NATIONAL NEWS

Deadline for trial in child trafficking cases

• The Supreme Court’s Bench comprising of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan directed High Courts across the country to issue directions to lower courts to complete trials in child trafficking cases in six months.

Supreme Court

North East Investors Summit 2025

• External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar addressed meeting of ambassadors for the upcoming North East Investors Summit 2025, organised by the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER).

NITI Aayog’s Report

• NITI Aayog launched a report on Hand and Power tools sectors – ‘Unlocking $25+ Billion Export Potential - India’s Hand & Power Tools Sector’.

NITI Aayog

STATE SPECIAL NEWS

Maharashtra signs MoU with IBM

• Maharashtra Government has signed a memorandum of understanding with IBM Technology (India) for administrative transformation through AI.
• Under the agreement, 3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Centres will be set up in Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur, and government employees and students will be trained in AI, cybersecurity and cloud technologies with the help of IBM’s educational and training platform.

Maharashtra

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

China’s new top international trade negotiator

• China has appointed a new top international trade negotiator named Li Chenggang amid tariff tensions with the United States.
• China is currently facing 145 per cent taxes on exports to the US, while other countries were given a 90-day reprieve for most duties.

China

Religious-based seats in UN Security Council reform

• India and other G4 nations, including Brazil, Germany, and Japan, have opposed proposals to allocate seats based on religion in a reformed UN Security Council.
• Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently said that an Islamic country should be a permanent member of the Council, while the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation had backed representation for the Islamic Ummah.

Maldives bans Israeli passport holders

• The Maldives announced a ban on Israeli tourists to the scenic island nation, reaffirming its “resolute solidarity” with the Palestinian cause.

Maldives

ECONOMY & BANKING

March retail Inflation falls

• According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, India’s retail inflation eased to 3.34 percent in March from 3.61 percent in February, driven by significant easing in food prices which is lowest year-on-year inflation after August, 2019.

Cargo traffic on India’s inland waterways

• According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, cargo traffic on National Waterways has recorded a compound annual growth rate of 20.86 per cent in the Financial Year 2024-25.

OALP Round-IX

• The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has awarded 28 blocks under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Bid Round Nine with an area of over 1 lakh 36 thousand square kilometres.

Major Oil basins in India

Highway construction @ 100 km/ day

• Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari established a goal to expedite highway construction to a rate of 100 kilometers per day and stated that within the next 18 months, the country’s road infrastructure will surpass that of the United States of America.

Important Highways of India

Rooftop solar power capacity

• According to a report by CareEdge Ratings, India’s rooftop solar power capacity is set to grow substantially, reaching an estimated 25-30 gigawatts by the next financial year.

MoU with Swiggy

• Ministry of Labour & Employment and Swiggy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi today, marking a significant step toward strengthening employment linkages in the gig and logistics sector through the National Career Service (NCS) portal.

PERSON IN NEWS

Neela Rajendra

• In United States, NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory has sacked Neela Rajendra, the Indian-origin head of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) unit, from her position.

Ranjit Nair

• Ranjit Nair, intellectual and founder of the Centre for Philosophy and Foundations of Science (CPFS), died of a cardiac arrest at his residence here on Monday. He was 70.

AWARDS & HONOURS

National Highways Excellence Awards 2023

• Hon'ble Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari presented 6th edition of ‘National Highways Excellence Awards 2023’ (NHEA 2023) held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

ENVIRONMENT + SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IMD’s predictions for Monsoon

• According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) Southwest Monsoon seasonal rainfall from June to September this year is likely to be above normal due to neutral El Nino conditions.

IMD

DEFENCE

Kalam & Kavach 2.0

• The Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), under the aegis of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with Pentagon Press, hosted the second edition of the Defence Literature Festival ‘Kalam & Kavach 2.0’ at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi.
• This year’s theme was ‘Securing India’s Rise through Defence Reforms’.

SPORTS

ISSF World Cup 2025

• In the Women’s 10m Air Pistol event, young sensation Suruchi Singh clinched gold, beating Olympic medallist compatriot Manu Bhaker, who settled with the silver.
• In Men’s 10 metre Air Pistol, Saurabh Chaudhary won bronze medal.

Indian Open Athletics 2025

• In the Men’s javelin throw, Yash Vir Singh clinched the title by narrowly edging out Asian Games silver medallist Kishore Jena at the Indian Open Athletics 2025 meet in Chennai.
• The Indian Open Athletics competition is a series of meets held across the country.

Venue for cricket’s Olympics return at LA28

• At the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, Cricket will be played in a temporary, purpose-built venue at the Fairgrounds in Pomona.
• The tournament will be played in the fast-paced T20 format with six teams each in both men’s and women’s competitions.