The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) was launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in 2019 to solarize India's agricultural sector, enhance energy security, and provide clean daytime power to farmers.
Antarctica is now at the heart of global climate governance as it continues to contribute to sea-level rise, influence climate and house unique biodiversity. India’s Antarctic programme is a model of science-led, collaborative engagement that links climate monitoring with environmental stewardship a1nd international diplomacy in the sustainable management of one of the world's most fragile ecosystems.
Policy UpdateAsmatwali Background Tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan, simmering since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, escalated into open warfare in late February 2026. Following weeks of militant attacks inside Pakistan, the Pakistan Air…
Policy UpdateAsmatwali Background Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a six-day, three-nation tour of Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand from 6 to 11 July 2026, comprising a State Visit to Indonesia (6-8 July), the Third India-Australia Annual Summit in Melbourne (8-10…
Policy UpdateAsmatwali Background India and Japan trace their contemporary partnership to the 1952 Peace Treaty, progressively upgraded into a “Global Partnership” (2000), a “Global and Strategic Partnership” (2006), and the “Special Strategic and Global Partnership” (SSGP) in 2014, anchored since…
On June 22, 2026, West Bengal's newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, presented its first full-year budget for 2026–27, ending over a decade of Trinamool Congress (TMC) rule in the state. Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta's budget speech had two competing jobs to do: hold on to the welfare architecture built by the outgoing TMC government, which remains politically indispensable in Bengal, while signalling a new emphasis on industrial revival, infrastructure expansion and fiscal discipline (The Daily Pioneer, 2026).
Access to higher education in India has long been constrained less by aspiration than by affordability. West Bengal, despite a relatively strong base in school-level enrolment, has historically trailed the national average in higher education participation. It was against this backdrop that the state government launched the West Bengal Student Credit Card (WBSCC) Scheme on 30 June 2021, under a Gazette Notification issued by the Higher Education Department, positioning it as a flagship intervention to remove the financial barrier standing between capable students and tertiary education.