National News

Census of India 2027

• The Centre has issued the notification for the first phase of the Census of India 2027.
• House listing operations will be conducted between 1st April and 30 September this year across all States and Union Territories, during a 30-day period specified by each State/UT.

Mazor Features

Draft Pesticides Management Bill 2025

• The government has invited public feedback on the Draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025, which is intended to replace the present Insecticides Act, 1968 and the Insecticides Rules, 1971.
• Amendments have been introduced to strengthen administrative control and management of pesticides, striking a balance between ease of life and ease of doing business.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Withdrawal of US from international organisations

• US President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing the United States to withdraw from 66 international organizations, including major United Nations entities.

Key Details of Targeted Organizations

SUMMITS AND CONFERNCES

IICDEM-2026

• Election Commission of India (ECI) will host the three-day India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management (IICDEM)-2026 in New Delhi.
• The International Conference is being organised by the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) under the aegis of ECI.

Election Commission, Constitutional Provisions:

123rd meeting of the Enforcement Task Force of the CAQM

• The 123rd meeting of the Enforcement Task Force (ETF) of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) was held in New Delhi to review enforcement and inspection activities across the National Capital Region (NCR).

Indusfood 2026

• The 9th edition of Indusfood 2026, India’s flagship global food and beverage (F&B) sourcing exhibition held at at the India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida.

ECONOMY & BANKING

35 Non-Banking Financial Companies registration cancelled

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled the certificates of registration for 35 Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) due to non-compliance with regulatory requirements. The cancellation means these entities can no longer conduct business as an NBFC.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI):

MoUs Between Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Ministry of Rural Development

• The Ministry of Communications has signed two Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Ministry of Rural Development in New Delhi.
• These MoUs aimed at benefiting rural citizens and farmers by combating misinformation and providing banking services.

PERSON IN NEWS

Kabindra Purkayastha

• Kabindra Purkayastha, a veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union Minister, passed away at the age of 94.
• Regarded as the "patriarch" of the BJP in the Northeast, he was a founding member of the party in the region and played a pivotal role in establishing its organizational base in Assam.

BOOKS And AUTHORS

Book: Sing, Dance and Lead: Leadership Lessons from the Teachings of Srila Prabhupada

• The book titled Sing, Dance and Lead: Leadership Lessons from the Teachings of Srila Prabhupada written by Hindol Sengupta and was published by Penguin Ananda was released by Vice President C P Radhakrishnan.

ENVIRONMENT + SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

India Became first country to commercially produce bio-bitumen

• India officially became the first country in the world to commercially produce bio-bitumen for road construction.
• This milestone was announced by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, during a technology transfer ceremony in New Delhi.
• The process was developed through a collaboration between the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), and the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP).
• A trial stretch using this technology was successfully laid on the Jorabat–Shillong Expressway (NH-40) in Meghalaya in late 2024, demonstrating durability against heavy monsoons and high traffic.

New window into the Quantum World

• Researchers at the Raman Research Institute (RRI), under India’s National Quantum Mission, demonstrated Raman Driven Spin Noise Spectroscopy (RDSNS) as a breakthrough technique that overcomes critical limitations in traditional atom sensing and magnetometry.
• RDSNS overcomes several key challenges by combining traditional spin noise spectroscopy (SNS) with two additional laser beams that coherently drive atoms between spin states.

Water vapor heats the atmosphere much more than aerosols do

• A study by Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital along with Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru along with international partners from Greece and Japan, published a study in the Atmospheric Research journal revealing that water vapor (WV) plays a more dominant role in heating the atmosphere over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) than aerosols.

SPORTS

69th National School Games

• Judo, Taekwondo, and Gatka competitions in 69th National School Games were hosted by in Ludhiana, Punjab which was organized under the aegis of the School Games Federation of India (SGFI).

Jinson Johnson

• National record-holder and Asian Games gold-winning Indian middle-distance runner Jinson Johnson announced his retirement.
• he 34-year-old Kerala athlete’s best moment was winning the 1500 metres gold in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games with a time of 3 minutes 44.72 seconds.

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 Qualifier fixtures

• The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 Global Qualifier tournament is scheduled in Nepal’s Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground and the Upper Mulpani Cricket Ground.