Daily current affairs

India and UAE bilateral trade settled in INR/AED under the local currency settlement framework crossed ₹1 lakh crore since the agreement in July 2023, reducing dollar dependency.

The Centre approved Chandrayaan-4 — India's first lunar sample return mission. Target launch: 2028. Will use SLV2 (heavy launcher) and two-spacecraft rendezvous architecture.

ISRO marked the third anniversary of Chandrayaan-3's successful soft landing with the launch of CY-3A, a follow-up mission demonstrating in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) experiments on the lunar surface.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the National Mission for AI in Healthcare with ₹3,500 crore over 5 years. Focus: diagnostic AI, drug discovery, public health surveillance.

World Bank's Migration and Development Brief: India remained the top remittance recipient globally for the fourth consecutive year, with inflows crossing $135 billion in 2025-26. Major sources: USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia, UK.

DPIIT launched the National Deep-Tech Startup Policy with a ₹2,000 crore Fund of Funds for AI, quantum, biotech, space-tech, advanced materials. Aims to support 10,000 deep-tech startups by 2030.

DoT released the Bharat 6G Vision 2030 — strategy document targeting 10% of global 6G IPRs by 2030. Plans for testbed, standards contribution to ITU, R&D ecosystem support.

Neeraj Chopra won javelin gold (90.21 m, season's best) at the Doha Diamond League. Murali Sreeshankar took silver in long jump. Annu Rani also placed 3rd in women's javelin.

India finished 6th in the medal tally at the Asian Para Athletics Championship with 11 gold, 8 silver, 14 bronze. Devendra Jhajharia won javelin gold for 4th time. Para-athletics has become India's strongest discipline.

Ministry of Education revamped the PM Vidya Lakshmi portal, offering single-window education loan applications across 13 PSU banks. Subsidized interest rates for income-based eligible students.

WHO South-East Asia Regional Office certified India's progress on measles-rubella elimination as a model for other developing nations. India launched the MR vaccine campaign in 2017 — over 32 crore children immunized.

India-Singapore activated next phase of UPI-PayNow integration. Real-time bank-to-bank payments under SGD 1000 per transaction. ~₹250 cr transactions in pilot. Similar arrangements being finalized with UAE, France, Bhutan.

CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (Lucknow) announced first indigenous oral insulin tablet, completing Phase II clinical trials. Could replace injectable insulin for type-2 diabetics. Expected approval and launch by 2027.

SEBI released a consultation paper proposing a regulated framework for equity crowdfunding in India. Caps: ₹10 crore raise/year, ₹2 lakh per individual investor. Aimed at startups and SMEs without traditional VC access.

RBI announced nationwide rollout of digital rupee (e₹) for retail transactions after 18 months of pilot. ~12 lakh users in pilot phase; transaction volume crossed ₹2000 crore. Now available via UPI-style mobile apps from all major banks.

Ministry of Power: every census village in India now has reliable grid electricity access (24×7 or near-24×7). Builds on Saubhagya scheme (2017) and rural infra push.

Indian Railways completed KAVACH (indigenous Automatic Train Protection) deployment on 5,000 route km, mainly Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors. Prevents collisions and signal violations. Target: 35,000 km by 2027.

Ministry of Railways: 1,400+ stations now under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) for modernization. Phase 1 of 506 stations nearly complete; Phase 2 expanded scope. Total budget ₹25,000+ crore. Features: clean toilets, AC waiting halls, free Wi-Fi, retail, parking.

CSO's provisional estimates show India's GDP grew at 7.3% in FY 2025-26, the fastest among major economies. Services sector led at 8.4%; manufacturing recovered to 6.1%.

Cabinet approved BharatNet Phase III with ₹1.39 lakh crore outlay over 5 years to connect 6.4 lakh villages with optical fiber, completing the rural broadband backbone.

PM Modi inaugurated the 12th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit at Gandhinagar. Theme: "Gateway to the Future." MoUs worth ₹27 lakh crore signed across electronics, renewable energy, semiconductors.

ISRO conducted the fourth landing experiment of its Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator at the Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga. The autonomous spaceplane landed precisely after release from a helicopter at 4.5 km altitude.

India and ASEAN concluded six rounds of negotiations to upgrade the AIFTA (ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement). Key gains: digital trade chapter, simpler rules of origin, services market access.

NBEMS released NEET PG 2026 results. Cut-off lowered to 200 marks for general category to accommodate post-graduate seat shortage. AIIMS Delhi retained No. 1 in NIRF medical rankings.

India and the UK finalised a digital trade chapter as part of the comprehensive FTA — covering cross-border data flows, e-signatures, paperless trading, and digital identity recognition.

World Bank report ranked India #1 globally for digital public infrastructure (DPI). Cited Aadhaar, UPI, and DigiLocker as templates for other developing countries. ~50 countries adopting India Stack components.

IIT Madras was selected to host the first World Quantum Day Summit in April 2027. The selection marks recognition of India's growing role in quantum tech after the National Quantum Mission and Quantum Communication Mission.

GSMA Mobile Economy report: India tops global mobile data usage per user at 28 GB/month (vs world average 15 GB). Driven by 5G rollout, Jio/Airtel competition, low data prices.

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy: India crossed 220 GW of non-fossil-fuel power capacity. Solar 110 GW + Wind 50 GW + Hydro 47 GW + Bio + nuclear. Target 500 GW by 2030.

India and UAE finalized a bilateral framework enabling trade settlements in INR and AED, reducing dollar dependency. Tested with two pilot trade transactions worth $20 million.

Ernst & Young's Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) 2026 placed India at #4 globally (up from #5). USA #1, China #2, Germany #3. Recognition for India's 220 GW capacity and 500 GW by 2030 target.

IMD rolled out the new AI-based Hyper-Local Weather Forecasting System (HLWFS) covering all 766 districts of India. Provides hour-by-hour forecasts at 1 km resolution, factoring local geography. India joins US, China, EU.

Union Cabinet cleared ₹50,000 crore National Battery Storage Mission to develop 50 GWh grid-scale battery storage by 2030. Critical for integrating renewable energy (solar/wind intermittency) into national grid.

CSIR-National Chemical Lab (Pune) developed first-in-class plant-derived mRNA vaccine platform. Could be game-changer for cold-chain-free vaccines in tropical countries. Phase 1 trial planned for influenza in 2026.

Delhi Metro inaugurated India's first metro tunnel below a major river — under the Yamuna, on the Phase 4 corridor (Tughlaqabad-Aerocity). Engineering feat with twin-tunnel boring machines at depth of 25m.

Tata Electronics announced first indigenously produced 8K resolution LCD display panel at Tamil Nadu fab. Initial output: 2 lakh panels/year. Reduces import dependency on display panels (~$10B annual imports).

Ministry of New & Renewable Energy: PM Suryodaya Yojana (launched 2024) has installed 1 crore (10 million) rooftop solar units across India, with 300 free units/month for households. Capacity: 40+ GW.

ICF Chennai completed trial runs of Vande Bharat Sleeper variant on Western Railway. Speed test: 180 km/h achieved. Equipped with First AC, AC 2-tier, AC 3-tier coaches. Commercial launch expected late 2026 on Delhi-Mumbai overnight route.

RBI Monetary Policy Committee voted 4-2 to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.75%. Inflation forecast revised to 4.4% for FY27. Growth projection at 7.2%.

Cabinet approved the National Critical Minerals Mission with ₹14,500 crore outlay over 7 years for exploration, extraction and processing of 30 critical minerals including lithium, cobalt, rare earths.

PM POSHAN (formerly Mid-Day Meal) extended from primary (Classes 1-8) to upper-primary and secondary (Classes 9-12). Outlay: ₹54,061 crore till 2030. Covers 14.5 crore students.

Centre approved expansion of the National Quantum Mission to ₹10,000 crore till 2031. Four verticals: quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing, materials and devices.

India hosted the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference in New Delhi. Key debates: e-commerce moratorium, fisheries subsidies, trade-environment linkage, India's concerns about agricultural support.

Ministry of Road Transport announced a ₹17,490 crore National Hydrogen Mobility Mission aiming to put 100,000 fuel-cell vehicles on Indian roads by 2030. Refueling network of 200 stations planned.

Department of Science & Technology announced India's first home-grown 25-qubit superconducting quantum computer at C-DAC Pune under the National Quantum Mission. Open to researchers via a cloud portal.

Ministry of Agriculture: PM-KISAN scheme has crossed 11 crore beneficiary farmers since its 2019 launch. ₹6000/year is directly transferred via DBT in three installments.

MeitY unveiled India's first National Cyber Resilience Framework (NCRF) defining minimum cybersecurity baselines for critical infrastructure (banking, power, telecom, transport). Mandatory compliance audits every 6 months for designated entities.

Reserve Bank of India inaugurated a Centre for Excellence in Climate Finance at Mumbai, focused on climate risk assessment for banks, green bond issuance, and transition finance for high-emission sectors.

Cabinet approved ₹10,103 crore National Mission on Edible Oils – Oilseeds aiming to increase domestic oilseed production from 39 to 70 million tonnes by 2030. Focus on soybean, groundnut, sunflower, sesame. India imports ~60% of edible oil.

Government launched Mission Karmayogi 2.0 — a digital-first capacity building platform for ~3 crore civil servants (Centre + States). New focus: AI-powered learning, behavioural training, role-specific modules. Built on iGOT (Integrated Government Online Training).