UPSC Current Affairs 30 June 2026

• Parent Organisation: It is a vital institutional formation of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
• Governing Body: It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India.
• Leadership: The unit is led by Chief Engineer S.C. Looniya, who was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) in January 2026 for distinguished leadership.

• Inception: The project commenced its raising on June 29, 2011.
• Operational Date: It became fully functional on December 3, 2011.
• Origin: Its jurisdiction was carved out from the existing boundaries of Project Arunank and Project Udayak to fast-track regional border development.
• Headquarters: Located at Ranaghat, near Pasighat in the East Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh.

• Arunachal Pradesh Districts: Covers the strategically sensitive districts of Siang, East Siang, West Siang, Upper Siang, and Shi-Yomi.
• Assam District: Manages road assets extending into parts of the Dhemaji district in Assam.
• Border Focus: Primarily focuses on areas mirroring the Indo-Tibet (China) border sectors.

• Scale of Operation: Entrusted with the structural upkeep of 811 km of roads and approximately 86 bridges.
• Flagship Achievements:
  • Siyom Bridge: A 100-metre steel arch bridge spanning the Siyom Nallah on the Along–Yingkiong axis.
  • Simang Bridge: A 165-metre Prestressed Concrete (PSC) bridge over Simang Nallah.
• Helipads: Actively builds and modifies tactical helipads in forward locations to boost aerial defence connectivity.
• Arunachal Frontier Highway: Project BRAHMANK is currently executing segments of the mega Arunachal Frontier Highway to improve inter-valley connectivity.

• Military Mobility: Provides multi-weather operational connectivity for the Indian Armed Forces to rapidly deploy heavy armour and troops.
• Civilian Integration: Brings remote border villages into India's national economic mainstream by linking them with mainland transportation networks.
• Challenging Execution: Works through intense geological adversities, including cloudbursts, severe flash floods, landslide-prone valleys, and high-altitude ranges.

• Lowering MMR: Reduce India’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to below 70 per 100,000 live births.
• Targeting Infant Mortality: Substantially decrease the Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR).
• Zero Preventable Deaths: Achieve the ultimate goal of zero preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
• SDG 3 Targets: Accelerate progress to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) ahead of the 2030 deadline.
• Universal Saturation: Establish 100% service saturation of maternal and child healthcare across all States and Union Territories.

• Continuum Life-Cycle Approach: Operates under the RMNCHA+N framework to integrate healthcare covering pre-pregnancy, antenatal, intrapartum (childbirth), and postnatal periods.
• High-Risk Pregnancy Tracking: Focuses on a structured four-stage framework to screen, track, and clinically manage high-risk pregnancies.
• Differentiated Strategy: Moves away from standard uniform health policies by adapting customised, evidence-based local solutions for varying district-level infrastructure capacities.
• Geographic Target: Focuses deep interventions across 130 high-burden districts spread over 13 high-focus States (including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Assam).

• ASHA Bi-weekly Visits: In high-focus regions, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) will conduct twice-weekly home visits during the crucial 8th and 9th months of pregnancy.
• Caregiver Financial Support: Financial assistance will be given to a designated family caregiver to accompany mothers during the critical postnatal period.
• Infrastructure Upgrades: Mandates the setup of Birth Waiting Homes (BWHs), Maternal and Child Health (MCH) wings, and Obstetric High Dependency Units (HDUs) in remote or underserved tribal areas.
• Tech-Driven Delivery: Mandates AI-enabled labour rooms, digital tracking through the updated JANANI Portal, and a centralised SUMAN call centre for citizen grievance redressal.
• SUMAN Panchayats: Drives local community participation (Jan Bhagidari) to fix primary healthcare accountability at the village level.
• Climate Resilience: Incorporates tailored planning models to shield pregnant women and fragile newborns from escalating climate threats like intense regional heatwaves.

• It is trending in the news because the application has been completely transformed from a COVID-19 contact-tracing app into India’s permanent Personal Health Record (PHR) app and a unified digital health gateway under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

• ABHA ID Integration: Users can create, link, and manage their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) directly inside the application.
• AI-Powered Digital Records: The app uses Artificial Intelligence to scan and digitize physical medical reports, prescriptions, and lab tests from PDFs or images.
• Smart Health Dashboard: It generates long-term analytical health trends and tracks key medical parameters based on your uploaded medical history.
• Wearable Device Syncing: Fitness enthusiasts can connect smart wearables to track vitals, sleep, daily steps, heart rate, and glucose levels.
• Family Profile Management: Caregivers can securely add and organize the health profiles of multiple family members, including children and elderly parents, under a single account.
• Queue-less OPD Registration: A "Scan & Share" QR feature allows patients to register for outpatient hospital consultations instantly without standing in queues.
• Emergency & Utility Locators: Users can locate nearby verified doctors, hospitals, pharmacies (Jan Aushadhi Kendras), real-time blood bank stocks via e-Rakt Kosh, and book ambulances.
• PM-JAY & Insurance Access: Beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme can check their wallet balances, track treatment history, and locate empanelled hospitals.
• Consent-Based Data Sharing: Medical history is securely locked and shared with doctors or diagnostic centres only after explicit, user-approved digital consent.
• Digi Locker Storage: Important documents can be pulled and stored safely through built-in Digi Locker integration.

• Ayushman Sarathi: A 24/7 conversational WhatsApp chatbot designed to help PM-JAY insurance beneficiaries check eligibility and download cards seamlessly.
• National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX): A digital portal that standardizes and speeds up health insurance claims between hospitals and insurers, cutting down billing errors.
• Drug Registry: A national repository that standardizes medicine coding across apps to improve accuracy in prescribing and dispensing drugs.
• Unified Health Interface (UHI): An open network layer allowing any compatible health application to discover and book verified medical services.

• Financial Scale: The mega-infrastructure project is valued at ₹34,102 crore.
• Pipeline System: Instead of open canals, the water will be transported via a 295.5-km long underground pipeline network to prevent open-channel evaporation and transit losses.
• Pipeline Blueprint: The network will consist of three massive underground pipelines, each measuring more than 3.6 metres in diameter.
• Route Layout: Around 95% of the pipeline network will pass through Haryana to reach the borders of Rajasthan.

• Source Hub: The surplus water will be drawn from the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana via the Western Yamuna Canal system.
• Volume Transferred: The project will supply approximately 580 million Cubic Meters (MCM) (equivalent to nearly 1,917 cusecs) of Yamuna water.
• Seasonal Supply: Water transfer will take place exclusively during the monsoon months, from July to October each year.

• Rajasthan Benefits: The project serves as a permanent drinking water solution for the highly water-stressed and drought-prone Shekhawati region, specifically targeting the Churu, Sikar, and Jhunjhunu districts.
• Haryana Benefits: The structural upgrades and integrated water management protocols will also boost drinking water availability in Haryana’s Bhiwani and Fatehabad regions.

• Rooted in 1994 Accord: The initiative fulfills the original 1994 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Yamuna basin states (consisting of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, HP, and Delhi).
• Comprehensive Pact: As per the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the MoA establishes strict terms for cost-sharing, financial liabilities, daily water release protocols, joint monitoring, and a dispute-resolution mechanism to avoid future friction.
• Groundwater Recharging: In addition to supplying drinking water, the diverted rainwater will be stored in localized large ponds to artificially recharge depleting groundwater levels in the region.

• What it is: India’s premier integrated digital agro-advisory framework designed to deliver correct agricultural information at the right time.
• Launch Date: Jointly launched on July 16, 2021, coinciding with the 93rd Foundation Day of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• Joint Nodal Ministries: Co-developed by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY).
• Implementing Agencies: Executed on the ground by the Digital India Corporation (DIC) alongside the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI).

• The IIDS Backbone: Driven by the Interactive Information Dissemination System (IIDS), a specialized pull-and-push multi-media interactive model.
• Two-Way Communication: Allows direct voice, video, text, and photo consultations between farmers and scientists.
• Linguistic Inclusion: Delivers live, personalized interactions in 13 major regional languages.
• "Know Your Farmer" (KYF): Accesses a centralized database of the farmer’s profile and history so backend experts can offer hyper-localized advice.
• Unified Digital Ecosystem: Combines functionalities from the Kisan Call Centre, India Meteorological Department (IMD), and My Scheme.

• Direct Expert Access: Seamlessly connects rural farmers to over 4,700 ICAR scientists and local Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).
• Government Scheme Discovery: Allows farmers to view conditions and payment statuses for 610 government schemes (including PM-KISAN), consisting of 102 central and 508 state-level projects.
• Diverse Domain Support: Provides real-time advisories across traditional crops, horticulture, plantation crops, livestock, poultry, and fisheries.
• Market Intelligence: Grants immediate access to district-wise mandi price charts, local crop market rates, and macro trend forecasts.
• Linguistic & Tech Channels: Accessible across diverse literacy levels via Toll-Free calls, Common Service Centres (CSCs), WhatsApp, a dedicated Mobile App, or a Web Portal.

• Total Footprint: Services are fully deployed across 37 States/UTs, encompassing 768 districts and roughly 6.63 lakh villages.
• Massive Userbase: Out of the 2.95 crore registered farmers, 56.16 lakh are women beneficiaries.
• Institutional Network: Connects farmers directly to a unified scientific network comprising 730+ KVKs, 113 ICAR institutes, and 65+ agricultural universities.

• Participants: 30 nations are participating with military assets or personnel.
• Personnel: Approximately 30,000 military service members are involved.
• Fleet Strength: Includes over 30 surface ships and 5 submarines.
• Air and Land Assets: Features over 206 aircraft and ground elements from 15 national land forces.
• Lead U.S. Ship: The American contingent is led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).

• 2026 Theme: The official operational motto is "Partners: Integrated and Prepared".
• Host: Administered and hosted by the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet.
• History: The drills started in 1971 as an annual event but transitioned to a biennial (every two years) schedule in 1974.

• Task Force Deputy: Chilean Navy Commodore Andres Howard.
• Task Force Vice Commander: Rear Adm. Takuo Kobayashi of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force.
• Air Component Commander: Brig. Gen. J.S. Davis of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

• Combat Training: Focuses heavily on anti-submarine warfare, air defence, missile proficiency, and mine countermeasures.
• Amphibious Assaults: Joint training exercises involving multi-nation ground forces landing on simulated hostile shores.
• Non-Traditional Security: Includes extensive simulations for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), maritime medicine, and counter-piracy operations.

• Continued Presence: The Indian Navy is a regular participant and has deployed assets to join the multinational task forces.
• Timeline: India first joined the RIMPAC exercise in 2014.

• Common Name: It is globally known as the Greater Adjutant Stork.
• Local Name: In Assamese, it is called "Hargila," which translates to "bone-swallower" due to its habit of swallowing massive pieces of bones.
• Physical Profile: It is a massive bird standing between 120 to 152 cm (approx. 5 feet) tall with a massive wingspan of around 250 cm.
• Key Features: It has a long pale grey bill, a bare neck/head with vibrant yellow to orange skin, and a distinct dangling pouch used during courtship.

• Global Stronghold: Over 80% to 85% of the entire global population resides in the state of Assam, India.
• Other Regions: Outside of Assam, smaller populations are restricted to Bhagalpur in Bihar (India) and parts of Cambodia.
• Preferred Environment: It inhabits wetlands, floodplains, marshes, and builds colonial nests on tall trees near human settlements.

• Nature's Waste Managers: They act as vital scavengers, feeding primarily on carrion, animal carcasses, and organic waste, keeping the wetlands clean.
• Diet Variety: Being opportunistic omnivores, they also feed on fish, frogs, large insects, reptiles, and rodents.

• IUCN Red List: Its conservation status was recently upgraded from 'Endangered' to 'Near Threatened' due to successful population recovery.
• Legal Protection: In India, it is protected under Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• Primary Threats: Suffer severely from habitat loss, the cutting down of nesting trees on private lands, pollution, and the draining/encroachment of wetlands.

• The Pioneer: The movement was founded by Dr Purnima Devi Barman, a wildlife biologist from the environmental NGO Aaranyak.
• Cultural Integration: Dr Barman changed mindsets by integrating the bird into local folk songs, organizing baby showers for newly hatched chicks, and providing women with looms to weave the bird motif into traditional attire like gamochas.
• Global Honors: Her grassroots leadership earned her the prestigious UN "Champions of the Earth" award and the Whitley Gold Award (referred to as the Green Oscar).

• Regional Roots: It is a unique variety of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha/Indian Ginseng) primarily cultivated in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan, as well as the adjoining Churu and Bikaner districts.
• Optimal Terroir: The harsh arid to semi-arid agro-climatic conditions and sandy soils of western Rajasthan provide the perfect environment for its development.
• State Landscape: With this addition, it has officially become Rajasthan's 22nd GI-tagged product and its second agricultural product to receive the tag (following Sojat Mehendi).

• Root Structure: Unlike standard varieties, Nagori Ashwagandha features longer, thicker, cavity-free, brittle, and starchy roots.
• Indicator Berries: The plant produces dark, bright red berries, which are traditionally recognized as the primary indicator of top-tier quality.
• Biochemical Richness: It is highly valued in the herbal industry for its exceptionally dense concentration of active therapeutic compounds, specifically alkaloids and withanolides.

• Powerful Adaptogen: It effectively regulates cortisol levels to help the human body manage chronic stress, fatigue, and anxiety.
• Nervous System Support: Acts as an excellent neuroprotective tonic, assisting in the prevention of nerve cell damage and easing insomnia by significantly improving sleep quality.
• Vitality & Immunity: Boosts physical endurance, accelerates muscle recovery, and stimulates the immune system by improving white and red blood cell counts.
• Reproductive Health: Celebrated in traditional medicine for its Vajikarana (aphrodisiac) properties, which improve testosterone levels, sperm motility, and general vitality.

• Income Protection: The legal GI status safeguards local farmers against counterfeit varieties, allowing them to command premium prices from pharmaceutical and Ayurvedic buyers.
• Export Catalyst: Certified GI branding builds international consumer trust, setting the stage for increased global trade in the herbal healthcare economy.
• Rural Employment: Scaling up region-specific cultivation creates stable, sustainable income streams for local communities and nomads involved in herb collection.

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