Daily Current Affairs: 26 April 2026

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) records India's Forex Reserves at $703.308 Billion

Key Updates:

• India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves rose by $2.362 billion to $703.308 billion in the week ended April 17, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• In the previous reporting week, the reserves had climbed to $700.946 billion following a $3.825 billion increase.
• Gold holdings increased by $790 million to reach $122.133 billion.
• Foreign currency assets (FCAs) rose by $1.481 billion to $557.463 billion.
• Special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $78 million to $18.841 billion.
• India's reserve position with the IMF rose by $14 million to $4.87 billion.
• India's forex reserves hit an all-time high of $728.494 billion in the week ended February 27, 2026.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) partially eases rupee non-deliverable forward (NDF) curbs on banks

[Reserve Bank of India]

Key Updates:

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has partially rolled back measures announced on April 1 that barred banks from offering rupee-linked non-deliverable forwards (NDF).
• Under the revised rules, banks are permitted to undertake certain related-party transactions, including the cancellation and rollover of existing contracts and deals via the back-to-back route.
• Banks continue to be barred from undertaking all foreign-exchange derivative transactions with related parties.
• The $100 million cap on net open positions in the onshore deliverable market, introduced on March 27, remains in place.
• The initial curbs were implemented following heightened volatility in foreign-exchange markets in March due to the West Asia conflict, which led to a rupee depreciation of more than 4 per cent against the dollar.
• Sanjay Malhotra is the Governor of the RBI.

Jio Financial Services Limited and Allianz Group form 50:50 Insurance Joint Venture

[Jio Financial Services, Allianz]

Key Updates:

• Jio Financial Services Limited and Allianz Group (Allianz) have signed a binding agreement to form a 50:50 primary insurance joint venture (JV).
• The JV will operate in the general and health insurance segments of the Indian market.
• The partnership aligns with the national goal of Insurance for All by 2047 and the Viksit Bharat vision.
• The companies are working towards a separate agreement for a life insurance venture in India.
• Allianz has been present in India since 2000.

Compressed Biogas (CBG) Policy, 2026: ₹500 Crore Outlay

[Maharashtra]

Key Updates:

• The Maharashtra Cabinet approved the Compressed Biogas (CBG) Policy, 2026, with an outlay of ₹500 crore for 2026-27.
• The policy aims to convert urban waste, farm residue, agricultural residue, and cattle waste into clean fuel and organic fertiliser.
• Biogas plants with a minimum capacity of 200 tonnes per day will be established under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
• The government will provide land on lease, a single-window system for fast-track approvals, and a digital platform to connect waste suppliers and developers.
• Urban local bodies will lead the implementation by linking segregated biodegradable waste from cities to biogas plants.

Rajasthan Health Department orders recall of 7 substandard medicines

[Rajasthan]

Key Updates:

• The Rajasthan state health department ordered an immediate halt to the sale, distribution, and use of seven medicines.
• The regulatory action was taken after laboratory testing found the medicines to be substandard.
• The affected medicines are those commonly used for infections, cough, inflammation, and parasitic diseases.

India to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Ministers' meeting in Bishkek on April 27-28, 2026

[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation]

Key Updates:

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lead the Indian delegation at the Defence Ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• The high-level meeting is scheduled to be held in Bishkek on April 27–28, 2026.
• The agenda for the meeting includes discussions on terrorism, extremism, and regional security concerns.

Zoo Atlanta and China Wildlife Conservation Association sign International Cooperative Research Agreement for Giant Pandas

[China]

Key Updates:

• Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association signed a new International Cooperative Research Agreement for the return of giant pandas.
• Two pandas, male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang, born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China, will be housed at Zoo Atlanta.
• A previous panda agreement between the entities spanned from 1999 to 2024.
• The Chinese government has established 67 panda reserves and a national park system to improve habitat connectivity.
• Giant pandas are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• Approximately 72% of wild giant pandas are currently under strict protection.

President of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 80th session to visit India on April 28

[United Nations General Assembly]

Key Updates:

• Annalena Baerbock, President of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), is scheduled to visit India on April 28.
• Baerbock will discuss multilateral issues of mutual interest with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
• The visit includes paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.
• Baerbock will hold an interactive session with the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) on the governance and regulation of artificial intelligence.
• Baerbock, a former German foreign minister, was elected as the president of the UNGA's 80th session in June last year.

India and Japan forge data partnership for AI-ready smart cities on 24 April 2026

[Japan]

Key Updates:

• ONESTRUCTION Inc. and DataKaveri Systems signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to integrate construction data into AI-ready urban data exchanges across Indian and Japanese cities.
• DataKaveri Systems is the commercial arm of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru's Centre of Data for Public Good (CDPG).
• The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the inaugural Japan-India AI Strategic Dialogue.
• The partnership aims to connect the openBIM platform of ONESTRUCTION, which uses the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) open data standard, with the Intelligent Universal Data Exchange (IUDX).
• The IUDX is currently operational across 55 smart cities in India, covering urban mobility, utilities, environment, and public services.

Philippines' Former President Rodrigo Duterte to Stand Trial at International Criminal Court (ICC) for Crimes Against Humanity

[International Criminal Court]

Key Updates:

• Former President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, will stand trial for crimes against humanity.
• The International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed charges regarding the extrajudicial killing of thousands during a war on drugs between 2011 and 2019.
• The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber ruled that the court has jurisdiction because the alleged crimes occurred while the Philippines was a member of the Rome Statute.
• The Rome Statute is the founding agreement of the ICC.
• Judges have authorised more than 500 victims to participate in the proceedings.
• The trial is being conducted at the Hague.

India and Czech Republic strengthen bilateral economic cooperation during official visit on April 22-23, 2026

[Czech Republic]

Key Updates:

• Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada conducted an official visit to the Czech Republic from April 22-23, 2026.
• The 13th session of the India-Czech Republic Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) was co-chaired in Prague on April 23, 2026.
• The JCEC protocol was signed to advance collaboration in emerging sectors.
• The India-Czech Business Forum was inaugurated to strengthen business-to-business ties and promote investment opportunities.
• High-level bilateral meetings were held with Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Jan Sechter.
• The visit focused on innovation-driven partnerships in artificial intelligence, robotics, laser science, automotive, and advanced engineering.

World Health Organisation (WHO) Approves First Malaria Treatment for Newborns

[World Health Organization]

Key Updates:

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) has approved artemether-lumefantrine, the first antimalarial formulation designed specifically for newborns and young infants weighing between two and five kilograms.
• World Malaria Day is observed on April 25.
• According to the WHO world malaria report 2025, there were an estimated 282 million cases and 6,10,000 deaths in 2024.
• In 2024, 47 countries were certified malaria-free and 37 countries reported fewer than 1,000 cases.
• India exited the WHO High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) group in 2024, following an 80.5% decline in malaria cases and a 78.38% decline in malaria deaths between 2015 and 2023.
• India has set targets to achieve zero indigenous malaria cases by 2027 and full elimination by 2030.
• On April 14, the WHO prequalified three new rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) that target the pf-LDH protein to replace HRP2-based tests that fail to detect certain parasite strains.
• The WHO recommends that countries switch to alternative RDTs when more than 5% of cases are missed due to pf-hrp2 deletions.
• The 2026 World Malaria Day campaign is titled Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must.
• Since 2000, an estimated 2.3 billion malaria infections have been prevented and 14 million lives saved worldwide.
• Twenty-five countries are currently rolling out malaria vaccines, and next-generation mosquito nets account for 84% of all new nets distributed.

Project CETI Identifies Human Speech-Like Patterns in Sperm Whale Communication

Key Updates:

• Project CETI, a non-profit research initiative in the United States (US), partnered with the University of California, Berkeley to study sperm whale communications.
• Sperm whales use strings of clicks known as codas for socialising.
• A study led by linguist Gašper Beguš examined nearly 4,000 codas from 15 individual whales between 2014 and 2018 in the Eastern Caribbean.
• The data set used in the research was provided by the Dominica Sperm Whale Project.
• Researchers identified two types of codas based on physical structure: a-codas, which consist of one formant, and i-codas, which consist of two formants.
• CETI is applying machine learning methods to identify trends and decipher the meaning of whale calls from large arrays of recordings.

Rocklink India Establishes Lithium-ion Battery and Rare Earth Recycling Facility in Uttar Pradesh

[Uttar Pradesh]

Key Updates:

• Rocklink India Pvt. Ltd. has established an integrated recycling facility for lithium-ion batteries and rare earth magnets at the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) Industrial Area in Sikandrabad, Uttar Pradesh.
• The facility has an initial lithium-ion battery recycling capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year and rare earth magnet processing operations of 60 tonnes per month.
• A rare-earth chloride processing unit with an annual capacity of 1,500 tonnes is scheduled for commissioning in the first quarter of 2026.
• The plant is registered under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) norms and is equipped to handle 95 types of battery scrap.
• The facility utilises an in-house recycling process termed R2 to convert battery waste into reusable components.
• Recovery rates for metals such as aluminium, copper, and iron are over 98 per cent, producing black mass for further refinement.
• The facility includes infrastructure for recycling rare earth magnets containing materials such as NdFeB, SmCo, and AlNiCo.
• Rocklink India is expanding its Magcycle reverse logistics model to India to streamline the collection and movement of magnet scrap.
• Materials unsuitable for direct recycling are processed into rare earth chlorides using a rotary kiln-based system.

Chinese Scientists Discover New Lunar Mineral Magnesiochangesite-(Ce)

[China]

Key Updates:

• Chinese scientists discovered a new lunar mineral named Magnesiochangesite-(Ce) in a Moon meteorite.
• The mineral was certified and named by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA).
• This discovery brings the total number of known lunar minerals worldwide to 11.
• China and the United States (US) are now equal in the number of identified minerals originating from the Moon, with four discoveries each.
• Magnesiochangesite-(Ce) is a rare earth-bearing phosphate mineral that is colourless, transparent, and glows when exposed to UV light.
• The mineral was found in a 44-gram lunar meteorite named Pakepake 005, which was discovered in 2024 in the Taklamakan Desert.
• The discovery was made using a high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometer produced by the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (CAGS).

Finland develops Onkalo, the world's first permanent nuclear waste repository

[Finland]

Key Updates:

• Finland is constructing the Onkalo facility, a permanent underground repository for highly radioactive waste, located on the island of Olkiluoto.
• The facility is situated 400 to 450 metres below the surface in bedrock approximately 1.9 billion years old.
• The repository employs a multi-layered safety system consisting of metal canisters, corrosion-resistant copper capsules, bentonite clay, and solid rock.
• The Onkalo facility is designed for passive safety to remain secure for up to 100,000 years without human intervention or active monitoring once sealed.
• The repository is designed to hold approximately 6,500 tonnes of Finland's spent nuclear fuel.

India and Japan Partner to Integrate Construction Data for AI-Ready Smart Cities

[Japan]

Key Updates:

• ONESTRUCTION Inc., a Tottori-based Japanese construction technology firm, and DataKaveri Systems signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to integrate construction data into AI-ready urban data exchanges across Indian and Japanese cities.
• DataKaveri Systems is the commercial arm of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru's Centre of Data for Public Good (CDPG).
• The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the inaugural Japan-India AI Strategic Dialogue.
• The collaboration aims to connect the openBIM platform of ONESTRUCTION, which uses the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) open data standard, with the Intelligent Universal Data Exchange (IUDX).
• The IUDX is a platform currently live across 55 smart cities in India, covering environment, utilities, urban mobility, and public services.

BharatGen and L&T Arms to Build India's Sovereign AI Compute Platform

[BharatGen, Larsen & Toubro]

Key Updates:

• L&T Semiconductor Technologies Ltd (LTSCT), Larsen & Toubro-Vyoma, and BharatGen Technology Foundation (BharatGen) signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build an end-to-end Sovereign AI compute platform.
• The collaboration focuses on defining sovereign AI reference architectures and establishing benchmarks for performance, energy, and security.
• LTSCT will provide custom AI chips, including AI ASIC and xPU silicon platforms, to handle sovereign AI workloads based on BharatGen models.
• Larsen & Toubro-Vyoma will enable AI-ready compute environments through a 30 MW facility in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, and its hyperscale data centre infrastructure.
• BharatGen will define representative AI workloads encompassing Large Language Models (LLMs), Large Multimodal Models (LMMs), and Small Language Models (SLMs).
• BharatGen received formal approval from IndiaAI under the Digital India Corporation, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), to develop and deploy nationally aligned foundational AI models at scale.
• The partnership involves the development of a phased three-year implementation roadmap.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Unveils Roman Space Telescope

[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]

Key Updates:

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) unveiled the Roman space telescope to scan for planets outside the solar system and probe dark matter and dark energy.
• The telescope is named after astronomer Nancy Grace Roman, referred to as the Mother of Hubble.
• The Roman space telescope cost over $4 billion and took more than a decade to build.
• The telescope features a field of view at least 100 times larger than the Hubble space telescope and will be positioned 1.5 million kilometres from Earth.
• The telescope is expected to transmit 11 terabytes of data per day to Earth.
• The Roman space telescope is scheduled to be launched aboard a SpaceX rocket from Florida in September at the earliest.
• The telescope will complement the James Webb Space Telescope, Europe's Euclid space telescope, and the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile.
• The mission aims to discover tens of thousands of new planets, billions of galaxies, thousands of supernovae, and tens of billions of stars.

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Misplaces AST SpaceMobile Satellite

[Blue Origin, AST SpaceMobile]

Key Updates:

• A Blue Origin New Glenn reusable rocket failed to place the AST SpaceMobile BlueBird 7 communications satellite in the designated low Earth orbit during its third mission on April 19, 2026.
• The launch was conducted from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S.
• The BlueBird 7 satellite will be de-orbited as its altitude is too low to sustain operations with its onboard thruster technology.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 6 satellite using the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 from Sriharikota on December 23.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has hired Blue Origin and SpaceX to provide landers to transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the moon as soon as 2028.
• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is overseeing a mishap investigation into the failure, which early data suggests was caused by one of the BE-3U engines producing insufficient thrust during the second GS2 burn.

Pakistan withdraws from 2026 SAFF Women's Championship in India

[Pakistan, South Asian Football Federation]

Key Updates:

• The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) officially withdrew from the 2026 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship.
• The tournament is scheduled to take place from May 25 to June 6 at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa.
• The championship will proceed with a six-nation lineup consisting of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Maldives.
• Bangladesh is the defending champion, having won the 2022 and 2024 editions.
• India is the record five-time champion of the SAFF Women's Championship, with titles won in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2019.
• India previously hosted the SAFF Women's Championship in 2016 in Siliguri, West Bengal.
• The Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium previously hosted the 1999 men's championship, where India won the title by defeating Bangladesh in the final.

India selected for FIFA Women's Development Programme

[Fédération Internationale de Football Association]

Key Updates:

• India is one of 12 countries selected by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) for its Women's Development Programme.
• The other selected nations are Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Scotland, Canada, Mexico, Finland, Ghana, Jordan, Lithuania, and Paraguay.
• The programme will be conducted online from May to October 2026.
• The All India Football Federation (AIFF) secured inclusion after presenting a commercial strategy and future plans to FIFA.
• The programme aims to provide capacity building for clubs in developing commercial strategies, securing sponsorships, and engaging fans.
• The initiative prepares clubs for the women's club licensing system planned by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
• India's senior, U20, and U17 women's teams have qualified for the AFC Asian Cups in their respective age categories.
• The ASMITA U13 Women's Football League has been utilised to create a base at the youth level.

Names of 33,000 Indian soldiers added to First World War memorial on April 24, 2026

Key Updates:

• The Commonwealth War Grave Commission (CWGC) introduced digital name panels for the Basra Memorial in Iraq.
• The digital memorial includes the names of 33,000 Indian Army soldiers who died during the First World War.
• These soldiers were part of the Mesopotamia Campaign, which took place in Iraq, then known as Mesopotamia.
• The digital memorial lists the Indian soldiers alongside over 46,000 Commonwealth service personnel.
• Shrabani Basu, a CWGC Global Advisory Panel member, is the author of the book 'For King and Another Country: Indian Soldiers on the Western Front 1914-18'.
• The CWGC commemorates over 1.7 million Commonwealth service personnel who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars.

Supreme Court (SC) Rules on Reproductive Autonomy under Article 21

[Supreme Court (India)]

Key Updates:

• The Supreme Court (SC) allowed a 15-year-old minor to terminate a seven-month pregnancy, citing reproductive autonomy under Article 21 of the Constitution.
• A bench comprising Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan stated that a woman's choice outweighs the interest of the unborn foetus in such cases.
• The plea was filed as the pregnancy had exceeded the statutory limit prescribed by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
• The SC ruled that the right to make decisions concerning one's body is an integral facet of personal liberty and privacy under Article 21.
• The court noted that compelling a minor to carry a pregnancy to full term against her will could inflict grave mental, emotional, and physical trauma.
• The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) was identified as the official body for child adoption processes in India.

Guntur Municipal Corporation wins 4th Gender Equality Mobilisation Award on April 22, 2026

[United Nations Industrial Development Organization]

Key Updates:

• The Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) secured the 4th Gender Equality Mobilisation (GEM) Award.
• The award was presented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) at the International Day of Women in Industry 2026 celebrations in Vienna on April 22, 2026.
• The civic body was recognised for the deployment of 200 women as electric auto drivers for door-to-door garbage collection.
• The award was received on behalf of GMC by Sustainable Cities Project Manager and Industrial Development Officer Olga Rataj.
• GMC has also earned State-level recognition for property tax collection.

New book The Curious and the Classified launched by Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane

Key Updates:

• Former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane (Retd) released a non-fiction book titled The Curious and the Classified: Unearthing Military Myths and Mysteries.
• The book is published by Rupa Publications and explores lesser-known aspects, myths, and memories of the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force.
• The book covers various topics including the 1944 Battle of Kohima, the fate of INS Khukri, the story of Captain Baba Harbhajan Singh, the origins of the phrase Chak de Phatte, the story of Badluram, and a military mule named Pedongi.
• General Manoj Mukund Naravane (Retd) authored a fiction work titled The Cantonment Conspiracy released in 2025.
• The unpublished memoir of General Manoj Mukund Naravane (Retd) is titled Four Stars of Destiny.
• General Manoj Mukund Naravane (Retd) served as the 28th Chief of the Army Staff from December 2019 to April 2022.
• He was commissioned into the 7th Battalion of the Sikh Light Infantry in 1980.
• He has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal, and Vishisht Seva Medal.

National Administrative Professional Day observed on April 22, 2026

Key Updates:

• National Administrative Professional Day was observed on April 22, 2026.
• The Blood Tribe Administration (BTA) recognised the contributions of support staff, including Administrative Assistants, Office Managers, and Receptionists.
• The event took place at the Shot Both Sides Building in Standoff, Alberta.

Spanish Language Day observed on April 23

[United Nations]

Key Updates:

• Spanish Language Day (Día del Idioma Español) is observed annually on April 23.
• The day was established by the United Nations (UN) to celebrate the history, culture, and use of Spanish.
• The date coincides with the anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes in 1616, the author of Don Quixote.
• The holiday was originally created in 1926 by Spanish writer Vicente Clavel Andrés and was later adopted by the UN in 2010.
• Spanish is the official language in 21 countries and is the second most spoken language in the world by native population, with over 500 million native speakers.
• The Real Academia Española (RAE) is the institution that regulates the Spanish language.
• Don Quixote is cited as the first modern novel and is the most translated book after the Bible.
• Spanish is the most studied second language in the United States.

India approves ₹30 billion for Maldives under SAARC Currency Swap Framework

[Maldives, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]

Key Updates:

• India approved the first withdrawal of ₹30 billion for the Maldives as part of its continuing economic and financial assistance.
• The funds are being released under the first drawdown of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Currency Swap Framework.
• The announcement was made by the Indian High Commission in Male on 24 April 2026.
• The Maldives Foreign Ministry stated that the settlement of a $400 million facility reflects the government's commitment to meeting its financial obligations.

Ashok Lahiri Appointed Vice Chairman of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog)

[National Institution for Transforming India (India)]

Key Updates:

• Ashok Lahiri has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog).
• Lahiri replaces Suman Bery in the role of Vice Chairman.
• The government has appointed five new members to NITI Aayog: Rajiv Gauba, Prof. K. V. Raju, Prof. Gobardhan Das, Dr. M. Srinivas, and Prof. Abhay Karandikar.
• Ashok Lahiri is a former Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) and a member of the 15th Finance Commission.
• Lahiri previously served as CEA under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and is currently a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from West Bengal.
• Prof. Gobardhan Das, the Director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal, has joined as a member.
• The Prime Minister heads the NITI Aayog.

Nitu Samra Appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer of Noida International Airport

Key Updates:

• Nitu Samra, previously the Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed as the interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Noida International Airport.
• The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) rejected the security clearance of the previous CEO, Christoph Schnellmann, as he is not an Indian national.
• Christoph Schnellmann will join the board of directors as executive vice chairman.
• The airport is owned by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd, a holding company owned by Zurich airport.
• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted the aerodrome license to the airport in March.
• Zurich airport won the bid to build and operate the airport for 40 years in 2019.
• The company has invested approximately ₹7,200 crore in the first phase of the project.
• Noida International Airport is the first instance of a foreign investor owning 100% equity of an Indian airport.

S. Nambi Narayanan and others to receive honorary doctorate from Bagalkot University

Key Updates:

• Bagalkot University will confer honorary doctorate (honoris causa) degrees on three individuals.
• The recipients are space scientist S. Nambi Narayanan, Sri Gurumahanth Swami of Chittaragi Shri Vijaya Mahantesha Samsthana Math, Ilkal, and tech-entrepreneur and philanthropist Mahesh Bellad.
• The degrees will be presented during the first convocation of Bagalkot University.
• The ceremony will be held at Darbar Hall on the BLDE Association campus in Jamkhandi, Bagalkot district.

Rajneesh Karnatak, Debadatta Chand and Ashutosh Choudhary extended as Bank Executives

[Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank]

Key Updates:

• Rajneesh Karnatak, Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bank of India (BoI), has had his tenure extended for three years effective April 29, 2026.
• Karnatak was appointed as MD and CEO of BoI in 2023 for a term of three years.
• Debadatta Chand, MD and CEO of Bank of Baroda (BoB), has had his tenure extended for three years effective July 1, 2026.
• The extension for Chand was approved by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Ashutosh Choudhary has had his term as Executive Director of Indian Bank extended for another three years.
• The term of Ashwani Kumar, MD and CEO of UCO Bank, ends on June 1, 2026.

Dean Tavoularis Passes Away as Production Designer

Key Updates:

• Production designer Dean Tavoularis passed away at the age of 93 in a Paris hospital.
• He won an Academy Award in the Best Art Direction-Set Decoration category for 'The Godfather Part II'.
• He worked as an art director on the film Bonnie and Clyde (1967).
• His notable works include the 'Godfather' films, 'Apocalypse Now', and 'One From the Heart'.
• He received Academy Award nominations for 'Apocalypse Now', 'Tucker: The Man and His Dream', and 'The Godfather Part III'.
• He began his career in the animation department and as a storyboard artist at Disney Studios.