Current Affairs Today — April 9, 2026

Six stories. One page. UPSC-ready.

1. US-Iran Ceasefire: Strait of Hormuz Reopens, India Watches Closely

A 39-day conflict between the United States and Iran ended with a ceasefire brokered through the Islamabad Talks, with Pakistan playing the primary mediating role. The agreement includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz — through which approximately 20% of global energy flows — ending transit fees of ~$2 million per vessel that Iran had imposed during hostilities.

India’s exposure was acute: ~60% of India’s crude oil is sourced from the Gulf, and over 1 crore Indian nationals live in the region. Eight Indian casualties were reported. India’s multi-alignment posture — engaging all parties without endorsing any — was tested throughout the crisis.

UPSC angle: Strait of Hormuz, India’s energy vulnerability, multi-alignment foreign policy, Pakistan’s mediator role. GS2.

2. Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill 2026 Passed

Parliament passed the Jan Vishwas 2.0 Bill, decriminalising 784 provisions across 79 Central Acts administered by 23 Ministries. Of these, 717 provisions relating to ease of doing business and 67 relating to ease of living replace imprisonment terms with monetary penalties, warnings, and improvement notices for technical/procedural offences. The first Jan Vishwas Act (2023) had covered 183 provisions in 42 laws.

Lok Sabha passed the bill on April 1; Rajya Sabha on April 2, 2026. The reform signals a shift from punitive to compliance-based governance, reducing the judicial burden and compliance costs especially on MSMEs.

UPSC angle: Regulatory reform, ease of doing business, legislative process (both Houses), MSME policy. GS2.

3. Amul Becomes India’s First FMCG Company at ₹1 Lakh Crore Turnover

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets the Amul brand, crossed ₹1 lakh crore (₹1 trillion) in group annual turnover in FY26 — becoming the first FMCG organisation in India to achieve this milestone. GCMMF’s standalone revenue was ₹73,450 crore in FY26, up 11.4% YoY from ₹65,911 crore in FY25.

Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited) was established in 1946 in Anand, Gujarat and became the model for India’s White Revolution (Operation Flood), led by Dr. Verghese Kurien through NDDB.

UPSC angle: Cooperative model, Operation Flood, NDDB, rural economy, cooperative success story. GS3.

4. NBA Designates Two New National Biodiversity Repositories

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) notified two institutions as national repositories under Section 39 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, bringing India’s total to 20 repositories:

• CMLRE (Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology), Kochi — holds 3,500+ voucher specimens, under MoES
• ARI (Agharkar Research Institute, Pune) — MACS Collection of Microorganisms

National repositories preserve biological resources, support ABS (Access and Benefit Sharing), and document India’s biodiversity wealth under the Nagoya Protocol.

UPSC angle: Biological Diversity Act 2002, NBA, Nagoya Protocol, ABS, biodiversity repositories. GS3.

5. NITI Aayog: Women’s Credit Portfolio Grows 4.8× to ₹76 Lakh Crore

The NITI Aayog released the 2nd edition of “From Borrowers to Builders: Women and India’s Evolving Credit Market” (with TransUnion CIBIL and MicroSave Consulting). Key findings:

• Women now control ₹76 lakh crore — 26% of total system credit (up from ₹16 lakh crore in 2017)
• Credit penetration among women: 36% (2025) vs. 19% (2017)
• Women’s business-purpose loans: CAGR of 31% vs. 17% overall commercial credit growth
• Women’s housing loan share: 69% of originations in 2025
• Women default rate: 0.7x lower than overall credit (2024)
• ~29 crore credit-eligible women remain unserved by formal financial systems

UPSC angle: Women’s economic empowerment, financial inclusion, gender credit gap, SHG linkage. GS1/GS2.

6. PM MUDRA Yojana Completes 11 Years

Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY), launched in April 2015, marks its 11th anniversary. The collateral-free lending scheme for non-corporate, non-farm micro and small enterprises operates through three tiers — Shishu (up to ₹50,000), Kishore (₹50,000–₹5 lakh), and Tarun (₹5 lakh–₹10 lakh). Historically, ~68–70% of loan accounts went to women beneficiaries and over 50% to SC/ST/OBC borrowers. In a related development, the RBI doubled the collateral-free MSME loan limit from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh effective April 1, 2026.

UPSC angle: MUDRA Bank, PMMY scheme tiers, financial inclusion, MSME credit, social inclusion. GS3.

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