PPSC (Punjab) Current Affairs One-liners — Last 6 months

Thu, 16 Apr 2026

• Federal Chancellor of Austria Christian Stocker visited India on 16 April 2026, the first visit by an Austrian Chancellor in 40 years, and the two sides signed an audiovisual co-production agreement, letters of intent on military matters and counter-terrorism, and launched an India–Austria Working Holiday Programme.
• The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) signed separate MoUs with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on 16 April 2026 for information sharing against money laundering and terror financing.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a phone call from French President Emmanuel Macron on 16 April 2026, and the two leaders agreed on the urgent need to restore safety and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
• The Ministry of Electronics and IT on 16 April 2026 constituted the AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), a high-level inter-ministerial body chaired by Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, as India's central mechanism for AI governance policy.
• Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya addressed the inaugural session of the Final Conference of WADA's Global Anti-Doping Intelligence & Investigations Network (GAIIN) in New Delhi on 16 April 2026 and said the government is working on criminal provisions against those who traffic or administer prohibited substances.
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said on 16 April 2026 that it has launched a Performance Monitoring Dashboard to track infrastructure performance across key sub-sectors, building on its PAIMANA platform.

Wed, 15 Apr 2026

• Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal launched the Operational Guidelines of the Urban Challenge Fund, with ₹1 lakh crore of central assistance meant to catalyse about ₹4 lakh crore of urban investment, along with a Credit Repayment Guarantee Sub-Scheme, on 15 April 2026.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs announced on 15 April 2026 that Houselisting and Housing Census field operations, Phase I of Census 2027, would begin on 16 April in eight States/UTs and parts of Delhi, after a 15-day Self-Enumeration window that about 12 lakh households had used.
• The Union Health Ministry chaired the first BRICS Health Working Group meeting of 2026 in New Delhi, where India, as BRICS Chair, introduced 'Healthy Lifestyle' and 'Promotion of Mental Wellness' as two new priority areas.
• The Department of Telecommunications and SEBI signed an MoU on 15 April 2026 under which DoT will share its Financial Fraud Risk Indicator and Mobile Number Revocation List with SEBI, and SEBI will flag telecom resources linked to fraud.
• Annual inflation based on the All India Wholesale Price Index rose to 3.88% (provisional) in March 2026 from 2.13% in February, driven mainly by crude petroleum and natural gas, other manufacturing, non-food articles, basic metals and food articles.
• India's total exports of merchandise and services for FY 2025-26 were estimated at US$ 860.09 billion, 4.22% higher than US$ 825.26 billion in FY 2024-25, according to Ministry of Commerce data released on 15 April 2026.
• The Periodic Labour Force Survey bulletin for March 2026, released by MoSPI on 15 April 2026, put the unemployment rate for persons aged 15 and above at 5.1% and the labour force participation rate at 55.4%.
• Scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Mohali, have developed a fluorescent 'turn-on' sensor made of iron metal-organic framework nanospheres that detects nicotine and its metabolite cotinine in water and living cells, the DST said on 15 April 2026.
• The National Highways Authority of India directed all FASTag issuer banks on 15 April 2026 to validate the vehicle registration numbers linked to their FASTags and blacklist tags linked to incorrect or invalid numbers.

Tue, 14 Apr 2026

• The Dr. Ambedkar Foundation under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment marked the 135th birth anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar on 14 April 2026 at Prerna Sthal in the Parliament House premises, where the Vice-President, Prime Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker paid floral tributes.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a phone call from US President Donald Trump on 14 April 2026; the leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation under the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and stressed keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways notified the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Fourth Amendment Rules, 2026, effective 15 April 2026, levying no fee for up to 10% excess load, twice the base rate for over 10% to 40%, and four times above 40%.
• The National Academy of Agricultural Sciences held a brainstorming session on 14 April 2026 on a roadmap for Atmanirbharta in fertilizers; DARE Secretary and ICAR Director General M.L. Jat said India consumes nearly 33 million tonnes of fertilizers a year, a significant share of it imported.
• The two-day ninth edition of India Pharma 2026, organised by the Department of Pharmaceuticals with FICCI and IPA in New Delhi, concluded on 14 April 2026 with over 800 delegates, and identified funding, infrastructure and speed as the key enablers of pharmaceutical innovation.

Mon, 13 Apr 2026

• The India Meteorological Department's first-stage forecast on 13 April 2026 said the June–September 2026 southwest monsoon rainfall is most likely to be below normal, at 92% of the Long Period Average with a model error of ±5%.
• The Government notified the Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 on 13 April 2026 with a corpus of ₹10,000 crore for commitments to Alternative Investment Funds backing deep tech, early growth-stage and innovative manufacturing startups, with SIDBI as the implementation agency.
• C-DAC Hyderabad and Reliance Foundation launched e-SafeHER on 13 April 2026, a cyber security awareness programme under MeitY's Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) programme that aims to reach one million women in rural India over three years.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage on 13 April 2026 to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, where people were killed or wounded on 13 April 1919; the site's memorial is governed by the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951.
• All India CPI inflation on base year 2024 was 3.40% (provisional) in March 2026, up from 3.21% in February, with rural inflation at 3.63% and urban at 3.11%, MoSPI said on 13 April 2026.
• The Ministry of Labour and Employment signed MoUs with Porter and Gigin Technologies on 13 April 2026 to expand job matching through the National Career Service portal; Porter targets over 30 lakh logistics and driving opportunities by 2030.
• Union Minister Jitendra Singh reviewed the Anusandhan National Research Foundation on 13 April 2026, where it was informed that ANRF is developing 'SARAL AI' to convert research into simple social media content in 18 Indian languages and has launched 'MAHA' mission-mode programmes.
• Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya felicitated India's para archery contingent on 13 April 2026 after India topped the Bangkok 2026 World Archery Para Series medal table with 13 medals, 7 of them gold.

Sun, 12 Apr 2026

• Indian Railways sanctioned 100 projects worth ₹1.53 lakh crore covering over 6,000 km in FY 2025–26, the Ministry of Railways said on 12 April 2026, with Maharashtra getting the most projects.
• The Finance Ministry said on 12 April 2026 that the Department of Expenditure's letter of 9 January 2026 asking States to align their crop bonus policies with promoting pulses, oilseeds and millets was an advisory and not a directive.