India Current Affairs One-liners — All time

Sat, 17 May 2025

• DGFT Notification No. 07/2025-26 of 17 May 2025 restricts imports of readymade garments from Bangladesh to Nhava Sheva and Kolkata seaports and bars several other goods through land ports in the Northeast and two West Bengal LCSs.
• World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, observed every 17 May to mark ITU's founding, was observed on 17 May 2025 with the theme 'Gender equality in digital transformation', as ITU marked its 160th anniversary.
• Union MoS for Road Transport Harsh Malhotra inspected the entire 210-km Delhi–Saharanpur–Dehradun Expressway on 17 May 2025; the ₹12,000 crore road will cut Delhi–Dehradun travel time from 6.5 to 2.5 hours.
• World Hypertension Day, an initiative of the World Hypertension League first held on 14 May 2005, was observed on 17 May 2025 with the theme 'Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer'.
• DPIIT signed a two-year MoU with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), announced on 17 May 2025, to support early-stage climate-tech startups; GEAPP will launch the Energy Transitions Innovation Challenge (ENTICE) with up to $500,000 in rewards.
• The Archaeological Survey of India announced on 17 May 2025 free entry to all its ticketed monuments and 52 site museums on 18 May, International Museum Day; Sarnath (1910) is the earliest ASI site museum.
• The Directorate General of Trade Remedies marked its 8th Foundation Day on 17 May 2025; India has initiated over 1,200 trade remedy investigations since 1995 and a digital e-filing platform is to go live soon.
• The Ministry of Ayush said on 17 May 2025 that leading institutions such as Kaivalyadhama have joined 'Yoga Unplugged', the youth-centric initiative for the 11th International Day of Yoga, which will feature 10 signature events including Yoga Sangam at 1 lakh locations.

Fri, 16 May 2025

• The 8th India–US Joint Working Group on Aircraft Carrier Technology Cooperation (JWGACTC), set up under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), met in Delhi and Goa from 13 to 16 May 2025.
• Sikkim celebrated its Statehood Day on 16 May 2025, marking the 50th anniversary of its statehood; Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the people of the state.
• 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.