CA-27/03/2026

• Targeted Outreach: It specifically addresses the logistical challenges faced by personnel stationed in remote and geographically difficult areas who traditionally struggle to access physical banking services.
• Government Vision: The portal aligns with the "Housing for All" mission and the push for a Digital India by moving the entire loan cycle online. 

• Beneficiaries: Serving and retired personnel from the Defence forces, Paramilitary forces, and both State and Central Government employees.
• Unified Digital Marketplace: Allows applicants to explore, compare, and select the best home loan offers from various registered lending institutions in real-time.
• Location-Independent Access: Personnel can apply for and manage their home loans directly from their current posting location without visiting a bank physically.
• Seamless Integration: The portal is digitally linked with the NHB and primary lending institutions (PLIs), ensuring faster decision-making and reduced paperwork.
• Simplified Application: Employees can initiate requests with minimal data, which are then relayed to lenders who provide competitive offers.
• Consumer Support: Includes a built-in grievance redressal mechanism and an online chat facility for instant query resolution.
• Operational Control: Government entities and administrative units register first to facilitate access for their respective staff members.

• Asset Management Gaps: The government introduced the bill to bridge legal gaps regarding what happens to assets (like land or buildings) created from foreign funds when an NGO's licence is cancelled, suspended, or not renewed.
• Introduction in Parliament: It was tabled during the Budget Session of 2026, leading to sharp debates in the Lok Sabha.
• Opposition Resistance: Opposition members have criticised the bill as "draconian" and "dangerous," arguing it grants disproportionate power to the executive to seize NGO assets without prior conviction.
• National Security Concerns: The government asserts the bill is necessary to prevent the misuse of foreign funds for activities like forced religious conversions or actions detrimental to India's sovereignty. 

• Asset Management: Creates a "Designated Authority" to manage, transfer, or sell assets created from foreign funds if an NGO's registration is cancelled, with proceeds potentially going to the Consolidated Fund.
• Expanded Liability: Extends liability for violations to key functionaries like directors and Trustees, while also requiring government approval for investigations.
• Regulatory Tightening: Implements automatic registration expiry, fixed timelines for fund utilisation, and expands restrictions on recipients, including digital news entities.
• Penalty Changes: Aims to reduce maximum imprisonment for violations from 5 years to 1 year, focusing more on civil fines.

• Location: Situated in the northeastern state of Mizoram, these hills are part of the larger Patkai-Arakan Yoma mountain range system.
• Topography: Characterized by a series of parallel north-south ridges separated by narrow valleys, with an average elevation of 900 to 1,200 metres.
• Highest Peak: The highest point is Phawngpui (also known as Blue Mountain), reaching an elevation of 2,157 metres.
• Flora & Fauna: The hills are primarily covered with dense bamboo jungles and evergreen forests. They support diverse wildlife, including elephants, clouded leopards, and numerous orchid species.
• Inhabitants: Primarily home to the Mizo people, along with other tribal communities like the Hmar, Chakma, Mara, and Lai.
• Historical Evolution:
  • Originally the Lushai Hills district of Assam under British rule.
  • Renamed Mizo Hills in 1954.
  • Became a Union Territory in 1972 and attained full statehood on 20 February 1987.
• Economy: Shifting cultivation, known locally as Jhum farming, remains a major agricultural practice among the tribal communities.

• Analyzed PM2.5 data from 143 countries; 130 exceeded WHO limits, with South Asia (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tajikistan) worst regionally.​
• Top 25 polluted cities all in India, Pakistan, China; Loni, India, had highest annual PM2.5.
• Compliant nations (13 total): Mostly islands/Europe like Australia, Barbados, Bermuda, Andorra, Estonia, Iceland.​
• Global trends: Wildfire smoke and climate extremes hit cleaner regions; monitoring gaps leave billions untracked.

• PM2.5 linked to respiratory issues, heart disease, cancer; 99% of world population exposed to unsafe air.
• In India, prolonged exposure cuts life expectancy by ~5 years; tied to 1.5M deaths yearly (2009-2019 data).​

• India: 6th most polluted; 35% cities over WHO limits despite 7% PM2.5 drop (50.6 µg/m³ average); Delhi most polluted capital (7th time in 8 years).
• Pakistan: Worst globally; dominated polluted city rankings.
• Europe: Steady declines but still largest health risk; EEA notes progress vs. WHO gaps.​
• Data gaps: Many areas lack real-time monitoring.

1. Loni (Global Rank 1)
2. Byrnihat (Global Rank 3)
3. Delhi (Global Rank 4)
4. Ghaziabad (Global Rank 7)
5. Ula (Global Rank 10)

Rank	Country	Key Notes (PM2.5 Levels)
1	Pakistan	Highest annual average; top cities like Lahore ​
2	Bangladesh	~200–300 AQI; persistent urban smog
3	Tajikistan	Elevated fine particulates ​
4	Chad	Down from #1; data collection issues ​
5	India	Improved slightly to 50.6 µg/m³; still top 5

• Expanded Infrastructure:
  • 100 New Airports: Development of 100 new airports from unserved airstrips over eight years, backed by a ₹12,159 crore investment.
  • 200 New Helipads: Focus on improving connectivity in hilly, remote, and island areas.
• Extended Financial Support:
  • Longer VGF Period: Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for operators is extended from 3 to 5 years to ensure viability.
  • Dedicated VGF Funding: ₹10,043 crore is earmarked specifically for VGF over 10 years.
• Operational Support:
  • The government will provide 3-year support for O&M (Operations & Maintenance) for regional airports.
• Atmanirbhar Bharat Initiative:
  • Includes ₹400 crore for sourcing indigenous aircraft, including HAL Dhruv helicopters and HAL Dornier 228 planes.
• Ambitious Targets:
  • The scheme aims to connect 120 new destinations and serve roughly 4 crore passengers over the coming decade.
• Legacy Data (As of Feb 2026):
  • To date, 663 routes are operational across 95 facilities, with over 1.62 crore passengers served since 2016.

• Objective: To ensure the uninterrupted supply of oil and gas to Indian refineries and city gas systems by protecting tankers from being sabotaged or forcibly diverted.
• Area of Operation: The mission primarily focuses on the Strait of Hormuz, extending through the Gulf of Oman and into the northern Arabian Sea.
• Naval Assets Deployed: More than five frontline warships, including advanced guided-missile destroyers (like INS Kochi and INS Chennai) and multi-role frigates, are active in the region.
• Operation Strategy:
  • Layered Security: Warships provide physical escorts, electronic-warfare protection, and anti-drone cover.
  • Safe Route Mapping: The Navy uses hydrographic survey data to identify safe paths, specifically avoiding reported underwater minefields.
  • Diplomatic Coordination: Unlike standard combat missions, India secured special permissions from Tehran to allow its ships to pass while many other global routes remained restricted.
• Key Vessels Protected: The Navy has identified 22 high-priority tankers for protection. Earlier successes included the safe passage of the Shivalik, Nanda Devi, and Jag Laadki.
• Non-Combat Nature: The mission is characterized as a "risk-reduction and deterrence" effort rather than a direct military intervention, maintaining a low profile to avoid further regional escalation. 

• Current Population: There are fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs remaining in the wild, down from over 140,000 in the 1950s.
• Endemic Region: They are the only penguin species found in Africa, living primarily on the coasts of South Africa and Namibia.

• Overfishing: Commercial "purse-seine" fishing depletes sardines and anchovies, which are the penguins' main diet.
• Climate Change: Warming oceans cause fish shoals to shift to cooler areas, making them inaccessible to nesting parents who cannot forage more than 40km from their colony.
• Oil Spills: Proximity to major shipping lanes (like the Port of Ngqura and Algoa Bay) has led to chronic and large-scale oiling of birds.

• "Jackass Penguin": Nicknamed for their loud, donkey-like braying calls.
• Pink Eye Glands: They have pink glands above their eyes that help with temperature regulation; the glands turn pinker as the bird gets hotter.
• Unique Spots: Like human fingerprints, the black spots on their chests are unique to each individual.
• Conservation Efforts: Beyond fishing bans, initiatives include the use of artificial nests to protect chicks from heat and predators, and the establishment of new colonies in areas with higher food abundance.

• Targeted Disorders: The repository focuses on five major psychiatric disorders: Addiction, Bipolar Disorder, Dementia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Schizophrenia.
• Rich Dataset: It integrates diverse data types, including:
  • Clinical and Behavioural data.
  • Neuro-imaging (fMRI, brain structure).
  • Genetic information and EEG readings.
  • Stem Cell Biorepository: Linked to a collection of stem cells for biological research into the origins of severe mental illnesses.
• Family-Centric Approach: Unlike many global studies that focus on individuals, CALM-Brain gathers data from affected and unaffected members of the same family to identify robust neurocognitive biomarkers.
• Current Scale: The repository already contains data from over 2,000 participants across 900 families, following a long-term data collection process that began in 2016.
• Early Intervention: The ultimate goal is to help clinicians diagnose mental disorders at a much earlier stage and develop personalised, targeted therapies.

1. It is launched by the Reserve Bank of India.
2. It provides a unified digital platform to compare home loan offers.
3. It targets only serving defence personnel.

• Launched by National Housing Bank, not RBI → (1) incorrect
• Unified marketplace → (2) correct
• Covers serving + retired personnel + govt employees → (3) incorrect

1. Creation of a Designated Authority for managing NGO assets.
2. Increase in imprisonment term for violations.
3. Inclusion of digital news entities under restrictions.

• Designated Authority → Yes
• Imprisonment reduced (5 yrs → 1 yr) → (2) incorrect
• Digital news entities included → Yes

1. All top 25 polluted cities are located in South America.
2. India recorded a decline in PM2.5 levels despite remaining among the most polluted countries.
3. Only island nations met WHO air quality standards.

• Top cities in India, Pakistan, China → (1) incorrect
• India saw ~7% drop → correct
• Not only island nations (some European countries too) → (3) incorrect

1. Development of 100 new airports.
2. Extension of VGF period to 5 years.
3. Focus on indigenous aircraft procurement.

1. Overfishing
2. Climate change
3. Oil spills

1. Schizophrenia
2. Bipolar disorder
3. Tuberculosis
4. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

• Includes psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD
• Tuberculosis not included

Download Pdf