Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 1st April 2025

 National News

 1. President Murmu inaugurates National Conference on Environment 2025 

•  President Droupadi Murmu has inaugurated the National Conference on Environment held at the Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
•   The National Conference on Environment 2025 has been organised by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). 
• The National Conference on Environment focuses on the legal aspect of Environmental laws and their proper implementation. Thus, the Conference brings together the Judges of the Supreme Court, High Court, District Court, and the policymakers- the government of India and its various ministries.

 2. PM Modi unveils projects worth Rs 33 thousand 700 crore in Chhattisgarh 

•  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched projects worth 33 thousand 700 crore rupees in Chhattisgarh. 
•  The projects are aligned with his government’s broader agenda of infrastructure expansion, housing, education, and rural empowerment. 
•  The projects unveiled by Prime Minister include three lakh new houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, 130 PM-SHRI schools equipped with smart classrooms and modern laboratories, a 540-km petroleum pipeline to enhance regional energy security, and an extensive network of rural roads aimed at improving connectivity in Maoist-affected areas.

 3. Summer set to be warmer, but El Nino unlikely during next monsoon: IMD

•   The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has "ruled out" the possibility of an El Nino in the coming southwest monsoon season this year. 
•  An El Nino, character-ised by a warming of the central equatorial Pacific Ocean, is frequently associated with reduced monsoon rainfall in India. 
•  "Based on the climate forecasts, including inter-national ones, we can rule out El Nino for the monsoon. We will most likely see neutral El Nino conditions," M. Mohapatra, Director-General, IMD, said 
•  in a briefing on Monday. In 2023, which was an El Nino year, the monsoon season saw a 6% deficit. 
•  Last year witnessed an 8% surplus as "neutral conditions" prevailed. 
•  An El Nino implies a temperature rise between 0.5 degree Celsius to 1 de-gree Celsius in the Central Pacific. "Neutral" suggests no such rise. However there have been instances 
•  when neutral conditions have led to below-normal rain in India. The IMD gives its first forecast on monsoon rainfall in April. 
•  Wait for April forecast "We will have to wait for the April forecast to get a sense of the monsoon rainfall this year," said Mr. Mohapatra, adding, "Regional factors and conditions in oceans surrounding India [Indian Ocean particularly] also have to be considered during forecasts."
•   Before the monsoon kicks in, however, India will be reeling under "above normal" temperatures during the summer months. 
• From April to June, India on average reports four to seven heatwave days, defined as temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius or greater-than-five-degrees rise from what's normal in a region. 
•  "Parts of eastern India could potentially see 10 heatwave days this year," said Mr. Mohapatra. 

International News 

4. Gabriel Boric Font’s five days long visit to India started on 1 April 2025 

•  Gabriel Boric Font is President of Chile. This is his first visit to India as President. 
•  He will meet with PM Modi to discuss India-Chile relations. 
•  He will also meet with President Droupadi Murmu. 
•  President Murmu will host a banquet in honour of President Boric. 
• During his visit, President Boric will travel to Agra, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. He will return to Chile on April 5th. 
• Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Caspar Veldkamp, has arrived in New Delhi. 
•  He is on a two-day visit to India. This is his first official trip to India. 
•  His visit aims to strengthen the relationship between India and the Netherlands. 
•  In 2009, India-Chile completed 60 years of establishment of diplomatic relations. 
•  Chile is India’s 5th largest trading partner in the Latin America & Caribbean (LAC) region. Santiago is its capital and Chilean peso is its currency. 
• Year 2022 marked 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Netherlands. 
•  Netherlands is the 4th largest trading partner of India in Europe (2021-22). Amsterdam is its capital and its currency is Euro. 

5. Pakistan government ordered to arrest and deport Afghan refugees 

•  Pakistan government has ordered the law enforcement agencies to arrest and send thousands of refugees as the government’s deadline for Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders to leave the country expires. 
•  The government directives mandate that Afghans holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards and residing in the twin cities (Islamabad and Rawalpindi) must leave Pakistan in accordance with government policy. 
•  Since Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, millions of Afghans came to Pakistan to seek refuge
•  Following Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, more Aghans fled to the neighbouring countries. 
• International efforts on Refugees:
•  1951 Refugee Convention or Geneva Convention is a UN treaty that defines refugee and gives detail of their rights. 
•  As per convention, a refugee is someone who, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, is unable or unwilling to return to their country of nationality or, if stateless, to their country of habitual residence. 

State News 

6. 62nd National Maritime Day and Merchant Navy Week inaugurated by Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan 

•  He emphasized the maritime sector's role in achieving Viksit Bharat. 
• He also highlighted the need for port modernization in the country. 
• Director General of Shipping Shyam Jagannathan presented a memento and a Coffee Table Book to the Governor. 
• National Maritime Day is celebrated every year on 5 April to create awareness regarding support for intercontinental commerce and worldwide economy. 
• The day was for the first time celebrated on 5 April, 1964. 

7. ‘Hnatlangpui’ Cleanliness Drive launched in Aizawl, Mizoram

•   ‘Hnatlangpui’ is a year-long drive that is being carried out under Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation Department, Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) and Central Young Mizo Association (CYMA). 
•  State-wide “Cleanliness Campaign” – Hnatlangpui – will continue till March 2025. 
•  At the inauguration program, Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation Minister K Sapdanga said that Government’s focus is on ‘Comprehensive Plan For Municipal Waste Management in Aizawl’.
•   Through this plan, government aims to keep the capital city neat and clean through all seasons. 
•  As per Sapdanga, government is setting up a ‘Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility’ for the “cleanliness campaign” of Hospitals and Health Care Centres. 

8. A program to provide fine rice free of charge through ration shops has been introduced by Telangana government 

•  The initiative was officially launched by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy in Huzurnagar, Suryapet district, during the Ugadi festival. 
• The scheme aims to guarantee food security with dignity. 
•  It is the first program of its kind in India. It is India’s first scheme to provide fine rice free of cost. 
•  Under the scheme, eligible ration cardholders will receive 6 kilograms of fine rice per person each month at no cost. 
•  Approximately three crore people (nearly 85 percent of the state's population) will benefit from the scheme. 
•  The Chief Minister said that the days of the poor consuming substandard rice has ended. 
•  Coarse rice previously provided was often rejected by recipients. This led to widespread misuse. 
•  Ugadi festival is also known as Samvatsaradi. It means beginning of the year. 
•  It is celebrated in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. 

Defence News 

9. 582 Judicial ocers transferred by Allahabad High Court 

•  In a major administrative change in UP, 582 judicial officers are transferred including 443 judges. 
•  Some of Additional District and Sessions Judges, Civil Judges (Senior Division), and Civil Judges (Junior Division) are transferred. 
•  Highest number of transfers are from Kanpur (13 judges transferred), followed by Aligarh (11 judges) and Bareilly (5 judges). 
•  Under Article 235 of the Constitution of India, the administrative control over the district and subordinate judiciary in the States vest with the concerned High Court. 
•  Use of Hindi or regional language in lower courts is decided by the concerned High Court and State Government in consultation with each other. 
•  Art 222 of the Indian Constitution states that the President may transfer a Judge from one High court to another High court. In this process, the President consults with the Chief Justice of India. 

10. Indian Air force participates in Exercise INIOCHOS-25 in Greece 

•  On 31 March, India participates in a 12-day exercise hosted by Greece’s Hellenic Air Force. 
•  It is a multinational exercise in which 15 countries are participating and will continue till 11 April 2025. 
•  Indian Air Force Contingent including Su-30 MKI, combat enabling IL-78 and C-17 aircraft are participating in the exercise. 
•  The exercise will increase international cooperation and interoperability among participating Air forces. 
• The participation of IAF is significant as it will reinforce India’s strategic partnerships. 
•  INIOCHOS is a biennial multinational air exercise. The 2025 edition participants include Greece, India, Israel, Italy, France, Poland, Qatar, UAE, USA, Spain, Montenegro.

 11. ‘Operation Brahma’ started by India in 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar 

•  Government of India has launched operation Brahma to support rescue operations in response to the devastating earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand on 28 March. 
•  A specialist rescue unit from the Indian Army's 50 (I) Para Brigade was rapidly mobilised to Myanmar. 
•  Two C-17 aircraft with 118 member Indian Army Field Hospital Unit, including Women & Child Care services and 60 tonnes of relief material have landed in Myanmar. 
•  Under Operation Brahma, NDRF teams have started rescue operation by evacuating 170 monks stuck in ‘U Hla Thein’ monastery in Myanmar.
•  Rescue efforts are also extended to Sky Villa and relief supplies will be distributed to 2000 uninjured monks without basic amenities. 
•  Indian Navy vessels Satpura, Savitri, INS Karmukh, and LCU 52 are also transporting relief supplies to Yangon as part of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) response. 
•  India and Myanmar share 1643 km border and have historical an strategic relations. 

12. 14th edition of the Indian and Russia bilateral naval exercise ‘Indra’ commenced

•  The 14th edition of the Indian and Russia bilateral naval exercise ‘Indra’ will take place from March 28 to April 2, 2025, in Chennai. 
•  The exercise has evolved as a symbol of maritime cooperation. 
•  The exercise will be conducted in two phases: the Harbour phase from 28 to 30 March 25 in Chennai and the Sea phase from 31 March to 02 April 25 in the Bay of Bengal. 
•  The exercise will involve Russian Federation Naval Ships Pechanga, Rezkiy, and Aldar Tsydenzhapov, Indian Naval Ships Rana, and Kuthar, and maritime patrol aircraft P8l. 
• The Harbour Phase will include an opening ceremony, Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEEs), reciprocal visits, sports fixtures, etc.
•  The Sea Phase will witness advanced naval drills, including tactical manoeuvres, live weapon firings, anti-air operations, etc.
•   These exercises and interactions will enhance maritime cooperation, strengthen bridges of friendship, and exchange best operational practices. 

13. India-U.S. tri-service exercise from April 1 to 13 

•  The fourth iteration of the India-U.S. tri-service Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise, named Tiger Triumph, is scheduled to take place from April 1 to 13.In a statement released on Monday, the Navy out-lined the objectives: "The exercise aims to enhance interoperability for conducting HADR operations and to formulate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for establishing a Combined Coordination Centre (CCC). This centre would facilitate rapid and seamless coordination between Indian and U.S. Joint Task Forces (JTF) during exercises, crises, and contingencies."
•  The Harbour Phase is scheduled at Visakhapatnam from April 1 to

Business News. 

14. GAIL to begin LNG supplies from Qatar Energy next month under five-year deal 

• State-owned gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd will begin receiving LNG supplies from Qatar Energy Trading next month under a five-year agreement, ensuring the delivery of 12 cargoes annually. 
• In addition to the Qatar deal, GAIL has signed a 10-year contract with Vitol Asia for 1 MTPA of LNG from 2026 and another 10-year deal with ADNOC Gas (UAE) for 0.5 MTPA of LNG. 
•  These agreements support India’s goal of increasing the share of natural gas in the energy mix from 6-7% to 15% by 2030, aligning with national energy security and sustainability objectives. 

Economy News 

15. Government of India plans to raise Rs 8 lakh crore from the market in the first half of FY26 

• On March 27, the Finance Ministry announced that the Government of India plans to raise Rs 8 lakh crore through the issuance of dated securities during the first half (April-September) of the financial year 2025-26 to bridge the revenue gap. 
•  Of the total gross market borrowing of Rs 14.82 lakh crore estimated for FY26, about 54% will be raised in the first half, including Rs 10,000 crore through sovereign green bonds. 
• The market borrowings will be spread across multiple tenures, including 3-year, 5-year, 7-year, 10-year, 15-year, 30-year, 40-year, and 50-year securities. 
•  Notably, over 26% of the borrowing will be through 10-year government securities (G-Secs), making it a key component of the borrowing strategy. 
•  Further, the government also announced plans for switching and buyback operations of securities to smoothen the redemption profile and effectively manage future obligations. 
•  The RBI has set the ways and means advances (WMA) limit for the first half of FY26 at ₹1.50 lakh crore to address temporary mismatches in government accounts. 

16. NITI Aayog to open portal on States' finances today 

•  Amid complaints by States ruled by BJP rivals that they face discrimination in sharing of resources, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on Tuesday launch a website developed by the NITI Aayog and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) on State finances.
•  According to the NITI Aayog, the portal will be a "comprehensive reposito-ry" of data on social, economic and fiscal parame-ters, research reports, papers, and expert commentary on the finances of States for 30 years from 1990-91 to 2022-23. The 'NI-TI NCAER States Economic Forum' portal has four main components, including State reports, data repository, State fiscal and economic dashboard and research and commentary.
•   The NITI Aayog said in a statement that the State reports will summarise the macro and fiscal landscape of 28 States. The data repository will offer direct access to the complete da-tabase categorised across five verticals, including demography, economic structure, fiscal, health, 
• The portal will help in benchmarking each State's data against the other and the national figures, the NITI Aayog says and education. In the State fiscal and economic dashboard, graphical representations of key economic variables will be available. The research and com-mentary section will have details of extensive research on State finances and critical aspects of fiscal policy and financial management at the State and national levels. 
•  "The portal will facilitate an understanding of macro, fiscal, demographic, and socio-economic trends; easily accessible data and user-friendly format and will also address the ongoing need for consolidated sectoral data in one place. It will further help in benchmarking the data of each State against that of other States and the national figures. It will also provide a forum to policy-makers, researchers, and others interested in allud-ing to the data for informed debates and discussions," the NITI Aayog said. 

Appointment News 

17.Tata Group appoints Shibashish Roy as MD & CEO of Croma 

•  Tata Group’s electronics retail chain Croma has appointed Shibashish Roy as its chief executive officer and Managing Director. 
• Roy, who has over 20 years of experience in Tata Group companies, was named chief executive officer in November 2024 and worked alongside outgoing managing director Avijit Mitra during a transition period that concluded in March 2025. Recent Appointments 
•  MD of Ambuja Cements Limited – Ajay Kapur 
• CEO and Whole-time Director of Ambuja Cements – Vinod Bahety
•   Whole-time Director of Maruti Suzuki India – Sunil Kakkar 
•  Full-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to PM (EAC-PM) – Sanjay Kumar Mishra (Former Chief of ED) 
•  Bureau Member of United World Wrestling (UWW) Asia – Sanjay Singh 
•  Chairman of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) – Ashok Singh Thakur (for three years)
• Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court –Justice Harish Tandon. 

Awards and Achievements News 

18. Masaki Kashiwara won the prestigious Abel Prize for Mathematics

•  Japan's Masaki Kashiwara has received the honour for his fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory.
•   He is the first Japanese person to be awarded the most prestigious prize in mathematics. 
•  He developed algebraic tools to solve tough problems such as differential equations. 
•  He is known for building bridges across seemingly distant branches of mathematics. 
•  Masaki Kashiwara has also collaborated with Frenchman Pierre Schapira in the field of so-called microlocal analysis.
•  This prize has been named for Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829). The prize money is 7.5 million kroner ($714,000).
•   The Abel Prize was started by Norway's government. 

Science and Technology News 

19. Significant increase in monsoon rainfall in Western Ghats over past 800 years: study 

•  A recent study by researchers at the Central University of Kerala revealed a significant increase in monsoon rainfall in the Western Ghats over the past 800 years. By reconstructing Indian monsoon patterns over the last 1,600 years, the study provided key insights into long term climate variations in the region. 
• The research, led by Dr. K. Sandeep, Associate Professor in the Department of Geology, was conducted in collaboration with research scholars K.V. Reshma and G.H. Aravind. 
•  The findings, published in Quaternary International, offered insights into his-torical climate patterns in the Western Ghats and stressed on the need for proactive measures to ad-dress challenges from an intensifying monsoon cycle. "The long-term increase in monsoon intensi-ty could be contributing to more frequent and extreme rainfall events in recent years," Dr. Sandeep said. He pointed to the devastating landslides and floods in Wayanad and Ko-dagu in Karnataka in 2018 and 2019 as examples of extreme weather events that may be part of a broader climatic trend. 
•  The research highlights the need for better disaster preparedness, sustainable land-use planning, and conservation in the West-ern Ghats. 
• Experts stressed the im-portance of longterm environmental policies to mitigate risks from intensifying monsoon. 
• Using a multidisciplin-ary approach, the team analysed lake sediments from Cheppandi Kere Lake near Madikeri, Karnataka, to track monsoon intensity over centuries. 

20. Dhruva Space joins hands with satellite services firm in Japan 

• Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space and Japan-based In-fostellar on Monday have announced collaboration to explore integration of the Dhruva Space's 3.8m S X-band ground station antenna in Hyderabad into Infostellar's StellarStation, expanding its global ground station network and enhancing satellite communications interoperability. 
•  Infostellar plans to on-board Dhruva Space's antenna onto its Cloud-based StellarStation platform, making it accessible to its global client base for enhanced satellite ground segment services, upon receiving necessary licenses from the Centre, as per a release. Dhruva Space is India's only commercial ground station solutions provider, it added. 
•  A view of Dhruva Space's 3.8m S X-band ground station antenna in Hyderabad. 

21. SpaceX Fram2 mission led by crypto investor lifts o for unknown orbit 

•  On 31 March, a historic milestone for commercial spaceflight was achieved by billionaire Elon Musk-led SpaceX with the launch of the unique ‘Fram2’ mission. 
• This mission will orbit the Earth from one pole to the other, and four private astronauts have been sent to a place where no one has gone before. 
• The FRAM2 mission launched on a Falcon 9 rocket and uses SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule Resilience to carry the four astronauts into a polar orbit for the first time. 
• The launch of Fram2, initially planned for late last year, took place from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Chun Wang, a Maltese investor and Bitcoin mining company founder, led the mission, marking the first time humans will travel along this unexplored trajectory. 
• Chun Wang and his team departed on a three- to five-day mission that included 22 scientific experiments.
•   These experiments focus on studying the effects of spaceflight and microgravity on the human body, furthering our understanding of the effects of space on human health. 

Sports News 

22. Bihar’s Rajgir will host the Hero Asia Cup Hockey 2025 in August 

• In this regard, A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Hockey India and the Bihar State Sports Authority at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna. 
•  The Bihar will organize the tournament from the 29th of August to the 7th of September at the recently developed Rajgir Hockey Stadium. 
•  Rajgir will host its second international sporting event, following the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy in November last year, where India emerged victorious. 
•  Eight teams, including India, Pakistan, Japan, Korea, China, and Malaysia, will participate in the 12th edition of the Hero Asia Cup. 
•  The remaining two teams will secure their place through a qualifying tournament, the AHF Cup.
•   The record for the most successful team in the history of the Men's Asia Cup is held by South Korea with five titles, followed by India and Pakistan, who have won the tournament three times each. 
•  Rajgir, known as Rajagriha in ancient times, was the first capital of the Magadha Kingdom. 
•  Rajgir was an important center of Buddhism and Jainism and is associated with both Gautama Buddha and Mahavira. 

23. India’s first gold medal in the Asian Wrestling Championship clinched by Manisha Bhanwala in Amman, Jordan 

•  On 28 March, Manisha Bhanwala won India’s first gold medal since the 2021 edition at the Asian Wrestling Championship 2025, whereas Antim Panghal earned a bronze. 
•  Vinesh Phogat and Sarita Mor had won the gold medal in their respective categories in the 2021 edition. 
•  Manisha defeated Korea’s Ok J Kim by 8-7 in the women’s 62 kg category to clinch a historic victory in Amman, Jordan. 
• Ankit Panghal defeated Meng H. Hsieh of Taipei by technical superiority without losing a single point in the bronze play-off of the 53kg category.
•   Manisha had won three consecutive bronze medals at the Asian Championships from 2022 to 2024. 
•  The 2025 Asian Wrestling Championships took place in Amman, Jordan from 25 to 30 March 2025. Indian 

Polity News 

24. The Convention mentions basic minimum standards for the treatment of refugees like right to housing, right to work, right to education, etc 

•  A refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. 
•  UNHCR acts as the guardian of the Convention. 
•  I n d i a i s n o t a p a r t y t o G e n e v a C o nv e n t i o n o r i t s 1 9 6 7 p r o t o c o l .