Current affairs relevant to GS2.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has published standards for priority assistive products listed in ICMR's National List of Essential Assistive Products (NLEAP). They cover elbow crutches, walking sticks, multi-leg sticks, tactile guide maps, braille on signage and portable ramps. Two, on walking sticks and portable ramps, are indigenous standards.
1 May 2026
Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO), Phase 1 of Census 2027, began on 1 May 2026 in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh after a 15-day self-enumeration window. About 82 lakh households have already self-enumerated online. HLO uses 33 notified questions on housing, amenities and assets.
1 May 2026
The 5th India–Tanzania Joint Trade Committee met in Dar es Salaam on 29–30 April 2026, the first since August 2017. Bilateral trade rose to USD 9.02 billion in 2025–26 from USD 8.64 billion. Talks covered trade in local currencies, digital public infrastructure, gemstones, pulses and India's USD 1.1 billion water credit lines.
1 May 2026
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026 came into force on 1 May 2026. They put the PROG Act, 2025 into action: an Online Gaming Authority of India under MeitY, a 90-day test to decide if a game is a banned money game, registration for e-sports, user safety features and a two-tier appeal system.
30 Apr 2026
The Health Ministry's reading of the NSO 80th round health survey shows median out-of-pocket spending on outpatient care in public facilities is zero. The median cost per hospitalisation in 2025 was ₹11,285, and ₹1,100 in public hospitals. Government-funded insurance cover rose from 12.9% to 45.5% in rural areas.
29 Apr 2026
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj released the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2.0 for FY 2023-24 on National Panchayati Raj Day, 24 April 2026. It rated 2,59,867 gram panchayats (97.30% participation) on 150 indicators across nine LSDG themes. 3,635 GPs are Front Runners, 1,18,824 are Performers, and no GP reached the top Achiever grade.
29 Apr 2026
West Bengal recorded 91.66% provisional turnout in Phase II of the 2026 Assembly election on 29 April 2026, after 93.19% in Phase I. The combined figure of 92.47% is the State's highest; the earlier peak was 84.72% in 2011. Women voted slightly more than men in Phase II.
29 Apr 2026
NITI Aayog released "Moving Towards Effective City Government – A Framework for Million-Plus Cities" on 25 April 2026. It recommends a directly elected mayor with fixed tenure, an empowered Mayor-in-Council, integrated city services, stronger own revenues and State Finance Commission transfers, and oversight of parastatals by city governments.
25 Apr 2026
The upgraded Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) 2.0 App was launched at Chandigarh on 24 April 2026. It is a digital tool under NAPDDR for real-time reporting by States and districts. Citizens can now take an e-Pledge, find the nearest de-addiction centre and use helplines.
25 Apr 2026
For FY 2026-27 the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment includes a ₹5,000 crore mining-reforms incentive. The Ministry of Mines issued operational guidelines covering five mandatory reform actions, rewards for auctioning and starting production, and prizes for top States on the State Mining Readiness Index.
24 Apr 2026