Recent Current Affairs related to Gujarat

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has approved projects worth ₹2,719.80 crore under the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) initiated by PM Narendra Modi. The funding is designated for 6 transformative urban development initiatives in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) has granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag to Unjha Cumin and Fennel from the Unjha region of Gujarat.

With this, the total number of GI-tagged agricultural products from Gujarat has increased to 6.

NITI Aayog has released its first-ever "Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) 2026", unveiled by its Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri.

Gujarat emerged as the top overall performer with a score of 56.6, followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Odisha. Among large states, Gujarat is the leader, while Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal are the worst performers.

Uttarakhand is the leader among Hilly & Northeastern states, and Goa is the leader among City States & UTs. Lakshadweep recorded the lowest overall score nationwide, followed by Ladakh and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The index evaluates all 28 states and 8 Union Territories (UTs) based on 84 indicators across 8 economic pillars: Infrastructure, Business Climate, Government Policy, Resources, Regulatory Ease, Institutional Environment, Financial Health, and Environmental Resilience.

Uttar Pradesh has become the second-largest state in India for domestic rooftop solar installations under the 'PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana' with 6.75 lakh installations, surpassing Maharashtra.

Gujarat leads the ranking with 7.4 lakh installations, while Maharashtra ranks third with 6.74 lakh installations.

The Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has signed an addendum to implement the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP) in Gujarat. The agreement was signed at Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi, involving the DBN, the Gujarat government, Gujarat Fibre Grid Network Ltd (GFGNL), and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

The government has approved ₹5,629 crore for this initiative to upgrade rural telecom infrastructure. The programme aims to cover 14,287 Gram Panchayats and provide on-demand connectivity to 3,895 villages across the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the CG Semi Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility in Sanand, Gujarat. This facility marks the commencement of commercial chip production.

The Gujarat Police has signed an MoU with the multi-state cooperative society Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Ltd (Bharat Taxi) to enhance public safety, traffic management, and urban mobility through digital integration.

Union Minister Amit Shah has launched the Prime Minister Family Care Tracker (PM-FCT) pilot project in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The initiative aims to strengthen beneficiary identification and ensure the timely delivery of government welfare schemes.

The PM-FCT serves as an integrated digital platform to monitor the health, nutrition, education, and welfare benefits of children from the prenatal stage up to 18 years of age.

According to the 'Review of Maritime Transport 2025' report released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India has become the world's leading ship recycling nation in 2025. India increased its global share in ship recycling to 35.4% (up from 30.1% in 2024).

The recycling volume reached 2.99 million gross tons (GT), marking a nearly 60% increase from 1.86 million GT. With this development, India has surpassed its Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 target five years ahead of schedule.

The Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme (SbCN) offers credits worth 40% of the scrap value, which are usable up to 5% of the cost of a new vessel. Additionally, the government provided ₹53.5 crore in modernization support, enabling the establishment of 115 Hong Kong International Convention (HKC)-compliant facilities.

The Gujarat government has signed an MoU with the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO) for long-term financing of up to ₹1 lakh crore to support high-impact transit, highway, and smart city development projects across the state.

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has signed an agreement with the Gujarat government to develop a Common Technical Facility (CTF) for the space-tech sector at the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) in Khoraj, Gujarat.

IN-SPACe will provide technical expertise and financial assistance of up to ₹100 crore for the procurement of equipment required for the development of the CTF.

Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and Airbus SE have successfully completed the first test flight of India’s first domestically manufactured Airbus C295 military transport aircraft from the Final Assembly Line in Vadodara, Gujarat.

This marks India’s first large-scale private-sector military aircraft programme, executed under a Ministry of Defence contract worth ₹21,935 crore. The contract involves the supply of 56 C295 aircraft to the Indian Air Force, with deliveries scheduled between 2026 and 2031.

This initiative aims to modernise the transport fleet of the IAF by replacing the ageing Avro-748 fleet and phasing out the Antonov An-32 aircraft.

PM Narendra Modi has visited Gujarat, where he inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various development projects in Surat worth ₹18,800 crore, aimed at strengthening road connectivity, power infrastructure, and industrial development.

He also virtually inaugurated the first ‘World Yogasana Championship’ in Ahmedabad, which is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage City.

Key projects include Packages VI and VII of the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway, a 200-bed Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital, a transmission network expansion project, and Chemical and Bulk Drug Zone projects in Valsad and Bharuch.

Meta has partnered with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to develop its first large-scale AI-enabled data centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

Under the agreement, the former will lease 168 MW of AI-ready data centre capacity from RIL, with operations expected to commence by 2028.

The World Yogasana Championship 2026 was held at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The championship was organized by World Yogasana, Yogasana Bharat, and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The official mascot of the event was ‘Veer the Lion’.

India dominated the medal tally by securing 114 medals (102 gold, 9 silver, and 3 bronze) with a 122-member contingent. Abhay Burman secured the first gold medal for India. Japan ranked second with 3 gold medals, followed by Argentina in the third position.

The Gujarat government has signed an MoU with Meta Platforms Inc to launch a WhatsApp chatbot under the ‘Sugam Digital’ initiative.

The 2-year collaboration aims to enhance e-governance in the state by implementing AI driven public services, accessibility projects, and digital skilling programmes. Through this chatbot, citizens can access around 20 public services from 5 departments in both Gujarati and English.

The Department of Space (DoS) has approved the establishment of Common Technical Facilities (CTFs) in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The initiative aims to strengthen the space ecosystem of India by promoting domestic manufacturing capabilities and supporting the growth of the space sector industry base.

Under this, a Space Manufacturing Park will be established at Khoraj, Gujarat, while a Space Vehicles Cluster will be set up at Thoothukudi, TN.

Skydo has secured in-principle approval to operate as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) within the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the ₹20,667 crore Ahmedabad (Sarkhej)–Dholera Semi High-Speed Double-Line railway project in Gujarat.

Spanning a distance of 134 km, this is the first Indian Railways (IR) project to utilize indigenous semi high-speed technology. The technology is designed to support train speeds of up to 220 km/h.

PM Narendra Modi participated in the Somnath Amrut Mahotsav at the Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath, Gujarat. He released a commemorative stamp and a ₹75 coin to mark 1,000 years of faith at Somnath and 75 years of the reconstruction of the temple after Independence.

PM Modi also inaugurated the Sardardham Hostel in Vadodara, Gujarat, built at a cost of ₹150 crore. He launched the Sardar Dham Education Support Yojana with an outlay of ₹500 crore to provide financial assistance, mentorship, and academic guidance to economically weaker students.