11 October 2025

• Agriculture: PM launched the Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY) with a Rs 1.44 lakh crore outlay over six years targeting 100 underperforming districts.
• Nobel Peace Prize: María Corina Machado of Venezuela wins for non-violent democratic resistance.
• Banking: Microfinance loan defaults rose sharply. PAR 30+ (loans overdue more than 30 days) increased from 2.1 per cent in FY24 to 6.2 per cent in FY25.
• Energy: Three Indian ports, Deendayal (Gujarat), V.O. Chidambaranar (Tamil Nadu) and Paradip (Odisha), were recognised as Green Hydrogen Hubs.
• Polity: The PM announced a Demographic Mission and proposed a National Institute for Demographic Research and Policy (NIDRP).

GS area: Agriculture, Governance

The PM launched the Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY).

• Outlay: Rs 1.44 lakh crore over six years (approximately Rs 24,000 crore annually), from 2025-31.
• Target: 100 underperforming agricultural districts identified by NITI Aayog as lagging on productivity, infrastructure and farmer welfare indicators.
• Productivity target: 20 to 30 per cent increase in agricultural productivity in targeted districts.
• Post-harvest loss target: reduce to below 5 per cent.
• Income target: double farm income in targeted districts by 2030.
• Administrative design: merges 36 existing agricultural schemes into a single digital framework. A unified dashboard tracks 117 Key Performance Indicators.
• Women inclusion: 10,000 Women Producer Groups and 5 lakh women farmers to be specifically targeted.
• Kisan Credit Cards: loan range Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh under the scheme's credit component.
• International exposure: 500 farmers from targeted districts to receive training in Israel, Japan and the Netherlands.

Static linkage: Agricultural policy, farm income, government schemes.

GS area: International Relations (Nobel Prizes, Venezuela)

The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to María Corina Machado of Venezuela, described by the Norwegian Committee as the "Iron Lady of Venezuela."

• Background: Machado is the most prominent opposition leader in Venezuela. She founded Súmate in 2002, a citizen-led organisation that monitored Venezuelan elections and found systematic fraud.
• Atenea Foundation: she founded this organisation in 1992 to provide street children with education.
• Recognition: for non-violent democratic resistance against the Maduro government, especially her role in mobilising opposition during the disputed 2024 presidential elections.
• Nobel Peace Prize basics: established in Alfred Nobel's will in 1895. The Peace Prize is uniquely decided in Oslo by a committee appointed by the Norwegian Parliament, unlike the other four prizes decided in Stockholm.
• Announcement date: the Nobel Peace Prize is announced on the second Friday of October each year.
• Prize amount: SEK 11 million.

Static linkage: Nobel Peace Prize, democratic institutions, Venezuela.

GS area: Economy (Banking, Financial Inclusion)

The Sa-Dhan report for 2025 documented rising defaults in the microfinance sector.

• PAR 30+: portfolio at risk for loans overdue more than 30 days. Rose from 2.1 per cent in FY24 to 6.2 per cent in FY25, nearly tripling.
• Severe NPAs (PAR 90+): rose from 1.6 per cent to 4.8 per cent.
• Bihar: Rs 57,712 crore in outstanding microfinance loans. Delay rates among the highest: 7.2 per cent overdue more than 30 days.
• Rural loans: Rs 2.3 lakh crore total; 6.4 per cent overdue more than 30 days.
• Sa-Dhan: the self-regulatory organisation for microfinance institutions in India.
• Causes of stress: multiple lending by borrowers across MFIs (since 2022, many borrowers took loans from three or more lenders simultaneously after COVID disruption); rising costs of living; slow income recovery in rural areas.
• Historical context: a similar MFI crisis in Andhra Pradesh in 2010 led to the Andhra Pradesh Microfinance Institutions (Regulation of Money Lending) Act and triggered a national regulatory overhaul via the RBI.

Static linkage: Financial inclusion, microfinance, RBI regulation.

GS area: Environment (Energy), Infrastructure

Three major ports were recognised as Green Hydrogen Hubs under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM).

• Ports designated:
  • Deendayal Port Authority, Kandla, Gujarat (western coast hub).
  • V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority, Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu (southern hub).
  • Paradip Port Authority, Odisha (eastern hub).
• Ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, supported by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
• NGHM launch: January 2023. Total outlay: Rs 19,744 crore.
• Hydrogen Valley Innovation Clusters (HVIC): the scheme under which port-based green hydrogen clusters are being developed.
• Target sectors: green ammonia for fertilisers, green methanol for shipping fuel and hydrogen for hard-to-abate industries such as steel and cement.
• Green hydrogen production target: 5 million metric tonnes per year by 2030.

Static linkage: Green energy, ports infrastructure, National Green Hydrogen Mission.

GS area: Governance (Population Policy, Science)

The PM announced a Demographic Mission from the Red Fort in his Independence Day 2025 address. This was widely analysed in October as details emerged.

• Proposed institution: National Institute for Demographic Research and Policy (NIDRP).
• Focus areas: education, health, skill-building, managing an ageing population, facilitating internal migration and countering illegal infiltration.
• Context: India overtook China as the world's most populous nation in 2023. However, total fertility rate at 2.0 is below replacement level. Southern states have fertility rates as low as 1.3.
• Science item: the Raman Research Institute (RRI) in Bengaluru demonstrated "Certified Randomness" on IBM's cloud quantum computer. The technique uses a single qubit and tests the Leggett-Garg Inequality to generate genuinely random numbers verifiable by a third party without accessing the quantum device. Applications include cryptographic keys and secure communications.

Static linkage: Population dynamics, demography, quantum computing (RRI).

GS area: Energy, Environment

The Sawalkote Hydro Project received fresh environmental clearance in October 2025.

• Location: Chenab River, Ramban district, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Developer: NHPC Ltd (National Hydroelectric Power Corporation).
• Type: run-of-the-river; first proposed 1984; environmental clearance first granted 2017 (JKPDC); transferred to NHPC 2021.
• Capacity: Stage I: 1,406 MW; Stage II: 450 MW; Total: 1,856 MW.
• Dam height: 192.5 metres (concrete gravity dam).
• Reservoir capacity: 530 million cubic metres.
• Annual energy generation: approximately 8,000 million units.
• Cost: Rs 31,380 crore.
• Significance: the fresh clearance follows India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty in April 2025, removing a key bilateral constraint on hydropower development on the Chenab.

Static linkage: Indus Waters Treaty, hydropower, Jammu and Kashmir development.

• India-UK Connectivity and Innovation Centre (CIC): $35 million investment over four years. Equal India-UK contribution. Focus: AI in telecom, non-terrestrial networks (satellite-terrestrial integration), telecom cybersecurity and joint testbeds. Part of the UK-India Technology Security Initiative.
• SPARK-4.0 (CCRAS): fourth edition of the Ayurvedic research fellowship for BAMS students. 300 students; Rs 50,000 stipend (Rs 25,000/month for two months). Faculty-guided independent research in government colleges recognised by NCISM.
• Bharat Taxi platform: India's first cooperative-driven national ride-hailing platform. Led by the National e-Governance Division (NeGD). Launch planned for December 2025. Partners include NCDC, IFFCO, AMUL and NABARD.