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- Australia’s First Woman Army Chief In 125 Years | 2026 Current Affairs
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Know today’s major current affairs, which are important for students preparing for government jobs…
NATIONAL
1. Commanders Conference 2026 begins in New Delhi
On April 14, the Indian Navy will host the first edition of the Commanders Conference 2026 at Naval Bhawan, New Delhi. This will continue till 17th April.
- Naval Chief Admiral DK Tripathi along with operational commanders and senior Navy officers will also participate in it.
- This conference will be addressed by Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan and Home Secretary Govind Mohan.
- The objective of this conference is to discuss and provide a platform on national security, maritime interest, its development and strategy.
- In this conference, naval operations will be reviewed and a roadmap will be made for development.
- The objective of this conference is to improve mutual coordination between the three services and other civil agencies.
- Expansion of blue-water capabilities, hi-tech training, human resource management and war preparedness and temporary maintenance will be discussed in detail in the conference.
- The progress made towards incorporating AI based machines into naval operations will be reviewed.
In this naval conference, the focus will be on Artificial Intelligence based results and data-driven technologies.
2. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates MP Khel Mahakumbh
On April 13, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the ‘Sansad Khel Mahakumbh’ program in his parliamentary constituency Lucknow.
- This is a three-day program, which will be held at KD Singh Babu Stadium in Lucknow.
- There will be competitions like athletics, football, volleyball, kabaddi, taekwondo, basketball, hockey and boxing in Mahakumbh.
- Traditional games like Mallakhambh, Kalaripayattu and Yoga will also be played in Mahakumbh.
- About 2400 players will participate in this Sports Mahakumbh and showcase their talent.
- The objective of this Mahakumbh is to promote sports culture.
- The objective is to connect youth with sports and identify sports talent through Mahakumbh.
- Students from class 9 to 12 will participate in the junior category. Whereas college/university students will participate in the senior category.
- This competition will be conducted in two phases. In the first phase, competitions for junior and senior categories were held in five assembly seats of Lucknow i.e. Lucknow Central, East, North, West and Cantt.
In the second phase of Mahakumbh, the winners of these competitions will take part in the main Mahakumbh from 13 to 15 April.
International
3. For the first time in Australia, a woman will head the army.
On April 13, Australia has decided to appoint a woman as Army Chief for the first time in history. Lieutenant General Susan Coyle will take over this responsibility from July.
- Coyle will replace Lieutenant General Simon Stuart.
- For the first time in 125 years of history, a woman will be made the Army Chief.
- 55-year-old Coyal had joined the army in 1987.
- Coyle then obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the Australian Defense Force Academy.
- In 1992, Coyle graduated from the Royal Military College and joined the Royal Australian Corps of Signals.
- Coyle has been part of the Australian Defense Force’s Space and Cyber domain since July 2024 and is leading National Support for Defence.
- Koil has been in Joint Task Force 633 and was a part of operations like Afghanistan, Middle East.
- Currently the share of women in the Australian Defense Force is about 21% and a target has been set to increase it to 25% by 2030.
- Susan Coyle visited India on March 5 and during this time also visited the War Memorial in New Delhi.
- Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, Chief of Joint Capabilities, Australian Defense Force, met General Upendra Dwivedi.
- The two chiefs discussed strengthening defense cooperation and enhancing joint capabilities between the two armies.
4. America installed life size statue of Swami Vivekananda
On April 11, a life size (huge) statue of Swami Vivekananda was installed in Westlake Square Park in Seattle, United States.
- Seattle has become the first city where a government has installed a life-size statue of Swami Vivekananda.
- Mayor Katie Wilson and India’s Consul General in Seattle unveiled the statue of Swami Vivekananda.
- This statue has been installed in honor of Indian philosopher and spiritual guru Swami Vivekananda.
- The statue was a gift from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which is part of India’s cultural efforts.
- In 1893, Vivekananda went to Chicago to participate in the Parliament of the World’s Religions and gave a speech.
- This statue has been installed at the prestigious Westlake Square in Seattle city. The statue is close to the Spheres (Amazon headquarters), the Seattle Convention Center, and the Seattle Center Monorail.
- More than 4 lakh people visit the city of Seattle every day.
- The Consulate General of India in Seattle wrote on social media – ‘From Chicago 1893 to Seattle 2026!’ There’s a new Indian symbol in Seattle.
This statue is a symbol of India-America cultural relations and is meant to promote Swami Vivekananda’s speech of brotherhood and religious culture.
5. Railways approved investment of Rs 1.53 lakh crore
On April 12, Indian Railways approved the extension of PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. More than Rs 1.53 lakh crore will be invested in this.
- More than 6 thousand km of railway network will be covered under PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan.
- Under this, a total of 100 railway projects related to projects like new lines, doubling, multitracking have been approved in 2025-26.
- In PM Gati Shakti, emphasis is on development, national integration and last-mile connectivity.
- The objective of increasing PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan is to manage passenger and freight demand.
- It has been expanded to improve connectivity in remote and underserved areas.
- PM Gati Shakti will reduce traffic on busy routes and congested roads.
- PM Gati Shakti will reduce transport costs and increase logistics capacity.
- PM promotes employment creation with Gati Shakti.
- To strengthen the hi-tech, green and electric rail network.
today’s history
- 1659 – Aurangzeb conquered Delhi and defeated Dara Shikoh.
- 1865 – America’s 16th President Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theater in Washington.
- 1891 – Constitution maker Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was born.
- 1981 – The first spacecraft Columbia-1 returned to Earth.
