Current Affairs One-liners — 20 March 2026

Fri, 20 Mar 2026

• On 20 March 2026 the Centre signed reform-linked MoUs under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 with Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa, following Union Cabinet approval of JJM 2.0 on 10 March 2026.
• On 20 March 2026 Telangana Deputy CM and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka presented a ₹3,24,234 crore budget for 2026-27 and announced the Indiramma Family Life Insurance Scheme, offering ₹5 lakh cover to 1.15 crore families from 2 June.
• The combined Index of Eight Core Industries rose 2.3% (provisional) in February 2026 over February 2025, with cement, steel, fertilisers, coal and electricity growing, data released on 20 March 2026 showed.
• India achieved 1 billion tonnes of coal production in 2025-26 on 20 March 2026, the second consecutive year it has crossed the mark, the Ministry of Coal said.
• On Pakhala Dibasa, 20 March 2026, Odisha Tourism set a Guinness World Record for the largest serving of fermented rice (Pakhala), with 1,174 kg prepared in a single vessel from 850 kg of rice at Panthanivas, Bhubaneswar.
• Stealth frigate INS Trikand departed Port Victoria, Seychelles, on 20 March 2026 after taking part in the first tri-services edition of the India–Seychelles Exercise Lamitiye, marking the Indian Navy's maiden participation in the exercise.
• A pilot plant for manufacturing Nd-Fe-B (neodymium-iron-boron) rare earth permanent magnets, covering the full process from strip-cast alloy to sintered magnets, has been set up at ARCI, Hyderabad, an autonomous institution of the Department of Science and Technology.
• On 20 March 2026 Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, conveyed Eid al-Fitr greetings and condemned attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure in West Asia for their impact on global food, fuel and fertiliser security.
• On 20 March 2026 Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expanded his Cabinet by inducting five ministers, taking it to its full strength of 12 for the first time in five years.
• On 20 March 2026 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited Gaya and Aurangabad districts during his Samriddhi Yatra, inaugurating completed schemes and laying foundation stones for new projects, including 140 projects in Gaya.
• The Government told the Lok Sabha on 20 March 2026 that there is no proposal to raise urea prices and that urea bags were cut from 50 kg to 45 kg (40 kg in some cases) to curb excessive use and improve soil health.