27 October 2026
The Jharkhand Cabinet has approved the Jharkhand Mineral Exploration and Block Development Policy, 2026, along with amendments under the Jharkhand Mineral Bearing Land Cess Act, 2024. The policy is to be carried out by State bodies including Jharkhand Exploration and Mining Corporation Ltd and Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation Ltd, with other eligible State entities also allowed to take part. Exploration establishes how much mineral a block holds, which the State must know before a block can be auctioned for mining. The cess Act of 2024 lets Jharkhand levy a charge on mineral bearing land, a power States won after the Supreme Court held that such a levy is not a tax on mineral rights reserved to Parliament. The Cabinet separately decided to call a two-day special session of the Assembly on the amended central mining law.
Policy approved:
Jharkhand Mineral Exploration and Block Development Policy, 2026
Act amended:
Jharkhand Mineral Bearing Land Cess Act, 2024
Why it matters for exams: Names the Jharkhand Mineral Exploration and Block Development Policy, 2026, the Jharkhand Mineral Bearing Land Cess Act, 2024, and the two State corporations JEMCL and JSMDCL that will implement them.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
JEMCL Jharkhand Exploration and Mining Corporation Ltd — The State corporation set up to explore and develop mineral blocks in Jharkhand.
JSMDCL Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation Ltd — The State corporation for mineral development in Jharkhand.
27 October 2026
Jharkhand will hold a two-day special session of its Legislative Assembly on November 25 and 26. The Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, approved the dates. The subjects listed are the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls being carried out by the Election Commission of India, the amended Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, together with changes to the schedule of the Jharkhand Mineral Bearing Land Cess Act, 2024. The government intends to send a resolution to the Centre after the House has debated them. A Special Intensive Revision is a house-to-house check of the electoral roll, going beyond the routine summary revision. The MMDR Act is the central law that governs mineral concessions, royalty and the auction of mineral blocks, and Jharkhand has pressed the Centre to reconsider the amendments because of their effect on the State's own mineral revenue.
Session dates:
November 25 and 26
Subjects:
Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the amended MMDR Act
Why it matters for exams: Names the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act as the two subjects of Jharkhand's special Assembly session.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
SIR Special Intensive Revision — A house-to-house revision of the electoral roll ordered by the Election Commission of India, deeper than a routine summary revision.
MMDR Act Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act — The central law governing mineral concessions, royalty and the auction of mineral blocks in India.
27 October 2026
The Jharkhand High Court has awarded Rs 8 lakh with six per cent yearly interest to the family of a man who fell from a crowded passenger train and died. Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi allowed an appeal under Section 23(1) of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 against the Tribunal's dismissal of the claim. No ticket was recovered from the body, but the brother testified that he had bought it and the Railways did not cross-examine him on that point. The Court held the deceased was a bona fide passenger, that a fall caused by jostling is an accidental fall and therefore an untoward incident under Section 124A of the Railways Act, and that none of the statutory exceptions in its proviso applied. The Railways had also failed to place on record the Divisional Railway Manager's report that Rule 13 calls for, under the Railway Passengers (Manner of Investigation of Untoward Incidents) Rules, 2003. Welfare legislation, the Court said, must be read liberally, and a restrictive reading would deprive the poor.
Compensation:
Rs 8 lakh with 6 per cent annual interest
Appeal provision:
Section 23(1), Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987
Compensation provision:
Section 124A, Railways Act
Why it matters for exams: Names Section 124A of the Railways Act on compensation for untoward incidents, Section 23(1) of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 and Rule 13 of the 2003 untoward incident investigation rules.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Untoward incident — A category under Section 124A of the Railways Act, covering events such as an accidental fall from a train, for which the Railways must pay compensation without proof of its own negligence.
Background
Jharkhand became the 28th state of the Indian Union when the Bihar Reorganisation Act brought it into existence on November 15, 2000, the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. The State was taken out of what had been the southern half of Bihar, and its portal gives the area as 79,714 km², the 15th largest by area and the 14th largest by population. Dumka is its sub capital and Ranchi its capital; Hindi is the official language. Its neighbours are Bihar in the north and Uttar Pradesh in the northwest, Chhattisgarh in the west, Odisha in the south and West Bengal in the east. The State now counts 24 districts, 5 divisions, 38 sub divisions, 264 blocks and 32620 villages. Census 2011 put the population at 32,988,134 with a density of 414 persons per square kilometre. The Act listed the districts of Bihar that went into the new State, among them Bokaro, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Palamau, Ranchi and the two Singhbhum districts, and it allocated 14 seats to Jharkhand in the House of the People, with a High Court of its own.
Formation:
November 15, 2000
Place in the Union:
28th state
Capital:
Ranchi
Sub capital:
Dumka
Districts:
24
Divisions:
5
Area:
79,714 km²
Seats in the House of the People:
14
Why it matters for exams: Jharkhand, the 28th state of the Indian Union, was created by the Bihar Reorganisation Act on November 15, 2000, with Ranchi as capital and 24 districts today.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
The protected area network of Jharkhand holds one national park, eleven wildlife sanctuaries, one tiger reserve and one elephant reserve, as the State's forest department sets it out. Betla is that national park. It lies in Latehar district and measures 226.37 km². The Palamu wildlife sanctuary measures 752.94 km², and the department splits its jurisdiction between North PTR and South PTR. The National Tiger Conservation Authority records Palamau as a tiger reserve of Jharkhand, with its protected area notified in 1973-74 and the tiger reserve notification coming in 2012. Its core is 414.08 sq km and its buffer 715.85 sq km, a total of 1,129.93 sq km. Project Tiger was launched on April 1, 1973 at the Corbett Tiger Reserve, and the initial phase took in nine tiger reserves. Palamau was one of them, listed then under Bihar, because Jharkhand had not yet been formed.
National park of the State:
Betla
Betla area:
226.37
Core area:
414.08
Buffer area:
715.85
Total area:
1,129.93
Protected area notified:
1973-74
Tiger reserve notification:
2012
Why it matters for exams: Betla is the only national park of Jharkhand, and Palamau, with a core of 414.08 sq km, was among the nine tiger reserves of Project Tiger's first phase.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
The Ministry of Coal reports the country's coal resource from the National Coal Inventory, which the Geological Survey of India publishes on estimates from CMPDI, GSI, MECL, SCCL and some private and public entrepreneurs. On the Ministry's page the country's total estimated coal resource stands at 400.715 billion tonnes as of 01.04.2025, with lignite at 47.37 billion tonnes. The Ministry also sets out coal resources state by state. Jharkhand's total in that table is 93.25 billion tonnes, of which 60.29 is measured, 27.12 indicated and 5.84 inferred. Odisha alone stands above Jharkhand there with 100.99 billion tonnes, and Chhattisgarh comes next at 85.26. Bihar, the State out of which Jharkhand was taken, carries 9.35 billion tonnes in the same table. The Government of Jharkhand's own portal calls the State rich in mineral resources and puts its share at 32% of India for coal and 25% for copper. Iron, uranium, mica, bauxite, graphite, gold, silver, granite, magnetite, dolomite, fireclay and quartz are among the minerals the portal names.
Jharkhand coal resource:
93.25
State above it:
Odisha
Odisha coal resource:
100.99
India's total coal resource:
400.715
Share of India's coal, per State portal:
32% of India
Copper share, per State portal:
25%
Why it matters for exams: In the Ministry of Coal's state-wise table Jharkhand's coal resource is 93.25 billion tonnes, second to Odisha's 100.99 billion tonnes.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Born on November 15, 1875, Birsa Munda lived a lifetime of just 25 years and yet came to be addressed as Bhagwan and as Dharti Aaba by tribal communities across the country. His birthplace is Ulihatu village in Jharkhand, which a President of India, Droupadi Murmu, visited on one later observance. Against the exploitative system of British colonial rule he fought bravely, and the movement he led against that oppression took its name from his call for 'Ulgulan', which the Government renders as Great Tumult. India's freedom struggle drew strength from the leadership of many tribal communities, among them the Santhal, Tamar, Kol, Bhil, Khasi and Mizo, whose movements joined the national struggle and inspired Indians elsewhere, although these heroes stayed little known to the public. To change that, November 15, his birth anniversary, was declared Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, so that coming generations learn what tribal fighters gave up for the country. At Ranchi in Jharkhand stands the Bhagwan Birsa Munda Memorial Park cum Freedom Fighter Museum, which a Prime Minister visited on the third observance of the day. The declaration is tied to a wider effort, including tribal freedom fighter museums sanctioned across the country.
Born:
November 15, 1875
Birthplace:
Ulihatu
Title given by tribal communities:
Dharti Aaba
Length of his life:
25 years
Day observed on his birth anniversary:
Janjatiya Gaurav Divas
His call to the tribal movement:
Ulgulan
Why it matters for exams: Birsa Munda's birth anniversary is observed as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, he is revered as Dharti Aaba, his call was the Ulgulan, and his birthplace is Ulihatu village in Jharkhand.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
The highest point in Jharkhand is Parasnath Hill, which rises in Giridih district and is at the same time a place of pilgrimage of the first importance for Jains, drawing visitors from far beyond the State. Jharkhand's forest department records its altitude as 4431 feet above the mean sea level, and places the hill within Giridih East Forest Division, where Parasnath is one of five forest ranges beside Giridih, Gawan, Khurchutta and Dumri. Around it the forest blocks look mountainous, with slopes that are often precipitous, quite unlike the gentler hills nearer Giridih town. The Madhuban forest, now part of a wildlife sanctuary, keeps the woodland around the hill connected, and the ancient Jain temples of the area include those at Madhuban and the Jharkhand Siddha Kshetra. Giridih district itself belongs to the North Chhotanagpur Division, and its other visitor spots include Usri Falls and Khandoli Dam. The erstwhile State of Bihar set up the Parasnath Wildlife Sanctuary in 1984 under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. An Eco Sensitive Zone around the sanctuary came later: the Government of India notified it under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, after consulting the State Government of Jharkhand. The Union environment ministry treats the Sammed Shikharji Parvat Kshetra as a sacred Jain religious place and has a monitoring committee for the zone notification.
Standing:
highest peak in Jharkhand
Altitude:
4431 feet above the mean sea level
District:
Giridih District
Forest division:
Giridih East Forest Division
Forest around the hill:
Madhuban
Administrative division of the district:
North Chhotanagpur Division
Why it matters for exams: Parasnath Hill in Giridih district is Jharkhand's highest peak at 4431 feet, is the Jain pilgrimage centre of Sammed Shikharji, and has a wildlife sanctuary and an eco sensitive zone around it.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
Jharkhand's rivers begin in the upland that covers most of the State, and the Subarnarekha is one of them. Its source, like that of the Koel, the Damodar, the Brahmani and the Kharkai, lies in the Chota Nagpur Plateau, and the upper watersheds of all these rivers are inside Jharkhand. That upland position explains the drops along their courses, because the plateau edge turns a quiet stream into a fall within a short distance. On the Subarnarekha stands Hundru Falls, where the water plunges 98 metres, which makes it one of Jharkhand's tallest waterfalls. Jonha Falls and Dassam Falls lie roughly 40 kilometres from Ranchi and can be reached by road as well as by train, so a visitor can take in more than one cascade in a day. Much of the State around these rivers is still under forest, and that cover supports populations of tigers and Asian elephants. Soils differ sharply across the basin country: red soil is found mostly in the Damodar valley and the Rajmahal area, while micacious soil marks places such as Koderma and Jhumri Telaiya. For aspirants the Subarnarekha is best fixed in memory as a plateau river of Jharkhand whose upper catchment lies within the State and whose best known fall is at Hundru.
Source region:
Chota Nagpur Plateau
Rivers sharing that source:
Koel, Damodar, Brahmani, Kharkai, and Subarnarekha
Where the upper watersheds lie:
upper watersheds lie within Jharkhand
Why it matters for exams: The Subarnarekha has its source in the Chota Nagpur Plateau along with the Koel, Damodar, Brahmani and Kharkai, its upper watershed lies within Jharkhand, and Hundru Falls on it drops 98 metres.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
Jharkhand's coal country holds one of India's oldest technical institutions, the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) at Dhanbad. The demand goes back to a resolution of the Indian National Congress at its XVII Session, which asked that a Government College of Mining Engineering be set up somewhere in the country, on the lines of the Royal School of Mines in England and of mining colleges in Japan and elsewhere on the continent, since mines were then being placed under the supervision of mining experts. A committee of the Government of India under McPherson then recommended an institution for teaching mining and geology, and its report formed the main basis for establishing the school at Dhanbad. Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of the day, formally opened the Indian School of Mines on 9th December 1926, with Mining and Applied Geology as its disciplines, to meet the need for trained hands in the country's mining work. University standing came in 1967, when it was given the rank of a deemed to be university, under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956. Petroleum Engineering and Applied Geophysics were added later, and courses in computer science, mechanical, electrical, environmental, chemical and civil engineering followed over the decades. The institute today is constituted under the Institutes of Technology Act and is administered through the IIT Council, the apex body chaired by the Union Minister for Education.
Formally opened:
9th December 1926
Opened by:
Lord Irwin
Founding disciplines:
Mining and Applied Geology
Committee whose report formed the basis:
McPherson Committee
Deemed to be university:
1967
Apex governing body:
IIT Council
Why it matters for exams: The Indian School of Mines at Dhanbad was opened by Lord Irwin with Mining and Applied Geology, became a deemed university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, and now runs as an IIT under the IIT Council.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
This background goes with Jharkhand's new Mineral Exploration and Block Development Policy, because one of the State's flagship digital projects is a Critical Minerals Administration System. Jharkhand set out a roadmap to become a leading hub of artificial intelligence driven governance at the National Stakeholders Consultation 2026 in New Delhi. It proposed a Jharkhand AI Policy for 2026 to 2031, with an investment of 1,150 crore rupees over five years for AI infrastructure, digital capability and innovation, and an IT Park of 100.97 acres in Ranchi. Three systems were named: the Chief Minister's Data Intelligence Platform, the Health and Nutrition Vigilance System and the Critical Minerals Administration System. Under its Vision 2050, the State projects investment above 10,000 crore rupees, more than 50 Global Capability Centres, over 1,000 AI startups and more than one lakh AI-enabled jobs.
Proposed AI investment:
1,150 crore rupees over five years
IT Park at Ranchi:
100.97 acres
Vision 2050 jobs target:
more than one lakh AI-enabled jobs
Why it matters for exams: Names the proposed Jharkhand AI Policy 2026-31 with its 1,150 crore rupee outlay, the CM's Data Intelligence Platform, the Health and Nutrition Vigilance System, the Critical Minerals Administration System and the State's Vision 2050 targets.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CM-DIP Chief Minister's Data Intelligence Platform — Jharkhand's proposed central platform to bring government data together for decision making.
GCC Global Capability Centre — An offshore unit a global company runs to deliver its own business services from another country.
Background
This background goes with the Jharkhand High Court's award of Rs 8 lakh to a family whose claim the Railway Claims Tribunal had dismissed. The Tribunal is set up under the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987, and claims for compensation arising from railway accidents and untoward incidents go to it instead of a civil court. An appeal from its order lies to the High Court under Section 23(1) of the same Act, which is the route the Jharkhand case took. Compensation amounts are fixed by the Railway Accidents and Untoward Incidents (Compensation) Rules, 1990. The Railway Passengers (Manner of Investigation of Untoward Incidents) Rules, 2003 govern how such an incident is investigated, and Rule 13 requires the Divisional Railway Manager's report, whose absence weighed against the Railways in that case.
Governing Act:
Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987
Appeal provision:
Section 23(1)
Compensation rules:
Railway Accidents and Untoward Incidents (Compensation) Rules, 1990
Why it matters for exams: Names the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987, its Section 23(1) appeal route to the High Court, the Compensation Rules of 1990 and Rule 13 of the 2003 investigation rules.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Railway Claims Tribunal — The tribunal that decides compensation claims from railway accidents and untoward incidents, in place of a civil court.