UPSC Current Affairs 01 July 2026

• Revolution: In the Santhali language, the term "Hul" translates directly to "uprising", "revolution", or "liberation movement".

• The Date: The rebellion officially commenced on 30 June 1855.
• The Epicentre: It started in Bhognadih village, located in the Sahibganj district of present-day Jharkhand.
• The Scale: Around 30,000 to 50,000 tribals from over 400 villages assembled, declaring themselves independent and vowing to clear the British out.
• First War of Independence: Occurring two full years before the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, many historians view it as India’s first large-scale, structured war against colonial rule.

• The Murmu Brothers: The movement was spearheaded by four brothers: Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand, and Bhairav.
• The Murmu Sisters: Phulo and Jhano played an equally vital role, mobilizing tribal women and actively participating in the armed resistance.

• Exploitative Systems: The British East India Company introduced the Damin-i-Koh land settlement, which uprooted the Santhals.
• Land Usurpation: Outside moneylenders (mahajans) and British-backed landlords (zamindars) seized ancestral tribal lands through fraudulent debt loops.
• Bonded Labour: Tribals were increasingly forced into unfair systems of bonded and generational debt slavery.

• Brutal Suppression: Armed only with traditional bows, arrows, and axes, the revolutionaries bravely fought the East India Company's heavy artillery. The uprising was brutally crushed by early 1856, resulting in the martyrdom of over 20,000 tribals.
• Martyrdom: Chand and Bhairav died in battle, while Sidhu and Kanhu were eventually captured and publically hanged by the British to instill fear.
• Policy Change: Despite the military defeat, the sacrifice forced the British to pass the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act (SPT Act), which banned the legal transfer of tribal land to non-tribals.

• Complete End-to-End Digitisation: Manages registration, renewal, and annual returns completely online.
• Zero Physical Paperwork: Eliminates the requirement for non-profits and NGOs to physically submit verification documents.
• Advanced Tech Hosting: Hosted securely on the National Government Cloud (MeghRaj Cloud Infrastructure).
• Automated Processing Tools: Utilises Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for document analysis and e-Sign for digital authentication.
• Unified Database Interoperability: Directly syncs via APIs with Aadhaar, PAN, NGO Darpan, OCI registries, and the ICAI's UDIN system.
• Security & Misuse Prevention: Enables real-time tracking of inflow and utilization to flags funds arriving with malicious intent.
• Scale of Impact: Streamlines legal compliance for nearly 14,500 active FCRA-registered organizations across India.
• Accountability Metrics: Implements stricter checks on "key functionaries" (directors, trustees) and restricts operations if foreign nationals handle control.
• Future Features Roadmap: Prepared to deploy AI-powered customer chatbots and a dedicated mobile application.

• Paperless Application Lifecycle: Overseas applicants can register, submit supporting materials, and track status completely via ociservices.gov.in.
• Electronic Card Issuance: Approved users can directly download a secure, digitally generated e-OCI card to their electronic devices.
• Elimination of Passport Re-issuance Rule: OCI holders past the age of 20 no longer need a brand-new physical booklet printed when their foreign passport gets renewed.
• Instant Online Data Updates: Passport changes can be self-updated online instantly without physical verification or fresh registrations.
• 24/7 Mobile Portability: Gives cardholders round-the-clock digital access to their status, eliminating risks associated with lost or damaged physical booklets.
• Immigration Speed-ups: Integrates directly with airport border control systems to execute real-time digital verification for swift clearance.
• Broader Eligibility Rules: Foreign nationals of Indian origin can now apply for an OCI card on arrival if they hold a valid long-term visa, removing the older mandatory 6-month stay rule.

• Launch Date: The scheme was launched on 1st July, 2015.
• Motto: It operates under the dual slogans "Har Khet Ko Paani" (Water for every farm) and "Per Drop More Crop".
• Type of Scheme: It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• Funding Pattern: The financial cost is shared between the Centre and States in a 75:25 ratio (90:10 for North-Eastern and Himalayan states).
• Administrative Design: Overseen by a National Steering Committee chaired by the Prime Minister, and implemented via decentralized District Water Use Plans.

• Convergence of Investments: Amalgamates various fragments of irrigation budgets under a single unified platform.
• Physical Access Extension: Expands cultivable land area under assured, non-rain-dependent irrigation systems.
• Water Use Efficiency: Optimizes on-farm water management to drastically minimize runoff and wastage.
• Precision Technology Adoption: Promotes tech-driven water application methods like drip and sprinkler mechanisms.
• Aquifer Recharge: Encourages sustainable water conservation by replenishing ground sources and integrating treated urban wastewater.

• Ministry: Managed by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• Focus: Focuses on the rapid completion of major and medium long-pending irrigation canal projects.

• Ministry: Managed by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• Focus: Creates new alternative water sources through surface minor irrigation, groundwater extraction, and restoration of traditional water bodies.

• Ministry: Managed by the Ministry of Rural Development.
• Focus: Focuses on rain-fed, soil-eroded, and degraded lands to stop rainwater runoff through small check dams and farm ponds.

• Ministry: Initially part of PMKSY, it now functions under the broader Pradhan Mantri Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) through the Ministry of Agriculture.
• Focus: Incentivizes individual farmers through subsidies (up to 45% or more) to install efficient micro-irrigation systems.

• Open Network Architecture: Functions as an open-protocol layer connecting diverse apps.
• Gateway Routing: Directs patient requests seamlessly to registered healthcare entities.
• Unified Technical Framework: Translates interactions into a standard common language.
• Verification Registries: Restricts participation solely to verified, credentialed doctors.
• No Platform Locking: Connects users on App A to providers using App B.

• Interoperability: Removes shared platform dependency for tracking or offering care.
• Fair Discoverability: Grants equal visibility to small clinics and large corporate hospitals.
• Verification: Uses ABDM building blocks to ensure absolute trust in listed professionals.
• Open Protocols: Allows any developer to construct applications on open technical specifications.

• Blood Bank Discovery: Displays real-time blood availability through integration with e-Rakt Kosh.
• PMJAY Hospital Search: Locates empanelled hospitals grouped by geography and medical speciality.
• Jan Aushadhi Kendra Discovery: Identifies adjacent outlets selling affordable quality generic medicines.
• Ambulance Booking: Facilitates real-time verification and booking for urgent emergency transport.
• Doctor Consultations: Streamlines discovery and bookings for direct, in-person consultations.

• Lab Diagnostics: Finding and booking nearby specialized medical lab diagnostic tests.
• Vaccination Slots: Live tracking and appointment confirmation at nearby immunization centres.
• Pharmacy Aggregation: Extending network access across licensed private and government-run pharmacies.
• Government Scheme Integration: Mapping multiple national healthcare programmes onto a single network.

• Nodal Ministry: It is managed by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
• Total Budget Outlay: The central government has allocated a total fund of ₹500 Crore.
• Time Tenure: The implementation timeline spans three years, covering Financial Year 2024–25 to FY 2026–27.
• Primary Aim: To reduce import dependency, deepen local supply chains, generate clinical data, and boost overall manufacturing quality.

• Marginal Investment Scheme: Promotes local production of components via a 10% to 20% one-time capital subsidy (up to ₹10 Crore per project).
• Medical Device Clinical Studies Support Scheme (MDCSS): Provides up to ₹5 Crore for trials and testing, including ₹1 Crore for in-vitro diagnostics.
• Common Facilities for Medical Devices Clusters: Offers financial support to establish R&D labs and infrastructure, with up to ₹20 Crore for hubs and ₹5 Crore for testing labs.
• Capacity Building and Skill Development: Focuses on enhancing technical workforce skills through training and academic programs.
• Medical Device Promotion Scheme: Supports industry collaboration, market research, and promotional activities.

• Target Age Group: Focuses on comprehensive health tracking for children from birth to 36 months (3 years).
• The Core Vision: Operates under the tagline "पहले तीन साल सम्पूर्ण देखभाल" (Comprehensive Care During the First Three Years).
• Crucial Timeframe: Aims to protect the first 1,000 days of life, vital for nutrition, cognitive development, and brain growth.

• Merges Flagship Programs: It unifies two separate initiatives—Home-Based Newborn Care (HBNC) and Home-Based Care for Young Child (HBYC)—into a single operational framework.
• No More Fragmented Care: Eliminates operational silos to establish a smooth, unbroken delivery chain of child tracking.

• Targeted Care Paths: Introduces specialized health monitoring for infants labelled "at-risk" (e.g., low birth weight, prematurity, or malnutrition).
• Newborn Follow-up: At-risk infants receive up to 9 scheduled home visits in their first 42 days.
• Extended Care: At-risk young children receive up to 8 tailored home visits up to 36 months of age.

• Collaborative Visits: Drives multi-sectoral fieldwork through joint visits by ASHAs, ANMs, Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), and Community Health Officers (CHOs).
• Well-Baby Sessions: Creates dedicated baby assessment checkpoints at every Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) event.
• Shishu Shivir: Organizes routine monthly child health camps at all national Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.

• Maternal Mental Health: Incorporates post-partum mental depression screening for mothers directly into local grassroots checkups.
• Screen-Time Warning: Issues strict guidelines to counsel families on limiting excessive smartphone or television screen time for children under 3, which hinders language acquisition and social skills.
• Urban Poor Strategy: Implements custom-designed reach-out drives specifically for vulnerable child groups living in urban slums and migrant camps.

• Data Ecosystem: Integrates with national structures like the JANANI Portal, U-WIN Portal, and POSHAN Tracker.
• Tracking IDs: Utilizes Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) and specific Baal-ABHA IDs for data portability.
• Decision Tools: Deploys automated Decision-Support Systems (DSS) to generate real-time health alerts and referral loops for field workers.

• Endemic Origin: The species is native exclusively to the remote Aldabra Atoll in Seychelles, located in the western Indian Ocean.
• Habitat Diversity: They occupy a wide range of land environments, including scrub forests, coastal dunes, mangrove swamps, and beaches.
• Tortoise Turf: Their heavy grazing on flat grasslands ("platins") shapes a unique, dense plant ecosystem known as "tortoise turf".

• Massive Size: It ranks as the second-largest land tortoise species globally, surpassed only by the Galapagos giant tortoise.
• Weight and Shell: Adult males can weigh over 250 kilograms (550 lbs) and feature a thick, highly domed, dark Gray to black shell.
• Unique Neck Plate: Unlike other giant tortoises, their upper shell has a small visible neck plate.
• Feeding Adaptations: They possess very long necks to reach high tree branches and specialized nasal structures to drink from shallow water pools.
• Diet: While primarily herbivores feeding on grasses and fruits, they are opportunistic and occasionally consume insects or carrion.

• IUCN Status: It is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and protected under CITES Appendix II.
• Population Recovery: Once driven near extinction by human poaching in the 20th century, strict protection has allowed their population to bounce back to over 100,000.
• Climate Vulnerability: Rising sea levels due to climate change pose an existential threat, as the highest point of their home atoll sits only 50 feet above sea level.

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