Recent 6 months news in National

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved key infrastructure projects valued at ₹13,041 crore.

The approved initiatives include four multi-tracking railway projects with an estimated cost of ₹9,450 crore.

Additionally, the CCEA has approved the four-laning of National Highway-22 (NH-22) in Bihar at an estimated cost of ₹3,590.73 crore.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), through the MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), has launched the third cohort of the Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups (GENESIS) Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) programme.

The GENESIS EIR 3.0 was officially launched at the GENESIS NextGen Startup Summit (Coimbatore Edition) held at Rathinam Global University in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

The programme is a national initiative designed to support aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers, students, and early-stage startup founders.

It is a component of the broader GENESIS scheme, which is a flagship initiative of the MSH with a total budget outlay of ₹490 crore.

Under the EIR component of the GENESIS scheme, selected innovators will receive a maximum financial assistance of ₹10 lakh through participating GENESIS incubators.

The inaugural meeting of the India-Kuwait Joint Defence Committee (JDC) was held in New Delhi.

During the meeting, both nations agreed to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation across various sectors, including training, military exercises, military medicine, staff talks, defence industry, and Research & Development (R&D).

The Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC), chaired by Anuradha Thakur, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), has approved the third round of privatization of 11 airports across 5 airport bundles.

The total investment by the private concessionaires to take over the operations of these airports is estimated at ₹8,622 crore.

Under the PPP model, these airports will be leased for a concession period of 50 years.

The private concessionaires are required to retain 60% of the employees of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for a maximum period of 3 years.

The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of a permanent bench of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

The initiative aims to enhance access to justice for people residing in the remote regions of the UT.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has authorized the development of 1,800 km of new Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) pipeline infrastructure, with an estimated capital investment of ₹7,000 crore.

The 3 authorized LPG pipeline projects will be developed by GAIL (India) Ltd across 5 states: Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Karnataka.

It is to be noted that this development will expand the PNGRB-approved common-carrier LPG pipeline network from 7,700 km to 9,500 km.

The National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP) has launched the first ‘Soil Texture Map’ of India during its 50th Foundation Day in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

It is to be noted that soil texture refers to the relative proportion of sand, silt, and clay in the soil, which determines critical properties including water-holding capacity, drainage, aeration, and crop suitability.

The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi, an autonomous premier institution under the Ministry of Ayush, has introduced the ‘Garbhini Mitra Course’ for the 2026-2027 academic session.

The initiative is a structured healthcare skill-development programme designed to train personnel to provide health education, lifestyle guidance, and community-level support to women during pregnancy and the postnatal period.

Vice President CP Radhakrishnan has launched the first non-Genetically Modified Organism (non-GMO), high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed of India at Musunuru in Eluru district of Andhra Pradesh.

The central government has approved the “Incentive Scheme for Promotion of Domestic Piped Natural Gas (PNG) Connections”, effective from September 1, 2026. The scheme aims to expand household PNG connections and provide clean and affordable cooking fuel.

Under the incentive mechanism, eligible City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities will receive an additional 200 Standard Cubic Metres (SCM) of lower-priced domestically produced Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) gas for every new billed connection.

The incentive will be provided above a threshold level set for each Geographical Area (GA) and implemented in two tranches over a period of 6 months. It is to be noted that India currently has 1.74 crore domestic PNG connections.

Shinjiro Koizumi, the Defence Minister of Japan, has conducted his inaugural visit to India to strengthen bilateral defence ties and maritime security cooperation. In New Delhi, he inspected a ceremonial Guard of Honour at the Manekshaw Centre in the presence of Union Minister Rajnath Singh.

During the visit to Mumbai, the minister inspected a Guard of Honour at the Western Naval Command (WNC) and laid a wreath at the Gaurav Stambh at the Naval Dockyard. He also visited the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Chennai, which is an indigenous stealth destroyer.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has organised the “Yashoda AI - Women’s Path to AI Empowerment” programme at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Jalandhar, Punjab.

The initiative aims to promote AI literacy, digital empowerment, and cyber safety to ensure a secure digital environment.

PM Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the Red Fort on the 80th Independence Day of India, marking his 13th consecutive address.

It is to be noted that this is the second-highest after the 17 consecutive speeches of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The celebration featured two themes: the 150 years of the national song “Vande Mataram” and “Yuva Shakti-Leading the Journey to Viksit Bharat@ 2047”.

The Indian Army (IA) served as the coordinating service for the event. The Guard of Honour comprised 25 personnel each from the IA, Indian Air Force (IAF), and Delhi Police. Captain Sonia Singh Chauhan of the IA assisted the PM in hoisting the national flag, followed by the first-ever performance of “Vande Mataram” at the Red Fort by the Army band.

PM Modi unveiled “Shakti Ki Saptadhara”, a seven-pronged strategy focusing on manufacturing, agriculture, technology, infrastructure, defence, the green and blue economy, and soft power.

He highlighted that 1 crore young Indians will be trained in AI skills over the next year and announced a target of 6 crore “Lakhpati Didis”. India also aims to reach 100 Giga-Watt (GW) of nuclear power capacity by 2047, with 5 new nuclear reactors starting within the current decade.

A total of 1,057 personnel were awarded Gallantry and Service Medals, including 301 Medals of Gallantry (GM) and 92 President’s Medals for Distinguished Service. President Droupadi Murmu approved 78 Gallantry Awards for the Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel, with 13 posthumous honours.

President Droupadi Murmu has granted assent to the ‘Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2026’ and a legislation amending the ‘Payment and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act, 2007’.

The ‘Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2026’ replaces the ‘Income-tax (IT) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026’. The Act provides exemptions from income tax on interest and capital gains (arising from the sale, exchange, or transfer) to Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) for their investments in government securities.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has organised the 8th meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Ocean Polar Science and Technology (OPST) in Goa, hosted by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).

India also hosted the 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting and the 3rd BRICS Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, chaired by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi of the Ministry of Education (MoE). The session concluded with the adoption of the 13th BRICS Education Ministers’ Declaration, which outlines 5 priority areas under the BRICS Education Track.

The 14th meeting of the India-Nepal Joint Working Group (JWG) was held in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. During the meeting, delegations from both countries reviewed bilateral cooperation concerning border management and security.

The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2019 under the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), has completed seven years of implementation. The Union Cabinet has extended the implementation deadline for the mission to December 2028.

The primary objective of the JJM is to provide a Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household, ensuring a supply of 55 litres of water per person per day. It is to be noted that rural tap-water coverage under the mission has increased to over 15.91 crore households, and more than 2 lakh villages have been officially declared ‘Har Ghar Jal’ certified.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has inaugurated 7 major infrastructure projects at the Paradip Port Authority (PPA) in Odisha, with a total outlay of ₹427.8 crore. The projects are intended to strengthen the capacity and operational efficiency of the port.

The PPA has attained an 18.5-metre deep-draft capability, enabling the handling of larger cargo vessels. Furthermore, concession agreements for 3 mechanisation projects were signed with a cumulative investment of ₹1,580.36 crore. The port also reached an environmental milestone by completing its one-millionth tree plantation.

The National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has launched a national-level hackathon named “Cyber Kushti 2026”. The hackathon focuses on the fields of cybersecurity and AI.

The initiative was introduced during the 3rd National Conference on Cyber Security, Digital Forensics and Intelligence (NCCDFI 2026) held at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has virtually inaugurated the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI) Diabetes Rural Outreach Digital Portal and launched the Video Information and Health Education for Awareness and Self-Management (VISHWAS) Diabetes Awareness Video Library.

The digital portal is designed by RSSDI to support its rural outreach initiative, under which its members adopt villages to improve diabetes diagnosis, follow-up care, and early prevention. The VISHWAS video library will serve as a dedicated digital repository to enhance health literacy and self-management directly among diabetes patients and local caregivers.