Current Affairs One-liners — 19 March 2026

Thu, 19 Mar 2026

• The Government constituted the National Dental Commission (NDC) and three autonomous boards by notifications of 19 March 2026, replacing the Dental Council of India; Dr Sanjay Tewari is the Chairperson and the Dentists Act, 1948 stands repealed.
• On 19 March 2026 the Government approved RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) under the Export Promotion Mission to support exporters hit by West Asia shipping disruption, with an outlay of ₹497 crore and ECGC Ltd as the nodal agency.
• NITI Aayog's report 'Realising the Export Potential of India's Sports Equipment Manufacturing Sector', released on 19 March 2026, notes India's share of global sports equipment exports is about 0.5% and projects exports of about $8.1 billion by 2036.
• The Ministry of Mines said on 19 March 2026 that 200 mineral blocks were auctioned in FY 2025-26, the highest ever in a single year, with Gujarat (32), Rajasthan (30) and Tamil Nadu (22) the top contributors.
• The Election Commission said on 19 March 2026 that electors above 85 and flagged Persons with Disabilities can vote by postal ballot in the Assembly elections of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal by submitting Form 12D within 5 days of notification.
• On 19 March 2026 Prime Minister Narendra Modi held phone conversations with France's President Macron, Malaysia's PM Anwar Ibrahim, Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Qatar's Amir Sheikh Tamim, calling for de-escalation in West Asia.
• The India Bioeconomy Report (IBER) 2026, released on 19 March 2026 at BIRAC's 14th Foundation Day, puts India's bioeconomy at USD 195.3 billion in 2025, about 4.8% of GDP, with over 11,800 biotech startups.
• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav launched the third phase of the Jal Ganga Samvardhan Abhiyan from Indore on Gudi Padwa, 19 March 2026; the water conservation campaign runs till 30 June across all 55 districts with works worth about ₹2,500 crore.
• The Commerce Ministry said on 19 March 2026 that the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) will anchor the BHAVYA scheme to develop 100 plug-and-play industrial parks under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme.
• The Department of Fertilizers said on 19 March 2026 that an extra 7.31 MMSCMD of spot gas secured through EPMC bidding raises gas supply to urea plants by 23% to 39.31 MMSCMD, lifting projected urea output from 54,500 to 67,000 tonnes a day.
• On Gudi Padwa, 19 March 2026, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that the long-pending Banana Cluster project in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, has been approved at a cost of ₹200 crore, with subsidies under MIDH and the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.
• Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma launched the Mukhyamantri Viksit Gram-Ward Abhiyan on Rajasthan Diwas, observed on 19 March 2026 (Chaitra Shukla Pratipada), to prepare development roadmaps for every Gram Panchayat and urban ward; the campaign runs till 15 May.
• Telecom subscription data released on 19 March 2026 show India had 1,314 million telephone subscribers and 1,052.72 million broadband subscribers on 31 January 2026, with overall tele-density (including M2M) of 92.22%.
• On Ugadi, 19 March 2026, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu signed his first file of the Telugu New Year, approving ₹55.63 crore from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for 6,787 beneficiaries.
• Maharashtra signed a reform-linked MoU with the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 on 19 March 2026, formally entering the framework approved by the Union Cabinet on 10 March 2026.