23 April 2026 — Daily Current Affairs Quiz
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Culture
World Book & Copyright Day — Rabat as World Book Capital 2026
Observed annually on 23 April; established by UNESCO’s General Conference, 1995 in Paris. 2026 theme: ‘Go All In on Reading’. Rabat, Morocco designated as World Book Capital 2026 — 26th city to hold the title. Previous: Rio de Janeiro (2025), Strasbourg (2024), Accra (2023). First capital: Madrid (2001). Date honours: Shakespeare, Cervantes, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. Partners: UNESCO, International Publishers Association, IFLA.
Environment
Barasingha WLS — 408.7 sq. km Eco-Sensitive Zone, Uttar Pradesh
MoEFCC declared 408.7 sq. km ESZ around Barasingha Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh (April 2026). Covers five districts: Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Hapur, Bijnor, Amroha. Sanctuary hosts: 41 mammals, 373 birds, 280+ plant species (incl. 81 medicinal). Barasingha = swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii). ESZs act as transition/buffer zones around protected areas to regulate human activity and minimise wildlife conflict.
International
VP Radhakrishnan’s Sri Lanka Visit — First Bilateral VP Visit
VP C P Radhakrishnan visited Sri Lanka 19–20 April 2026 — first bilateral VP visit in history. Met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and PM Harini Amarasuriya. Key outcomes: MoUs for healthcare & development; Phase III of Indian Housing Project (4,000 houses) completed; Northern Railway Line restored; CEWET scholarships doubled (350 → 700); Sri Lanka joined India’s International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA).
Defence
TRAWL Assemblies — Rs 975 Crore MoD Contracts (BEML & Electro Pneumatics)
MoD signed Rs 975 crore contracts (21 April 2026) with BEML and Electro Pneumatics and Hydraulics (India) Pvt Ltd for TRAWL (Tank Mine Roller Assembly) for T-72 Ajeya and T-90 Bhishma tanks. Under Buy-IDDM category. Developed by DRDO; breaches minefields (incl. proximity magnetic fuse anti-tank mines) by creating vehicle-safe lanes. Enhances Indian Army’s offensive operational capability.
Technology
ANNAM.AI — IIT Ropar’s Agricultural Intelligence Ecosystem
IIT Ropar launched India’s first integrated AI agricultural ecosystem under ANNAM.AI (Alliance for Next-Gen Nourishment through Agriculture Modernisation) in April 2026. Components: ‘Swan’ weather stations (real-time climate data); Krishi Intelligence Call Centres (farmer advisory); Annam Chat Engine (ACE) (direct queries). Three-layer AI architecture: Infrastructure → Intelligence → Engagement. Goal: improve productivity, risk management, and farmer decision-making.
Monetary Policy
RBI’s E-Mandate Framework 2026 — Channels & Key Rules
RBI issued ‘Digital Payments — E-Mandate Framework, 2026’ in April 2026. Channels covered: UPI auto-pay, Debit/Credit cards, PPIs. NOT covered: Bharat QR Code. Key rules: one-time registration with Additional Factor Authentication (AFA); every mandate must specify validity period; amounts can be fixed or variable with a maximum limit for recurring transactions. Framework consolidates existing rules with stricter safeguards and greater user flexibility.
Environment
Goldman Environmental Prize 2026 — First All-Women Year
Goldman Environmental Prize (est. 1989, San Francisco) by Rhoda and Richard Goldman — called the ‘Green Nobel’. In 2026, for the first time in its 37-year history, all six winners were women. Winners from: Nigeria, South Korea, UK, Papua New Guinea, USA, Colombia. Awarded to grassroots activists from 6 inhabited continental regions. Ceremony: 20 April 2026, San Francisco; hosted by Vanessa Hauc. Cumulative: 239 winners from 98 nations.
Sports
26th Laureus World Sports Awards 2026 — Key Winners
Held at Cibeles Palace, Madrid on 20 April 2026. Hosts: Novak Djokovic and Eileen Gu. Winners: Team of the Year — Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) (first UCL title, 5-0 vs Inter Milan); Sportsman — Carlos Alcaraz (tennis, Spain); Sportswoman — Aryna Sabalenka (tennis, Belarus); Comeback — Rory McIlroy; Breakthrough — Lando Norris. Lamine Yamal (18 yrs): youngest to win two Laureus awards.
Climate
EASyMelt — Tata Steel’s Green Steelmaking Technology
Tata Steel signed definitive agreement (April 2026) with Paul Wurth S.A. (SMS Group, Germany/Luxembourg) to deploy EASyMelt (Electrically Assisted Syngas Smelter) — world’s first large-scale deployment. Location: ‘E’ Blast Furnace (649 m³), Jamshedpur Works, Jharkhand. Replaces coal with syngas + plasma torches; retrofits existing blast furnaces. Target: cut CO2 by over 50%. Tata Steel net-zero target: 2045. CEO & MD: T V Narendran. Initial MoU: June 2023.
International
WEF Young Global Leaders 2026 — 10 Indians Featured
WEF YGL Class of 2026: 118 leaders from 55 countries. 10 Indians featured, including Jay Shah (Chairman, International Cricket Council — ICC), Isha Ambani (Director, Reliance Retail Ventures). YGL programme: established 2004; for leaders under 40; five-year leadership programme based in Geneva, Switzerland. Focuses on collaboration across government, business, and social sectors to address global challenges.
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Which city is the UNESCO World Book Capital 2026 and what is this year’s theme?
Rabat, Morocco — ‘Go All In on Reading’
26th city; previous: Rio de Janeiro (2025), Strasbourg (2024), Accra (2023)
Tap to Reveal
Which wildlife sanctuary in UP got a 408.7 sq. km ESZ, and what animal is it named after?
Barasingha Wildlife Sanctuary — named after the swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii)
ESZ spans 5 districts; 41 mammals, 373 birds; declared by MoEFCC, April 2026
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What does TRAWL stand for, and for which two tanks are the assemblies procured?
Tank Mine Roller Assembly — T-72 (Ajeya) and T-90 (Bhishma)
Rs 975 crore; Buy-IDDM; DRDO-developed; BEML & Electro Pneumatics; 21 April 2026
Tap to Reveal
What is ANNAM.AI and which institution launched it?
Alliance for Next-Gen Nourishment through Agriculture Modernisation — IIT Ropar
Components: Swan weather stations, Krishi Call Centres, Annam Chat Engine (ACE)
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Who founded the Goldman Environmental Prize, in what year, and what is it commonly called?
Rhoda and Richard Goldman — 1989 — called the ‘Green Nobel’
2026: first all-women year (6/6); 239 winners from 98 nations total
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Who won Laureus Sportsman, Sportswoman, and Team of the Year 2026?
Carlos Alcaraz (tennis) | Aryna Sabalenka (tennis) | Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)
26th awards; Cibeles Palace, Madrid; PSG won first UCL title (5-0 vs Inter Milan)
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What does EASyMelt stand for and what is Tata Steel’s CO2 reduction target from it?
Electrically Assisted Syngas Smelter — over 50% CO2 reduction
Partner: Paul Wurth S.A. (SMS Group); Jamshedpur Works; net-zero target: 2045
Tap to Reveal
Jay Shah was in WEF YGL Class 2026 — as Chairman of which organisation?
International Cricket Council (ICC)
118 YGL leaders from 55 countries; 10 Indians; programme est. 2004; HQ Geneva
Think & Discuss
Green Steel & Net Zero by 2045: Can EASyMelt-Type Technologies Make India’s Heavy Industry Truly Sustainable — or Are They Just Greenwashing?
Context from today’s quiz: Tata Steel has signed a definitive agreement to deploy EASyMelt — the world’s first large-scale Electrically Assisted Syngas Smelter — at its Jamshedpur plant. The technology replaces coal with syngas and plasma torches, retrofitting existing blast furnaces to cut CO2 by over 50%, with a net-zero target by 2045. Meanwhile, World Earth Day 2026 theme — ‘Our Power, Our Planet’ — spotlights individual and community agency in the climate fight. The Goldman Environmental Prize’s first all-women year also highlighted grassroots activism as a force for environmental accountability, particularly against powerful industrial actors.
🤔 Your Perspective Matters
India is the world’s second-largest steel producer, with steel demand set to double by 2030. The sector accounts for ~7% of India’s CO2 emissions. Retrofit technologies like EASyMelt offer a pathway to decarbonise existing assets — which is faster and cheaper than building new green steel plants from scratch. But critics argue these are incremental solutions that delay the harder structural shift to green hydrogen-based steelmaking. India’s net-zero commitment (2070) also sits in tension with Tata Steel’s 2045 target, raising questions about whether corporate pledges or government policy should drive the green steel transition.
Is retrofit decarbonisation (like EASyMelt) a pragmatic and sufficient strategy for greening India’s steel sector — or does it risk locking in fossil-fuel-adjacent infrastructure that delays a true clean energy transition?
Is retrofit decarbonisation (like EASyMelt) a pragmatic and sufficient strategy for greening India’s steel sector — or does it risk locking in fossil-fuel-adjacent infrastructure that delays a true clean energy transition?
- India’s MoEFCC declared an ESZ around Barasingha Wildlife Sanctuary to protect biodiversity from industrial encroachment. Does India need similarly robust regulatory frameworks specifically for industrial CO2 emitters — and how should the balance between industrial growth and environmental protection be struck in a developing economy?
- The Goldman Environmental Prize 2026 honoured six women activists who challenged industrial and state actors on environmental issues. How important is grassroots civil society accountability in ensuring that corporate net-zero pledges (like Tata Steel 2045) are actually honoured rather than merely used for ESG marketing?
- ANNAM.AI uses AI to help farmers manage climate risk, and RBI’s E-Mandate Framework governs digital financial flows. Could similar AI-driven systems be used for real-time monitoring and enforcement of industrial carbon emissions in India — and what institutional infrastructure would this require?
We’d love to hear your thoughts! Share your perspective in the comments.
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