Current Affairs One-liners — 27 April 2026

Mon, 27 Apr 2026

• India and New Zealand signed a Free Trade Agreement at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 27 April 2026, giving zero-duty access to 100% of India's exports, a USD 20 billion investment commitment and post-study work visas, while excluding dairy and key farm products.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs said on 27 April 2026 that online nominations for the Padma Awards 2027, which opened on 15 March 2026 on the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal, will close on 31 July 2026; the awards were instituted in 1954.
• NITI Aayog on 27 April 2026 launched 'DPI@2047 for Viksit Bharat', a roadmap developed with EkStep Foundation and Deloitte that sets out DPI 2.0 (2025–2035) and DPI 3.0 (2035–2047) with eight sectoral transformations.
• The Election Commission of India said on 27 April 2026 that seizures of cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals and freebies in West Bengal since 26 February had reached ₹510.10 crore, higher than the ₹339 crore seized in the 2021 Assembly election.
• Indian Railways said on 27 April 2026 that Train No. 22961/22962 Mumbai Central–Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express will run permanently with 20 coaches instead of 16 from journeys commencing 28 April 2026.
• NHAI has opened one side of the new Khambatki Ghat twin-tube six-lane tunnel on NH-48 (old NH-4) on the Pune–Satara highway in Maharashtra for trial operations, with the project 86% complete, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said on 27 April 2026.
• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on 27 April 2026 released a consultation paper on 'Proliferation of Public Wi-Fi Networks in India', inviting comments by 25 May 2026 and counter-comments by 8 June 2026.
• Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan attended the centenary celebrations of Andhra University in Visakhapatnam on 27 April 2026, recalling the legacy of former Vice-Chancellor Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on 27 April 2026 released an approach paper on compiling an Index of Service Production (ISP) for the formal sector, drawing on GST data, and invited stakeholder comments.
• The Shrimati Manekba Vinay Vihar Educational Complex near Adalaj, Gandhinagar, cooks over 500 meals a day using two biogas plants of 90 cubic metres per day fed by dung from 222 cows, the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said on 27 April 2026.
• The Department of Posts and DTDC Express Limited signed an MoU in New Delhi on 27 April 2026 that lets DTDC use India Post's network of 1.64 lakh post offices for nationwide parcel delivery, including Cash on Delivery.