Current Affairs 18 April 2026

India's unemployment rate rises to a 5-month high of 5.1%.

India's unemployment rate increased to 5.1% in March 2026, up from 4.9% in February.
The employment rate, or Worker Population Ratio, declined to 52.6% from 53.2%.
Urban unemployment rose to 6.8%, while rural unemployment increased slightly to 4.3%.
Female unemployment stood at 5.3%, higher than the male rate of 5.0%.
Youth unemployment for ages 15-29 rose to 15.2%, with young women facing a rate of 17.7% and young men at 14.3%.
The Labour Force Participation Rate dropped to 55.4%, a five-month low, with female participation falling to 34.4% from 35.3%.
The data was based on the Current Weekly Status (CWS) survey, which included 89,234 households and 375,262 individuals.

India aims for cocoa self-sufficiency by 2040-41.
A National Mission on Cocoa and Centre of Excellence (CoE) will be launched in 2026-28.
2026-2028: Develop 250 hectares of seed gardens.
2028-2030: Train 1 lakh farmers, distribute 25 million seedlings, and create a digital registry.
2030-2035: Expand cocoa cultivation to 1 lakh hectares, meeting 50% of domestic demand.
2035-2040: Achieve 100% self-sufficiency and become a net exporter.
Domestic cocoa demand is expected to grow at 5.5% CAGR, reaching 4.67 lakh tonnes by 2040.
India imports over $866 million worth of cocoa annually, meeting less than 20% of its demand locally.
Establish a Cocoa Stewardship Forum and implement digital traceability by 2040.
Major cocoa-producing states: Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu.

Tata Chip Fab SEZ notified in Dholera, Gujarat on April 9, 2026.
Investment of ₹91,000 crore for India’s first commercial chip fabrication unit.
SEZ will cover 66.16 hectares and is expected to create 21,000 jobs.
Land requirement for semiconductor projects reduced to 10 hectares in 2025.
SEZ focused on electronic hardware, software, and IT/ITeS.
Dholera is part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and India's first Platinum-rated greenfield smart city.

FIU-IND and PFRDA signed an MoU on April 16, 2026 to strengthen cooperation in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT).
The initiative is coordinated under the Union Ministry of Finance.
Information sharing to identify suspicious transactions and improve financial monitoring.
Joint risk assessments on Money Laundering (ML) and Terror Financing (TF).
Training programs for regulated entities and agencies to improve reporting protocols.
Goal: Streamline detection of illicit financial flows in the pension sector and ensure compliance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Telangana government launched an AI literacy program on April 16, 2026, targeting 2 million students in government schools.
Collaboration with School Education Department, Amazon Future Engineer, and Pi Jam Foundation.
2,000 laptops allocated to Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) and other state-run schools.
AI curriculum developed for Classes 5 to 9, starting in the 2025-26 academic year, with 25 hours of annual instruction.
New learning platform: telangana.codemitra.org for data and decision-making experimentation.
28,000+ teachers trained to integrate AI into their teaching.
The initiative is a precursor to the National AI rollout planned for 2027.