Manufacturing Mission
- National Manufacturing Mission Announced: Union Budget 2025-26 introduced the National Manufacturing Mission to boost “Make in India,” covering small, medium, and large industries.
- Five Focal Areas: The mission prioritizes ease and cost of doing business, a future-ready workforce, a vibrant MSME sector, technology availability, and quality products.
- Government Support: The government will provide policy assistance, implementation roadmaps, and monitoring structures for central ministries and states.
- Domestic Value Addition: Aims to enhance domestic value addition and build a strong ecosystem for specific sectors like solar PV cells, EV batteries, wind turbines, and high-voltage transmission equipment.
- Clean Tech Manufacturing: Supports Clean Tech manufacturing initiatives.
- Footwear and Leather Sector Focus: A new ‘Focus Product Scheme’ will support design capacity, component manufacturing, and machinery for both leather and non-leather footwear production, with the potential to generate employment for 22 lakh people.
- National Action Plan for Toys: A National Action Plan for Toys will be implemented to make India a global hub, focusing on cluster development, skills, and a sustainable manufacturing ecosystem.
- MSME Support : Credit guarantee cover is to be enhanced for MSMEs to Rs 10 crore from Rs 5 crore and investment and turnover limit for classification of all MSMEs will be enhanced to 2.5 and 2 times.
- Food Processing Boost: A National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management will be established in Bihar to boost food processing and create opportunities in the Eastern region.
GeoMission
- National Geospatial Mission Launch: Announced in Budget 2025-26 by the Finance Minister.
- Modernizing Land Records: Aims to update and improve land records across India.
- Enhancing Urban Planning: Seeks to improve urban planning processes nationwide.
- Addressing Land Disputes: Designed to resolve issues related to land disputes and inefficient land use.
- Creating Geospatial Database: Focuses on developing a comprehensive database for land reforms, aiming for streamlined and transparent processes.
- Benefits to Stakeholders: Expected to benefit government agencies and private companies (geospatial, drone companies) through increased service demand.
- Impact on Urban Development & Land Management: Poised to significantly impact these sectors through better technology integration.
- Improving Efficiency & Accountability: Seen as crucial for broader government goals of enhancing efficiency and accountability in public services.
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS): A system to collect, organize, visualize, and interpret geographic data for specific Earth locations.
- Geospatial Data: Data that includes information related to locations on the Earth’s surface.
- GPS vs GIS: GPS finds the location of things, whereas GIS is used to record information on maps.
InfraDev Bank
- Partial Credit Enhancement Facility: NaBFID will establish a facility to enhance the credit rating of corporate bonds in the infrastructure sector.
- Objective: To attract investment from pension and insurance funds by raising the rating of infrastructure bonds from “A” to “AA.”
- Attracting New Investors: This will open up infrastructure bonds to pension and insurance funds, which typically require a minimum “AA” rating.
- Reducing Reliance on Banks: Aims to diversify funding sources for infrastructure companies, lessening their dependence on traditional bank loans.
- Addressing Market Needs: As sovereign bond issuances decrease, pension and insurance funds will need alternative investment avenues.
- Democratizing Bond Market: Enables below AA-rated infrastructure companies to access bond financing.
- NaBFID’s Role: Specialized Development Finance Institution (DFI) providing long-term finance and technical support to the infrastructure sector.
- Regulatory Oversight: Regulated and supervised by the RBI as an All-India Financial Institution (AIFI).
- Funding Mechanism: Raises funds from governments, insurance companies, pension funds, and sovereign funds, rather than accepting public deposits.
- Guarantee Provision: Provides guarantees to banks on behalf of companies.
- Technical Assistance: Offers services like project report preparation, viability studies, and consultancy.
- Economic Development: The primary objective is to promote economic development through infrastructure financing.
Guneri Inland Mangroves
- Gujarat has declared the inland mangrove in Guneri village, Kutch district, as its first Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS).
- This site is a rare inland mangrove, one of only eight such locations known globally, and the last of its kind in India.
- Located 45 km from the Arabian Sea and 4 km from Kori Creek, it exists away from typical coastal conditions, lacking sludge and seawater access.
- The mangroves’ origin is linked to either a marine transgression during the Miocene period or the lost Saraswati River.
- They thrive due to limestone deposits that provide groundwater, similar to other inland mangrove ecosystems worldwide.
- The BHS designation, under The Biodiversity Act, 2002, will enable formal conservation of the area.
- A local Biodiversity Management Committee, including local governance representatives, will manage the site.
- Local people, including tribal members, and forest officials will receive training for conservation efforts.
- The site is home to a variety of bird species, including 20 migratory and 25 resident avifaunal species.
- Designation aims to raise awareness about this unique ecosystem.
Composite Materials
- DRDO emphasizes composite materials’ crucial role in developing indigenous fifth-generation aircraft, hypersonic missiles, and bulletproof jackets.
- Composites are made of two or more materials with different properties to enhance overall performance.
- They offer high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, durability, design flexibility, and insulation.
- Examples include Fiberglass, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), Concrete, and Plywood.
- Applications range from aerospace to sporting goods, enabling fuel-efficient vehicles, larger wind turbine blades, and improved safety equipment.
- Carbon-Carbon (C/C) Composite is the strongest type, especially in high-temperature environments.
- Tejas aircraft utilizes 45% composites by weight, making it stealthier than similar fighters.
- Composites are vital for achieving stealth requirements in the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
- DRDO uses composite motor casings in strategic missile programs for longer ranges.
- R&DE (Engineers) has developed composite bridges, sonar domes, and infantry combat vehicle hulls.
- Ceramic matrix composites and carbon fibre silicon carbide are key for hypersonic missiles and aero engines.
- DRDO is addressing metal matrix composites for turbine disks to reduce weight.
- Indigenous fibre development is crucial for bulletproof jackets, reducing import dependence.
PM Dhan Dhanya Yojana
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New Scheme Announced: Finance Minister announced the Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana (developing agri-districts programme) in the Union Budget 2025.
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Targeted Support: Aims to support farmers in 100 districts facing agricultural challenges like low crop yields and limited access to financial assistance.
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Inspired by Aspirational Districts Programme: Modeled after the Aspirational Districts Programme, which seeks to transform under-developed districts.
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Collaborative Approach: The scheme will converge existing programs and be implemented in partnership with State governments.
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Beneficiaries: Expected to benefit approximately 1.7 crore farmers.
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Key Focus Areas:
- Enhance agricultural productivity.
- Improve irrigation facilities.
- Improve credit availability (both short and long term).
- Promote crop diversification and sustainable agriculture.
- Augment post-harvest storage at Panchayat and block levels.
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Rural Opportunity: Aims to generate opportunities in rural areas, making migration a choice rather than a necessity.
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Financial Assistance: Supplements farmers’ financial needs for inputs to
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Crop Insurance: Acts as a crop insurance scheme, offering financial protection against losses from natural disasters, pests, and diseases.
India’s Language Books
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Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme Launched: Announced in Union Budget 2025-26 to provide digital books in Indian languages for students.
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Accessibility Focus: Aims to make learning more accessible by providing digital textbooks and study materials in various Indian languages.
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Target Audience: Students in schools and universities will be able to access these resources.
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Linguistic Diversity: Designed to benefit students from different linguistic backgrounds by providing study materials in regional languages, bridging the gap in educational resources.
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Complements Existing Initiatives: Builds on previous efforts like ASMITA to enhance educational infrastructure and is an initiative to develop 22,000 books in Indian languages in the next five years.
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Collaboration: Joint effort by UGC and the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (under the Ministry of Education).
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Promotion of Indian Languages: Promotes deeper integration of Indian languages into the education system to enrich the learning experience and make it more inclusive.
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Standard Operating Procedure (SOP): UGC has created a SOP for the book-writing process in each assigned language which includes identification of nodal officers, authors, allocation of title, subject, and programme, writing and editing, submission of the manuscript, review and plagiarism check, finalisation, designing, proofreading and e-publication.
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Increased Education Allocation: The Union Budget 2025-26 has increased the allocation for school and higher education. School education receives ₹78,572 crore, and higher education receives ₹50,077.95 crore
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AI Integration: Setting up of a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education with a total outlay of ₹500 crore.
Ramsar Additions
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Four new wetlands in India designated as Ramsar sites ahead of World Wetlands Day: Sakkarakottai Bird Sanctuary & Therthangal Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu), Khecheopalri wetland (Sikkim), and Udhwa Lake (Jharkhand).
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Increased Ramsar Sites: India now has 89 Ramsar sites, the highest in Asia and third-highest globally (after the UK and Mexico). Tamil Nadu leads India with the most sites (20). Sikkim and Jharkhand get their first Ramsar sites.
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Ramsar Convention: An international treaty adopted in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran to conserve and sustainably use wetlands. India is one of 172 member countries.
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Wetland Importance: Wetlands are vital ecosystems crucial for biodiversity, ecological balance, flood control, water supply, and other ecosystem services.
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Sakkarakottai Bird Sanctuary & Therthangal Bird Sanctuary: Located close to the Gulf of Mannar on the Central Asian Flyway. Important breeding grounds for migratory birds. Lie along the Central Asian Flyway and are critical breeding and foraging grounds for waterbirds. Home to many endemic and near-threatened species.
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Udhwa Lake: First Ramsar site from Jharkhand. Important for climate regulation, groundwater recharge, and irrigation. Sanctuary home to Painted stork, Black-headed ibis, Spot-billed pelican. Falls within the Gangetic Plains.
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Khecheopalri wetland: First Ramsar site from Sikkim. Sacred lake revered by Buddhists and Hindus. Believed to be blessed by Guru Padmasambhava and Goddess Tara. Surrounded by forests in the Demazong valley.
South Georgia
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The Story: The world’s largest iceberg, A23a, is drifting towards South Georgia Island.
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Why it Matters: This event has potential ecological consequences for a crucial wildlife haven.
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South Georgia Island’s Importance: A British Overseas Territory, known as an “Antarctic oasis” with vast populations of penguins, seals, and seabirds. It is ecologically vital and has a sub-Antarctic climate.
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The Iceberg’s Threat: A23a, weighing approximately one trillion tons and covering an area of around 400 square miles, is expected to reach South Georgia Island in 2-4 weeks.
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Potential Ecological Impact: The iceberg’s potential to ground could impact the island’s ecosystem by disrupting wildlife, such as hindering penguin parents from feeding their young.
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Uncertainties: Experts are unsure whether the iceberg will ground, or if it will follow the currents and not ground.
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Impact on Humans: Shipping companies can easily avoid the iceberg, however it could render some fishing areas off-limits due to smaller bergs.
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Origin of A23a: Calved from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica in 1986, and was stuck for 30 years.
Ramsar Sites Added
- Four new wetlands in India designated as Ramsar sites ahead of World Wetlands Day: Sakkarakottai Bird Sanctuary and Therthangal Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu), Khecheopalri wetland (Sikkim), and Udhwa Lake (Jharkhand).
- India now has 89 Ramsar sites, the highest in Asia and third highest globally (after UK and Mexico).
- Tamil Nadu has the maximum number of Ramsar sites in India (20).
- Sikkim and Jharkhand get their first Ramsar designated wetland.
- Ramsar Sites Definition: Wetlands of International Importance, recognized under the Ramsar Convention.
- Ramsar Convention Purpose: International mechanism for protecting globally important wetlands and ensuring their wise use. Adopted in Ramsar in 1971. India is one of 172 member countries.
- Ecological Significance: Wetlands are crucial for ecological balance, biodiversity, flood control, water supply, and other ecosystem services.
- Sakkarakottai Bird Sanctuary: Located near the Gulf of Mannar on the Central Asian flyway, breeding ground for resident and migratory waterbirds.
- Therthangal Bird Sanctuary: Along the Central Asian Flyway, important for waterbird breeding and foraging, including endangered species. Regulates climate, recharges groundwater, and provides irrigation.
- Udhwa Lake: First Ramsar site from Jharkhand, falls within the Gangetic Plains, consists of two interconnected water bodies, home to many important species.
- Khecheopalri Wetland: First Ramsar site from Sikkim, a sacred lake revered by Buddhists and Hindus, considered a wish-fulfilling lake.
- First Ramsar Sites in India: Chilika Lake (Orissa) and Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan).
River Blindness
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Niger has been congratulated by WHO for meeting the criteria for onchocerciasis elimination. This highlights successful public health efforts.
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Onchocerciasis, also known as “river blindness,” is a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) affecting primarily rural populations. NTDs affect over a billion people in impoverished communities.
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The disease is caused by the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus, transmitted via blackfly bites near fast-flowing rivers. This explains the “river blindness” name as blackfly larvae breed there.
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Symptoms include severe itching, disfiguring skin conditions, and visual impairment leading to potential blindness. This underscores the disease’s debilitating nature.
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Treatment involves mass drug administration (MDA) of ivermectin, requiring at least 80% therapeutic coverage. Ivermectin is an oral antiparasitic.
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Five countries are verified by WHO as free of onchocerciasis: Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, and Niger. This showcases the potential for elimination.
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NTDs are a diverse group of 20 tropical infections caused by viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic worms. Onchocerciasis falls under this category.