Manorama BakshiArjun Kumar Odisha’s Health Assurance Question Odisha has spent the past decade steadily widening the boundaries of public health protection. From the launch of the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) in 2018 to the more recent Gopabandhu Jan Arogya…
Cotton plays a significant role in India's agricultural and industrial economy. The country ranks first in the world in terms of cotton cultivation area with 114.84 lakh hectares under cotton, which is nearly 38% of the global cotton area of 304.08 hectares.
Punjab is one of India’s major agricultural states and has historically played an important role in national food security. Its economy is supported by agriculture and allied activities, industry, services, infrastructure and a large network of urban and rural settlements. At the same time, the state faces challenges related to agricultural diversification, groundwater and irrigation management, employment generation, infrastructure development, energy subsidies and environmental sustainability.
India’s dairy sector is an important source of rural employment, household income and nutritional security. The country produced 247.87 million tonnes of milk in 2024-25, an increase of 3.58% over the previous year, retaining its position as the world’s largest milk producer (DAHD, 2025). However, the sector is characterised by a large number of small and marginal producers who depend on regular milk sales for cash income. For these farmers, disruptions in procurement, weak market demand, delayed payments and inadequate working capital can have an immediate impact on their livelihoods.
Following the National Medical Devices Policy (NMDP) 2023, evidence available by 2024 suggested that the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Medical Devices had successfully encouraged domestic production of complex medical devices, including MRI and CT scanners.
The National Pension System (NPS), regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) under the PFRDA Act, 2013, was expanded to Non Resident Indians (NRIs) in 2015 to broaden access to a structured, market linked retirement savings mechanism. NPS was initially introduced for Central Government employees effective 1 January 2004 and extended voluntarily to all Indian citizens from 1 May 2009 under the All Citizen Model. The specific expansion enabling NRIs to subscribe occurred through amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000.
Challenge-Based Destination Development (CBDD) originates from the Union Budget 2023-24, whose Paragraph 93 announced that tourism would be taken up 'in Mission Mode' and that 'at least 50 destinations will be selected through challenge mode' for holistic development, covering physical and virtual connectivity, tourist guides, food-street standards and tourist security, integrated through a mobile application, with every destination developed 'as a complete package.'