Recent 6 months news in State

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of $182.89 million (in Japanese Yen equivalent) to Karnataka for the "Strengthening Karnataka Public Schools Program". The program aims to strengthen the public school system by establishing 500 integrated school clusters.

Additionally, the program will receive a $10 million grant and a $25 million guarantee from the International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd).

Biswanath Sinha has assumed charge as the Chief Secretary of Kerala, succeeding Dr. A Jayathilak. His tenure is scheduled to extend until September 2028.

The iconic Jolbhora (Jalbhara) Sandesh from Chandannagar in West Bengal has been awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

This tag designates Chandannagar (Hooghly district) as the unique place of origin for the sweet, safeguarding its authentic recipe and cultural heritage.

Sanjay Jaju has been appointed as the Chief Secretary of Telangana. He succeeds K Ramakrishna Rao.

The Kerala government has presented the revised Budget for the FY27 in the state assembly. The budget estimates revenue receipts at ₹1.7 lakh crore and revenue expenditure at ₹2 lakh crore.

The Delhi Cabinet has approved the 'Delhi Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2026', effective from July 2026 to March 2030, with a financial outlay of 15,000 crore.

The policy offers a 100% road tax and registration fee waiver for electric cars up to 30 lakh, and a 50% exemption for strong hybrid models (up to 30 lakh). Luxury EVs priced above 30 lakh are excluded.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) subsidies for electric 2-wheelers are 30,000 (1st year), 20,000 (2nd year), and 10,000 (3rd year), while electric 3-wheelers receive 50,000, 40,000, and 30,000 over three years.

N1 category goods trucks are eligible for an incentive of up to 1 lakh. Scrappage bonuses include 1 lakh for 4-wheelers, 50,000 for commercial trucks, 25,000 for 3-wheelers, and 10,000 for 2-wheelers. Commercial and school fleet operators are mandated to electrify 10% of their fleet within two years, 20% by the third year, and 30% by March 2030.

The government also aims to deploy over 30,000 charging stations. Additionally, the first 1,000 heavy-duty N2 electric trucks (3.5 to 12 tonnes) will receive a 10-year exemption from city peak hour 'No Entry' restrictions.

The Himachal Pradesh government has signed implementation agreements for 19 hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 278 Megawatts (MW). These projects, involving an investment of ₹3,336 crore, are scheduled for implementation in 2026.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has inaugurated the new Captain of Ports Terminal Building in Panaji, Goa. The building was developed by the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) at a cost of ₹48.87 crore.

He also announced that the proposed Goa Water Metro project, an environment-friendly urban mobility initiative worth ₹3,146 crore, has been elevated to Phase-I implementation priority.

The Maharashtra government has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Google for Education to train teachers in AI and digital technology.

The 18-month initiative aims to strengthen teachers' digital competencies, improve AI literacy, and promote technology-enabled learning in schools, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Vinai Kumar Saxena, the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, has approved the formation of the ‘Snow Leopard and High-Altitude Nature’ (SHAN) Conservation Society to protect the endangered snow leopard and its habitat. This is the first initiative of its kind in the region.

It is to be noted that according to the ‘2024 Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India’, there are 718 snow leopards in the country, with 477 of them located in Ladakh.

The World Bank has approved a loan of ₹4,000 crore for the “Jal Sanrakshit Haryana” (Water Secure Haryana) project, which has an outlay of ₹5,714 crore. The project aims to resolve the groundwater crisis and ensure water sustainability in the state.

It will be implemented in phases over a 6-year period (2026-2032) and will cover 15 clusters across 48.94 lakh acres.

The Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu has directed a 20% reservation for ex-Agniveers in the direct recruitment to vacant Group 'C' posts across key operational departments.

The Kerala government has launched the ‘Priyadarshini’ free bus travel scheme. Under this initiative, women and transgender persons are eligible for free travel on ordinary Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses across the state.

Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary have launched an Integrated Aqua Park at the Vanasaur Fish Seed Farm in Bhojpur, developed with an investment of ₹31.21 crore under the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).

They also inaugurated the Regional Centre of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) in Patna, which will serve as a knowledge and institutional hub for Bihar and the Eastern India region.

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and CM Samrat Choudhary laid the foundation stone for a Technology Centre in Khizarsarai, Gaya. The facility is being developed with a budget of ₹170 crore.

The Tamil Nadu government has launched the Singappen Special Task Force, an all-women police unit dedicated to preventing crimes against women and children.

Headed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) K Bhavaneeswari, the unit will deploy about 2,500 personnel in its initial phase. The government has allocated ₹354 crore for this initiative.

The Kerala government has launched the Hostile Activity Watch Kernel (HAWK), which is the first fully digitised and judiciary-integrated wildlife offence management system of India.

The HAWK operates as a cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to manage wildlife crime data and support enforcement efforts. The system integrates forest records with the District Court Management System through an Application Programming Interface (API), making Kerala the first state in India to implement such a judiciary-integrated framework.

The Himachal Pradesh government has signed an MoU with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to promote climate-resilient development, environmental sustainability, biodiversity conservation, and inclusive growth in the state.

Additionally, CM Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has launched the ‘Safai Mitra Scheme’ to empower informal waste management workers.

West Bengal has officially implemented the Ayushman Bharat PM Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), becoming the 36th State/UT to join the scheme.

This marks the completion of a 100% nationwide rollout of the world’s largest publicly funded health assurance scheme across every state and UT in India. It is to be noted that the central government has allocated ₹3,505 crore to West Bengal under the National Health Mission (NHM) for FY27.

The Nagaland government has imposed a 1-year statewide ban on the manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution, and sale of all food products containing tobacco or nicotine.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia and Tripura CM Dr. Manik Saha have launched the ‘Tripura Mission Queen Pineapple’ at Sanchar Bhawan in New Delhi. The initiative is a ₹236 crore convergence-led project focused on pineapple cultivation and value chain development.

The mission aims to bridge existing gaps through convergence-led investments and market-oriented interventions to enhance farmer value realization, while promoting Tripura’s GI-tagged ‘Queen Pineapple’ as its Unique Selling Proposition (USP).