As part of the nationwide commemoration of 150 years of Vande Mataram, the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has announced the launch of “VM Frames” – a National Filmmaking Competition inviting citizens to creatively interpret the spirit of the National Song through visual storytelling.
The year 2025 marks 150 years of Vande Mataram, a defining symbol of India’s freedom movement and cultural identity. This milestone is being observed through a year-long commemoration anchored by the Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with States, Union Territories, Ministries, Indian Missions abroad, and citizens across the world.
INS Nireekshak, the Diving Support and Submarine Rescue Vessel of Indian Navy, arrived at the port of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 21 Apr 2026 to participate in the 4th edition of IN-SLN DIVEX 2026, a bilateral diving exercise scheduled from 21-27 Apr 2026.
As part of India’s humanitarian outreach, the ship will be presenting two BHISM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) cubes to the Sri Lankan authorities under the Government of India’s ‘Aarogya Maitri’ initiative.
These state-of-the-art portable medical units capable of handling up to 200 emergency cases are designed to provide rapid response and are equipped with essential medicines and surgical tools for basic procedures. Further strengthening maritime security cooperation, Indian Navy will also hand over 50,000 rounds of 9 mm ammunition to the Sri Lankan Navy.
The IN-SLN Diving Exercise (DIVEX) is a key bilateral engagement that stands as a testament to the deep-rooted maritime partnership between India and Sri Lanka. Sustained maritime collaboration and engagements with partner nations reaffirm the shared commitment to fostering stability, cooperation, and collective growth in the Indian Ocean Region.
The Atal Pension Yojana (APY), a flagship social security scheme of the Government of India administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), has achieved a historic milestone by surpassing total gross enrolments of 9 crore subscribers on 21st April, 2026.
In a further testament to the scheme’s growing outreach and impact, gross enrolments during the Financial Year 2025–26 have crossed 1.35 crore subscribers, marking the highest-ever enrolments recorded in a single financial year since the inception of the scheme.
Launched on May 9, 2015, with the vision of establishing a universal social security system for all Indians, APY is a voluntary, contributory pension scheme primarily focused on the poor, the underprivileged, and workers in the unorganized sector.
Over the past decade, the scheme has witnessed remarkable growth, driven by sustained efforts of Banks (PSBs/RRBs/Private Banks/SFBs/Co-operative banks), SLBCs/UTLBCs/LDMs, the Department of Posts (DoP) and continuous support from the Government of India.
FRDA has played a proactive role in expanding the scheme’s footprint across all states and districts in the country, through extensive outreach initiatives, capacity-building programs, multilingual awareness materials, media campaigns, and regular performance reviews.
APY is designed to provide a ‘Sampurna Suraksha Kavach’ (Complete Security Shield) by ensuring the following triple benefits: - First, a guaranteed monthly pension ranging from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000 for subscribers after attaining 60 years of age; Second, same pension continues to the spouse after the subscriber’s demise and third, the return of the corpus accumulated,
till the age of 60, to the nominee after the death of both. The scheme is open to all Indian citizens between the age of 18 and 40 years, except those who are or have been income tax payers.
In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the President is pleased to appoint Smt. Justice Lisa Gill, Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court (PHC: Punjab and Haryana) as Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court with effect from 25.04.2026,
consequent upon the retirement of Shri Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur on 24.04.2026.
Federal Express Corporation (FedEx) and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) have successfully completed India’s first intra-city drone delivery flight trials in Bengaluru. Conducted under the research framework of the FedEx SMART Centre at IIT Madras, this milestone underscores a commitment to advancing next-generation, technology-enabled supply chains.
The trials validated a mid-mile aerial logistics service connecting Electronic City Phase II with the vicinity of Bangalore International Airport. By utilizing aerial corridors, the initiative successfully reduced a typical 60-minute, 53 km road journey to a 39-42 km flight, completing the transit in approximately 21 minutes.
Technical operations were executed at an altitude of 120 metres, featuring safety protocols including autonomous flight termination, return-to-home capabilities, and anti-collision lighting. The flights were conducted in coordination with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
The Reserve Bank of India on April 21 issued consolidated guidelines for e-mandates used in digital payments, making an additional factor of authentication mandatory for processing such transactions. The norms apply to all payment system providers and participants handling recurring payments (both domestic and cross-border) through via cards, prepaid payment instruments,
and the unified payments interface. The directions come into effect immediately.
The central bank said recurring transactions exceeding Rs 15,000 will require additional authentication. Payments such as insurance premiums, mutual fund subscriptions, and credit card bills above Rs 1 lakh will also need the extra layer of verification.
Further, the first transaction under any e-mandate must be authenticated with an additional factor. The RBI clarified that payments under e-mandates will not be subject to any separate limits or controls set by customers.
According to the framework, customers opting for e-mandates must complete a one-time registration process, with mandates activated only after successful authentication beyond the standard issuer checks
Each e-mandate will carry a defined validity period and allow users to modify or cancel it at any time.
The RBI said this flexibility must be clearly communicated to customers during registration.
Karnataka Bank has entered into a partnership with Pine Labs, a provider of point-of-sale (PoS) solutions.
Through this partnership, the bank aims to strengthen digital payment options for its customers.
Karnataka Bank provides a wide range of banking and financial services, including retail and corporate banking and para-banking activities, as well as treasury and foreign exchange operations. The bank reported a 2.5% increase in standalone net profit to Rs 290.79 crore on a 0.51% decline in total income to Rs 2,522.35 crore in Q3 FY26 compared with Q3 FY25.
Tata Steel has entered into definitive agreements with Paul Wurth, SA (Luxembourg), part of the SMS Group GmbH, to implement the world’s first EASyMelt (electrically-assisted syngas smelter) technology.
Tata Steel intends to proceed with the first industrial demonstration of this technology in the ‘E’ Blast Furnace at its Jamshedpur Works, in a phased manner. The project aims to cut carbon emissions by over 50 per cent compared to the blast furnace’s baseline operation.
Building the first EASyMelt on an industrial scale is a significant milestone and paves the way for future brownfield decarbonisation projects, he said.
Tata Steel and SMS Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June 2023 to collaborate on decarbonising, the iron making process.
Tennis players Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka were named sportsman and sportswoman of the year at the Laureus awards while Paris Saint-Germain was the team of the year.
Alcaraz won the French and U.S. Opens 2025, plus the Australian Open in January. Sabalenka, the top-ranked woman, won her second consecutive U.S. Open 2025.
PSG broke through with its first Champions League title in 2025.
Rory McIlroy, who successfully defended the Masters title this month, received the comeback of the year award.
Barcelona and Spain star Lamine Yamal, aged 18, won the young sportsperson of the year prize. Formula One champion Lando Norris received the world breakthrough of the year award.
German soccer great Toni Kroos won the world sporting inspiration award, and retired gymnast Nadia Comaneci got the lifetime achievement prize.
The RBI proposed several measures to develop a more conducive framework for the long-term growth of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs), including enhanced transaction security and clearer rules on refunds and grievance redressal.
Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent, has been confirmed as the host of the 2027 World Para Athletics Championships, marking the first time the prestigious event will be staged in Uzbekistan and Central Asia.
The announcement was made by World Para Athletics (WPA), confirming that the world’s largest single Para sport event will take place at the Olympic City Main Stadium in June 2027.
Tashkent 2027 will be the 13th edition of the World Para Athletics Championships and the fifth time the event is hosted in Asia, following Doha 2015, Dubai 2019, Kobe 2024 and New Delhi 2025.
With an expected participation of around 1,300 athletes from more than 100 nations, the championships are set to become the largest international Para sport event ever hosted in the country.
Paul Fitzgerald- Head of World Para Athletics.
International Girls in ICT Day 2026 celebrated on 23 April under the theme “AI for Development: Girls shaping the digital future”.
Since 8 April 2011, the ITU has celebrated Girls in ICT Day annually on the fourth Thursday in April.
This initiative promotes information and communication technologies (ICT) to young women and girls and encourages them to pursue careers in the field.
Established through Resolution 70 at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2010, the event highlights the importance of empowering all girls and women through ICT for their educational and socio-economic development.
Books are like a window onto another world – with each new page, they introduce us to new people, new cultures and new ideas. Every year, on 23 April, UNESCO celebrates World Book and Copyright Day in recognition of the power of books as a bridge between generations and across cultures.
Every year, as part of celebrations for World Book and Copyright Day, a World Book Capital is selected by UNESCO and international organizations representing the major sectors of the book industry – publishers, booksellers and libraries. Selected cities promote books and reading for all age groups and across all of society, in the host country and beyond.
English Language Day at the United Nations is celebrated on the 23rd of April, the date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. As well as being the English language's most famous playwright, Shakespeare had a significant impact on modern-day English.
Shakespeare's creativity with language meant he contributed hundreds of new words and phrases: 'gossip'; 'fashionable' and 'lonely' were all first used by Shakespeare. He also invented phrases like 'break the ice', 'faint-hearted' and 'love is blind'.
English is one of the languages of international communication.
April 23rd is celebrated as "Spanish Language Day at the United Nations" to raise awareness among UN staff, and the world at large, about the history, culture and use of Spanish as an official language.
The date was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the death of the great Spanish literary genius, Miguel de Cervantes.
Coincidentally, the date of his death coincides with that of the most prestigious English playwright, William Shakespeare. Hence, both languages share the same day.
The United Nations has always sought creative ways to promote official languages in all spheres of its work, among which, of course, Spanish could not be missing.
