Daily Current Affairs- 24th March 2026

Daily Current Affairs- 24th March 2026

Gujarat Becomes Second State to Pass the UCC Bill After Uttarakhand

In the News: The Gujarat Assembly has passed the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code Bill, 2026, making Gujarat the second state after Uttarakhand to adopt such a law. The Bill is in the news because it brings a common legal framework for key civil matters such as marriage, divorce, succession, and live-in relationships. The legislation also triggered extensive debate in the Assembly because of its implications for personal laws and social reform. Its passage has renewed the wider national discussion on the Uniform Civil Code.

Key Pointers

• Gujarat became the second state after Uttarakhand to pass a UCC law. Uttarakhand had earlier passed its UCC Bill in February 2024, and Gujarat has now followed with its own state-specific version.
• The Bill creates a common legal framework for marriage, divorce, succession, and live-in relationships. It is intended to apply uniformly across communities instead of following separate religion-based personal law rules.
• The Bill does not apply to Scheduled Tribes and certain constitutionally protected customary groups. This exemption is important from an exam perspective because it limits the scope of the code within the state.
• Registration of marriage, divorce, and live-in relationships has been made mandatory. The Bill also provides a formal process for termination of live-in relationships and grants legitimacy to children born from such unions.
• The Bill prohibits bigamy or polygamy and penalises certain unlawful marriage and divorce practices. It also provides maintenance rights to a woman deserted in a live-in relationship, giving the law a clear gender-justice dimension.

Musi River Rejuvenation Project Explained: Key Plans and Impact

In the News: The Musi River Rejuvenation Project is back in the news because the Telangana Government has pushed forward its latest planning and budget-linked work on the project. The scheme is being presented as a major urban sustainability and river-restoration effort for Hyderabad. At the same time, it has triggered debate over cost, land acquisition, rehabilitation, and the balance between ecological restoration and riverfront development.

Key Pointers

• The project is being implemented through the Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd. Its official vision is to rejuvenate the Musi and transform the river’s 55 km corridor into a major urban, ecological, and economic zone for Hyderabad.
• The plan includes sewage interception and treatment, flood-control measures, blue-green zones, promenades, and improved connectivity. The official vision also links the project with climate resilience, water security, and reduced urban flooding risk.
• The broader river programme also includes underground drainage networks, lake revival, culverts, and mini-canals. The stated goal is to build a more environmentally secure and water-resilient Hyderabad over the long term.
• Phase-I has been projected at roughly ₹6,500–7,000 crore and is focused on an initial stretch of the river corridor. Current plans emphasise river cleaning, flood mitigation, trunk sewer infrastructure, roads, and riverfront works.
• The project has also generated concerns over displacement, land acquisition, and rehabilitation packages. This makes the Musi project important not only as an urban infrastructure initiative but also as a governance and social-impact issue.

CAPF Bill 2026 Explained

In the News: The Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Bill, 2026 is in the news because it seeks to create a statutory framework for recruitment, deputation, promotion, and service conditions in the CAPFs. The Bill has drawn attention mainly because it formalises the deputation of IPS officers into senior CAPF leadership roles. It has also sparked debate because it comes after Supreme Court directions that had favoured greater representation for cadre officers. The measure is therefore significant both for internal security administration and for service-structure policy.

Key Pointers

• The full title is the Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Bill, 2026. It has been listed in Rajya Sabha business for introduction and consideration during the current Parliament session.
• The Bill is designed as an umbrella law for CAPF officer administration. It seeks to regulate recruitment, deputation, promotion, and other service conditions in a unified legal framework.
• A major provision is the statutory backing for IPS deputation at senior levels. It provides for 50% of IG posts, at least 67% of ADG posts, and 100% of SDG and DG posts to be filled through deputation.
• The Bill is also important because it effectively counters earlier judicial directions that had sought a reduction in IPS deputation. The proposal includes an overriding clause that gives the law precedence over conflicting court directions.
• The stated justification is that CAPFs perform national security and anti-insurgency functions in close coordination with States. Critics, however, argue that the Bill could limit promotion opportunities for cadre officers within the forces.

The Global Terrorism Index 2026

In the News: The Global Terrorism Index 2026 has been released by the Institute for Economics & Peace, providing a global assessment of terrorism trends. The report is in the news because it records a major fall in terrorism deaths worldwide, while also showing sharp deterioration in a few countries and continued concentration of terrorism in specific regions. It also highlights that the Sahel remains the global epicentre of terrorism. The report has particular relevance for India because it also ranks countries and tracks their score changes year to year.

Key Pointers

• The GTI 2026 is the 13th edition of the index. It ranks 163 countries and is designed to cover 99.7% of the world’s population, making it one of the best-known global terrorism datasets.
• Global terrorism deaths fell by 28% to 5,582 in 2025, while attacks declined by nearly 22% to 2,944. The report says 81 countries improved and only 19 countries deteriorated, which was the lowest number of deteriorations on record.
• Pakistan ranked 1st in GTI 2026 with a 2025 GTI score of 8.574. India ranked 13th, with a 2025 GTI score of 6.428, showing a modest improvement in its score from the previous year.
• Sub-Saharan Africa remained the epicentre of terrorism, and the Sahel accounted for more than half of all terrorism-related deaths globally. Six of the ten most impacted countries were in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Islamic State and its affiliates remained the deadliest terrorist group in 2025. The four deadliest groups identified in the report were Islamic State, JNIM, TTP, and al-Shabaab, with TTP being the only one among them to record an increase in deaths.

RCB Sold for $1.78 Billion

In the News: Royal Challengers Bengaluru has been sold in a landmark IPL franchise transaction valued at $1.78 billion. The deal has drawn wide attention because it places RCB among the highest-valued teams in T20 franchise cricket and reflects the sharp rise in IPL franchise valuations. The acquisition comes after RCB’s recent commercial growth and its first men’s IPL title in 2025. The transaction still requires key regulatory approvals before completion.

Key Pointers

• The buyer is a consortium comprising the Aditya Birla Group, Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures, and Blackstone. The seller is United Spirits, a Diageo-owned company, which moved to exit ownership as part of a sharper focus on its core alcohol business.
• The valuation of the deal is $1.78 billion. The acquisition covers both the men’s IPL team and the women’s team, making it a broader franchise transaction rather than a single-team sale.
• RCB is one of the original eight IPL franchises. Its sale gained extra visibility because the team recently won its first men’s IPL title in 2025, strengthening both its sporting profile and brand value.
• RCB reported revenue of about $56 million for 2024–25. Rising broadcast values, sponsorships, and BCCI’s revenue-sharing framework have helped push up franchise prices across the IPL ecosystem.
• The deal is subject to approvals from the BCCI and competition authorities. This means the announced sale is significant, but the transfer is still tied to completion of the formal regulatory process.

Kal Somani Buys Rajasthan Royals

In the News: Rajasthan Royals has been acquired by a consortium led by U.S.-based entrepreneur Kal Somani in a deal valued at $1.63 billion. The sale is in the news because it marks another major jump in IPL franchise valuations and highlights the growing interest of international investors in Indian cricket. It also underlines how IPL teams are now being valued as global sports assets rather than just cricket properties.

Key Pointers

• The franchise has been bought by a Kal Somani-led consortium for $1.63 billion. The deal places Rajasthan Royals among the most highly valued teams in IPL history.
• Kal Somani is a U.S.-based entrepreneur and the lead face of the acquisition. The transaction signals deeper foreign investor participation in Indian sports, especially in the IPL’s franchise model.
• Rajasthan Royals was the inaugural IPL champion in 2008. That legacy, combined with the franchise’s brand strength and league-wide commercial growth, has helped sustain its premium valuation.
• The sale has been described as a record-breaking or near-record IPL franchise transaction. It shows how media rights, sponsorship ecosystems, and league expansion have transformed team ownership economics in India.
• The deal has also been linked with backing from major U.S. investor circles. This shows that IPL ownership is increasingly attracting cross-border strategic and financial interest, not just domestic bidders.

World TB Day 2026

In the News: World TB Day 2026 was observed on 24 March under the theme “Yes! We can End TB! Led by countries. Powered by people.” The day is in the news because the WHO used the occasion to call for stronger country leadership, wider use of innovation, and faster progress toward ending tuberculosis. The observance also gained added significance because WHO issued new recommendations on easier and quicker TB diagnostics. World TB Day remains important for public health awareness because TB is still one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.

Key Pointers

• World TB Day is observed every year on 24 March. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced the discovery of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.
• The 2026 theme is “Yes! We can End TB! Led by countries. Powered by people.” The theme stresses that ending TB requires political leadership, financing, innovation, and community-centred implementation.
• WHO states that 83 million lives have been saved since 2000 through global TB efforts. It also notes that 10.7 million people fell ill with TB in 2024 and 1.23 million died from the disease in that year.
• WHO released new recommendations on near-point-of-care TB diagnostic tools on World TB Day 2026. These tests can operate on battery power, give results in less than an hour, and are available at less than half the cost of many existing molecular diagnostics.
• WHO also highlighted easier sample collection and testing strategies such as tongue swabs and sputum pooling. These are intended to widen access, improve early detection, and reduce delays in treatment initiation.