Daily Current Affairs

The Hurun Global Rich List 2025 reveals that India ranks 3rd globally in billionaire count with 284 billionaires, whose collective net worth grew by 10% to ₹98 lakh crore. A key geographic shift in Asia sees Shanghai overtake Mumbai as the continent’s city with the most billionaires.

• Shanghai vs Mumbai – Shanghai now hosts 92 billionaires compared to Mumbai’s 90, marking a notable shift in Asia’s wealth geography.
• Wealth Distribution – Of India’s 284 billionaires, 175 saw wealth growth while 109 saw a decline or no change.
• Young Wealth – India has 7 billionaires under 40, with the youngest being 34, predominantly from Bengaluru and Mumbai.
• About the List – The Hurun Global Rich List is published annually by the Hurun Research Institute, tracking billionaires worldwide with a net worth threshold of USD 1 billion.

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), in collaboration with Digital India Bhashini, has launched an advanced AI-powered multilingual grievance redressal system for the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). A full-fledged rollout is targeted for July 2025.

• Multilingual Access – Citizens can now file grievances in any of 22 regional languages via voice or text, dramatically improving accessibility for non-English speakers.
• AI & NLP Automation – The system automates complaint categorization and routing, reducing manual intervention and speeding up resolution.
• Inclusive Governance – Directly supports the PM’s vision of citizen-centric, accessible, and inclusive governance.
• Atmanirbhar Bharat Link – Promotes AI-led governance innovation developed indigenously through Bhashini, India’s national language technology platform.

The Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, has announced ambitious plans to boost tourism and wildlife infrastructure. Nangal will be developed as a major tourist destination while the Jhajjar Bachauli Wildlife Sanctuary in Sri Anandpur Sahib will host Punjab’s first dedicated leopard safari.

• Nangal Development – Located near the Bhakra-Nangal Dam, the town will receive ₹10 crore in initial investment to develop tourism infrastructure and attractions.
• Leopard Safari – The Jhajjar Bachauli Wildlife Sanctuary hosts a significant population of leopards; converting it into a safari park will be a first for Punjab.
• ‘Badalda Punjab’ Budget – These initiatives are part of the 2025-26 state budget, presented by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema.
• Heritage Commemoration – Special funds are allocated to mark the 350th Martyrdom Anniversary of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji, the 9th Sikh Guru.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan officially inaugurated Techkriti 2025 at IIT Kanpur. Recognized as Asia’s largest intercollegiate technical and entrepreneurial festival, Techkriti 2025 served as a key platform for fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and defence on emerging technologies.

• CDS’s Role – General Anil Chauhan’s inauguration of Techkriti highlights the defence establishment’s growing engagement with academic and innovation ecosystems.
• Tech-Defence Bridge – The event facilitates discussions on dual-use technologies — innovations applicable to both civilian and military domains.
• About Techkriti – Held annually at IIT Kanpur, Techkriti draws participants from hundreds of colleges across India and abroad for competitions, workshops, and lectures.

The Indian Army conducted a major tri-service integrated warfare exercise titled ‘Prachand Prahaar’ in the high-altitude terrain of Arunachal Pradesh. The exercise validated joint operational capabilities across all three armed forces — Army, Navy, and Air Force — in a multi-domain operations environment.

• High-Altitude Significance – Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,129 km border with China, making exercises in this region strategically critical.
• Multi-Domain Operations – ‘Prachand Prahaar’ tested integration across land, air, sea, cyber, and electromagnetic domains in a unified command structure.
• Tri-Service Synergy – The drill emphasized seamless coordination between the Army, Navy, and Air Force for swift, coordinated responses in conflict scenarios.
• Precision Strike Validation – A key objective was testing the accuracy and responsiveness of India’s precision strike capabilities in mountainous terrain.

The Indian Open 2025 PSA Copper squash tournament, hosted in Mumbai, concluded with two standout champions: India’s Anahat Singh clinching the women’s singles title and Egypt’s Kareem El Torkey winning the men’s singles crown.

• Anahat Singh’s Achievement – This was her 11th PSA (Professional Squash Association) title, further cementing her status as India’s top-ranked women’s squash player.
• Tournament Level – The event was a PSA Copper level tournament, part of the international professional squash circuit.
• Host City – The tournament was held in Mumbai, reinforcing India’s growing presence on the global squash calendar.
• Men’s Winner – Kareem El Torkey of Egypt secured the men’s title, adding international prominence to the event.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has proposed amending the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act to officially recognize cryptocurrencies as financial products. The move would significantly tighten regulatory oversight of digital assets and introduce safeguards comparable to those governing traditional financial markets.

• Regulatory Oversight – Treating crypto as financial products would bring them under the same regulatory framework as stocks and bonds in Japan.
• Insider Trading Curbs – A key new safeguard includes insider trading restrictions for cryptocurrency transactions — a provision previously absent in crypto regulation.
• Global Trend – Japan’s move reflects a broader global shift toward formalizing crypto regulation, following similar actions by the US SEC, EU MiCA framework, and others.
• Timeline – The legislation is expected to be submitted to the Japanese parliament as early as 2026.

Japanese mathematician Masaki Kashiwara (age 78) has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Abel Prize by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. He is honoured for pioneering contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory, particularly his foundational work on D-modules and crystal bases.

• D-Modules – Kashiwara’s work on D-modules (algebraic structures used in differential equations) revolutionized algebraic analysis and has deep applications in physics and geometry.
• Crystal Bases – His theory of crystal bases provided a powerful combinatorial tool in representation theory, reshaping the field.
• Nobel of Mathematics – The Abel Prize is widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize of Mathematics”, awarded annually since 2003.
• Named After – The prize honours Niels Henrik Abel, the 19th-century Norwegian mathematician known for his contributions to group theory and elliptic functions.

Challa Sreenivasalu Setty, the Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI), has been appointed as the new head of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). The decision was taken at the IBA Managing Committee meeting on 28 March 2025 and his term will continue until the next Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has appointed Sunil Kakkar as its new Whole-Time Director. His three-year term begins on 1 April 2025 and extends to 31 March 2028. Kakkar brings over 35 years of experience in senior leadership roles within Maruti Suzuki.

• Supply Chain Expertise – Kakkar is widely credited with building Maruti Suzuki’s robust domestic supply chain and driving strategic localisation of components.
• Joint Ventures – He played a pivotal role in establishing JVs in AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) technology, plastic fuel tanks, and high-tensile sheet metals.
• Corporate Planning – As Senior Executive Officer – Corporate Planning, he contributed to Maruti’s long-term strategic direction.