Daily Current Affairs — 25 April 2026
Daily Current Affairs · 25 April 2026
10 fully-analysed topics · 30 bilingual MCQs · 3 embedded videos · built for UPSC Prelims & Mains
📚 10 Topics
🎯 30 MCQs
🎬 3 Videos
🇮🇳 Hindi + English
🎯 30 MCQs
🎬 3 Videos
🇮🇳 Hindi + English
Security: 4 · Economy: 2 · Environment: 2 · Polity: 1 · History: 1
▶ Start Here — UPSC-Standard Quiz
UPSC Current Affairs MCQ — 25 April 2026
10 UPSC-standard bilingual MCQs covering today's top stories · 10-sec timer per question
Score yourself as you go. Get a feel for how UPSC-level questions are framed around the day's news.
📰 Today’s Top 5 Current Affairs
#01
Security
Security
India’s Post-LWE Transformation
📰 Why in News
On 31 st March 2026 , the Union Home Minister announced that India is now free from Maoist insurgency , marking a major shift from its status as the most serious internal security threat in 200910.
✅ Quick Facts
- The development signals a transition from conflict to stability
- Strategic & Internal Security Impact: Reclamation of State Sovereignty: The most immediate impact is the restoration of the state's monopoly on the…
- It provides the operational space to fulfill the foundational mandates of the Fifth and Sixth Schedules
- The neutralization of the LWE threat allows the state to re-calibrate and potentially redeploy these specialized forces to secure volatile…
- Reversing the Resource Curse: LWE-affected regions like Bastar (Chhattisgarh) and Saranda (Jharkhand) hold some of India's most critical mineral…
- Integration of the Regional Economy: Sustained peace enables the transition from a localized
- Capitalizing on Minor Forest Produce (MFP): Without the extortion tax (Maoist levy)
- Deepening of Democracy: The transition moves the paradigm from the "bullet to the ballot." Increased voter turnouts in erstwhile hyper-sensitive…
- It paves the way for the assertion of genuine constitutional rights, particularly under the Forest Right Act (FRA), 2006.
- Administrative Vacuum: The transition from security-led "area domination" to routine governance remains weak
🎯 UPSC Relevance
1. What is the significance of India being declared free from LWE? It marks restoration of state authority
#02
Security
Security
Left Wing Extremism-Free India
📰 Why in News
The Union Home Minister stated that Maoists have been "more or less wiped out" from the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, historically the strongest bastion of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in India.
✅ Quick Facts
- Declaring that the country has become "Naxal-free"
- India has become "Naxal-free" through a combination of security operations
- However, ensuring lasting peace requires addressing root causes such as tribal rights, governance gaps, and economic inclusion to prevent resurgence.
- Policy Framework: Recognizing that insurgency cannot be defeated by military force alone
- To achieve this, the government employs a synchronized, three-pillar strategy based on the globally recognized "Clear, Hold, and Build"…
- SAMADHAN Doctrine: Launched in 2017, this is the operational blueprint for security forces
- Security forces have achieved significant success in countering Left-Wing Extremism through major operations such as Operation Octopus
- This permanently chokes insurgent supply lines and prevents them from regrouping.
- Physical Connectivity: Implementation of the Road Connectivity Project for LWE Affected Areas (RCPLWEA) to build all-weather roads through dense…
- Digital Connectivity: Rapid installation of thousands of mobile towers to ensure 100% 4G saturation in LWE districts
🎯 UPSC Relevance
Discuss the relevance of the "Clear, Hold, Build" doctrine in India's counter-insurgency strategy.
#03
Security
Security
Dismantling the Roots of Left Wing Extremism
📰 Why in News
The Left Wing Extremism (LWE), once a major internal security threat , has contracted from the extensive Red Corridor to just 18 districts, driven by…
✅ Quick Facts
- About: LWE (Left-Wing Extremism) refers to the armed insurgency mainly led by Maoist groups
- Sustained Reduction in LWE Incidents: Left Wing Extremism (LWE) incidents dropped by more than 50% between 200414 and 201423
- The Karreguttalu Hill operation (Operation Black Forest) in 2025 achieved the elimination of key Maoist operatives
- Governance & Development : Ensure last-mile delivery
- Enhanced Security Architecture : Implement technology-enabled smart policing
- Community-Centric Approach : Promote trust-building
- Rehabilitation & Mainstreaming : Provide surrender-cum-rehabilitation packages
- Inter-Agency & Centre-State Coordination : Adopt a whole-of-government approach with joint task forces
- "Development Defeats Dissent" Accelerated infrastructure, livelihoods, and welfare in LWE-hit areas.
- "Security with Sensitivity" Balanced use of force with respect for rights and local culture.
#04
Polity
Polity
Scheduled Areas in India
📰 Why in News
India's Scheduled Tribes (STs) constitute 8.6% of the population, residing in various states and union territories.
✅ Quick Facts
- About: Scheduled Areas represent regions covering 11.3% of India's land area
- They are designated in 10 states under the Fifth schedule : Andhra Pradesh
- In 2015, Kerala proposed to notify 2,133 habitations, five-gram panchayats, and two wards in five districts as Scheduled Areas
- The guiding norms for declaring an area as a Scheduled Area include significant tribal population
- The 2002 Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes Commission or the Bhuria Commission recommended considering areas with 40% or more tribal population…
- Article 244 (1) applies the Fifth Schedule provisions to Scheduled Areas in states other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram
- In 1995, the Bhuria Committee , constituted to recommend provisions for the extension of panchayat raj to Scheduled Areas, recommended including…
- They will advise the Governor on matters referred to them regarding ST welfare
- Despite demands from Adivasi organizations, a significant portion (59%) of India's ST population is outside the purview of Article 244 , denying them…
- The absence of viable ST-majority administrative units has been a common bureaucratic response
📊 Key Numbers & Data
- India's Scheduled Tribes (STs) constitute 8.6% of the population, residing in various
- by various ST communities comprising 8.6% of the country's population. They are
- recommended considering areas with 40% or more tribal population according to the
- organizations, a significant portion (59%) of India's ST population is outside the
#05
Economy
Economy
Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF)
📰 Why in News
📚 💰 Core Subject Drill — Indian Economy
💰 Indian Economy MCQ Quiz · भारतीय अर्थव्यवस्था
10 bilingual MCQs · Indian Economy · Members Only on YouTube
Today's rotation: Indian Economy. Take this break between news topics to sharpen the core concept.
📖 More Current Affairs Coverage
#06
Environment
Environment
Tribal Ministry’s Directive on Forest Right Act, 2006
📰 Why in News
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has directed states to establish Institutional Mechanisms to ensure compliance with the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 , in tiger reserves .
✅ Quick Facts
- Ensure FRA Compliance : The Ministry emphasized that forest-dwelling communities cannot be evicted without legal recognition of their rights under…
- States must submit a report detailing tribal villages in tiger reserves , and the status of their forest rights claims.
- The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has also sought timelines for relocating 591 villages in tiger reserves
- About: It was enacted to officially recognize and grant forest rights and tenure to forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Traditional…
- Aim: It seeks to correct historical injustices faced by these communities due to colonial and post-colonial forest management policies that…
- Ownership Rights : Grants ownership over Minor Forest Produce (MFP)
- The Act facilitates the diversion of forest land for public welfare projects managed by the government, subject to Gram Sabha approval.
- Lack of Recognition of Individual Rights: The recognition of individual rights under the FRA faces resistance from the Forest Department
- Local elites within forest-dwelling communities often dominate decision-making processes
- Addressing Resistance: Form tribal or forest dweller bodies
#07
History
History
Eklavya Model Residential Schools
📰 Why in News
The government is pushing to set up 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students.
✅ Quick Facts
- EMRS is a scheme for making model residential schools for STs across India. It started in the year 1997-98.
- Its nodal ministry is Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
- The aim of the scheme to build schools at par with the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas with focus on special state-of-the-art…
- Since the new guidelines have been put into place, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs sanctioned 332 of the targeted 452 schools till 2021-22.
- As of November 2022, a total of 688 schools have been sanctioned, of which 392 are functional.
- Of the 688, 230 have completed construction and 234 are under construction, with 32 schools still stuck due to land acquisition issues.
- Although the Union government had sanctioned a certain number of preliminary EMRS
- The funds for these schools were to come from the grants under Article 275(1) and the guidelines mandated that unless States finished constructing…
- Apart from the infrastructural requirements of 20-acre plots for each EMRS
- The new guidelines in 2018-19 gave the Union government more power to sanction schools and manage them.
📊 Key Numbers & Data
- STs across India. It started in the year 1997-98. Its nodal ministry is Ministry of Tribal
- 332 of the targeted 452 schools till 2021-22. As of November 2022, a total of 688
- the New Guidelines? The new guidelines in 2018-19 gave the Union government more power to
- Tribe (ST) population, which must be 50% of the total population in that area. The
#08
Economy
Economy
PESA Act
📰 Why in News
Electoral Parties are trying to woo tribals in Gujarat by making promises to strictly implement the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, 1996.
✅ Quick Facts
- Gujarat notified the State PESA Rules in January 2017 and made them applicable in 4,503 gram sabhas under 2,584 village panchayats in 50 tribal…
- However, the Act has not been enforced in letter and spirit.
- Six states (Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra) have formed the PESA laws, and Chhattisgarh would become…
- About: The PESA Act was enacted in 1996 "to provide for the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats to…
- Under the Act, Scheduled Areas are those referred to in Article 244(1) , which says that the provisions of the Fifth Schedule shall apply to the…
- The Fifth Schedule provides for a range of special provisions for these areas.
- Ten states Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Telangana have…
- To ensure self-governance through Gram Sabhas (village assemblies) for people living in the Scheduled Areas.
- It recognises the right of tribal communities
- Empowers Gram Sabhas to play a key role in approving development plans and controlling all social sectors.
#09
Environment
Environment
Community Forest Resource Rights
📰 Why in News
Residents of the four villages in Chhattisgarh's Mungeli district have received Community Forest Resource Rights (CFRR).
✅ Quick Facts
- Achanakmar became the second tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh to get CFRR, following Udanti Sitanadi Tiger Reserve in Dhamtari district.
- The Community Forest Resource (CFR) area is common forest land that has been traditionally protected and conserved for sustainable use by a…
- The community uses it to access resources available within the traditional and customary boundary of the village
- Each CFR area has a customary boundary with identifiable landmarks recognised by the community and its neighbouring villages.
- It may include forest of any category revenue forest
- The Community Forest Resource rights under Section 3(1)(i) of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest…
- These rights allow the community to formulate rules for forest use by itself and others and thereby discharge its responsibilities under Section 5 of…
- CFR rights, along with Community Rights (CRs) under Sections 3(1)(b) and 3(1)(c), which include nistar rights and rights over non-timber forest…
- Once CFRR is recognised for a community, the ownership of the forest passes into the hands of the Gram Sabha instead of the forest department.
- Effectively, the Gram Sabha becomes the nodal body for management of the forests.
#10
Security
Security
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967
📰 Why in News
The Supreme Court of India denied bail in the 2020 Delhi riots case, relying on the wide definition of a "terrorist act" under Section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 .
✅ Quick Facts
- The decision has renewed debate on how the anti-terror law has expanded far beyond conventional notions of terrorism.
- The UAPA has evolved from a limited post-Independence law into a wide-ranging anti-terror framework
- While the UAPA remains crucial for national security and global counterterror commitments
- About: The UAPA,1967 is India's principal anti-terror and national security law to curb activities threatening sovereignty
- 2004 Amendment: Introduced terrorism into the UAPA by adding Chapter IV (Sections 1523) on terrorist acts and punishments
- The amendment tightened bail norms by barring anticipatory bail
- They also classified counterfeit currency offences as terrorist acts and extended liability to companies
- The law covers acts committed using explosives, firearms, poisons, chemicals, hazardous substances, or "any other means"
- Under the UAPA, terrorist acts are punishable with imprisonment for a minimum term of five years, which may extend to life imprisonment, and where…
- The broad wording allows acts likely to cause fear or disruption to be prosecuted as terrorism.
🏛️ Key Stakeholders
Supreme CourtParliamentNIA
🗞️ Wrap Up — Simple CA Quiz
Simple Current Affairs MCQ — 25 April 2026
10 accessible MCQs covering the same topics · great for quick revision
End your study session with these simpler MCQs to lock in recall of today's current affairs.
