Today in Bharat – April-17-2025

Welcome to Today in Bharat – April-17-2025, your daily snapshot of the nation’s key developments. From impactful policy launches to transformative projects and significant official engagements, this series brings you the most relevant updates shaping Bharat today. Designed to keep you informed and rooted, each edition cuts through the clutter to highlight what truly matters — in governance, society, and everyday life.

🗣️ Vice President Advocates for Transparency and Youth Engagement in Governance

In his address at the 6th Rajya Sabha Internship Program’s valedictory function, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji emphasized the importance of transparency, accountability, and the active role of youth in India’s democratic processes. He highlighted concerns over judicial accountability, referencing a recent incident involving a judge’s residence, and called for a structured platform to provide authentic legislative information to the public. Shri Dhankhar Ji urged young citizens to question prevailing narratives and uphold constitutional values to strengthen the nation’s democratic fabric.

---

🤝 PM Modi Meets Dawoodi Bohra Delegation

Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji met with a delegation from the Dawoodi Bohra community, who expressed gratitude for the Waqf Amendment Act addressing their long-standing concerns over property claims. The PM highlighted that the Act aims to protect vulnerable groups, especially women, and acknowledged the contributions of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin in its development.​

🔗 Source: PIB Press Release

---

Tribute to Former PM Chandrashekhar on His Birth Anniversary 🇮🇳🕊️​

On April 17, 2025, Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji paid homage to former Honorable Prime Minister Shri Chandrashekhar Ji on his birth anniversary. He lauded Chandrashekhar Ji’s unwavering commitment to national interest, social harmony, and nation-building efforts.​

---

​🪔 Sanskrit: A Living Legacy of Science and Wisdom​

At the 7th convocation of Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Rajasthan Sanskrit University, Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla Ji emphasized Sanskrit’s role as a profound medium of scientific inquiry and philosophical clarity. He urged students to become ambassadors of India’s timeless knowledge tradition, highlighting initiatives like digitizing ancient manuscripts and online learning modules as steps toward cultural resurgence.

---

🧪 Manthan Shivir: Steering India’s Chemical Sector Towards Sustainable Growth

Union Minister Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda Ji chaired the “Manthan Shivir” in New Delhi, emphasizing the government’s commitment to sustainable development in the chemical sector. The event focused on six key areas, including infrastructure, sustainability, and skill development, aiming to foster innovation and a holistic approach to policy-making.

---

🏗️ Coal Ministry Simplifies CIMS Registration Fee

The Ministry of Coal has introduced a flat registration fee of ₹500 per consignment for the Coal Import Monitoring System (CIMS), effective from April 15, 2025. This replaces the previous variable fee structure and aligns CIMS with other import monitoring systems like SIMS, NFIMS, and PIMS. The initiative aims to enhance transparency and ease of doing business in coal imports.​

---

📶 TRAI Conducts Independent Drive Tests Across Six LSAs

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) conducted Independent Drive Tests (IDTs) in February 2025 across six Licensed Service Areas (LSAs), including regions in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh (West), Gujarat, and Odisha. The assessments evaluated key performance indicators such as call setup success rate, drop call rate, speech quality, data throughput, latency, and jitter for major telecom operators—Airtel, BSNL, Jio, and Vodafone Idea—across various technologies (2G/3G/4G/5G). Detailed findings are available on the TRAI website.​

---

📡 TRAI Automates Telecom Performance Reporting

TRAI has automated the submission of Performance Monitoring Reports (PMRs) for telecom services, streamlining the process and reducing manual errors. Wireless service providers now submit data via APIs, while wireline and broadband services use a user-friendly portal. All telecom providers successfully submitted their March 2025 reports through this new system.

---

🇮🇳🔐 India Achieves Quantum Key Distribution Over Multi-Core Fibre

C-DOT and Sterlite Technologies Ltd. (STL) have successfully conducted India’s first Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) over a 4-core Multi-Core Fibre (MCF), enabling secure quantum and classical data transmission simultaneously over a single fibre. This breakthrough validates the feasibility of integrated quantum-classical networks, marking a significant step towards cost-effective and resilient national quantum communication infrastructure.

---

🛑 CCPA Cracks Down on Misleading Coaching Ads

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued notices to coaching centres offering IIT-JEE and NEET preparation, urging strict compliance with the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the 2024 Guidelines for Preventing Misleading Advertisements in the Coaching Sector. The guidelines mandate clear, truthful advertising and prohibit false claims like guaranteed success or rankings. Over the past three years, the CCPA has penalized 24 coaching centres ₹77.6 lakh for such violations.

---

🗿 Free Entry to ASI Monuments on World Heritage Day (18th April 2025)

On 18th April 2025, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is waiving entry fees at its 3,698 protected monuments across the country to celebrate International Day for Monuments and Sites. This year’s theme, “Heritage under threat from disaster and conflicts,” emphasizes the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage from various threats. The initiative encourages public participation in preserving India’s rich historical legacy.​

---

🛕 India’s Heritage Preservation Journey 🇮🇳

India celebrates World Heritage Day on April 18 to honor and protect cultural and natural heritage. This year’s theme focuses on safeguarding heritage from disasters and conflicts, highlighting lessons from 60 years of ICOMOS actions. India boasts 43 World Heritage Sites, including the Taj Mahal and Ajanta Caves, with 62 more on UNESCO’s Tentative List. The government has also retrieved 655 antiquities from abroad since 1976 and revamped the “Adopt A Heritage” program to enhance monument facilities through public-private partnerships.​

---

🩺 World Health Day 2025 at AH(R&R) Nursing College

On April 17, 2025, the College of Nursing at Armed Forces Hospital (R&R) celebrated World Health Day with the theme “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,” focusing on maternal and child health. Chief Guest Mrs. Navneet Nath Ji inaugurated the event, which featured workshops on therapeutic diets—including diabetic, cardiac, renal, and antenatal & postnatal nutrition—as well as complementary feeding for children aged six months to one year. The event aimed to promote health awareness and good habits among students and the community.​

---

🇮🇳 India’s Vision for Self-Reliant Defence Sector

On April 17, 2025, Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh Ji outlined India’s ambition to become a developed nation and the world’s leading military power. He emphasized reducing import dependency, enhancing domestic defence production, and boosting exports, aiming for ₹50,000 crore in defence exports by 2029. The government has allocated 75% of the defence budget for domestic procurement and introduced schemes like iDEX and ADITI to foster innovation among startups and MSMEs.

---

📝 FIU-IND & RBI Sign MoU for Enhanced Coordination

The Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in enforcing the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The agreement outlines joint efforts in sharing intelligence, training regulated entities, and monitoring compliance to combat money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

---

🇮🇳 National Consultation on Sustainable Food Packaging

On April 16, 2025, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Prataprao Jadhav Ji, inaugurated a national consultation in Mumbai organized by FSSAI. The event focused on promoting sustainable, recyclable, and biodegradable food packaging solutions. Over 1,500 stakeholders from various sectors participated to discuss emerging global trends and regulatory frameworks.

---

🧘‍♂️ National Dialogue on Self-Empowerment Inaugurated by Amit Shah

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah Ji inaugurated a national dialogue titled ‘Self-Empowerment through Inner Awakening’ in New Delhi. The event aims to promote holistic development by focusing on mental well-being and self-awareness. Shri Shah emphasized the importance of inner awakening in achieving personal and societal progress.

---

🛡️ CRPF Day 2025: Honoring Sacrifice & Strength

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah Ji paid tribute to 2,264 CRPF personnel on their supreme sacrifice for India’s security during the CRPF Day Parade in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh. He highlighted CRPF’s pivotal role in countering Naxalism, maintaining peace in Jammu & Kashmir post-Article 370 abrogation, and its global peacekeeping contributions. The government has also introduced welfare measures like the Eighth Pay Commission and enhanced housing for CAPF personnel.​

---

🌊 Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation Boosted

Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri C. R. Patil Ji, reviewed key projects by the Wildlife Institute of India under the National Mission for Clean Ganga. He launched the digital platform rivres.in to enhance freshwater biodiversity conservation. The initiative includes community engagement, capacity-building programs, and advanced ecological monitoring across major Indian rivers.

---

🛠️ Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Visit to CTTC & Pharmaceutical Cluster, Bhubaneswar

Union Minister for MSME, Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi Ji, visited the Central Tool Room & Training Centre (CTTC) and the Pharmaceutical Cluster in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. At CTTC, he reviewed initiatives supporting aerospace missions like Chandrayaan-3 and Gaganyaan. He also praised the Pharmaceutical Cluster’s role in enhancing MSME capabilities through advanced testing and quality assurance services.

---

🌊 Mission Amrit Sarovar: Reviving India’s Water Heritage

Launched in 2022 under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Mission Amrit Sarovar aims to rejuvenate traditional water bodies across India. By March 2025, over 68,000 Amrit Sarovars have been completed, enhancing water availability and promoting community participation. The initiative blends national pride, ecological restoration, and grassroots governance, addressing water scarcity and empowering rural communities.

---

🏆 Bose Institute Scientists Win Breakthrough Prize in Physics

The Experimental High Energy Physics group at Bose Institute, Kolkata, has been awarded the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics as part of the ALICE collaboration at CERN. This prestigious $3 million prize recognizes their significant contributions to studying the Quark-Gluon Plasma, a state of matter from the early universe. The prize will fund a studentship allowing selected PhD students to spend up to two years at CERN.​

---

🔭 Indian Telescope Discovers Elusive ‘Middleweight’ Black Hole

Using India’s largest optical telescope, the 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT), astronomers have detected an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) in the faint galaxy NGC 4395, located 4.3 million light-years away. The IMBH, weighing approximately 22,000 times the Sun’s mass, was identified through spectrophotometric reverberation mapping, a technique that measures the delay between light emitted by the black hole’s accretion disk and the surrounding gas clouds. This discovery enhances our understanding of how black holes, particularly those with masses between 100 and 100,000 solar masses, grow and interact with their surroundings.

---

🇮🇳 TDB Supports Indigenous Assault Rifle Development

The Technology Development Board (TDB) of the Ministry of Science and Technology has extended financial support to dvipa Defence India Pvt. Ltd. for the development and commercialization of the UGRAM 7.62 mm x 51 mm assault rifle. This initiative aims to enhance India’s self-reliance in small arms manufacturing, aligning with the Indian Army’s General Staff Qualitative Requirements. The project includes establishing a state-of-the-art manufacturing unit with integrated quality assurance and testing infrastructure.

---

🏭 MoSPI Accelerates Industrial Data Release Timeline

The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has reduced the release timeline for the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) from 42 to 28 days, aligning with international standards. Starting April 2025, IIP estimates will be released on the 28th of each month at 4:00 PM, featuring Quick and Final estimates. This move aims to enhance data accessibility and support timely policy decisions.

---

India Steel 2025: Global Steel Summit in Mumbai 🇮🇳🏗️

India is set to host the 6th edition of India Steel 2025 from April 24–26 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. This premier international event will feature over 12,000 business visitors, 250 exhibitors, and 1,200 delegates, focusing on growth, sustainability, and innovation in the steel sector. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the conference, which aims to bolster India’s steel production capacity and global competitiveness.

---

🧵 Special Handloom Expo in Noida 🇮🇳

The National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC), under the Ministry of Textiles, has launched the “Special Handloom Expo” at their Noida office. The event features 25 stalls showcasing handwoven products like sarees, dress materials, stoles, and dupattas from 13 states. The expo aims to promote traditional handloom weaving and provides a platform for weavers to sell directly to customers. The exhibition is open until April 24, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM at NHDC Complex, Sector 2, Noida.​

---

🏃‍♂️ India Launches Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU) 🇮🇳

Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya Ji inaugurated the Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU) at the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) in New Delhi on April 17, 2025. This facility will monitor athletes’ biological profiles over time to detect doping patterns, aligning with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) guidelines. Dr. Mandaviya Ji emphasized India’s commitment to supporting neighboring countries in promoting clean sports practices.

---

Source: PIB Press Release

Why ‘Today in Bharat – April-17-2025’ Matters

Today in Bharat – April-13-2025 isn’t just news — it’s your cultural and current compass. Stay rooted, stay aware, and stay connected with Bharat’s pulse.