Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the school curriculum
▪ The Ministry of Education is set to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the school curriculum for all students from Class 3 onwards from next academic year (2026-27)
▪ Goal: To align students and teachers with AI technology rapidly (over the next two to three years) to prepare them for the digital economy.
▪ CBSE is developing the framework for AI integration across grades.
▪ A pilot project is already under way for teachers to use AI tools to prepare lesson plans.
Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PMDDKY)
▪ The PMDDKY announced in the Union Budget 2025 to make farming easier, modern, and more profitable.
▪ It is modeled after the NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP), but focused
exclusively on agriculture and allied sectors.
▪ PMDDKY has no separate budgetary allocation, it converges budgets of 36 existing schemes from 11 departments, including Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (cash transfers), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance), and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna (irrigation) with an annual outlay of Rs 24,000 crore from 2025-26 to 2030-31, totaling Rs 1.44 lakh crore.
▪ PMDDKY operates under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, each selected district will set up a District Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (DDKY) Samiti, chaired by the District Collector, to implement the District Agriculture Development Plan (DADP).
Benefits of PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojna
▪ Holistic development of 100 low-productivity districts to enhance farmers income
▪ Every field to be irrigated, every crop to be diversified ensuring easy access to credit and storage facilities for farmers
▪ Convergence of multiple schemes to ensure direct benefit to the farmers
Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses
▪ The Mission was announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 to reduce import dependency, meet the rising demand, maximize production, and enhance farmers’ income.
▪ Time Period: 6 Years (2025-26 to 2030-31).
▪ Financial Outlay: Rs 11,440 crore.
▪ Aim: Boosting domestic production and achieving self-sufficiency (Aatmanirbharta) in pulses.
▪ Several initiatives will be taken under the mission for developing and disseminating ClimateResilient & Improved Seed Varieties, developing post-harvest infrastructure, value addition etc.
▪ Target:
o Area: Increase area under pulses to 310 lakh hectares.
✓ It also seeks to expand the area under pulses by an additional 35 lakh hectares
by targeting rice fallow areas and other diversifiable lands.
o Production: To drive production to 350 lakh tonnes.
o Productivity: Raise yield to 1130 kg/ha.
▪ Approach: It will adopt a cluster-based approach, tailoring interventions to the specific needs of each cluster.
▪ Focus Crops: Tur/Arhar (pigeon pea); Urad (black gram) & Masoor (red lentil).
Benefits of Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses
▪ Availability of quality seeds to make India self-reliant in pulse production
▪ Procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP) from registered farmers through central agency
▪ Improved storage and management systems to ensure that farmers get full cost and benefit of their produce
Key Achievements Benefiting Farmers
▪ Over 50 lakh farmers associated with 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) including
1,100 “Crorepati FPOs achieving an annual turnover of more than 1 crore
▪ Successful certification of over 50 thousand farmers under National Mission on Natural Farming
▪ Computerization of 10,000 now Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) under the e-PACS
initiative and their transformation into Common Service Centres (CSCs) and PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras (PMKSKS)
▪ Establishment of Dairy and Fisheries Primary Cooperatives through 10,000 new multipurpose PACS
▪ Certification of 38,000 Multi-purpose Al Technicians in Rural india (MAITRIs).
