Since the early 2000s, India and the United States have gradually deepened their strategic partnership, moving beyond trade and culture toward technologies, defence, and security. Space and cyberspace have emerged as domains of critical importance due to their increasing role in national security, economic infrastructure, and strategic competition.
SMART-PDS is a centrally sponsored, technology-oriented reform initiative by the Department of Food & Public Distribution (DFPD), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, aimed at enhancing and consolidating the IT infrastructure of India’s Public Distribution System (PDS). With a total budget of ₹349.9 crore, the three-year (April 2023–March 2026) approved program builds on previous computerisation attempts (End-to-End TPDS and the Integrated Management of PDS/IM-PDS) and introduces a modern, standardized national platform that unifies state and central operations throughout the PDS lifecycle.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation came into existence as an Independent Ministry on 15 October 1999, following the merger of the Department of Statistics and the Department of Programme Implementation. The Ministry has two wings, one relating to Statistics and the other to Programme Implementation. The Statistics Wing, also known as the National Statistical Office (NSO), comprises the Central Statistical Office, the Data Informatics & Innovation Division, and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). The Programme Implementation Wing has three divisions: the Twenty-Point Programme, Infrastructure Monitoring, and Project Monitoring, as well as the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme.
Health insurance for individuals has been made exempt from Goods and Services Tax. GST has been removed from life insurance premium payments for individuals, as well. Both used to be charged GST at 18%. So, this represents major relief for individuals, this lowering of the cost of buying insurance by nearly a fifth, right? That magnitude of reduction in the cost of either life or health insurance is merely an illusion. The cost of insurance might come down somewhat, but definitely not by 18%.
Education has never been a critical step towards ending the chain of inherited social inequality in India. For SCs, formal education has long been precluded by discrimination as well as financial struggles.
In India, where over half the population depends on agriculture for their livelihood, and more than 70% of farmers are small and marginal, they remain extremely vulnerable to climate variability and crop failures (NITI Aayog, 2019). The growing threat of global warming has intensified the frequency and severity of erratic weather patterns, worsened agricultural risks, and deepened the cycle of income insecurity and indebtedness among farmers. Recognizing this urgent challenge, the Government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in 2016. It is a large-scale crop subsidy insurance scheme that aims to safeguard farmers. This scheme is being administered by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), launched in 2017, is a central sector scheme implemented by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). It aims to create a modern food processing ecosystem in India by reducing agricultural wastage and ensuring better returns for farmers.