Current events are an essential component of the syllabus and must be well understood to prepare for any competitive exam. Familiarity with current events can benefit you in both the preliminary and main exams in UPSC CSE and several other government entrance tests. From the validity of NET results to the death of Mukhtar Ansari, let’s take a look at what happened last week.

1) NET score validity for PhD admissions:

As of the 2024–25 academic year, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has declared that National Eligibility Test (NET) scores would be accepted for PhD admissions. Currently, students have to take numerous exams since different universities administer different PhD admission examinations. UGC has now decided to make marks obtained in the national-level entrance test NET eligible for PhD admissions in an effort to streamline the procedure.

2) Bengaluru cafe explosion bomber identified by NIA:

The famed Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru was shaken by an explosion over a month ago. The bomber was identified by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The person who detonated the explosive in the restaurant’s waiting room on March 1 was identified by the agency as Mussavir Shazeeb Hussain. NIA also named Abdul Matheen Taha as a major conspirator. According to NIA officials, both are a component of ISIS’s Shivamogga module. Taha is also thought to be the operator in the autorickshaw bomb case in Mangaluru.

3) Arvind Kejriwal’s ED detention was extended by the Delhi Court:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was extended by a Delhi court till April 1. The Delhi Chief Minister’s detention should be extended by one week, the ED said, telling the Rouse Avenue court that since Kejriwal had not given them his password, they had no access to his digital records. The AAP national convener was detained by the ED on 21 March in relation to the now-cancelled Delhi liquor policy fraud, and a local court remanded him to the federal agency’s custody until 28 March.

4) South India to face water crisis due to dip in reservoir stores:

With record-high temperatures and a lack of rain, Bengaluru has been dealing with a serious water shortage for more than a month. According to the Central Water Commission’s most recent weekly bulletin, key dams in the area have dangerously low water levels, which might result in water scarcity in numerous portions of South India this summer. All reservoirs in the South are full to only 23% of their capacity, which is around 17% lower than last year’s levels and 9 points below the 10-year average.

5) Mukhtar Ansari dies of cardiac arrest:

Mukhtar Ansari, a jailed gangster turned politician, died of a heart attack at Uttar Pradesh’s Banda Medical College. The former Samajwadi Party leader’s relatives claimed that he was poisoned after the word of his passing leaked out. Ansari complained of stomach ache and was sent to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital in Banda. After arriving at the hospital, his brother and Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari claimed that he had been given poison while in jail.