Recent Current Affairs related to Women

Major Abhilasha Barak, an Indian Army officer, has been conferred the 2025 UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award. She served as the Engagement Team Commander and Gender Focal Point within the Indian Battalion under the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

She is the third Indian peacekeeper to receive this global award, after Major Suman Gawani (2019) and Major Radhika Sen (2023). It is to be noted that She is the first woman combat helicopter pilot in the history of the Indian Army.

The West Bengal government has started the enrolment for the ‘Annapurna Yojana’, also known as the ‘Annapurna Bhandar’ scheme.

The scheme aims to empower women and support households by providing monthly financial assistance to eligible women (aged 25-60) who do not have a fixed income, government salary, or pension.

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) has released findings from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), highlighting India’s progress in maternal and child health, nutrition, and financial protection. Institutional deliveries have reached 90.6%, while Antenatal Care (ANC) coverage has improved from 92.6% to 95.9%.

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) remains stable at 2.0, while the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) has increased from 66.7% to 69.1%. Full immunization coverage has improved from 83.8% to 87.1%, with vaccination rates for children aged 12-23 months remaining consistently high at over 96%.

Public health facilities remain the preferred choice for immunization, with 95.6% of children receiving most vaccinations through these channels. Child nutrition indicators have shown improvement, with stunting reduced by 17% and severe wasting reduced by 32%.

Five outstanding female scientists have been honoured with the “UNESCO–L’Oréal International Awards for Women in Science 2026”, presented jointly by the UNESCO and the Fondation L’Oréal.

The laureates for 2026 include Professor Liesl Zühlke from South Africa, Professor Felice Jacka from Australia, Professor Sarah A Teichmann from the UK, Professor Raquel Chan from Argentina, and Professor Gordana Novakovic from the United States (US).

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) has completed its first-ever all-women international mountaineering expedition to Mount (Mt) Everest, the highest peak in the world at 8,848 m. The 14-member team scaled the summit through the South Col Route from Nepal.

Meanwhile, the Border Security Force (BSF), a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has also successfully scaled Mt Everest through its inaugural all-women expedition named ‘Mission Vande Mataram’. This expedition was organised as a part of its Diamond Jubilee celebrations, marking 60 years of service.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), in collaboration with the Vertis Foundation, has launched “Project Saksham” to empower rural women through skill development and employment opportunities.

The initiative aims to provide industry-relevant skills, promote financial independence, and facilitate access to formal employment opportunities for rural women. Project Saksham operates through a network of 12 training centres established across India.

Professor Momoko Kitada has been conferred with the 2026 International Maritime Organization (IMO) Gender Equality Award. The award, established in 2022, recognises individuals who have made significant contributions toward empowering women and promoting diversity within the maritime sector.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has constituted the parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women for the 2026–27 session, effective from April 21, 2026, with Dr. Daggubati Purandeswari appointed as the Chairperson.

The committee comprises 30 members, with 20 nominated by the Speaker from the Lok Sabha and 10 nominated by the Chairman from the Rajya Sabha. The tenure of the JPC does not exceed one year, and it is reconstituted annually.

India has hosted the 10th edition of the Indian Ocean Dialogue (IOD-10) in New Delhi under the theme “Indian Ocean Region in a Transforming World”. The event was organized by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Secretariat.

India holds the chairship of the IORA for the 2025-2027 period. The inaugural session of the IOD-10 was addressed by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and ministerial representatives from Mauritius and Yemen. During the session, Sarbananda Sonowal highlighted that the participation of women in the maritime sector of India has increased by 340% since 2020.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the 27th edition of the publication titled “Women and Men in India 2025: Selected Indicators and Data” during the National Deliberative Summit on “Data for Development” in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The report incorporates metadata for 50 key indicators.

According to the report, the sex ratio at birth in India improved to 917 during 2021-23, compared to 904 during 2017-19. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in 2023 was recorded at 1.5 for urban regions and 2.1 for rural areas.

In the education sector, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education rose from 28.5 to 30.2 for females and from 28.3 to 28.9 for males between 2021-22 and 2022-23. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for the population aged 15 and above increased from 37.5% to 45.9% for rural females between 2022 and 2025.

The central government has introduced ‘The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026’ to increase the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850 seats. The move aims to facilitate the immediate implementation of the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ (Women’s Reservation Act) by reserving one-third of the house, totaling 283 seats, for women in the 2029 general elections.

The expansion is designed to accommodate the reservation for women without reducing the existing number of general category seats. Under the proposed revision, the 850 seats will be distributed with 815 seats for States and 35 seats for Union Territories (UTs).