Monthly Current Affairs (1–31 March 2025) – Key Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering major events, awards, economics, environment, defence, science-tech, sports and appointments from India and the world during March 2025 current affairs.

Vikram Samvat 2082

The Hindu lunisolar new year that began on 30 March 2025, commemorating King Vikramaditya’s victory over the Shakas in 57 BCE.

Eid-ul-Fitr 2025

Islamic festival celebrated on 31 March 2025, marking the end of Ramadan; preceded by the charity Zakat al-Fitr.

Navroz (Parsi New Year) 2025

Zoroastrian new-year festival observed on 20 March 2025, symbolising renewal and spring equinox.

Char Dham Yatra 2025

Hindu pilgrimage to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath, opening 30 Apr–4 May 2025; mandatory e-pass registration.

Holi 2025

Festival of colours celebrated across India on 14 March 2025, symbolising unity and victory of good over evil.

Sahityaotsav 2025

Asia’s largest literature festival (7-12 Mar 2025, New Delhi) organised by Sahitya Akademi, themed “Indian Literary Traditions.”

Ramadan 2025

Month-long Islamic fast that began in India on 2 March 2025, ending with Eid-ul-Fitr.

Vinod Kumar Shukla

Renowned Hindi author awarded the 58th Jnanpith Award on 22 March 2025.

Digital Transformation Award 2025

International honour won by RBI for its ‘Sarthi’ and ‘Pravaah’ digitisation platforms.

Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean

Mauritius’ highest civilian award, first presented to PM Narendra Modi on 11 March 2025.

Academy Awards 2025

97th Oscars held 2 Mar 2025; ‘Anora’ won Best Picture, Best Director & three other major titles.

Zoe Saldaña

Won Best Supporting Actress Oscar 2025 for Spanish-language musical ‘Emilia Pérez’.

Dearness Allowance 55 %

Central employees’ DA/DR raised from 53 % to 55 % w.e.f. 1 Jan 2025.

ATM Interchange Fee Hike

From 1 May 2025, Rs 19 for cash & Rs 7 for non-financial ATM transactions.

Navratna Status

Elite CPSE tag granted to IRCTC & IRFC on 3 Mar 2025, giving greater financial autonomy.

International Day of Forests 2025

Observed 21 Mar with theme “Forests and Food,” highlighting food security.

Madhav Tiger Reserve

Shivpuri park in MP declared India’s newest tiger reserve on 11 Mar 2025.

Riverine Dolphin Estimation 2025

India’s first survey counting 6,327 dolphins across 28 rivers, released 3 Mar 2025.

Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayat (MWFGP)

National initiative launched 5 Mar 2025 to promote gender-sensitive local governance.

World Tuberculosis Day 2025

24 Mar theme “Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver.”

Shaheed Diwas

Martyrs’ Day on 23 Mar honouring Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev & Rajguru (hanged 1931).

World Water Day 2025

22 Mar focus on ‘Glacier Preservation’ to safeguard freshwater.

World Sparrow Day

Celebrated 20 Mar to raise awareness about declining house sparrow populations.

World Consumer Rights Day 2025

15 Mar theme “A Just Transition to Sustainable Lifestyles.”

CISF 56th Raising Day

Celebrated 10 Mar 2025; motto ‘Surakshit Tat, Samridh Bharat’ coastal cycling rally.

International Women’s Day 2025

8 Mar theme “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights, Equality, Empowerment.”

Operation Brahma

India’s humanitarian mission to earthquake-hit Myanmar (launched 28 Mar 2025).

INIOCHOS-25

Multinational air exercise in Greece (31 Mar–11 Apr 2025) with IAF Su-30 MKI participation.

Sahkar Taxi

Upcoming cooperative-based ride-hailing service announced 27 Mar 2025 to benefit drivers.

Nag Missile System (Tracked)

Fire-and-forget anti-tank weapon; Rs 1,801 cr procurement contract signed 27 Mar 2025.

Exercise Prachand Prahar

Tri-services integrated drill in Arunachal Pradesh 25-27 Mar 2025 testing joint firepower.

ILO World Social Security Report 2024-26

Noted India’s coverage jump to 48.8 % from 24.4 % in three years.

Justice Yashwant Varma

Delhi HC judge recommended for transfer amid cash-stash controversy, March 2025.

Assam Rifles 190th Raising Day

Celebrated 24 Mar 2025; oldest paramilitary force founded 1835 as Cachar Levy.

Revised Rashtriya Gokul Mission

₹1,000 cr additional outlay (19 Mar 2025) to boost indigenous cattle & milk output.

BHIM-UPI Incentive Scheme 2025

0.15 % per transaction incentive for small-value merchant payments approved 19 Mar 2025.

Naval Exercise VARUNA 2025

India-France maritime drill 19-22 Mar featuring INS Vikrant and FS Charles de Gaulle.

Raisina Dialogue 2025

10th edition 17-19 Mar New Delhi; theme ‘Kālachakra – People, Peace, Planet.’

Astra BVRAAM

Indigenous beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile successfully fired from LCA on 12 Mar 2025.

QS World University Rankings 2025

Nine Indian universities ranked top-50 in subjects; ISM Dhanbad placed 20th in Mining.

Exercise KHANJAR-XII

India-Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces exercise in Kyrgyzstan 10-23 Mar 2025.

Crew-10 Mission

SpaceX–NASA flight launched 14 Mar 2025 to return Sunita Williams & Butch Wilmore from ISS.

SpaDeX Mission

ISRO’s Space Docking Experiment; rolling & undocking tests completed Mar 2025.

VLSRSAM

Vertically-Launched Short-Range Surface-to-Air Missile tested by DRDO & Navy 27 Mar 2025.

Indigenous MRI Machine

First Indian-built MRI to be installed at AIIMS Delhi by Oct 2025 for clinical trials.

xAI-X Merger

Elon Musk sold social platform X to his AI firm xAI for $33 bn on 28 Mar 2025.

Web3 Developers Surge

India added 4.7 million GitHub developers in 2024, 17 % of global Web3 entrants.

Starlink-Jio Deal

Agreement (12 Mar 2025) to distribute SpaceX satellite internet via Reliance Jio pending approvals.

World Para Athletics Grand Prix Delhi

First major para-athletics event in India, 11-13 Mar 2025 at JLN Stadium with 20 nations.

Khelo India Para Games 2025

Held 20-28 Mar Delhi; Haryana topped medals with 34 gold.

Prague Masters 2025

Chess tournament won by Indian GM Aravindh Chithambaram on 7 Mar 2025.

FIDE World Junior Champion 2025

Title won by Indian GM Pranav Venkatesh in Montenegro on 7 Mar 2025.

Sepak Takraw World Cup 2025

Held 20-25 Mar Patna; Indian men’s Regu team won inaugural world title.

Kabaddi World Cup 2025

First edition outside Asia, England; India won both men’s (44-41) & women’s (57-34) finals 23 Mar.

ICC Champions Trophy 2025

India beat New Zealand by four wickets in Dubai final on 9 Mar 2025 to lift third title.

Japan World Cup 2026 Qualification

First non-host nation to secure berth (20 Mar 2025) by defeating Bahrain 2-0.

Hero Asia Cup Hockey 2025

To be hosted in Rajgir, Bihar 29 Aug-7 Sep 2025 with eight Asian teams.

Khelo India Winter Games Gulmarg

Snow-sport event 9-12 Mar 2025 featuring alpine skiing, mountaineering, snowboarding, nordic events.

Christian Stocker

Sworn-in Federal Chancellor of Austria on 3 Mar 2025 leading ÖVP-SPÖ-Neos coalition.

Mark Carney

Former BoE governor elected Canadian PM, succeeding Justin Trudeau on 10 Mar 2025.

Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill 2024

Parliament-passed bill (25 Mar 2025) mandating national & state disaster plans and urban DMAs.

MP Salary Revision 2023

Monthly pay hiked to ₹1.24 lakh; daily allowance to ₹2,500; notified 24 Mar 2025.

EPIC–Aadhaar Linking

Election Commission’s planned UIDAI consultation (18 Mar 2025) to clean voter rolls.

OCI Cards for Mauritian PM

Special Overseas Citizen of India cards offered by PM Modi to Mauritius PM Ramgoolam & spouse.

Amm.-Urea Plant Namrup

₹9,500 cr brownfield fertiliser complex approved 19 Mar 2025 to boost Northeast supply.

Kedarnath Ropeway

₹4,081 cr 12.9 km 3S gondola from Sonprayag reducing trek to 36 min; cleared 5 Mar 2025.

Hemkund Sahib Ropeway

₹2,730 cr 12.4 km Govindghat-Hemkund project approved 6 Mar 2025 using MDG+3S system.

NDMA & SDMA

National & State Disaster Management Authorities strengthened under 2024 amendment bill.

Atul Kumar Goel

Former PNB MD appointed Chief Executive of Indian Banks’ Association 11 Mar 2025.

Ajay Seth

1987-batch IAS officer appointed Finance Secretary of India on 24 Mar 2025.

Kirsty Coventry

Zimbabwean Olympic swimmer elected first woman & African IOC President 22 Mar 2025.

Vikas Kaushal

First private-sector leader appointed CMD of HPCL on 7 Mar 2025.

Jay Bhattacharya

Indian-origin health economist confirmed 18th NIH Director by US Senate on 25 Mar 2025.

Rolling Experiment (SpaDeX)

ISRO test on 27 Mar 2025 where chaser satellite rotated around target to validate docking control.

Sensex Crash 28 Feb 2025

Index fell 1,414 pts to 73,198 due to Trump tariff shock, ending Feb down 5.6 %.

US Trade War 2025 Tariffs

Trump imposed 25 % levy on Mexico & Canada imports, 20 % on China (4 Mar 2025).

Trump–Putin Ceasefire Call

18 Mar 2025 phone talk seeking 30-day truce in Ukraine war.

Tulsi Gabbard India Visit

US Director of National Intelligence met NSA Doval & PM Modi 16-18 Mar 2025 for security talks.