification, and soil fertility loss across 11 member countries. The announcement was made during the 15th BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ meeting held in Brasilia, Brazil. This was the first agriculture meeting of the expanded BRICS, which now includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia. India was represented by Union Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan. BRICS countries together represent 47% of the global population and contribute 36% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The meeting supported fair agricultural trade, stable global prices, and better returns for small farmers.