Bihar’s first-ever structured pulse procurement initiative under Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses launched. 

About Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses

• Objective: Achieve self-sufficiency in pulses by enhancing domestic production, reducing import dependence, and sustainably improving farmers’ incomes.
• Target:  Scale up domestic pulses production to 350 lakh tonnes and expand cultivation area to 310 lakh hectares by 2030–31.
• Genesis: Announced in Union Budget 2025–26, approved on 1^st Oct 2025.
• Time Period: 6 Years (2025-26 to 2030-31). 
• Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare.
• Focus Crops: Tur/Arhar (pigeon pea); Urad (black gram) & Masoor (red lentil).

Hormuz crisis throws spotlight on world's other largest chokepoint, the Malacca Strait.

About Strait of Malacca

• Location: Waterway connecting Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and South China Sea (Pacific Ocean).
• Bounded by: Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore,
• Strategic Significance: 
  • Carries nearly 22% of world’s maritime trade, 
  • considered largest “oil transit chokepoint”, 
  • Shortest sea route from East Asia to Middle East and Europe.
• Concerns: 
  • Narrowest point (Phillips Channel of Singapore Strait) creates a natural bottleneck with concerns for collisions or oil spills. 
  • Some parts are relatively shallow restricting largest vessels. 
  • Piracy and attack on merchant vessels. 

National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme marked a significant milestone by profiling around 90 thousand sewer and septic tank workers. 

About NAMASTE Scheme

• Launched in: 2023 as Central Sector Scheme. 
• Objective:  Formalize and rehabilitate persons engaged in hazardous cleaning of sewer and septic tanks.
• Jointly initiated: By the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. 
  • Implemented by National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC). 
• Target Group: Sewer and Septic tank sanitation Workers (SSWs); Wastepickers  added in 2024.

Exposition of Tathagata holy sacred relics of Lord Buddha to take place in Ladakh. 

About Tathagata Relics

• Relics of Tathagata symbolize physical remains of Buddha and associated memorials, emphasizing reverence, protection from conflict. 
• It is name which the historical Buddha Sakyamuni used when referring to himself as recorded in tripitaka of Pali Canon.
  • Refers to as “The one thus-come” or “The one thus-gone”. 
• Regarded as an Important term in Mahāyāna for understanding two types of lineages (textual transmission and realization transmission) found in Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna traditions.

Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2026 report released by UN ESCAP

Key highlights

• Projections: India’s economy is projected to grow at 6.4% (following 7.4% in 2025)  this year and 6.6% in 2027

About UN ESCAP (HQ: Bangkok, Thailand).

• It is an intergovernmental platform in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Origin : established in 1947 as Economic Commission for Asia and Far East (ECAFE)
• Parent Body: One of the 5 regional commissions of the United Nations and reports to Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
• Membership: 53 Member States and 9 Associate Members.
  • Includes countries from outside the Asia-Pacific region, such as, UK, France, etc.
  • India is a founding member 

Massive weather phenomena called twisters were observed in the US.

About Twisters

• It is another name for a tornado which is a violently rotating column of air (500 km per hour) that extends from a thunderstorm cloud down to the ground. 
• Formation: They develop when moist and warm air collides with dry and cold air, creating atmospheric instability and strong updrafts within a thunderstorm. 
• The resulting wind shear causes the air to spin, and if this rotation is tilted vertically and intensifies, a tornado (or twister) forms.
• Highest number of tornadoes occur in the USA’s region called “Tornado Alley” (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska)

Scientists discover new frog species in Arunachal Pradesh, Limnonectes Motijheel.

About the new Frog Species

• It belongs to a group commonly called Fanged Frogs, named for small, fang-like projections in the lower jaw of the males. 
• These frogs are found across South and Southeast Asia and are known for their unusual breeding habits.
• The new species has been placed within the genus Limnonectes.
• Unlike most frogs that lay eggs in water or on leaves, this species builds a nest out of mud beneath leaf litter on the forest floor. 
  • This is a behaviour not previously recorded in this group from India.

Recently CGTMSE organised a global symposium on Credit Guarantees

About CGTMSE 

• Origin: established in 2000 
• Ministry: Jointly set up by Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises , and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
• Aim: Enhance formal credit availability without collaterals by giving guarantees to both existing and new enterprises in MSE sector  .
• Mechanism: If a bank gives a collateral-free loan to MSE and the borrower defaults, CGTMSE will absorb the 75-90% of the loss 
• Function: Operate Credit Guarantee Scheme for the MSE sector.