India Current Affairs [Nation & States] MCQs

Notes:
The PRISM-SG (Portal for Rail-Road Inspection & Stages Management – Steel Girders) Portal was launched by Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & IT, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, to digitise approvals and inspections for Road Over Bridges (ROBs). The portal covers Quality Assurance Plans (QAP), Welding Procedure Specification Sheets (WPSS), and fabrication stage inspections of steel girders, enabling end-to-end online submission, scrutiny, approvals, inspections, and real-time monitoring.

Notes:
National Assessment and Accreditation Council has not granted fresh accreditation to any university or college in the current academic year, raising concerns about the accreditation process. NAAC was established in 1994 as an autonomous institution under the University Grants Commission. Its primary objective is to assess and enhance the quality of higher education institutions (HEIs) through a structured accreditation process. It evaluates institutions such as colleges, universities, and other recognised bodies to determine their overall quality status.

Notes:
SAMPANN (System for Accounting and Management of Pension) is a digital pension platform being adopted by Goa Government and Cochin Port Authority to modernize pension disbursement. It is a flagship initiative of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), launched in 2018. It is managed by the Office of the Controller General of Communication Accounts (CGCA). It enables end-to-end pension processing including sanction, authorization, and payment on a single platform. It ensures direct bank transfer of pensions without intermediaries, improving transparency.

Notes:
A 16-year-old girl from the Juang tribe in Odisha brought significant social change by transforming village attitudes toward child health and child marriage. The Juang tribe is one of the 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) among the 62 tribes found in Odisha and is mainly concentrated in Keonjhar and Dhenkanal districts. They speak the Juang language, which belongs to the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic language family, and follow a structured clan and kinship system. Traditionally dependent on hunting, gathering, and limited cultivation, they later adapted to basket-weaving and barter trade after forest restrictions during the colonial period.

Notes:
The Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare has been conducting Digital Life Certificate (DLC) Campaigns since November 2022 to promote digital submission of life certificates and improve ease of living for pensioners. DLC Campaign 4.0 (Nov 1–30, 2025) was launched in New Delhi and became the largest-ever pensioners’ welfare campaign in India. The campaign followed a saturation approach, organizing 75,000 camps across 2,000 cities/districts, supported by 1,400 nodal officers and 1.8 lakh postmen/Dak Sevaks for doorstep services.

Notes:
Exports of Makhana, also known as Fox Nuts, have declined due to reduced demand and prices caused by the ongoing West Asia war. Makhana is the dried edible seed of the prickly water lily or gorgon plant (Euryale ferox) and is nicknamed the “Black Diamond” because of its dark outer layer. The plant is native to South-East Asia and China but is now cultivated worldwide. In India, it is mainly produced in Bihar, West Bengal, Manipur, Tripura, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, with Bihar as the leading producer. Makhana is included under the Union government’s One District One Product (ODOP) scheme.

Notes:
The Minister of State for External Affairs highlighted the role of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in strengthening India’s cultural diplomacy during a visit to Yangon, Myanmar. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India. It was established in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, India’s first Education Minister. ICCR promotes India’s external cultural relations through cultural exchanges and a global network of cultural centres.

Notes:
Telangana has been declared Naxal-free after the surrender of 42 cadres of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The announcement was made by Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) B. Shivadhar Reddy, stating that the Telangana State Committee has been dismantled. Among those who surrendered was PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army) commander Sodi Malla. Surrendered cadres handed over 36 firearms, including AK-47 rifles, Self-Loading Rifles (SLRs), grenades, and large quantities of ammunition. Additional recoveries include 1,007 live rounds of ammunition and 800 grams of gold.

Notes:
The Samriddh Gram project of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has been nominated for the World Summit on the Information Society Prizes 2026 under Action Line AL C6 (Enabling Environment). It is built on BharatNet, providing high-speed broadband, Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH), and public Wi-Fi in rural areas. The Samriddh Gram project is implemented by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), under the Ministry of Communications. The initiative establishes “Samriddhi Kendras” as one-stop hubs delivering integrated “phygital” services combining physical and digital platforms.

Notes:
Dhar city of Madhya Pradesh has been selected under the Safe Cities Project 2026 to enhance women’s safety. The initiative is led by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and fully funded by the Central Government. An allocation of ₹10 crore has been made for a 5-year implementation period. It aims to make public spaces safer and women-friendly through infrastructure upgrades.