Current Affairs One-liners — All time

Fri, 16 May 2025

• Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav represented India at the inaugural Sagarmatha Sambaad in Kathmandu on 16 May 2025, themed 'Climate Change, Mountains, and the Future of Humanity', and set out a five-point call for global action on mountain ecosystems.
• President Droupadi Murmu conferred the 58th Jnanpith Award on Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, on 16 May 2025; co-awardee Gulzar could not attend.
• The Archaeological Survey of India, with World Monuments Fund India and the TCS Foundation, completed conservation of Rajon ki Baoli, a 16th-century Lodi-era stepwell in Mehrauli Archaeological Park, New Delhi.
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the 'National Accounts Statistics – 2025' publication on 16 May 2025, with detailed GDP, GVA, consumption, savings and capital formation estimates at current and constant (2011-12) prices.
• The Department of Posts released a commemorative postage stamp on 16 May 2025 at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, marking 125 years of the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory, established on 1 April 1899.
• Cumulative Aadhaar authentication transactions crossed 150 billion (15,011.82 crore) by the end of April 2025, UIDAI data released on 16 May 2025 showed.
• Tripura's Directorate of Information Technology and MeitY's National e-Governance Division held a workshop on 'AI for Good Governance: Driving Transparency, Efficiency & Impact' at Pragna Bhawan, Agartala, on 16 May 2025.
• NADA India hosted the World Anti-Doping Agency's Intelligence & Investigations workshop in New Delhi from 12 to 16 May 2025, organised with INTERPOL and Sport Integrity Australia.
• The Ministry of Heavy Industries said on 16 May 2025 that Karnataka had formally sought electric buses under PM E-DRIVE, and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy assured phased allocation; 14,000 e-buses are to be allocated to 9 major cities under the scheme.
• The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and the Directorate General Resettlement concluded the second batch of their certification programme on independent directorship for 30 senior defence officers at IICA Manesar on 16 May 2025.

Thu, 15 May 2025

• Dr Jitendra Singh announced on 15 May 2025 that India will conduct its first biological experiments aboard the International Space Station during the Axiom-4 mission, with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as a crew member, under the BioE3 policy.
• DPIIT said on 15 May 2025 that 187 startups were approved for income tax exemption under Section 80-IAC — 75 at the 79th and 112 at the 80th Inter-Ministerial Board meeting (30 April 2025) — taking the total past 3,700.
• India and the European Union launched two coordinated research calls under the India–EU Trade and Technology Council on 15 May 2025, on marine plastic litter and waste to green hydrogen, with a joint investment of ₹391 crore (about €41 million).
• The NHRC wrote to all States and UTs on 15 May 2025 asking for immediate implementation of the Supreme Court's 14 directives in Dr. Balram Singh v. Union of India (2023) to end manual scavenging and hazardous sewer cleaning, with action taken reports within eight weeks.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level review of the fisheries sector on 15 May 2025, focusing on fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone and high seas, and called for satellite technology, drones for fish transport and wider use of seaweed.
• DRDO's Kanpur-based Defence Materials Stores and Research & Development Establishment (DMSRDE) developed an indigenous nanoporous multilayered polymeric membrane for high-pressure seawater desalination on Indian Coast Guard ships, DRDO said on 15 May 2025.
• Dr Ajay Kumar, former Defence Secretary and a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, took oath as Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission on 15 May 2025.
• MoSPI's Periodic Labour Force Survey monthly bulletin for April 2025, released on 15 May 2025, put the unemployment rate (Current Weekly Status, age 15+) at 5.1% and the labour force participation rate at 55.6%.
• The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) revoked the security clearance of M/s Celebi and its associated companies on 15 May 2025 on grounds of national security.
• India's total exports (merchandise and services) in April 2025 were estimated at US$ 73.80 billion, 12.70% higher than the US$ 65.48 billion of April 2024, the Commerce Ministry said on 15 May 2025.
• Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the administrative-cum-academic block of the Central Agricultural University (Imphal) College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry at Jalukie, Nagaland, on 15 May 2025 and announced ₹338.83 crore for Nagaland's agriculture sector.
• The Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities launched the Sugamya Delhi Abhiyan in Dwarka, New Delhi, on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, 15 May 2025, to make the capital accessible for persons with disabilities.
• The Ministry of Defence opened an online portal for the fourth round of registration of schools as new Sainik Schools in partnership mode, from 15 May to 14 June 2025, under the plan to set up 100 new Sainik Schools.
• MoS Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol inaugurated a new ATC Tower cum Technical Block cum Fire Station at Kolhapur Airport on 15 May 2025 and flagged off the inaugural Star Air flight between Kolhapur and Nagpur.

Wed, 14 May 2025

• Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai was sworn in as the 52nd Chief Justice of India by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 14 May 2025, succeeding Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
• The Union Cabinet on 14 May 2025 approved a sixth semiconductor unit under the India Semiconductor Mission — an HCL–Foxconn joint venture near Jewar airport in YEIDA, Uttar Pradesh — to make display driver chips, with an investment of ₹3,700 crore.
• The Chhattisgarh Police and Central Armed Police Forces recovered the bodies of 31 uniformed Naxalites and 35 weapons after 21 encounters over 21 days (21 April–11 May 2025) at Karreguttalu Hill on the Chhattisgarh–Telangana border, MHA said on 14 May 2025.
• Annual inflation based on the all-India Wholesale Price Index was 0.85% (provisional) in April 2025, down from 2.05% in March, the Commerce Ministry said on 14 May 2025.
• MoS Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani addressed 'Bharat 6G 2025', the 3rd International Conference and Exhibition, in New Delhi on 14 May 2025, recalling that the Bharat 6G Vision launched on 23 March 2023 aims to design, develop and deploy 6G by 2030.
• Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar inaugurated a two-day training at IIIDEM, New Delhi, on 14 May 2025 for 371 field-level electoral officials — 306 BLOs from Bihar and EROs and BLO Supervisors from Haryana and Delhi.