Daily Current Affairs 30 April 2026

Akashvani (All India Radio, AIR), operating under Prasar Bharati (PB), has partnered with the National Portal of India (MyGov) to launch two nationwide contests to celebrate the 90-year legacy of AIR.

The contests include the ‘Signature Tune-Making Contest’ and the ‘Jingle-Making Contest’, held under the themes “Akashvani @90 – The New Rhythm of Bharat” and “Akashvani @90 – The Vibrant Voice of India” respectively.

The Ministry of Culture (MoC) has launched ‘VM Frames’, a national filmmaking competition to encourage the youth to celebrate the heritage of India. The initiative is organised to mark the 150th anniversary of the national song “Vande Mataram”, which was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1875.

The competition features three categories: Reels, AI-based films, and Short Films. The MoC has announced awards worth up to ₹50 lakh across the various categories of the competition.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has proposed to notify an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of 408.7 sq km around the Barasingha Wildlife Sanctuary (formerly Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary) in Uttar Pradesh.

The ESZ will act as a “shock absorber” to reduce the impact of external activities on the ecosystem. A Monitoring Committee will be set up to oversee the management of the area, and a Zonal Master Plan is mandated to be formulated within 2 years.

The 10th session of the India–Kenya Joint Trade Committee (JTC) was held in Nairobi, Kenya, to review and strengthen bilateral trade. The meeting was co-chaired by Rajesh Agrawal, Commerce Secretary, and the Kenyan counterpart Regina Akotah Ombam. Bilateral trade between the countries reached $4.31 billion in 2025-26, which is a 24.91% increase from $3.45 billion in 2024-25. The JTC also reviewed the MoU between the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) to facilitate smoother trade.

Union Minister S Jaishankar has launched the logo, theme, and website for the 4th India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-IV). The summit, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi, is being organised in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC).

The theme of the summit is “IA SPIRIT: India-Africa Strategic Partnership for Innovation, Resilience, and Inclusive Transformation.”

The WHO has granted prequalification to “Coartem Baby” (artemether-lumefantrine), which is the first malaria medication specifically developed for newborns and young infants. The treatment is designed for infants weighing between 2 kg and 5 kg to address the specific medical requirements of this age group.

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has granted a licence to the Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC) to establish a reinsurance branch at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gujarat. ADNIC is the first insurance provider based in the UAE to establish a presence within this international financial hub of India.

Eveready Industries India Ltd. has commissioned a greenfield facility in the SIDCO Industrial Complex at Bari Brahmana in the Samba district of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The unit was inaugurated by the Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha.

It is the first and only operational facility in India dedicated to the production of alkaline batteries. The project was developed with an investment of ₹200 crore ($21.64 million) and has an annual installed capacity of 456 million batteries.

Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, has launched the BlueBird 7 communications satellite of AST SpaceMobile onboard the New Glenn rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission failed to reach the intended orbit during its third flight. It is to be noted that the New Glenn rocket is recognized as the first commercial rocket to reach orbit on its maiden flight in January 2025.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), has commissioned an X-Band Dual-Polarization Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at its High Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory (HACPL) in Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra. This installation is part of “Mission Mausam”, a multi-year initiative of the central government to make India a ‘Weather-Ready Nation’.

It is to be noted that the radar is located at an elevation of 1,400 m in the Western Ghats and operates at a frequency of 9.45 GHz. Additionally, IITM has signed an MoU with the Space Applications Centre (SAC) of the ISRO to jointly develop satellite-based meteorological products.

The RBI has approved the re-appointment of B Ramesh Babu as the MD & CEO of Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) for a third consecutive term of 2 years till July 2028.

Srikanth Velamakanni, the Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive of Fractal, has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) for the 2026-2027 term. He succeeds Sindhu Gangadharan.

Kishor Patil, the MD & CEO of KPIT Technologies, has been elected as the Vice Chairperson of NASSCOM.

Vibha Padalkar has been re-appointed as the MD & CEO of HDFC Life Insurance for a 5-year term. Her tenure is scheduled to conclude in September 2031.

The Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) in Andhra Pradesh has been conferred the 4th edition of the “Gender Equality Mobilisation” (GEM) Award. The award is presented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) recognising the initiatives and mobilisation efforts of the GMC towards gender equality.

Sabastian Kimaru Sawe, a Kenyan athlete, has won the men’s elite title at the London Marathon 2026. He became the first individual to complete a competitive marathon (42.2 km) in under 2 hours, clocking a record time of 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds. It is to be noted that he surpassed the previous world record held by Kelvin Kiptum (Kenya).

International Day for Monuments and Sites:

Day – April 18

Theme 2026 – “Heritage under Threat from Disasters and Conflicts: Preparedness and Learning from 60 years of ICOMOS Actions”

Observed by – International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)

Also known as – World Heritage Day