The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has announced that Union Minister Piyush Goyal will travel to Egypt on an official visit. He will co-chair the seventh Session of the India-Egypt Joint Trade Committee at Cairo with Egypt's Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Dr Mohamed Farid Saleh. The Joint Trade Committee has been raised to ministerial level, which gives the two governments a standing channel at the top. An India-Egypt Joint Business Council meeting and an India-Egypt Business Forum are also on the programme, with more than 130 chief executives and senior industry representatives taking part. The Minister is to meet the African Export-Import Bank, the Egyptian Junior Businessmen Association and the Egypt-India Startups Forum. Market access, non-tariff barriers, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, green hydrogen and the Suez Canal Economic Zone are listed among the subjects for discussion. India and Egypt raised their ties to a Strategic Partnership, and trade between them has grown sharply in the current financial year.
Bilateral merchandise trade, April-September 2026:USD 5.04 billion, up 64%India's exports to Egypt, FY 2025-26:USD 3.87 billionIndia's imports from Egypt, FY 2025-26:USD 2.60 billionBusiness delegation:More than 130 CEOs and senior industry representatives
Why it matters for exams: The India-Egypt Joint Trade Committee, now at ministerial level, and the African Export-Import Bank are named bodies in India's Africa and West Asia trade diplomacy, and Cairo and the Suez Canal Economic Zone are standard map questions.
Joint Trade CommitteeIndia-Egypt Joint Trade Committee — The standing government-to-government forum on trade between India and Egypt, now held at ministerial level.
AfreximbankAfrican Export-Import Bank — A multilateral trade finance bank for Africa that the Indian delegation is to meet in Cairo.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is running Janjatiya Gaurav Pakhwada as a fifteen-day drive from 1 to 15 November 2026 to speed up its flagship programmes. The drive closes on Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, the birth anniversary of the tribal leader Birsa Munda, which the Government has marked as a national day since 2021. More than 300 projects have been lined up across the States, of which 228 are ready for inauguration and 74 for the laying of a foundation stone. Two national digital initiatives are to be launched during the drive, the Jan-HIT Portal and the National FRA Digital Platform, the second of them tied to forest rights work. Tribal Research Institutes in the States and Union Territories have planned more than 160 activities, spread over 19 States and Union Territories. The Ministry places the Pakhwada within its wider push on minor forest produce, skilling and market access for tribal gatherers.
Projects lined up:Over 300 across StatesReady for inauguration:228Ready for foundation stone:74Tribal Research Institute activities:More than 160 in 19 States and UTs
Why it matters for exams: Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas on 15 November marks Birsa Munda's birth anniversary, and the Jan-HIT Portal and National FRA Digital Platform are new named initiatives of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Jan-HIT PortalJan-HIT Portal of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs — One of two national digital initiatives being launched during Janjatiya Gaurav Pakhwada 2026.
FRAForest Rights Act — The law on forest rights of tribal and other traditional forest dwellers; the new National FRA Digital Platform is built around it.
The National Tribal Literary Festival of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs ended after two days at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. Its theme was 'From Oral Tradition to Contemporary Tribal Literature', and sessions covered oral epics such as the Gond Ramayana, the Bhil Mahabharata and Manipur's Wari Leeba and Khamba-Thoibi tradition. Another session took up the place of oral traditions in multilingual education and in the documenting of tribal languages. Ranjana Chopra, Secretary in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, highlighted Living Roots Originals, developed in collaboration with the Indian Performing Right Society to protect the rights of tribal musicians and performers. She also said a dedicated tribal literature section is planned for the National Book Trust's coming book fair at Pragati Maidan. The festival carried work in 27 languages, of which 23 were tribal languages. The event was held as part of the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas celebrations.
Languages represented:27 languages, 23 of them tribalVenue:India Habitat Centre, New DelhiTheme:From Oral Tradition to Contemporary Tribal Literature
Why it matters for exams: Living Roots Originals and its partner, the Indian Performing Right Society, are a new named initiative, and the Gond Ramayana, the Bhil Mahabharata and Manipur's Khamba-Thoibi tradition are standard questions on tribal oral literature.
Hirri Mines Hospital, which works with the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital and Research Centre at Bhilai, has begun using the eSushrut Hospital Management Information System. The system is being put in place at the SAIL-Bhilai Steel Plant, which comes under the Ministry of Steel. The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing is implementing it, with technical support from its project management unit at the plant. The system covers key hospital services: the outpatient doctor desk, the pharmacy, the service area and the injection room. The system is linked to the Swasthya Mitra mobile application, so a patient can see the outpatient prescription, the medicines advised and the laboratory investigations on a phone. Reports from the Sector 9 Laboratory can be read through the same application. Employees had earlier been given individual QR codes for digital access to their medical identification details.
Services covered:OPD Doctor Desk, Pharmacy, Service Area and Injection RoomLinked application:Swasthya Mitra mobile app
Why it matters for exams: eSushrut is the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing's hospital management information system, and the Bhilai Steel Plant is a SAIL unit under the Ministry of Steel.
C-DACCentre for Development of Advanced Computing — The research and development organisation of the electronics and information technology ministry that builds eSushrut.
SAILSteel Authority of India Limited — The public sector steel company that runs the Bhilai Steel Plant.
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for and dedicated projects worth more than Rs 15,000 crore at Bengaluru, with connectivity and energy security as the stated focus. The Pink Line of the Bengaluru Metro was dedicated to the public. On the energy side the package includes a liquefied petroleum gas project at Mangaluru that adds 80,000 metric tonnes of storage, the Devanagundi Marketing Terminal, and a compressed biogas plant in Bengaluru that is to produce about 13 tonnes of biogas a day. On the railway side, more than sixty stations in Karnataka have been taken up as Amrit Bharat Stations. The address also recorded that more than 40,000 families in Karnataka have installed rooftop solar plants under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is the Indian Railways programme for the long-term redevelopment of stations, taken up in phases across the country. Karnataka Governor Sudha Yadav, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and State Minister Krishna Byre Gowda were among those present.
Value of projects:More than Rs. 15,000 croreMetro line dedicated:Pink Line, Bengaluru MetroMangaluru LPG storage added:80,000 metric tonnesBengaluru compressed biogas plant:About 13 tonnes of biogas a dayAmrit Bharat Stations in Karnataka:More than 60Rooftop solar families in Karnataka:More than 40,000
Why it matters for exams: The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for station redevelopment and the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana for rooftop solar are both named Central schemes, and the Devanagundi Marketing Terminal and the Mangaluru LPG storage are new energy assets in Karnataka.
The Directorate General of Mines Safety, or DGMS, works under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India. The work of DGMS is the safety, health and welfare of mine workers across the country. DGMS has its Headquarters in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, and it also works through regional offices. The organisation celebrated its 125th Foundation Day at that headquarters, marking a 125-year journey. A Director General heads DGMS. On that occasion the Minister of State for Labour & Employment spoke of uniform safety standards across all mining operations and of coordinated Central and State efforts. She also noted that the four Labour Codes consolidated and replaced 29 laws, and asked DGMS to spread awareness of the Codes and to use modern technology for mine safety. An Exhibition, an Old Records Section and a Models Gallery at the headquarters show how mines safety practice has changed over time.
Ministry:Ministry of Labour & EmploymentHeadquarters:DhanbadHead of the organisation:Director GeneralLaws replaced by the Labour Codes:29 laws
Why it matters for exams: The ministry a safety directorate belongs to, its headquarters and the number of laws the Labour Codes replaced are exam staples.
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, written short as CERC, frames the rules for carrying power from one State to another. The sharing of ISTS charges rests on a 2020 set of rules, the Sharing of Inter State Transmission Charges and Losses Regulations, together with a later amendment. Grid connectivity falls under a second set made in 2022, the Connectivity and General Network Access Regulations, which lay down timelines and procedures. Central Transmission Utility, or CTU, is the Nodal Agency for Connectivity or General Network Access to the ISTS. Under Section 38 (2)(c) of the Electricity Act 2003, CTU has to ensure the development of an efficient, coordinated and economical system of ISTS. The Ministry of Power and the Central Electricity Authority, or CEA, also monitor the transmission system. ISTS charges are shared by drawee DICs, that is Designated ISTS Customers.
Regulator:Central Electricity Regulatory CommissionNodal Agency:Central Transmission UtilityLaw behind the utility:Electricity Act 2003Who shares the charges:Designated ISTS Customers
Why it matters for exams: Which body makes transmission regulations, and which utility is the nodal agency, are asked in economy and infrastructure sections.
Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission is the Ministry of Tribal Affairs scheme, launched in 2021-22, that tries to raise what tribal gatherers earn from Minor Forest Produce such as honey, tendu leaves, mahua flowers, tamarind, lac and bamboo. It works mainly through Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, in which fifteen self-help groups of about 300 people are clustered into one centre and at least 60 per cent of the members must be from the Scheduled Tribes. The Van Dhan Yojana, launched on 14 April 2018, is the base of this model. A minimum support price has been notified for 87 items of Minor Forest Produce, and TRIFED buys at that price through State agencies whatever the market is paying. Working capital is arranged through banks and the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation. Two laws give the rights the mission rests on: the Forest Rights Act, 2006 lets tribals collect and sell non-timber forest produce, and the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 gives tribal Gram Panchayats ownership of minor forest produce.
Van Dhan Vikas Kendras sanctioned:4,172 covering 12.48 lakh beneficiariesFunctional centres and their sales:2,911 with sales of about Rs 168 croreMinor Forest Produce items with notified MSP:87Share of income tribals draw from Minor Forest Produce:20-40% of annual income
Why it matters for exams: Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, the 87 minor forest produce items with a notified minimum support price, TRIFED, and the division of rights between the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and PESA, 1996 are standard tribal-welfare questions.
MFPMinor Forest Produce — Non-timber forest produce such as honey, tendu leaves, mahua flowers, tamarind, lac and bamboo.
PESAPanchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 — It gives tribal Gram Panchayats ownership rights over minor forest produce in Scheduled Areas.
NSTFDCNational Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation — One of the lenders that arranges working capital for Van Dhan Vikas Kendras.