India Current Affairs [Nation & States] MCQs

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Recently, Gujarat became the first state to implement the Amended BharatNet Program (ABP) under a state-led model. The program ensures seamless digital connectivity across all 14,654 Gram Panchayats and non-Gram Panchayat villages in Gujarat on demand. It aims to deliver over 98% service uptime through modern infrastructure, offering high-speed internet and reliable digital services. The Union Cabinet approved Amended BharatNet Program (ABP) on 4th August 2023, funded through the Digital Bharat Nidhi.

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Recently, the Central Government approved the setup of the South Asia Regional Centre of the International Potato Center (CIP) in India. The CIP-South Asia Regional Centre (CSARC) will be established at Singna in Agra district, Uttar Pradesh. It will support farmers in major potato-growing states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, and also benefit South Asian countries. The goal is to boost food and nutrition security, farmers’ income, and job creation by improving productivity, post-harvest management, and value-addition in potato and sweetpotato sectors.

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Despite orders from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), illegal salt pans and creek encroachments still threaten the Kharai camels of Kachchh. The Kharai camel is native to Gujarat and gets its name from “Khara,” meaning saline, showing its ability to survive in desert and coastal areas. It is unique for swimming over 3 kilometers in deep sea to graze on mangroves. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies them as endangered.

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The Union Railway Minister recently launched the RailOne app in New Delhi. RailOne is a new super app to handle all railway-related passenger needs in one place. It was developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems, a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of Indian Railways. RailOne combines services like ticket booking, real-time tracking, food ordering, Passenger Name Record (PNR) status, refunds, porter booking, and last-mile taxi.

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Recently, the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan Dissemination Portal was launched to share open data on student performance at National and State levels. It will help States and Union Territories design plans to improve learning outcomes and close skill gaps. PARAKH stands for Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development. It was set up under National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). It aims to set norms, standards, and guidelines for student assessments as per National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It brings all State and Union Territory school boards onto a common platform.

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Recently, Puducherry became the first state to include tuberculosis (TB) screening under the “Family Adoption Program” where medical students adopt families for community outreach. Medical students screen all family members for TB and help with diagnosis and treatment if symptoms are found. The National Medical Commission made it mandatory for students to adopt 3–5 families and follow them for three years. Puducherry also uses Verbal Autopsy to study TB deaths and find reasons behind late treatment.

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Anganwadi workers are facing difficulties in registering beneficiaries on the Poshan Tracker app due to technical glitches and poor internet connectivity. Poshan Tracker app was launched on 1st March 2021 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. It was developed by the National eGovernance Division. It is a mobile-based digital platform for Anganwadi Centers (AWCs), Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), and enrolled beneficiaries. It supports the Poshan Abhiyaan mission to improve nutrition services and fight malnutrition.

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On July 21, 2025, Minister of State for Environment, Kirti Vardhan Singh, shared NCAP progress data in the Lok Sabha. Under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), only 25 out of 130 cities met the 40% PM10 reduction target by 2024-25. NCAP was launched in 2019 to cut PM2.5 and PM10 by 20%-30% by 2024 from 2017 levels. In 2022, the target was revised to a 40% reduction in PM10 by 2025-26. Cities in Uttar Pradesh showed the highest reduction in PM10 levels. Bareilly topped the list with 76% reduction, followed by Varanasi (74.3%) and Firozabad (59.5%). Dehradun (57.2%) in Uttarakhand also showed sharp improvement.

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As of 14 July 2025, 15.45 lakh households have benefited under Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (PM-SGMBY). The scheme was launched in February 2024 by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). It aims to provide rooftop solar panels to 1 crore households by March 2027. It offers 40–60% subsidy for residential solar installations. Gujarat leads with 5.23 lakh installations (33% of total), followed by Maharashtra with 3.79 lakh. States like Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Northeast states have less than 1,000 installations.

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Recently, the Ministry of Women and Child Development launched the revamped Mission Vatsalya Portal as a unified digital platform for child protection services. It integrates earlier services like Khoya-Paya and TrackChild into a single secure system. It helps avoid duplication of work and improves monitoring through Management Information System (MIS) dashboards. The platform ensures better planning and resource use across States and Union Territories. The portal also records all child helpline cases for quick action and tracking.