News In Short 29-07-2026

Guru Ravidas

Syllabus: GS1/History

Context

• The 650th birth anniversary year of Sant Guru Ravidas commenced on Guru Purnima.

About

• Guru Ravidas was a 15th–16th century Bhakti saint, poet and social reformer, known for his message of equality, devotion and social justice. 
• He is considered the founder of the Ravidassia religion.

Life and Teachings

• He strongly opposed caste-based discrimination and worked for the upliftment of marginalised communities. 
• He envisioned a society called ‘Beghumpura’ (a city without sorrow), where there is no suffering, no fear, and no discrimination.
• He gave a very broad message of ‘karma’ to society by coining in the popular Hindi saying ‘Mann Changa to Kathauti Mein Ganga’ (If your mind is pure, the Ganges is in your tub).

Legacy

• His devotional verses are included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism. 
• The Panch Vani text of the Dadu Panthi tradition within Hinduism also includes numerous poems of Saint Ravidas.
• The Chief Architect of Constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar embodied the Constitutional principles around the values expressed by Guru Ravidasji.

Source: AIR

E-Zero FIR System

Syllabus: GS2/ Indian Polity

Context

• The government has introduced the system of registering e-Zero FIRs in cybercrime cases across eighteen states and Union Territories.

About

• The e-Zero FIR system is a digital law enforcement framework designed to automatically generate a First Information Report (e-Zero FIR) for reported cyber financial crimes regardless of territorial police jurisdiction.
• The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs developed the system.
• Runs on Section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 — the law that replaced the old CrPC — which clearly says information about a cognisable offence can be given electronically, no matter where the crime happened.

How It Actually Plays Out?

• You report a fraud on NCRP or call 1930.
• If the loss crosses the state’s set threshold, an e-Zero FIR is generated automatically at the state’s e-Crime Police Station, no visit needed at this stage.
• This FIR is instantly forwarded to whichever police station actually has territorial jurisdiction over the case.
• You’re expected to visit that local station within 3 days to get it converted into a regular, fully investigated FIR.

Significance

• Federal structure tension: Police and Public Order are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule. This system works by getting states to voluntarily adopt a Centre-built platform.
• BNSS as an enabler: This is a concrete, real-world example of how the new criminal law reforms (BNSS replacing CrPC) are being used to modernise policing, not just relabel old provisions.
• Digital governance as crime-fighting infrastructure: NCRP, CCTNS, and I4C linking up shows how India is trying to build integrated digital backbones for law enforcement.

Source: TH

DWEEPTI Yojana (Decentralised Women Empowerment on  Energy and Policy for Transformative Inclusion) 

Syllabus: GS2/Governance

Context

• Chhattisgarh has launched the DWEEPTI Yojana (Decentralised Women Empowerment on Energy and Policy for Transformative Inclusion).

About

• It is the first state-level policy in India to formally integrate women-led SHGs into the distributed renewable energy value chain.
• The scheme is a collective effort of the department of panchayat and rural development of Chhattisgarh and Transform Rural India under the Green Economy Transition Mission.
• The scheme is aimed at creating 5,000 enterprises in the sector of women-led renewable energy in five years, along with 50,000 jobs, while extending energy to 5 lakh families and 10,000 public institutions across the state.
• The scheme helps women acquire technical skills for the installation of roof top solar power systems, their maintenance, operation, and interactions with communities through a cluster of skilled “Solar Didis” for decentralized renewable energy systems deployment.

Source: IE

Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme, SAMARTH Portal and Model OSR (Own Source of Revenue) Rules

Syllabus: GS2/ Governance

Context

• Union Minister of Panchayati Raj launched the Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme, the SAMARTH Panchayat Portal and released the Model OSR (Own Source of Revenue) Rules for Panchayati Raj Institutions.

Atmanirbhar Panchayat Programme

• It is an initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj that enables Gram Panchayats and Block Panchayats to identify local assets and opportunities and develop them, with dedicated technical support from the Ministry, into bankable, revenue-generating projects that build sustainable OSR. 
• Financing is facilitated through Public Private Partnerships, Corporate Social Responsibility contributions, convergence with other schemes and bank finance, with NABARD and HUDCO as institutional partners. 
• Gram Panchayats with a minimum OSR of Rs. 50 lakh and Block Panchayats with a minimum OSR of Rs. 1 crore, each with at least three years of tenure remaining, are eligible to apply, with relaxed thresholds for special category States.

SAMARTH Panchayat Portal

• The Portal is an initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj designed to strengthen the financial capacity of Gram Panchayats through technology-enabled management of OSR. 
• SAMARTH enables Gram Panchayats to digitally manage the complete OSR lifecycle, from taxpayer registration and demand generation to online payments, collection and real-time monitoring.

Model OSR Rules for Panchayati Raj Institutions

• To strengthen the financial independence of Panchayati Raj Institutions, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has prepared Model OSR (Own Sources of Revenue) Rules as a guiding framework for States and Union Territories. 
• Building on the recommendations of the Sixteenth Finance Commission, the Model Rules aim to support States in creating a transparent, uniform and efficient system for the assessment, collection and management of Panchayat revenues such as property tax, user charges, fees and other non-tax revenues. 

Source: PIB

India Becomes World’s Second-largest Supplier of Seafarers

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

Context

• According to the BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026, India has emerged as the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers.

About

• India contributes 311,936 maritime professionals to the global shipping industry.
• It accounts for 12.16% of the global seafaring workforce, ranking behind only the Philippines and ahead of China, the Russian Federation and Indonesia.
• India’s strength is particularly evident in the officer cadre, accounting for 13.41% of the world’s officer workforce.
• The global supply of seafarers at 2.57 million, while demand has reached 2.55 million, highlighting an increasingly tight global labour market. 
• India’s Target: India has an ambitious national vision to increase India’s share of the global seafaring workforce from 12.16% to 20%. 
• Significance: With the global shipping industry continuing to face a shortage of qualified officers, India’s expanding maritime education ecosystem, internationally recognised training standards and progressive policy framework place the country in a strong position to meet future global demand.

Source: AIR

PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana

Syllabus: GS3/Environment 

In News

• The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana received over 75 lakh applications, with 39.7 lakh rooftop solar systems installed, benefiting 48 lakh households through ₹27,343.9 crore in Central Financial Assistance.

PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana

• It was launched in  2024 with an outlay of ₹75,021 crore.
• It has become the world’s largest domestic rooftop solar programme. 
• Its easy financing options, including collateral-free loans up to ₹2 lakh at a 6.75% subsidized interest rate through 12 Public Sector Banks, have further accelerated adoption.
• Over 1 crore households have registered on the National Portal, with more than 33 lakh rooftop systems installed as of May 2026, adding over 12 GW capacity.
  • Rooftop solar now accounts for nearly 45% of residential solar capacity, with deployment growth rising to 85% during 2024–2026. 
  • India’s installed solar power capacity, comprising utility-scale, rooftop and off-grid projects, was 162.15 GW at the end of June.
• The scheme contributes to India’s progress towards its 500 GW non-fossil capacity target by 2030, with total solar capacity crossing 150 GW as of March 2026, while enhancing energy access and reducing subsidy burden on DISCOMs.

Source: TH

Andromeda Galaxy

Syllabus: GS3/Space 

In News

• Astronomers used data from the Hubble Space Telescope to create the most detailed map of star formation in the Andromeda Galaxy over the past 500 million years.

Andromeda Galaxy

• It is also known as Messier 31 (M31) and is a spiral galaxy & is located about 2.5 million light-years away from Earth.
• It is the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way.
• It is the most distant object visible to the naked eye under dark skies.
• It has an apparent magnitude of 3.1, meaning it is visible to the naked eye in dark or moderately light-polluted skies. 
• The first written description of the galaxy was by Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi in his 964 CE book The Book of Fixed Stars.

Source: TH

Booker Prize 2026 

Syllabus: Miscellaneous

Context

• The Booker Prize 2026 longlist, comprising 13 books across genres ranging from thrillers and dystopian science fiction to love stories, has been announced. 

About the Booker Prize

• The Booker Prize is awarded each year to an author for a book published in English in the U.K. and/or Ireland between 1 October and 30 September. 
• The six shortlisted authors each receive £2,500, while the winner receives £50,000. 
• The 2025 Booker Prize was awarded to David Szalay for his novel Flesh. 
• Past Indian Booker Prize winners: Arundhati Roy (God of Small Things), Kiran Desai (Inheritance of Loss), and Aravind Adiga (White Tiger).

Source: IE