Fresh SSB Batches Start around 1st and 15th of every month
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has flagged poor planning and slow
implementation of the SANKALP Scheme, citing a Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report.
Only 44% of the ₹4,455 crore allocation has been utilised, with significant World Bank funds remaining unspent.
The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region through the North Eastern Council has approved the North Eastern Science & Technology Cluster (NEST)
to build a self-sustaining ecosystem for research, entrepreneurship, and skill development in the Northeast.
The project will be implemented by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati over five years, operating on a Hub-and-Spoke model with partner institutions like NITs, IIM Shillong, and Tezpur University.
The Prime Minister inaugurated the Namo Bharat Rapid Rail and the Meerut Metro together from a single platform
the first such joint launch of rapid rail and metro services in India.
The Meerut Metro, running between Meerut South and Modipuram, is India’s fastest metro with speeds up to 120 km/h and operates on Namo Bharat infrastructure.
Namo Bharat is India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), designed for high-speed regional connectivity across the NCR, with a design speed of 180 km/h and operational speed up to 160 km/h.
Unlike city metros or long-distance trains like Vande Bharat Express, it serves short regional routes (100–200 km) with fewer stops and high frequency.
Its flagship corridor, the 82-km Delhi–Ghaziabad–Meerut route, became fully operational in February 2026, aiming to reduce congestion and improve commuter mobility in the region.
India and France have signed an amending protocol to the India-France Double Taxation Avoidance Convention
to enhance tax certainty and align it with global standards under the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) framework.
Key changes include: granting full taxing rights on capital gains to the country where the company is resident, deleting the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) clause, and revising dividend taxation to a 5% rate (for ≥10% shareholding) and 15% in other cases.
The protocol also aligns the definition of Fees for Technical Services with the India-US DTAA, expands the scope of Permanent Establishment by adding Service PE, strengthens exchange of information and tax collection assistance, and incorporates BEPS Multilateral Instrument provisions to curb tax avoidance and improve cooperation.
The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways inaugurated
laid foundation stones for infrastructure and green energy projects worth over ₹1,500 crore at V.O. Chidambaranar Port.Originally called Tuticorin Port, it was renamed in 2011 after V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, who founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in 1906.
Located on the Coromandel Coast in the Gulf of Mannar, the artificial all-weather deep-sea port plays a key role in India’s trade with Europe, the Mediterranean, and the US, and is naturally sheltered by Sri Lanka.
The Indian Navy will commission Anjadip, the third indigenous ASW Shallow Water Craft
built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, boosting Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence.
Designed as a “Dolphin Hunter,” it can detect and neutralize submarines in coastal waters using indigenous sonar ‘Abhay’, torpedoes, and ASW rockets.
The vessel can also conduct surveillance, LIMO, and Search & Rescue missions, with a top speed of 25 knots.It is named after Anjadip Island in the Arabian Sea.
India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have signed a Joint Statement to advance negotiations on the proposed India–GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA), aiming to deepen economic ties.
The GCC is India’s largest trading partner bloc, accounting for over 15% of India’s global trade, with bilateral trade reaching USD 178.56 billion in FY 2024–25.India exports engineering goods, rice, textiles, and gems to the Gulf, while importing crude oil, LNG, petrochemicals, and gold.
The GCC, comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, has a combined GDP of USD 2.3 trillion and is a key source of FDI and home to nearly 10 million Indians.
The 16th edition of the India–US joint special forces exercise Vajra Prahar
commenced at the Special Forces Training School in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh.
First held in 2010, the exercise is conducted alternately in India and the US, and involves India’s Special Forces and the US Army’s Green Berets to enhance interoperability, joint mission planning, and tactical coordination.
The Indian armed forces operate key US platforms like Apache, Chinook, MH-60R helicopters and P-8I aircraft, and regularly participate in bilateral exercises such as Yudh Abhyas, Cope India, and Tiger Triumph, along with multilateral drills like Malabar and RIMPAC.
The 7th edition of the India–Japan joint military exercise Dharma Guardian
commenced in Uttarakhand between the Indian Army and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
The drill aims to enhance interoperability and joint capabilities for operations in semi-urban environments.
It involves troops from the Ladakh Scouts and Japan’s 32nd Infantry Regiment, undertaking activities like ISR grid setup, cordon and search, and heliborne operations.
Held alternately in both countries, it is a key pillar of India–Japan defence cooperation.
India has launched a CBDC-based food subsidy pilot under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
in Puducherry, integrating the Digital Rupee (e₹) into the DBT system for PDS delivery.
Subsidies are issued as programmable CBDC tokens, redeemable only at Fair Price Shops, ensuring targeted use and preventing diversion.
The pilot, implemented with the Reserve Bank of India and other agencies, enhances transparency, traceability, and efficiency.
The Digital Rupee is India’s legal tender CBDC, enabling direct wallet-to-wallet settlement unlike UPI.
During the Prime Minister’s State Visit to Israel,
key outcomes included cooperation in AI, cyber security, and critical technologies, along with the establishment of an Indo-Israel Cyber Centre of Excellence.
Agreements were signed on UPI-based cross-border payments, fintech collaboration, and labour mobility for Indian workers.
Both nations strengthened ties in agriculture through an Innovation Centre and “Villages of Excellence,” expanded cooperation in fisheries, and enhanced cultural and academic exchanges, including collaboration between Nalanda University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Ministry of Forests and Environment Nepal signed an MoU to enhance cooperation in forests, wildlife, biodiversity conservation, and climate change.
The agreement emphasizes landscape-level conservation of key species like elephants, rhinos, tigers, snow leopards, Gangetic dolphins, and vultures, with a focus on transboundary ecosystems such as the Khata Corridor and the Valmiki–Chitwan linkage.
It also strengthens coordination to combat wildlife crime and restore corridors, while reaffirming commitments under global frameworks like CITES and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The India–AI Impact Summit 2026 underscored AI’s transformative role in rural development, supported by the IndiaAI Mission and Digital India.
AI tools like SabhaSaar, eGramSwaraj, and Gram Manchitra are strengthening Panchayati Raj governance, while agriculture benefits from AI-based pest surveillance and advisory systems.
Platforms such as AIKosh and DIKSHA promote innovation, education, and skilling.
Initiatives like BHASHINI and BharatGen enhance multilingual governance and healthcare access, marking a shift toward large-scale AI-driven rural transformation .
