April 20, 2026
58 articles published on this date
New draft rules soon on 'E85 & more' vehicles as government pushes ethanol shift
The central government is preparing to issue a fresh draft notification expanding vehicle test requirements from E85 to "E85 or more" (including up to E100),...
India’s exports to FTA partners fall for third straight quarter: NITI Aayog data
NITI Aayog's Trade Watch quarterly report revealed that India's merchandise exports to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partner countries declined for the third co...
CSIR-IICT scientists demonstrate green biofuel route from sugarcane waste
Scientists at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad, demonstrated an improved Catalytic Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) pro...
In Focus podcast | Can a cancer therapy help treat autoimmune diseases?
CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T) cell therapy, which has revolutionised the treatment of certain blood cancers, is now demonstrating significant clinical ...
India’s forests could nearly double carbon storage by 2100, study finds
A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change projects that if India achieves its National Forest Policy targets, the country's forests could store ...
Phase-I of bilateral trade agreement with US almost ready: Piyush Goyal
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stated that the first tranche (Phase-I) of the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) has been "almost finalise...
Doval’s Riyadh visit on PM’s instructions, part of government outreach to Gulf: MEA
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval made a surprise one-day visit to Riyadh on April 19, 2026, amid escalating tensions in West Asia and concerns over energ...
RBI plans to remain nimble to prevent persistent supply shock amid West Asia crisis
At Princeton University on April 18, 2026, the RBI Governor delivered a speech titled "RBI's Role in India's Growth and Navigating Global Challenges," outlin...
India in touch with Iranian authorities for safe exit of its ships through Strait of Hormuz: MEA
India's Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that two Indian-flagged vessels — the VLCC Sanmar Herald and bulk carrier Jag Arnav — were fired upon by Irani...
Domestic production of oil, gas ramped up amid West Asia crisis: RBI governor
The RBI Governor, addressing an audience at Princeton University on April 18, 2026, outlined India's significant exposure to the West Asia crisis across trad...
Widening CAD a concern, says Niti Report
The government's apex policy institution released its quarterly Trade Watch Report for Q3 FY26, warning that the ongoing conflict in West Asia poses signific...
Farm groups and civil societies urge govt not to agree imports of GM farm products amid fresh round of India-US trade talks
A coalition of farm groups and civil society organisations formally urged the central government not to agree to imports of genetically modified (GM) agricul...
India, South Korea set $50 bn trade target; PM Modi, Lee Jae-Myung agree on 'futuristic partnership'
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung arrived in New Delhi for a three-day state visit — the first by a South Korean head of state in eight years — and held s...
Reserve bank of India partially rolls back curbs on rupee derivative deals
On April 20, 2026, the RBI partially eased restrictions on rupee derivative transactions that had been imposed in early April 2026 to curb speculative activi...
Gradual depreciation preferable to burning reserves to defend a level, says former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao
A former RBI Governor articulated a clear framework: it is preferable to allow the rupee to depreciate gradually rather than deplete foreign exchange reserve...
Space traffic rises: Isro performed record 140 collision-avoidance manoeuvres in 2025
The Indian Space Situational Assessment Report (ISSAR) 2025, released by ISRO, revealed that ISRO conducted a record 140 collision-avoidance manoeuvres in 20...
Chips to ships: PM Modi and President Lee Unveil vision to double trade, launch ‘digital bridge’ between India and South Korea
During South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's state visit to India (April 20–22, 2026), both countries launched the "India–Korea Digital Bridge" — a structur...
Expert Explains: What plagues India-Turkey relations, and why a reset may be of common interest
India and Turkey held their 12th round of Foreign Office Consultations on April 8, 2026 in New Delhi — the first such meeting in four years — signalling a ca...
Why India believes a 3D glass semiconductor project is its most important chip bet
India is backing an indigenously relevant 3D glass semiconductor packaging technology, with its first advanced 3D chip packaging unit being established in Bh...
West Asia war: Impact of disruptions on global fuel supply, with potential for coal and n-power switch
The Strait of Hormuz, epicentre of the ongoing US-Iran standoff, is disrupting approximately 20 million barrels of oil per day — roughly 20% of global petrol...
Expert Explains | ‘India’s fiscal federalism must be reimagined to ensure every vote carries equal weight’
Expert analysis has renewed attention on a structural tension in India's constitutional design: states that successfully controlled population growth face a ...
Nearly half of population now covered by health insurance, says govt survey
A government survey — the National Sample Survey (NSS) on Household Social Consumption: Health (75th Round, January–December 2025) — found that approximately...
India, South Korea decide to start negotiations to upgrade economic pact
India and South Korea formally decided to resume and expedite negotiations to upgrade their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), originally s...
India doubles wheat export quota to 5 million tonnes
Following a comprehensive review of domestic wheat production, FCI stock levels, and prevailing price trends, the government doubled the total wheat export q...
Pharma exports rose 2% to over $31 billion in FY26 despite sharp decline in March
India's pharmaceutical exports crossed $31.1 billion in FY2025–26, registering approximately 2% growth over the previous year's record of $30.47 billion — ma...
India tells South Korea to consider negotiating fresh free trade pact
At a ministerial-level meeting in April 2026, India proposed negotiating a fresh Free Trade Agreement with South Korea, seeking to replace or substantially r...
Urea use stable despite 36% rise in cropped area in A.P.
Despite a 36% increase in total cropped area in Andhra Pradesh during Rabi 2025-26, urea consumption remained almost stable — rising by only 3% — resulting i...
As Strait of Hormuz shuts again, uncertainty grips global trade & energy markets
The Strait of Hormuz has again been closed to shipping amid an escalating US-Iran standoff, with the US military establishing a maritime exclusion zone aroun...
Sri Lanka’s Tamil parties seek sustained Indian push to realise spirit of Indo-Lanka Accord
Sri Lanka's Tamil political parties met India's Vice-President during his visit to Colombo in April 2026 and urged India to maintain sustained diplomatic pre...
South Korea President Lee says India summit could mark turning point in ties
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung arrived in New Delhi on April 20, 2026, for a state visit — the first by a South Korean president in eight years — and h...
India looks to South Korea for missile systems, defence tech as PM Modi meets President Lee
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung visited India on April 20–22, 2026 — the first presidential visit from South Korea in eight years — marking a significan...
India, South Korea working to double bilateral trade by 2030: Piyush Goyal
India and South Korea have announced a shared goal of doubling bilateral trade from approximately USD 27 billion to over USD 50 billion by 2030. Both sides h...
PM Modi to inaugurate India's 1st greenfield integrated refinery-cum-petrochemical complex in Rajasthan
India's first greenfield integrated refinery-cum-petrochemical complex at Pachpadra, Balotra district, Rajasthan was scheduled for inauguration; the event wa...
Draft rules for roll-out of Ethanol 85 fuel to be notified soon
The central government confirmed that draft rules for the roll-out of Ethanol 85 (E85) fuel — a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol — will be notified soon, ...
Maldives requests 3rd extension of $400 million loan, India in a fix
The Maldives has formally requested a third extension of the $400 million currency swap arrangement signed with India under the SAARC Currency Swap Framework...
Govt doubles down on wheat exports, clears extra 2.5 million tonnes
The government approved an additional 2.5 million tonnes (MT) of wheat exports, taking India's total authorised wheat export quota for the current season to ...
War fears push UAE to discuss currency swap line, hint at yuan oil sales if dollars dry up: WSJ report
Senior UAE officials have quietly raised with trade partners — including the US Treasury and Federal Reserve — the possibility of shifting some oil sales to ...
India leads in AI talent, but also brain drain & anxiety, says Stanford’s AI index report
Stanford University's 2026 AI Index Report identifies India as the world's second-largest source of top AI talent globally, with approximately 50,460 leading...
US Opens Record Drills With Philippines as Iran War Rattles Allies
The 41st edition of Exercise Balikatan — the annual joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines — commenced on April 20, 2026, as t...
Fish waste finds new life as high-value biomedical material
Scientists at ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT), Kochi, have developed a patent-pending process to extract high-value biomedical mat...
U.K. calls for 'toll-free' Strait of Hormuz
The British Foreign Secretary held diplomatic talks with Iran's Foreign Minister, urging Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for global trade without impo...
India's core sector contracts 0.4% in March, hurt by West Asia conflict
The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) declined 0.4% (provisional) in March 2026 compared to March 2025 — marking the first contraction in five months and ...
India seeks preferential market access in US for domestic goods: Piyush Goyal
India's Commerce and Industry Ministry stated that the first tranche of the proposed India–US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) is "almost finalised," with neg...
Digital arrest is a crime against human dignity: CJI
The Chief Justice of India, delivering the 22nd D.P. Kohli Memorial Lecture at Bharat Mandapam on "Challenges of Cyber Crime – Role for Police and Judiciary,...
Aerosol, irrigation behind India’€™s slower warming than world average: Report
A recent climate study finds that India has warmed at approximately 0.2°C per decade, compared to the global average land warming rate of approximately 0.3°C...
ISRO, TIFR sign MoU for collaboration in space science, tech, exploration
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on April 20, 2...
Govt reviews rural schemes, supply chain woes to protect beneficiaries from Iran war impact
An inter-ministerial review has been convened to assess the impact of the West Asia conflict on rural welfare schemes, particularly PM-KISAN, the Mahatma Gan...
Ingenuity, the helicopter that flew over Mars
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which completed its 72nd and final flight on January 18, 2024, is being studied as a model for the next generation of plane...
West Asia crisis poses risks to India’s trade and macroeconomic stability: NITI Aayog report
A quarterly trade report by a government policy body has flagged that geopolitical tensions in West Asia pose multiple simultaneous risks to India's macroeco...
'From chips to ships': PM Modi hails India-South Korea ties; signs several MoUs
India and South Korea concluded a bilateral summit at Hyderabad House, New Delhi, formalising agreements across semiconductors, shipbuilding, defence manufac...
South Korea's Lee to seek big boost in economic ties in summit with PM Modi
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung arrived in India for a state visit on April 19, 2026 — the first presidential-level visit from South Korea in eight year...
India, South Korea to upgrade trade pact, deepen tech and supply chain ties
India and South Korea have agreed to upgrade their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), originally signed in August 2009 and in force since J...
Odisha kicks off India’s 1st 3D chip packaging plant
The foundation stone for India's first advanced 3D glass semiconductor chip packaging unit was laid on April 19, 2026, at Info Valley, Bhubaneswar, Odisha — ...
Armed Forces eye biogas, solar to cut fuel use amid West Asia crisis
The Indian armed forces are actively exploring biogas and solar power projects on unused defence land to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels, with a pil...
Ahead of ‘below-normal’ monsoon, build resilience and account for costs
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued its first Long Range Forecast (LRF) for the 2026 South West Monsoon on 13 April 2026, predicting below-norma...
Iran war: The fertiliser challenge India faces, and the possible way out
The ongoing conflict in West Asia, centred on Iran, has severely disrupted global fertiliser supply chains, with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormu...
Iran-Israel war live: Iran accuses U.S. of ceasefire breach, vows to 'soon respond' after U.S. destroyer hits cargo ship
The ongoing Iran-related conflict has resulted in a near-total disruption of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran having effectively c...
U.S. Navy seizes Iranian-flagged ship near Strait of Hormuz, Tehran vows swift response
US naval forces intercepted and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel, identified as the Touska, in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz — the first s...