Current Affairs One-liners — March 2026

Tue, 31 Mar 2026

• On 31 March 2026 PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kaynes Technology semiconductor plant at Sanand, Gujarat, marking the start of production there.
• Malwan, the second of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, was delivered to the Indian Navy on 31 March 2026.
• The CBDT signed a record 219 Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) in FY 2025-26, taking the total since the programme began to 1,034.
• Shachi (Yard 1280), the first of 11 Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Indian Navy, was launched at Goa Shipyard Limited on 31 March 2026.
• On 31 March 2026 Iraq beat Bolivia 2-1 in Monterrey to become the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026; Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Sweden, Türkiye and DR Congo also qualified, while Italy missed out.
• Following a Union Budget 2026-27 announcement, CBIC removed the ₹10 lakh per-consignment cap on courier exports with effect from 1 April 2026.
• Andhra Pradesh announced on 31 March 2026 that handloom weaver households get up to 200 units and powerloom units up to 500 units of free power a month from 1 April 2026.
• On 31 March 2026 the Ministry of Defence signed a contract of about ₹1,950 crore with BEL for two DRDO-designed Mountain Radars for the Indian Air Force.
• As of March 2026, India had issued 3,561 of the world's 6,311 Internationally Recognized Certificates of Compliance (IRCCs) under the Nagoya Protocol – over 56%.
• At the MP-UP Sahyog Sammelan in Varanasi on 31 March 2026, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust and the Mahakaleshwar temple (Ujjain) signed an MoU, and the two states signed an MoU on ODOP products.
• On Mahavir Jayanti, 31 March 2026, PM Modi inaugurated the Samrat Samprati Sangrahalay, a Jain Heritage Museum at Koba Tirth in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• On 31 March 2026 President Droupadi Murmu addressed the convocation of Nalanda University at Rajgir, Bihar, where over half the graduates were international students.
• India beat Hong Kong 2-1 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, on 31 March 2026 in their last AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifier; Singapore topped Group C and qualified.

Mon, 30 Mar 2026

• The Registrar General announced on 30 March 2026 that Census 2027 – India's first digital census with a self-enumeration option – would begin its first phase (House Listing) from 1 April 2026.
• The 14th Ministerial Conference of the WTO concluded in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on 30 March 2026; India, led by Piyush Goyal, did not agree to incorporating the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement.
• The Environment Ministry designated the 'Bhavasagara' Referral Centre of CMLRE, Kochi, as India's National Repository for Deep-Sea Fauna under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (announced 30 March 2026).
• According to the Quick Estimate released on 30 March 2026, India's Index of Industrial Production grew 5.2% year-on-year in February 2026, led by 6.0% growth in manufacturing.
• Chandrikapersad Santokhi, President of Suriname from 2020 to 2025 and a leader of Indian origin who took his oath in Sanskrit, died suddenly on 30 March 2026 aged 67.
• Sanshodhak (Yard 3028), the fourth and last Survey Vessel (Large) built by GRSE, Kolkata, was delivered to the Indian Navy on 30 March 2026.
• On 30 March 2026 MeitY approved 29 more proposals under the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme with projected investment of ₹7,104 crore and 14,246 direct jobs.
• ECI said on 30 March 2026 that over 2.37 lakh elderly (85+) and PwD electors in Kerala, Assam and Puducherry had been approved for home voting for the 9 April 2026 polls.
• Dunagiri (Yard 3023), the fifth Nilgiri-class (Project 17A) stealth frigate and the second built by GRSE, was delivered to the Indian Navy at Kolkata on 30 March 2026.
• On 30 March 2026 SECI, industry and fertiliser companies exchanged 10-year Green Ammonia Purchase and Supply Agreements under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, covering about 7.24 lakh tonnes per annum.
• On 30 March 2026 the Telangana Assembly passed the Telangana Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2026, requiring aggregators to pay 1–2% of transaction value into a welfare fund.
• On 30 March 2026 Dr Jitendra Singh said bio-bitumen from crop residue, using technology by CSIR-CRRI and CSIR-IIP, could save India about ₹40,000 crore of imports a year.
• Agray, the fourth of eight ASW Shallow Water Craft designed and built by GRSE, Kolkata, was delivered to the Indian Navy on 30 March 2026.
• The Ministry of Mines said on 30 March 2026 that a record 30 mineral blocks were operationalised in FY 2025-26, the highest ever in a single year.
• On 30 March 2026 Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma transferred ₹1,000 each through DBT to 1.22 lakh Anganwadi workers and helpers for two uniforms, and announced a 10% honorarium increase from 1 April 2026.

Sun, 29 Mar 2026

• In the 132nd episode of Mann Ki Baat on 29 March 2026, PM Modi urged people to join the Gyan Bharatam Survey of manuscripts and highlighted water conservation, sports achievers and community seed banks.
• On 29 March 2026 the Punjab Cabinet approved the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana, giving ₹1,000 a month to women and ₹1,500 to Scheduled Caste women through DBT.