Daily Current Affairs

In April 2025, NITI Aayog released the report ‘Unlocking USD 25+ Billion Export Potential — India’s Hand & Power Tools Sector’, projecting that India can achieve USD 25+ billion in exports within 10 years — capturing 25% of the global hand tools market and 10% of the global power tools market. Released by Suman Bery, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.

• Global hand and power tools trade: currently USD 100 billion; projected to grow to USD 190 billion by 2035
• NITI Aayog CEO: B.V.R. Subrahmanyam | HQ: New Delhi | Established: 2015

India’s pharmaceutical industry is the world’s 3rd largest by volume and 11th largest by value, and the largest global supplier of generic drugs (accounting for 20% of global supply).

As per MoC&I, India’s total exports (merchandise + services) in FY 2024–25 are estimated at USD 820.93 billion — a growth of 5.50% from USD 778.13 billion in FY24.

• March 2025 merchandise exports: USD 41.97 billion
• MoC&I Minister: Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North) | MoS: Jitin Prasada (Pilibhit)

The 6th edition of the India–Uzbekistan Joint Military Exercise DUSTLIK-VI commenced at the Foreign Training Node (FTN), Aundh, Pune, Maharashtra, scheduled April 16–28, 2025 (13 days).

• ‘Dustlik’ means ‘friendship’ in Uzbek; annual bilateral exercise conducted alternately in India and Uzbekistan since 2019; previous edition (DUSTLIK-V) held in Termez District, Uzbekistan, April 2024
• Focus: Joint Multi-Domain Sub-Conventional Operations in semi-urban environments — counter-terrorism, raids, search-and-destroy, territory capture
• Indian contingent: 60 personnel from the JAT Regiment + IAF Garud (Special Force) personnel
• Key tech: UAVs, Counter-UAS measures, helicopters for SHBO (Special Heliborne Operations) and STIE (Small Team Insertion & Extraction)
• Uzbekistan PM: Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov | Capital: Tashkent | Currency: Uzbekistani Som (UZS)

In April 2025, MoC&I confirmed the USA as India’s largest trading partner for the 4th consecutive year in FY 2024–25, with bilateral trade reaching USD 131.84 billion.

• India’s exports to USA: USD 86.51 bn (+11.6%) | Imports from USA: USD 45.33 bn (+7.44%)
• India’s trade surplus with USA: USD 41.18 billion (up from USD 35.32 bn in FY24)

Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh (MoD) visited Rome, Italy (April 14–15, 2025) for the 11th India–Italy Joint Defence Committee (JDC) meeting.

• Met Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto; JDC co-chaired with Luisa Riccardi (Secretary General of Defence, Italy)
• Topics: maritime security, Trans Regional Maritime Network (T-RMN), Red Sea challenges, joint defence technology and armament production
• MoU signed between SIDM (Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers, New Delhi) and AIAD (Federation of Italian Companies for Aerospace, Defence and Security, Rome) for defence R&D, tech transfer, and joint production
• Italy PM: Giorgia Meloni | President: Sergio Mattarella | Capital: Rome

In April 2025, Union Minister Amit Shah (MHA + Ministry of Cooperation) addressed the State Level Cooperative Conference in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, organised under ‘2025 — International Cooperative Year’.

• GoI allocated Rs 2,500 crore to digitise all Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS); now operate in 13 regional languages
• MoU signed between NDDB (National Dairy Development Board, Gujarat) and MPCDF (MP Cooperative Dairy Federation) to strengthen cooperative dairy societies
• MP produces ~5.5 crore litres of milk daily (~9% of India’s total); less than 1% currently processed through cooperative dairies

In April 2025, Magnus Carlsen (Norway) won the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam — the second leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour 2025 — at the Pavillon Chesnaie du Roy, Paris, France.

• Defeated American GM Hikaru Nakamura in the final (1.5–0.5); prize: USD 200,000; runner-up Nakamura earned USD 140,000
• India’s Arjun Erigaisi finished 5th on Freestyle Chess debut (USD 50,000); R. Praggnanandhaa secured 9th (USD 12,500)
• Historical note: In 2013, Carlsen defeated Viswanathan Anand at the World Chess Championship in Chennai, becoming the second-youngest world chess champion

In April 2025, UNCTAD released its report ‘Trade and Development Foresights 2025 — Under Pressure: Uncertainty Reshapes Global Economic Prospects’, projecting India’s growth at 6.5% in CY 2025, down from an estimated 6.9% in CY 2024.

• India expected to remain the fastest-growing major economy in CY 2025, driven by strong public spending and monetary easing
• Global growth: projected at 2.3% in 2025 (down from 2.8% in 2024); South Asia projected at 5.6%
• UNCTAD Secretary-General: Rebeca Grynspan | HQ: Geneva, Switzerland | Established: 1964

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the following combinations on April 15, 2025:

• Acquisition of shares in SNV Aviation Private Limited (Akasa Air) by PI Opportunities Fund-I (PIOF), Claypond Capital Partners, and 360 ONE Private Equity Fund
• Proposed merger of Quality Care India Limited (QCIL) with Aster DM Healthcare Limited, along with related transactions involving BCP Asia, Centella, and Aster
• Combination involving Asia Healthcare Holdings, Rhea Healthcare, and the Asian Institute of Nephrology and Urology (AINU) with Waverly Pte. Ltd. and TPG Growth entities
• Combination involving Alat Technologies Company (ATC) and TKE Group — stake acquisition and joint venture formation
• CCI Chairperson: Ravneet Kaur | HQ: New Delhi | Established: 2003

In April 2025, Airports Council International (ACI) World released its Annual Rankings of the World’s Busiest Airports 2024. Delhi’s IGIA (DEL) ranked 9th globally, improving from 10th (2023).

• IGIA’s trajectory: 17th (2019) → 13th (2021) → 10th (2023) → 9th (2024)
• Global passenger traffic in 2024: ~9.5 billion (+9% over 2023); top 10 airports handled 855 million passengers
• ACI World DG: Justin Erbacci | HQ: Montreal, Canada | Established: 1991 | Members: 830

In April 2025, the World Bank released the ‘State of Social Protection Report 2025: The 2-Billion-Person Challenge’, revealing that three out of four people in low-income countries (LICs) still lack access to social protection services.

• As of 2022: nearly 2 billion people in LICs and MICs lacked adequate social protection; 1.6 billion have zero coverage
• Across 27 countries, women receive on average 81 cents for every USD 1 received by men in social protection benefits
• Analysis of 73 countries: coverage grew from 41% (2010) to 51% (2022) — a 10-point rise over 12 years
• Developed by the WB’s ASPIRE (Atlas of Social Protection Indicators of Resilience and Equity) team

Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna (BR) Gavai, second-most senior SC judge, will be sworn in as the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI) on May 14, 2025, succeeding CJI Sanjiv Khanna (retiring May 13, 2025). He will serve until November 23, 2025.

• Will be the second Dalit CJI in India’s history, after Justice KG Balakrishnan (served 2007–2010)
• Enrolled as advocate: 1985 | Permanent Judge, Bombay HC: November 12, 2005 | Elevated to SCI: May 24, 2019
• Key judgements: Article 370 abrogation (2023); Electoral Bonds Scheme verdict (2024); ruling against illegal demolitions (‘bulldozer culture’, 2023)

In April 2025, Sourav Ganguly was reappointed as Chairperson of the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee, succeeding Anil Kumble (who completed the maximum three three-year terms).

• Men’s Committee members: VVS Laxman (India, re-appointed), Hamid Hassan (Afghanistan), Desmond Haynes (West Indies), Temba Bavuma (South Africa), Jonathan Trott (England)
• ICC Women’s Cricket Committee reconstituted: Chair — Catherine Campbell (New Zealand, reappointed); members: Avril Fahey (Australia) and Pholetsi Moseki (Cricket South Africa)

In April 2025, former England fast bowler Sir James Michael Anderson was awarded a Knighthood — part of former UK PM Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list — for his services to cricket. He is the only sportsperson on the list and the 13th England cricketer to receive a knighthood.

• Test debut: 2003 vs Zimbabwe at Lord’s (5 wickets in first innings); ODI debut: vs Australia, December 2002
• Other knighted cricketers: Sir Donald Bradman (1949), Sir Garfield Sobers (1975), Sir Vivian Richards (1999)

On April 15, 2025, Larsen & Toubro’s Precision Engineering Systems (L&T PES) successfully completed preliminary sea trials of its indigenously developed 651 kW Waterjet Propulsion System for the Indian Navy, under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme of DRDO.

• Tested on the Navy’s Fast Interceptor Craft (FIC); demonstrated speeds of over 45 knots (85 km/h)
• System has over 70% Indigenous Content (IC); developed at L&T’s AM Naik Heavy Engineering Complex, Surat, Gujarat
• Unlike conventional propellers, the waterjet system accelerates water through a pump, with built-in steering and braking — enabling precision control, shallow-water use, and reduced noise signature
• L&T CMD: S.N. Subrahmanyan | HQ: Mumbai | Founded: 1946

In April 2025, Betavolt Technology Company Limited (Beijing, China) introduced the BV100 — a coin-sized nuclear-powered battery capable of operating for up to 50 years without any maintenance or recharging.

• Mechanism: beta particle emission — Nickel-63 decay releases high-speed electrons → strike semiconductor → generate electron-hole pairs → electricity
• Applications: medical devices, aerospace, remote sensing

In April 2025, the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) (MoEFCC), in collaboration with Museum Koenig Bonn, Germany, discovered six new species of Sericinae scarab beetles from Northeast India and the Western Ghats (Kerala). Published in Zootaxa.

• 5 of 6 species from Northeast India — part of the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot
• ZSI Director: Dhriti Banerjee | HQ: Kolkata | Established: 1916

In April 2025, a new frog species named Leptobrachium aryatium was officially described after a 21-year zoological study in Garbhanga Reserve Forest, southwestern Guwahati, Assam. Published in Zootaxa.

• Named after Arya Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati — which influenced the area’s renaming to ‘Aryanagar’ in 2022
• Distinguishing features: fiery orange-and-black eyes, reticulated throat pattern, smooth rhythmic dusk-time call
• First spotted in 2004 but misidentified as Leptobrachium smithi (found in Southeast Asia and Bangladesh)
• Described by: Jayaditya Purkayastha (Help Earth NGO, Guwahati), Dipankar Dutta, Jayanta Gogoi, and Saibal Sengupta

World Hemophilia Day (WHD) is observed globally on April 17 to raise awareness about haemophilia, a rare inherited bleeding disorder. Organised by the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), Canada. April 17, 2025 marks the 31st anniversary (first WHD: April 17, 1989).

• Theme for WHD 2025: ‘Access for All: Women and Girls Bleed Too’
• April 17 commemorates the birth anniversary of Frank Schnabel, founder of WFH (established 1963) | WFH HQ: Québec, Canada | President: Cesar Garrido (Venezuela)
• Haemophilia A: Deficiency of Factor VIII (21 per 100,000 males) | Haemophilia B (Christmas Disease): Deficiency of Factor IX (4 per 100,000 males)
• Only 25% of 1.1 million affected globally receive adequate care; 85% in low-income countries lack access
• Upcoming: WFH 2025 Comprehensive Care Summit — April 23–25, Dubai, UAE | WFH 2026 World Congress — April 19–22, 2026, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

In April 2025, Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy inaugurated the ‘Bhu Bharati’ portal — an integrated online revenue records management system designed to enhance land security and bring transparency to land records. It replaces the Dharani portal (introduced in 2020).

• Operates under the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2024; landowners to be issued a Bhudhaar card
• Services: Online RoR-1B (Record of Rights), Pahani details, mutation applications, encumbrance certificates, property registration slot bookings
• Pilot in 4 mandals: Maddur (Narayanpet), Nelakondapalli (Khammam), Lingampeta (Kamareddy), Venkatapur (Mulugu)
• Pending land issues to be resolved by May 1, 2025; statewide expansion from June 2, 2025

In April 2025, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, former 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia (2003–2009) — affectionately known as ‘Pak Lah’ — passed away at the age of 85 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Born November 26, 1939 in Penang.

• Served 14 years in the Malaysian civil service; became MP in 1978; held roles as Defence Minister and Foreign Minister
• Appointed Deputy PM and Home Affairs Minister in January 1999; became PM in 2003, succeeding Mahathir bin Mohamad (22 years in power)
• Stepped down in 2009 after Barisan Nasional (BN) — including his party UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) — lost its parliamentary supermajority