3 March 2025

• Agriculture: India's 10,000th Farmer Producer Organisation was formally launched in Khagaria district, Bihar.
• Health: PM Modi's nationwide anti-obesity campaign continued, with NFHS-5 data on overweight prevalence re-entering the policy conversation.
• Society: A 2011 Census study revealed that only 26.02 per cent of Indians are bilingual.
• Heritage: The Dramatic Performances Act, 1876, repealed by the colonial-era legal clean-up initiative, was revisited in its historical context.
• Space: Blue Ghost's scientific payloads began transmitting from Mare Crisium.

GS area: Economy (Agriculture), Government Schemes

The government formally achieved the target of forming 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations under its Central Sector Scheme, with the 10,000th FPO launched in Khagaria district, Bihar.

• Scheme launch: 2020. Budget: 6,865 crore rupees over five years.
• 10,000th FPO focus: Maize, banana and paddy in Khagaria, one of Bihar's agriculturally productive but economically marginalised districts.
• Women's participation: 40 per cent of members across all FPOs are women.
• Support structure: Each FPO receives a credit guarantee of up to 2 crore rupees and management support of 18 lakh rupees.
• Structure: FPOs are companies or cooperatives owned by farmer members, allowing them to aggregate produce, bargain collectively and access formal credit.

The design logic: small and marginal farmers (less than 2 hectares) hold 86 per cent of operational holdings in India but produce with high transaction costs and weak market access. FPOs address both by pooling.

Static linkage: Agriculture, rural economy, cooperative movement.

GS area: Society, Health

The PM's 10 per cent edible oil consumption reduction target placed national obesity data back in focus.

• NFHS-5 (2019-21): 24 per cent of women and 23 per cent of men aged 15 to 49 are overweight or obese.
• Global comparison: WHO data shows childhood obesity quadrupled globally from 2 per cent to 8 per cent between 1990 and 2022.
• Programmes active:
  • National Programme for Prevention and Control of NCDs (NP-NCD).
  • Fit India Movement (launched August 2019).
  • POSHAN Abhiyaan (primarily addresses undernutrition, not overweight).
  • "Aaj Se Thoda Kam" campaign: Reduce oil, salt and sugar.
• BMI thresholds for India: The Indian Council of Medical Research recommends lower BMI cut-offs for obesity in South Asians because metabolic risk appears at lower body weights.

The double burden pattern: India simultaneously carries stunting and wasting in children alongside rising adult obesity, particularly in urban areas.

Static linkage: Social issues, health policy, nutrition.

GS area: Society, Polity (Language Policy)

A study of 2011 Census data revealed the limits of India's three-language formula.

• Bilingualism rate: Only 26.02 per cent of Indians report speaking two languages.
• Trilingualism rate: 7.1 per cent.
• State leader: Goa at 77.21 per cent bilingual and 50.82 per cent trilingual, reflecting its Portuguese and Konkani heritage.
• Hindi belt: Hindi-speaking states show the lowest bilingualism. Rajasthan: 10.9 per cent. Uttar Pradesh: 11.45 per cent. Bihar: 12.82 per cent.
• Most common bilingual pair: Marathi-Hindi (3.47 crore speakers).
• Hindi as mother tongue: 43.63 per cent of Indians report Hindi as their mother tongue.

Constitutional provisions: Articles 343 to 351 deal with official language policy. Article 350A directs states to provide primary education in the mother tongue. The three-language formula is a policy direction from the National Education Policy, not a constitutional mandate.

Static linkage: Indian society, language policy, constitutional provisions.

GS area: History (Ancient India), Art and Culture

The anniversary of Dholavira's UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription (2021) renewed coverage of its unique hydraulic engineering.

• Location: Khadir Bet island, Great Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.
• Excavation: Discovered in 1967 by Jagat Pati Joshi. Systematically excavated 1990 to 2005.
• Layout: Three distinct sections: Citadel (upper town), Middle Town and Lower Town. Unique among Indus Valley sites for its tripartite structure.
• Water management: 16 reservoirs and a complex system of channels. Earned the nickname "Jal Durga" (water fortress).
• Burial structures: Hemispherical burial tumuli are distinctive compared to other Indus sites.
• Script: A Dholavira signboard bearing 10 large signs is one of the longest Indus inscriptions found.

Dholavira represents the Harappan phase of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Its water management sophistication is contrasted with Mohenjo-daro's drainage emphasis in UPSC questions.

Static linkage: Indian history (Indus Valley Civilisation), Indian heritage.

GS area: Society, Government Schemes

The Swavalambini Scheme for women entrepreneurship was expanded nationwide from its initial rollout in eastern Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs).

• Implementing bodies: National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) and NITI Aayog.
• Ministry: Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
• Structure:
  • Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme (EAP): 2-day workshops.
  • Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP): 40-hour training.
  • Mentorship: Six-month post-training support.
• Target: 10 per cent of trained participants to establish enterprises.
• Alignment: The scheme targets women who lack family or institutional support networks for starting a business.

NIESBUD is a premier national institute under the Ministry of Skill Development that trains trainers and implements entrepreneurship development programmes across India.

Static linkage: Women empowerment, skill development policy.

GS area: History (Modern India), Polity

The colonial-era Dramatic Performances Act, 1876, repealed under ease-of-doing-business reforms in 2017, was revisited in coverage of press freedom history.

• Enacted: 1876 by the Bengal Lieutenant-Governor in response to nationalist plays critical of the British.
• Powers: Allowed the colonial government to ban any "seditious, obscene, defamatory or scandalous" public performance.
• Punishment: Up to 3 months imprisonment or fines.
• Constitutional challenge: Declared unconstitutional by the Allahabad High Court in 1956 on free speech grounds.
• Formal repeal: 2017 under the "ease of doing business" initiative that cleared 1,200 obsolete colonial laws.
• Constitutional basis: Article 19(1)(a) guarantees freedom of speech and expression. Reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2) do not permit prior restraint of the kind the Act allowed.

The Act targeted plays like Nil Darpan (about indigo planters' exploitation of farmers) and Surendra-Binodini, both nationalist in character.

Static linkage: Modern Indian history (colonial legislation), constitutional law (free speech).

GS area: International Relations, Environment (Energy)

The World Bank and African Development Bank launched Mission 300, targeting electricity access for 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.

• Partners: World Bank, African Development Bank, Rockefeller Foundation, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL), Global Energy Access Partnership (GEAPP) and ESMAP.
• Three approaches: Grid extension, mini-grids and off-grid solar solutions.
• Women's role: The programme embeds women-led enterprises into delivery networks.
• Context: Sub-Saharan Africa has the world's largest energy access deficit. About 600 million people lack electricity.
• India's relevance: India's own Saubhagya scheme achieved near-universal household electrification and is cited as a model for Mission 300.

The Saubhagya scheme provided free electricity connections to rural households and was completed in 2019, electrifying over 2.8 crore households.

Static linkage: International relations, energy access, India's development diplomacy.

GS area: Environment (Biodiversity)

Two new jumping spider species of the genus Epidelaxia were discovered from Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary in Kollam, Kerala.

• Genus Epidelaxia: Part of the family Salticidae (jumping spiders), known for acute binocular vision.
• Sanctuary: Part of the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve. Hosts 1,257 flowering species, 309 endemic to the Western Ghats.
• India's spider diversity: India has over 1,600 recorded spider species. The Western Ghats is a primary discovery zone.
• Significance: Species discovery from a protected area confirms effective habitat conservation.

New species are discovered through formal taxonomic surveys. The process involves morphological analysis and, increasingly, DNA barcoding for confirmation.

Static linkage: Environment and ecology (Western Ghats, biodiversity), conservation policy.

• One Day as a Scientist: The Ministry of Ayush launched the initiative providing students laboratory exposure at Ayush research institutions.
• EU-India TTC: Follow-up discussions on 6G and quantum computing cooperation continued.