Current affairs relevant to GS3.
India and New Zealand signed a Free Trade Agreement on 27 April 2026, concluded in a record 9 months. NZ removes duty on 100% of Indian exports and commits USD 20 billion of investment over 15 years. India keeps dairy out, opens 70.03% of tariff lines and gains visa routes for students and skilled workers.
27 Apr 2026
The indigenous 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, reached first criticality on 6 April 2026. Designed by IGCAR and built by BHAVINI, it uses uranium-plutonium MOX fuel and breeds more fuel than it burns. It starts stage two of India's three-stage nuclear programme; India will be second after Russia to run a commercial-scale fast breeder.
27 Apr 2026
TRAI released a consultation paper on "Proliferation of Public Wi-Fi Networks in India" on 27 April 2026. It reviews the current rules, looks at global practice, and asks how governments, local bodies, telecom firms and private players can build viable Wi-Fi in rural areas, cities and busy places. Comments are due by 25 May 2026.
27 Apr 2026
MoEFCC and the National Biodiversity Authority launched a five-year project to strengthen grassroots biodiversity governance in Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya. Funded by a GEF–UNDP grant of USD 4.88 million for 2025–2030, it will green Gram Panchayat Development Plans and empower Biodiversity Management Committees and local institutions.
26 Apr 2026
The Union Cabinet approved the Small Hydro Power Development Scheme for FY 2026–27 to 2030–31 with an outlay of ₹2,584.60 crore. It aims to add about 1,500 MW of small hydro (1–25 MW) and about 51 lakh person-days of construction jobs. India has used about 5,171 MW of an estimated 21,133.61 MW potential.
26 Apr 2026
DPIIT issued operational guidelines for Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 on 25 April 2026. The ₹10,000 crore corpus will go into SEBI-registered Category I and II Alternative Investment Funds that invest in DPIIT-recognised startups. SIDBI is the first Implementation Agency; DPIIT will add another later.
25 Apr 2026
DRDO unveiled tracked and wheeled Advanced Armoured Platforms developed by the Vehicles Research and Development Establishment at Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra, on 25 April 2026. Both carry an indigenous 30 mm crewless turret. Indigenous content is about 65%, with a plan to raise it to 90%.
25 Apr 2026
Bharat Taxi, the cooperative ride-hailing platform, began driver onboarding in Mumbai on 23 April 2026. Mumbai joins Delhi NCR, Gujarat, Chandigarh and Lucknow. The platform reports over 5.17 lakh drivers, more than 50 lakh customers and nearly 10 lakh rides a month.
24 Apr 2026
MeitY launched two indigenous silicon photonics tools from the CoE-CPPICS at IIT Madras on 24 April 2026: a Process Design Kit with over 50 verified components, and a Universal Programmable Photonic IC Test Engine. They are meant as a shared national facility for India's photonics R&D community.
24 Apr 2026
A PIB backgrounder on 23 April 2026 notes India is the 10th-largest insurance market by premium (Swiss Re), with penetration at 3.7%. The Sabka Bima, Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025 raised FDI in insurance to 100%. IRDAI's vision is Insurance for All by 2047. PMJJBY has 26.88 crore enrolments (Feb 2026).
23 Apr 2026