India Current Affairs [Nation & States] MCQs

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The Bembla Irrigation Project is located in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra in the drought-prone Vidarbha region. It is a multipurpose irrigation project under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) and Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP). The project involves a dam on the Bembla River, a tributary of the Wardha River, near Babhulgaon. It aims to create irrigation potential for about 52,543 hectares benefiting over 100 villages. By early 2026, more than 95% canal and distribution works were completed with micro-irrigation focus.

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India celebrated its 77th Republic Day on January 26, 2026, at Kartavya Path, New Delhi. The day commemorates the adoption of the Constitution of India in 1950, replacing the Government of India Act, 1935, and establishing India as a sovereign republic. Republic Day is marked by ceremonial parades, military displays, and cultural showcases in the national capital. Chief guests for 2026 were António Costa, head of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, highlighting India-EU engagement. The theme for Republic Day 2026 was “150 Years of Vande Mataram”.

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NITI Aayog launched ‘Sampoornata Abhiyan 2.0’, a 3-month campaign from 28th January to 14th April 2026, to saturate key indicators in Aspirational Districts and Blocks. The campaign builds on Sampoornata Abhiyan 2024, targeting 112 Aspirational Districts and 513 Aspirational Blocks under the Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme. Districts/Blocks will develop 3-month action plans, track monthly progress, conduct awareness campaigns, and perform concurrent monitoring visits. NITI Aayog, Central Ministries, States, and UTs will coordinate for planning, capacity building, and sustainable service delivery.

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India has officially submitted the nomination dossier for Meghalaya’s living root bridges for the 2026–27 UNESCO World Heritage evaluation cycle. Meghalaya is home to the Living Root Bridges. They are primarily located in the East Khasi Hills and West Jaintia Hills districts. Living Root Bridges, locally called Jingkieng Jri, are handcrafted pedestrian bridges formed by training the aerial roots of the Indian rubber tree (Ficus elastica) across streams and rivers.

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Oil India carried out seismic studies in blocks won under the ninth round to plan bidding for the tenth round. The Open Acreage Licensing Policy was introduced by the Government of India under the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy. It replaced the New Exploration and Licensing Policy that operated for over eighteen years. Under this policy, companies can choose and explore oil and gas blocks on their own. Exploration can begin without waiting for government notifications. The policy also allows access to seismic data from the National Data Repository.

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Operation Kiya is a joint counter-terrorism operation launched by Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. It is currently in news due to an intense encounter in the forested Basantgarh area of Udhampur. The operation aims to track, contain, and eliminate infiltrated terrorists while protecting civilian areas. It also seeks to prevent terrorist movement across districts and infiltration corridors. The operation is carried out by the Army’s White Knight Corps, Counter Insurgency Force (Delta), Jammu and Kashmir Police, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). It uses a cordon-and-search strategy to trap terrorists in forests and hilly terrain.

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The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), under the Ministry of AYUSH, organised a one-day Chintan Shivir at Vigyan Bhawan. National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) was established in 2000 by the Government of India. It functions under the Ministry of AYUSH, which covers Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homoeopathy. The board’s mandate is to coordinate between ministries, departments, and organizations for the growth of the medicinal plants sector at Central, State, and international levels.

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Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda launched two initiatives at India Artificial Intelligence Summit at Bharat Mandapam. The first is Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare for India, called SAHI. SAHI provides national guidance for safe, ethical, evidence based and inclusive use of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare. It focuses on governance, data management, validation, deployment and monitoring of Artificial Intelligence solutions. The second is Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health Artificial Intelligence, called BODH. BODH is developed by Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur with National Health Authority. It enables secure evaluation of Artificial Intelligence models without sharing raw health data.

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The Supreme Court of India has directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to consider mandatory front-of-package warning labels (FOPL) on packaged foods high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat. FSSAI was established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. FSSAI is responsible for setting food standards and regulating manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of food. It ensures the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

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Recently, the Controller General of Accounts launched the Government Bank Dashboard and Government Bank Manual in New Delhi. CGA is the Principal Accounting Adviser to the Government of India. It was established for departmentalisation of Union Government accounts. It manages central government exchequer control and conducts internal audits. It prepares and consolidates accounts of the Union Government. It functions under the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.