National Affairs

India Approves ₹30 Billion for Maldives under SAARC Currency Swap

The Government of India (GoI) approved a ₹30 billion currency swap facility for the Maldives under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Currency Swap Framework, reaffirming India's role as a key financial partner for its island neighbour.

Background: The approval was made under the INR Swap Window of the 'Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Countries, 2024–2027', signed between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) during President Mohamed Muizzu's state visit to New Delhi in October 2024.

Previous Settlement: Maldives had earlier settled a USD 400 million swap facility (available in October 2024) under the USD/Euro Swap Window.

INR Swap Window: The framework includes favourable terms aimed at enhancing accessibility and effectiveness for the recipient country.

Total Support So Far: The RBI has extended aggregate swap support worth USD 1.1 billion to the Maldives under the SAARC Swap Framework (launched in 2012).

Ministry of Culture Launches 'VM Frames' – National Filmmaking Competition to Mark 150 Years of Vande Mataram

The Ministry of Culture launched 'VM Frames', a national filmmaking competition inviting especially youth to creatively celebrate India's heritage, as part of the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1875.

Aim: To rekindle pride in India's shared heritage and inspire a renewed connection with the ideals that shaped its freedom.

Categories:

• Reels (under 1 minute)
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based films (up to 5 minutes)
• Short Films (up to 15 minutes)

Rewards: Awards worth up to ₹50 lakh across various categories.

Deadline: May 7, 2026.

India & Japan Forge Data Partnership to Power AI-Ready Smart Cities

DataKaveri Systems, the commercial arm of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru's Centre of Data for Public Good (CDPG), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ONESTRUCTION Inc., a Japanese construction technology firm, to integrate construction data into AI-ready urban data exchange across Indian and Japanese cities.

Signed At: Sidelines of the inaugural 'Japan-India AI Strategic Dialogue', co-chaired by Amit A. Shukla, Joint Secretary (Cyber Diplomacy), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Hanada Takahiro, Deputy Assistant Minister for Cyber Security, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Digital Platform: Both organisations will connect ONESTRUCTION's openIBM platform (open data standard for construction) with Intelligent Universal Data Exchange (IUDX) of DataKaveri, already operational across 55 smart cities in India.

Key Target: Making construction data (floor plans, utility layouts, asset histories) flow securely into city-scale AI applications.

Future Plans: Joint exploration of AI use-cases on combined construction and urban datasets, plus bilateral funding opportunities.

BharatGen & L&T Arms Sign MoU to Build India's Sovereign AI Compute Platform

BharatGen Technology Foundation (BTF) signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with L&T Semiconductor Technologies Limited (LTSCT) and L&T-Vyoma (both Larsen & Toubro group entities) to jointly develop an end-to-end Sovereign Artificial Intelligence (AI) compute platform for India.

Signed In Presence Of: Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India (GoI).

Approval: Received under IndiaAI from the Digital India Corporation (DIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Key Roles:

Collaboration: The BharatGen initiative unites leading institutions to develop generative AI solutions tailored to India's diverse and strategic needs.

International Affairs

Overview of Union MoS Jitin Prasada's Official Visit to Czech Republic (April 22–23, 2026)

Union Minister of State (MoS) Jitin Prasada, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I), undertook a two-day official visit to the Czech Republic at the invitation of its government, aimed at bolstering bilateral trade, investment, and industrial cooperation.

13th India-Czech JCEC: Union MoS Prasada, along with Czech counterpart Jan Sechter, co-chaired the 13th session of the India-Czech Republic Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) in Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. Both countries signed the protocol of the 13th India-Czechia JCEC.

Business Forum: Both leaders jointly inaugurated the India-Czech Business Forum in Prague to promote trade, investment, and Business-to-Business (B2B) linkages.

Banking & Finance

RBI Eases Forex Rules for Banks; Allows Related Party Hedging under USD 100 Mn Exposure Cap

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) withdrew some of the restrictions imposed on forex dealers taking positions in the offshore non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market to curb rupee volatility.

Timeline of Actions:

Reason for Initial Restrictions: To curb one-sided positioning in the rupee and tighten control over speculative flows in the foreign exchange market.

Jio Financial Services & Allianz Sign Pact to Establish 50:50 Insurance JV in India

Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL) signed a binding agreement to form a 50:50 Joint Venture (JV) with Germany's Allianz Europe B.V. (wholly-owned subsidiary of Allianz Group) for primary insurance, including general insurance and health insurance business in India.

Background: The collaboration was first announced in July 2025 via a non-binding term sheet to explore equally owned JVs in both general and life insurance.

Key Goal: Integrate JFSL's digital distribution capabilities with Allianz's global underwriting and risk management expertise to tap into India's underpenetrated insurance market.

Other Key Collaboration: JFSL formed a 50:50 JV with Allianz Group, setting up Allianz Jio Reinsurance Limited for reinsurance services in India.

Appointments & Resignations

ACC Extends Tenure of MDs & CEOs of BoI, BoB; ED of Indian Bank for 3 Years

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, approved three-year extensions for key banking leadership:

RBI Approval: RBI also approved the re-appointment of P. N. Vasudevan as MD & CEO of Equitas Small Finance Bank (Equitas SFB) for three years until 2029, effective from 23 July 2026.

Nasscom Appoints Srikanth Velamakanni as New Chairman

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) appointed Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive of Fractal, as its new Chairman for the 2026–2027 term.

Leadership Change: He succeeds Sindhu Gangadharan, Managing Director (MD) of SAP Labs India.

Vice Chairperson: Kishor Patil, Co-founder, CEO & MD of KPIT Technologies, elected as the new Vice Chairperson.

Awards & Recognitions

General Upendra Dwivedi Inducted into US Army War College International Hall of Fame

General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army (IA), was inducted into the International Hall of Fame (HoF) of the United States Army War College (USAWC) at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, USA.

Criteria: The International HoF recognises military leaders for outstanding contributions to national security and global military cooperation.

Significance: General Dwivedi became the 3rd Indian Army Chief to receive this honour — after General V. K. Singh and General Bikram Singh. He is also a Distinguished Fellow and alumnus of USAWC.

Science & Technology

NASA Unveils 'Roman Space Telescope' to Probe Mysteries of Dark Matter

The United States (USA) space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) unveiled the 'Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope', a powerful wide-field observatory designed to survey vast regions of the universe and detect planets beyond the solar system.

Purpose: Study dark matter and dark energy — unseen forces making up about 95% of the universe.

Legacy: Named after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA's first Chief Astronomer, often called the 'Mother of the Hubble Space Telescope'.

Key Specs:

Blue Origin Rocket Fails to Orbit AST SpaceMobile Satellite; Forces Deorbit

Jeff Bezos's space venture Blue Origin launched AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 communications satellite aboard its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida (USA), but the mission failed to achieve the intended orbit during its third flight.

Mission Objective: Space-based cellular connectivity.

Engine Failure: One of the two BE-3U (Blue Engine 3 – Upper Stage) hydrogen-fueled engines did not generate sufficient thrust during the second-stage burn (GS2), placing the satellite in an off-nominal orbit unsuitable for its intended mission.

New Glenn Track Record: Debuted in January 2025 (first commercial rocket to reach orbit on maiden flight), followed by a second mission in November 2025 carrying satellites toward Mars.

Sports

India Selected for FIFA Women's Development Programme on Commercial Strategy 2026

The International Association Football Federation (FIFA) selected India as one of 12 countries for its Women's Development Programme (Commercial Strategy 2026) following a successful application by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

Aim: Strengthen the commercial viability, sustainability, and professional structure of women's football globally.

12 Participating Nations: India, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Scotland, Canada, Mexico, Finland, Ghana, Jordan, Lithuania, and Paraguay.

Timeline: May to October 2026 (conducted online).

Licensing: Prepares clubs, including those in the Indian Women's League (IWL), for the upcoming club licensing system by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Obituary

Oscar-Winning Production Designer Dean Tavoularis Passes Away

Dean Tavoularis, the Oscar-winning production designer renowned for his influential work in cinema, passed away in Paris, France at the age of 93. He was born on May 18, 1932, in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA.

Career Highlights: Debuted as art director with Bonnie and Clyde (1967); best known for collaborations with Francis Ford Coppola on iconic films such as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and The Conversation.

Oscar Win: Won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction–Set Decoration for The Godfather Part II (1974). Received nominations for Apocalypse Now, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, The Godfather Part III, and The Brink's Job.

Books & Authors

Former Army Chief General MM Naravane Launches Book "The Curious and The Classified"

General Manoj Mukund Naravane (Retd), former Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), launched his new book titled "The Curious and the Classified: Unearthing Military Myths and Mysteries", published by Rupa Publications.

He served as the 28th COAS from December 2019 to April 2022 and is also the author of The Cantonment Conspiracy (2025).

Overview: This non-fiction work explores myths, memories, and lesser-known stories shaping the traditions of India's armed forces — highlighting their history, courage, culture, and curiosity in uniform.

Legends: Traces the 17th–18th century Sikh Army origins of the popular cheer 'Chak de Phatte' and explores the enduring legend of Baba Harbhajan Singh, celebrated in military folklore.

Important Days at a Glance