Current Affairs Quiz - March 2025

Notes:
India launched its first ancient stitched ship at Divar Island, Goa on February 26, 2025. The wooden vessel is modeled after a 5th-century ship depicted in the Ajanta caves. It was designed and built in Goa by Hodi Innovations with Kerala master artisans. Unlike modern ships, its wooden planks are stitched with coconut coir rope, an ancient Indian technique. The hull is treated with sardine oil, natural resins, and seasoned wood for durability. The ship will sail to Oman and Indonesia by the end of 2025, retracing old trade routes.

Notes:
A 4,000-year-old Neolithic wooden circle was discovered in Denmark, similar to Stonehenge. It consists of 45 wooden piles arranged in a 30-meter diameter, likely for rituals or sun worship. A nearby Bronze Age (1700–1500 BCE) settlement included a chieftain’s grave and a bronze sword. The Bronze Age (2000–700 BCE) was when people widely used bronze tools. The discovery suggests cultural links between Denmark and Britain through shared artifacts. Stonehenge (3100–1600 BCE) in England is a prehistoric monument with massive stone circles.

Notes:
World Civil Defence Day is celebrated annually on March 1 to raise awareness about civil defence strategies and people’s protection. The day highlights the importance of civil defence in safeguarding people and property from accidents, natural disasters, and crises. It was first observed in the 20th century during times of social, technological, and political upheaval, especially due to nuclear weapons concerns. The United Nations created the International Civil Defence Organisation to coordinate global civil defence efforts. The ninth General Assembly in 1990 designated March 1 as World Civil Defence Day.

Notes:
Due to heavy rain and snowfall in Himachal Pradesh, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) opened the spillway gates of Pandoh Dam as a precautionary measure. Pandoh Dam is an embankment dam located in Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh. It is built on the Beas River and primarily serves hydroelectric power generation. The dam is a concrete gravity structure, standing 76 meters (249 feet) tall.

Notes:
A new species of spined loach, Cobitis beijingensis, has been discovered in Beijing, China, after 40 years. This is the first time a fish species has been named globally using the pinyin “Beijing.” The Beijing loach is about 5 cm long, with a body covered in yellow and black patterned markings. The species was confirmed by a research team from the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It was collected from the Chaobai River in Shilipu Town, Miyun District, Beijing.

Notes:
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) became India’s first urban body to include a separate climate chapter in its 2025-26 budget. The “sustainable and climate budget” allocates ₹5,619.58 crore (over a third) of AMC’s ₹15,502 crore budget for climate action. The fund will support a net-zero, climate-resilient city action plan aligned with India’s net-zero target of 2070. Other metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Coimbatore have been slow to institutionalize climate action in their budgets, though Mumbai has allocated 33% for climate projects in 2024-25.

Notes:
Mission 300 is an ambitious initiative to electrify 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. It was launched in 2025 by the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) in collaboration with key global energy partners. The initiative aims to provide affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity to millions in Africa. It will achieve this through a mix of grid expansion, mini-grids, and off-grid solar solutions to ensure widespread electrification. Mission 300 will help accelerate Africa’s transition to clean energy, reducing dependency on fossil fuels.

Notes:
President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the Visitor’s Conference 2024-25 at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, highlighting the role of higher education in India’s future. The first-ever Visitors Conference was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee in November 2015. She presented the 8th Visitor’s Awards to top researchers in quantum tech, pharmaceuticals, aquaculture, cancer research, and plastic-to-fuel conversion.

Notes:
Countries around Lake Tanganyika launched a five-year project to tackle biodiversity threats. Lake Tanganyika is an ancient lake in East Africa. It borders Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia. It is the world’s longest and one of the deepest lakes, stretching over 400 miles. It is located in the Western Rift Valley, steep land rises along its shores. It marks the division between East and West African floral regions, with oil palms on its shores.

Notes:
AIIMS launched ‘Payodhi’, a human milk bank for critically ill preterm babies in the NICU. Payodhi is a milk bank and lactation management centre at AIIMS, New Delhi. It collects, processes, and stores pasteurized donor milk for premature and ill newborns. The milk bank was launched in September 2024 at AIIMS’s Neonatology Division. Payodhi’s aim is to provide safe, processed human milk to NICU babies and support lactating mothers with counseling, milk donation, and storage facilities.