Daily Current Affairs – 15-04-2026

National News

Constitutional Amendment Bill to Increase Lok Sabha Seats to 850

A Constitutional Amendment Bill to increase the number of Lok Sabha constituencies from 543 to 850 is set to be introduced in Parliament on April 16, 2026, as per the draft released to members, with the objective of implementing the 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) providing 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies; under this proposal, 280 seats out of 850 will be reserved for women, and the Central Government has proposed an amendment to Article 81 of the Constitution based on the 2011 Census data to operationalize the reservation from the 2029 elections, with 815 members to be elected from States and 35 members from Union Territories; the government also plans to introduce a Delimitation Bill for restructuring constituencies based on the 2011 Census and to extend 33% reservation for women in Union Territories with legislatures, namely Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, and Puducherry, while reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies will be implemented on a rotation basis, and the bill seeks to revise the constitutional framework related to delimitation, reservation of seats, and definition of population, empowering the Delimitation Commission to carry out these processes.

Southern Railway Completes 75 Years

The Southern Railway Zone completed 75 years on April 14, 2026, having been established on April 14, 1951 by integrating the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, South Indian Railway, and Mysore State Railway; administratively, it currently comprises six divisions: Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Salem, Madurai, Palakkad, and Thiruvananthapuram, covering regions of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka; the first railway line under Southern Railway dates back to 1856, connecting Royapuram to Walajah (Arcot); major administrative changes include the formation of the South Central Railway in 1966 and the South Western Railway in 2003; the Southern Railway Headquarters in Chennai, located near Chennai Central, is a heritage building over a century old; key achievements include the operation of modern trains such as Vande Bharat Express, and notable heritage assets like the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the Pamban Railway Bridge, India’s first vertical lift railway bridge.

UGC Issues Revised Guidelines on Student Safety in Higher Education

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued revised guidelines on student safety in higher education institutions, as communicated by UGC Secretary Manish R. Joshi through a circular to all institutions; the guidelines mandate strict implementation of measures such as anti-ragging regulations, prevention of sexual harassment of women employees and female students, appointment of an Ombudsperson, and proper regulation of tuition fees and return of original certificates; institutions are required to establish and ensure effective functioning of bodies like Anti-Ragging Committees and Grievance Redressal Cells, and details of these committees must be uploaded on official websites; the guidelines also emphasize time-bound and transparent grievance redressal, improvement of mental health counselling services, implementation of CCTV-based campus security measures, and provision of support for persons with disabilities; further, all Vice-Chancellors have been directed to ensure strict compliance of these norms in institutions under their jurisdiction.

Leadership Change in Godrej Industries Group

Nadir Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej Industries Group (GIG), will retire in August 2026, and Pirojsha Godrej, son of Adi Godrej, will assume charge as the new Chairman from August 14, 2026, while Nadir Godrej will continue as Chairman Emeritus; the Godrej Group, a century-old business family, underwent a division in 2024, and the Godrej Industries Group continues to operate under Adi Godrej and Nadir Godrej, covering sectors such as consumer goods, real estate, and financial services; as part of the leadership transition, Burjis Godrej, son of Nadir Godrej, has been appointed as Chairman of Godrej Agrovet and inducted into the Board of Directors of GIG, and following the resignation of Nadir Godrej as Chairman of Astec LifeSciences, Vishal Sharma, CEO of Godrej Chemicals, has been appointed as its new Chairman.

SC Collegium Recommends Judges for Kerala and Karnataka High Courts

The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of new judges to the Kerala High Court and Karnataka High Court, with a majority of the nominees being women advocates and judicial officers; for the Kerala High Court, the Collegium recommended Preeta Aravindan Krishnamma and Liz Mathew Anthraper, while for the Karnataka High Court, it recommended Rajeshwari Narayana Hegde, Kedambadi Ganesh Shanthi, and Mahadevappa Brungesh.

PM Inaugurates Delhi–Dehradun Expressway

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a six-lane Delhi–Dehradun Expressway, a project worth ₹12,000 crore, which reduces travel time between Delhi and Dehradun from 5–6 hours to about 2–2.5 hours; the 213 km access-controlled corridor enhances connectivity by linking key towns in Uttar Pradesh before reaching Dehradun and integrates with major national corridors such as the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, Delhi–Katra Expressway, and Delhi–Meerut Expressway.

Gold Loans Become Second-Largest Retail Credit Segment in India

According to the TransUnion CIBIL Gold Loan Landscape Report, gold loans have emerged as the second-largest retail credit product in India after housing loans, with their share in the retail credit portfolio increasing from 5.9% in March 2022 to 11.1% in December 2025, marking a 3.8 times growth; while housing loans continue to dominate with a 27.8% share and ₹44 trillion outstanding, gold loans stand second with ₹16 trillion outstanding (11.1%), and in the December 2025 quarter, gold loans accounted for 39% of incremental credit disbursals, compared to 11% for housing loans; the growth is linked to the record rise in gold prices in 2025, with gold loan origination value increasing 5.1 times since Q1 2022 and the average loan size rising from ₹90,000 to ₹1.96 lakh, while prime and above-prime borrowers contributed about 52% of new loan originations.

States’ News

Samrat Choudhary to Become Bihar Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar, leader of Janata Dal (United) and a Rajya Sabha MP, resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar on April 14, 2026, and submitted his resignation to Governor Syed Arshad Hussain, paving the way for a BJP-led government; subsequently, Samrat Choudhary, Deputy Chief Minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was unanimously elected as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) legislature party and is set to take oath as the Chief Minister on April 15, 2026, becoming the first BJP Chief Minister of Bihar; in the Bihar Assembly Elections (November 2025), the NDA secured 202 seats, with BJP winning 89 seats and JD(U) winning 85 seats, making BJP the single largest party; Nitish Kumar, who served as Chief Minister for about 20 years since 2005 and took oath for the 10th time, is the longest-serving Chief Minister of Bihar, and after being elected to the Rajya Sabha in March 2026, he resigned from his Bihar Legislative Council (MLC) membership; Samrat Choudhary, aged 56, joined the BJP in 2017 after being associated with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and JD(U) and is currently an MLA from Tarapur constituency.

Reports and Indices

IMF Projects India’s Growth at 6.5% for 2026-27

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook has projected that India’s economic growth will be 6.5% in the financial year 2026–27, and is expected to remain at 6.5% in 2027; the forecast is supported by strong fiscal performance in 2025 and the reduction of additional US tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 10%, which have helped offset the adverse effects of the Middle East (West Asian) conflict, while the IMF also indicated that the global economic growth may experience a moderate slowdown due to the impact of the conflict.

UN Report on Impact of West Asian Tensions on Poverty in India

A report titled “Middle East Conflict Tensions: Impact on Human Development in Asia and the Pacific” released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) states that due to West Asian tensions, there is a risk of 4 lakh to 25 lakh people in India being pushed into poverty, contributing to a global risk of 88 lakh people falling into poverty; the report highlights that rising fuel prices and increased food insecurity have reduced purchasing power and affected livelihoods, with India’s population below the poverty line expected to increase from 3.51 crore to 3.54 crore; it also estimates a loss of 0.03 to 0.12 years in India’s Human Development Index (HDI), while noting that India imports about 90% of its crude oil, of which 40% of crude oil and 90% of cooking gas come from West Asia; the report further indicates that the situation may lead to an increase in prices of essential commodities and impact sectors such as tourism, food processing, and steel production, potentially causing unemployment.

International News

India’s Russian Crude Oil Imports Triple in March 2026

India’s crude oil imports from Russia increased three-fold in March 2026 to reach ₹58,200 crore (5.3 billion Euros), according to a report by a European research firm, placing India as the second-largest importer of Russian fuel, with China in the first position; overall, India imported hydrocarbon products worth ₹64,000 crore (5.8 billion Euros) from Russia during March, with crude oil forming the major share, followed by coal and other petroleum products; in February 2026, India was the third-largest importer with imports worth ₹19,700 crore, where crude oil accounted for 81%; despite a 4% decline in India’s total crude oil imports, imports specifically from Russia doubled, influenced by global supply disruptions caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran following the US and Israel attack on Iran in February 2026, and a temporary one-month tax exemption by the United States for countries importing Russian crude oil.

Liberal Party Wins Majority in Canadian Parliament

The Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Mark Carney secured a simple majority in the Canadian Parliament following victories in recent by-elections held in University–Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest (Ontario) and Scarborough–Terrebonne (Quebec), winning all three constituencies; with this, the party’s strength in the 343-member Parliament increased to 174 seats, aided also by the defection of five opposition Members of Parliament to the Liberal Party in recent months; this marks the first instance since former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that a single party has formed a majority government in Canada, enabling the Liberal Party to potentially remain in power until 2029.

Nvidia Launches GeForce Now Cloud Gaming in India

Nvidia will launch its GeForce Now cloud gaming service in India on April 16, 2026, marking its entry into the country’s cloud gaming market; the service enables users to stream PC games on local devices without requiring high-end hardware, using RTX 5080 GPUs, with a maximum streaming speed of 100 Mbps and server infrastructure based in Mumbai; the platform supports games purchased through Steam, Epic Games, and Xbox PC Store, and enters a market where Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming and JioCloudGaming are key players.

Super Typhoon Sinlaku Hits US Pacific Islands

The Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the strongest tropical cyclone of 2026, struck the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean, as reported by the National Weather Service, bringing sustained winds of up to 150 mph and heavy rainfall, affecting around 50,000 residents and causing flooding and potential widespread power outages; the storm also impacted Guam, a US territory with about 1.70 lakh population and military bases, leading to flash floods, and its slow movement has raised concerns of prolonged impact across the region.

Italy Suspends Defence Agreement with Israel

Italy, under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has suspended the automatic renewal of its defence agreement with Israel, which involves cooperation in military equipment, technology research, training, education, research and development, and information technology; the agreement, originally approved in 2006 and reviewed every five years, has been halted amid rising tensions following allegations that Israeli forces fired warning shots at a convoy of Italian UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

Economy News

RBI Rejects Ujjivan Small Finance Bank’s Universal Bank License Application

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rejected the application of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank for a universal banking license, citing lack of diversification in its lending practices, and earlier a similar application by Jana Small Finance Bank was also rejected; the total loan portfolio of Ujjivan Bank stands at ₹37,057 crore, of which around 45% consists of microfinance loans, indicating concentration in a single sector, which the RBI considers a risk to financial stability; the RBI has emphasized the need for sectoral diversification of loans to ensure a safe financial environment and stated that despite satisfactory operations, the bank requires additional eligibility to become a universal bank; it is also noted that AU Small Finance Bank was granted a universal banking license in August (previous year).

Paytm Becomes Majority Indian-Owned Company

One 97 Communications, the parent company of the fintech brand Paytm, has become a majority Indian-owned company, with domestic investors holding 50.3% stake as per data released at the end of March 2026; the shareholding of domestic institutional investors increased to 23.1% during the January–March 2026 quarter, marking a rise of 2.8% compared to the previous quarter; major investors increasing their stakes include Motilal Oswal, Mirae Asset, and Bandhan Mutual Fund, while insurance companies such as Tata AIA Life and SBI Life have also made significant investments in the company.

GAIL to Invest ₹3,800 Crore in Solar Power Projects

The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has announced an investment of ₹3,800 crore to develop 700 MW solar power projects in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra as part of its renewable energy expansion; in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, at the TUSCO Solar Park, GAIL will develop a 600 MW solar power project along with a 55 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), and in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra, it will establish a 100 MW solar power unit with a 22 MWh BESS.

RBI Retains Tata Sons in Upper Layer NBFC Category

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has retained Tata Sons as a Core Investment Company (CIC) in the Upper Layer NBFC category in its latest list, keeping it within the scope of potential stock market listing requirements; on April 10, RBI issued a draft proposal to revise the criteria for identifying Upper Layer Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) by introducing an asset-size based approach, proposing that NBFCs with assets above ₹1,00,000 crore (₹1 trillion) be classified under the upper layer and subjected to higher regulatory scrutiny; as per available data, Tata Sons had ₹1.75 trillion standalone assets and ₹6.65 trillion consolidated assets as of March 2025, which places it firmly within the proposed framework, and unless exempted by RBI, it will continue under the Upper Layer NBFC classification for regulatory review cycles.

KKR-Backed Baby Memorial to Acquire Stake in Star Hospitals

KKR-backed Baby Memorial Hospital has agreed to acquire a 60% stake in Star Hospitals for ₹1,800 crore, valuing the company at ₹3,000 crore; the stake will be acquired in the parent company Unimed Healthcare, and the acquisition will be financed with funding support from KKR, while Star Hospitals, headquartered in Hyderabad, was founded by Padma Shri awardee Dr. Gopichand Mannam; the deal has received prior approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Sports News

ICC Players of the Month for March

Sanju Samson was named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for March, recognizing his performance in India’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign, while Amelia Kerr, captain of New Zealand (Kiwi team), was awarded the ICC Women’s Player of the Month.

Wisden Almanack 2026 Awards Winners

In the Wisden Almanack 2026 awards, Deepti Sharma was named the Leading Women’s Cricketer of the Year, while Mitchell Starc of Australia received the Leading Men’s Cricketer award; Abhishek Sharma was awarded the Leading T20 Cricketer of the Year, and four Indian players — Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, and Mohammed Siraj — were included in Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year for their performances in the Test series in England (2–2 draw).

PSL Imposes Two-Year Ban on Blessing Muzarabani

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has imposed a two-year ban on Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani for withdrawing from the PSL despite having a contract with Islamabad United and choosing to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Environment News

NBWL Measures to Protect Chambal River Ecosystem

The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has decided in its 90th meeting that no hydropower or irrigation projects will be considered in the Chambal River until its environmental flow improves, except for essential drinking water projects; the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) reported that reduced flow has led to decreased water depth, causing dolphins to shift downstream towards the Yamuna River confluence, and during the lean season (May–June), average flow at Dholpur is 25–50 m³/s, which is significantly lower than the required 369 m³/s for maintaining 3 metres depth and 849 m³/s for 5 metres depth, affecting species like dolphins and gharials; the committee recommended expanding river flow studies by involving the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), and the Ministry of Jal Shakti, and directed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun to undertake afforestation along the Chambal River, while also assigning WII and ICFRE to prepare the Atlas of Grasslands of India for biodiversity management.

Tiger Attacks and Human-Animal Conflict in Pench Tiger Reserve

In Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) located in Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh, a 30-year-old man (Dinesh Sevatkar) was killed in a tiger attack on April 2026, marking the second death within 13 days, following another incident on April 1, 2026 in the Kumbhapani buffer zone; this incident triggered violence by 200–300 villagers, who damaged property and forest infrastructure before the situation was controlled by police; it is the fourth tiger attack death since January 2026 in the reserve and adjoining forest areas; compensation of ₹8 lakh has been announced, while villagers demanded ₹25 lakh and a government job; data indicates that about 380 deaths occurred due to human-animal conflict in Madhya Pradesh between 2020–21 and 2024–25, with the highest 90 deaths in 2020–21, and increasing tiger population and habitat expansion have contributed to rising conflicts.