Recent 6 months news in National

Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh has launched the ‘Livestock Insurance Portal’ (Pashudhan Bima Portal) in New Delhi.

The portal, developed under the Livestock Insurance activity of the National Livestock Mission (NLM), provides a unified digital interface for stakeholders including farmers, insurers, and implementing agencies. To ensure comprehensive reach across diverse farming communities, the portal is accessible in 11 regional languages.

The Geographical Indications (GI) Registry has granted the GI tag to ‘Mandar’, a traditional folk musical instrument from Jharkhand.

The Permanent Delegation of India to the UNESCO has announced the inclusion of 5 new heritage sites in the Tentative List of the World Heritage Convention (WHC). Four of these sites are located in Madhya Pradesh: the Bagh Cave Paintings, the Group of Temples of the Chambal Valley, the Udaigiri Caves, and the Ginnorgarh Fort.

A serial transnational proposal between India and South Africa, titled ‘Sites of Satyagraha’, has also been included. This property consists of 9 components, including 7 sites in India and 2 in South Africa (the Pietermaritzburg Station and the Phoenix Settlement).

It is to be noted that the total number of sites from India on the UNESCO Tentative List has increased to 78, comprising 58 cultural, 17 natural, and 3 mixed category sites.

The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) has completed 12 years of implementation. The scheme, launched in 2014, is a part of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) under the Ministry of Rural Development.

The scheme targets rural youth aged between 15 and 35 years. It is to be noted that DDU-GKY has successfully trained over 18.47 lakh candidates since its inception.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has inaugurated the Seva First Innovation Challenge (SFIC) for the South Zone in IISc Bengaluru.

The initiative aims to encourage youth to identify community-level problems and develop innovative, testable, and scalable solutions.

Justice Surya Kant, the Chief Justice of India, has inaugurated the first Victim Rights Centre (VRC) of India at the Bihar State Legal Services Authority (BSLSA) premises in Patna, Bihar. He also released a formal publication providing information about the newly established facility.

During the event, he flagged off 9 Multi-Utility Vehicles (MUVs) and launched a Transgender Helpline under the Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Access to Resources (SITARA) Scheme.

The Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education (MoE) has sanctioned the establishment of 5 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for the study of classical languages.

The CoE for Classical Assamese will be located at Tezpur University (Assam), while the CoE for Classical Bengali will be at Visva-Bharati University (West Bengal). The Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute in Pune will host the CoE for Classical Marathi. The Central University of Odisha and the Central University of Gujarat have been designated for the CoEs of Classical Pali and Classical Prakrit, respectively.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has launched an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) named ‘IIT Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund-I’ during the 7th edition of ‘IITMAA Sangam’ (the annual conference of the IIT Madras Alumni Association) in Bengaluru.

The fund is a joint initiative between the IIT Madras and Unicorn India Ventures (UIV). The minister also released a book titled “Cashless Nation: How UPI Changed Everything”, authored by Santanu Paul and B Sambamurthy.

PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated an international conference titled “The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics” at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

The event, organised by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), witnessed global participation, including judges and judicial representatives from 17 countries.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has marked the 12th anniversary of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Launched in 2014, the scheme aims to position India as a global hub for manufacturing, design, and innovation. The initiative covers a total of 27 sectors, which includes 15 manufacturing sectors and 12 service sectors.

Union Minister Amit Shah has inaugurated the ‘PRAHAAR - Counter Terrorism (CT) Policy and Strategy’ Conference in New Delhi. During the event, he launched an Extradition Portal to expedite the return of fugitives.

The ‘Prahaar’ framework is implemented through a whole-of-society approach and is based on a seven-pillar strategy: Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities, Human Rights, Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts, and Recovery and Resilience.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has launched the Digital Connectivity Rating (DCR) Platform, which serves as an integrated system for viewing and comparing the connectivity ratings of various properties.

The platform enables end-to-end rating as per the “Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity Regulations, 2024” (amended in May 2026) and the “Rating Manual” published in June 2026. TRAI has also introduced a mobile application to facilitate the testing and assessment of digital connectivity at specific properties.

Union Minister JP Nadda has inaugurated “Arogya Manthan 2026” at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, to mark the 8th anniversary of the Ayushman Bharat PM Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and the 5th anniversary of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

Under the AB PM-JAY, Andhra Pradesh (large state), Sikkim (small state), and Jammu & Kashmir (Union Territory - UT) were recognized for the highest card saturation among Accredited Social Health Activists, Anganwadi Workers, and Anganwadi Helpers). Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat were awarded for claim settlement efficiency in inter-state portability.

In the ABDM category, Bihar, Ladakh, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli were the top performers in model districts. Chandigarh, Assam, and Uttar Pradesh were honored for the highest implementation of ABDM-enabled Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) in sub-centres.

The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), in collaboration with the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), has launched “CAG-BHASHINI Anuvaad”, an AI-enabled document translation solution.

The platform, developed by BHASHINI, is specifically designed to facilitate the translation of official documents and audit-related reports of the CAG.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has launched GOBARdhan, a Central Sector Scheme for the development of the Compressed Biogas (CBG) sector. The Union Cabinet has approved the scheme with a total outlay of ₹23,731 crore for a period of 10 years, from FY27 to FY36.

The scheme aims to increase the domestic production of CBG by nearly 10-fold to 5 Million Metric Standard Cubic Metres per Day (MMSCMD). To support the implementation, he has also launched the GOBARdhan Handbook and the Unified GOBARdhan Portal.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has designated four major and commercial facilities as the first “mega ports” of India under Section 73 of the Indian Ports Act, 2025.

The identified ports include the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Nhava Sheva, Paradip Port, Deendayal Port in Kandla, and the Mundra Port operated by the Adani Group.

The “mega port” status is granted for a 5-year duration, subject to periodic reviews, based on specific operational benchmarks. To qualify for this status, a bulk port must register an annual cargo throughput of at least 150 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT), while a container port is required to handle a minimum of 7.5 Million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (MTEUs).

The central government, in collaboration with the Union Territory of Ladakh, has identified 28 geographical locations and features for name standardization on the official map of the Survey of India (SoI).

The Ministry of Steel (MoS) has announced the establishment of the Steel Industry Safety Council as an apex-level body. The council aims to enhance safety standards, practices, and accident prevention protocols across the domestic steel sector.

The SISC will be chaired by Sandeep Poundrik, the Secretary of the MoS.

The Ayushman Bharat PM Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to achieve universal health coverage, has recorded over 60 crore beneficiaries.

It is the world’s largest government-funded public health insurance and assurance scheme, providing coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per family annually for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.

The scheme is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with a funding ratio of 60:40 between the centre and states, as well as for UTs with a legislature. The funding ratio is 90:10 for the centre and North-Eastern states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir, while UTs without a legislature receive 100% central funding.

Union Minister Bhupender Yadav has launched a workshop on the ‘Capacity Enhancement for Effective Forest Management Project’ in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to strengthen the capacity of frontline forest personnel.

The 7-year project will be implemented from FY26 to FY32 across all states in India. The project entails a total financial outlay of ₹537.10 crore, consisting of ₹440.42 crore funded by JICA and ₹96.68 crore contributed by the central government.