NATIONAL – DAIRY OF EVENTS

National Academic Depository (NAD)

• Context: The National Academic Depository (NAD) is gaining significance as India moves towards a secure, paperless, and interoperable system for managing academic records.

About NAD

• The National Academic Depository (NAD) is a digital system for storing, issuing, verifying, and authenticating academic documents such as degrees, diplomas, certificates, mark sheets, and assessment reports.
• Need: It serves as an alternative to paper-based records, thereby mitigating risks such as loss, damage, forgery, and delays in verification.
• Objective: To provide students and certificate holders with lifelong access to secure and verified digital academic records.
• Platform: Since 2020, NAD has been operational through DigiLocker for the issuance, access, and sharing of academic credentials.
• Stakeholders: These include universities, school boards, higher education institutions, institutes of national importance, students, employers, banks, government agencies, and verification authorities.
• Integration: It is integrated with DigiLocker, APAAR, the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), and e-Sanad for services such as secure document access, credit transfer, verification, authentication, and apostille services.

Key Benefits of NAD

• Paperless System: Ensures secure and digital management of academic documents.
• Lifetime Access: Allows users to access and share their academic documents at any time.
• Rapid Verification: Accelerates admission, recruitment, and official verification processes.
• Prevents Fraud: Reduces fake certificates and document tampering through verified digital documents.
• Enhanced Transparency: Improves efficiency and transparency in academic document management.

 

POSHAN tracker

• Background: ‘Potion Tracker’ has emerged as India’s real-time nutrition monitoring platform; It is spread across all 28 states and 8 union territories of the country and has registered over 8.93 crore beneficiaries (as on May 2026).
• It has become a success story of ‘Digital India’ project by enabling real time nutrition monitoring, Aadhaar based beneficiary tracking and evidence based governance under ‘Mission Potion 2.0’.

About Poshan Tracker

• Poshan Tracker is a mobile-based digital application that supports ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ and ‘Mission Poshan 2.0’.
• It was launched in March 2021 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with the National e-Governance Division.
• It facilitates the monitoring of nutrition services provided through Anganwadi centers across India in near real-time.

Objective

• Strengthens nutrition management through technology-enabled monitoring, beneficiary tracking, and data-driven decision-making.
• Improves service delivery for children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls.

Beneficiary Tracking

• Tracks children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls.
• Maintains a real-time monthly database of over 7.7 crore children using Aadhaar-verified records.

Growth Monitoring

• Monitors stunting, wasting, underweight, severe acute malnutrition, moderate acute malnutrition, and overweight/obesity.
• Covers children aged 0 to 5 years.
• As of May 2026, over 6.3 crore children (approximately 94% of registered beneficiaries) were monitored.

 

Key Features

• Aadhaar-based verification to prevent fake beneficiaries and leakages.
• Facial Recognition System (FRS) for beneficiary authentication and service monitoring.
• Digital home visit scheduling system for Anganwadi workers.
• ‘Poshan Calculator’ based on World Health Organization (WHO) child growth standards.
• Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) learning content for children aged 3 to 6 years.

Support for Anganwadi Workers

Reduces paperwork by enabling digital recording of beneficiary details, growth data, home visits, and services.

• Provides smartphones, internet connectivity, and growth monitoring devices required for efficient operations.

Role in the Supplementary Nutrition Programme

• Monitors the distribution of supplementary nutrition under Anganwadi services.
• As of May 2026, over 5.5 crore beneficiaries received nutrition for at least 15 days, while 5.17 crore beneficiaries received it for 21 days or more.

Recognition

• Appreciated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.
• Showcased at the G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment (2023).
• Received the Gold Award for National e-Governance (2024).
• Won the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration (April 2025).

About POSHAN Abhiyaan

• POSHAN Abhiyaan is the flagship nutrition programme of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• It was launched on March 8, 2018, in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.
• It focuses on improving nutritional outcomes for children (aged 0–6 years), pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls through an integrated approach.

Objectives

• To reduce stunting by 2% annually.
• To reduce undernutrition by 2% annually.
• To reduce anaemia among children, women, and adolescent girls by 3% annually.
• To reduce low birth weight by 2% annually.

Strategic Pillars

• Quality Services: Strengthening nutrition and health services through ICDS, NHM, and PMMVY, with a special focus on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.
• Convergence: Bringing together various ministries—including those responsible for water and sanitation—to achieve better nutritional outcomes.
• Policy Support: The ‘National Council on India’s Nutritional Challenges,’ led by NITI Aayog, continuously reviews progress and coordination efforts regarding nutrition.
• Technology: Utilizing the ‘Poshan Tracker’ and ICDS-Common Application Software for real-time monitoring and improved Anganwadi service delivery.
• Jan Andolan (People’s Movement): Promoting community participation, nutrition awareness, and positive behavioral change.

 

National Initiative to Combat Antimicrobial-Resistant Neonatal Sepsis 

• CONTEXT: India has launched a multicentre research study to address antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) neonatal sepsis, a major cause of illness and death among newborns.
• The study is coordinated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and involves hospitals across the country. It aims to identify drug-resistant bacteria, monitor antibiotic resistance patterns, and improve treatment guidelines. The initiative seeks to reduce neonatal deaths and strengthen India’s response to the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

ABOUT AMR:

• • Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat. 

• aims to: 

• • Identify the bacteria causing neonatal sepsis. 
  • Monitor antibiotic resistance patterns. 
  • Improve treatment guidelines. 
  • Reduce newborn deaths due to drug-resistant infections. 

• The research involves multiple hospitals across India to generate nationwide data. 

Purpose 

• To control antimicrobial-resistant neonatal sepsis in newborns.
• To identify drug-resistant bacteria causing neonatal infections. 
• To monitor antibiotic resistance patterns. 
• To improve diagnosis and treatment strategies. 
• To reduce newborn deaths due to resistant infections. 

Aim 

• Develop effective treatment guidelines for neonatal sepsis. 
• Generate nationwide data on AMR infections. 
• Strengthen India’s fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). 
• Promote better antibiotic use and antibiotic stewardship. 
• Improve neonatal health and survival rates.
• The study supports India’s efforts to improve neonatal survival and strengthen antibiotic stewardship.

 

Traditional Knowledge Digital Library TKDL

• context: India and Australia have signed an agreement allowing the Australian Patent Office to access the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), maintained by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The agreement aims to prevent the grant of wrongful patents on India’s traditional medicinal knowledge. The TKDL contains digitized information from Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, and Yoga texts. This initiative strengthens the protection of India’s traditional knowledge against biopiracy and intellectual property misuse.

About (TKDL) Traditional Knowledge Digital Library TKDL

• Full Form: Traditional Knowledge Digital Library. 
• Established: 2001. 
• Established by: Government of India through collaboration between CSIR and Ministry of AYUSH. 
• Type: Digital database of India’s traditional knowledge. 

Objective

• Prevent wrongful patents on Indian traditional knowledge. 
• Protect India’s traditional knowledge from biopiracy and misappropriation. 
• Provide scientific evidence during patent examination. 

Key Features

• Contains over 5.2 lakh formulations and practices. 
• Covers: Ayurveda ,Siddha ,Unani ,Sowa Rigpa ,Yoga 
• Traditional knowledge is converted into modern scientific terminology. 
• Available in 5 international languages: 

• English, German, French, Japanese, Spanish 

International Access

• Patent offices access TKDL through Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). 
• Access extended to 18 international patent offices (including Brazil’s INPI). 
• Recognized as a global model for defensive protection of traditional knowledge.