This week, in story-arcs

30 March – 5 April 2026

PIB published 415 releases this week · we curated 36 into 36 arcs.
Editor's note — Aditya Tiwari Sir

A new-fiscal week dominated by two long arcs. Census 2027 became the country's first digital, self-enumeration census — flagged at the 30 March press conference, formally beginning Houselisting on 1 April, then tracked through Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's own self-enumeration on 3 April; learn the two-phase architecture (HLO Apr–Sep 2026, Population Enumeration Feb 2027, with caste enumeration in Phase II) and the Census Act, 1948 hook. The Strait of Hormuz crisis ran every single day, 31 March to 5 April, as the West Asia energy-and-evacuation response — the recurring entity is the Natural Gas and Petroleum Products Distribution (Pipelines) Order, 2026 under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, the Rs 10/litre excise cut and the diesel/ATF export levies. Two big laws came into force or passed: the Income-tax Act, 2025 (1 April) and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 (79 Acts, 23 Ministries, 784 provisions). Don't skip the rescued recurrers the daily under-published: Mission Mausam / MHEW-DSS surfaced across four days of Earth-Sciences replies, the Eklavya Model Residential Schools and the DAJGUA tribal-saturation programme recurred all week in Tribal Affairs answers, the Project 17A frigate family (Dunagiri delivered, Taragiri commissioned, SAIL steel) tracked across three days, and the National Green Hydrogen Mission green-ammonia agreements anchor the energy-transition story. Read once and you are caught up — Aditya Tiwari Sir.

🏛️ Polity & Governance

tracked across 3 days

Census 2027 goes digital, with self-enumeration

India's first fully digital census opens Houselisting from 1 April; caste counted in Phase II.

Home Affairs / Lok Sabha Secretariat · tracked across 3 days, 30 Mar–3 Apr · Open ↗
tracked across 2 days

Jan Vishwas Bill 2026 decriminalises 717 provisions

Both Houses pass the trust-based reform amending 79 Acts across 23 Ministries.

Commerce & Industry / Health & Family Welfare · tracked across 2 days, 2–4 Apr · Open ↗

Income-tax Act, 2025 takes effect from 1 April

The new direct-tax code replaces the 1961 Act as the fiscal year opens.

Finance · 1 Apr · Open ↗
tracked across 5 days

Poll machinery readies for 5-state Assembly elections

ECINET, ESMS seizures and paid-holiday rules frame the 2026 Assembly polls.

Election Commission · tracked across 5 days, 31 Mar–5 Apr · Open ↗

Amaravati made Andhra Pradesh's sole capital

Lok Sabha passes the AP Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

Communications · 1 Apr · Open ↗

SHANTI Act aligns India's nuclear liability regime

Civil liability now matches the international framework, easing supplier worries.

Atomic Energy · 2 Apr · Open ↗

India lands record 27 entries in QS top-50

Highest-ever subject-ranking showing, more than double last year's tally.

Education · 31 Mar · Open ↗

💰 Economy & Finance

tracked across 6 days

Strait of Hormuz crisis triggers fuel-rationing drive

A week-long energy, maritime and evacuation response to the West Asia conflict.

Petroleum & Natural Gas · tracked across 6 days, 31 Mar–5 Apr · Open ↗

Ind-Aus ECTA hits four years, exports double

From 1 January 2026, all Indian exports enter Australia at zero duty.

Commerce & Industry · 2 Apr · Open ↗

CBIC removes value cap on courier exports

Budget-2026 reforms ease e-commerce and courier trade from 1 April.

Finance · 31 Mar · Open ↗

CBDT crosses 1,000 Advance Pricing Agreements

Record 219 APAs in FY26 take the cumulative tally past a milestone.

Finance · 31 Mar · Open ↗

ECMS clears 29 more electronics-component projects

India's first rare-earth permanent magnet and flexible-PCB plants get the nod.

Electronics & IT · 30 Mar · Open ↗

Major ports handle a record 915 MT of cargo

FY26 throughput beats target with 7.06% growth under Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision.

Ports, Shipping & Waterways · 5 Apr · Open ↗

India's farm output and scheme architecture, mapped

A record-foodgrain backgrounder ties production ranks to the welfare scheme stack.

Agriculture & Farmers Welfare · 4 Apr · Open ↗

Seafood exports more than double in a decade

Marine-product shipments hit ₹62,408 crore, led by shrimp.

Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying · 3 Apr · Open ↗

Cooperatives launch NCOL and Bharat Taxi

Two multi-state cooperatives push 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' into organics and ride-hailing.

Cooperation · 1 Apr · Open ↗

🧪 Science & Tech

tracked across 2 days

Kaynes plant and ISM 2.0 deepen the chip stack

A Sanand OSAT unit starts production as the Semicon India ecosystem scales.

Prime Minister's Office / Electronics & IT · tracked across 2 days, 31 Mar–1 Apr · Open ↗

Cabinet scheme to make rare-earth magnets at home

A ₹7,280-crore push targets 6,000 tonnes of sintered REPM capacity.

Earth Sciences / DAE · 2 Apr · Open ↗

GSI ends field season with natural-hydrogen find

175-year-old survey logs an Andaman hydrogen discovery and a critical-minerals push.

Mines · 2 Apr · Open ↗

BioE3 Policy maps India's biomanufacturing bet

Six themes and 'Mulankur' BioEnablers aim at a global bio-hub.

Science & Technology · 2 Apr · Open ↗

CSIR transfers bio-bitumen from farm residue

A stubble-to-roads technology heads to industry and the highways ministry.

Agriculture & Farmers Welfare / CSIR · 30 Mar · Open ↗
tracked across 4 days recurrence-rescue

MHEW-DSS and Mission Mausam, the quiet all-week arc

Earth-Sciences replies across four days build one weather-readiness story.

Earth Sciences · tracked across 4 days, 1–2 Apr · Open ↗

🌿 Environment & Ecology

tracked across 2 days

Green-ammonia agreements signed under NGHM

Eleven fertiliser-sector deals operationalise the Green Hydrogen Mission.

New & Renewable Energy / Chemicals & Fertilizers · tracked across 2 days, 30–31 Mar · Open ↗

Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 take effect

Four-stream segregation and bulk-generator responsibility come in from 1 April.

Environment, Forest & Climate Change · 30 Mar · Open ↗
tracked across 2 days

India leads the world on Nagoya IRCCs

Over 56% of all access-and-benefit-sharing certificates issued globally are India's.

Environment, Forest & Climate Change · tracked across 2 days, 31 Mar–1 Apr · Open ↗

'Bhavasagara' named deep-sea fauna repository

Kochi's CMLRE centre becomes the national custodian of deep-sea specimens.

Earth Sciences · 30 Mar · Open ↗

🌏 International Relations

WTO MC14 in Yaoundé ends; India holds firm on fisheries

Fisheries talks roll to MC15; India declines to annex the IFD agreement.

Commerce & Industry · 31 Mar · Open ↗
tracked across 2 days

IOS SAGAR sails as MAHASAGAR goes operational

INS Sunayna deploys with 16 friendly-nation crews across the Indian Ocean.

Defence · tracked across 2 days, 2–5 Apr · Open ↗

🤝 Schemes & Welfare

Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 funds flow to five states

A service-delivery reboot with a ₹8.69 lakh-crore outlay and Sujalam Bharat IDs.

Jal Shakti · 31 Mar · Open ↗
tracked across 4 days recurrence-rescue

Sadhana Saptah marks five years of Mission Karmayogi

A week-long capacity-building drive runs every day, rule-to-role.

Personnel, PG & Pensions · tracked across 4 days, 31 Mar–5 Apr · Open ↗
tracked across 2 days recurrence-rescue

EMRS and DAJGUA recur all week in tribal policy

The Eklavya schools and the tribal-saturation mission dominate Tribal Affairs replies.

Tribal Affairs · tracked across 2 days, 1–2 Apr · Open ↗

Yuva Sangam Phase-VI deepens Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat

Youth-exchange tours pair 22 States/UTs through anchor institutions.

Education · 4 Apr · Open ↗

Universal Parsi drive boosts Jiyo Parsi registrations

A Mumbai camp adds ~300 fresh sign-ups to the population-stabilisation scheme.

Minority Affairs · 4 Apr · Open ↗

🛡️ Security & Defence

tracked across 3 days

INS Taragiri commissioned; Project 17A scales up

A three-day frigate arc — Dunagiri delivered, Taragiri inducted, SAIL steel inside.

Defence / Steel · tracked across 3 days, 31 Mar–5 Apr · Open ↗

Government declares India Naxal-free by 31 March

Home Minister tells Lok Sabha the Red Corridor's central structure is broken.

Home Affairs · 30 Mar · Open ↗

Large Cavitation Tunnel to end naval test imports

DRDO's NSTL gets a unique facility for ship and submarine hydrodynamics.

Defence · 3 Apr · Open ↗
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