Current Affairs

Daily and monthly current affairs mapped to syllabus topics and related PYQs.

GS2 · Disability rights

BIS publishes six standards for priority assistive products

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
GS2 · Census

Census 2027 houselisting starts in more States; 82 lakh self-enumerate

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
GS1 · Meteorology

Coastal Atmospheric Research Testbed opened at Visakhapatnam

IITM Pune, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, opened the open-field observatory of the Coastal Atmospheric Research Testbed (C-ART) at Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, on 1 May 2026. Under Mission Mausam, it will study monsoon convection and rain physics on the east coast to improve weather models and early warnings for cyclones.

1 May 2026
GS2 · India–Africa

India–Tanzania trade crosses USD 9 billion; 5th JTC held

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
GS3 · Critical minerals

58 companies eligible under ₹1,500 crore critical mineral recycling scheme

The Mines Ministry has found 58 companies eligible under the ₹1,500 crore Incentive Scheme for Promotion of Critical Mineral Recycling, part of the National Critical Mineral Mission. They pledged about 850 KTPA of recycling capacity and about ₹5,000 crore of investment, covering battery recycling, e-waste and other waste. Project execution is the next stage.

30 Apr 2026
GS3 · Infrastructure / J&K

Jammu–Srinagar direct passenger train service begins

On 30 April 2026 the Srinagar–Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express was extended to Jammu Tawi, linking Jammu and Srinagar by a direct passenger train for the first time. Coaches rose from 8 to 20. The train is built for sub-zero conditions, and the USBRL line is also moving freight such as apples.

30 Apr 2026
GS2 · Regulation / IT

Online Gaming Rules, 2026 in force from 1 May

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
GS3 · Telecom / transport

TRAI consults on V2X communication framework

TRAI released a consultation paper on the Regulatory Framework for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Communication on 30 April 2026. DoT had asked for recommendations on 1 December 2025 under clause 11(1)(a) of the TRAI Act, 1997. Comments are due by 28 May 2026 and counter-comments by 11 June 2026.

30 Apr 2026
GS3 · Digital payments

UPI completes 10 years: 24,162 crore transactions in FY26

UPI, launched by NPCI on 11 April 2016 under RBI oversight, completed ten years in 2026. In FY 2025-26 it handled about 24,162 crore transactions worth about ₹314 lakh crore, up from 2 crore in FY 2016-17. It has 703 banks, carries 85% of India's digital payments and about 49% of the world's real-time payment volume.

30 Apr 2026
GS2 · Health

NSO health survey: zero median OPD spending in public facilities

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