1 . DRI Busts 56 kg Methamphetamine Smuggling Attempt
Syllabus Mapping: GS III: Internal Security • Organised Crime • Drug Trafficking • Border & Customs Security
- The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) foiled an attempt to illegally export 56 kg of Methamphetamine from India to Saudi Arabia, recovering the drug from an export consignment at Nava Sheva Port during an intelligence-led operation.
- The contraband was mixed with maize and concealed in one of 351 bags, presenting the consignment as an ordinary agricultural commodity. This reflects the increasingly sophisticated modus operandi of transnational narcotics networks to exploit legitimate trade channels and evade routine examination.
- The methamphetamine was seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, highlighting the role of intelligence-led customs enforcement in combating cross-border trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
- Methamphetamine is a potent synthetic psychostimulant with high potential for abuse and dependence and can cause serious physical and psychological effects, including increased heart rate and blood pressure, agitation, paranoia and psychosis.
- It acts on the central nervous system and can cause increased alertness and activity, but illicit use can lead to serious physical and psychological harms.
2 . SEED Scheme – Economic Empowerment of DNT/NT/SNT Communities
Syllabus Mapping: GS II: Welfare Schemes • Vulnerable Sections • Social Justice • Inclusive Development
- The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is implementing the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED) through the Development and Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNC).
- SEED adopts a four-dimensional approach covering education, healthcare, livelihoods and housing, aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic (DNT/NT/SNT) communities.
- Key Components:
- Education: Quality coaching for DNT candidates preparing for competitive examinations.
- Healthcare: Health insurance support for eligible DNT communities.
- Livelihoods: Support for community-level livelihood initiatives, promoting economic self-reliance.
- Housing: Financial assistance for house construction, strengthening asset ownership and living conditions.
- De-notified Tribes (DNTs): Communities earlier notified under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871; the Act was repealed in 1952, leading to their denotification.
- Nomadic communities: Traditionally characterised by mobility from one location to another, often linked to livelihood patterns.
- Semi-Nomadic communities: Follow periodic/seasonal mobility, rather than permanent settlement.
- The National Commission for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes was constituted in January 2015 and submitted its report in December 2017.
- Subsequently, the DWBDNC was constituted in February 2019 to work towards the welfare and development of these communities.
3. India’s Makhana Sector
Syllabus Mapping: GS III: Agriculture • Food Processing • Agricultural Marketing • Farmers’ Income • Exports
- Makhana (Euryale ferox) is an aquatic crop cultivated mainly in shallow ponds, lakes and wetlands. India is the world’s largest producer, with Bihar, West Bengal and Assam being the major producing states.
- Bihar accounts for nearly three-fourths of India’s production and around 80–85% of global supply, with cultivation concentrated particularly in North Bihar, including the Kosi basin districts of Supaul, Saharsa and Madhepura.
- Makhana (fox nut) received the official Geographical Indication (GI) tag on August 20, 2022, under the specific brand name Mithila Makhana.
- Makhana is increasingly shifting from a traditional regional food to a high-value, health-oriented food product, driven by rising health awareness, startups, FPOs, branding and value addition.
- The National Makhana Board, announced in the Union Budget 2025-26, was formally launched in Bihar on 15 September 2025 to strengthen the sector’s production, processing, value addition, branding and marketing.
- The Government has approved a Central Sector Scheme for Development of Makhana with an outlay of ₹476.03 crore for 2025-26 to 2030-31.
- Improved varieties such as Swarna Vaidehi and Sabour Makhana-1, along with field-system farming, are helping improve productivity and reduce cultivation risks.
- The sector remains highly labour-intensive, particularly during harvesting, where seeds are traditionally collected manually from water bodies. This makes mechanisation and improved processing technologies important for raising productivity and farmer incomes.
- The value chain is expanding from traditional popped makhana to flavoured makhana, ready-to-eat products and makhana flour, creating opportunities for value addition, rural employment and higher income realisation.
- India exported 7,264.89 MT of makhana products in 2025-26, with the USA, Canada and UAE being major markets. The concentration of exports in a few destinations also highlights the need for export diversification and access to premium markets.
4. India’s Coconut Sector
Syllabus Mapping: GS III: Agriculture • Food Processing • Agricultural Marketing • Farmers’ Income • Exports
- Coconut is a multi-purpose plantation crop, traditionally known as “Kalpavriksha” / Tree of Life, providing food, drink, fibre, timber, fuel and raw materials for value-added industries. Around 30 million people, including 10 million farmers, depend on the coconut sector in India.
- India ranks 1st globally in coconut production and 3rd in cultivation area, accounting for about 24% of global production and 17.90% of global area.
- Keralam has the largest area under coconut cultivation, while Tamil Nadu leads in production and Andhra Pradesh has the highest productivity. This distinction between area, production and productivity is important for Prelims.
- The Coconut Development Board (CDB), established in 1981 under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and headquartered at Kochi, is the key institutional body for integrated development of coconut cultivation and industry.
- India’s coconut export basket has shifted from traditional products towards value-added products such as virgin coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut water and activated carbon.
- Copra = dried kernel of coconut. Milling copra is primarily used for oil extraction, while ball copra is consumed as a dry fruit and also used for religious purposes. For 2026 season, MSP is ₹12,027/quintal for milling copra and ₹12,500/quintal for ball copra; NAFED and NCCF are the Central Nodal Agencies for procurement.
- Under the Productivity Improvement through Coconut-based Cropping System (PICCS), coconut cultivation is integrated with other crops, promoting multi-tier/multicropping systems and better utilisation of land. Assistance is provided at ₹42,000/ha, with a maximum limit of 2 hectares per beneficiary.
- Under Replanting and Rejuvenation of Coconut Gardens, old, senile, diseased and unproductive palms are replaced/rejuvenated.
- The Coconut Promotion Scheme, announced in Union Budget 2026-27, focuses on quality seedlings, expansion of cultivation, phased replanting and rejuvenation, holistic crop-health management and integrated processing units.
- Technology Mission on Coconut (TMOC) supports technology adoption for pest and disease management, processing and product diversification, while the Kera Suraksha Insurance Scheme provides accident insurance to coconut tree climbers, Neera technicians, hybridisation workers and other coconut labourers.
- Neera is the unfermented, zero-alcohol sap obtained from coconut palm inflorescences.
- The CDB’s Friends of Coconut Tree (FoCT) programme trains youth in mechanical palm climbing, plant protection and entrepreneurship, while newer initiatives such as Cocomitra organise trained climbers into service-oriented groups.
5. White Revolution 2.0
Syllabus Mapping: GS III: Agriculture • Animal Husbandry • Dairy Sector • Cooperatives • Rural Economy • Farmers’ Income
- White Revolution 2.0 was launched on 19 September 2024 by the Ministry of Cooperation in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying to expand dairy cooperatives in uncovered Panchayats and strengthen the cooperative model.
- The initiative aims to create 75,000 new Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCSs) over five years and increase milk procurement by dairy cooperatives by 50%, while improving market access, employment and women’s participation.
- India has been the world’s largest milk producer since 1998 and currently contributes around 25% of global milk production, making dairy a major component of India’s rural economy and nutritional security.
- Milk productivity of cattle and buffaloes increased by 63%, from 1,648.17 kg/animal/year in 2013-14 to 2,251 kg in 2024-25, supported by interventions such as the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), including sex-sorted semen and IVF technology.
- Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) focuses on conservation and genetic upgradation of indigenous bovine breeds and improving milk production and productivity.
- National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) strengthens milk testing, chilling, processing and marketing infrastructure and expands farmers’ access to organised dairy markets. Digital milk collection and payment systems also improve transparency and timely payments.
- Dairy cooperatives provide farmers with regular income and assured market access while linking producers with organised domestic and international value chains. Around 7 crore farmers are members of dairy cooperative societies, with nearly 38% being women.
- Per capita milk availability in India is around 485 grams/day, exceeding the ICMR recommended 300 ml/day, highlighting the importance of the dairy sector for nutritional security.
- Other important government interventions include AHIDF for livestock-processing infrastructure, National Livestock Mission (NLM) for entrepreneurship and breed improvement, and Livestock Health & Disease Control Programme (LHDCP) for vaccination, disease surveillance and veterinary services.
