1 . PARIVARTAN Scheme
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Environment | Air Pollution | Sustainable Transport
- MoHUA has approved the Operational Guidelines for the PARIVARTAN Scheme to facilitate the replacement of old, highly polluting trucks and buses in the National Capital Region (NCR) with BS-VI compliant or Electric Vehicles (EVs).
- The Scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet on 3 June 2026 and is now ready for implementation.
- PARIVARTAN: Programme for Accelerated Renewal and Incentivization of Vehicle Assets for Reducing Transport Air Pollution and Network Emissions.
- Accelerate replacement of ageing commercial vehicles to improve Air Quality Index (AQI) and promote cleaner mobility in Delhi-NCR.
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH).
- Funding Agency: National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).
- Administrative Ministry of NCRPB: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
2. White Rabbit Technology
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Science & Technology | Digital Infrastructure | Standards & Metrology
- Union Minister Pralhad Joshi inaugurated the White Rabbit Technology-based Indian Standard Time (IST) Distribution Demonstration Network at the Regional Reference Standards Laboratory (RRSL), Jakkur, Bengaluru under the ‘One Nation, One Time’
- White Rabbit (WR) is a high-precision time synchronisation technology that distributes an accurate time reference over optical fibre networks.
- It enables sub-nanosecond (less than one billionth of a second) accuracy in clock synchronisation.
- Developed as an extension of the IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) combined with Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) for ultra-precise timing.
- The technology forms the backbone of the Indian Standard Time (IST) Distribution Demonstration Network under One Nation, One Time.
- Objective: Establish a uniform, highly precise and secure time standard across India.
- It reduces India’s dependence on foreign time sources such as GPS, thereby strengthening digital sovereignty and resilience against cyber threats.
3. C-Phycocyanin Production Technology
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Science & Technology | Biotechnology | Bioeconomy
- Technology Development Board (TDB) under DST has extended financial assistance to M/s K.N. Biosciences Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad for commercialization of indigenous C-Phycocyanin Production Technology from Spirulina.
- The technology has been developed by IIT Guwahati and transferred to the company through a Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreement
- C-Phycocyanin (C-PC) is a natural blue pigment (phycobiliprotein) extracted from Spirulina (cyanobacteria/blue-green algae).
- It is a water-soluble pigment and widely used as a natural food colourant.
- Spirulina is considered a Single Cell Protein (SCP) due to 60–70% protein content.
- Unlike chlorophyll, phycobiliproteins efficiently absorb green-orange wavelengths, enhancing photosynthesis.
- Production involves:
- Photoautotrophic cultivation of Spirulina under optimized light & nutrient conditions.
- Green, solvent-free extraction.
- Single-step purification to obtain food-grade & analytical-grade C-Phycocyanin.
- Final product is a stable, water-soluble blue powder, benchmarked against international standards.
- The technology minimizes chemical usage, reduces processing complexity and promotes environment-friendly biomanufacturing.
4. India’s First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Train
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Science & Technology | Green Energy | Sustainable Transport
- Recently, the Prime Minister flagged off India’s first indigenously developed Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trainset on the Jind–Sonipat section (Northern Railway). It marks a significant milestone in India’s transition towards clean, low-carbon rail transportation and supports the vision of the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
- It is India’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell-powered trainset developed indigenously by Indian Railways.
- The train operates on the Jind–Sonipat section under Northern Railway.
- A 10-coach hydrogen fuel-cell trainset comprising two hydrogen-powered driving cars and eight passenger/trailer coaches.
- Hydrogen Fuel Cells generate electricity through an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen; the only by-product is water vapour.
- The train is equipped with Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries for energy storage and operational support.
- A dedicated Hydrogen Production, Storage and Refuelling Facility has been established at Jind.
- Green Hydrogen is produced through the electrolysis of water using renewable energy, resulting in near-zero carbon emissions.
- The National Green Hydrogen Mission (2023) is implemented by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) to make India a global hub for the production, utilisation and export of Green Hydrogen.
5. PAIMANA Performance Dashboard
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Infrastructure | Governance | Data-driven Governance | Digital Public Infrastructure
- Recently, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the quarterly update of the PAIMANA Performance Dashboard, expanding infrastructure performance monitoring to 165 indicators across key infrastructure sectors. The dashboard strengthens evidence-based policymaking through timely dissemination of official infrastructure statistics.
- PAIMANA stands for Project Assessment, Infrastructure Monitoring & Analytics for Nation-building.
- It is a web-based platform developed by MoSPI for monitoring infrastructure projects and sectoral performance.
- It monitors 6 key infrastructure sub-sectors:
- Civil Aviation
- Roads
- Power
- Ports, Shipping & Waterways
- Telecommunications
- Railways
- PAIMANA follows the principle of “One Data, One Entry” by integrating with DPIIT’s Integrated Project Monitoring Portal (IPMP/IIG-PMG) through APIs, reducing duplicate data entry.
