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Daily Current Affairs: 21 April 2026

Current affairs of 21 April 2026: India’s Forest Carbon Storage May Nearly Double by 2100; G20 Satellite: ISRO Targets 2027 Launch for Earth Observation; PMGSY-III Extension: Rural Roads Timeline and Funding, and 10 more topics. Key facts for every exam, with a quiz.

Take the quiz (15 questions)April 2026
13 TOPICSDaily CurrentAffairs21 April 2026In focus: India’s Forest Carbon Storage May Nearly…safalsetu.com

In this issue: 13 topics

Government Schemes

  1. PMGSY-III Extension: Rural Roads Timeline and Funding
  2. Vishwa Sutra: Ministry of Textiles Handloom-Meets-World Collection

Banking & Finance

  1. SEBI AIF Amendments: Social Impact Fund Minimum Cut to ₹1,000

Economy

  1. RBI Eases Rupee NDF Curbs: What Changed from April 20

International Affairs

  1. World Creativity and Innovation Day 2026: Theme and Origin
  2. 7th India-Bhutan Joint Group of Customs Meeting Held

Agriculture & Rural

  1. High-Value Crops: Budget 2026-27 Diversification Push

Science & Technology

  1. G20 Satellite: ISRO Targets 2027 Launch for Earth Observation
  2. FedEx, IIT Madras Run India’s First Intra-City Drone Trial

Environment & Ecology

  1. India’s Forest Carbon Storage May Nearly Double by 2100
  2. Tata Steel, SMS Group Deploy EASyMelt at Jamshedpur

Defence & Security

  1. MoD Signs Rs 975 Crore Contracts for TRAWL Assemblies

Awards & Persons

  1. Dr Ch. Srinivasa Rao Receives 9th M.S. Swaminathan Award

Government Schemes

Government Schemes

1. PMGSY-III Extension: Rural Roads Timeline and Funding

  • Union Cabinet extended PMGSY-III so rural road work, especially delayed projects in difficult terrain, can continue.
  • Plain-area roads and bridges now have until March 2028; hilly-area roads also March 2028, bridges until March 2029.
  • Funding moved from fully central to 60:40 Centre-State, and 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan states.
  • PMGSY-III targets Through Routes and Major Rural Links to markets (GrAMs), higher secondary schools and health facilities.
Full notes and 3 MCQs ›
Government Schemes

2. Vishwa Sutra: Ministry of Textiles Handloom-Meets-World Collection

  • Vishwa Sutra, meaning Universal Thread, debuted at the 61st Femina Miss India in Bhubaneswar with 30 Indian weaves.
  • It is a Ministry of Textiles design initiative led by the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), with NIFT as design partner.
  • Each Indian weave is paired with the design outlook of a foreign country, the so-called 30-30 framework.
  • Goa's Kunbi weave was shown as a Central European skirt.
Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Banking & Finance

Economy

Economy

4. RBI Eases Rupee NDF Curbs: What Changed from April 20

  • On April 20, 2026, RBI partially rolled back the April 1 curbs on rupee non-deliverable forwards (NDF).
  • Banks may now do related-party cancellations and rollovers, and use the back-to-back route.
  • The $100 million net open position cap stays, and new derivative trades with related parties remain barred.
  • RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the measures were temporary steps to defend the rupee.
Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

International Affairs

Economy

6. 7th India-Bhutan Joint Group of Customs Meeting Held

  • The 7th India-Bhutan Joint Group of Customs (JGC) meeting took place on 20-21 April 2026 in Munnar, Kerala.
  • It was co-chaired by Yogendra Garg of CBIC (India) and Sonam Jamtsho of Bhutan.
  • Talks covered coordinated border management and a MoU on pre-arrival customs data exchange.
  • Anti-smuggling intelligence sharing, digitisation and transit cargo tracking were also discussed.
Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Agriculture & Rural

Economy

7. High-Value Crops: Budget 2026-27 Diversification Push

  • Union Budget 2026-27 adopts a regionally differentiated strategy to move farmers from water-intensive rice and wheat to high-value crops.
  • Horticulture output was 370.74 million tonnes in 2024-25 and contributes 37% of agricultural GVO.
  • Horticulture grew 4.45% over the last decade, the fastest in Indian agriculture.
  • Challenges: long gestation, 20-30% post-harvest loss and fragmented landholdings.
Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Science & Technology

Environment & Ecology

Environment & Ecology

10. India’s Forest Carbon Storage May Nearly Double by 2100

  • A study by Indian researchers projects forest carbon storage could rise 97% by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario.
  • Rising CO2 (fertilisation) and more rainfall drive the growth, with biggest gains in arid and semi-arid Rajasthan and Gujarat.
  • Low and medium scenarios project 35% and 62% increases respectively.
  • Wildfires, droughts, pests and deforestation are not fully modelled and could turn sinks into sources.
Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Defence & Security

Awards & Persons

Test yourself

15 questions from the news of 21 April 2026, with answers and explanations.

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