1. China pushes defence ties with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka Defence Minister Wei Fenghe urges the nations to resist ‘powers outside the region setting up alliances’ China’s Minister of Defence Wei Fenghe, visiting Bangladesh and Sri Lanka this week, has called on countries in the neighbourhood to resist “powers from outside the region setting up military […]
1. ADB sees India grow by 11%, adds caveat Lender sees ‘considerable downside risk’ from latest COVID wave, says may revise forecast in July The Asian Development Bank has raised its forecast for India’s growth in 2021-22 to 11%, from 8% earlier, even as it warned that failure to control the resurgence of COVID-19 cases […]
1. ‘India expected to invest $1 billion in AI by 2023’ ‘Poor practices may cause $81-mn loss’ Global enterprises are expected to invest $98 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2023 and India’s share in it will be about $1 billion, said Project Management Institute (PMI), a Philadelphia-based non-profit organisation with about 28,000 individual members […]
1. What happened to Armenians in 1915? Biden’s recognition of the killings by Ottoman Turks as ‘genocide’ could infuriate Turkey The story so far: U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday officially recognised the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915-16 as “an act of genocide”. Mr. Biden’s announcement on the Armenian Genocide Remembrance […]
1. RBI to issue cybersecurity norms for payment services ‘Firms must surpass minimum standards to ensure safety’ The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon issue cybersecurity norms for payment service providers (PSPs), following a series of data breaches faced by operators including Mobikwik and payment aggregator JusPay, a top RBI official said. While the […]
1. Genome sampling shows rising prevalence of U.K. strain in Delhi Proportion rose to 50% last week from 28% in March The proportion of the U.K. variant (B.1.1.7) in genome samples sequenced from COVID-19 cases in Delhi has risen from 28% in the second week of March to 50% last week, Sujeet Singh, Director, National […]
1. Thrissur Pooram festivities begin with ‘vilambaram’ Unlike the usual thunderous celebrations, Thrissur Pooram — to be held on Friday — will be like a mild drizzle this time. All rituals and events will be held, but the colour and fun will be missing without the pooram lovers. COVID-19 has dampened the carnival spirit as […]
1. Very few post-vaccine infections: ICMR Council says such ‘breakthrough’ cases do not undermine the efficacy of shots The Indian Council of Medical Research on Wednesday said only a “small” fraction of people who had been vaccinated with either Covaxin or Covishield had tested positive for COVID-19. However, these instances of “breakthrough” infections did not […]
1. U.S. currency watchlist an intrusion into policy: official ‘Putting nations under scanner restricts central banks’ Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan on Tuesday questioned the rationale behind the U.S. government’s decision to put India on the watchlist for currency manipulators, and said the list constituted an intrusion into the policy space needed by central banks around […]
1. Vaccines for all above 18 from May 1; States can buy directly Manufacturers must sell 50% directly to Centre but can set price for open market Amid a virulent second wave of COVID-19 in India, the Centre on Monday allowed vaccination against the infection for all persons above the age of 18 from May […]
1. Bat with sticky discs found in Meghalaya Eudiscopus denticulus was recorded near the Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary Meghalaya has yielded India’s first bamboo-dwelling bat with sticky discs, taking the species count of the flying mammal in the country to 130. The disc-footed bat (Eudiscopus denticulus) was recorded in the northeastern State’s Lailad area near the […]
1. Bustard poaching in Pakistan shocks activists Great Indian Bustard, the State bird of Rajasthan, is considered India’s most critically endangered bird The recent shooting of two Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) in Pakistan’s Cholistan desert, with the poachers brazenly getting themselves photographed with the carcasses of birds in their hands and guns on their shoulders, […]
1. India likely to receive normal monsoon: IMD Separate forecast being developed for Monsoon Core Zone India is likely to receive “normal” monsoon rainfall this year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said as part of its official April forecast. Except for parts of eastern and northeastern India, many parts of the country are expected […]
1. ‘China tried to change status quo’ Rawat says India stood firm on the borders and proved that it could not be pushed China tried to change the status quo in Eastern Ladakh by the use of disruptive technologies without using force, and thought that India as a nation would “succumb” to the pressure due […]
1. State obliged to facilitate access to education, says Supreme Court Bench orders admission to two students in medical colleges Access to professional education is not government largesse, the Supreme Court said in a judgment. A Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah pronounced the verdict in favour of two students from Ladakh, who […]
1. ‘Suspicious’ blackout hits Iran nuclear site Israeli broadcaster Kan claims Mossad carried out the cyberattack; Tehran calls it nuclear terrorism Iran’s underground Natanz nuclear facility lost power on Sunday just hours after starting up new advanced centrifuges capable of enriching uranium faster, the latest incident to strike the site amid negotiations over the tattered […]
1. Dolphin boom in Odisha’s Chilika lake Activists elated at jump in number of endangered Irrawaddy dolphins The population of dolphins in Chilika, India’s largest brackish water lake, and along the Odisha coast has doubled this year compared with last year. The wildlife wing of the State Forest and Environment Department released the final data […]
1. People are free to choose religion: SC Court refuses to entertain petition on conversions The Supreme Court on Friday said people are free to choose their religion, even as it lashed out at a “very, very harmful kind” of “public interest” petition claiming there is mass religious conversion happening “by hook or by crook” […]
1. RBI’s first purchase under G-SAP 1.0 set for April 15 Eyes securities worth ₹25,000 crore A day after announcing the introduction of the G-sec Acquisition Programme (G-SAP 1.0), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday announced the Open Market Purchase of Government of India Securities under the programme. “The Reserve Bank will conduct […]
1. RBI keeps policy rates unchanged It retains GDP growth projection for 2021-22 at 10.5%, despite COVID-19 surge The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to leave the policy repo rate unchanged at 4%, Governor Shaktikanta Das announced on Wednesday. “It also unanimously decided to continue with the accommodative stance as […]
Current affairs decide a large share of marks in UPSC Prelims, Mains and the Interview, and in TNPSC exams. Every morning our faculty publish the day’s important news from The Hindu, PIB, Indian Express and other sources — explained, organised by GS paper, and linked to the syllabus.
What each daily post includes
The key news of the day, grouped by GS Paper 1, 2, 3 and 4
Background and the static syllabus topic each story connects to
