Fresh applications are open under the central scheme for medical devices, the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Promoting Domestic Manufacturing of Medical Devices. Its term now runs up to 2035-36.
An outlay of approximately Rs 2700 Cr available under the Scheme will be used for the purpose, and the online portal is to be operational in the next 10 days.
The scheme sits with the Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
Begun in 2020-21, the scheme has brought more than 60 high end medical devices and components into Indian factories.
These include X-ray tubes and detectors, CT scanners, mammography machines, dialyzers and orthopaedic and cardiac implants.
Production under the scheme has been valued at over Rs 16,000 crore.
The minimum sales threshold requirement to claim incentive has been discontinued and the minimum investment requirement has been trimmed.
Outlay available:Rs 2700 CrDevices and components made:over 60
Why it matters for exams: PLI schemes and the ministry each one sits under are regular Economy questions, and this one belongs to the Department of Pharmaceuticals.
Volunteers are being enrolled for the Vayo SAATHI initiative. Anyone aged 18 years and above may register, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment says.
It forms one part of the Vayo Samman Rashtriya Abhiyan. That is a National Intergenerational Bonding Campaign, launched recently under the Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana.
Registration is open through the SCW SAMAVESH Portal and the JEEVAN App.
Vayo SAATHI stands for Support, Awareness, Assistance, Training, Health and Inclusion.
Registered volunteers are to act as friends, facilitators and connectors for senior citizens and will support their social inclusion and well being.
Those who take part are also to be given a Vayo SAATHI Certificate.
The stated aim is stronger bonds between the generations, and more care, companionship and social inclusion for senior citizens.
Minimum age to volunteer:18 years
Why it matters for exams: AVYAY is the umbrella scheme for senior citizens under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, a frequent question on schemes and their ministries.
Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, spoke in New Delhi at a Curtain Raiser. It was for the third edition of Bharat Mobility Global Expo.
He said the third edition would be the second largest such expo in the world.
Of the 10 lakh visitors expected, at least 25,000 should be international visitors, the Minister told the industry.
Under the theme Smarter Mobility for a Better Tomorrow, the third edition will show what Indian industry can do.
He said the exhibition is made possible by Bharat Mandapam and Yashobhoomi as venues.
On trade, he said the target of $1 trillion in exports this year was sacrosanct and the country was well on track, with about $480 billion achieved in the first six months.
The engineering sector recorded growth of around 22 per cent.
Expected visitors:10 lakhExport target this year:$1 trillion
Why it matters for exams: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the venues Bharat Mandapam and Yashobhoomi and India export target are regular Economy questions.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has described how the National Overseas Scholarship Scheme supported a student from Maharashtra belonging to the Scheduled Caste community.
The assistance was received during the financial year 2025-26.
The scheme met tuition fees of £39,800. It also gave a maintenance allowance of £9,900, with airfare, visa fees, insurance and other admissible academic expenses.
The student is pursuing an MSc in Construction Economics and Management at University College London in the United Kingdom.
The scheme is intended to promote inclusive access to higher education for students from Scheduled Caste communities.
The release presents it as an example of how targeted educational support reduces the financial burden on a family.
Why it matters for exams: The National Overseas Scholarship and the ministry that runs it are frequent questions on welfare schemes for Scheduled Castes.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has described the working of the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem, known as the NAMASTE Scheme.
The account is of a sanitation worker from Pondicherry Municipality belonging to the Scheduled Caste community, who had spent over 15 years on sewer and septic tank cleaning.
The change came in 2025 through this scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
He was given a Personal Protective Equipment kit. It held protective overalls and heavy-duty gloves, with gumboots, a face mask and a safety helmet.
Training followed, on safe sanitation practices and on keeping occupational health risks away.
The release records that his monthly income rose from approximately Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 16,000-18,000.
The scheme is presented as a step towards occupational safety, health protection and livelihood security for sanitation workers.
Years in sewer cleaning work:over 15 years
Why it matters for exams: NAMASTE and the ministry implementing it are standard questions on sanitation and welfare schemes, and the expansion of the abbreviation is often asked.
A statute of its own, the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003, governs the Central Vigilance Commission. It provides for a Central Vigilance Commissioner and two Vigilance Commissioners. Each appointment is made by the President of India under Section 4 (1) of that Act. A newly named Vigilance Commissioner makes and subscribes an oath before the Central Vigilance Commissioner, who is authorised for that purpose by the President under Section 5 (3). The term of a Vigilance Commissioner is four years, or until the holder attains the age of 65 years. Such appointments are announced by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions. Praveen Vashista, an Indian Police Service officer of the 1991 batch of the Bihar Cadre, has been appointed as Vigilance Commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission.
Statute:Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003Strength:a Central Vigilance Commissioner and two Vigilance CommissionersTerm:four yearsAge limit:65 years
Why it matters for exams: The CVC Act, 2003, the strength of one Central Vigilance Commissioner with two Vigilance Commissioners, and the four-year term up to the age of 65 are repeatedly asked.
A Money Bill is the kind of Bill that Article 110 of the Constitution defines. It can carry only provisions on taxation, on borrowing by the government, and on money paid into or spent out of the Consolidated Fund of India, with matters incidental to these. Such a Bill is introduced only in the Lok Sabha, and only on the recommendation of the President. The lower House passes it by a simple majority of the members present and voting. It then goes to the Rajya Sabha, which can only make recommendations, and the Lok Sabha may reject them. If those recommendations do not come within 14 days, the Bill is deemed to have been passed by Parliament. The upper House cannot reject a Money Bill, nor can it amend one. The Speaker certifies whether a Bill is a Money Bill, and that decision is final.
Constitutional provision:Article 110Who certifies:The SpeakerTime for the upper House:14 daysHouse of introduction:Lok Sabha
Why it matters for exams: Article 110, the Speaker's certificate, the 14-day limit on the Rajya Sabha and the rule that it can neither reject nor amend a Money Bill are asked in every polity paper.
A list in the Constitution, the Eighth Schedule began with 14 languages and now carries 22. Sindhi was added in 1967. In 1992 the Schedule took in Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali. Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali came in 2003, through an amendment moved by the then Deputy Prime Minister. A different recognition is classical language status, which the Union Cabinet grants. Five languages were designated classical: Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, Bengali. That takes the count of classical languages to 11. Sanskrit got three Central Universities in 2020, and the Central Institute of Classical Tamil does research and translation.
Languages now:22Languages at the start:14Added in 1992:Konkani, Manipuri, and NepaliClassical languages:11
Why it matters for exams: The count of 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule, the additions of 1967, 1992 and 2003, and the separate list of 11 classical languages are standard objective questions.
Part IX of the Constitution reaches the Fifth Schedule areas through PESA, with modifications and exceptions. Such areas lie in ten States: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand. The rest are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana. Nine of them have written PESA into their own Panchayati Raj Acts. Rajasthan is the exception, and it notified a law of its own in 1999. Draft Model PESA Rules came from the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in 2009. So far six States have notified their own State PESA Rules: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana. The ministry has asked Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh to notify theirs, using advisories and workshops.
Year of the Act:1996Part of the Constitution extended:Part IXStates with such areas:ten StatesStates with their own Rules:six States
Why it matters for exams: PESA, Part IX, the Fifth Schedule and the ten PESA States are a standing group of facts about tribal self-government.
PESAProvisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 — The law that carries Part IX of the Constitution into the Fifth Schedule areas.
Scheduled Areas — Areas notified under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.
A statutory body under the BIS Act 2016, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standard Body of India. Its remit is the standardization, marking and quality certification of goods. Its work runs through standards formulation, product certification, the Compulsory Registration Scheme, the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme and Hallmarking. Under Hallmarking it keeps a Mandatory Hallmarking Order and a Jewellers Registration Scheme. It has its headquarters at New Delhi and 05 regional offices. They are at Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Delhi, and branch offices sit under them. Branch offices link State Governments, industry, technical institutions and consumer organisations, and the Bureau comes under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
Statute:BIS Act 2016Status:National Standard Body of IndiaHeadquarters:New DelhiRegional offices:05
Why it matters for exams: The BIS Act 2016, the status of National Standard Body of India, hallmarking of gold jewellery and the five regional offices are the facts asked about standards.