Recent 6 months news in National

Union Minister Amit Shah has inaugurated the first phase of 'Shabdalok (The Museum of Word)', which is India's first immersive language museum.

Developed by the National Library under the Ministry of Culture, the museum is located at the National Library campus in Kolkata and was built at a cost of ₹41 crore.

India hosted the 3rd BRICS Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in New Delhi under its BRICS Chairship. The meeting was chaired by Union Minister of State Nityanand Rai.

The meeting concluded with the adoption of the 'BRICS Joint Statement on DRR'. The statement reaffirms the commitment of BRICS nations to accelerate the 'BRICS DRR Work Plan (2025-2028)'.

The Union Cabinet has approved the 'Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojana Rasayan' (BHAVYA - Rasayan Scheme) to establish 3 dedicated Chemical Parks in India. The scheme has a total outlay of ₹3,030 crore (₹3,000 crore for infrastructure and ₹30 crore for administrative expenses) and will be implemented over 5 years from FY27 to FY31.

Under the scheme, the central government will provide a grant of up to ₹1,000 crore per park, while the respective state government must contribute a minimum of ₹500 crore.

President Droupadi Murmu has inaugurated 'Saushrutam 2026', an international seminar on Ayurvedic surgery, at the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in New Delhi. The seminar was held to commemorate Sushruta Jayanti, celebrated in honour of Sushruta, known as the 'Father of Surgery'.

During the event, the President released a study by the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) regarding the professional careers of women Ayurveda graduates.

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy has inaugurated the Exhibition on Mine Closure and Mine Repurposing in New Delhi, showcasing initiatives by Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiaries.

During the event, he released the 'AAROH Annual Report on Mine Closure', developed by the Coal Controller Organisation. It provides India's first comprehensive documentation on scientific mine closure and repurposing practices for 42 coal mines. The Minister also virtually inaugurated Coal NEER Plants established by CIL through its subsidiaries.

During the event, the Ministry of Coal signed an Implementation Agreement with the German agency Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) for technical cooperation on 'To-be closed mines'. The project, commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the European Union (EU), has a total volume of €10 million and will be implemented until 2030.

Additionally, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) and the Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Authority (JRDA) signed tripartite MoUs with Hindalco Industries Ltd and Rajdhani Universal Fabrics Pvt Ltd to establish an Industry-Linked Skill Centre in the Dhanbad region for apparel manufacturing training.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has granted in-principle approval for two maritime infrastructure projects in Gujarat under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS).

The first project is a Greenfield Shipbuilding Cluster at Kuchhadi in the Porbandar district, covering nearly 2,000 acres. The second project is a Ship Repair Facility at Vadinar in the Gulf of Kutch, which will be developed at a cost of ₹1,570 crore by Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) and the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA).

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan unveiled the roadmap for 'Viksit Krishi and Samruddh Kisan' as a key pillar of 'Viksit Bharat 2047' during the 98th Foundation Day of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in New Delhi.

During the event, 43 new crop varieties, 17 technologies/products, and 14 publications were released, and over 70 MoUs were signed.

ICAR aims to establish 100 'Climate Smart Villages' before its centenary. Under 'Mission ICAR-100', Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) will be transformed, with each KVK mandated to cover at least 100 villages. Additionally, under the 'One Institute-One Grand Innovation' initiative, every ICAR institute is tasked to develop at least one transformational innovation within 2 years.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal has launched the electronic - Vidhi Sahitya Prakashan (e-VSP) portal. It is a digital platform designed to provide seamless access to legal books, publications, and educational resources.

Developed in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and the Official Languages Wing, the portal facilitates access to legal publications in Hindi.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has launched the pilot phase of the 'Gems of India' Challenge to identify, nurture, and promote grassroots digital creators across the country.

The initiative is built upon MyWAVES, the citizen creator platform under WAVES OTT, which was launched by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to enable citizens to create, upload, and share original content and strengthen the digital creator ecosystem of India. The ministry is collaborating with YouTube and Meta to mobilize creator communities and extend the outreach of the challenge.

The 49th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC49) was held in Geneva, Switzerland. During the session, 7 codex standards and guidelines developed under the chairmanship and co-chairmanship of India were adopted.

The commission also approved a proposal by the Government of India (GoI) to initiate new work for developing a codex standard for cashew kernels under the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables (CCPFV).

PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for rail and road infrastructure projects worth over ₹5,470 crore at Jalandhar Cantonment in Punjab.

This includes the inauguration of 75 redeveloped railway stations across 20 states under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, executed at a cost of ₹1,570 crore.

The central government has approved the development of two new Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs) in Tamil Nadu under the 'EMC 2.0' scheme to expand the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) ecosystem.

The projects, managed by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamilnadu Ltd (SIPCOT), involve a combined investment of ₹1,012.02 crore. This includes the Manallur EMC in Tiruvallur district (474.3 acres) costing ₹587.47 crore, and the Pillapaikkam EMC in Kancheepuram district (379.3 acres) costing ₹424.55 crore.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has approved projects worth ₹2,719.80 crore under the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) initiated by PM Narendra Modi. The funding is designated for 6 transformative urban development initiatives in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh has launched Phase-III of the Biomedical Research Career Programme (BRCP).

The programme has a total financial outlay of ₹1,500 crore, comprising ₹1,000 crore from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and ₹500 crore from the Wellcome Trust (WT), London. The programme is jointly implemented by the DBT and the WT through the DBT-WT India Alliance, which is administered by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoH&UA), has celebrated its 172nd Annual Day at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

During the event, Union Minister Manohar Lal unveiled the 'SANKALP' framework. He also released two publications, 'India's Urban Transformation: Reflections from Policy and Practice' and the MoH&UA's coffee table book 'India's Urban Momentum: Towards Making Our Cities Liveable', which highlight the journey of urban development in India.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), in collaboration with the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, has launched a pilot 'Short-Term Skill Training Programme (STSTP)'.

The programme offers an Assistant Baking Technician Certificate Programme under the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) Level 3. It is being conducted at the Imperial Tobacco Company of India- Integrated Consumer Goods Manufacturing and Logistics (ITC-ICML) facility in Trichy, Tamil Nadu.

Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has approved the operational guidelines for the 'PARIVARTAN' (Programme for Accelerated Renewal and Incentivization of Vehicle Assets for Reducing Transport Air Pollution and Network Emissions) scheme.

The scheme aims to replace old, highly polluting trucks and buses operating in the National Capital Region (NCR) with Bharat Stage (BS)-VI-compliant vehicles or Electric Vehicles (EVs).

The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) has granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag to Unjha Cumin and Fennel from the Unjha region of Gujarat.

With this, the total number of GI-tagged agricultural products from Gujarat has increased to 6.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has launched the 'Seafarer-First' initiative to safeguard Indian seafarers operating in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman.

The initiative is a response to the escalating maritime security concerns in West Asia. It will be implemented through the coordination of the Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Navy, and the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS).

Sridhar Vembu, Co-founder of Zoho Corporation Pvt Ltd, has inaugurated the Thiruvanmiyur campus of the VELS Institute of Science, Technology, & Advanced Studies (VISTAS) in Chennai. It is to be noted that this facility is recognised as India's first AI-integrated vertical university campus.