1 . Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY)
Syllabus Mapping: GS-3: Agriculture | Agricultural Productivity | Crop Diversification | Agricultural Credit | Post-Harvest Infrastructure |
- The Union Cabinet approved PMDDKY on 16 July 2025, and the Prime Minister launched it on 11 October 2025; the six-year scheme began in FY 2025–26 and targets 100 Aspirational Agricultural Districts.
- The districts were identified using three key indicators—low agricultural productivity, low cropping intensity and low agricultural credit disbursement—while also considering each State/UT’s share of net cropped area and operational holdings; every State has at least one selected district.
- The scheme converges 36 Central schemes across 11 Ministries and Departments, along with State schemes and private-sector participation, to address district-specific agricultural requirements.
- The six objectives are enhancing agricultural productivity, promoting crop diversification and sustainable practices, augmenting post-harvest storage, improving irrigation infrastructure, expanding short- and long-term agricultural credit, and improving governance and service delivery.
- Implementation follows a three-tier structure: the District Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana Samiti, headed by the District Collector/DM, prepares District Action Plans; the State-level committee, headed by the Chief Secretary, reviews them; and national-level oversight is provided by the National Executive Committee and National Monitoring Committee.
- District Action Plans (DAPs) use baseline and diagnostic analysis to identify local needs, set outcome-based targets and annual milestones, and converge relevant schemes; all 100 districts have prepared DAPs, which are under implementation.
- Progress is monitored through 121 indicators across 36 schemes—74 output indicators and 47 outcome indicators—with monthly rankings of district performance on output indicators through the PM-DDKY dashboard, operational since October 2025.
- The average score of the 100 districts across six objectives rose from 18.85 in April 2026 to 46.89 in August 2026, an improvement of 28.04 points; governance and service delivery recorded the highest objective-wise average score in August at 12.05.
- The PM-DDKY FPO Sangam, held in December 2025, brought together over 72 FPOs from 15 States and 33 scheme districts to exchange experiences on productivity, market access, income enhancement, natural farming, oilseeds, beekeeping, micro-irrigation, institutional finance and digital agriculture.
- District-level examples demonstrate the scheme’s focus on value addition and productivity: an FPO in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, operates a rice-processing unit with 3-tonne-per-hour capacity and a 900-MT warehouse; an FPO in Tumakuru, Karnataka, supplies ball copra to a French multinational; and an FPO in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, uses solar-powered sprinkler irrigation across 500 acres.
- Net cropped area refers to land sown at least once during an agricultural year, whereas gross cropped area counts the same land repeatedly when multiple crops are grown; operational holdings refer to land operated by an agricultural operational holder.
2. Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses
Syllabus Mapping: GS-3: Cropping Patterns | Food Security | MSP and Procurement | Agricultural Productivity |
- Launched on 11 October 2025, the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses has a financial allocation of ₹11,440 crore for 2025–26 to 2030–31, targeting domestic self-sufficiency and reduced import dependence.
- By 2030–31, the Mission targets pulse production of 350 lakh tonnes, productivity of 1,130 kg/ha and expansion of cultivation by 35 lakh hectares to 310 lakh hectares. It prioritises Tur (Arhar), Urad and Masoor.
- Key interventions include distribution of 87.5 lakh seed kits, supply of 126 lakh quintals of certified seeds, cluster-based cultivation across 489 districts and establishment of 1,000 pulse-processing units.
- The Mission provides for assured procurement of Tur, Urad and Masoor through NCCF and NAFED from willing, registered farmers.
- Pulses belong to the legume family (Fabaceae) and include crops such as chickpea, pigeon pea, lentil, mung bean and urad.
- Rice-fallow cultivation involves growing a subsequent crop on land left uncultivated after rice harvest. Suitable short-duration pulses can help utilise residual soil moisture, diversify production and improve land-use efficiency where local conditions permit.
- Digital monitoring is a key implementation feature: Krishi Mapper supports geo-tagging and tracking of demonstrations, SATHI tracks the seed supply chain from production to sale, while AgriStack and Digital Crop Survey support farmer identification and verified crop data.
- The Government of India announces the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for five pulses—Tur (Arhar), Moong, Urad, Gram (Chana) and Masur (Lentil)—as part of its price-support policy for farmers.
3. Next-Generation GST Process Reforms
Syllabus Mapping: GS-3: Indian Economy | GST and Taxation | Ease of Doing Business | Formalisation | Digital Governance
- The 57th GST Council meeting in October 2026 recommended reforms to simplify registration, returns, refunds, dispute resolution and enforcement, building on the revised GST rate structure recommended by the 56th Council.
- The proposed reforms seek to make GST administration more predictable through automation, reduced manual intervention, risk-based verification and clearer compliance procedures. The taxpayer base grew from around 60 lakh in 2017 to approximately 1.70 crore in September 2026.
- Registration reforms include simpler application forms, clearer documentation and automatic acceptance of specified amendments. Proposed cancellation reforms link automatic cancellation to filing pending returns and payment of dues, with phased implementation and specified conditions.
- Return reforms seek to reconcile outward-supply declarations in GSTR-1/GSTR-1A/IFF with tax liability in GSTR-3B and eligible ITC reflected in GSTR-2B. The Invoice Management System allows recipients to accept, reject or keep documents pending for ITC reporting.
- Refund reforms propose automated processing of excess cash-ledger balances, reducing the acknowledgement period from 15 to 10 days, and risk-based sanctioning of eligible refunds. The proposals also expand refund eligibility for specified accumulated ITC on input services and capital goods.
- Dispute-resolution reforms include streamlined demand and adjudication procedures, revised penalty provisions, a proposed ₹10,000 threshold for show-cause notices and reduced penalties where tax and interest are paid within specified periods.
- Proposed taxpayer safeguards include an opportunity to object and receive a personal hearing before a decision on blocked ITC under Rule 86A, alongside late-fee relief for eligible small taxpayers under specified conditions.
- Enforcement reforms propose raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore and restricting interception of goods in transit to specified circumstances involving intelligence and authorisation, subject to exceptions for missing transit documents.
- GST is a destination-based indirect tax: tax revenue generally accrues to the jurisdiction where goods or services are consumed. The framework comprises CGST, SGST/UTGST and IGST, supporting taxation across intra-State and inter-State supplies.
- Input Tax Credit (ITC) reduces the cascading effect of taxation by allowing eligible businesses to offset tax paid on inputs against tax liability on outputs. Invoice reconciliation helps prevent duplicate, unsupported or incorrectly claimed credits.
4. Exercise KONKAN-26
Syllabus Mapping: GS-2: India–UK Relations | Bilateral Strategic Partnership | GS-3: Defence Cooperation | Maritime Security |
- Indian Navy’s guided-missile stealth frigate INS Trishul arrived at Plymouth, United Kingdom, to participate in the annual bilateral maritime exercise KONKAN-26, being conducted from 8–15 October 2026.
- The exercise is conducted in two phases: the Harbour Phase involves professional interactions, cross-deck visits and cultural engagements, while the Sea Phase focuses on operational drills across air, surface and sub-surface domains.
- The sea phase includes cross-deck helicopter landings, firing serials, air-defence exercises, complex seamanship evolutions and anti-submarine warfare exercises to improve interoperability between the two navies.
- KONKAN has evolved over more than two decades into an important component of India–UK maritime cooperation, facilitating the exchange of operational practices and strengthening mutual understanding in maritime operations.
- The exercise reinforces the shared commitment to secure, open and free seas and supports the India–UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership under Vision 2035.
5. Exercise INDRA-2026
Syllabus Mapping: GS-2: India–Russia Relations | Strategic Partnership | GS-3: Defence Cooperation | Maritime Security |
- INS Sahyadri arrived at Vladivostok, Russia, on 10 October 2026 to participate in Exercise INDRA-2026, a bilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the Russian Federation Navy scheduled for 13–18 October 2026.
- The exercise comprises a Harbour Phase followed by a Sea Phase, involving professional interactions and coordinated maritime operations to improve mutual understanding, operational coordination and interoperability.
- The deployment aligns with India’s MAHASAGAR vision — Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions — and builds on the longstanding India–Russia defence and maritime partnership.
- The exercise also carries forward the momentum of the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit, held on 4–5 December 2025. Social and cultural engagements complement operational activities by strengthening personnel-level interaction and professional camaraderie.
