National Affairs

Overview of PM Narendra Modi's Visit to Sikkim on 27–28 April 2026; Inaugurates ₹4,000 Crore Projects

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi visited Sikkim on 27–28 April 2026 to participate in the closing ceremony of the state's 50th Year (Golden Jubilee) of Statehood celebrations held at Paljor Stadium, Gangtok, Sikkim.

During the visit, he inaugurated, launched, and laid foundation stones for over 30 development projects worth over ₹4,000 crore across sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, connectivity, and others.

50th Year of Statehood Celebrations: The closing ceremony marked the culmination of the State's 50-year celebrations, which had begun in May 2025.

Orchidarium Visit: PM Modi visited the Swarnajayanti Maitri Manjari Park in Gangtok, a world-class Orchid Experience Centre showcasing the state's rich floral heritage.

North-East Cricket Infrastructure Expansion: PM Modi inaugurated the Indoor Cricket Academy at Rangpo, Pakyong district, Sikkim, and virtually launched five more state-of-the-art academies at:

NITI Aayog Launches 'DPI@2047 Roadmap' for Adoption of DPI 2.0

NITI Aayog, the premier policy think tank of the Government of India (GoI), released a report titled "DPI@2047 for Viksit Bharat – A Strategic Roadmap to Enable Non-linear Inclusive Socio-economic Growth", detailing the roadmap for the adoption of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) 2.0.

The roadmap was unveiled in New Delhi by Suman Bery, Vice Chairman (VC) of NITI Aayog, and Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the GoI, in the presence of Nidhi Chihibber, Interim CEO, NITI Aayog.

Developer: Developed in collaboration with EkStep Foundation and Deloitte.

Phased Roadmap:

Current emphasis is on DPI 2.0.

Economic Impact: DPI initiatives already contribute nearly 1% of GDP and are projected to rise to 4% by 2030.

Focus: Identifies eight sectoral transformations to address structural bottlenecks across MSMEs, agriculture, education, and health.

LG Vinai Kumar Saxena Approves Notification of 5 New Districts for Ladakh

Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena officially notified the creation of five new districts in the Union Territory (UT), following preliminary approval by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in August 2024.

With this, the number of districts in the UT has increased from two to seven.

Appointments: LG Saxena approved the appointment of Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) for all five new units to ensure the new districts become functional without delay.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw & AP CM Chandrababu Naidu Lay Foundation for Google Cloud AI Hub in Visakhapatnam

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), and N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister (CM) of Andhra Pradesh (AP), laid the foundation stone for the Google Cloud India Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub in Tarluvada, Visakhapatnam, AP.

This project, valued at USD 15 billion (₹1.35 lakh crore), is recognized as the largest single Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project in India, aiming to transform Vizag into a global AI and Cloud Capital.

MoSPI Proposes Index of Service Production with 2024–25 as Base Year

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) proposed the creation of a new Index of Service Production (ISP) to measure the performance of India's services sector on a monthly basis.

The index will adopt 2024–25 as the base year and will primarily rely on data from the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) as a key input.

Consultation: Developed in line with global best practices and in consultation with the Technical Advisory Committee on ISP (TAC-ISP).

Complementary Role: Will complement the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) by providing high-frequency insights into the services sector.

Coverage: Plans to include about 70% of the services sector's Gross Value Added (GVA), excluding ~30% such as public administration, defence, select non-market financial services, ownership of dwellings, and informal/unincorporated segments.

Current Indicators: India's key monthly indicators are the IIP (industrial output — manufacturing, mining, electricity) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) (retail inflation and headline inflation).

Department of Posts & DTDC Sign MoU to Boost Logistics & E-Commerce Delivery Network

The Department of Posts (DoP), under the Ministry of Communications, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DTDC Express Limited to strengthen India's logistics and e-commerce delivery network.

The agreement was formalized at Dak Bhawan, New Delhi, Delhi by Neeraj Kumar Jha, General Manager, Parcel Directorate, DoP, and Jatinder Sethi, National Channel Head, DTDC Express Limited.

Implementation Framework: Includes quarterly reviews by senior officials, integration of tracking systems for end-to-end visibility, and builds on a successful 2025 pilot phase for full-scale national rollout.

Operations: Gives DTDC access to India Post's vast network of over 1.64 lakh post offices to expand into rural and semi-urban markets; supports nationwide COD services in previously non-serviceable regions.

Benefits: Enhances last-mile reach and delivery speed, boosts business growth, strengthens rural e-commerce access, and enables adoption of modern logistics practices.

Transformation: Aligns with the broader objective of supporting India's vision of becoming a global logistics hub.

SkyHop Aviation Receives DGCA Approval for India's First Commercial Seaplane Service in Lakshadweep

SkyHop Aviation Private Limited received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), enabling it to launch India's first commercial seaplane services, with initial operations planned in Union Territory (UT) Lakshadweep.

Seaplanes: Aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water using floats or hulls, suitable for remote, coastal, and island regions without airport infrastructure.

BHEL Signs Agreement with DRDO's NSTL for Naval Infrared Suppression System

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) signed a Licensing Agreement for Transfer of Technology (LAToT) with Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), a constituent laboratory of DRDO, for the Gas Turbine–Infrared Suppression System (GT-IRSS) used in naval vessels.

Technology: GT-IRSS, developed by NSTL for LM2500 (Land and Marine) gas turbines, reduces infrared signature of naval ships by cooling exhaust and shielding heat emissions.

Execution: BHEL will handle technology absorption and execution of the GT-IRSS solution.

Significance: Strengthens indigenous defence manufacturing, reduces reliance on foreign technology, enables BHEL's entry into the high-value defence sector, and supports Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives.

International Affairs

SIPRI Report 2025: USA Tops; India Becomes 5th-Largest Military Spender

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its latest "SIPRI Fact Sheet April 2026 — TRENDS IN WORLD MILITARY EXPENDITURE, 2025" stating that India became the 5th-largest military spender in the world in 2025.

Global Overview: World military expenditure reached USD 2,887 billion in 2025, marking the 11th consecutive year of growth, with Europe as the main contributor due to the Russia–Ukraine war.

Top 5 Military Spenders (2025):

Regional Highlights:

• Europe: Spending rose 14% to USD 864 billion
• Asia–Oceania: Increased 8.1% to USD 681 billion
• NATO European members: Spent USD 559 billion; 22 of 29 meeting the 2% GDP target

UAE Announces Withdrawal from OPEC & OPEC+ Oil Alliance

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) officially announced its decision to exit the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the wider OPEC+ alliance, effective May 1, 2026.

UAE joined OPEC in 1967 and is the group's third-largest producer after Saudi Arabia and Iraq, accounting for around 12% of total output.

Reasons for Withdrawal:

• Production Constraints: UAE's state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has expanded capacity to around 5 million barrels per day; OPEC+ production quotas limited full utilisation.
• National Interest & Flexibility: Reflects UAE's long-term strategy to gain greater flexibility in production decisions and align energy policy with national economic priorities.

Impact: The UAE's exit may reduce cohesion within OPEC and impact its ability to coordinate production and influence global oil prices.

Banking & Finance

RBI Launches Mission Saksham for Urban Co-operative Banks

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched Mission Saksham (Sahkari Bank Kshamta Nirman), a nationwide capacity-building programme aimed at strengthening the Urban Co-operative Banking (UCBs) sector.

Objective: Improve managerial and operational capabilities, strengthen compliance practices and institutional resilience, and create a continuous learning ecosystem for UCBs.

Collaborative Approach: Developed after consultations with sector stakeholders, including Umbrella Organisation of UCBs and various national and state-level cooperative federations.

Training Programme: A large number of training programmes will be conducted covering about 1.40 lakh participants.

RBI Introduces ECL Framework (Effective April 1, 2027) & Phased FX Derivatives Reporting (From July 2027)

On 27 April 2026, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued Master Direction: 'The Framework for Classification of Assets, Income Recognition and Provisioning', with a shift towards an Expected Credit Loss (ECL) based approach, effective from April 1, 2027, replacing existing norms.

RBI also announced a phased rollout of a new reporting framework for all over-the-counter (OTC) foreign exchange (FX) derivative contracts involving the rupee, effective from July 1, 2027.

Key Highlights of ECL Framework:

Key Highlights of Phased FX Derivatives Reporting Norms:

• Banks must report all OTC FX derivative contracts involving the Indian rupee executed globally by their related parties, including offshore entities.
• Covers both deliverable and non-deliverable contracts.
• All Authorized Dealer Category-I (AD Cat-I) banks must report such transactions to the Clearing Corp. of India Ltd (CCIL).

Flipkart, Axis Bank & PayU Launch Biometric Authentication for OTP-Free Card Payments

Flipkart Internet Private Limited, in partnership with Axis Bank Limited and PayU Payments Private Limited, launched biometric authentication for card payments, allowing users to approve transactions using fingerprint or Face ID instead of One-Time Passwords (OTPs).

Entities:

• Flipkart — Checkout
• PayU — Merchant infrastructure
• Axis Bank — Issuer
• Wibmo (PayU subsidiary) — Issuer-side verification

Technology: Replaces OTP with fingerprint or Face ID on Android and iOS (iPhone Operating System) using device-bound verification, fraud detection, and one-touch approval mechanisms.

Objectives: Reduce OTP delays and failures, prevent SIM swap and phishing fraud, improve transaction success rates, and enhance user experience.

Alignment: Aligns with RBI Authentication Mechanisms for Digital Payment Transactions Directions, 2025.

Science & Technology

China Launches Pakistani Satellite 'PRSC-EO3' Aboard Long March-6 Rocket

China's national space agency China National Space Administration (CNSA) launched Pakistan's PRSC-EO3 (Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite–Earth Observation-3) aboard a Long March-6 rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi Province, marking the 640th mission of China's Long March rocket series.

Satellite: PRSC-EO3 is an Electro-Optical (EO) Earth Observation satellite developed indigenously by SUPARCO as part of Pakistan's EO constellation.

Technology: Uses visible, near-infrared, and ultraviolet sensors with advanced AI-based onboard data processing and multi-geometry imaging for high-resolution and 3D terrain analysis.

Function: Enables Earth observation, remote sensing, environmental monitoring, urban planning, agricultural assessment, and disaster management.

Important Days at a Glance