Recent 6 months news in National

The central government has approved the development of two new Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs) in Tamil Nadu under the 'EMC 2.0' scheme to expand the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) ecosystem.

The projects, managed by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamilnadu Ltd (SIPCOT), involve a combined investment of ₹1,012.02 crore. This includes the Manallur EMC in Tiruvallur district (474.3 acres) costing ₹587.47 crore, and the Pillapaikkam EMC in Kancheepuram district (379.3 acres) costing ₹424.55 crore.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has approved projects worth ₹2,719.80 crore under the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) initiated by PM Narendra Modi. The funding is designated for 6 transformative urban development initiatives in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh has launched Phase-III of the Biomedical Research Career Programme (BRCP).

The programme has a total financial outlay of ₹1,500 crore, comprising ₹1,000 crore from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and ₹500 crore from the Wellcome Trust (WT), London. The programme is jointly implemented by the DBT and the WT through the DBT-WT India Alliance, which is administered by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoH&UA), has celebrated its 172nd Annual Day at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

During the event, Union Minister Manohar Lal unveiled the 'SANKALP' framework. He also released two publications, 'India's Urban Transformation: Reflections from Policy and Practice' and the MoH&UA's coffee table book 'India's Urban Momentum: Towards Making Our Cities Liveable', which highlight the journey of urban development in India.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), in collaboration with the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, has launched a pilot 'Short-Term Skill Training Programme (STSTP)'.

The programme offers an Assistant Baking Technician Certificate Programme under the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) Level 3. It is being conducted at the Imperial Tobacco Company of India- Integrated Consumer Goods Manufacturing and Logistics (ITC-ICML) facility in Trichy, Tamil Nadu.

Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has approved the operational guidelines for the 'PARIVARTAN' (Programme for Accelerated Renewal and Incentivization of Vehicle Assets for Reducing Transport Air Pollution and Network Emissions) scheme.

The scheme aims to replace old, highly polluting trucks and buses operating in the National Capital Region (NCR) with Bharat Stage (BS)-VI-compliant vehicles or Electric Vehicles (EVs).

The Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) has granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag to Unjha Cumin and Fennel from the Unjha region of Gujarat.

With this, the total number of GI-tagged agricultural products from Gujarat has increased to 6.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has launched the 'Seafarer-First' initiative to safeguard Indian seafarers operating in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman.

The initiative is a response to the escalating maritime security concerns in West Asia. It will be implemented through the coordination of the Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Navy, and the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS).

Sridhar Vembu, Co-founder of Zoho Corporation Pvt Ltd, has inaugurated the Thiruvanmiyur campus of the VELS Institute of Science, Technology, & Advanced Studies (VISTAS) in Chennai. It is to be noted that this facility is recognised as India's first AI-integrated vertical university campus.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), led by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, has imposed a penalty of ₹1 lakh on SpiceJet Ltd.

The penalty was levied due to the airline's adoption of deceptive design practices, commonly referred to as 'dark patterns', on its flight booking platform.

PM Narendra Modi has dedicated development projects worth ₹14,700 crore to the nation in Haryana, aimed at enhancing road connectivity and medical infrastructure.

During the event, he flagged off India's first hydrogen-powered train. He also inaugurated the 157.92 km long, four-lane, fully access-controlled Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, developed at a cost of ₹9,680 crore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth over ₹4,700 crore in Chandigarh.

The projects focus on the expansion of healthcare, education, and road infrastructure. As part of the connectivity projects, the PM inaugurated the IT City–Kurali six-lane Greenfield Highway.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has implemented 8 additional structural reforms under the 'Reform Express' initiative at Rail Bhawan, New Delhi. This brings the total number of reforms implemented to 17, advancing the ministry's strategic objective to execute 52 reforms within 52 weeks.

The newly introduced reforms (10 to 17) encompass Fly Ash Transportation, reforms in the Container Sector, Fertilizer Transportation, a policy for skilling artisans in railway projects and works, Construction reforms, a policy for wagon design approval, Petroleum Products Transportation, and the transportation of Foodgrains, Flour, and Pulses.

Uttar Pradesh has become the second-largest state in India for domestic rooftop solar installations under the 'PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana' with 6.75 lakh installations, surpassing Maharashtra.

Gujarat leads the ranking with 7.4 lakh installations, while Maharashtra ranks third with 6.74 lakh installations.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved two infrastructure projects to relieve Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The first project involves the development of a 43.218 km Link/Connector Corridor connecting National Highway (NH)-31 and the Varanasi Ring Road along the Varuna River, at a cost of ₹10,998 crore.

The second project entails the development of a 46.039 km Link/Connector Corridor between NH-19 and the Varanasi Ring Road along the Ganga River, at a cost of ₹14,447 crore. Both projects will be implemented by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM).

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved 2 multitracking projects under the Ministry of Railways with an estimated cost of ₹3,907 crore.

These projects, covering 145 km across 4 districts in Odisha and Jharkhand, include the doubling of the Paradeep to Haridaspur line and the construction of a 4th line between Rajkharsawan and Dangoaposi. The projects are scheduled to be completed by FY31.

The Union Cabinet has approved 'Semicon 2.0' with a total outlay of ₹1.27 lakh crore to holistically develop the semiconductor design and manufacturing ecosystem in India.

The scheme is structured around 6 key pillars: Design, Machines and materials, setting up more fabs, strengthening the Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging (ATMP) and Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) industry, Research & Development (R&D), and Talent development.

To date, the government has approved 12 semiconductor manufacturing units with a cumulative investment of over ₹1.64 lakh crore. Additionally, 24 semiconductor design projects from start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been approved for financial support, and 105 entities have been granted access to industry-standard Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) with a budgetary outlay of Rs 62,500 crore. The scheme will be implemented over 5 years, from FY27 to FY31.

The MPMS aims to scale up production, deepen domestic value addition, strengthen supply chain resilience, and enhance global competitiveness in the mobile phone manufacturing sector. The scheme offers incentive support on eligible sales for manufacturing mobile phones in India at rates ranging from 2.25% to 5%.

Additional incentives include up to 1.5% for domestic sourcing of key components or sub-assemblies, and an extra 3% for product design and Research and Development (R&D) to build Indian brands. Cumulative mobile phone production in India is expected to reach Rs 39 lakh crore during the scheme's tenure, alongside a projected increase in exports.

A 28-km long plastic-lined artificial reservoir has been developed in the Thar Desert near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to provide a consistent, year-round drinking water supply.

Recognized as one of Asia's largest artificial desert reservoirs, it has a storage capacity of 1.41 billion liters and a depth of 13 meters. The reservoir captures rainwater and surplus monsoon water, which is channeled from the Indira Gandhi Canal via a 1-km escape channel.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with the Drone Federation India (DFI), has launched the second edition of the 'National Innovation Challenge for Drone Application and Research' (NIDAR 2.0, 2026-27) at Electronics Niketan, New Delhi, in a hybrid mode.

The challenge is conducted under the 'SwaYaan' initiative, which was approved by MeitY in 2022 with a total financial outlay of ₹89.87 crore over a five-year period.