Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded Sri Lanka ‘s highest civilian honour ‘ Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushan ‘ in Colombo on Saturday. This honour was handed over to him by Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in a grand ceremony. This honour is given only to those heads of state who have specially advanced friendship and cooperation with Sri Lanka. This is the 22nd international honour given to Prime Minister Modi by a foreign country . During the ceremony, both the leaders launched several bilateral development projects including Sampur Solar Energy Project and Dambulla Agricultural Storage Centre. Along with this, several important agreements were signed on energy, digital transformation and trilateral cooperation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Sri Lanka ‘s capital Colombo on Saturday . During this meeting, several important agreements were signed between the two countries, including defense cooperation, energy development and cultural cooperation . India and Sri Lanka signed agreements to develop Trincomalee as an energy hub, arrangements for import-export of electricity through the HVDC interconnection project , and cooperation in the digital, health and pharma sectors . Apart from this, India also decided to provide multi-sectoral grant assistance for the development of eastern Sri Lanka. Prime Minister Modi announced a plan to train 700 people every year for Sri Lankan youth. India also promised to provide grant assistance for the development of Sri Lanka’s religious places like Thirukoneswaram Temple in Trincomalee, Sita Eliya Temple in Nuwara Eliya and the sacred area of Anuradhapura . In the energy and agriculture sector, the two countries jointly inaugurated the first temperature-controlled warehouse with a capacity of 5000 tonnes in Dambulla and launched a plan to install 5000 solar rooftop units in 25 districts of Sri Lanka. Apart from this, the foundation stone of the 120 MW Sampur Solar Project was also laid.
Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh flagged off the Indian Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel, INS Sunayna as Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) at Karwar , Karnataka on 05 April 2025. The Defence Minister also inaugurated modern operations, repair and logistics facilities constructed at a cost of over Rs 2,000 crore under Project Seabird , marking the National Shipping Day and the tenth anniversary of SAGAR Abhiyaan . The flagging off of the ship with 44 naval personnel from nine friendly countries (Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania) represents a significant step in reflecting India’s commitment to regional maritime security and international cooperation. Project Seabird facilities include marine infrastructure designed for ships, submarines and harbour craft, an ordnance jetty, two specially equipped repair piers, marine utility complex, residential infrastructure consisting of 480 housing units for sailors and defence civilian personnel and support facilities comprising of 25 km road network, 12 km storm water drains, reservoir, waste management plant and security watch towers.
The Reserve Bank will soon issue new Rs 10 and Rs 500 notes . These notes will be of the new Mahatma Gandhi series and will bear the signature of Governor Sanjay Malhotra . A press release said that the design of these notes will be similar to the Rs 10 and Rs 500 banknotes in the new Mahatma Gandhi series. The Rs 10 and Rs 500 notes already issued by the Reserve Bank will continue to be in circulation.
5 Delhi became the 35th state/union territory to implement Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
In a landmark development, Delhi became the 35th State/UT to implement Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) after National Health Authority (NHA) of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Delhi . Launched on 23rd September 2018 , Ayushman Bharat PM -JAY has brought about a sea change in healthcare, especially for millions of poor and vulnerable families across the country. In just five years, it has provided them with timely access and quality healthcare, saving them from the burden of huge healthcare expenditure during medical emergencies.
6 Army conducts successful user trial of medium-range SAM missile
The Eastern and Southern Command of the Indian Army under the supervision of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) have successfully conducted four user trials of the Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MR-SAM). This missile has been jointly developed by India and Israel for the use of the Indian Armed Forces. The test was conducted on April 3 and 4, 2025 at Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha . According to DRDO, with this successful user trial of the MR-SAM system, the missile system is ready to be inducted into the Eastern and Southern Command of the Indian Army. This missile has already been inducted into the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. The medium-range surface-to-air missile system has been jointly developed by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) .
7 ‘Kumbakonam Betel Nut’ of Tamil Nadu, ‘Thovalai Flower Garland’ and Saudagar Block Print of Gujarat were granted GI tag
In April 2025 , the Geographical Indications (GI) Registry in Chennai , Tamil Nadu (TN), under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag to two indigenous products of Tamil Nadu – Kumbakonam Betel Nut from Thanjavur and Thovalai Flower Garland (Manika Malai) from Kanyakumari . With this recognition, Tamil Nadu now has a total of 62 GI-tagged products , including 11 products from Thanjavur district . Traditional Saudagari Block Print of Jamalpur , Ahmedabad , Gujarat , known for its intricate hand-printed designs, has been awarded the GI tag. The recognition aims to protect the unique craftsmanship, ensure authenticity and improve the economic prospects of artisans who have preserved this heritage for generations.
8 Paradip Port retained No.1 position in cargo handling among major ports in FY25
According to provisional estimates of the Indian Ports Association (IPA), ( Odisha )-based Paradip Port Authority (PPA), formerly known as Paradip Port Trust, has retained the top position in cargo handling among Indian major ports and joined the 150 million metric tonne (MMT) exclusive ports by handling 150.41 MMT cargo in Financial Year 2024-25 (FY25). This shows a growth of 3.5% as compared to 145.4 MMT in FY24. This was followed by Deendayal Port located at Kandla (Gujarat) which witnessed over 13% growth in cargo handling from 132.MMT (in FY24) to 150.15 MMT (in FY25) and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) located at Mumbai (Maharashtra) which witnessed a 7.4% growth in cargo handling to 86 MMT.
9 MoEFCC report: Over 13,056 sq km of forest area encroached upon in India; Madhya Pradesh leads
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has submitted a report to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) , revealing that as of March 2024 , a total of 13,056 sq km (or 13,05,668.1 hectares) of forest area was under encroachment across 25 states and union territories (UTs) in India . This shows a significant increase compared to the 7,506.48 sq km of encroached forest land reported in April 2023. According to the report, Madhya Pradesh (MP) has the highest forest encroachment, covering 5,460.9 sq km, followed by Assam at 3,620.9 sq km. The major affected states are Arunachal Pradesh (AR) with 534.9 sq km of forest encroachment recorded, followed by Odisha with 405.07 sq km, Uttar Pradesh (UP) with 264.97 sq km, Mizoram with 247.72 sq km, Jharkhand with 200.40 sq km and Chhattisgarh with 168.91 sq km of forest encroachment.
10 SBI and Citi announce USD 295 million social loan to help farmers in India
On April 3, 2025, Mumbai (Maharashtra) -based State Bank of India (SBI) and New York (United States of America, USA) -based Citibank (Citi) announced a USD 295 million social credit facility to support small farmers in India . The loan aims to increase agricultural productivity and improve the financial well-being of small and marginal farmers through improved credit access. The collaboration builds on Citi’s global commitment of USD 1 trillion for sustainable finance by 2030, which includes providing support to 15 million low-income households worldwide.
11 BOM partners with Customer Capital to launch ‘Tripstack’ travel platform
On April 02, 2025, Pune (Maharashtra)-based Bank of Maharashtra (BOM) partnered with Mumbai (Maharashtra)-based Customer Capital (in India, it is registered under the name Custcap Solutions Pvt Ltd), a captive commerce solutions provider, to launch TripStack, a white-label travel platform for BOM cardholders . The platform integrates artificial intelligence (AI)-powered loyalty rewards , making hotel and ticket bookings seamless through BOM’s card website and mobile application (app).
12 Axis Bank becomes first Indian bank to launch B2B collection solution
In April 2025 , Mumbai (Maharashtra) based Axis Bank Ltd. , one of the largest private sector banks (PVB) in India, partnered with a Fortune 500 company in India to launch B2B (business to business) collections using Bharat Connect , formerly known as Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) , developed by NPCI Bharat Billpay Ltd. (NBBL) . This makes Axis Bank the first bank to implement this innovative payment solution leveraging its advanced application programming interface (API) banking stack. It aims to streamline B2B payments, automate processes across supply chains, and improve digital payment efficiency for corporate customers.
13 Sanjeev Chopra’s book “The Great Conciliator: Lal Bahadur Shastri and the Transformation of India” released
A new biography, “ The Great Conciliator: Lal Bahadur Shastri and the Transformation of India ”, written by historian and former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Sanjiv Chopra , has been released. It provides in-depth information on India’s second prime minister (PM), Lal Bahadur Shastri . Published by New Delhi-based Bloomsbury Publishing India Pvt Ltd, the book highlights Shastri’s contribution to India’s development.
