GK One-Liners

What: The Government unveiled comprehensive technology-driven reforms for the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), including single-window access for all services, faster claim settlements, Know Your Customer (KYC) revival drive, expanded coverage for overseas workers, and an ambitious target of achieving 100 crore social security coverage by March 2026.

How: The reforms leverage digital infrastructure to integrate multiple EPFO services into unified portals, automate claim processing to reduce settlement time, enable bulk KYC updates for dormant accounts, and extend provident fund benefits to Indian workers employed abroad. The initiative aims to modernize India’s largest social security organization, which currently manages retirement savings for over 27 crore subscribers across organized and unorganized sectors.

Why: This is critical for UPSC Mains (GS Paper III – Employment and Social Security) and Banking exams covering labor welfare schemes. Questions may explore EPFO’s role in social security architecture, comparison with other retirement schemes like NPS and EPF, challenges in extending coverage to informal sector workers, digital governance in public institutions, and India’s progress toward universal social protection under sustainable development goals.

What: The National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) has been integrated with the National Population Register (NPR), enabling law enforcement and intelligence agencies to access verified demographic data for criminal investigation, suspect tracking, and intelligence coordination. This integration creates a unified platform connecting multiple databases for national security purposes.

How: NATGRID functions as a centralized intelligence gathering and dissemination system that aggregates data from 21 different organizations including immigration, banking, telecommunications, and tax records. NPR integration provides agencies with authenticated demographic information—name, address, biometrics, family details—facilitating faster suspect identification, tracking of criminal networks, and prevention of identity fraud. The system operates under strict access protocols with audit trails to prevent misuse.

Why: This development is crucial for UPSC Mains (GS Paper III – Internal Security and Technology) covering intelligence infrastructure and data governance. Questions may address NATGRID’s objectives, privacy concerns versus security needs, comparison with international intelligence systems, NPR’s constitutional and legal basis under Citizenship Act 1955, data protection frameworks, and the balance between technological surveillance capabilities and civil liberties—a key ethical dimension frequently tested.

What: The Centre launched India’s first comprehensive weapon tracking database—the Lost, Looted & Recovered Firearm Database—developed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to track government-issued weapons and curb terrorism and organized crime. This centralized system maintains real-time records of all service weapons across police and paramilitary forces.

How: The database captures detailed information on every government firearm including serial numbers, allocation details, loss/theft reports, recovery records, and chain of custody. When weapons are lost or looted from security forces, immediate alerts are generated, enabling coordinated tracking operations. The system helps identify patterns in weapon diversion to criminal and terrorist networks, supports forensic ballistic matching in crime investigations, and strengthens accountability in weapon management across agencies.

Why: This topic is vital for UPSC and state PSC exams covering internal security and law enforcement modernization. Questions may explore NIA’s mandate under NIA Act 2008, challenges of weapon proliferation in insurgency-affected areas, links between looted weapons and left-wing extremism/terrorism, Arms Act 1959 provisions, technology in crime prevention, and inter-state coordination mechanisms for tracking illegal firearms—connecting to broader themes of national security infrastructure.

What: IIT Patna inaugurated the Param Rudra supercomputer under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), a joint initiative by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). This high-performance computing system will boost research in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, data science, and computational physics.

How: Param Rudra is part of the Param series of indigenous supercomputers developed under NSM, which aims to establish a grid of supercomputing facilities across premier academic and research institutions. The system provides massive computational power for complex simulations, big data analytics, climate modeling, drug discovery, and advanced AI training. NSM’s goal is to position India among the top supercomputing nations while building domestic capabilities in high-performance computing infrastructure.

Why: This development is crucial for UPSC Science & Technology questions covering indigenous technological capabilities, research infrastructure, and digital India initiatives. Questions may explore NSM objectives, comparison with global supercomputing rankings (Top500 list), applications in strategic sectors like defense and weather forecasting, atmanirbhar principles in critical technology, and the role of advanced computing in achieving scientific leadership aligned with Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

What: VoxelGrids, a health-tech startup backed by Zoho Corporation, developed India’s first indigenous 1.5 Tesla (1.5T) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner. The device is approximately 40% cheaper than imported alternatives, uses helium-free technology reducing operational costs, and strengthens Make in India healthcare technology capabilities.

How: Traditional MRI scanners require liquid helium for superconducting magnets, creating dependency on expensive imports and complex maintenance. VoxelGrids’ helium-free design uses alternative cooling technologies, making the system more affordable and sustainable. The 1.5T field strength is the standard for clinical diagnostics, suitable for brain, spine, joint, and organ imaging. Indigenous manufacturing reduces import dependency, improves affordability for tier-2 and tier-3 hospitals, and creates local service and spare parts ecosystems.

Why: This topic is vital for questions on healthcare technology, import substitution, and startup innovation. UPSC and Banking exams may test knowledge of Make in India in medical devices, challenges in healthcare infrastructure, medical equipment import dependency statistics, Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for medical devices, and the role of private sector innovation in affordable healthcare—linking to broader themes of universal health coverage and atmanirbhar healthcare technology ecosystem.

What: Anu Garg, a 1991-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has been appointed as Odisha’s first woman Chief Secretary, effective January 1, 2026. The Chief Secretary is the senior-most bureaucrat in a state government, serving as the administrative head and principal advisor to the Chief Minister on policy matters and governance.

How: The Chief Secretary position is typically filled through seniority-cum-merit selection among senior IAS officers of the state cadre. As the administrative head, the Chief Secretary coordinates between different government departments, oversees policy implementation, chairs key committees, and ensures effective delivery of government programs. The appointment represents growing representation of women in top bureaucratic positions, following similar appointments in states like Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.

Why: This development is relevant for UPSC Prelims and Mains (GS Paper II – Governance) covering administrative structure, women’s representation in governance, and civil services. Questions may explore the role and functions of Chief Secretary, comparison with Cabinet Secretary at the Centre, IAS service structure and cadre allocation, constitutional provisions for gender equality, challenges and progress in achieving gender parity in administrative services, and the significance of women leadership in driving inclusive governance reforms.