Centre granted temporary extension to two flagship schemes, Samagra Shiksha and PM Poshan till September 30, 2026. 

About Samagra Shiksha

• Aim: Integrated scheme for school education covering entire gamut from pre-school to class XII. 
  • It subsumed the erstwhile Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, and Teacher Education Scheme.
• Launched in 2018. 
• Ministry: Ministry of Education

About PM POSHAN (Formerly Mid-Day Meal Scheme)

• Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• Ministry: Ministry of Education
• Aim: Provide one hot cooked meal in Government and Government-aided schools covering all school children studying in pre-primary and Classes I-VIII.

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways launched MLFF  tolling system in a part of  Urban Extension Road-II in NCR. 

About MLFF Tolling

• Integrates Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology with FASTag-based electronic toll collection to automate user fee collection with minimal human intervention.
• Implementation: National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). 
• Significance: 
  • Reduce operation costs in toll collection (from 15% to 3-4%). 
  • Save nearly 250 crore litres of fuel annually. 
  • Reduce approximately 81,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. 

NJB stepped up implementation of Jute Crop Information System (JCIS). 

• JCIS was launched in 2023 in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation and Jute Corporation of India to monitor jute cultivation using remote sensing and field data. 
• Has two key tools:BHUVAN JUMP, mobile app for on-field jute monitoring, and PATSAN (Prospective Assessment of Jute Using Mobile App-Based Field Observations).

National Jute Board (Hq: Kolkata, West Bengal)

• Governed by National Jute Board Act, 2008. 
• Ministry: Ministry of Textiles
• Function: research and human resource development to explore new and innovative use of jute;  increase global share of Indian jute goods consumption.

The Chief Justice of India launched two major digital initiatives to streamline judicial administration and enhance access to justice.

About the Digital Initiatives

• One Case One Data: A unified case management system integrating multi-level databases of taluka courts, District Courts, High Courts and Government.
  • Aim: Automates data retrieval and verification, enabling seamless tracking, reducing duplication, and extending reciprocal access to High Courts and government departments.
• Su Sahay: An AI-powered assistance chatbot developed by the National Informatics Centre and the Supreme Court Registry. 
  • Integrated into the Supreme Court website, it aims to help stakeholders access case information and navigate court services efficiently.

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Quarterly Bulletin (Jan-Mar 2026) estimated declining Unemployment Rate (UR) in urban areas while Regular wage employees in rural areas witnessed a rise.

• There was an increase in rural employment in both secondary and tertiary sector.

Key Labour Force Indicators

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): 55.5%.
  • LFPR is the percentage of persons in the labour force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR): 52.8%.
  • WPR is the percentage of employed persons in the population.
• Unemployment Rate (UR): in urban areas stood at 6.6%.
  • UR is the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force.

A study found that the world’s first approved malaria vaccine (RTS, S/AS01E) reduced overall child deaths by 13 % in parts of Africa.

• Malaria is a life-threatening disease mostly spread to people through the bites of some infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
• It does not spread from person to person.

About Malaria vaccines (RTS, S/AS01E)

• It was recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021 for use among children living in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions with P. falciparum malaria transmission.
• R21/Matrix-M vaccine is the second malaria vaccine approved by WHO in 2023.

Two cheetahs brought from Botswana were released in the Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh.

About Cheetah

• World’s fastest Mammal and the only large carnivore to be extinct in India (1952).
• Unlike other big cats (lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars) cheetahs don’t roar.
• Two Species of Cheetahs:
  • African Cheetah (IUCN Status- Vulnerable).
  • Asiatic Cheetah (IUCN Status- Critically Endangered). 
• Habitat: Asia (only in arid regions of eastern Iran and India (After Reintroduction); Africa (grasslands, scrublands and open forests E.g. Botswana, Namibia and South Africa)

About Project Cheetah (2022)

• Objective: To translocate African cheetahs to India. 
• Implementing Agency: National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
• World’s first intercontinental large wild carnivore translocation initiative.

India hosted the 10th Indian Ocean Dialogue (IOD) under the theme "Indian Ocean Region in a Transforming World.”

• IOD is a flagship Track 1.5 platform under Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)

About IORA

• Genesis: An inter-governmental organization established in 1997.
• Objective: Encourage regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian ocean region. 
• Secretariat: Ebène, Mauritius
• Members: 23 member states and 12 dialogue partners.
• Institutional Mechanisms of IORA:
  • IORA Council of Ministers: Highest decision-making body.
  • IORA Chair: The Council of Ministers, on voluntary offer by Member States, elects a Chair of the Association for a period of two years.
    • India has assumed the Chairship of IORA for the 2025-27 period.