NATIONAL NEWS

Global Technology Summit 2025

• The 9th edition of the Global Technology Summit (GTS) 2025 held in New Delhi with theme ‘Sambhavna’.

Kisan Kumbh 2025

• Kisan Kumbh 2025 was organised the grand convergence of Agriculture and Innovation was organised in New Delhi.

PM POSHAN scheme

• Centre has enhanced the material cost by 9.50 percent under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) Scheme.
• The scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme under which hot cooked meals are served to over eleven crore students studying in Balvatika and classes 1 to 8 in government and government-aided schools.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

President Droupadi Murmu’s state visit to Slovakia

• President Droupadi Murmu, on her state visit to Slovakia, held a one-on-one meeting and delegation-level talks with her Slovakian counterpart, Peter Pellegrini, in Bratislava.
• President Murmu also met Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico and Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Richard Raši.

Slovakia

India-Nepal signed MoU

• India’s Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Union Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development of Nepal, Ram Nath Adhikari, signed an MoU on ‘Cooperation in the Field of Agriculture between India and Nepal’.

Nepal

49th edition of Middle East Energy

• The 49th edition of Middle East Energy, supported by the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure organized Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai.

75th Anniversary of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)

• The Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre, the cultural arm of the High Commission of India in Bangladesh, celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at the Indian Cultural Centre, Dhaka.

Bangladesh

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s visit to Uzbekistan

• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla as head of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation (IPD) for the 150th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly is on visit to Uzbekistan where he interacted with Indologists and students pursuing the Hindi language at Lal Bahadur Shastri School in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and also held bilateral talks with the Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, Nurdinjon Ismoilov.

Uzbekistan

India-Russia new strategic projects

• India and Russia have agreed on six new strategic projects aimed at enhancing bilateral investment cooperation during the 8th Session of the India-Russia Working Group on Priority Investment Projects (IRWG-PIP).
• The session was followed by the 2nd Edition of the India-Russia Investment Forum, organised in collaboration with Invest India, the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.

Russia

India-UK 13th Economic and Financial Dialogue

• India-UK:13th Economic and Financial Dialogue in London.
• The Indian delegation, led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, held high-level discussions with the UK delegation led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

United Kingdom

90-day tariff pause for all Execpt China

• US President Donald Trump authorized a 90-day pause as part of his tariff plan but was also raising the tariff rate for China to 125 per cent.

U.S. imposes new sanctions on Iran

• The U.S. on announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s nuclear programme ahead of closely watched talks on the row between the longtime adversaries.

Iran

ECONOMY & BANKING

High-level panel to review conflict of interest

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has constituted a high-level committee chaired by former chief vigilance commissioner Pratyush Sinha to review conflict of interest among board members and employees of the regulator.

SEBI

Annual Report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey

• The latest Annual Report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey, from January to December 2024 Shows unemployment rate in rural areas has marginally declined from 4.3 per cent to 4.2 per cent and LFS rate in urban areas has increased from 50.3 per cent to over 51 per cent.

Union Cabinet’s Approval to Major Projects

• The Union Cabinet of approved the modernisation of command area development and water management as a sub-scheme of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana.
• The construction of the 6-lane Zirakpur Bypass to improve connectivity to Himachal Pradesh and NCR
• Approval of the doubling of Tirupati-Pakala-Katpadi single railway line section in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

Raising UPI Transaction Limits

• The Reserve Bank has asked the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to hold consultations with banks and other stakeholders to explore the possibility of increasing UPI transaction limits based on evolving user needs.
• Currently, person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) payments are capped at one lakh rupees, except for a set of specific merchant payments that are capped at five lakh rupees.

Transshipment facility for Bangladesh ended

• According to Ministry of External Affairs of India, India has withdrawn the transshipment facility it had extended to Bangladesh as it was creating “significant congestion but it will not impact Bangladesh’s trade with Nepal and Bhutan.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Mahavir Jayanti

• Mahavir Jayanti, the 2623rd birth anniversary of the 24th and last Jain Tirthankar Lord Mahavir observed across the country.

World Homeopathy Day

• 10 April is observed as World Homeopathy Day Homeopathy is the world’s second-largest medical system.

Poshan Pakhwada 2025

• The Women and Child Development Ministry is celebrating 7th edition of Poshan Pakhwada from 8th April to 22nd April to promote nutrition awareness, improve health outcomes, and empower communities.

PERSON IN NEWS

Ramsahay Pandey

• Renowned folk artist Padma Shri Ramsahay Pandey who brought international fame to Bundelkhand’s folk dance ‘Rai’, passed away.

ART & CULTURE

Apricot Blossom Festival 2025

• Apricot Blossom Festival 2025 is being celebrated in Ladakh’s apricot-grown belts of both Leh and Kargil regions to to promote tourism in the Union Territory.
• It is nspired by the Cherry Flower blossom festival of Meghalaya in the northeast.

Panguni festival

• Panguni Uthiram is a significant festival in Tamil Nadu, celebrated during the full moon in the Tamil month of Panguni (which corresponds to March-April), commemorating the marriages of various celestial couples, including Shiva and Parvati, and Murugan and Deivanai.

National Tribal Youth Festival

• Mizoram hosted national tribal youth festival to honour Birsa Munda and celebrate cultural unity at the State Tribal Resource Centre, Kelsih, near Aizawl.

Devgiri Fort

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has initiated an investigation into a major fire that erupted at the historic Devgiri Fort, also known as Daulatabad Fort, in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.

DEFENCE

Rafale Marine Jets for Navy

• India is set to procure 26 Rafale Marine fighter aircraft from France and these fighter aircraft will be deployed on aircraft carriers like INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant.

APPOINTMENT

Narender Mann

• Central government has appointed Narender Mann, Advocate, as special public prosecutor for conducting trial and other matters in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana case.

SPORTS

Archery World Cup 2025

• India opened its medal tally at the Archery World Cup 2025 Stage 1 with a bronze in the men’s compound team event. The team of Abhishek Verma, Rishabh Yadav, and Ojas Deotale defeated Denmark 230-223 in the bronze medal match in Auburndale, USA.

ISSF World Cup 2025

• In Shooting, India’s Arya Borse and Rudrankksh Patil clinched the silver medal in the mixed 10-meter air rifle event at the ISSF World Cup 2025 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Cricket included in Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games

• Cricket at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will be played in the T20 format, with six teams each competing in the Men’s and Women’s tournaments.