India Current Affairs [Nation & States] MCQs

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Karnataka launched KATALYST, an Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) cell, to support Global Capability Centers (GCCs) under the GCC Policy 2024-29. It will act as a single-window platform to streamline investments and fast-track approvals. Announcement was made during Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) 2025. Karnataka contributes 44% of India’s software exports and aims to add 500 GCCs by 2029, creating 3.5 lakh jobs and generating $50 billion output.

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Maharashtra has implemented ‘Disha Abhiyan’ to provide uniform and quality education for students with intellectual disabilities. The curriculum was developed by Jai Vakil Foundation, established in 1944, using 80 years of experience and universal teaching methods. It is approved by the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (NIEPID). The program is running in 453 special schools across the state. Maharashtra is the first state to prioritize the needs of the disabled.

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The Ministry of Education is offering free Artificial Intelligence (AI) courses on the SWAYAM Portal to meet rising AI skill demand. SWAYAM stands for Study Webs of Active–Learning for Young Aspiring Minds. It is India’s own MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) platform launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Education (MoE). The portal aims to bridge the digital divide for students left out of the digital revolution and knowledge economy. It is an indigenously developed IT platform hosting courses from Class 9 to post-graduation. Courses are interactive, taught by top teachers, and available free of cost to residents in India.

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Udyam Sakhi Portal was launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) with an expenditure of ₹43.52 lakh. Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje informed Rajya Sabha that it is helping women entrepreneurs start, build, and expand businesses, fostering self-reliance. It provides women entrepreneurs information on financial schemes, policies, and programmes of the MSME sector. The portal nurtures entrepreneurship and creates business models for low-cost products and services. It empowers women to become self-reliant and self-sufficient.

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On 19th August 2025, Press Registrar General of India (PRGI) launched the Press Sewa portal as a single-window digital platform. The portal will simplify and speed up registration for newspapers and periodicals across India. It is designed to enhance transparency, reduce approval delays, and improve ease of doing business for publishers. The initiative will remove bureaucratic hurdles and provide clarity in the registration process. The announcement was made during Vartalap, an interaction programme organized by Press Information Bureau (PIB) Hyderabad under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

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The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) became India’s first railway zone to shift to compostable bio-plastic on trains. As a pilot initiative, NFR introduced biodegradable linen bags on 15 August 2025, India’s 79th Independence Day. 40,000 bioplastic bags are being distributed across 25 trains from terminals in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Tripura, and West Bengal. The initiative supports NFR’s green mission with projects like electrification, solar energy, AI-based elephant protection, rainwater harvesting, bio-toilets, solid waste composting, afforestation, and green transformation of wastelands.

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Kerala High Court became the first in India to issue guidelines on Artificial Intelligence (AI) use in district judiciary to enhance efficiency and speed in managing five crore pending cases. AI tools include document translation, transcription, defect identification, and legal research, but errors like mistranslations, hallucinations, and bias pose risks. Large Language Models (LLM) can fabricate case laws; human judgment remains essential in context-sensitive decisions. Courts need AI literacy for judges, staff, and lawyers, and clear guidelines for research, judgment writing, and litigant rights.

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The Union Ministry of Textiles launched the Kapas Kisan App to streamline cotton procurement under the Minimum Support Price (MSP) scheme. The app enables farmers’ self-registration, slot booking, and payment tracking, enhancing transparency and speed in cotton procurement. It is designed to protect farmers from distress sales by ensuring assured MSP procurement. The app reduces manual paperwork and saves time at procurement centres. It features a user-friendly interface with support for multiple Indian languages. The initiative represents a farmer-first approach, improving the ease of selling cotton and strengthening India’s cotton market.

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Less than 40% of India’s Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) have received a Unique Disability ID (UDID) Card. More than 11 lakh applications are pending, with 60% delayed for more than six months. The UDID sub-scheme under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) creates a national database and enables access to schemes. UDID cards allow PwDs to get benefits like Assistance to Persons with Disabilities (ADIP) scheme, scholarships, and job reservations. Coverage is above 50% only in Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, Odisha, and Karnataka, while West Bengal has just 6%.

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Five persons were injured in a recent landslide at the Rattle Hydroelectric Project in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir. It is an 850 MW run-of-river hydroelectric power plant on the Chenab River. The project is developed by Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation (RHPCL), a joint venture of Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC) and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) holds 51% and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC) holds 49% equity.