Recent 6 months news in National

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has mandated specific response timelines and financial penalties for ambulances deployed on national highways.

Ambulances must reach accident sites within 10 minutes if the crash occurs within a 10 km radius, failing which an automated penalty of ₹10,000 will be imposed.

They are also required to transport victims to the nearest hospital within 1 hour, with a fine of ₹10,000 for failing to meet the deadline.

Union Minister Amit Shah has flagged off the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga Yatra’ campaign at Murugaa Theatre Signal in Puducherry. The special focus of the campaign this year is the commemoration of 150 years of “Vande Mataram”.

It is to be noted that the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ initiative was launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2022 under ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The campaign encourages citizens to celebrate the Tricolour as a symbol of national unity, sovereignty, and identity.

The central government has officially standardized the names of 27 prominent geographical locations and features in Arunachal Pradesh on official Survey of India (SoI) maps.

The 27 standardized features include 21 land areas and settlements, 4 strategic mountain passes, 1 lake named Sambho Sarovar, and 1 war memorial named Sher-e-Thapa Memorial.

The VO Chidambaranar (VOC) Port Authority in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, has become the first major port in India to achieve ‘Scope-2 emission-free’ status. The status was conferred by global certification body Bureau Veritas.

The port has also secured the ISO 50001:2018 certification for its Energy Management System, awarded by the Indian Register Quality Systems (IRQS).

The central government has notified 11 additional international ports (9 land ports and 2 airports) to allow entry for e-Visa holders.

With this, the total number of designated e-Visa entry ports in India has increased to 88, which includes 37 airports, 38 seaports, and 13 land ports. It is to be noted that India processes 95% of e-Visa applications in less than 72 hours.

India is set to host the inaugural Global South Film Festival in 2027 to promote international cooperation in the entertainment sector. Brazil, Russia, and Vietnam will serve as the key partner countries for the festival.

The announcement was made on the sidelines of the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) Bazaar in Mumbai.

The National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), a constituent board of the Quality Council of India (QCI), has launched the first Accreditation Scheme for Mobile Food Testing Laboratories in India under the Integrated Assessment Programme.

The scheme was launched during the ‘Gunvatta Samanvaya – A Multilateral MoU Exchange Ceremony’ held in New Delhi. Developed by NABL, it establishes a framework for mobile food testing laboratories to deliver reliable, quality-assured, and internationally benchmarked testing services closer to communities.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Asiatic lion population in India has grown by over 70% in the last decade. The population of the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) has increased from 523 in 2015 to 891 in 2025.

It is to be noted that India is the exclusive habitat for the wild Asiatic lion, which is localized within the Gir National Park and its surrounding landscape across 11 districts of Gujarat. Project Lion, launched in 2020 to ensure the long-term conservation of the species, has led to an expansion of the lion range from 30,000 sq km in 2020 to nearly 35,000 sq km.

The PM Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana (PM-VBRY) has completed one year of implementation, during which more than 72 lakh first-time employees have joined the formal workforce. The scheme is implemented by the Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoL&E) through the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

The scheme, scheduled to run from August 2025 to July 2027, has a total financial outlay of ₹99,446 crore. It consists of two components: an employee-focused part that provides financial assistance to first-time formal workforce entrants, and an employer-focused part that offers incentives to establishments for generating additional employment.

The Government of India (GoI) is launching its first-ever high-altitude wildlife safari in the Union Territory of Ladakh. This initiative aims to promote sustainable eco-tourism, curb illegal off-roading, and safeguard the rare wildlife of the region, including the snow leopard.

The safari will cover multiple wildlife-rich sanctuary landscapes, specifically including the Hemis National Park (the largest national park in South Asia), the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has dedicated the first Eco-Educational Hub of India, ‘Prakriti Gyan Dham’, to the nation. Located at the Maharishi Parashar Bioresource Centre (MPBC), Banthra Campus in Lucknow, the hub was developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Botanical Research Institute (CSIR-NBRI).

The facility serves as a living repository of the botanical diversity of the country, aiming to promote hands-on experiential learning, biodiversity conservation, and public outreach.

The Supreme Court of India (SCI) bench, comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, has extended the mandatory third-party insurance period for newly purchased vehicles by one year to strengthen compliance with the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA), 1988.

Under the revised mandate, new cars are now required to have 4 years of third-party insurance coverage, while two-wheelers are mandated to have 6 years of coverage.

IIT Hyderabad, in collaboration with Crimson Energy Experts India Pvt Ltd (CEEPL), has launched ‘ANUGYAN’ – Nuclear Technology Orientation Programme (NTOP). This is India’s first industry–academia programme in nuclear technology.

The 3-month residential programme aims to develop skilled nuclear professionals to support India’s goal of expanding its nuclear power capacity from 8.8 GW to 100 GW by 2047.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the development of the 135.8 km, 4-lane access-controlled Guwahati-Tezpur Corridor of NH-15 in Assam.

The project will be developed on a Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Toll Mode at a total capital cost of ₹8,970.2 crore under the National Highways (Original) (NH(O)) scheme.

The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR), under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I), has granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag to the centuries-old Pithora Painting tradition of Gujarat.

These paintings are traditionally created by Lakharas on the inner walls and verandahs of tribal homes.

The Union Cabinet has approved ‘GOBARdhan’, the National Circular Bioenergy Scheme, with a total financial outlay of ₹23,731 crore. The scheme will be implemented from FY27 to FY36 to establish Compressed Biogas (CBG) as a key component of India’s energy mix.

The scheme introduces a CBG Offtake Assurance framework with mandatory obligations for City Gas Distribution entities at 3% in FY27, 4% in FY28, and 5% from FY29 onwards in the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) segments. An administered CBG price of ₹2,110 per Metric Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU) has been introduced for a 10-year period.

Eligible greenfield CBG projects will receive capital assistance of up to ₹2 crore per ton per day (TPD) of installed capacity. The scheme also supports pipeline infrastructure, a Credit Guarantee mechanism for MSME-based projects, and a ‘CBG Ecosystem Challenge Fund’ to accelerate district-level implementation.

The administration of the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh, with the approval of Lt Gov Vinai Kumar Saxena, has notified 23 heritage sites as Protected Monuments. The designated monuments are distributed across the regions of Leh, Sham, Nubra, Zanskar, and Kargil.

PM Narendra Modi has visited Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for various development projects.

In Andhra Pradesh, he inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for projects worth over ₹17,900 crore. This includes the inauguration of the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram in the Vizianagaram district, developed at a cost of over ₹5,640 crore by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Ltd (GVIAL).

In Karnataka, he inaugurated the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Youth Centre, also known as Viveka Smaraka, in Mysuru to commemorate Swami Vivekananda’s historic visit to the city in 1892.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia has released a commemorative postage stamp worth ₹5 at Bikaner House, New Delhi, to mark the birth centenary of Satish Gujral.

The stamp, issued by the Department of Posts (DoP), honours his outstanding contributions to Indian art, architecture, and culture. The stamp was designed by Anuj Kumar, based on a proposal by Raseel Gujral Ansal. It is to be noted that Satish Gujral was a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, awarded in 1999.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh has presided over the 56th Foundation Day celebration of the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra.

During the event, the 'Kapas Darshan Bulletin' was launched, and modern farm equipment was distributed. The minister also announced the implementation roadmap for the ₹5,659-crore 'Cotton Productivity Mission–Kapas Kanti'. Additionally, 4 MoUs were signed during the proceedings.