News In Short 12-08-2026

Lake Mead

Syllabus: GS1/Geography

Context

• Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States, has fallen to its lowest water level since it was filled nearly 90 years ago.

About

• Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, located on the Arizona-Nevada border, about 40 km east of Las Vegas. 
• It is one of the largest man-made reservoirs in the world by water capacity. The lake was created as part of the Boulder Canyon Project and was named after Elwood Mead, former Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 
• The reservoir supplies water to Arizona, California and Nevada, as well as parts of Mexico, supporting millions of people and extensive agricultural areas. 

Source: Mint

Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme (CMAS)

Syllabus: GS2/Government Initiatives

Context

• The Union Government has proposed a ₹10,000 crore Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme (CMAS) to strengthen domestic production of shipping containers, reduce import dependence and enhance the resilience of India’s trade and logistics network.

What is Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme (CMAS)?

• CMAS is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, announced in the Union Budget 2026–27. 
• With an outlay of ₹10,000 crore over five years, the proposed scheme supports establishment of new manufacturing facilities and expansion of existing units. 
• The initiative targets an annual domestic manufacturing capacity of around 10 times the existing container production capacity upto 7.5 lakh Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs). 
• It is expected to generate a market opportunity of nearly ₹80000 lakh crore while positioning India as a reliable producer of internationally competitive shipping containers.
• To strengthen the container manufacturing value chain, the scheme provides:
  • Capital assistance for establishing new Greenfield manufacturing facilities.
  • Support for expansion of existing Brownfield manufacturing units.
  • Operational support to improve the competitiveness of domestic container manufacturing.
  • Support for testing infrastructure, skilling initiatives and capacity building.

Source: PIB

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)

Syllabus: GS2/ Governance

Context

• The Standing Committee on Rural Development has highlighted the gap between skill training and actual employment outcomes under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).

About

• The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) launched the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) in 2014. 
  • It is a placement-linked skill development programme under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
• Age Limit: Rural youth between 15 and 35 years of age (age limit is up to 45 years for women, SC/ST, persons with disabilities and minorities).
• DDU-GKY aims to skill rural youth and promote sustainable livelihoods for rural youth through placement-linked skilling programs.
  • The scheme mandates placement-linked outcomes and continuous industry participation in curriculum design and training delivery. 

Source: PIB

New Menu of  PM-POSHAN

Syllabus: GS2/Welfare Schemes

In News

• Delhi government schools will have a new menu for PM-POSHAN with additions such as idli-sambar.

Background 

• Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) was formerly called Mid-Day Meal Scheme and has become a significant intervention to enhance child nutrition, school enrolment, attendance and retention. 
• It has its origin in 1925 when the Mid-Day Meal Program was started in the Madras Municipal Corporation. 
• By the mid-1980s, cooked mid-day-meals had been universalised at the primary level in Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. 
• In 1995, the Center started the National Program of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) in 2,408 blocks, which was extended to the whole country by 1997-98. 
• In 2007-08 the scheme was extended to upper-primary classes (VI-VIII) and from April 2008 the scheme covered all eligible primary and upper-primary children throughout the country.

PM-POSHAN Scheme 

• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme & being implemented by the Ministry of Education.
• It providing hot cooked meal to eligible children in Government and Government aided Schools
• It is implemented across the country covering all the eligible children without any discrimination of gender and social class.

Objectives 

• It aims to address two of the pressing problems for the majority of children in India, viz. hunger and education by improving the nutritional status of eligible children in Government and Government-aided schools.
• It aims to encouraging poor children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities.

Source :HT

Moon Base Programme

Syllabus: GS3/Space 

In News

• US space agency NASA has invited ISRO to join its Moon Base programme building on partnership under the Artemis Accords.

Background 

• In 2023, India had joined the Artemis Accords, a US-led space alliance, whose stated purpose is to evolve and commit to a common set of principles that govern the civil exploration of outer space including the Moon.
  • India was the 27th country to sign on the Artemis Accords. Now, a total of 70 countries are part of the Accords.
• India-US discussed expanding cooperation following the successful launch of the joint NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission last year, as well as pursuing future science and human spaceflight technology collaborations.
  • They reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) guidelines on the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.

Moon Base 

• It is humanity’s first lunar outpost, a place where astronauts will live, work, and explore near the Moon’s South Pole. 
• NASA and its partners will build the infrastructure needed to support an enduring human presence on the lunar surface while advancing science, technology, and exploration for the benefit of all.

Importance 

• NASA’s proposed Moon Base near the lunar South Pole provides opportunities for scientific discovery, resource utilisation and long-term human exploration. 
• The invitation to ISRO is to bolster India-US space co-operation on the back of Shubhanshu Shukla’s ISS mission and the NISAR satellite mission.

Source :TH