NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. NADA India Hosts National Conference on ‘Building Together a Clean Sport Ecosystem’: The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) India successfully organised a conference on “Building Together a Clean Sport Ecosystem” at the India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi.The event, held as part of Play True Week 2025, brought together a wide spectrum of stakeholders committed to fostering a clean, fair, and values-based sporting environment in India.One of the key moments of the inaugural session was the unveiling of “NADA India’s Fair Play Guide” in ten different regional languages, aimed at making clean sport education more accessible to athletes and stakeholders across the nation.Participants also engaged in a pledge signing ceremony to reaffirm their commitment to fair play and doping-free sport.
2. Ministry of Ayush Organises Rashtriya Karmayogi Jan Seva Programme: The Ministry of Ayush, in collaboration with the Capacity Building Commission under Mission Karmayogi, organised a special session of the Rashtriya Karmayogi Jan Seva Programme at Ayush Bhawan to enhance employees’ service orientation and professional skills.The second phase of the programme, led by Dr. Subodh Kumar and facilitated by Shipra Singh, featured interactive, team-based learning modules focusing on self-awareness, motivation, leadership, and real-world case studies from Ayurveda, Yoga, and traditional medicine.The initiative reflects the Ministry’s ongoing commitment to building a responsive and efficient workforce, encouraging officials to apply training insights for improved public service delivery.
3. Govt issues guidelines for setting up Excellence centres under Critical Mineral Mission: The Ministry of Mines has released guidelines for establishing Centres of Excellence (CoE) under the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) to boost research and technology development in critical minerals vital for clean energy, mobility, defence, and strategic sectors.These CoEs will focus on R&D to develop, demonstrate, and deploy extraction and beneficiation technologies for critical minerals, aiming to reach Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 7/8 and facilitate pre-commercial demonstrations.Reputed academic and R&D institutions will be selected as CoEs through a proposal-based evaluation and will be tasked with undertaking cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research in the field of critical minerals.Each CoE will follow a Hub & Spoke consortium model, with the main institute (Hub) partnering with at least two industry partners and two academic/R&D partners, to consolidate expertise and strengthen India’s critical mineral research ecosystem.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Mansukh Mandaviya Inaugurates World’s 17th Athlete Passport Management Unit in New Delhi: Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya has inaugurated the world’s 17th Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU) at the National Dope Testing Laboratory in New Delhi.The Athlete Passport Management Unit is a specialised unit dedicated to monitoring and managing athletes’ biological passports, ensuring fair play and upholding the integrity of clean sport.APMU a key milestone in the country’s fight against doping, enabling the longitudinal tracking of Athletes’ Biological profiles through the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) system. This innovative mechanism will help in detecting doping patterns and protect the fairness of sports by identifying unethical practices.
2. AIIMS Delhi Ranks 97th Among World’s Best Hospitals in 2024: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi has been ranked the 97th best hospital in the world by Newsweek and Statista in their ‘World’s Best Hospitals 2025’ report.This is a major improvement for the institute that was ranked 122nd in the same report in 2023, moving up nine spots to 113th rank in 2024, and now another 16 spots to the 97th rank.The annual ranking, now in its sixth year, evaluated over 2,400 hospitals across 30 countries, measuring performance through patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, hygiene standards, and peer recommendations from thousands of medical professionals.Aside from AIIMS, two other Indian hospitals made the top 250 list. Two other institutions — Medanta – The Medicity in Gurgaon and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh — also featured prominently, ranked 146th (ranked 166th in 2024) and 228th (ranked 246th in 2024), respectively.
3. 18 April – World Heritage Day: World Heritage Day, also known as the International Day for Monuments and Sites (IDMS), is observed every year on 18 April to promote awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage, the vulnerability of monuments and sites, and the efforts required to preserve them.theme 2025 – Heritage under Threat from Disasters and Conflicts: Preparedness and Learning from 60 Years of ICOMOS ActionsIt was proposed by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1982, and later approved by UNESCO in 1983. The day encourages local communities and governments to recognize the importance of preserving historical sites and celebrating the rich heritage of civilizations around the world.
4. UNESCO Recognises Bhagavad Gita and Natyashastra :UNESCO initiated the Memory of the World Programme in 1992. Its goal is to safeguard documentary heritage globally. This includes manuscripts, oral traditions, and archival materials of outstanding universal value. The programme aims to prevent collective amnesia and ensure accessibility to documents. The Memory of the World Register is updated biennially, featuring entries from various countries.The Natyashastra is an ancient treatise on performing arts, attributed to sage Bharata. It consists of 36,000 verses detailing the principles of drama, performance, and aesthetics. The concept of ‘rasa’ is central to its teachings, emphasising the emotional experience of art. This text has deeply shaped Indian theatre, dance, and music, serving as a foundational guide for artists.
OTHER UPDATES:
DEFENCE
1. EUNAVFOR Operation ATALANTA: Operation ATALANTA commenced in 2008. Its initial focus was on combating piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast. Over the years, the operation has evolved. It now protects World Food Programme vessels and monitors illegal activities such as drug trafficking and unregulated fishing. The operation is crucial for ensuring maritime security in the region.Despite a decline in piracy incidents, threats remain. The resurgence of piracy last year was linked to Houthi rebel activities in the Red Sea. The EUNAVFOR has the capability to respond to piracy incidents within 48 to 72 hours. The force’s presence acts as a deterrent against potential pirate attacks.
SPORTS
1. Inder Singh Suruchi and Saurabh Chaudhary win mixed Team Gold: In Shooting, the Indian pair of Inder Singh Suruchi and Saurabh Chaudhary clinched a gold medal beating Chinese duo of Qianxun Yao and Kai Hu by 17-9 in the finals of 10 metre Air Pistol Mixed Team event at ISSF World Cup 2025 in Lima, Peru.Earlier, the Indian mixed duo of Olympic medalist Manu Bhakar and Ravinder Singh missed out on a podium finish after losing to Chinese pair of Qianke Ma and Yifan Zhang in the crucial Bronze medal match.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Bangladesh becomes the 54th country to join NASA’s Artemis Accord: Bangladesh has become the second South Asian country, after India, and the 54th in the world to join the Artemis Accord of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States.India joined the Artemis Accords as the 27th country on 21st June 2023.Artemis is a NASA-led effort to explore the moon, establish a human settlement on the moon and explore the planet Mars and beyond.NASA established the Artemis Accord in coordination with the United States government’s State Department (the foreign ministry) on 13 October 2020.The seven founding countries of the Artemis Accord were Canada, Italy, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America.
2. Google Antitrust Ruling: The case emerged from the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Google, claiming it monopolised three key markets – ad servers, ad exchanges, and tools for advertisers. The lawsuit aimed to challenge Google’s dominance and promote competition within the online advertising ecosystem. The judge’s ruling found that Google had engaged in anti-competitive practices to maintain its power in the ad server and ad exchange markets.Judge Brinkema’s 115-page opinion detailed how Google integrated its publisher ad server and ad exchange through contracts. This integration allowed Google to establish a monopoly in these markets. The judge noted that Google’s policies harmed competitors and limited choices for consumers. However, she did not classify Google as a monopoly in the advertising tools market.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. Fitch projects India’s GDP growth at 6.4% for FY26, retains 6.3% for FY27: Fitch Ratings revised India’s GDP growth forecast for FY26 to 6.4%, citing global economic uncertainties, while maintaining its projection of 6.3% for FY27.The global ratings agency also lowered its estimates for FY25 and FY26 by 10 basis points to 6.2% and 6.4%, respectively, attributing the downgrade to rising concerns over a potential global trade war.India to Grow 6.5% in 2025, Maintain Fastest-Growing Economy Tag: UNCTAD: India’s economy is projected to grow by 6.5% in 2025, supported by strong public spending and continuing monetary easing, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).Despite a slowdown from the estimated 6.9% growth in 2024, India is forecast to be the fastest-growing economy.
2. In its new report, ‘Trade and Development Foresights 2025 – Under Pressure: Uncertainty Reshapes Global Economic Prospects’, UNCTAD stated that global growth is projected to slow to 2.3% in 2025, placing the world economy on a recessionary path.UNCTAD projects that the South Asia region will expand by 5.6% in 2025, as declining inflation opens the way for monetary loosening across most of the region.
3. IDFC FIRST Bank to Get ₹7,500 Crore Investment Boost from Warburg Pincus & ADIA: IDFC FIRST Bank will receive a major capital infusion of around ₹7,500 crore from Warburg Pincus and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to support its growth plans.The bank’s board has approved a preferential equity issue of ₹4,876 crore to Warburg Pincus affiliate Currant Sea Investments B.V. and ₹2,624 crore to Platinum Invictus B 2025 RSC Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of ADIA.The investment deal is subject to approvals from shareholders and regulators, as stated in the bank’s stock exchange filing.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Bose Institute’s High-Energy Physics Team Wins 2025 Breakthrough Prize for Contribution to ALICE Collaboration at CERN: Scientists from Bose Institute’s Experimental High Energy Physics group were awarded the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their contribution to the ALICE collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC).Over 13,500 researchers across four LHC experiments shared a total prize of $3 million, with $500,000 allocated to the ALICE collaboration to fund a Breakthrough Prize studentship program for PhD students at CERN.The institute contributed significantly to the ALICE experiment, including the development of the Photon Multiplicity Detector (PMD) and the upgrade of ALICE’s Time Projection Chamber (TPC), improving particle detection and analysis capabilities.
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