** What is India’s rank in the World Happiness Report 2025?

118th

• In the World Happiness Report 2025, India is ranked 118th out of 147 countries. This represents an improvement from its 126th position in 2024.
• The World Happiness Report is released every year on March 20, International Day of Happiness.

Who has been selected for the Maharashtra Bhushan Award 2025, the highest civilian honor of Maharashtra?

Ram Sutar

• Renowned sculptor Ram Sutar, the designer of the Statue of Unity, has been awarded Maharashtra’s highest civilian honor, the Maharashtra Bhushan.
• The award includes a prize of Rs 25 lakh and a memento. Sutar’s notable projects include statues of Lord Ram, Lord Shiva, and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.

** Who won the golden bat award in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 finale?

Rachin Ravindra

• New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra earned the Golden Bat for amassing 263 runs, and his compatriot Matt Henry received the Golden Ball for taking 10 wickets.
• The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 finally concluded on March 9 with India becoming the new champions after beating New Zealand by four wickets at the Dubai International cricket stadium.

** Which film has been awarded the Best Picture award at the 97th Academy Awards 2025 ?

Anora

• At the 97th Academy Awards, the film “Anora” won the Best Picture award.
• The film also won for Best Director (Sean Baker), Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Actress (Mikey Madison).

** Which is the second private spacecraft to soft land on the Moon recently?

Blue Ghost spacecraft

• Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost moon lander just etched its name into the history books. It achieved this milestone on March 2, 2025.
• CEO Jason Kim confirmed that the spacecraft was “stable and upright”.

Which day is observed as Zero Discrimination Day?

March 1

•  Zero Discrimination Day is observed on March 1 every year to promote equality and dignity for all.
• The theme for 2025 is “We Stand Together,” emphasizing collective action against discrimination.

Who has been awarded the ‘Abel Prize 2025’, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of Mathematics?

Masaki Kashiwara

• Japanese mathematician Masaki Kashiwara awarded the Abel Prize 2025.
• The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters honoured the 78-year-old mathematician for his pioneering work in developing D-modules and discovering crystal bases.

What is the primary objective of NASA’s SPHEREX mission? 

To study cosmic inflation and the history of galaxies

• SPHEREx stands for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer.
• It is a NASA mission aimed at studying the origins of the universe, the history of galaxy formation, and the abundance of water and organic molecules in our galaxy.
• SPHEREx will map 450 million galaxies over 2 years, and create a 3D sky map in 102 colour bands (wavelengths of light) using spectroscopy.