India orders refiners to boost LPG production Context: In the wake of the escalating war in the Middle East, the central government has issued an emergency order to oil refineries to increase LPG production to prevent a shortage of cooking gas in India. The order has been issued using the emergency powers granted under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The central government has instructed all public and private oil refineries to increase LPG production using chemicals like propane and butane. At the same time, refineries have been banned from using these chemicals to manufacture petrochemicals. Indian Cities Exceed PM2.5 Limits Context: 204 out of 238 Indian cities recorded average PM2.5 levels above the Indian standard of 40 µg/m³ during the last winter, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data analysed by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Ghaziabad was the most polluted city with an average PM2.5 level of 172 µg/m³, followed by Noida (166 µg/m³) and Delhi (163 µg/m³). The analysis used data from Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) of CPCB from October 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026. No city met the World Health Organization (WHO) PM2.5 standard of 5 µg/m³. Among major Indian cities, Delhi (163 µg/m³), Kolkata (78 µg/m³), Mumbai (48 µg/m³), and Chennai (44 µg/m³) recorded winter PM2.5 levels above the national standard, while Bengaluru (39 µg/m³) was slightly below the limit. Chamarajanagar in Karnataka was the cleanest city with an average PM2.5 level of 19 µg/m³. Among the 10 cleanest cities, eight were from Karnataka, and one each from Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya. NITI Aayog - UNICEF Partnership to Improve Maternal and Child Nutrition Context: NITI Aayog and UNICEF India signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to strengthen health and nutrition conditions in Aspirational Districts and Aspirational…
