This week, in story-arcs

06–12 April 2026

PIB published 270 releases this week · we curated 34 into 34 arcs.
Editor's note — Aditya Tiwari Sir

The week's spine was the Strait of Hormuz crisis: seven straight inter-ministerial briefings (06–12 April) on LPG rationing, seafarer repatriation and the Natural Gas and Petroleum Products Distribution Order, 2026 under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 — track it as one evolving energy-security story, not seven. Kalpakkam's Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor reached first criticality on 6 April, carrying India into Stage 2 of the three-stage nuclear programme. The CCEA cleared three Arunachal/Rajasthan mega-projects (Kamala, Kalai-II HEPs, HRRL) plus Jaipur Metro Phase-2 in a single Cabinet sitting. Two recurrence-rescues deserve your attention: Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana's 11th-anniversary architecture appeared twice on 8 April but never won a daily slot, and the NCVET Awarding-Body recognitions plus the Navi Mumbai Textile Recovery Facility each recurred quietly across two days — don't skip them. Watch the 16 April special Parliament session on the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.

🏛️ Polity & Governance

tracked across 5 days

Three states vote; webcasting hits 100% first time

Assam, Kerala, Puducherry polled; IEVP delegates watched.

Election Commission · 06–11 Apr · Open ↗
tracked across 2 days

Women's reservation heads to a special Parliament session

Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam push ahead of a 16 April sitting.

PMO · 09 & 12 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Delhi's TOD rules open 207 sq km along metro corridors

Corridor-based transit development replaces the node model.

Housing & Urban Affairs · 07 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Delhi to regularise 1,511 unauthorised colonies

PM-UDAY moves from ownership-only to 'as-is where-is' regularisation.

Housing & Urban Affairs · 07 Apr · Open ↗
tracked across 1 day

Two-year Phule bicentenary commemoration launched

200th birth anniversary marked nationwide from 11 April 2026.

Culture · 11 Apr · Open ↗

💰 Economy & Finance

single release

NSO launches first survey of incorporated services firms

ASISSE fills the services-sector data gap with a GSTN frame.

MoSPI · 06 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Mining auction rules ease block exclusion and timelines

Second Amendment Rules, 2026 add a Unified Mining Portal.

Mines · 07 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Bidding opens for rare-earth magnet manufacturing

Rs 7,280 crore scheme targets 6,000 MTPA of sintered REPMs.

Heavy Industries · 07 Apr · Open ↗
single release

CCEA clears revised HRRL refinery cost at Rs 79,459 cr

Pachpadra greenfield refinery-petrochemical complex, SCOD July 2026.

CCEA · 08 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Cabinet approves two Arunachal mega hydro projects

Kamala (1,720 MW) and Kalai-II (1,200 MW) cleared together.

CCEA · 08 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Jaipur Metro Phase-2 cleared at Rs 13,037 crore

41 km North-South corridor, 36 stations, ready by 2031.

Cabinet · 08 Apr · Open ↗
single release

FIU-IND and I4C sign anti-cyber-fraud MoU

Financial-intelligence and cybercrime agencies pool red flags.

Finance · 09 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Sagarmala 2.0 targets Rs 3.6 lakh crore investment

Eleven years on, port-led development enters its next phase.

Ports, Shipping & Waterways · 11 Apr · Open ↗
single release

UPI runs nearly half of global real-time payments

JAM Trinity to QR codes — India's payment revolution, charted.

Finance · 11 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Railways sanctions Rs 1.53 lakh crore in new projects

100 FY26 projects under PM Gati Shakti, up 56% on FY25.

Railways · 12 Apr · Open ↗
rescued · tracked across 1 day

Mudra Yojana crosses Rs 40 lakh crore in 11 years

Collateral-free micro-credit, now in four tiers.

Finance · 08 Apr · Open ↗
rescued · tracked across 2 days

Cooperation ministry reviews PACS computerisation

Sahkar se Samriddhi conference targets two lakh PACS.

Cooperation · 09–10 Apr · Open ↗

🔬 Science & Tech

tracked across 3 days

Kalpakkam breeder reactor attains first criticality

India enters Stage 2 of its three-stage nuclear programme.

Department of Atomic Energy · 06–10 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Quantum mission hits 1,000-km secure-comms milestone

Indigenous QKD network, well ahead of the eight-year target.

Science & Technology · 08 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Railways sanctions Rs 1,364 crore for Kavach rollout

Train-protection and signalling modernisation across zones.

Railways · 06 Apr · Open ↗
tracked across 2 days

NITI Aayog charts an 'ease of doing R&D' reform path

Two reports push a trust-based, outcome-oriented research system.

NITI Aayog · 09–10 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Vande Bharat carries 3.98 crore in FY26

Semi-high-speed travel grows 34%; sleeper version debuts.

Railways · 10 Apr · Open ↗

🌿 Environment & Ecology

tracked across 2 days

First wild-born cheetah litter from an Indian-born mother

Kuno records four cubs — a Project Cheetah breeding first.

Environment, Forest & Climate Change · 07 & 11 Apr · Open ↗
single release

India ranks third in renewable capacity, passing Brazil

IRENA 2026 places India behind only China and the US.

New and Renewable Energy · 08 Apr · Open ↗
single release

CAQM fines six thermal plants Rs 61.85 crore

Biomass co-firing default triggers environmental compensation.

Environment, Forest & Climate Change · 08 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Wildlife underpasses work on Delhi-Dehradun corridor

'Landscapes Reconnected' logs 18 species using animal crossings.

Road Transport & Highways · 10 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Kandla Port advances methanol bunkering

First shore-to-ship trial marks a green-shipping step.

Ports, Shipping & Waterways · 09 Apr · Open ↗
single release

CAMPA pushes GIS digitisation of forest boundaries

Workshop operationalises the 2011 Lafarge judgment.

Environment, Forest & Climate Change · 10 Apr · Open ↗
rescued · tracked across 2 days

Navi Mumbai turns textile waste into livelihoods

India's first municipal Textile Recovery Facility, scaled.

Housing & Urban Affairs · 06 & 08 Apr · Open ↗

🌐 International Relations

tracked across 7 days

Strait of Hormuz crisis: India's seven-day response

LPG rationing, evacuations and a new pipeline order under EC Act.

Petroleum & Natural Gas · 06–12 Apr · Open ↗
tracked across 2 days

INS Sunayna's SAGAR deployment reaches the Maldives

Multinational-crewed ship anchors Neighbourhood First.

Defence · 07 & 09 Apr · Open ↗
tracked across 4 days

India and Bhutan deepen clean-energy cooperation

Punatsangchhu-II tariff protocol signed during a four-day visit.

Power · 08–11 Apr · Open ↗
single release

NH-927 highway to anchor India-Nepal trade

Four-lane Barabanki-Bahraich link feeds Rupaidiha Land Port.

Road Transport & Highways · 11 Apr · Open ↗

🤝 Schemes & Welfare

single release

Cabinet fixes Kharif 2026 fertilizer subsidy rates

Rs 41,533 crore NBS support for P&K fertilizers.

Cabinet · 08 Apr · Open ↗
tracked across 2 days

8th Poshan Pakhwada targets early brain development

Mission Poshan 2.0 fortnight runs 9-23 April.

Women and Child Development · 08–09 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Edible-oil and pulses missions get a regional roadmap

Jaipur conference links farmers via a single Farmer ID.

Agriculture & Farmers Welfare · 07 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Centre advises states to nudge crops beyond wheat-paddy

Bonus-policy advisory backs pulses, oilseeds and millets.

Finance · 12 Apr · Open ↗
single release

India eyes a Rs 1 lakh crore seafood-export target

EEZ Access Passes to scale value-added exports.

Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying · 11 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Tribal-development push pairs S&T with PM-JANMAN

VP opens a conference on tribal lives and technology.

Science & Technology · 12 Apr · Open ↗
rescued · tracked across 2 days

NCVET adds new awarding bodies to the NSQF

Five recognitions across two days widen skilling certification.

Skill Development and Entrepreneurship · 06 & 10 Apr · Open ↗

🛡️ Security & Defence

tracked across 3 days

Ran Samwad maps a multi-domain warfare roadmap

Tri-service seminar runs the week, from announcement to closure.

Defence · 06, 09–10 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Cyclone-IV special-forces drills begin in Egypt

Fourth India-Egypt joint exercise in desert terrain.

Defence · 08 Apr · Open ↗
single release

Exercise Dustlik returns with Uzbekistan

Seventh edition tests joint ops in semi-mountainous terrain.

Defence · 12 Apr · Open ↗
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