Daily Current Affairs 26th April 2025, Important News Headlines (Daily GK Update)

National News

India to Allow 49% Foreign Stake Investment in Nuclear Power

• India is set to allow 49% foreign investment in its nuclear power sector, marking a major policy shift to boost clean energy, reduce coal dependency, and achieve its carbon reduction goals.
• The government aims to amend the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (2010) and the Atomic Energy Act (1960) by the Monsoon Session 2025, enabling foreign and private firms to invest, build, and operate nuclear facilities.
• This move supports India’s target to expand nuclear capacity from 8 GW to 100 GW by 2047, with interest from global players like Westinghouse, GE-Hitachi, EDF, and Rosatom, and domestic giants like Reliance, Tata, Adani, and Vedanta, who may invest around $26 billion.

Kailash Mansarovar Yatra 2025: Resumption After Five Years

• The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra (KMY), a sacred pilgrimage for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Bon followers, is set to resume in 2025 after a five-year suspension due to COVID-19 and border tensions.
• Announced by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on April 26, 2025, the yatra will take place from June to August 2025, allowing 750 pilgrims via the Lipulekh Pass (Uttarakhand) and Nathu La Pass (Sikkim).
• Registration is computerized through kmy.gov.in, ensuring fair and gender-balanced selection, coordinated by multiple agencies like MEA, Home Ministry, ITBP, and state governments.

International News

China Has Tested A Revolutionary Type Of Hydrogen Bomb

• China’s testing of a fissile-free hydrogen bomb using magnesium hydride-based fusion marks a radical shift in nuclear weaponry, bypassing traditional uranium/plutonium fission and exploiting Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) and magnetic compression (Z-pinch).
• This raises serious arms control, proliferation, and legal challenges, as it circumvents NPT and CTBT definitions. With low radiation signatures and dual-use technologies, such weapons pose covert, asymmetric warfare risks.
• Experts urge global treaty reforms, formation of a Fusion Weapons Verification Body (FWVB) under IAEA, and India must enhance detection and adapt its strategic deterrence accordingly.

Economy News

India’s Record Cargo Movement on Inland Waterways In FY 2024–25

• India achieved a record 145.5 MMT cargo movement on Inland Waterways in FY 2024–25, up from 18.1 MMT in FY 2013–14, reflecting a CAGR of 20.86%, driven by expansion from 5 to 111 National Waterways, enhanced infrastructure (MMTs, IMTs), and digital tools like LADIS, RIS, PANI, MIRS.
• Key reforms include the Jalvahak Scheme (₹95.42 crore, 35% subsidy), tonnage tax extension (Feb 2025), green vessels adoption, and success on the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route, showcasing India’s push for sustainable, multimodal logistics.

Appointments News

Anant Ambani Appointed Executive Director of Reliance Industries Ltd

• Anant Ambani has been appointed as the Executive Director (Whole-time) of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) for a five-year term starting May 1, 2025, marking a key step in the generational leadership transition.
• A graduate of Brown University, Anant currently serves as a non-executive director and leads RIL’s energy vertical, focusing on green energy initiatives.
• He is the first among Ambani siblings (Isha and Akash Ambani are non-executive directors) to assume an executive role in RIL, and also holds board positions in Jio Platforms, Reliance Retail Ventures, Reliance New Energy, and Reliance Foundation.

Awards News

Payal Kapadia Receives Prestigious French Honour

• Payal Kapadia, a Mumbai-based filmmaker, has been awarded the prestigious ‘Officier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ (Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Government.
• The ceremony, held at the French Consulate in Mumbai, recognizes her significant contribution to cinema. Kapadia’s breakthrough came with her film ‘All We Imagine As Light’, which won the Grand Prix at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe.
• Her previous works, such as ‘A Night of Knowing Nothing’ and ‘Afternoon Clouds’, also garnered international acclaim.
• Kapadia joins an elite group of Indian luminaries, including Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, who have received this honor.

Hubballi Airport Wins Platinum Honour for Green Initiatives

• Hubballi Airport in Karnataka has been awarded the Platinum Recognition, the highest honour under the ACI Green Airports Recognition 2025, for excellence in sustainable energy practices among airports with fewer than six million passengers.
• Operated by AAI, the airport’s recognition stems from its innovative 8 MW solar power plant (commissioned in December 2022) that supplies clean energy to Hubballi, Belagavi, and Mysuru airports, reducing carbon emissions by approx. 215,000 tonnes and supporting India’s net-zero and green aviation goals.

Defence News

India–France Rafale-M Jet Deal Set To Be Finalised

• India and France are set to finalize a ₹63,000-crore G-to-G deal on April 28, 2025, for 26 Rafale-Marine (Rafale-M) jets—22 single-seaters and 4 twin-seater trainers—to enhance India’s naval aviation.
• These jets will be deployed on INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, bridging the capability gap until the indigenous Twin Engine Deck-Based Fighter (TEDBF) is ready.
• Deliveries will begin in 3.5 years, with full delivery in 6.5 years, strengthening India–France strategic defence ties.

DRDO Achieves Major Hypersonic Tech Milestone with Scramjet Combustor Test

• In a major breakthrough for India’s hypersonic weapons programme, DRDL (a DRDO unit) successfully conducted a 1,000+ second ground test of an Active Cooled Scramjet Subscale Combustor on April 25, 2025, at the Scramjet Connect Test Facility in Hyderabad.
• This long-duration test of the air-breathing scramjet engine, which enables speeds above Mach 5, validates key technologies for future hypersonic cruise missiles and marks a leap in indigenous defence capabilities, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh calling it a testament to India’s advanced research commitment.

Science & Technology News

India’s Breakthrough in Gene Therapy for Haemophilia

• India marked a major medical breakthrough with its first-in-human gene therapy trial for Haemophilia, led by BRIC-inStem and CMC Vellore, as highlighted during Dr. Jitendra Singh’s visit to BRIC-inStem, Bengaluru.
• Emphasizing biotechnology as a national pillar, he noted the sector’s rapid rise to $165.7 billion in 2024 (target: $300 billion by 2030), powered by 10,000+ startups, innovations like anti-viral masks and Kisan Kavach, and infrastructure such as the Biosafety Level III Lab and CReATE Centre.
• Key reforms include the BIO-E3 Policy and formation of the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC).

What is Spaghetti Bowl Phenomenon?

• The Spaghetti Bowl Phenomenon, coined by economist Jagdish Bhagwati in 1995, describes the confusing, overlapping network of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that complicate global trade instead of simplifying it.
• Caused largely by differing Rules of Origin (ROO) in each agreement, this tangled system creates inefficiencies and challenges for businesses navigating multiple FTAs.

The Bullseye Galaxy: A Cosmic Marvel with Nine Rings

• The Bullseye Galaxy (LEDA 1313424), located 567 million light-years away in the Pisces constellation, is a giant elliptical galaxy about 2.5 times larger than the Milky Way, spanning 250,000 light-years.
• It features an unprecedented nine glowing star rings, likely formed after a blue dwarf galaxy collided with its core 50 million years ago, triggering ripple effects and new star formation.

NASA’s Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder (QGGPf): A New Era of Precision Gravity Mapping

• NASA is developing the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder (QGGPf), a compact (125 kg) and highly sensitive quantum sensor that will map Earth’s gravity field with ten times more precision than traditional methods.
• Designed for space deployment, the QGGPf will detect tiny gravitational shifts linked to subsurface features like moving water, earthquakes, and mineral deposits, with space tests targeted by the end of this decade.

Obituaries News

Muttayil Govinda Sankara Narayanan Passes Away At The Age of 92

• M G S Narayanan, a towering figure in Indian historiography, passed away at the age of 92. Born on August 20, 1932, in Ponnani, Kerala, he made profound contributions to the study of Kerala’s ancient and medieval history and broader South Indian history.
• Narayanan served as Member Secretary and later Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) and was closely associated with the University of Calicut, strengthening its research and academic excellence.

Current Affairs Today | 28 April Current Affairs 2025 | Daily Current Affairs By Ashish Gautam