Important Days
Earth Day 2025
▪ It is observed annually on April 22.
▪ The official theme for Earth Day 2025 is “OUR POWER, OUR PLANET”.
▪ This year’s message focuses on the need to shift rapidly to renewable energy, urging individuals, businesses, and governments to triple clean energy production by 2030.
▪ The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, initiated by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as a national teach-in on environmental issues.
World Heritage Day 2025
▪ The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has declared free entry to its protected
monuments on International Day for Monuments and Sites (World Heritage Day) on 18th April 2025.
▪ It is a day observed globally to promote awareness about the importance of cultural heritage and the need to preserve it. It was declared by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1982 and later approved by UNESCO in 1983.
▪ The theme for 2025 is “Heritage under Threat from Disasters and Conflicts: Preparedness and Learning from 60 Years of ICOMOS Actions’’.
▪ WHS in India: As of April 2025, India has 43 World Heritage Sites (34 Cultural, 7 Natural, and 2 Mixed) and 62 sites on the Tentative List.
Defence, National Security and Terrorism
Exercise Desert Flag 10
▪ Recently, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has joined the prestigious Exercise Desert Flag-10 (21 April to 08 May 2025).
▪ It is a multinational air combat exercise being hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Al Dhafra Air Base.
▪ Participating Nations: Along with the Indian Air Force, the exercise involves air forces
from Australia, Bahrain, France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the host nation UAE.
Objective: The primary aim of Exercise Desert Flag is to conduct complex and diverse fighter
engagements.
