India Current Affairs [Nation & States] MCQs

Notes:
A new study documented 39 plants used by the Sonowal Kachari community to treat ailments like fever, cough, kidney stones, and skin diseases. The Sonowal Kacharis are an indigenous people living mainly in northeast India. Most of them live in Assam, where they are the third-largest plain tribe and one of the oldest tribes. Smaller groups of Sonowal Kacharis are found in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. They are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe (Plains) in Assam. The name “Sonowal” comes from the word for gold, reflecting their traditional occupation of gold panning during the Ahom kingdom.

Notes:
As of February 2026, 1,244 Labour Rooms (LRs) and 917 Maternity Operation Theatres (MOTs) in public health facilities are certified under LaQshya. The LaQshya (Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative) is a program by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare aimed at reducing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity. It improves the quality of care in public health facility labour rooms and maternity OTs during delivery and the immediate postpartum period, focusing on respectful care and improved clinical processes.

Notes:
The Telangana Legislative Assembly passed the Telangana Employees Accountability and Monitoring of Parental Support Bill, 2026. The bill mandates salary deductions for government and private employees, including public representatives, who neglect their elderly parents. It enforces a 15% salary cut or ₹10,000, whichever is lower, to directly support parents in proven cases of neglect.

Notes:
Karnataka has recorded the highest number of women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) trained as drone pilots under the Namo Drone Didi Yojana (NDDY). The scheme is a Central Sector initiative aimed at empowering women-led SHGs under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission by providing drone technology for agricultural services. It aims to enable SHGs to provide drone rental services to farmers, mainly for spraying liquid fertilizers and pesticides. Around 15,000 drones will be distributed to selected women SHGs during 2024–25 to 2025–26.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods Mission launched the ‘Safe Mobility Program’ to promote women’s empowerment and employment through SHGs. The initiative trains women as e-rickshaw drivers, ensuring safe, accessible, and dignified transport for women and girls. Around 1,000 e-rickshaws are being provided initially to women from Self-Help Groups. The programme has been launched in districts like Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Kaushambi, and Jhansi, and will expand to cities like Lucknow and Prayagraj. It is implemented with technical support from Development Alternatives.

Notes:
Financial Intelligence Unit-India and Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen coordination against cyber frauds and financial crimes. Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) is the national agency for receiving, analysing, and disseminating information on suspicious financial transactions and combating money laundering and terror financing. Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) is established under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as the national nodal agency to fight cybercrime. It provides a framework and ecosystem for law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to handle cybercrimes in a coordinated and comprehensive way.

Notes:
The Sagarmala Programme was launched in March 2015 to promote port-led development and enhance India’s logistics efficiency and trade competitiveness. The programme currently includes 845 projects worth ₹6.06 lakh crore, out of which 315 projects worth ₹1.57 lakh crore have been completed. It aims to reduce transportation costs by promoting coastal shipping and inland waterways alongside existing road and rail networks. The programme is based on five pillars, namely port modernization and new port development, port connectivity enhancement, port-led industrialization, coastal community development, and promotion of coastal shipping and inland waterways transport.

Notes:
The Haryana government introduced Aadhaar-based biometric verification for crop procurement at mandis. Farmers or authorised representatives must verify identity via biometric scans before selling produce. Crop arrivals are cross-checked with the ‘Meri Fasal-Mera Byora’ portal (farmer registration database for land and crop details). The e-Kharid app (digital procurement platform) records vehicle number and captures load photographs before issuing gate passes. The system aims to prevent fraud (illegal sale of crops from other states under fake identities).

Notes:
The Government of Maharashtra launched the Artificial Intelligence Policy 2026 to boost investment, innovation, and employment. The policy aims to attract ₹10,000 crore investment and create over 1.5 lakh jobs. It includes the establishment of 6 AI Centres of Excellence and 5 AI Innovation Cities. The cabinet meeting was chaired by Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai.

Notes:
According to the National Crime Records Bureau “Crime in India 2024” report, Odisha recorded the highest violent crime rate in the country in 2024. Odisha reported a violent crime rate of 161.6 victims per lakh population, the highest among all Indian states. Odisha also ranked second in India for crimes against women with a crime rate of 118.3 cases per lakh women population. Bihar recorded the second-highest violent crime rate at 83 victims per lakh population, much lower than Odisha’s rate.