Official releases, distilled into exam-ready intelligence.

The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (PMGS NMP), launched in October 2021, is a ‘Whole of Government’ initiative that brings together central ministries, departments and all 36 states/UTs for integrated, data‑driven infrastructure planning and execution. The Network Planning Group (NPG) has evaluated 396 projects worth about ₹ 18.66 lakh crore; 256 have been sanctioned and 198 are under implementation. The platform, operational since September 2025, hosts ~1,800 data layers, 65 software modules and over 100 mobile/web applications, providing analytics to public and private users. Government assessments claim that integrated initiatives like PM GatiShakti have reduced logistics cost to 7.9 % of GDP and boosted manufacturing competitiveness.

The Ministry of Cooperation, through the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), is implementing several women‑focused schemes – Swayam Shakti Sahakar Yojna, Nandini Sahakar and Yuva Sahakar Yojana – to strengthen cooperative infrastructure and empower women‑led SHGs across India. Financial assistance under these schemes is fully funded by NCDC, with disbursements of ₹0.44 crore in FY 2023‑24 and ₹190.16 crore in FY 2025‑26 for Rajasthan. Concurrently, the Ministry is digitising the cooperative sector via the Computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (₹2,925.39 crore outlay), Registrar of Cooperative Societies, and Agriculture & Rural Development Banks, and has launched the National Cooperative Database (NCD) portal 3.0 and GeoTag mobile app to improve data transparency and governance.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, has built a Roll‑on‑Roll‑off (Ro‑Ro) terminal at Muktyala on National Waterway‑4 (Krishna River) and handed over four floating jetties to the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation for tourism. A Ro‑Ro terminal project at Harishchandrapuram has been awarded. Funds allocated to NW‑4 rose from Rs 0.67 crore (2023‑24) to Rs 1.22 crore (2024‑25) and Rs 18.28 crore (2025‑26). In 2025‑26, cargo movement on NW‑4 was 5.71 million tonnes and passenger movement 2.34 million. Development is constrained by water‑depth dependence on Pulichintala Dam releases, low‑level bridges, old locks and encroachments, and land transfer of 3.80 acres at Ibrahimpatnam is in progress.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has launched the National‑level Network Program on Precision Agriculture (ICAR‑NePPA) involving 16 ICAR institutes. The programme develops and validates AI, IoT, sensor, drone and satellite‑based technologies for crop, soil, post‑harvest, aquaculture and livestock management. Demonstrated interventions include sensor‑based irrigation, drone spraying, AI‑driven decision support tools, precision shrimp farming (120‑150 t/ha/yr), smart micro‑irrigation, hydroponics, agrivoltaic farming and AI‑enabled disease‑early‑warning systems. Field demonstrations have covered over 41,000 ha, benefitting more than 4.5 lakh farmers, and have shown gains in productivity, farmer income, water‑use efficiency and reduced CO₂ emissions.

The Ministry of Home Affairs announced that the Central Government has approved the Urban Flood Risk Management Programme (UFRMP) Phase‑I for seven cities (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune) with a total outlay of Rs 3075.65 crore, and Phase‑II for eleven cities (Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Jaipur, Kanpur, Patna, Raipur, Trivandrum, Vishakhapatnam, Indore, Lucknow) with a total outlay of Rs 2444.42 crore, funded through the National Disaster Mitigation Fund. Projects, implemented by the respective State Governments, aim to improve storm‑water conveyance, reduce flooding and water‑logging, enhance road connectivity and strengthen drainage networks. Implementation is overseen by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Disaster Management Authority, which have instituted a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and hold periodic review meetings.

Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, permits any information about a cognizable offence to be given orally or electronically to the officer in charge of a police station. If given orally, the officer must reduce it to writing and obtain the informant’s signature. For electronic communication, the informant must sign the e‑FIR within three days for it to be recorded. This procedural detail was reiterated by Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Bandi Sanjay Kumar in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question.

The Ministry of Home Affairs reports that 83 training institutions for the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have been established across India. Ongoing expansion, modernization and upgradation of these centres are undertaken as needed, including procurement of vehicles and technical equipment. The government has decided to set up a Central Jungle Warfare College (CRPF) in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh, and a Regional Training Centre (CISF) in Kishanganj district, Bihar, as stated by Minister of State Shri Nityanand Rai in a Lok Sabha written reply.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared an article by Union Minister Piyush Goyal on the Government e‑Marketplace (GeM). The PM highlighted that GeM ensures transparent procurement, wider participation and better opportunities, and that its technology‑driven platform has strengthened Ease of Doing Business over the last ten years. He noted that the system creates a more competitive and inclusive ecosystem, particularly empowering MSMEs and women entrepreneurs.

The Ministry of Cooperation’s Decentralized Grain Storage Plan has identified 12 PACS/Co‑operative societies with a combined capacity of 0.52 LMT across 12 districts, and a 1,500 MT godown has already been built at Kotwa Pandey PACS, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. Financial assistance is limited to new scientific storage infrastructure; old or dilapidated PACS are excluded. Under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, loan repayment has been extended from 2+5 years to 2+8 years, with a 3 % interest subvention reducing the effective loan rate to 1 %. The AMI scheme’s capital subsidy has risen to 33.33 % and margin money cut to 10 %. Land for storage can be self‑owned or leased, with state governments facilitating allocation. No separate quota or subsidy for storage charges is provided.

The PIB release states that, as of 15 July 2026, Odisha has 8,667 cooperative societies, of which 8,063 are functional. The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) provides financial assistance to women and tribal cooperatives in the state under schemes such as Swayam Shakti Sahakar Yojana, Nandini Sahakar and Yuva Sahakar, with activity‑wise disbursements detailed in Annexure‑1. The centrally‑sponsored Computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) project, launched in 2022, has been expanded to cover 79,630 PACS with a revised outlay of ₹2,925.39 crore; Odisha’s share of funds released is ₹25.07 crore (Annexure‑2). The Ministry of Cooperation also lists several policy measures to strengthen cooperative banking, including removal of gold‑loan ceilings, enhancement of housing‑loan limits, and inclusion of cooperative banks under RBI’s Integrated Ombudsman Scheme.

The Government, via the Ministry of Home Affairs, established the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) under a Parliamentary Act in 2020, designating it as an Institution of National Importance for forensic science and related disciplines. Initially operating campuses in Gandhinagar and Delhi, approval has been granted for 14 additional campuses across Goa, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, along with training academies in Imphal and Pune. This information was provided by Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Bandi Sanjay Kumar in a Lok Sabha reply.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has restructured the Narco‑Coordination (NCORD) mechanism into a four‑tier system – Apex, Executive, State and District – to improve inter‑ministerial and inter‑agency coordination on drug‑related issues. To date, 10 Apex, 7 Executive, 272 State and 16,187 District NCORD meetings have been held, facilitating policy formulation, intelligence sharing and joint enforcement actions. An NCORD portal has been launched as a knowledge‑management system and repository for anti‑drug initiatives. Out of the NCORD framework, initiatives such as the 24×7 toll‑free helpline (MANAS – 1933), the National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco‑Offenders (NIDAAN) portal, and Mission SPANDAN (partnership with spiritual institutions) have been introduced.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, under the National Health Mission (NHM), implements the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme (MHS) to promote menstrual health among adolescent girls. States/UTs receive support for the scheme based on proposals in their Annual Programme Implementation Plans. The scheme emphasizes awareness generation, provision of affordable sanitary napkins, safe disposal, and counselling on menstrual practices. IEC activities are carried out through health facilities, community platforms, frontline workers and digital channels. Monitoring is conducted via a multi‑layered framework that reviews state‑wise key deliverables in NPCC meetings and through annual Common Review Missions. The Menstrual Hygiene Policy for school‑going girls is coordinated with states/UTs to ensure access to safe and affordable menstrual hygiene measures in schools. The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Smt. Anupriya Patel, affirmed these steps in the Rajya Sabha.

The Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, held the 11th District Collectors’ Peyjal Samvad via video‑conference to accelerate Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0 implementation. Senior officials, including Secretary Ashok K.K. Meena and Mission Director Kamal Kishore Soan, urged districts to hold monthly DWSM meetings, upload proceedings on the JJM IMIS portal, and use the Decision Support System for source‑sustainability assessments. Emphasis was placed on the “Catch the Rain – Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari” campaign, Jal Arpan ceremonies, convergence with programmes such as VB‑G RAM‑G, MGNREGA and 16th Finance Commission grants, and community‑led water‑quality monitoring under Sujalam Shakti. Best‑practice presentations from four districts (Karnataka, Tripura, Rajasthan, Jharkhand) highlighted innovative approaches to source sustainability, IEC activities, grievance redressal and convergence mechanisms.

The Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Academy of Social Security (PDUNASS) inaugurated a three‑day residential training programme titled “Actuarial Practices in Social Security: Strengthening Actuarial Governance at EPFO India” on 10‑12 August 2026 in New Delhi. The programme, jointly organised by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITC‑ILO), follows an online module run from 25 May to 9 August 2026. It covers actuarial valuation methods, asset‑liability management and global best governance practices, aiming to build in‑house actuarial capacity in line with the Code on Social Security, 2020. Senior officials, including the Central Provident Fund Commissioner, highlighted the importance of actuarial decisions for the financial security of millions of workers.

The National Cooperative Database (NCD) records 8.53 lakh cooperative societies in India, of which 6.63 lakh are functional. Among functional societies, 5.95 lakh have been audited while 0.68 lakh remain unaudited. A total of 49,177 societies are under liquidation, and 115 multi‑state cooperative societies (MSCS) have been placed under liquidation under Sections 86‑90 of the MSCS Act, 2002. The Ministry of Cooperation highlights several initiatives since its inception on 06‑07‑2021, including the 2023 amendment of the MSCS Act, creation of a Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund, computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) on a common ERP platform, capacity‑building through the National Council for Co‑operative Training, and the development of the NCD as a digital repository covering about 32 crore members. Rural cooperative banks have also been brought under the RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme.

The Union Health Ministry has issued a series of evidence‑based guidelines and regulatory mechanisms to promote safe, indigenous regenerative medicines. Key documents include the 2025‑26 ‘Evidence based guidelines for the use of stem cell therapy’, ICMR’s 2023 umbilical cord blood banking guidelines, the 2021 National Guidelines for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, and earlier guidelines on gene‑therapy product development and stem‑cell research. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) supports fundamental and translational research, with its autonomous institute BRIC‑inStem facilitating innovations such as India’s first‑in‑human gene‑therapy trial. The Department of Health Research (DHR) has set up ethics‑committee networks and the National Stem Cell Research Regulation Committee (NSRC) to oversee clinical stem‑cell studies, while CDSCO regulates products under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the 2019 NDCT Rules.

The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying reports that national fish production rose from 147.25 lakh tonnes in 2020‑21 to 197.75 lakh tonnes in 2024‑25. Under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), an investment of Rs 20,750 crore has been allocated since FY 2020‑21, while the Fisheries & Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) was launched in 2018‑19 with a corpus of Rs 7,522.48 crore. In the last five years, 28 fishing harbour, 25 fish landing centre and 23 dredging projects were approved under PMMSY (total cost Rs 3,741.89 crore) and 94 harbour/landing projects under FIDF (cost Rs 4,916.46 crore). The Kisan Credit Card scheme was extended to fishers and fish farmers from FY 2018‑19. State‑wise project details under PMMSY for 2020‑21 to 2025‑26 are provided in the annexure.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare states that the Government of India employs satellites, drones, Artificial Intelligence, Remote Sensing, GIS and IoT for a technology‑driven crop monitoring system. Key components include: FASAL, which uses multispectral and SAR satellite data to forecast production of 11 major crops across 20 states; disaster monitoring inputs such as vegetation maps and soil‑moisture status; Krishi Decision Support System that integrates geospatial and non‑geospatial data for crop mapping and insurance claims; YESTECH for Gram‑Panchayat‑level yield estimation of paddy, wheat and soybean in 12 states; WINDS, expanding weather stations in 7 states. Drone assistance is provided under SMAM (up to 50 % subsidy) and the ‘Namo Drone Didi’ scheme (1094 drones to women SHGs). AI‑based tools include NPSS (pest surveillance covering 73 crops and 436 pests), BharatVistaar (AI‑driven advisory platform serving 5.9 lakh farmers) and Kisan Sarathi (2.97 crore farmer registrations). AgriStack links digital services with schemes such as PM‑KISAN, PMFBY and PM‑ASHA, enabling rapid benefit delivery and real‑time crop estimates.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare reports that the cultivated area and productivity of Kalanamak rice in Siddharthnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, have risen sharply, with production increasing more than five‑fold between 2018 and 2025 and the sale price climbing from Rs 40 kg⁻¹ in 2018 to Rs 150 kg⁻¹ in 2026, boosting farmer profitability. The central and state governments have extended financial, technical and marketing assistance, including credit‑linked subsidies up to 35 % (max ₹10 lakh) under the PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) and One District One Product (ODOP) Margin Money Scheme. A Common Facility Centre under ODOP provides modern processing, packaging and export support. Six improved Kalanamak varieties with yields up to 4.5 t ha⁻¹ have been released, and 389.6 quintals of quality seed were distributed during 2021‑26. Export promotion is facilitated through APEDA, linking FPOs to buyers in Singapore, Nepal and other Buddhist‑nation markets under the “Buddha Rice” brand.