1 . BHARATI Programme
Syllabus Mapping: GS-3: Agricultural Marketing & Exports
- BHARATI = Bharat’s Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement and Incubation for Export Innovation.
- Launched by APEDA under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
- Objective: Promote innovation-led growth in India’s agri-food exports and achieve USD 50 billion APEDA exports by 2030.
- First cohort: 100 startups selected from 700+ applications across 22 States & 2 UTs.
- Export-focused 120-hour acceleration programme covering export readiness, SPS compliance, branding, packaging, market access and investor readiness.
- Top 8 startups showcased at Gulfood 2026, Dubai.
- Focus areas:
- Agri-food products
- Export technologies
- SPS & Traceability solutions (SPS Measures = Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures WTO SPS Agreement).
- Quality Assurance & Compliance
Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC)
Syllabus Mapping: GS-2: Health
- Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) is an Autonomous Institution under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
- Headquarters: Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
- Responsible for publishing the Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) — the official book of drug standards in India.
- Ensures quality, safety and efficacy of medicines through pharmacopoeial standards.
- IP–2022 (Amendment List-09) mandates testing of Ethylene Glycol (EG) and Diethylene Glycol (DEG) in all oral liquid formulations (effective 10 October 2025).
- Ethylene Glycol (EG) and Diethylene Glycol (DEG) are highly toxic and not permitted in pharmaceutical formulations.
- Common sources of contamination: Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Sorbitol, Polyethylene Glycol (PEG).
- Health effects: Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), Central Nervous System (CNS) depression, Death
- Gas Chromatography (GC) is used for detection and quantification of EG & DEG.
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Urban River Management Plan
Syllabus Mapping: GS-3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution
- Prepared by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in collaboration with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
- Supported under the Namami Gange Programme.
- Objective is to integrate river health with urban planning through a river-centric approach.
- Long-term vision: Cover 97 cities along the main stem of the Ganga.
- 13 URMPs completed; 27 cities under Phase-I and 33 cities under Phase-II.
- Three Pillars of URMP: Environmental + Economic + Social
- Nature-Based Solutions Used: constructed wetlands, riparian buffers, bioswales, sponge, landscapes/parks, floodplain restoration, groundwater recharge, phytoremediation, decentralised wastewater treatment
- Important Terms
- Riparian Buffer: Vegetated area along riverbanks that filters pollutants and controls erosion.
- Bioswale: Vegetated drainage channel for stormwater filtration.
- Constructed Wetland: Artificial wetland used for wastewater treatment.
- Phytoremediation: Use of plants to remove pollutants from soil or water.
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Youth Co:Lab National Innovation Challenge 2026
Syllabus Mapping: GS-3: Science & Technology – Innovation & Startups
- Youth Co: Lab is the largest youth-led social entrepreneurship movement in the Asia-Pacific region, co-created in 2017 by UNDP and the Citi Foundation.
- Objective is to promote youth entrepreneurship, social innovation and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Implemented in India in partnership with: Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and T-Hub Foundation
- 8th edition (2026) focused on: sustainable textiles & fashion, circular economy, sustainable food systems & water conservation
- Top 50 startups selected for the National Springboard Programme.
- Top 20 startups advanced to the Regional Immersion Bootcamp at T-Hub, Hyderabad.
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Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Advanced Communication Technologies
Syllabus Mapping: GS-3: Science & Technology – ICT, Communication Technologies
- C-DOT signed an MoU with IIT Hyderabad to establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE).
- C-DOT is a premier telecom R&D organisation under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications that develops indigenous communication technologies , including 4G/5G, optical networks, cyber security, quantam communication and disaster communication systems.
- Hyderabad is the 4th CoE established by C-DOT after: IIT Kanpur, IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Roorkee.
- Important Technologies
- RAN (Radio Access Network) is the part of a mobile network that connects your mobile phone to the telecom company’s core network.
- O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network) is an open-standard architecture that allows telecom operators to build 5G networks using interoperable equipment and software from multiple vendors, reducing costs, increasing competition, and promoting indigenous telecom innovation.
- QKD (Quantum Key Distribution) is a method of securely sharing an encryption key using quantum particles (photons). If anyone tries to intercept the key during transmission, the quantum state changes immediately and both sender and receiver know that someone has eavesdropped. QKD secures key exchange, not the message itself.
- PQC (Post-Quantum Cryptography) uses new mathematical encryption algorithms that are designed to remain secure even against quantum computers.
- It does not require quantum hardware. It runs on today’s computers, mobile devices and internet. PQC relies on complex mathematical problems—like lattice-based cryptography—that quantum machines cannot easily solve.
