Current Affairs

16th Finance Commission (Art. 280), chaired by Dr. Arvind Panagariya, covers 2026–31. States’ share in divisible pool stays 41%; ₹9.47 lakh crore grants for local bodies and disaster management over five years are recommended, while revenue-deficit, sector- and state-specific grants are discontinued. Rising cesses/surcharges shrink shareable pool. High income-distance weight aids poorer States; tied grants and NREGA 40% State cost raise autonomy/vertical-imbalance concerns; “base-year tyranny” cited. Way forward: rationalise cesses, reform criteria, prefer predictable untied transfers.

President of India conferred Padma Awards 2026 at Civil Investiture Ceremony-I, Rashtrapati Bhavan. In 2026, 131 awards are given (19 women; 6 Foreign/NRI/PIO/OCI; 16 posthumous; 2 duo cases). Instituted in 1954, Padma Awards are announced on Republic Day (except 1978–79 and 1993–97) in three categories: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. Padma Awards Committee is constituted annually by the Prime Minister and headed by the Cabinet Secretary. Padma Vibhushan 2026 awardees include Dharmendra Singh Deol, K.T. Thomas, N. Rajam, P. Narayanan and V.S. Achuthanandan.

India has begun local manufacturing of Wi‑Fi 7 devices, with TP‑Link starting production in India. Wi‑Fi 7 is governed by IEEE 802.11be and claims higher performance, speed and efficiency over Wi‑Fi 6/6E, with up to 4.8× faster speeds and throughput up to 46 Gbps. It supports Multi‑Link Operation across 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz, offers 4× lower latency, wider channels, enhanced Target Wake Time, and ‘Preamble Puncturing’ for interference management.

Supreme Court issued notice to the Government seeking stricter prohibition of child labour in entertainment and hospitality. Constitutional safeguards include Article 24 (ban on below-14 in factories, mines, hazardous work), Article 23 (ban on trafficking and begar), and DPSPs under Articles 39(e)-(f). Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (amended 2016) defines child <14, adolescent 14–18; bans child work in all occupations and adolescent work in hazardous processes. Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 provides protection and rehabilitation.

At the inauguration of the NIBE Group Defence Manufacturing Complex in Shirdi, Maharashtra, the Defence Minister stressed private sector participation to strengthen defence indigenisation and the manufacturing ecosystem. India’s first 300 km Universal Rocket Launching System, Suryastra, was flagged off. Targets include ₹3 lakh crore defence production by 2029; FDI up to 74% via automatic route; Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 prioritises domestic capital procurement; Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; iDEX promotes collaboration with startups and MSMEs.

Ladakh’s Lieutenant Governor approved a five-year extension of the MoU with ONGC to set up a geothermal power plant in Puga Valley (14,000 ft), including a 1 MWe pilot plant and a DPR for large-scale commercial exploitation. Geothermal energy uses Earth’s crustal heat. GSI identified 381 hot springs (35–89°C) and 10 geothermal provinces (including Himalayan and Andaman Nicobar). India’s potential is ~10,600 MW; Puga and Chumathang are promising. National Policy on Geothermal Energy, 2025 links geothermal to renewables, energy security, and Net Zero 2070.

Union Government issued guidelines for BHAVYA (Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojna), a Central Sector Scheme to create investment-ready, world-class industrial parks for manufacturing growth and investment promotion. Target: 100 parks, implemented for six years (2026–27 to 2031–32), covering greenfield and eligible brownfield projects. Parks will offer plug-and-play infrastructure, multimodal logistics, utilities, worker support, digital governance, and sustainability, aligned with Make in India and PM Gati Shakti, via SPVs under Companies Act, 2013; minimum land: 100 acres (non-hilly) and 25 acres (hilly/NE/UTs/smaller states).

Ukraine claimed Russia used the Russian-made Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile in a mass drone and missile attack on Kyiv. Russia first used it in November 2024 against Dnipro, Ukraine. Based on the RS-26 Rubezh, it can carry nuclear or conventional warheads, has MIRV capability (6–8 warheads), is mobile transporter-launched, reaches about Mach 10, and has a reported range of ~5,000 km.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) withdrew over ₹2.22 lakh crore from Indian equities in 2026, affecting liquidity, capital availability and sentiment. FPI is investment by a non-resident in equity instruments of a listed Indian company below 10% of post-issue paid-up share capital (fully diluted) and below 10% of each series. Regulated by SEBI under SEBI (FPI) Regulations, 2019 (amended 2022), FPIs are short-term, provide liquidity, lack control/technology transfer, and are volatile to global rates/geopolitics.

Union Government notified National Sports Governance (National Sports Tribunal) Rules, 2026 under National Sports Governance Act, 2025 (nodal: Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports) to create a quasi-judicial tribunal for disputes of National Sports Bodies. Tribunal has Chairperson and Members (Section 17), appointed by Central Government from a Search-cum-Selection panel; annual asset declarations; tenure 5 years (Chair/70, Members/67). Rules provide e-portal, virtual hearings, digital publication, interim orders, removal grounds, post-tenure restrictions, and enforceability as civil court decrees.

National Zoological Park, Delhi has begun its Summer Vacation Programme 2026 at its Education Centre under Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), an India-led global mass movement for individual and community environmental action launched by the Prime Minister at COP26, Glasgow (2021). Under Mission LiFE’s Mass Mobilisation Campaign and aligned to World Environment Day theme “Inspired by Nature”, it trains Classes 6–12 through enclosure visits, photography, heritage walks, cleanliness drives, and biodiversity tools like camera trapping and geospatial tracking.

A study in Communications Earth & Environment by UK-India researchers with CSIR-CIMFR reports Jharia coalfield (Dhanbad, Jharkhand; Damodar valley) subsurface coal fires burn hotter and emit more GHGs than estimated. Mining-exposed coal oxidises, sustaining decades-long fires since at least 1916, causing collapse structures (~10 m wide, 100 m deep) that vent toxic gases; isolated zones may approach 4,000°C. Fugitive emissions may reach 748.72 Mt CO₂e/year. Heat forms paralava and birianiite (Ena, Tisera collieries). Jharia is India’s largest coking coal repository for steelmaking.

Russian President’s visit to China underscores Russia’s rising dependence on China, shaping multipolar geopolitics and Eurasian security. Both oppose the US-led order; Western sanctions deepen economic reliance. Bilateral trade is increasing in yuan and ruble, aiding de-dollarisation. Through BRICS and SCO, they promote non-Western security architecture. For India, Russia’s neutrality in India–China tensions weakens; risks include arms supply delays, Russian advanced transfers to China, Russia–Pakistan ties (arms sales, discounted oil), and constraints on strategic autonomy amid uncertain US policies.

After six tiger deaths from Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), officials are monitoring 100+ tigers in Kanha National Park. CDV is a lethal airborne Paramyxovirus affecting dogs and other animals, severely damaging respiratory and nervous systems. Kanha (1,945 sq km) lies in Maikal hills (Satpura), Mandla–Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh; national park (1955), Project Tiger reserve (1973); Gonds, Baigas; Bengal tiger, barasingha; tropical moist/dry deciduous flora; linked to Kipling’s The Jungle Book.

Supreme Court clarified that pending sedition trials/appeals under IPC Section 124A may proceed if the accused has no objection, creating a limited exception to its May 11, 2022 interim freeze (no new FIRs; ongoing proceedings in abeyance; bail allowed). Section 124A (introduced 1890) punished disaffection (life/3 years/fine). Kedar Nath Singh (1962) limited it to incitement/public disorder. Challenges to BNS Section 152 and sedition-type offences remain pending.

IMD’s Monthly Climate Summary (April 2026) reports minimum (night-time) temperatures rising faster than maximum (daytime) temperatures, indicating night-time warming and higher heat stress. All-India daytime maxima were ~0.11°C above normal, while night temperatures were ~0.5°C above normal; western and central India saw near/below-normal daytime maxima. Punjab: ~1°C below-normal days but nights +2.4°C; Delhi: below-normal days, nights +2.2°C. Chaparmukh (Assam) and Phulbani (Odisha) had the highest night deviations among 422 stations. “Normal” uses the 1991–2020 baseline (IMD/WMO); “below normal” means cooler than this monthly average.

During the Indian Prime Minister’s official visit to Italy, ties were upgraded from Strategic Partnership to Special Strategic Partnership. Target: €20 billion trade by 2029, linked to the India-EU FTA; trade stood at US$13.76 billion (2024–25); Italy is India’s 4th EU trading partner; diaspora ~1.87 lakh. Cooperation: defence industrial roadmap (co-design/development/production), Maritime Security Dialogue, IMEC (2023 rail-shipping corridor; Italian Mediterranean ports), INNOVIT India (AI, semiconductors, quantum, fintech), 2027 Year of Culture and Tourism, MoU on Lothal complex, plus space, critical minerals, nurses’ mobility and Social Security Agreement; Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025–2029.

Report “The Global Housing Crisis: Pathways to Action” notes up to 3.4 billion lack adequate housing; India’s homelessness rate is 13 per 10,000 (Institute of Global Homelessness). Climate hazards may destroy 167 million homes by 2040; housing emits 17–21%. Global price-to-income rose 9.5 (2010) to 11.7 (2023); Mumbai 14.3, Delhi 10.1. It urges stronger land governance, rental/non-market housing, streamlined regulation, pro-poor finance (informal workers, female-headed households), and avoiding green gentrification/grabbing. PMAY-U 2.0 targets 1 crore urban beneficiaries over 5 years from 2024. Olga Tellis (1985) read Article 21 to include housing/livelihood; best practices: Yerwada (Pune), Bhubaneswar Affordable Housing Project.

During the Indian Defence Minister’s visit, India and the Republic of Korea agreed to deepen defence cooperation, strengthening India–South Korea strategic and defence relations. The Republic of Korea (capital: Seoul) is in East Asia on the southern Korean Peninsula, sharing a land boundary with North Korea broadly along the 38°N latitude. It is bounded by the Sea of Japan (east), East China Sea (south), and Yellow Sea (west); the Korea Strait separates it from Japan’s Tsushima Islands. Highest peak: Hallasan (Jeju Island); major rivers: Han, Geum, Nakdong.

Exercise PRAGATI 2026, a multilateral military exercise under the Indian Ocean Region partnership framework, is being conducted at Umroi Military Station, Meghalaya, led by the Indian Army. PRAGATI stands for Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region. Twelve participating countries are Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

The 1,100 MW Velimalai Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project at Vellimalai, Kanniyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, received Terms of Reference clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Implemented via PPP on BOOT basis under Section 63 of the Electricity Act, it is a closed-loop off-river system with an underground powerhouse (4×275 MW) and two new off-river reservoirs (gross storage: upper 4.39 MCM; lower 4.91 MCM, upstream of Mambazhathuraiyar dam). It will pump 3.94 MCM in 6.94 hours (off-peak) and generate for 6 hours/day; peak annual generation is 2,080.55 million kWh.

Palamu Tiger Reserve (Chhotanagpur Plateau, Jharkhand) will set up India’s first AI-powered human-elephant conflict research centre to shift from reactive to proactive management via vocalisation decoding, corridor/behaviour prediction, and automated village early warnings; it will use a data matrix including captive elephants. Palamu: scientific forestry since 1864 (Dr Anderson), protected forest (1947), original 9 Project Tiger reserves (1974); area 1,129.93 sq km (core/CTH 414.08 incl. Betla NP 226.32; buffer 715.85); drained by North Koel–Burha, Auranga, Satnadi, Sukri; Taru spring; rain-shadow; fauna include tiger, leopard, elephant, sloth bear, gaur, Indian wolf.

The Netherlands returned the Chola-era Anaimangalam (Leiden) Copper Plates to India. They record Raja Raja Chola I’s land grant of Anaimangalam village near Nagapattinam, including 8,943 kalam paddy, to Chulamanivarma Vihara/Raja Raja Cholan Perumpalli, built by Sailendra Srivijaya’s Sri Mara Vijayotunga Varman for Sri Chudamani Varman; Rajendra Chola I wrote the decree. Plates are ringed with Chola seal (tiger, Pandya fish, Chera bow). Larger set: 21 plates (5 Sanskrit, 16 Tamil). Kulottunga Chola I issued 3 smaller plates, confirming extra land and 4,500 kalam to the Sangha. Experts also back repatriating Pandya Velvikkudi Plates (Parantaka Nedunchadaiyan) from the British Museum.

WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under International Health Regulations, 2005, due to cross-border transmission. Epicentre is Ituri Province (DRC), bordering Uganda and South Sudan. The 2026 outbreak involves Bundibugyo ebolavirus; no licensed vaccine/therapeutic exists (Ervebo targets Zaire strain). Ebola (Orthoebolavirus) has fruit bats (Pteropodidae) as hosts; incubation 2–21 days; transmission via infected body fluids; PHEIC is below Pandemic Emergency.