Weekly GK Vault – April Week 2 (6-12 April 2025)

100 vocabulary flashcards summarising key terms, events, schemes and personalities discussed in the April Week 2 (6-12 April 2025) Weekly GK Vault lecture.

Euphaea wayanadensis

New damselfly species discovered in Wayanad, Kerala; 191st odonate of the state and 223rd of the Western Ghats.

ChaSTE instrument

Chandrayaan-3 probe that made first in-situ temperature profile near Moon’s south pole using a rotating penetrator.

Stand-Up India Scheme

Launched 5 April 2016 to provide bank loans (₹10 lakh–₹1 crore) to SC, ST and women entrepreneurs.

Automatic Wheel Profile Measurement System (AWPMS)

Laser-based rail device whose installation MoU was signed between Indian Railways and DMRC to monitor wheel wear in real time.

Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly

Global forum of parliaments; 150th session slated for Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 2025.

Vibrant Villages Programme

Home-Ministry-run centrally sponsored scheme funding infrastructure and livelihoods in 46 frontier blocks along the China border.

Hero Asia Cup Hockey 2025

Continental men’s tournament to be staged in Rajgir, Bihar, 29 Aug-7 Sep 2025.

Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) 2023-24

Improved to 930 (girls per 1,000 boys) from 918 in 2014-15—up by 12 points, aided by Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.

Zoonotic Disease Surveillance Model

Real-time One-Health monitoring system planned for Indian bird sanctuaries to detect animal-to-human disease spillover.

Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MR-SAM)

Army air-defence missile whose four successful flight tests were conducted off Odisha coast in April 2025.

Dokra Brass Peacock Boat

Traditional Chhattisgarh lost-wax brass sculpture gifted by PM Modi to Thai PM Shinawatra.

Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana

Highest Sri Lankan civilian honour for heads of state/government; awarded to PM Narendra Modi in 2025.

China’s 34 % Tariff Hike

Beijing’s April 2025 move to levy an extra 34 % duty on selected U.S. goods, escalating the trade war.

Bratislava

Capital of Slovakia, visited by President Droupadi Murmu on 7-10 April 2025.

BIMSTEC Chairmanship 2025-27

Handed over to Bangladesh for two-year term beginning April 2025.

International Day of Sport for Development & Peace

UN day observed 6 April; 2025 theme: “Leveling the Playing Field: Sport for Social Inclusion.”

International Day of Conscience

Marked annually on 5 April to promote a culture of peace and non-violence.

National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR)

Goa-based MoES institute; celebrated its 25th foundation day in 2025.

World Ti-pitaka: Sajjhaya Phonetic Edition

Thai-published phonetic scripture compilation of Buddha’s teachings presented to PM Modi.

INS Sunayna / IOS SAGAR

Patrol vessel flagged off as ‘Indian Ocean Ship SAGAR’ for multilateral deployment on National Maritime Day 2025.

National Maritime Day (India)

Observed 5 April to commemorate SS Loyalty’s 1919 voyage; 2025 theme: “Prosperous Seas – Developed India.”

Hitesh Gulia

Indian boxer who won men’s 70 kg gold at World Boxing Cup 2025 in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

Madhavpur Ghed Fair

Five-day Porbandar (Gujarat) festival celebrating Krishna-Rukshmani union, part of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.

INS Trikand Medical Mission

Indian frigate that provided life-saving surgery to Pakistani sailor in Central Arabian Sea on 4 Apr 2025.

Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025

Law reforming governance and transparency of waqf properties after Presidential assent.

Justice Arun Palli

Punjab-Haryana HC judge recommended as Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court (April 2025).

Naval Commanders’ Conference – Karwar

Phase-1 of Navy’s 2025 apex dialogue reviewed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 5 April.

Labour Force Participation Rate 2023-24

Reached 60.1 % for age 15+ as per “Women & Men in India 2024” report.

Pamban Vertical-Lift Sea Bridge

₹550 crore railway bridge linking Rameswaram to mainland; inaugurated by PM Modi on Ram Navami 2025.

Ottawa Convention

1997 treaty banning anti-personnel landmines; entered into force 1 March 1999.

World Health Day 2025 Theme

“Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures” focusing on maternal & newborn health.

Fred Darrington Sand Master Award

International sand-art honour first won by Indian sculptor Sudarsan Pattnaik in 2025.

Climate Change Council (Brazil Proposal)

New UNFCCC-linked body suggested by Brazil to speed climate action ahead of COP30.

Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil

Indian shooter who clinched men’s 10 m air-rifle gold at ISSF World Cup Buenos Aires 2025.

Sift Kaur Samra

Won women’s 50 m rifle 3-positions gold—her first individual ISSF World Cup title—in Buenos Aires 2025.

Agnipath Scheme

Armed-forces recruitment plan launched June 2022; Haryana Police now reserves 20 % posts for Agniveers.

Maho-Omanthai Railway Line

128-km Sri Lankan track refurbished with $91 m Indian assistance; inaugurated April 2025.

Trincomalee Energy Hub Agreement

Tripartite MoU between India, Sri Lanka & UAE to develop Trincomalee as an energy hub.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Director-General of the World Health Organization since 2017.

West Bengal GI Sweets & Produce

‘Nolen Gurer Sandesh’, Baruipur guava, Kamarpukur bonde, etc., got GI tags in 2025.

INS Tarkash – HMNZS Te Kaha PASSEX

India–New Zealand naval exercise conducted in Gulf of Aden, April 2025.

RBI Notes with Gov. Sanjay Malhotra Signature

New ₹10 and ₹500 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi (New) series to bear 2024-appointed governor’s sign.

AI Readiness Assessment Methodology (AI RAM)

MeitY-UNESCO consultative framework to map India’s ethical, governance & workforce preparedness for AI.

NTPC Talcher Kaniha 100 % Ash Utilisation

Thermal plant achieved full fly-ash use in FY 2024-25, supplying 67 L MT for roads and products.

Project SPRINT

Indian Oil Corporation’s transformation initiative to future-proof business amid energy transition.

MOSPI Microdata Portal

Revamped national repository giving public access to survey & census micro-datasets.

Bhiwani Harappan Sites

Tigrana and Mitathal in Haryana declared protected archaeological sites in April 2025.

ADR Donation Report 2023-24

NGO study showing BJP received ₹2,243 cr—the highest donations among national parties.

National Young Authors’ Fair

BriBooks-led platform inaugurated by Smriti Irani honouring student writers, 2024-25 edition in New Delhi.

Three-Language Formula (Haryana)

From 2025-26 class 9 students must study Hindi, English and an additional language (Sanskrit/Urdu/Punjabi).

Poshan Pakhwada 2025

8-22 April campaign under Poshan Abhiyaan stressing first 1,000 days and obesity prevention.

BEL EW Suite for Mi-17 V5

₹2,385 cr Defence Ministry contract for indigenous electronic-warfare kits for IAF helicopters.

‘Samudra Pradakshina’ Expedition

55-day all-women tri-services sailing circumnavigation from Mumbai to Seychelles and back aboard IASV Triveni.

Viana do Castelo Dress Stamp

Traditional Portuguese attire depicted on stamp released during President Murmu’s Lisbon visit.

Key of Honour of Lisbon City

Highest civic award of Lisbon presented to President Droupadi Murmu in April 2025.

Rai Dance

Folk dance of Madhya Pradesh’s Bedia community; Padma Shri exponent Ram Sahay Pandey (1932-2025).

Dam Safety Act 2021

Indian law establishing National Committee & Authority for dam surveillance, inspection and dispute resolution.

Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve

Rajasthan reserve (Vindhyan range) declared 2013; traversed by Chambal & Kali rivers; site of April 2025 fire.

POSHAN Abhiyaan

MWCD-run, centrally sponsored nutrition mission launched 2018 and implemented as Jan Andolan.

‘One State, One RRB’ Plan

Government merger reducing Regional Rural Banks to 28 to improve scale & efficiency.

Golden Lion 2025 – Werner Herzog

Veteran German filmmaker chosen for Venice Film Festival lifetime achievement award.

Virat Kohli – 13,000 T20 Runs

First Indian and fifth overall to cross milestone during IPL 2025 match vs Mumbai Indians.

ISAR (UNCTAD)

UN Intergovernmental Working Group on accounting standards; India elected uncontested for 2025-27 term.

India-Nepal Judicial MoU

2025 pact between Supreme Courts to share legal knowledge, tech and reduce case backlog.

Himalayan High-Altitude Atmospheric & Climate Centre

New Nathatop (Udhampur) facility for weather research launched by MoES.

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana Products

‘Shishu’ (≤₹50k), ‘Kishore’ (₹50k-5 lakh), ‘Tarun’ (₹5-10 lakh) loan categories under 2015 PMMY.

ESA Biomass Mission

Earth Explorer satellite (launch 29 Apr 2025) using P-band SAR to map global forest carbon.

World Homoeopathy Day 2025 Theme

“Homoeopathy in India: Tradition, Trust, and Tomorrow” celebrated 10 April.

Raja Yoga (Brahma Kumaris)

Meditative practice focusing on soul-consciousness and God connection, taught by Brahma Kumaris.

Aadhaar-Based Face Authentication (UAN)

EPFO’s new UMANG-app feature for contactless generation/activation of provident-fund UAN.

Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI)

MoPR composite index; Gujarat (346) & Telangana (270) top in Front-Runner Panchayats.

World Boxing President – Boris van der Vorst

Dutch administrator heading the sport’s global body; formed interim committee for BFI in 2025.

RBI GDP Forecast 2025-26

Central bank projects India’s real GDP growth at 6.5 %.

Mekedatu Project

Karnataka’s planned Cauvery-Arkavathi multipurpose dam opposed by Tamil Nadu.

Cricket at LA 2028 Olympics

Six-team men’s and women’s T20 tournaments with 90 athlete quotas each.

Rural Unemployment Rate 2024

Dropped to 4.2 % according to PLFS Annual Report.

India-Russia Priority Investment Projects WG

8th session held in New Delhi approving six new strategic collaborations.

Honoris Causa for President Murmu

Doctorate title to be conferred by Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovakia.

Global Technology Summit 2025

9th edition in New Delhi themed “Sambhavna” (possibilities) on tech & governance.

IORA Membership – Myanmar

Myanmar is not a member; IORA comprises 23 coastal states incl. Maldives, France, Seychelles.

Project Seabird

Karwar, Karnataka naval base—India’s largest west-coast maritime infrastructure project.

US Visa Cancellation – South Sudan

Washington revoked all existing U.S. visas of South Sudanese nationals in April 2025 row.

Saudi Visa Ban 2025

Kingdom temporarily stopped issuing certain visas to 14 nations including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh.

Delhi Metro 3-Coach Corridor

Eight-station, 8-km line in South Delhi to operate India’s first short three-coach trains.

IWAI Digital NoC Portal

New platform for private waterway investments; first NoC issued for Malim terminal, Goa.

AAIB Digital FDR/CVR Lab

₹9 cr facility in New Delhi to repair black boxes and analyse flight data for accident probes.

India-Chile SME & Startup MoUs

2025 agreements to boost collaboration in biotech, climatech, healthtech, edtech sectors.

IIM Ahmedabad Dubai Campus

Institute’s first overseas branch to offer one-year MBA from September 2025.

PLFS 2024 Unemployment Rate

Nationwide joblessness under Current Weekly Status dipped to 4.9 %.

Mauritius-ISA Country Partnership Framework

Island nation became first African state to sign structured solar-cooperation pact with ISA.

ISSF World Cup Buenos Aires 2025 – India

Indian shooters finished with 8 medals (4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze).

National Safe Motherhood Day

Observed in India on 11 April to promote maternal health; 2025 theme: “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures.”

PM Mudra Yojana – 10 Years

Launched April 2015; provides collateral-free loans up to ₹10 lakh to micro enterprises.

11th BRICS Environment Ministers Meeting

Held in Brasília, April 2025; India urged stronger climate finance.

Viksit Bharat Youth Parliament 2025

New Delhi event engaging students in policy debate for Vision 2047.

GP-DRASTI

Gujarat Police drone initiative for real-time crime tracking and search operations.

India – 3rd Largest Wind & Solar Producer

2024 Ember report placed India behind China & U.S., ahead of Germany.

NABARD Aid to Jharkhand

₹5,830 crore extended in FY 2024-25 to boost rural infrastructure and irrigation.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

President of Portugal, re-elected for second term in 2021.

Hadean Protocrust

Earth’s earliest solid crust formed 4.6-4 billion years ago, predating stable continents.