Daily Current Affairs

On April 21, 2025, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal (MoPSW) flagged off cruise operations from the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal (MICT) — India’s largest world-class cruise terminal — at Ballard Pier, Mumbai.

• Developed at Rs 556 crore under the Cruise Bharat Mission via PPP; managed by JM Baxi & Co (Mumbai) and Ballard Pier Port Private Limited
• Event also featured Shore-to-Ship Electric Supply (Green Port Initiative), inauguration of the Sagar Upvan Garden, and MoU signings worth Rs 5,700 crore for Vadhavan Port infrastructure
• Cruise Bharat Mission (CBM) launched by MoPSW on September 30, 2024 from Mumbai Port — aims to double cruise passenger traffic within 5 years (by 2029)
• Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 aims to make India a significant player in the global cruise market
• India’s cruise tourism potential: 8× growth over the next decade; IWAI Chairman: Vijay Kumar | HQ: Noida, UP | Est.: 1986

According to a new assessment by BlueKraft Digital Foundation (New Delhi), supported by the Ministry of Finance, India’s Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system has achieved cumulative savings of Rs 3.48 lakh crore by minimising leakages in welfare delivery.

• Subsidy allocations have been halved from 16% to 9% of total government expenditure since DBT’s implementation
• Key enabler: JAM Trinity — Jan Dhan bank accounts + Aadhaar unique IDs + Mobile phones
• Assessment covers data from 2009 to 2024, examining DBT’s impact on budgetary efficiency and social outcomes

In April 2025, C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics) (New Delhi; under DoT, Ministry of Communications) and STL (Sterlite Technologies Limited) (Pune) successfully conducted India’s first Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) transmission over a 4-core Multi-Core Fibre (MCF).

• A stable QKD link was established over more than 100 km; quantum signals transmitted via one core, while the other three cores carried high-speed classical data — proving quantum and classical communication can coexist in the same fibre
• QKD: A secure encryption key exchange method based on quantum mechanics
• MCF (Multi-Core Fibre): Advanced optical fibre with multiple cores within a single cladding, enabling simultaneous data transmission via Space Division Multiplexing
• C-DOT has received Technology Approval from TEC (Telecommunications Engineering Centre), DoT; STL has developed 7-core and 4-core MCF and operates in 100+ countries | STL MD: Ankit Agarwal | HQ: Pune | Est.: 1988

In April 2025, Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya (MYAS + MoL&E) inaugurated the Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU) at the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL), New Delhi, making India the 17th country globally to implement a dedicated system for monitoring athletes’ biological profiles.

• The APMU manages the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) programme — involves longitudinal tracking of athletes’ biological markers (blood parameters, hormonal levels) to detect doping patterns without directly identifying banned substances
• Countries with APMU: USA, China, Great Britain, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Spain, Switzerland — and now India (17th)
• WADA introduced the ABP Operating Guidelines, effective from December 1, 2009

On April 21, 2025, the Laureus World Sports Awards 2025 was held at the Palacio de Cibeles, Madrid, Spain, marking the event’s 25th anniversary.

The 2025 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack revealed its Five Cricketers of the Year: England’s Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith, and Sophie Ecclestone; Hampshire’s Liam Dawson; and Surrey’s Dan Worrall (Australian-born).

In April 2025, J&K CM Omar Abdullah launched the e-SEHAT App (Electronic Solutions for Enabling Health Access Through Technology) — a comprehensive digital healthcare platform for Jammu & Kashmir.

• Tele-diagnosis & remote consultations (especially for rural and remote areas)
• Hospital networking & referral system for seamless patient transfers and emergency support
• Health insurance scheme details — PMJAY, CGHS, ECHS
• Skill development — BLS, CPR training, workshops, CME programmes for healthcare professionals

In April 2025, the RBI issued revised directions (effective April 21, 2025) allowing minors above the age of 10 to independently open and operate savings and term deposit accounts, subject to limits defined by individual banks.

• Banks must frame or amend policies to align with revised guidelines by July 1, 2025
• Additional banking facilities (internet banking, debit cards, cheque book) may be extended based on banks’ risk management policies
• Minors below 10 can still open accounts — but through their natural or legal guardian; mothers now explicitly permitted as guardians for children under 10

In April 2025, SEBI extended its automated trading window closure mechanism to include immediate relatives of Designated Persons (DPs) in listed companies ahead of financial result declarations, to curb inadvertent insider trading violations involving Unpublished Price-Sensitive Information (UPSI).

• PAN-based trading freeze implemented in two phases: Phase I (July 1, 2025) — top 500 listed companies by market cap; Phase II (October 1, 2025) — all remaining listed companies
• Companies must confirm submitted data (PAN, names, demat account numbers of DPs and immediate relatives) at least T-2 days before window closure; depositories submit quarterly reports to SEBI

In April 2025, the Government of Jharkhand and SBI signed an MoU in the presence of CM Hemant Soren, to extend insurance benefits to Jharkhand government employees holding salary accounts with SBI.

• Benefits: Accidental insurance up to Rs 1 crore (death or disability); health and life insurance at no additional cost
• Adds 1.05 lakh employees to ~70,000 police personnel already covered (Sept 2024) → total ~1.75 lakh state government employees

Separately, AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) (Jaipur, Rajasthan) — India’s largest small finance bank — launched ‘Concierge Services’ for its premium HNI programmes ‘AU ivy’ (avg. quarterly balance: Rs 25 lakh or TRV of Rs 2 crore) and ‘AU Eternity’.

Also, the RBI cancelled the CoR of Shankarrao Mohite Patil Sahakari Bank Limited (Indapur, Maharashtra), effective close of business April 11, 2025. DICGC has disbursed Rs 47.89 crore to eligible depositors under Section 18A of the DICGC Act, 1961; depositors can claim up to Rs 5 lakh per account.

In April 2025, Fitch Ratings (New York + London) revised India’s FY26 GDP forecast down by 10 bps to 6.4% (from 6.5%), citing global trade tensions; FY25 trimmed by 10 bps to 6.2%; FY27 retained at 6.3%. Fitch’s global growth forecast lowered by 0.4 pp — projected below 2% in 2025, the weakest since 2009 (excluding pandemic years).

Separately, Tata Sons (Mumbai), through wholly owned subsidiary Agratas Energy Storage Solutions Pvt. Ltd., secured a €750 million (~USD 990.79 million) 2-year bridge loan for the UK’s largest battery manufacturing facility at Gravity Smart Campus, Somerset, UK, expected to produce by 2026.

• Aims to contribute ~50% of UK’s projected battery manufacturing capacity for automotive by early 2030s; Jaguar Land Rover is the anticipated anchor customer
• One of the top 3 foreign currency borrowings by Indian companies in 2025; structured over SONIA; part of Tata Group’s €4 billion EV battery commitment in UK

In April 2025, Telangana CM Anumula Revanth Reddy signed Letters of Intent (LoIs) with Japanese companies to establish an ‘Eco Town’ in Hyderabad focused on recycling, waste management, environmental restoration, and a circular economy, during his visit to Kitakyushu, Japan (April 16–22, 2025).

• LoI signatories: EX Research Institute, P9 LLC, Nippon Steel Engineering Co. Ltd., New Chemical Trading Co. Ltd., and Amita Holdings Co. Ltd.
• CM Reddy inaugurated the Telangana Pavilion at Osaka World Expo 2025 (Kansai, Japan) — making Telangana the first Indian state to participate in World Expo 2025
• Toshiba Transmission Distribution Systems India (TTDI) (wholly-owned Toshiba subsidiary) announced an investment of Rs 562 crore for surge arresters, transformers, and gas-insulated switchgear at its Rudraram, Telangana plant
• Japan PM: Shigeru Ishiba | Capital: Tokyo | Currency: Japanese Yen (JPY)

The UN observes International Mother Earth Day (Earth Day) annually on April 22 to highlight the interdependence between humans and Earth’s ecosystems. 2025 marks the 55th anniversary of Earth Day.

• Theme for Earth Day 2025: ‘Our Power, Our Planet’
• Gains special significance in 2025 as it falls within the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030)
• UN recognition: Established via UNGA Resolution A/RES/63/278 (2009), introduced by Bolivia, supported by 50+ member states; inaugural UN observance: April 22, 2009
• Origin: Proposed by American peace activist John McConnell at the 1969 UNESCO Conference in San Francisco; first Earth Day: April 22, 1970 — birth of the modern environmental movement

In April 2025, Dr. Mathew Samuel Kalarickal — Padma Shri awardee and the ‘Father of Angioplasty in India’ — passed away at the age of 77 in Chennai. Born on January 6, 1948 in Kottayam, Kerala.

• In 1986, he performed India’s first coronary angioplasty — a landmark in Indian medical history
• Established angioplasty facilities across the Asia-Pacific region (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Middle East, Southeast Asia)
• Founded the National Angioplasty Registry of India (NARI); served as President, Asian-Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology (1995–1997)
• Awards: Padma Shri (2000, Medicine); Dr. B.C. Roy Award (1996); Honorary D.Sc. from Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University (2003)

In April 2025, Amarjit Singh Dulat — former RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) chief — launched his latest book ‘The Chief Minister and the Spy’ (published by Juggernaut Books) in New Delhi, offering a personal and political account of Dr. Farooq Abdullah (former CM of J&K) from the perspective of a top intelligence official.

• Dulat (born 1940): former Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB); served as Advisor on J&K in the PMO (2000–2004)
• Earlier works: ‘Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years’ (2015); co-authored ‘The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace’ with Asad Durrani (former ISI chief, Pakistan) in 2018