Saturday, 25 April 2026ARCHIVE

Daily Current Affairs

Bundle archived on Saturday, 25 April 2026 for SSC, Banking, UPSC, Railway and Defence — bilingual headlines, key facts, mnemonics, exam-track MCQs and flashcards.

HISTORYHIGH PRIORITYTop story

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has commemorated 33,000 Indian Army soldiers who died during the First World War in the Mesopotamia Campaign through new digital name panels at the Basra Memorial in Iraq — correcting a long-standing colonial-era omission that had recorded their sacrifices only numerically rather than by name; the digital panels now display the names, ranks, and regiments of Indian soldiers alongside over 46,000 Commonwealth service personnel; historian Shrabani Basu welcomed the move as restoring the honour these soldiers deserved.

राष्ट्रमंडल युद्ध समाधि आयोग (CWGC) ने प्रथम विश्व युद्ध की मेसोपोटामिया मुहिम में मारे गए 33,000 भारतीय सेना सैनिकों को इराक के बसरा स्मारक पर नई डिजिटल नाम पैनलों के माध्यम से स्मरण किया है — एक दीर्घकालिक औपनिवेशिक-युग की चूक को सुधारते हुए जिसने उनके बलिदानों को नाम के बजाय केवल संख्यात्मक रूप से दर्ज किया था; डिजिटल पैनल अब 46,000 से अधिक राष्ट्रमंडल सेवा कर्मियों के साथ भारतीय सैनिकों के नाम, पद, एवं रेजिमेंट प्रदर्शित करते हैं; इतिहासकार श्रबनी बासु ने इस क़दम का स्वागत करते हुए कहा कि यह इन सैनिकों को वह सम्मान बहाल करता है जिसके वे हक़दार थे।

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has commemorated 33,000 Indian Army soldiers who died during the First World War in the Mesopotamia Campaign — through new digital name panels at the Basra Memorial in Iraq. The Indian soldiers…

25 April 2026 · Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) — digital memorial panels for Indian WWI soldiers at Basra Memorial; Historian Shrabani Basu commentary
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  1. history· 1
    1. 01The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has commemorated 33,000 Indian Army soldiers who died during the First World War in the Mesopotamia Campaign through new digital name panels at the Basra Memorial in Iraq — correcting a long-standing colonial-era omission that had recorded their sacrifices only numerically rather than by name; the digital panels now display the names, ranks, and regiments of Indian soldiers alongside over 46,000 Commonwealth service personnel; historian Shrabani Basu welcomed the move as restoring the honour these soldiers deserved.SSCBankingUPSC
  2. international· 4
    1. 02Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 27-28 April 2026 to participate in the Defence Ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO); the high-level forum will focus on regional security challenges, terrorism, extremism, and the changing geopolitical environment across Eurasia and Asia; India became a full SCO member in 2017 (alongside Pakistan); the SCO was founded in 2001 and includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and several Central Asian nations.SSCBankingUPSC
    2. 09India has welcomed Japan's recent revision of its defence export framework — calling it a significant step towards strengthening bilateral security cooperation under the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership (elevated to that status in 2014); the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), through Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, said the move will deepen cooperation in defence and security domains and open new opportunities in advanced technology and defence manufacturing; Japan has amended its long-standing 'Three Principles on Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology' to permit broader transfers (subject to case-by-case evaluation and strict export-control monitoring); Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasised that 'no country can ensure security alone' in today's world.SSCBankingUPSC
    3. 16Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) in Andhra Pradesh has won the 4th Gender Equality Mobilisation (GEM) Award presented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna during the International Day of Women in Industry 2026 celebrations — recognised for combining women's empowerment with sustainable waste management by deploying more than 200 women as electric auto drivers for door-to-door garbage collection under the UNIDO-supported Sustainable Cities Integrated Approach Pilot (SCIAP); the award was received by Sustainable Cities Project Manager Olga Rataj on GMC's behalf, with former Finnish President Tarja Halonen present at the ceremony.SSCBankingUPSC
    4. 18China has announced that it will send two giant pandas — male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding — to Zoo Atlanta in the United States as part of a 10-year conservation partnership signed in 2025, continuing its 'panda diplomacy' tradition; the move comes despite ongoing US-China tensions and ahead of US President Donald Trump's planned May 2026 visit to China; panda diplomacy with the US dates to 1972, when China gifted a pair to the National Zoo in Washington following President Richard Nixon's historic visit; in 2024, the National Zoo and the San Diego Zoo also received pandas as wildlife cooperation resumed.SSCBankingUPSC
  3. polity· 2
    1. 03The Union government is set to appoint former Chief Economic Adviser Ashok Lahiri — currently a BJP MLA from Balurghat in West Bengal — as the new Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, replacing Suman Bery; alongside, Gobardhan Das (Director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal and former Jawaharlal Nehru University professor) is expected to be appointed as a Member; the appointments — coming during the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections and amid CEO BVR Subrahmanyam's recent exit — are being viewed as part of a wider revamp of the government's top policy think tank, established on 1 January 2015 to replace the Planning Commission.SSCBankingUPSC
    2. 12An analytical assessment of women's reservation in Indian politics highlights that while reservation acts as an 'entry pass' to the political arena, substantive empowerment requires capacity, autonomy, and structural change beyond quotas — women's representation in the Lok Sabha hovered around 14-15% in 2024 (despite India having one of the world's largest democratic electorates with high female voter participation); key gaps include 'proxy representation' (sarpanch pati phenomenon documented by Ministry of Panchayati Raj), low political-party gatekeeping (women receive only 8-10% of total party tickets), training and skill deficits noted by UNDP, and intersectional inequalities affecting Dalit, Adivasi, and rural women per Oxfam — the analysis comes amid ongoing debate about implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (106th Constitutional Amendment Act 2023) which provides 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.SSCBankingUPSC
  4. economy· 4
    1. 04India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $2.36 billion to $703.31 billion for the week ended 17 April 2026, according to RBI data — the second consecutive weekly rise after a $3.825 billion increase the previous week (reaching $700.946 billion); Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), the largest component, rose by $1.48 billion to $557.46 billion; reserves had touched an all-time high of $728.494 billion in February 2026 before declining due to RBI dollar sales amid West Asia geopolitical tensions affecting the rupee; forex reserves comprise FCA + gold + Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) + reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).SSCBankingUPSC
    2. 06The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the banking licence of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) — citing operations detrimental to depositors' interests and management practices prejudicial to public interest, alongside persistent governance and compliance failures — and will approach the High Court for winding-up proceedings; the cancellation marks the culmination of escalating regulatory action that began with a March 2022 ban on onboarding new customers and a January 2024 directive (effective March 2024) prohibiting fresh deposits, credit transactions, wallet top-ups, FASTag, and NCMC services; PPBL — founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in 2017 as one of India's first payments banks — can now only facilitate withdrawals of existing funds and cannot accept new deposits or transactions; RBI has confirmed the bank has sufficient liquidity to repay depositors.SSCBankingUPSC
    3. 15A major fire broke out at the HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL) complex at Pachpadra in Balotra district, Rajasthan — just before the integrated Refinery and Petrochemical Complex's commissioning — with the fire occurring near the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) due to a hydrocarbon leakage at a valve/flange system; HRRL is a joint venture of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL, 74%) and the Government of Rajasthan (26%), located in India's largest onshore-crude-oil-producing state with the country's largest onshore oil field (Mangala in the Mangala-Bhagyam-Aishwariya/MBA cluster) at peak production of around 200,000 barrels per day, ~150 million barrels of proven Barmer-basin crude reserves, and approximately 38 discovered oil fields in the Barmer-Sanchore basin.SSCBankingUPSC
    4. 21Brazil has overtaken India as the leading exporter of corn (maize) to Bangladesh — signalling a major shift in regional agricultural trade; for years India had held the dominant position thanks to competitive pricing and geographical proximity, but since 2024 rising domestic demand for maize, especially for India's ethanol-blending programme, has reduced India's export capacity and made Indian maize less price-competitive abroad; Brazil — with large-scale production, efficient supply chains, and consistent supply volumes — has captured a significant share of Bangladesh's growing feed-grain market driven by its expanding poultry and animal-feed industries.SSCBankingUPSC
  5. judiciary· 1
    1. 05In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court of India — through a bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan — allowed a 15-year-old girl to medically terminate her 31-week pregnancy, holding that reproductive autonomy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution and that forcing a minor to continue an unwanted pregnancy would violate her dignity, privacy, and personal liberty; the Court invoked the 'best interests of the child' doctrine to override the standard 24-week ceiling under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 (as amended in 2021), noting the minor had attempted suicide twice under the psychological trauma.SSCBankingUPSC
  6. environment· 3
    1. 07A satellite-based global study using Carbon Mapper data and analysed by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Stop Methane Project has placed landfill sites in Mumbai and Secunderabad among the world's top 25 methane-emitting waste sites in 2025; the study analysed 2,994 methane plumes from 707 waste sites globally — top sites emit between 3.6 to 7.5 tonnes of methane per hour, with 5 tonnes/hour comparable to the pollution from one million SUVs or a 500 MW coal power plant; Chile and Brazil had the highest count (3 sites each), followed by India alongside Saudi Arabia and Turkey with 2 sites each; methane is about 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years and is responsible for nearly 30% of global temperature rise since the Industrial Revolution.SSCBankingUPSC
    2. 11India added a record 6.1 GW of wind energy capacity in 2025-26, taking total installed wind capacity to over 56.1 GW and consolidating its position as the FOURTH-largest wind energy producer globally; the country has set a target of 100 GW of wind capacity by 2030 (within its broader 500 GW non-fossil energy commitment under the Panchamrit pledges of COP26 in Glasgow), and net-zero by 2070; India's wind energy potential is estimated at approximately 1,164 GW at 150-meter hub height, with significant scope across Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra; the country's domestic manufacturing ecosystem produces 70-80% of wind equipment (blades, towers, turbines) with annual capacity of 24+ GW.SSCBankingUPSC
    3. 19A new scientific study by researchers associated with Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative) has suggested that sperm whales — the largest toothed animals on Earth and possessors of the largest brain among any mammal — may use communication structures with rhythm and spacing variations similar to vowel-like sounds in human speech; the study analysed 'codas' (rapid bursts of clicks produced when whales surface) and found organised patterns and variations indicating a more complex communication system than previously understood, opening new possibilities for understanding marine intelligence and animal communication evolution.SSCBankingUPSC
  7. defence· 1
    1. 08General Upendra Dwivedi, the Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) of India, has been inducted into the prestigious US Army War College International Hall of Fame at Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania, becoming the third Indian Army Chief to receive this honour; the induction recognises his distinguished service and contributions to military leadership, places him among a select group of global military leaders, and signals deepening India-US defence ties — particularly across the Indo-Pacific — at a time when joint military training, interoperability, and strategic cooperation are expanding; General Dwivedi is himself an alumnus of the US Army War College.SSCBankingUPSC
  8. art-culture· 1
    1. 10The newly inaugurated Jain Heritage Museum in Ahmedabad, Gujarat serves as a major repository of the Shramana tradition — a non-Vedic, ancient Indian religious movement that operated parallel to the Vedic religion, emphasising self-reliance, asceticism, and liberation through personal effort; the museum spans Jainism's 24 Tirthankaras (with Rishabhanatha as the first, symbolised by the Bull, and Mahavira as the 24th and final of the present era, symbolised by the Lion); core doctrines including Ahimsa (non-violence), Anekantavada (non-absolutism / many-sidedness), and Syadvada (logic of conditional predication); art forms such as Pratima iconography in Kayotsarga (standing) and Padmasana (lotus) postures; canonical texts like the Kalpa Sutra and Bhagavati Sutra; and the Mathura School's Ayagapatas (votive tablets) bearing the Dharmachakra and Ashtamangala (eight auspicious symbols).SSCBankingUPSC
  9. health· 1
    1. 13A study published in BMJ Global Health by researchers from ICMR-NICPR and TISS estimates that approximately 20.49 million Indian households (10.6%) could move into a higher income category if tobacco consumption were eliminated — and 5.62 million of the poorest households (12.4% of poorest) could rise out of poverty entirely; the poorest sections spend about 6.4% of monthly income on tobacco; the impact is more pronounced in rural areas (17 million households with upward mobility potential) than urban (3.5 million) — overall economic improvement scope in rural India is about 60% greater than urban; India has an estimated 267 million tobacco users with tobacco-related illnesses accounting for roughly 1.35 million deaths each year.SSCBankingUPSC
  10. education· 1
    1. 14India continues to grapple with a severe learning crisis — consistently highlighted by the Annual Status of Education Reports (ASER) — and despite progress on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) policy, including the National Education Policy 2020 and the NIPUN Bharat Mission, the issue has not translated into urgency at the grassroots; an analytical assessment attributes the gap to insufficient 'salience' — how far an issue is acknowledged, prioritised, and translated into action by society — citing Vietnam's contrasting success (per RISE Programme research) as a country that achieved strong learning outcomes despite limited resources because of strong societal commitment to learning; key reasons for low salience in India include the invisible nature of learning deficits, weak accountability mechanisms, underestimation of the problem's scale, blurred responsibility between state and family, psychological and political constraints, fatalism about systemic reform, and middle-class migration from public to private schools that reduces pressure on public systems.SSCBankingUPSC
  11. people· 5
    1. 17Noida International Airport at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh has appointed Nitu Sarma — its Chief Financial Officer since October 2021 — as interim Chief Executive Officer following directions from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) that the CEO of an airport operating in India must be an Indian citizen; outgoing CEO Christoph Schnellmann (a Swiss national who served since August 2020) moves to the Board of Directors as Executive Vice Chairman; the airport — inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2026 — is expected to reduce pressure on Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and become one of India's largest international airports.SSCBankingUPSC
    2. 20Dabur India Limited — one of India's leading FMCG companies founded in 1884 — has appointed Herjit S Bhalla as Chief Executive Officer of its India Business effective 23 April 2026; he will report directly to Mohit Malhotra (Whole-time Director and Global CEO of the company); Bhalla brings over 25 years of experience including 16 years at Unilever (with a stint as Marketing Director in Moscow 2009-2012), Chief Operating Officer at Metro Cash & Carry (2016-17), and senior leadership at The Hershey Company (Managing Director India + Vice President roles for India & AEMEA, Canada & AMEA, and Canada & Global Customers); his role will lead Dabur's domestic growth strategy, market positioning, and brand expansion across sales, marketing, and operational performance.SSCBankingUPSC
    3. 23Parminder Singh has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Limited (REIL) — a joint venture between Reliance Industries and Meta focused on building enterprise artificial-intelligence solutions in India, backed by Jio's connectivity and infrastructure and including plans for large-scale AI-ready data centres powered by green energy; Singh — formerly Chief Commercial and Digital Officer at Singapore-based Mediacorp and a founder of AI ventures including ClayboxAI and WeKamp — brings senior leadership experience from Google, Apple, Twitter, and IBM, positioning him to lead India's enterprise-AI transformation.SSCBankingUPSC
    4. 24Srikanth Velamakanni — Co-founder of Fractal Analytics, a globally-recognised AI and analytics company — has been appointed the new Chairman of NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies), the apex industry body representing India's IT and Business Process Management (BPM) sector; the appointment comes as India's digital economy expands rapidly, and Velamakanni's strong AI background is expected to guide the IT industry through emerging technologies, global competition, and innovation-driven growth; NASSCOM was established in 1988 and represents over 3,000 member companies.SSCBankingUPSC
    5. 25Rajesh Kumar Agarwal has assumed charge as Director at Power Finance Corporation (PFC) — bringing over three decades of experience in power and financial services, most of it spent at PFC itself across project financing, credit appraisal, risk assessment, and loan portfolio management spanning generation, transmission, and distribution; PFC is India's leading non-banking financial company (NBFC) focused exclusively on the power sector, established in 1986 under the Ministry of Power, listed on BSE and NSE, and granted Maharatna status on 12 October 2021 — a recognition reserved for the largest and most autonomous Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).SSCBankingUPSC
  12. banking· 1
    1. 22The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) — chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi — has approved three-year extensions for the Managing Directors and CEOs of two of India's largest public-sector banks: Rajneesh Karnatak of Bank of India (extension effective from 29 April 2026, continuing until 2029) and Debadatta Chand of Bank of Baroda (new term beginning 1 July 2026 for three years); both were initially appointed in 2023; the ACC has also approved a three-year tenure extension for Ashutosh Choudhary, Executive Director at Indian Bank, while a decision on extending UCO Bank Managing Director and CEO Ashwani Kumar (whose current tenure ends 1 June 2026) remains pending — together signalling continuity in top public-sector banking leadership.SSCBankingUPSC
  13. sports· 1
    1. 26The Badminton World Federation (BWF) — the global governing body for the sport — has officially approved the transition to synthetic shuttlecocks ('synths') for use at Grade 3 and Junior International tournaments from April 2026, with longer-term plans to extend the use to elite tiers; the move responds to a 'feather crisis' caused by avian flu outbreaks in China (the primary feather supplier), shifting livestock economics, and surging demand from India, Indonesia, and China that has driven feather-shuttle prices up by over 200%; approved synths include the Victor NCS MAX 12 and Yonex Crosswind 70, both retaining traditional natural cork bases with carbon-graphite or nylon stems and nylon nano-sheet skirts featuring chevron holes for aerodynamic drag.SSCBankingUPSC
  14. technology· 1
    1. 27Advanced AI models — including Mythos, which has reportedly found long-undetected bugs in widely used software like OpenBSD (a security-hardened operating system) and FFmpeg (popular video software) — are transforming cybersecurity by automating vulnerability detection and defence; major industry trends include defensive coalitions like Project Glasswing involving AWS, Google, and Microsoft to coordinate protection against cyber threats; integration of cybersecurity into cloud platforms (e.g., Google's acquisition of Wiz enabling automatic scanning of customer systems); funding of open-source security maintainers; AI-driven full-service cybersecurity platforms; controlled deployment of the most powerful tools (e.g., Mythos restricted to trusted firms); and competitive launches of cyber-focused AI models including OpenAI's GPT-5.4-Cyber.SSCBankingUPSC
  15. science· 2
    1. 28GENE DRIVE TECHNOLOGY — a genetic engineering approach being explored for malaria control — uses the CRISPR-Cas9 system to ensure that an engineered gene is inherited by more than 90% of offspring (versus the natural ~50%), enabling rapid spread through mosquito populations; two pathways are being developed: (1) POPULATION SUPPRESSION — disrupts genes essential for female mosquito development or fertility, causing populations to shrink or collapse; (2) POPULATION MODIFICATION (replacement) — leaves mosquitoes alive but carrying genes that prevent malaria parasites from developing inside them; both approaches aim to block transmission of the malaria parasite to humans, addressing limitations of conventional control like growing insecticide resistance, but raise ecological, ethical, and biosafety concerns about deliberate alteration or elimination of wild species.SSCBankingUPSC
    2. 29Modern automation systems — automatic taps, doors, sanitiser dispensers, TV remotes, smartphone proximity sensing, elevator presence detection, and industrial conveyor-belt counting — rely on LED-based INFRARED (IR) SENSORS that work on a simple principle: an IR LED emits invisible infrared light (below visible red frequency) into the surroundings; when an object (hand or person) reflects the IR light back, a PHOTODIODE detects the reflected signal and allows current flow (acting like a switch); the resulting electrical signal activates the connected system to perform an action like flowing water, opening a door, or switching a device on.SSCBankingUPSC

international

· 4
INTERNATIONALHIGH

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 27-28 April 2026 to participate in the Defence Ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO); the high-level forum will focus on regional security challenges, terrorism, extremism, and the changing geopolitical environment across Eurasia and Asia; India became a full SCO member in 2017 (alongside Pakistan); the SCO was founded in 2001 and includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and several Central Asian nations.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway
INTERNATIONALHIGH

India has welcomed Japan's recent revision of its defence export framework — calling it a significant step towards strengthening bilateral security cooperation under the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership (elevated to that status in 2014); the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), through Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, said the move will deepen cooperation in defence and security domains and open new opportunities in advanced technology and defence manufacturing; Japan has amended its long-standing 'Three Principles on Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology' to permit broader transfers (subject to case-by-case evaluation and strict export-control monitoring); Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasised that 'no country can ensure security alone' in today's world.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway
INTERNATIONALMEDIUM

Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) in Andhra Pradesh has won the 4th Gender Equality Mobilisation (GEM) Award presented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna during the International Day of Women in Industry 2026 celebrations — recognised for combining women's empowerment with sustainable waste management by deploying more than 200 women as electric auto drivers for door-to-door garbage collection under the UNIDO-supported Sustainable Cities Integrated Approach Pilot (SCIAP); the award was received by Sustainable Cities Project Manager Olga Rataj on GMC's behalf, with former Finnish President Tarja Halonen present at the ceremony.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway
INTERNATIONALMEDIUM

China has announced that it will send two giant pandas — male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding — to Zoo Atlanta in the United States as part of a 10-year conservation partnership signed in 2025, continuing its 'panda diplomacy' tradition; the move comes despite ongoing US-China tensions and ahead of US President Donald Trump's planned May 2026 visit to China; panda diplomacy with the US dates to 1972, when China gifted a pair to the National Zoo in Washington following President Richard Nixon's historic visit; in 2024, the National Zoo and the San Diego Zoo also received pandas as wildlife cooperation resumed.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway

polity

· 2
POLITYHIGH

The Union government is set to appoint former Chief Economic Adviser Ashok Lahiri — currently a BJP MLA from Balurghat in West Bengal — as the new Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, replacing Suman Bery; alongside, Gobardhan Das (Director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal and former Jawaharlal Nehru University professor) is expected to be appointed as a Member; the appointments — coming during the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections and amid CEO BVR Subrahmanyam's recent exit — are being viewed as part of a wider revamp of the government's top policy think tank, established on 1 January 2015 to replace the Planning Commission.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway
POLITYHIGH

An analytical assessment of women's reservation in Indian politics highlights that while reservation acts as an 'entry pass' to the political arena, substantive empowerment requires capacity, autonomy, and structural change beyond quotas — women's representation in the Lok Sabha hovered around 14-15% in 2024 (despite India having one of the world's largest democratic electorates with high female voter participation); key gaps include 'proxy representation' (sarpanch pati phenomenon documented by Ministry of Panchayati Raj), low political-party gatekeeping (women receive only 8-10% of total party tickets), training and skill deficits noted by UNDP, and intersectional inequalities affecting Dalit, Adivasi, and rural women per Oxfam — the analysis comes amid ongoing debate about implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (106th Constitutional Amendment Act 2023) which provides 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway

economy

· 4
ECONOMYHIGH

India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $2.36 billion to $703.31 billion for the week ended 17 April 2026, according to RBI data — the second consecutive weekly rise after a $3.825 billion increase the previous week (reaching $700.946 billion); Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), the largest component, rose by $1.48 billion to $557.46 billion; reserves had touched an all-time high of $728.494 billion in February 2026 before declining due to RBI dollar sales amid West Asia geopolitical tensions affecting the rupee; forex reserves comprise FCA + gold + Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) + reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

SSCBankingUPSCRailway
ECONOMYHIGH

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the banking licence of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) — citing operations detrimental to depositors' interests and management practices prejudicial to public interest, alongside persistent governance and compliance failures — and will approach the High Court for winding-up proceedings; the cancellation marks the culmination of escalating regulatory action that began with a March 2022 ban on onboarding new customers and a January 2024 directive (effective March 2024) prohibiting fresh deposits, credit transactions, wallet top-ups, FASTag, and NCMC services; PPBL — founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in 2017 as one of India's first payments banks — can now only facilitate withdrawals of existing funds and cannot accept new deposits or transactions; RBI has confirmed the bank has sufficient liquidity to repay depositors.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway
ECONOMYHIGH

A major fire broke out at the HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL) complex at Pachpadra in Balotra district, Rajasthan — just before the integrated Refinery and Petrochemical Complex's commissioning — with the fire occurring near the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) due to a hydrocarbon leakage at a valve/flange system; HRRL is a joint venture of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL, 74%) and the Government of Rajasthan (26%), located in India's largest onshore-crude-oil-producing state with the country's largest onshore oil field (Mangala in the Mangala-Bhagyam-Aishwariya/MBA cluster) at peak production of around 200,000 barrels per day, ~150 million barrels of proven Barmer-basin crude reserves, and approximately 38 discovered oil fields in the Barmer-Sanchore basin.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway
ECONOMYMEDIUM

Brazil has overtaken India as the leading exporter of corn (maize) to Bangladesh — signalling a major shift in regional agricultural trade; for years India had held the dominant position thanks to competitive pricing and geographical proximity, but since 2024 rising domestic demand for maize, especially for India's ethanol-blending programme, has reduced India's export capacity and made Indian maize less price-competitive abroad; Brazil — with large-scale production, efficient supply chains, and consistent supply volumes — has captured a significant share of Bangladesh's growing feed-grain market driven by its expanding poultry and animal-feed industries.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway

judiciary

· 1

environment

· 3
ENVIRONMENTHIGH

A satellite-based global study using Carbon Mapper data and analysed by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Stop Methane Project has placed landfill sites in Mumbai and Secunderabad among the world's top 25 methane-emitting waste sites in 2025; the study analysed 2,994 methane plumes from 707 waste sites globally — top sites emit between 3.6 to 7.5 tonnes of methane per hour, with 5 tonnes/hour comparable to the pollution from one million SUVs or a 500 MW coal power plant; Chile and Brazil had the highest count (3 sites each), followed by India alongside Saudi Arabia and Turkey with 2 sites each; methane is about 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years and is responsible for nearly 30% of global temperature rise since the Industrial Revolution.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway
ENVIRONMENTHIGH

India added a record 6.1 GW of wind energy capacity in 2025-26, taking total installed wind capacity to over 56.1 GW and consolidating its position as the FOURTH-largest wind energy producer globally; the country has set a target of 100 GW of wind capacity by 2030 (within its broader 500 GW non-fossil energy commitment under the Panchamrit pledges of COP26 in Glasgow), and net-zero by 2070; India's wind energy potential is estimated at approximately 1,164 GW at 150-meter hub height, with significant scope across Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Maharashtra; the country's domestic manufacturing ecosystem produces 70-80% of wind equipment (blades, towers, turbines) with annual capacity of 24+ GW.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway
ENVIRONMENTMEDIUM

A new scientific study by researchers associated with Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative) has suggested that sperm whales — the largest toothed animals on Earth and possessors of the largest brain among any mammal — may use communication structures with rhythm and spacing variations similar to vowel-like sounds in human speech; the study analysed 'codas' (rapid bursts of clicks produced when whales surface) and found organised patterns and variations indicating a more complex communication system than previously understood, opening new possibilities for understanding marine intelligence and animal communication evolution.

SSCBankingUPSCRailway

defence

· 1

art-culture

· 1

health

· 1

education

· 1

people

· 5
PEOPLEMEDIUM

Noida International Airport at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh has appointed Nitu Sarma — its Chief Financial Officer since October 2021 — as interim Chief Executive Officer following directions from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) that the CEO of an airport operating in India must be an Indian citizen; outgoing CEO Christoph Schnellmann (a Swiss national who served since August 2020) moves to the Board of Directors as Executive Vice Chairman; the airport — inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2026 — is expected to reduce pressure on Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and become one of India's largest international airports.

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PEOPLEMEDIUM

Dabur India Limited — one of India's leading FMCG companies founded in 1884 — has appointed Herjit S Bhalla as Chief Executive Officer of its India Business effective 23 April 2026; he will report directly to Mohit Malhotra (Whole-time Director and Global CEO of the company); Bhalla brings over 25 years of experience including 16 years at Unilever (with a stint as Marketing Director in Moscow 2009-2012), Chief Operating Officer at Metro Cash & Carry (2016-17), and senior leadership at The Hershey Company (Managing Director India + Vice President roles for India & AEMEA, Canada & AMEA, and Canada & Global Customers); his role will lead Dabur's domestic growth strategy, market positioning, and brand expansion across sales, marketing, and operational performance.

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PEOPLEMEDIUM

Parminder Singh has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Limited (REIL) — a joint venture between Reliance Industries and Meta focused on building enterprise artificial-intelligence solutions in India, backed by Jio's connectivity and infrastructure and including plans for large-scale AI-ready data centres powered by green energy; Singh — formerly Chief Commercial and Digital Officer at Singapore-based Mediacorp and a founder of AI ventures including ClayboxAI and WeKamp — brings senior leadership experience from Google, Apple, Twitter, and IBM, positioning him to lead India's enterprise-AI transformation.

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PEOPLEMEDIUM

Srikanth Velamakanni — Co-founder of Fractal Analytics, a globally-recognised AI and analytics company — has been appointed the new Chairman of NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies), the apex industry body representing India's IT and Business Process Management (BPM) sector; the appointment comes as India's digital economy expands rapidly, and Velamakanni's strong AI background is expected to guide the IT industry through emerging technologies, global competition, and innovation-driven growth; NASSCOM was established in 1988 and represents over 3,000 member companies.

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PEOPLEMEDIUM

Rajesh Kumar Agarwal has assumed charge as Director at Power Finance Corporation (PFC) — bringing over three decades of experience in power and financial services, most of it spent at PFC itself across project financing, credit appraisal, risk assessment, and loan portfolio management spanning generation, transmission, and distribution; PFC is India's leading non-banking financial company (NBFC) focused exclusively on the power sector, established in 1986 under the Ministry of Power, listed on BSE and NSE, and granted Maharatna status on 12 October 2021 — a recognition reserved for the largest and most autonomous Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).

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SCIENCEMEDIUM

GENE DRIVE TECHNOLOGY — a genetic engineering approach being explored for malaria control — uses the CRISPR-Cas9 system to ensure that an engineered gene is inherited by more than 90% of offspring (versus the natural ~50%), enabling rapid spread through mosquito populations; two pathways are being developed: (1) POPULATION SUPPRESSION — disrupts genes essential for female mosquito development or fertility, causing populations to shrink or collapse; (2) POPULATION MODIFICATION (replacement) — leaves mosquitoes alive but carrying genes that prevent malaria parasites from developing inside them; both approaches aim to block transmission of the malaria parasite to humans, addressing limitations of conventional control like growing insecticide resistance, but raise ecological, ethical, and biosafety concerns about deliberate alteration or elimination of wild species.

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SCIENCELOW

Modern automation systems — automatic taps, doors, sanitiser dispensers, TV remotes, smartphone proximity sensing, elevator presence detection, and industrial conveyor-belt counting — rely on LED-based INFRARED (IR) SENSORS that work on a simple principle: an IR LED emits invisible infrared light (below visible red frequency) into the surroundings; when an object (hand or person) reflects the IR light back, a PHOTODIODE detects the reflected signal and allows current flow (acting like a switch); the resulting electrical signal activates the connected system to perform an action like flowing water, opening a door, or switching a device on.

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