Week 18, 2026

📖 Explanation

The government has rolled out QR-code-enabled gunny bags, which let authorities track grain movement from mandis to storage and onward to distribution channels. The aim is to reduce diversion and leakages within the Public Distribution System. The initiative complements relaxed quality norms for shrivelled grains caused by unseasonal rains. It is part of a broader push for traceable, technology-enabled food procurement.

📖 Explanation

India's installed power capacity reached 524 GW by the end of February 2026, with 55.2 GW added during financial year 2025-26. Installed capacity is the maximum the system could theoretically generate, while peak met demand reflects what is actually consumed at the highest hour. The gap between installed capacity and peak demand provides the reserve margin needed for grid reliability. This figure is frequently asked in current affairs and economy sections.

📖 Explanation

The PMI is a diffusion index where a reading above 50 indicates expansion of business activity and a reading below 50 indicates contraction. India's flash Composite PMI rose to 58.3 in April 2026 from 57.0 in March, signalling stronger expansion led by manufacturing. PMI is compiled monthly from surveys of purchasing managers and is one of the earliest indicators of economic momentum. It covers output, new orders, employment and prices.

📖 Explanation

The agreement provides 5,000 work visas every year for skilled Indian professionals in sectors such as information technology, healthcare and education. The pact also offers duty-free market access for 100% of India's exports to New Zealand and carries a $20 billion investment commitment from Wellington. It was signed in New Delhi by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and New Zealand's Trade Minister Todd McClay. The deal is significant as one of India's first free-trade pacts with a developed economy in the Indo-Pacific.

📖 Explanation

The RBI's April 2026 monthly bulletin estimated India's GDP growth at 7.6 per cent for 2025-26, supported by robust consumption and investment. The bulletin also flagged downside risks from the United States-Iran conflict, including higher energy costs, input price pressures and disrupted trade flows. The central bank warned of possible second-round effects where a supply shock turns into a demand shock. Headline inflation has remained within the tolerance band but with rising upside risks.

📖 Explanation

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is the standards-setting body for fuel efficiency in India and has proposed the CAFE-III norms. The framework tightens the headline carbon dioxide target from about 113 g/km under CAFE-II to 77 g/km by 2031-32. It introduces super-credits, credit banking and three-year compliance blocks, which critics say weaken the push toward electric mobility. Transport is India's third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, so vehicle efficiency rules are central to climate policy.

📖 Explanation

India has positioned its BRICS presidency as a platform for constructive multipolarity rather than a confrontational anti-Western bloc, focusing on inclusive global growth, human-centric globalisation and institutional reform. The government is pushing for a formal BRICS secretariat to improve continuity, coordination and implementation. India's digital public infrastructure such as Aadhaar, UPI, ONDC and DigiLocker gives it credibility in shaping conversations on digital governance for emerging economies. The approach builds on India's earlier G-20 presidency and Voice of Global South Summits.

📖 Explanation

India's Neighbourhood First Policy gives priority to relations with immediate South Asian neighbours, including Nepal. Energy cooperation is a key pillar, with Nepal exporting surplus hydropower to India during the monsoon and importing power during the dry season. Open borders, shared cultural and religious links, and infrastructure projects such as cross-border petroleum pipelines and railway lines anchor the relationship. The framework guides engagement even during political transitions in neighbouring capitals.

📖 Explanation

A diamond crossing is a track layout where two railway tracks intersect at an angle, allowing trains to cross without switching from one line to another. A coach of the Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express recently came off the rails at such a crossing while entering Pune station, with no injuries reported. Central Railway has said similar non-standard diamond crossings on the network will be replaced on priority. The incident has drawn attention to yard modernisation needs as the Vande Bharat fleet expands.

📖 Explanation

PRSC-EO3 was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in north China's Shanxi Province on a Long March-6 carrier rocket, lifting off at 8:15 PM Beijing time on 26 April 2026. PRSC stands for Pakistan Remote Sensing Centre, and the EO3 designation indicates the third in a series of Earth observation satellites. Earth observation capability has implications for border surveillance, disaster monitoring and resource mapping. India offers similar launch services to foreign customers through ISRO and New Space India Limited.

📖 Explanation

The alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) process turns ethanol into jet fuel through three steps: dehydration of the ethanol, oligomerisation to lengthen the hydrocarbon chains, and hydrogenation to meet aviation turbine fuel specifications. SAF is a drop-in fuel that can be blended with conventional jet fuel without major engine modifications. The Government of India issued a notification on 17 April 2026 enabling ethanol as a feedstock for SAF, linking it to the existing E20 road-transport programme. The move supports compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization's CORSIA scheme.

📖 Explanation

The Centre raised the wheat procurement target from 30.33 million tonnes to 34.5 million tonnes for the 2026-27 marketing season after unseasonal rains damaged crops and states reported higher demand. Madhya Pradesh's share alone was raised from 7.8 to 10 million tonnes. Wheat procurement supports both Food Corporation of India buffer stocks and the Public Distribution System. The Food and Public Distribution Secretary announced the revision on Friday.

📖 Explanation

CORSIA, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, is administered by the International Civil Aviation Organization and requires airlines to offset growth in carbon dioxide emissions on international routes. Use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel reduces an airline's compliance burden under CORSIA. India's notification of 17 April 2026 allows ethanol to be used as a feedstock for SAF through the alcohol-to-jet process. The policy also creates a new demand outlet for sugarcane and grain-based ethanol producers.

📖 Explanation

The CAFE-III norms tighten the fleet-wide carbon dioxide target to 77 grams per kilometre by 2031-32, down from about 113 grams per kilometre under CAFE-II. The five-year cycle runs from April 2027 to March 2032. Manufacturers can earn super-credits, where a battery electric vehicle may count as three vehicles toward the target, and can bank or trade credits with other automakers. Critics argue these flexibilities could dilute the structural shift to electric mobility.

📖 Explanation

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is the apex planning body for India's power sector and projects national peak demand each year. It has forecast a record peak demand of 271 GW for 2026, exceeding the previous high of 250 GW set on 30 May 2024. Real-time grid balancing during such peaks is handled by Grid Controller of India. Aspirants should distinguish between installed capacity (524 GW) and peak met demand.