Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 13th April 2025

 1. E-way linking Hyderabad with Amaravati gets green light 

•  Decks have been finally cleared for the much awaited Hyderabad-Amaravati greenfield expressway project, connecting the capital cities of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh respectively.
• It ends the wait of more than 11 years since the bifurcation of erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh. 
• The Ministry of Home Affairs, the nodal agency to resolve the pending bifurcation issues, has directed the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways to prepare a detailed project report of the Hyderabad Amaravati greenfield expressway on Tuesday. 
• The approval, however, falls short of the Telangana government’s expectations as Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is in favour of a greenfield expressway up to Machilipatnam for faster movement of goods. 

2. JusticePalli appointed Chief Justice for J&K,Ladakh HC 

• The President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, has appointed Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, Justice Arun Palli, as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, the Law Ministry said on Saturday. The appointment comes into e•ect from the date Justice Palli assumes charge of his once. Last week, the Supreme Court Collegium had recommended Justice Palli to be the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh 

3. First test flight of Saras Mk2 plane expected in December 2027: official 

•  The Saras Mk2, an updated version of an India-designed civilian aircraft, is set to test-fly in December 2027, Abhay Pashilkar, Director, CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL), told The Hindu. Only after several flight tests can the plane be declared airworthy enough to be potentially bought by the Indian Air Force (IAF), which has expressed interest in buying at least 15 of these planes. 
•  However, the major draw of the Saras Mk2, were it to prove dependable, would be as a passenger plane that can function as a 19-seater aircraft to fer ry people from towns and cities where large airports and resulting infrastructure are absent. It can also be used as chartered planes or air ambulances. 
•  The Mk2 plane is an upgraded version of the 14 seater Saras prototype planes that were developed by CSIR-NAL and first few in 2004. However, a fatal crash that killed three IAF personnel in 2009 during a test flight significantly derailed progress. 
•  Only in 2016 was the project revived resulting in a major overhaul, including redesigning the wings of the plane, as well as re-positioning the engine. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, a defence public sector body, will be involved in the manufacturing. 
•  In 2022, at the Wings In dia air show in Hyderabad, the then-head of the CSIR, Shekhar Mande, had said that the first flight would likely be in June 2024 and production is expected to begin around 2026-27. “There have been some delays in the project. 
•  This was originally planned for 2026. We have bought most of the material. The drawings have to get released and only after that we can begin manufacturing,” Mr. Pashilkar said. 
•  “The wings and some of the composites will be made in-house. Metallic parts will be outsourced, maybe some of it in HAL. We will need large vendors for manufacturing the fuselage,” he said. Two prototypes of the Mk2 would be made to “speed up” the certification process. 
•  Once developed, it would take about a year for the first flight as these follow taxi trials, or ground-based runs at various speeds, Mr. Pashilkar said. The avionics, or the electronic instrumentation in the cockpit, will be sourced from a company called Genesis. 
•  However, apart from the basic avionics, there are several systems that will rely on the in-house “computer” developed at NAL. The brake management and environmental control were also developed at NAL. 
• The older 14-seater version, or the first Saras, will not be flying but it is being used as a “test bed” for future planes. An aircraft having several sub-components has to comply with strict manufacturing requirements and complying with these regulatory processes led to delays in the scheduled testing of planes. Another major challenge was the availability of appropriately certified pilots, Mr. Pash filkar added. 

4. New working group on malnutrition-induced diabetes 

•  At the International Diabetes Federation’s (IDF) World Diabetes Congress held in Bangkok last week, an epoch-making decision was taken, nearly 75 years after a particular type of diabetes was first recorded. Peter Schwarz, president of IDF, announced the inauguration of the Type 5 Diabetes Working Group, turning attention to malnutrition-induced diabetes. 
•  While Type 2 diabetes, where the global numbers are largest, can arise out of unregulated intake of food, and consequently, excess weight, Type 5 diabetes is at the polar end of the weight and nutrition spectrum, understood to be associated with undernutrition and even low weight. 
•  It was first reported in Jamaica in 1955, and then defined as J-type diabetes, and the WHO classified it in 1985 as malnutrition-related diabetes mellitus, only to remove that in 1999, citing lack of evidence of causal association with malnutrition. 
• However, other nations including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Korea started reporting such cases and it is estimated that today, there are about 25 million people globally living with Type 5 diabetes. 
• “Until this working group was formed at the IDF Congress, this form of diabetes has been largely understudied and misdiagnosed,” says Nihal Thomas, Senior Professor, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Christian Medical College, Vellore. Dr. Thomas has been collaborating, since 2008, with Meredith Hawkins, Director, Global Diabetes Institute, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, who has been at the forefront of research on how early-life undernutrition is a potential risk factor for development of diabetes in adult life. Both of them are chairs of the IDF Working Group. 
•  An initial consensus meeting to lay the path towards the IDF Working Group, was held in CMC Vellore in January 2025, he explains, organised with colleague Felix Jebasingh. 
•  Here, 42 participants from across the world signed the Vellore Declaration, to promote more research and increase awareness about Type 5 diabetes among clinicians and researchers globally. “In fact, it was here that Professor Schwarz suggested the name Type 5 diabetes to distinguish it from other forms,” Dr. Thomas adds. 
•  The results of a study published in 2022 among patients at CMC, Vellore established Type 5 diabetes as a distinct metabolic entity. 
•  People with this form of ‘lean diabetes’ have a history of malnutrition in ute ro and continue to have a low BMI into adulthood, drawing in the thrifty gene theory of diabetes, Riddhi Dasgupta, a co-author on the paper, told The Hindu then. 
•  Professor Hawking explained that because of the programming in utero, these people have actually accumulated more fat than planned for by the gene, leading to the “thin-fat” phenomenon. 
•  These individuals never catch up with nutritional requirements, and remain nutritionally challenged as adults. The Working Group has been tasked with defiening diagnostic criteria for Type 5 diabetes, diagnostic and management guidelines, establishing a global registry to facilitate global research collaborations, promoting research on the pathophysiology and management and developing education modules to train healthcare professionals worldwide. . . 

5. 9th edition of 3-day Global Technology Summit stars in New Delhi 

•  The 9th edition of the three-day Global Technology Summit was inaugurated in New Delhi by the External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. 
•  The Global Technology Summit is co-organised by the Ministry of External Affairs with New Delhi-based think tank Carnegie India. It is an annual dialogue that was first held in December 2016. 
•  The theme of the 9th Global Technology Summit is “Sambhavna”. 

6. JP Nadda launches the Unified Health Insurance Scheme of Odisha 

• The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Jagat Prakash Nadda, has launched a unified health insurance scheme of the Odisha government in Cuttack, Odisha. 
• Besides the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the state government’s health scheme, Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana, and the newly introduced Ayushman Vayo-Vandana Yojana, aimed at senior citizens, will also be integrated into this initiative. 
•  With this integration, around 352 lakh people from one crore eight lakh families will be covered under the scheme. Beneficiaries will gain access to free, cashless treatment in more than 29 thousand government and private hospitals across the country. The scheme will provide health coverage of 5 lakh rupees per family per annum, with an additional 5 lakh rupees for women members. 
• Under the Ayushman Vayo-Vandana Yojana, all persons aged 70 years and above, regardless of income, will be eligible for coverage. 
• In January 2025, the Odisha government signed an agreement with the National Health Authority, which implements the AB-PMJAY scheme, to implement the scheme in the state. Odisha was the 34th State/Union Territory to join the AB-PMJAY scheme. Recently, Delhi became the 35th state/Union Territory to join the AB-PMJAY scheme. 
•  The previous Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal government in Odisha had refused to join the AB-PMJAY and instead launched its health insurance scheme, Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana. After the BJP government came to power in the state in 2024 renamed the Biju Swathya Kalyan Yojana into Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana. With the launch of the AB-PMJAY in the state, the Gopabadhu scheme has been merged with the AB-PMJAY.

 7. Singapore’s Changi reclaims world’s best airport title 

•  Singapore Changi Airport has been named the World’s Best Airport 2025 by air transport rating organization Skytrax. This is the thirteenth time in the history of the awards that Singapore Changi Airport has received this top accolade. 
•  Changi is a destination in itself, where early check-in has been introduced to allow passengers to drop their bags off up to 48 hours before their flight so they can make their time at the airport part of the vacation. 
•  Doha’s Hamad International Airport, the former three-times winner of World’s Best Airport, was ranked No 2 this year, as well as receiving the award for the World’s Best Airport Shopping, and the Best Airport in the Middle East. 
•  Tokyo Haneda Airport was ranked No 3 in the global ranking with further outstanding results receiving the awards as the World’s Cleanest Airport (Major Airport), the World’s Best Domestic Airport and as delivering the World’s Best Airport PRM & Accessible Facilities. 
•  Although no Indian airport featured in the list of the world’s top 20, Delhi International Airport earned the title of Best Airport in India and South Asia. In addition to this, Hyderabad International Airport received the award for Best Airport Staff Service in India & South Asia. 
•  Bangalore International Airport collected the award for the Best Regional Airport in India and South Asia. 
•  Moreover, Goa’s Manohar International Airport was recognised as the best airport in the under 5 million passengers category. 

8. TCS appoints Aarthi Subramanian as executive director-president & COO 

•  Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest information technology services firm, has appointed Aarthi Subramanian as executive director-president and chief operating officer of the company. 
•  The appointment is for a term of five years, commencing from May 1, 2025, to April 30, 2030. 
• She is also a board member of the firm. The last time TCS had a chief operating officer role was before 2009, when N Chandrasekaran, chairman, Tata Sons, was appointed to that position. Recent Appointments 
•  CEO of Oman India Joint Investment Fund – Satish Chavva appointed 
•  President of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) – SC Ralhan (replace Ashwani Kumar). 
•  Vice President of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) – Ravikant Kapur 
•  Additional charge as the NFRA Chairperson– Ravneet Kaur (Chief of Competition Commission of India); till 30 June
•  MD of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL); a subsidiary of Indian IOCL – H Shankar

 9. James Anderson receives knighthood for his services to Cricket 

•  Former England fast bowler James Anderson has been awarded a knighthood for his services to Cricket as part of former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list. Anderson is the only sportsperson who has made it to the list. 
•  The 42-year-old English seamer retired from Test cricket last summer with 704 wickets, making him England’s all-time leading wicket-taker the format. 
•  Anderson is currently playing for his county Lancashire but has missed the start of the County Championship season due to a calf injury. 

Recent Award 

•  Key to the City of Lisbon – President Droupadi Murmu 
• Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana (nation’s highest civilian honour for a foreign head of state) – PM Narendra Modi 
•  Fred Darrington Sand Master Award – Sudarsan Pattnaik (for his outstanding contributions to sand art) 
•  Uttar Pradesh Anmol Ratan Award – Nikhil Singhal 
•  Ugadi Award from the Andhra Pradesh government – Historian and archaeologist MyNaa Swamy 
•  59th Jnanpith Award – Vinod Kumar Shukla (for Deewar Mein Ek Khirki Rehti Thi) 

10. 12 April – International Day of Human Space Flight 

•  The International Day of Human Space Flight is observed every year on 12 April to commemorate the historic achievement of Yuri Gagarin, the first human to journey into outer space. 
•  On this day in 1961, Gagarin orbited the Earth aboard the Soviet spacecraft Vostok 1, marking the dawn of a new era in space exploration. 
•  Recognizing the importance of this milestone, the United Nations General Assembly declared 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight in 2011.