Daily Current Affairs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Gujarat on 31 March 2026 and inaugurated three major projects on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti — the Samrat Samprati Museum at Koba Tirth, Gandhinagar; the Kaynes Semicon Plant at Sanand, Ahmedabad (India’s first commercial semiconductor manufacturing facility); and development projects worth Rs 20,000+ crore at Vav-Tharad, Banaskantha.

• Semiconductor significance: Central to India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision and the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) under MeitY
• Kaynes Semicon Plant: Located at Sanand GIDC — marks commencement of commercial chip production in India
• Samrat Samprati: Grandson of Emperor Ashoka; known for spreading Jainism across India and beyond

The Government of India (GoI) extended the National Piped Natural Gas (PNG) Drive 2.0 by three months to 30 June 2026 (from the earlier deadline of 31 March 2026) to sustain nationwide PNG expansion momentum and increase the share of natural gas in India’s energy basket.

• PNGRB: Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board; regulatory body under MoPNG (Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas); established 2006
• Drive 2.0 Theme: ‘Har Ghar PNG, Har Gaadi CNG’ — targeting household piped gas and CNG-powered vehicles
• India added over 3,10,000 new connections (domestic + commercial) in March 2026 alone

Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan, along with Union Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal (Law & Justice), unveiled the ‘Nyaya Setu’ AI Chatbot and its mascot ‘Dishika’ at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The launch was part of the DISHA (Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice) programme organised by the Department of Justice (DoJ), Ministry of Law & Justice.

• Nyaya Setu: Voice-first, multimodal, multilingual legal assistant — helps citizens understand legal processes, rights, and procedures in multiple Indian languages
• Technology stack: Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Natural Language Processing (NLP), conversational AI; built on end-to-end voice stack
• BHASHINI: BHASHA Interface for India; developed by Digital India Corporation (DIC) under MeitY
• DISHA: Aims to improve justice access for citizens, particularly marginalised communities

The Government of Andhra Pradesh (AP), led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, launched a free electricity scheme for handloom and power loom weavers across the state from 1 April 2026, with an annual outlay of Rs 150 crore.

• Monthly pension: Rs 4,000 for weavers
• Thrift fund: Rs 5 crore for cooperatives
• Machinery subsidy: Up to 90% on modern equipment
• Yarn rebate: 15% to reduce input costs
• Cluster development: Supported in Dharmavaram, Pithapuram, and Mangalagiri
• Marketing: Via Amazon, Flipkart, exhibitions, and APCO (Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society) digital platforms

Three Tripura Panchayats secured top honours at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (DDUPSVP) 2025 and the Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (NDPSVP) 2025, presented by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR).

• DDUPSVP: Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar — conferred for sustainable development performance
• NDPSVP: Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar — highest honour for district-level panchayats
• Ministry: Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR)

The World Trade Organization (WTO) held its 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) from 26–30 March 2026 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, focusing on challenges and future priorities of the global multilateral trading system.

• WTO: World Trade Organisation; HQ: Geneva, Switzerland; established 1 January 1995 (successor to GATT 1947)
• WTO DG: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
• Ministerial Conference (MC): WTO’s highest decision-making body; meets biennially
• Two decisions adopted to improve small economies’ integration into the multilateral trading system
• MC15 scheduled for 2027

At the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2026, held at the Passenger Terminal Expo & Conference (PTE) World in London, UK, Singapore’s Changi Airport was named the world’s best airport for the 14th time since 2000. Five Indian airports featured in the global top 100.

• IGI Airport (New Delhi): Ranked 28th globally (improved from 32nd); won Best Airport in India and South Asia
• 5 Indian airports in top 100 — reflects improvement under UDAN and NABH Nirman initiatives
• Skytrax: UK-based aviation research and consultancy firm; awards based on global passenger survey across 100+ categories

India’s largest airline IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation) appointed William ‘Willie’ Walsh, current Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), with his tenure set to begin in August 2026 (subject to regulatory approvals).

• Succeeded: Pieter Elbers, who resigned on 10 March 2026 following a major operational crisis (over 4,500 flight cancellations in late 2025)
• IATA: International Air Transport Association; represents ~300 airlines; accounts for over 80% of global commercial aviation traffic; HQ: Montreal, Canada
• Walsh’s award: Named ‘2014 Laureate for Commercial Aviation’ by Aviation Week & Space Technology
• Timeline: IATA tenure ends 31 July 2026; expected to join IndiGo by 3 August 2026

On 31 March 2026, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) appointed Vir Vikram Yadav, a 1996-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre, as the Director General (DG) of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).

• Succeeded: Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, moved as Additional Secretary in DoPT (Department of Personnel and Training) under MoPP&P
• Vir Vikram Yadav’s background: Most recently served as Additional Secretary in MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change)
• DGCA: Directorate General of Civil Aviation; statutory body under MoCA; responsible for regulation of civil aviation in India; HQ: New Delhi

Uchral Nyam-Osor, former Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia and leader of the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), was elected as the new Prime Minister of Mongolia in March 2026, becoming the country’s third PM in nine months amid ongoing political instability.

• Uchral Nyam-Osor: Age 39; one of Mongolia’s younger political leaders; former Deputy Prime Minister
• State Great Khural: Mongolia’s parliament; total 126 lawmakers
• Uchral is Mongolia’s third PM in nine months — reflects ongoing political instability in the country

Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), a premier Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU) under the Ministry of Defence (MoD), achieved a milestone with the ceremonial launch of INS Shachi (Yard 1280) — a Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel (NGOPV) — for the Indian Navy, and delivery of ICGS Achal (Yard 1274) to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).

• INS Shachi is the first of eleven planned NGOPVs for the Indian Navy
• GSL: Goa Shipyard Limited; Mini Ratna Category-1 DPSU; specialises in patrol, survey, and offshore patrol vessels; HQ: Goa; established 1957
• Event witnessed by Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti (Deputy Chief of Naval Staff) and V K Parmar (Deputy Inspector General of ICG)

The International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) is observed globally on 31 March every year to celebrate the lives, achievements, and contributions of transgender people while raising awareness about the discrimination and challenges they face.

• Founded: 2009 by Rachel Crandall Crocker, an American transgender activist
• Distinct from: Transgender Day of Remembrance — observed on 20 November; focuses on mourning trans lives lost to violence
• TDOV: Focuses on celebration and visibility, not mourning; part of the broader LGBTQ+ rights movement
• Transgender Pride Flag: Created in 1999; five horizontal stripes — two pink, two blue, one white (white symbolises intersex, transitioning, or non-binary individuals)