Government Invokes Essential Commodities Act
- Context: Due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia and disruptions in LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) invoked the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 by issuing the Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order, 2026.
Key Provisions of the Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) Order, 2026
Four-tier priority system
- Gas distribution will follow a four-level priority framework. The allocation for each sector will be determined using the average natural gas consumption recorded over the previous six months.
Reallocation of gas supplies
- If shortages occur, gas may be diverted from lower-priority sectors such as petrochemical industries and power plants to higher-priority sectors that require assured supply.
About the Essential Commodities Act, 1955
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- The Essential Commodities Act (ECA), 1955 was enacted to monitor and control the production, supply, distribution, and pricing of essential goods.
- Its purpose is to ensure that such commodities remain available to the public at reasonable prices and to curb practices like hoarding, black marketing, and excessive profiteering, especially during times of scarcity or crisis.
- The Act gives the Central Government—and in certain situations state governments—the authority to intervene in markets when necessary.
- This helps safeguard consumer interests and maintain food and energy security across the country.
Commodities Covered Under the Act
The central government has the authority to designate particular goods as essential commodities.
Typical items under this category include
- Food grains such as rice, wheat, and pulses
- Edible oils and sugar
- Petroleum and petroleum-based products
- Fertilisers and pharmaceutical drugs
- LPG and natural gas
The government can add new items or remove existing ones from the list depending on national needs and circumstances.
Current Facts
- Prasar Bharati-Shared Audio-Visuals for Broadcast and Dissemination (PB-SHABD) was launched in March, 2024.
Defence Forces Vision 2047- Context: The Minister of Defence, unveiled a document titled “Defence Forces Vision 2047: A Roadmap for a Future-Ready Indian Military.” The report was prepared by the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff to outline the long-term transformation of India’s armed forces.
Objectives of Defence Forces Vision 2047
Preparation for future warfare
- The vision focuses on equipping the military to deal with modern and multi-domain conflicts, including areas such as cyber operations, space security, artificial intelligence, and information warfare.
Link with national development goals
- The transformation of India’s defence capabilities is aligned with the country’s larger ambition of becoming a developed nation by 2047.
Key Elements of the Roadmap
Integrated and multi-domain military structure
- The plan proposes building a flexible and unified military system capable of operating effectively across land, sea, air, cyber, and space domains.
- Greater coordination in operational planning among the three services is expected to enhance efficiency and responsiveness.
Stronger jointness among the services
- A central component of the vision is improved collaboration and synergy between the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
- Better coordination in strategy, operations, and capability development will help strengthen overall operational effectiveness.
Promotion of defence self-reliance
- The roadmap supports the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative by encouraging domestic defence manufacturing and reduced dependence on imports.
Focus on advanced technologies
- The document highlights the increased use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cyber tools, and advanced surveillance capabilities to modernise the armed forces.
Phased implementation strategy
- The roadmap suggests a step-by-step implementation plan, identifying short-term, medium-term, and long-term priorities for strengthening critical military capabilities.
National Highways Green Cover Index- Context: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has published the first-ever Annual Report on the National Highways Green Cover Index (NH-GCI) 2025–26.
About the National Highways Green Cover Index
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- The evaluation uses high-resolution satellite sensors to identify chlorophyll levels in vegetation, allowing for a scientific and technology-based assessment of greenery along national highways.
- The NH-GCI score is represented as a percentage, which reflects the share of land within the Right of Way (RoW) of national highways that is covered by vegetation.
- The index tracks the extent of green cover on both sides of highways, analysing it at a detailed scale of one kilometre segments.
- In this assessment, nearly 30,000 km of national highways across 24 states were examined for the period between July and December 2024.
Proton Accelerator Project-
- Context: The state of Andhra Pradesh will host a high-energy proton accelerator in Visakhapatnam as part of India’s long-term nuclear research and development programme.
- A proton is a subatomic particle carrying a positive electric charge and is present within the nucleus of every atom in all chemical elements.
- The development of the proton accelerator forms a part of India’s long-term nuclear energy strategy.
- It represents a critical and strategically significant technology, which may require several decades before reaching full operational capacity.
- The facility will create high-energy neutrons through spallation reactions, enabling the conversion of India’s large thorium reserves into uranium fuel that can be used in nuclear reactors.
About the Proton Accelerator Project
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- The proposed high-energy proton accelerator in Visakhapatnam will produce high-energy neutrons, which can be used to transform thorium into uranium fuel for nuclear reactors.
- The location is considered advantageous due to Visakhapatnam’s strong technological infrastructure and proximity to the sea, which can help in cooling the facility.
- The project will operate in association with the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT).
Current Facts
- Amrit Bharat Station Scheme was launched in 2022 which aims at development and upgradation of stations over the Indian Railways (IR) network.
National Leprosy Eradication Programme- Context: According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) has played a significant role in lowering the prevalence of Leprosy in India.
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- NLEP is a centrally sponsored scheme designed to eliminate leprosy from the country. It has now been incorporated into the National Health Mission (NHM) and functions under the MoHFW.
- The programme aims to achieve “Leprosy Mukt Bharat” by 2027, which is three years earlier than the 2030 target set under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Efforts toward final elimination are guided by the National Strategic Plan and Roadmap (2023–2027), which focuses on reaching the last-mile cases.
- India officially eliminated leprosy as a public health concern in 2005, and the current prevalence rate stands at 0.57 per 10,000 people.
Key Components of NLEP
Standardised Treatment
- Government health facilities provide free Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) consisting of Rifampicin, Dapsone, and Clofazimine.
- India has also designated leprosy as a notifiable disease and updated its treatment guidelines in 2025 in accordance with World Health Organization standards.
Disability Support
- Through Disability Prevention and Medical Rehabilitation (DPMR) services, patients receive reconstructive surgery, protective footwear, and a welfare assistance of ₹12,000 for those undergoing surgery.
Awareness Campaign
- The Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaign (SLAC) is conducted every year on 30 January, observed as Anti-Leprosy Day, to raise awareness and combat social stigma.
Digital Monitoring
- The Nikusth 2.0 digital platform enables real-time reporting and tracking of patients, thereby improving national surveillance and monitoring of leprosy cases.
