20 October 2026
Chief Minister Hemant Soren reviewed the work of the Excise and Prohibition Department at the Jharkhand Mantralaya, with Excise and Prohibition Minister Yogendra Prasad present.
In the 2025-26 financial year the department had a target of Rs 3,885.11 crore and earned revenue of Rs 4,013.53 crore, exceeding the target.
For 2026-27 the revenue target has been set at Rs 4,500 crore.
By mid-July 2026, Rs 1,376 crore had been collected, which the government puts at 30.57 per cent of the annual target.
The Chief Minister directed that illegal liquor manufacture, transport, sale and smuggling be curbed statewide with full strictness, and that action against those involved be swift and effective.
He said illegal liquor production reduces government revenue and is also a serious health risk to those who consume it.
Target 2025-26:
Rs 3,885.11 crore
Revenue earned 2025-26:
Rs 4,013.53 crore
Target 2026-27:
Rs 4,500 crore
Collected by mid-July 2026:
Rs 1,376 crore, 30.57 per cent of the target
Why it matters for exams: State excise revenue is one of a state's largest own tax sources, and the target against actual collection is a usable figure in state finance questions.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Excise duty State excise duty — A tax a state levies on the manufacture and sale of liquor within it.
Background
Palamau Tiger Reserve, whose visiting season runs from 1 October to 30 June, has Betla National Park inside its core area.
Betla is the only national park in Jharkhand.
The Forest Department puts its area at about 226.33 sq km, and a table on the same page gives 226.32 sq km.
The park lies in Latehar district.
It was notified as a national park in 1986.
Its predators include tigers, leopards, wolves, wild dogs and jungle cats, and its herbivores include elephants, bison, chital and mouse deer.
Area:
About 226.33 sq km
District:
Latehar
Notified as a national park:
1986
Why it matters for exams: Betla is the standard answer to the question on Jharkhand's only national park, and its place inside Palamau Tiger Reserve is the usual follow-up.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Core area Critical tiger habitat — The part of a tiger reserve kept free of human use for breeding tigers.
Background
Palamau Tiger Reserve opened to visitors for the season on 1 October and stays open to 30 June.
Its total area is 1,129.93 sq km, made up of a core critical tiger habitat of 414.08 sq km and a buffer of 715.85 sq km.
A tourist zone of 53 sq km lies within the buffer.
It is one of the first nine tiger reserves in India and the only one in Jharkhand.
It lies on the western side of Latehar district on the Chhotanagpur plateau, with headquarters at Daltonganj, and Betla about 25 km away is the main tourism centre.
It is a watershed for three rivers, the Koel, the Burha and the Auranga, and its elevation runs from 300 to 1,140 m above mean sea level.
The Forest Department page records annual rainfall of 1,036 mm.
Total area:
1,129.93 sq km
Core critical tiger habitat:
414.08 sq km
Buffer area:
715.85 sq km
Rivers for which it is a watershed:
Koel, Burha, Auranga
Why it matters for exams: Palamau's place among the first nine Project Tiger reserves, and its core and buffer split, are both standard environment questions.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Project Tiger Project Tiger — The central programme under which tiger reserves are declared and funded.
Watershed Watershed — The area of land from which rainfall drains into a particular river.
Background
Jharkhand's protected area network, whose tiger reserve season has just opened, includes Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary next to the steel city of Jamshedpur.
The sanctuary covers about 193 sq km of forest area on the Chottanagpur plateau.
The erstwhile Bihar government notified it under Section 18(1) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 on 17 July 1976 by S.O. 1221.
Its forests are of the dry peninsular sal and northern dry mixed deciduous types.
The Indian elephant is its best known species, and barking deer, wild boar, Indian giant squirrel, sloth bear, pangolin and mouse deer are also recorded.
The Swarnrekha river winds through the sanctuary area, and the main entry point is about 25 km from Jamshedpur, with NH-33 along its northern side.
Forest area:
About 193 sq km
Notification:
S.O. 1221 dated 17 July 1976
Distance from Jamshedpur:
About 25 km to the main entry point
Why it matters for exams: Dalma links three asked facts at once: the Wildlife Protection Act notification route, elephant habitat, and the Subarnarekha river system near Jamshedpur.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Sal Sal forest — A forest type dominated by the sal tree, common across the Chhotanagpur plateau.
Background
Among the protected areas of Jharkhand now open for the season is the Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary.
Its total forest area is 63.256 sq km, in the Mahuadanr CD Block of Latehar district.
It was declared on 23 June 1976 through a Bihar government gazette notification.
A wildlife census identified 78 wolf breeding dens across 13 protected forests in the sanctuary.
Most of its forest is surrounded by crop fields, and some areas connect with the Baresanr range and the Kusumi range of Ambikapur Forest Division in Chhattisgarh.
The Burha river drains the valley and the Lodh Fall lies on it.
Surveys recorded 27 mammal, 19 bird, 18 reptile, 8 amphibian and 30 butterfly species, and the sanctuary is administered by the Deputy Director, South Division, Medininagar, within the Palamau Tiger Reserve Circle.
Forest area:
63.256 sq km
Wolf breeding dens:
78 across 13 protected forests
Declared on:
23 June 1976
Why it matters for exams: A sanctuary declared specifically for the Indian wolf is unusual, and the Lodh Fall on the Burha is a separate geography question.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
CD Block Community Development Block — An administrative unit below the district used for rural development work.
Background
Migratory birds reach Udhwa Lake Bird Sanctuary mainly in winter, and arrivals sometimes begin in early September.
The sanctuary lies in the Rajmahal sub-division of Sahebganj district and covers a total area of 5.65 sq km.
The Forest Department describes it as the only bird sanctuary in eastern India.
It was notified in 1991 by the Government of Bihar.
It is built around two lakes, Pataura Jheel of 155 hectares and Brahma Jamalpur Jheel, also called Berhale Jheel, of 410 hectares.
A 2015 Asian Waterbird Census published by Wetlands International found that the sanctuary supports 1 per cent of the bio-geographic population of the black-headed ibis, the purple swamp-hen and the bar-headed goose.
A later bird census recorded 2,313 birds across 53 species, and vulnerable species present include the woolly-necked stork and the lesser adjutant.
Forty-two forms of algae and 36 species of aquatic macrophytes have been recorded there.
Total area:
5.65 sq. km
Pataura Jheel:
155 ha
Brahma Jamalpur Jheel:
410 ha
Birds in a later census:
2,313 birds across 53 species
Why it matters for exams: A wetland that holds 1 per cent of a bio-geographic population is a criterion-level fact that links Indian sanctuaries to international wetland counts.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Jheel Jheel — A shallow natural lake or wetland in northern and eastern India.
Macrophyte Aquatic macrophyte — A water plant large enough to be seen without a microscope.
Background
Parasnath Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the protected areas listed by the Jharkhand Forest Department, whose sanctuary season is now open.
The sanctuary covers 49.33 sq km.
Parasnath hill rises to 1,371 m above mean sea level and is the highest peak in Jharkhand.
The sanctuary is named after the 23rd Jain Thirthankar, Parsvanath, who attained nirvana on the hill.
Its vegetation is mixed deciduous forest with many climbers, along with lichens, mosses and ferns that thrive in the local dampness.
Leopard, sloth bear, sambhar, nilgai, barking deer, wild boar, langur, mongoose, jungle cat, porcupine and hyaena are among its mammals.
Height of Parasnath hill:
1,371 m above mean sea level
Sanctuary area:
49.33 sq km
Named after:
Parsvanath, the 23rd Jain Thirthankar
Why it matters for exams: The highest peak of Jharkhand and the Jain Thirthankar it is named after are two facts usually asked as one question.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Thirthankar Thirthankara — In Jainism, a teacher who shows the way across the cycle of rebirth.
Background
A government factsheet on the effect of the GST rate changes in Jharkhand sets out the state's mineral and industrial weight.
Jharkhand holds about 26 per cent of India's total iron ore reserves.
The state contributes nearly 20 to 25 per cent of India's total steel output.
Over 1 lakh people work in its steel and heavy engineering sector, put at 1,04,309 as of 2022-23 by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Around one lakh people work in the iron industry.
Under the rate changes, GST on iron came down from 12 per cent to 5 per cent, which the factsheet puts at an estimated 6.25 per cent cost reduction.
GST on commercial goods vehicles and auto components came down from 28 per cent to 18 per cent.
Share of India's iron ore reserves:
About 26%
Share of India's steel output:
Nearly 20-25%
Steel and heavy engineering workforce:
1,04,309 as of 2022-23
Why it matters for exams: A state's share of a national mineral reserve and of national steel output is the kind of paired figure an examiner uses to test resource geography.
UPSCSSCBank
In plain words
GST Goods and Services Tax — The indirect tax levied on the supply of goods and services in India.
MoSPI Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation — The central ministry that compiles India's official statistics.
Background
A government factsheet issued around the GST rate changes records agriculture's place in the Jharkhand economy.
The sector contributed 18.2 per cent to the state's Gross State Domestic Product in 2021-22, a figure credited to NCAER and NITI Aayog.
About 50.4 per cent of the working population is engaged in agriculture and allied activities.
Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Palamu and Latehar are named as the agricultural heartland districts.
Under the rate changes, GST on tractors below 1800cc came down from 12 per cent to 5 per cent, and on tractor parts from 18 or 12 per cent to 5 per cent.
GST on processed foodgrains came down from 12 per cent to 5 per cent, which the factsheet says reduces input costs by 3 to 8 per cent.
Share of GSDP, 2021-22:
18.2%
Share of the working population:
About 50.4%
Agricultural heartland districts:
Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Palamu, Latehar
Why it matters for exams: The gap between agriculture's small share of output and its large share of employment is the classic illustration of disguised underemployment.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
GSDP Gross State Domestic Product — The total value of goods and services produced within a state in a year.
NCAER National Council of Applied Economic Research — An independent economic research institute whose estimates governments often cite.
Background
A government factsheet issued around the GST rate changes describes Jharkhand's name as meaning land of forests.
Forests and woodlands cover over 29 per cent of the state.
Forest-based industry sustains nearly 20 lakh poor and tribal workers.
Hazaribagh, Latehar and West Singhbhum are named as the forest-cover districts.
Under the rate changes, GST on tendu leaves came down from 18 per cent to 5 per cent and on bamboo from 12 per cent to 5 per cent, which the factsheet puts at a combined cost reduction of 6.25 per cent to 11.01 per cent.
The factsheet also names Deoghar with Baidyanath Dham, Parasnath, Rajrappa Temple and the Jagannath temple in the Ranchi area among the state's key tourist destinations, and records GST on hotel rooms priced at Rs 7,500 or less a night falling from 12 per cent to 5 per cent.
Forest and woodland cover:
Over 29% of the state
Workers sustained by forest-based industry:
Nearly 20 lakh
GST on tendu leaves:
18% to 5%
Why it matters for exams: Tendu leaf and bamboo are the two minor forest produce items most often linked to tribal livelihoods, and the forest share of a state's area is a stock figure.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Tendu leaf Tendu leaf — The leaf used to roll beedis, collected as a minor forest produce.