Daily Current Affairs 27 April 2026

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), under the Ministry of Education (MoE), has launched the third edition of the ‘Vibrant Advocacy for Advancement and Nurturing of Indian Languages’ (VAANI) scheme in New Delhi.

Inaugurated by AICTE Chairman Yogesh Singh, the scheme aims to foster technical education in indigenous languages. The scheme, which spans the 2026-27 period, has an annual outlay of ₹4 crore to support events in 22 Indian languages listed under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has issued operational guidelines for the “Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0” (FoF 2.0) to streamline capital flow into the national startup ecosystem. The scheme operates with a corpus of ₹10,000 crore.

Under the scheme, capital will be allocated through commitments to Category I and II Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) registered with the SEBI. These AIFs are required to invest in startups recognized by the DPIIT. The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will serve as the initial Implementation Agency to oversee the selection and monitoring of the participating AIFs.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) have launched a 5 year initiative titled “Strengthening Institutional Capacities for Securing Biodiversity Conservation Commitments”.

The project is a joint collaboration between the Government of India (GoI), Global Environment Facility (GEF), and UN Development Programme (UNDP). The initiative is supported by a $4.88 million grant for the 2025–2030 period and targets two landscapes: the Sathyamangalam landscape in Tamil Nadu and the Garo Hills in Meghalaya.

The Sathyamangalam landscape, situated at the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats, includes the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve. In Meghalaya, the project covers the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, Balpakram National Park, and Siju Wildlife Sanctuary within the Garo Hills.

Union Minister Bhupender Yadav has announced that the Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh (UP), is designated as a Ramsar site. This takes the total number of Ramsar sites in India to 99.

With this addition, UP now has 12 Ramsar sites, the second highest in the country. It is to be noted that Tamil Nadu holds the highest number of Ramsar sites in India with 20 designated wetlands (as of February 2026).

CheQ, a credit management platform, has partnered with AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) to launch the “CheQ AU Credit Card”, which is the first co-branded Light-Emitting Diode (LED)-powered credit card in India.

The card is designed to simplify payments and maximize rewards through a unified rewards ecosystem and advanced tap-to-pay features.

NPCI Bharat Bill Pay Ltd (NBBL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has onboarded Postal Life Insurance (PLI) as a biller under the insurance category on the Bharat Connect platform.

PLI is managed by India Post, and SBI served as the Biller Operating Unit (BOU) to facilitate the onboarding. With the addition of PLI, the total number of insurance billers on the Bharat Connect platform has reached 65.

Pay Point India Network has become the first private-sector fintech company to join the Centralised Payment System (CPS) operated by the RBI.

State Bank of India (SBI) has set a target to expand its balance sheet to 25% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India by 2030, up from the current 20%. As of December 2025, the total balance-sheet of SBI was recorded at ₹71.62 lakh crore.

The bank also aims to increase its market share by 1% across each of the 800 districts in the country during the FY27.

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker has visited India at the invitation of PM Narendra Modi to strengthen bilateral relations. He held discussions with PM Modi in New Delhi on regional, global, and multilateral issues. He also met President Droupadi Murmu and Union Minister S Jaishankar.

The 17th session of the India–Austria Joint Economic Commission (IAJEC) was held in New Delhi to discuss economic cooperation. During the India–Austria Business Forum held in New Delhi, a bilateral Fast-Track Mechanism (FTM) was signed and operationalized to facilitate investments between the two nations. The visit concluded with the signing of multiple agreements to strengthen ties across various sectors.

The Observer Research Foundation (ORF), in partnership with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), has hosted the inaugural ‘BRICS Academic Forum’ in New Delhi. The event is a key Track II initiative under the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) Chairship of India for 2026. The forum serves as an advisory platform for diplomacy and summit preparation to generate policy recommendations for the 18th BRICS Summit. The summit is themed “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.

Discussions are based on 4 core pillars—Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability—aligning with the priorities of the chairship. The initiative involves 13 international speakers and a series of meetings held in India and abroad to develop recommendations for the leaders.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced the Young Global Leaders (YGL) Class of 2026, featuring 118 individuals from 55 countries.

The list includes several prominent Indians such as Jay Shah, Isha Ambani, Sumit Gupta, Abhishek Bansal, Ameve Sharma, Suhani Jalota, Aniket Doegar, Supriya Paul, Dr. Edmond Clint Fernandes, and Natsuki Sugai. The YGL initiative was established by the WEF in 2004 to identify influential leaders under 40 years of age for a five-year leadership programme based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Tata Steel Ltd has signed a definitive agreement with Germany based Paul Wurth SA (SMS Group) to implement the world’s first large-scale “EASyMelt” (Electrically Assisted Syngas Smelter) technology. The technology will be established at the Jamshedpur plant in Jharkhand to significantly reduce carbon emissions during the steel manufacturing process.

J Santosh Kumar, a former Member of Parliament (MP) and environmentalist, has been conferred the “Global Green Icon” award at the World Climate Leaders Conclave 2026 held at the House of Lords in London. It is to be noted that he was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2018 from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to represent the state of Telangana.

Bhagwandas Raikwar, a pioneer of Bundeli martial arts fondly known as ‘Dau’, passed away in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (MP). He was a recipient of Padma Shri in 2026.

Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, the former CM of Andhra Pradesh, passed away at the age of 90. He served as the CM for a 31-day duration, which is one of the shortest tenures in the history of the state, after assuming office during the absence of NT Rama Rao.