1. RAKSHA: India’s Defence Diplomacy Roadmap
Syllabus Mapping: GS2: India & Foreign Relations | Defence Diplomacy | Strategic Partnerships | Indian Ocean Region |
- RAKSHA was released by Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh on 3 September 2026 in New Delhi as India’s 10-year strategic roadmap for defence diplomacy, providing a long-term framework for global defence partnerships.
- The document represents a shift from largely transactional defence engagement towards proactive, long-term and partnership-oriented defence diplomacy, linking India’s national security objectives with international cooperation.
- Strategic Partnerships constitute a key pillar, with emphasis on deepening bilateral and multilateral security cooperation, thereby strengthening strategic trust and interoperability with friendly countries.
- Capacity Building involves joint military exercises, training programmes and sharing of best practices, enabling India to contribute to the institutional and operational capabilities of partner countries.
- Indigenous Defence Exports seek to leverage Make in India/Aatmanirbhar Bharat to establish India as a reliable defence-manufacturing and technology partner, thereby linking defence diplomacy with defence industrialisation and strategic autonomy.
- Maritime Security is a major focus, with India seeking to strengthen its role as a Net Security Provider and First Responder in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) through cooperation with regional partners.
- The Net Security Provider concept reflects India’s willingness and capacity to contribute to regional security through HADR, maritime surveillance, capacity building, training and defence cooperation, particularly in the IOR.
- RAKSHA places defence diplomacy within India’s broader foreign-policy objective of promoting peace, stability and a rules-based international order, while responding to an increasingly complex global security environment.
2. BIO-NIVESH: Biotechnology–Investment Platform
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Biotechnology | Bioeconomy | Innovation & Start-ups | Government–Private Sector Partnership
- BIO-NIVESH was launched by Jitendra Singh on 3 September 2026 to strengthen the interface between biotechnology innovators, investors, industry and Government, with a focus on mobilising private capital and scaling innovations.
- It aims to bridge the innovation-to-investment and laboratory-to-market gap, enabling promising biotechnology technologies to move towards commercialisation, scale-up and global markets.
- The platform brings together start-ups and investors beyond conventional pitching by enabling investors to assess the technology, IP, development pathway, market potential and regulatory readiness of biotechnology innovations.
- BIO-NIVESH recognises the distinctive financing challenges of biotechnology, including long development cycles, high capital requirements and complex regulatory pathways, making patient private capital important for technology translation and scale-up.
- The initiative follows a “whole of Government + whole of nation” approach, requiring coordination among DBT, BIRAC, industry, investors, research institutions and start-ups.
- The RDI Fund (₹1 lakh crore) provides a major financing framework for technology development, with BIRAC designated as a Second-Level Fund Manager for biotechnology and allied sectors, particularly supporting technology translation, scale-up and innovation-led manufacturing.
- A proposed “Big Five in Five Years” approach seeks to nurture a few large anchor biotechnology companies, creating an ecosystem in which other start-ups can scale alongside them.
3. Green Shipping Corridors & Green Fuel Bunkering
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Environment | Maritime Transport | Decarbonisation | Green Hydrogen & Alternative Fuels |
- MoPSW is accelerating green shipping corridors and alternative-fuel-ready ports to align India’s maritime sector with the transition towards low- and zero-emission shipping.
- Green shipping corridors are maritime routes designed to facilitate the use of low- and zero-emission fuels and technologies, requiring compatible infrastructure at ports and across the shipping ecosystem.
- Bunkering refers to the refuelling of ships; therefore, Green Fuel Bunkering Hubs are port facilities designed to enable the storage, handling and supply of alternative/green marine fuels to vessels.
- Deendayal, Paradip and V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authorities are developing Green Fuel Bunkering Hubs, strengthening India’s preparedness for future green marine fuels.
- Kamarajar Port has equipped its coal terminals with shore power, allowing berthed vessels to use land-based electricity instead of onboard engines, thereby reducing emissions while at berth.
- The National Centre of Excellence for Green Ports and Shipping (NCoEGPS) is supporting MoPSW in maritime decarbonisation, including green ports, alternative fuels and cleaner shipping technologies.
4. Agentic AI Skilling Initiative
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Science & Technology | Artificial Intelligence | Digital Economy | Skilling & Future of Work |
- NIELIT, under MeitY, in collaboration with Intel India, launched the NIELIT–Intel India Agentic AI Skilling Initiative on 3 September 2026 to expand industry-aligned AI learning and build a future-ready workforce.
- Agentic AI represents an evolution beyond conventional predictive and generative AI, comprising systems capable of reasoning, planning and executing complex tasks, while operating under human oversight.
- The initiative aims to prepare students, educators and professionals for changing workforce requirements through practical learning, industry-relevant curricula, continuous upskilling and human–AI collaboration.
- Agentic AI for Everyone introduces AI agents, workflow automation and multi-agent systems, with hands-on learning in designing and governing AI-powered workflows using no-code platforms.
- Engineering Agentic AI Systems focuses on building and deploying scalable agentic systems, covering agent architecture, tool integration, orchestration, memory and deployment, using no-code/low-code as well as code-based frameworks.
- The initiative complements the IndiaAI Mission’s focus on developing a strong AI talent pipeline, including AI-focused education, industry-led training, AI Data Labs and Government–academia–industry partnerships.
- The collaboration combines NIELIT’s nationwide skilling reach with Intel’s technology and industry expertise, aiming to democratise access to practical Agentic AI skills across Indian institutions and learners.
5. Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP)
Syllabus Mapping: GS3: Infrastructure | Sustainable Development | Circular Economy | Waste Management | Green Technology
- CSIR-CRRI, in collaboration with Oriental Structural Engineers Pvt. Ltd. (OSEPL) and Ooms India, demonstrated 60% Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) utilisation in the Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM) layer on NH-716 (Chennai–Tirupati Package-I).
- RAP is the milled/recovered material from existing asphalt pavements containing valuable aggregates and aged bitumen, which can be processed and reused in new asphalt mixtures instead of being treated as waste.
- 60% RAP utilisation means a substantial share of the new asphalt mix is sourced from existing pavement, reducing the requirement for virgin aggregates and bitumen, construction waste and the environmental footprint of road construction.
- The technology follows a circular-economy approach, treating existing highways as a “resource bank” from which aggregates and bitumen can be recovered, rejuvenated and reused.
- REJUBIT, an indigenous RAP rejuvenator jointly developed by CSIR-CRRI and Ooms India, restores key properties of aged bitumen, enabling higher proportions of RAP to be incorporated into new asphalt mixes.
- The field demonstration covered the complete recycling chain—RAP recovery → processing & characterisation → aged-binder evaluation → rejuvenation → mix design → hot-mix plant production → laying → field compaction—under actual highway conditions.
- The demonstration marks the transition of REJUBIT and high-RAP technology from laboratory development to field-scale implementation, providing technical experience for wider adoption of recycled pavement materials.
- Wider use of RAP can promote resource efficiency, circular infrastructure and reduced dependence on non-renewable/virgin road-building materials, particularly aggregates and bitumen.
6. Gaurang Vyas & Gujarati Musical Tradition
Syllabus Mapping: GS1: Indian Culture | Indian Music | Folk & Regional Traditions | Performing Arts | Intangible Cultural Heritage
- Gaurang Vyas was a renowned Gujarati music composer whose contribution is significant in the context of Gujarati regional music; he continued the musical legacy of his father Avinash Vyas, an important figure in Gujarati music.
- Gujarati musical traditions comprise both folk and devotional forms, reflecting the region’s religious traditions, community life and literary culture; important forms include Garba, Dandiya Raas, Bhajans and Dayro.
- Garba is a major Gujarati folk-dance tradition, traditionally associated with the worship of Shakti/Amba during Navratri; the circular movement around a lamp or garbo symbolises the continuity of life and the divine feminine. UNESCO inscription: Garba of Gujarat was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023.
- Dandiya Raas is traditionally performed with decorated sticks (dandiyas) and is associated with the Raas tradition of Gujarat, while Garba is primarily characterised by rhythmic circular movement and devotional singing.
- Bhakti traditions have deeply shaped Gujarati musical culture; Narsinh Mehta, the 15th-century Gujarati saint-poet, is particularly important for his devotional compositions and the Vaishnava bhakti tradition.
- Narsinh Mehta’s ‘Vaishnava Jana To’ is among the best-known Gujarati devotional compositions and was closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram tradition; this illustrates the link between regional devotional music and India’s modern socio-political history.
- Dayro represents another important Gujarati performance tradition involving storytelling, folk songs, poetry and musical narration, demonstrating the close relationship between Gujarati literature, oral traditions and performing arts.
