Daily Current Affairs

The 9th edition of India Pharma 2026 was inaugurated on 13 April 2026 at Federation House, FICCI, New Delhi. It is organised by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, in association with FICCI and the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA).

• Theme – ‘Discover in India: Leapfrogging Life-Sciences Innovation.’
• Inaugurated by – Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda (Union Minister, Chemicals & Fertilizers) and Smt. Anupriya Patel (MoS, Chemicals & Fertilizers).
• Key officials – Shri Manoj Joshi (Secretary, DoP); Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava (Secretary, MoHFW); Prof. Vinod K. Paul (Member, NITI Aayog).
• Focus – India’s pharmaceutical R&D, global supply chain resilience, transition from volume-driven to innovation-led pharma model.
• FICCI – Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry; established 1927; India’s oldest and largest apex business organisation.
• IPA – Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance; represents major Indian pharmaceutical companies.

Gujarat Police launched ‘NARIT AI’ on 10 April 2026, becoming the first law enforcement agency (LEA) in India to use advanced AI for narcotics-related investigations under the NDPS Act, 1985.

• Full form – Narcotics Analysis & RAG-based Investigation Tool (NARIT AI).
• Technology – Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) — analyses FIRs and generates structured investigation reports from verified legal databases.
• Developed with – A Mumbai-based AI startup and Western Railway Police, Vadodara.
• NDPS Act – Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
• Significance – Reduces errors; ensures court-aligned procedural compliance; first AI deployment for narcotics probe in India.

Telangana’s AI innovation hub Aikam and Deakin University, Australia, signed an MoU in Hyderabad to advance applied AI research, skilling, and innovation. The agreement establishes the ‘Aikam–Deakin Hub for Research in Intelligent Technology & Innovation (Aikam-DHRITI)’.

• Signed by – Prof. Iain Martin (President & Vice-Chancellor, Deakin University) and Phani Nagarjuna (Founding CEO, Aikam).
• Location – Telangana Secretariat, Hyderabad; Aikam-DHRITI to be set up at proposed Bharat Future City near Hyderabad.
• Focus – Ethical, scalable AI for public services; mass upskilling; joint translational research; startup enablement.
• Deakin University – Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; established 1974.

An Indian Armed Forces contingent departed for Uzbekistan to participate in the 7th edition of Exercise DUSTLIK, scheduled from 12 to 25 April 2026. The exercise alternates annually between India and Uzbekistan.

• Edition – 7th (6th edition held at Foreign Training Node Aundh, Pune in April 2025).
• Indian contingent – 60 personnel: 45 soldiers (battalion of MAHAR Regiment, Indian Army) + Air Force personnel.
• Uzbek contingent – ~60 personnel from Uzbekistan Army and Air Force.
• Focus – Joint mission planning, interoperability, command-and-control structures, HADR operations, counter-terrorism in semi-desert terrain.
• Significance – Strengthens India-Uzbekistan defence ties; Uzbekistan is a key partner in Central Asia.

The Indian Navy (IN) will host the first edition of its biannual Commanders’ Conference 2026 at Nausena Bhawan, New Delhi, from 14 to 16 April 2026. Senior naval commanders will review operational preparedness and chart the way forward.

• Venue – Nausena Bhawan, New Delhi (headquarters of Indian Navy).
• Format – New biannual format introduced in 2026.
• Chief of Naval Staff – Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched its new medium-term strategy ‘Utkarsh 2029’ covering April 2026 to March 2029. The strategy aims to build a future-ready financial ecosystem by strengthening regulatory frameworks, digital payment infrastructure, and financial inclusion.

• Full name – Utkarsh 2029 (meaning ‘excellence/rise’ in Hindi).
• Period – April 2026 to March 2029.
• Objective – Future-ready financial ecosystem; continuing RBI’s regulatory and development mandate.
• Previous strategy – Utkarsh 2025 (April 2022 – March 2025).
• RBI HQ – Mumbai; established 1 April 1935; Governor: Sanjay Malhotra.

India’s foreign exchange reserves jumped by USD 9.063 billion to USD 697.121 billion for the week ended 3 April 2026, according to RBI data released on 11 April 2026.

The all-time high of USD 728.494 billion was recorded for the week ended 27 February 2026, before the onset of West Asia crisis. The RBI intervened via dollar sales to manage rupee depreciation amid geopolitical tensions.

In a historic political shift, Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar and his pro-European TISZA (Tiszaparti Szövetség) party won Hungary’s parliamentary election held on 12 April 2026. Viktor Orbán conceded defeat, ending his 16-year rule as Prime Minister.

• Winner – Péter Magyar (TISZA party); won 53%+ of the vote and a two-thirds parliamentary majority enabling constitutional amendments.
• Loser – Viktor Orbán (Fidesz party); received 38% of the vote.
• Turnout – ~6 million votes cast out of 9 million+ electorate.
• EU reaction – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated ‘Hungary has chosen Europe.’
• Significance – Ends Orbán’s uninterrupted rule since 2010; Orbán was known for Eurosceptic and pro-Russia stances.

The first-ever life-size statue of Swami Vivekananda in the United States was unveiled on 11 April 2026 at Westlake Square, downtown Seattle. Seattle became the first US city government to host a Swami Vivekananda monument.

• Location – Westlake Square, Seattle (junction of Westlake Ave, 6th Ave & Stewart Street); records 400,000+ daily visits.
• Gift by – Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to the City of Seattle; unveiled on ICCR Day.
• Sculptor – Naresh Kumar Kumawat (Indian artist); 7-ft life-size bronze statue.
• Unveiled by – Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and Consul General of India in Seattle, Prakash Gupta.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), chaired by PM Narendra Modi, approved Sanjay Khanna as the Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) in April 2026.

• Appointed as – CMD, BPCL.
• Tenure – Until superannuation on 31 May 2029 (or until further orders).
• Previous roles – Director (Refineries), BPCL; Executive Director (ED) for Mumbai and Kochi refineries; held additional CMD charge after G. Krishnakumar‘s superannuation on 30 April 2025.
• BPCL – Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited; Maharashtra-based Navratna PSU; under Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG).
• Other board roles – Director on boards of Bharat PetroResources, Petronet LNG, and Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals.

ISRO successfully conducted the second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh — a key milestone for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission.

• Test – IADT-02 (Second Integrated Air Drop Test).
• Process – A simulated Crew Module (~5.7 tonnes, equivalent to Gaganyaan G1 mission) was lifted by an IAF Chinook helicopter to ~3 km altitude; a sequence of 10 parachutes deployed.
• Purpose – Validated parachute-based deceleration and recovery system; ensures safe astronaut return during re-entry and abort situations.
• Recovery – Successful Crew Module recovery in coordination with Indian Navy (IN) after splashdown.
• ISRO HQ – Bengaluru; Chairman: V. Narayanan.

Meta Platforms Inc. launched its new AI model ‘Muse Spark’ in April 2026 — the first model from its superintelligence team under the Avocado series. The multimodal model will replace Llama-based chatbots across WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and smart glasses.

• Model – Muse Spark (Avocado series, Meta superintelligence team).
• Features – Multimodal (text, image, reasoning); modes: Instant, Thinking, and Contemplating; multi-agent reasoning.
• Deployment – Replaces Llama chatbots across Meta AI platforms.
• Safety – Follows safety frameworks to restrict high-risk outputs; exhibits ‘evaluation awareness.’
• Meta: Founded 2004 (as Facebook); HQ: Menlo Park, California, USA; CEO: Mark Zuckerberg.

India observes the 107th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre on 13 April 2026. On 13 April 1919 (the day of Baisakhi), Brigadier General Reginald Dyer ordered British Indian Army troops to open fire on thousands of unarmed civilians gathered at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab.

• Date of massacre – 13 April 1919 (Baisakhi).
• Casualties – British records: 379 killed, 1,200+ wounded; Indian National Congress estimate: 1,000+ killed.
• Commander – Brigadier General Reginald Dyer (justified action before the Hunter Commission).
• Memorial Act – Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951; memorial inaugurated by President Rajendra Prasad on 13 April 1961.
• Significance – Marked a turning point in India’s freedom struggle; motivated Gandhi to launch the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• 2026 milestone – 107 years since the massacre; eternal flame burns at the memorial.

Vaisakhi (also Baisakhi) is a major Punjabi and Sikh harvest festival celebrated on 13 April. It also marks the founding of the Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.

• Khalsa founding – 1699, by Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib, Punjab.
• Regional parallels celebrated around the same date:
  • Puthandu – Tamil New Year (Tamil Nadu)
  • Vishu – New Year (Kerala)
  • Pohela Boishakh – Bengali New Year (West Bengal / Bangladesh)

Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar‘s birth anniversary is observed nationally on 14 April. In 2026, India marks the 135th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar — principal architect of the Indian Constitution, India’s first Law Minister, and champion of social justice.

• Born – 14 April 1891, Mhow, Central Provinces (now Madhya Pradesh).
• Died – 6 December 1956, New Delhi.
• Key roles – Chairman, Constitution Drafting Committee; India’s first Law Minister (1947–51); founded Scheduled Castes Federation (1942) and Republican Party of India (1956).
• Conversion – Led a mass conversion of ~500,000 followers to Buddhism on 14 October 1956, Nagpur (Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din).
• Award – Bharat Ratna (posthumously, 1990).
• 2026 milestone – 135th birth anniversary.