Current Affairs

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.

The Defence Minister laid the foundation stone for an AMCA programme facility in Andhra Pradesh for India’s indigenous 5th-generation medium-weight stealth multirole fighter. Developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency and DRDO, AMCA has Mk1 with GE-F414 engines and Mk2 planned with indigenous engines; prototype expected by 2028–29 and induction targeted by 2034–35. Features include stealth, supercruise, integrated avionics, AI-enabled secure networking; it supports IAF modernisation, Atmanirbhar Bharat and technological sovereignty.

A study reports that the rapid rise in satellite launches since 2019 is increasing black carbon (soot) pollution in the upper atmosphere, raising climate and ozone-layer concerns. Black carbon is a component of PM2.5, formed via incomplete combustion of wood, waste and fossil fuels. Upper-atmosphere soot deposition reduces sunlight reaching Earth; it persists longer and has ~500-fold higher climate impact than earthbound soot. Launches may also release chlorine that directly degrades ozone.

Iranian state media proposed charges on undersea cable operators in the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting vulnerabilities in global digital connectivity. Undersea fibre-optic cables carry 95–99% of international data; UNGA (2010) termed them critical communication infrastructure. More efficient than satellites, they converge at “digital chokepoints” (Red Sea, Hormuz). IRGC reportedly sought licensing fees and annual protection payments from firms like Meta, Amazon and Microsoft; threats include gray-zone weaponisation, wiretapping and cyberattacks, risking disruptions to India’s finance, IT-BPM and security communications.

CSIR mapped a massive palaeochannel (inactive river channel) beneath the Prayagraj–Kanpur stretch, Uttar Pradesh. CSIR (established 1942; under Ministry of Science and Technology; 37 laboratories) found it extends ~200 km at ~10–15 m depth; ~4–5 km wide; groundwater capacity ~3500–4000 million m³. Airborne electromagnetic helicopter surveys, validated by deep drilling at Sarai Akil, Sirathu and Fatehpur, confirmed fluvial sandy deposits. Palaeochannels form via tectonics/floods, aid groundwater exploration/recharge/storage and locating uraniferous ores, gold, silver and placer deposits.

Latvia’s Prime Minister announced resignation following the government’s handling of multiple stray drone incidents suspected from Ukraine, raising political and regional security concerns. Latvia’s capital is Riga. It lies in northeastern Europe and is the middle of the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). It borders Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Lithuania, and is bounded by the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Riga.

Panzath Nag festival, observed in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, is a community-led spring-cleaning and traditional fish-catching practice linked to wetland restoration and water conservation. It involves weed removal and desiltation to restore the spring ecosystem and maintain flow. The spring supplies drinking water and irrigation to nearly 45 downstream villages. Traditional wicker baskets and organic nets are used, while collective churning removes algal blooms, silt and polythene waste, aiding groundwater recharge and inter-village cooperation.

Tripura became India’s first state to complete all priority areas under Deregulation Phase-II of the national Compliance Reduction and Deregulation Initiative (CRDI), nodal authority: Union Cabinet Secretariat; Phase-II launched January 2026. Tripura was joint No.1 in Phase-I with Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. It executed 51 reforms (23+28) across sectors, enabling land-use self-certification, upgraded Single Window, NOC rationalisation, automated low-risk approvals, and 3-year inspection exemptions. Since 2022, 394 MoUs (₹35,140 crore) were signed; ₹5,352 crore projects grounded; target ~₹40,000 crore before July 2026 Mega Business Conclave.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change inaugurated the Lion Species Spotlight Event at Sasan Gir, Gujarat, as a precursor to the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) Summit. IBCA (launched 9 April 2023; in force early 2025) has HQ in India; tagline “Save Big Cats, Save Humanity, Save Ecosystem”; covers tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar, puma. Barda WLS is a dispersal site; National Wildlife Referral Centre, Junagadh supports diagnostics. 16th Lion Estimation 2025: 891 Asiatic lions (+32% vs 2020); range +60% in Saurashtra; Amreli highest. Status: IUCN Endangered; WPA 1972 Schedule I; CITES Appendix I. Project Lion (2020, 74th Independence Day): long-term landscape approach—habitat restoration, human-wildlife management, resilience, community eco-development.