As of now, 6.19 crore pregnant women have been examined under Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA).
About Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA)
Launched in June 2016, it is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
It was designed to provide assured, comprehensive, and quality antenatal care (ANC) services free of cost to all pregnant women on the 9th of every month, particularly during the second and third trimesters.
The PMSMA aligns with the broader goals of the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health plus Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy under the National Health Mission (NHM).
This has led to a significant improvement in India’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), which declined from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-16 to 80 per lakh live births in 2021-23—a notable reduction of 50 points.
India is closely monitoring Chinese infrastructure projects on the Brahmaputra River, particularly hydropower developments, due to their potential impact on downstream regions such as Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
Brahmaputra River System
The Brahmaputra River originates in the Kailash ranges at 5,150 m elevation, flows 2,900 km in total, including 916 km in India.
It originates as Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet .
Its basin spans across Tibet (China), Bhutan, India, and Bangladesh.
In India, it covers Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Sikkim.
A growing number of rare disease patients in India are urging the government to invoke the compulsory licensing provision under the Indian Patents Act, 1970.
About
Compulsory licensing is a legal tool under Section 84 of the Indian Patents Act, 1970, which allows the government or any third party to manufacture a patented product or use a patented process without the consent of the patent owner in certain conditions.
It aims to protect public health and access to affordable medicines.
India is carefully balancing its trade relations with Türkiye (Turkey), ensuring that economic advantages are not compromised despite geopolitical concerns.
Current Trade Statistics
India has a trade surplus of $2.73 billion with Turkey, primarily driven by engineering goods, electronics, and chemicals.
In FY25, India’s exports to Turkey totaled $5.72 billion, with engineering exports accounting for over 50% of the total.
Turkey had increased petroleum product imports from India following the Ukraine war, but it has seen a significant decline in FY25.
However, Turkey’s exports to India remain limited to fruits, nuts, gold, and marble.
As per the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) will see a new base from next year onwards.
About
In 2024, MoSPI has set up a 26-member Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics to decide the base year for GDP data.
Biswanath Goldar has been appointed as its chairman.
For GDP, the new series is scheduled to be released on February 27, 2026 with financial year 2022-23 as base year.
For IIP, 2022 -23 has been tentatively identified as the revised base. IIP on revised base would be released from 2026-27.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a policy framework for how it will publish regulations, directions, guidelines and notifications.
Background
This follows a similar move by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which published regulations setting out the procedure it would follow to issue regulations.
Both RBI and SEBI are statutory regulators with quasi-legislative powers, have initiated reforms to improve transparency and accountability in regulation-making.
These reforms are in line with global best practices and are essential to uphold the rule of law.
The Kerala government has urged the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to amend the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA), so it can be allowed to kill wild animals that foray into human habitats.
Kerala’s Demands to the Union government
Amend WLPA, 1972 to allow culling of “man-eating” or dangerous wild animals without excessive procedural delays.
Declare Wild Boars as Vermin under Section 62 of the Act, permitting their hunting in designated areas for a limited time.
Remove Bonnet Macaques from Schedule I, thus allowing wildlife authorities to take direct action like capture and relocation.
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure 2025.
International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure 2025
It brings together governments, organizations, institutions, the media, and infrastructure stakeholders to strengthen the global discourse on disaster and climate-resilient infrastructure.
It is being hosted in Europe for the very first time.
It is aligned with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) in Geneva, and third U.N. Oceans Conference (UNOC3).
The theme, ‘Shaping a Resilient Future for Coastal Regions,’ highlights the vulnerability of coastal areas and islands to natural disasters and climate change.
Mizoram and Goa declared themselves “fully literate” under the ULLAS adult literacy programme, with literacy rates of 98.2% and 99.72%, respectively.
ULLAS program
ULLAS - Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram, also known as the New India Literacy Programme (NILP).
It is a centrally sponsored initiative that aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
It aims to provide functional literacy (reading, writing, numeracy) and life skills to adults aged 15+ who missed formal education, enabling their social integration and contribution to national growth.
The programme is driven by volunteerism, promotes social responsibility (‘Kartavya Bodh’), and offers educational content in regional languages via the DIKSHA platform and ULLAS app.
