• 30 Mar 2026

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026

Why in News? 

The 2026 IPL marks the 19th season of the tournament and is being held from 28 March to 31 May 2026 across multiple venues in India. 

Key Points 

• The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) franchise cricket league organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). 
• Teams: The league features 10 teams, including franchises such as Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans.  
• Opening Match: The season began with a match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. 
• Defending Champion: Royal Challengers Bengaluru entered the 2026 season as the defending champions after winning their first IPL title in 2025. 
• IPL HISTORY: 
  • Founded: 2008 
  • Organiser: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)  
  • Number of Teams: 10 teams 
  • Format: Twenty20 (T20) franchise cricket league 
  • Most Successful Team: Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) — 5 titles each 
  • First IPL Winner (2008): Rajasthan Royals 
  • Orange Cap: Highest run-scorer of the season 
  • Purple Cap: Highest wicket-taker of the season 

Read More: IPL Winner, BCCI 

Delhi Launches DURGA Scheme for Women and Transgender

Why in News? 

The Government of Delhi has launched the DURGA Scheme to empower women and transgender persons by enabling them to operate electric auto-rickshaws. 

Key Points 

• About: The DURGA Scheme stands for Driving Upliftment and Rozgar for Women/Transgender Green e-Auto. 
  • The scheme was announced by Rekha Gupta, Chief Minister of Delhi, during the Delhi Budget 2026–27. 
• Financial Allocation: The scheme has a proposed budget outlay of ₹20 crore. 
• Objective: To provide livelihood opportunities and economic empowerment to women and transgender persons by enabling them to operate electric auto-rickshaws while promoting inclusive and green urban transport. 
• Beneficiaries: In the first phase, the scheme will support 1,100 beneficiaries, including 1,000 women and 100 transgender persons, to obtain electric auto-rickshaw permits. 
  • Beneficiaries will receive subsidies and interest subvention through empanelled banks to help purchase electric auto-rickshaws.  
• DUMTA: The Delhi Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (DUMTA) is a proposed integrated transport authority aimed at coordinating and planning all urban transport systems in Delhi under a single institutional framework. 
  • The scheme has a proposed budget outlay of ₹5 crore. 

Read More: Transgender 

Balen Shah Becomes Nepal’s Youngest Prime Minister

Why in News? 

Balen Shah took oath as the Prime Minister of Nepal at the age of 35, becoming the youngest Prime Minister in the country’s history. 

Key Points 

• Political Party: He leads the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which achieved a landslide victory in the 2026 Nepalese general election.  
  • RSP secured 182 seats in the 275-member Parliament. 
  • In the Jhapa-5 parliamentary constituency, he defeated former Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli by a large margin in the 2026 elections. 
• Oath Ceremony: The oath of office was administered by Ram Chandra Paudel, the President of Nepal, at Sheetal Niwas in Kathmandu. 
• First Madhesi Leader: He is also the first leader from the Madhesi community of Nepal’s southern plains to become Prime Minister in decades. 
• Balen Shah:  
  • He was known as a civil/structural engineer and a Nepali hip-hop artist, using music to highlight issues such as corruption, governance, and social inequality. 
  • He first gained national prominence after winning the Kathmandu mayoral election in 2022 as an independent candidate. 

Read More: India-Nepal Relation 

Inauguration of Noida International Airport (Jewar Airport) Phase-I

Why in News?

Narendra Modi inaugurated Phase-I of the Noida International Airport, marking a major milestone in the development of aviation infrastructure and connectivity in Uttar Pradesh. 

Key Points

• Jewar Airport: The Noida International Airport, located at Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar district, is a major greenfield airport project aimed at strengthening India’s aviation network and enhancing connectivity in northern India. 
  • The Phase-I development of the airport has been built with an investment of around ₹11,200 crore. 
  • It is developed and operated by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a 100% subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, in partnership with the governments of Uttar Pradesh and India.
• Infrastructure Development: The project forms part of India’s broader push toward modern infrastructure development and the vision of a “Viksit Bharat”. 
  • The region around the airport is emerging as a major logistics hub, supported by the convergence of two major freight corridors at Dadri, enabling goods to reach global markets quickly through multi-modal connectivity.
  • The government has also planned a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at Jewar to reduce dependence on foreign countries for aircraft maintenance services.
• Airport in UP: Uttar Pradesh has now become one of the Indian states with the largest number of international airports.
  • Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport — Lucknow district
  • Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport — Babattpur, Varanasi district
  • Kushinagar International Airport — Kushinagar district
  • Maharishi Valmiki International Airport Ayodhya Dham — Ayodhya district
  • Noida International Airport — Jewar, Gautam Buddha Nagar district

Read More: Noida International Airport,  Freight corridors, Viksit Bharat

Indonesia Bans Social Media Use for Children Under 16

Why in News? 

Indonesia has imposed a nationwide ban on social media use for children under 16, becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to introduce such restrictions to protect minors from harmful online content. 

Key Points 

• Age Restriction: The new regulation prohibits children below 16 years from holding accounts on major social media platforms. 
• Platforms Covered: The ban applies to platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox. 
• Objective: The move aims to protect children from cyberbullying, online scams, pornography exposure, and social-media addiction. 
• Verification Requirement: Social media companies will be required to implement age-verification mechanisms to ensure that users below the permitted age cannot create accounts. 
• Parental Responsibility: The government has encouraged parents and guardians to monitor children’s online activities and promote responsible internet usage. 
• Account Deactivation: Accounts belonging to users under 16 on high-risk platforms will be gradually deactivated as part of the enforcement of the regulation.  

Read More: Southeast Asia 

Bihar Constitutes Crisis Management Group to Ensure Supply of Essential Commodities

Why in News? 

The government of Bihar has constituted a Crisis Management Group to ensure the uninterrupted supply of essential commodities in light of the global situation resulting from the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

Key Points

• Panel: The Bihar government has set up a Crisis Management Group (CMG) to monitor the availability and distribution of essential goods across the state. 
  • The state’s Disaster Management Department stated that the CMG will be led by Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit. 
  • The Food and Consumer Protection Department will serve as the nodal department for the group. 
• Objective: The Crisis Management Group will ensure the availability of essential commodities, oversee supply chains, safeguard migrant workers’ interests, and develop coordinated strategies to tackle emerging emergencies. 
• Emergency Preparedness: The committee will recommend immediate corrective measures in case of supply disruptions caused by emergencies or external factors. 
• Public Welfare: The initiative aims to prevent panic buying, hoarding, and artificial shortages, thereby protecting consumers and ensuring price stability. 

Read More:  West Asia conflict, Disaster Management,  Essential Commodities Act 

Abel Prize 2026

Why in News? 

German mathematician Gerd Faltings has been awarded the prestigious 2026 Abel Prize by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters for his transformative contributions to mathematics.  

Key Points 

• Winner: The 2026 Abel Prize has been awarded to Gerd Faltings of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn, Germany.  
• Contribution: Faltings received the prize “for introducing powerful tools in arithmetic geometry and resolving long‑standing Diophantine conjectures of Mordell and Lang,” work that reshaped parts of modern number theory and algebraic geometry. 
  • Mordell’s conjecture, after being proven by him, is now referred to as Faltings’ Theorem. 
• Historical Significance: Faltings is only the first German mathematician to be awarded the Abel Prize. 
• Abel Prize: It is an international mathematics award presented annually by the Government of Norway through the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, often regarded as the Nobel Prize of Mathematics.  
  • It recognises exceptional contributions to the mathematical sciences. 
  • The Abel Prize was first instituted in 2002. 
  • The Abel Prize was presented by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon in Oslo, Norway. 
  • The prize is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel. 
  • The winner of the Abel Prize receives 7.5 million Norwegian Kroner, which is approximately $770,000 USD in 2026.