GK One-Liners

What: Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal launched the Angikaar 2025 campaign (running until October 31, 2025) to accelerate the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0). The campaign focuses on last-mile outreach, application verification, faster project completion, and ensuring housing delivery across more than 5,000 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) nationwide. PMAY-U 2.0 aims to provide pucca houses with basic amenities to all eligible urban poor and economically weaker sections.

How: The Angikaar campaign involves intensive field activities including door-to-door surveys to identify eligible beneficiaries, organizing camps for application submission and verification, expediting pending approvals and sanctions, monitoring construction progress through digital platforms, and ensuring convergence with other urban development schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission and AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation). The campaign emphasizes beneficiary-led construction, technology-enabled monitoring through the PMAY-U Management Information System, and involvement of all stakeholders including state governments, ULBs, and civil society organizations.

Why: Urban housing and welfare schemes are critical governance topics. Questions on PMAY-U, slum rehabilitation, affordable housing, and urban poverty alleviation appear in UPSC Prelims (Social Issues, Governance) and Mains GS2 (Welfare Schemes, Urban Development). This topic connects to the Housing for All mission, constitutional provisions on right to shelter (Article 21), challenges of rapid urbanization, and government efforts to address housing shortages estimated at over 10 million units in urban areas.

What: NITI Aayog released a comprehensive roadmap to achieve pulse self-sufficiency by 2030 and double production by 2047, addressing India’s chronic dependence on pulse imports despite being the world’s largest consumer and producer. The strategy targets increasing domestic production from current levels of approximately 25-27 million tonnes to meet growing demand, reduce import bills (which exceed USD 2-3 billion annually), and ensure nutritional security since pulses are a primary protein source for millions of vegetarians.

How: The roadmap emphasizes cluster-based cultivation strategies focusing on high-potential pulse-growing districts, development and distribution of high-yielding and disease-resistant seed varieties, adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices including precision farming and micro-irrigation, expansion of pulse cultivation in non-traditional areas through crop diversification, technology-driven monitoring using satellite imagery and drones for area estimation and yield prediction, strengthening of procurement mechanisms at Minimum Support Price (MSP), and improving storage and processing infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses.

Why: Agricultural production strategies and food security are fundamental economic topics. Questions on pulse production, agricultural policies, crop diversification, MSP mechanisms, and NITI Aayog initiatives appear in UPSC Prelims (Agriculture, Economy) and Mains GS3 (Agriculture & Food Security). This topic connects to National Food Security Mission-Pulses, concerns about protein malnutrition, the challenge of volatile pulse prices affecting inflation, and India’s need to reduce dependence on imports from countries like Canada, Myanmar, and Australia.

What: A green hydrogen pilot project was inaugurated at V.O. Chidambaranar Port (formerly Tuticorin Port) in Tamil Nadu, marking a significant step in adopting clean energy for port operations. The inauguration also included a new container terminal, a 110-kilovolt electrical substation, and a 6-megawatt wind power project. Green hydrogen, produced through electrolysis of water using renewable energy, emits zero carbon dioxide and represents a key technology for India’s energy transition and Net Zero commitments.

How: The green hydrogen facility uses solar or wind power to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. The produced hydrogen can power port equipment like forklifts, trucks, and cargo handling machinery, replacing diesel and reducing emissions. The integrated 6-MW wind project provides renewable electricity for both hydrogen production and general port operations. This pilot demonstrates the feasibility of decarbonizing port logistics, which typically contributes significantly to air pollution in coastal cities. If successful, the model can be replicated across India’s 12 major ports and 200+ non-major ports.

Why: Green hydrogen and renewable energy adoption are crucial for India’s climate goals. Questions on National Green Hydrogen Mission, renewable energy targets, port-led development, and energy transition appear in UPSC Prelims (Environment, Economy) and Mains GS3 (Energy Security, Climate Change). This topic connects to India’s goal of becoming a green hydrogen hub, Sagarmala Project for port modernization, the target of 5 million tonnes annual green hydrogen production by 2030, and India’s commitment to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2070.

What: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) transferred three critical strategic materials technologies to Indian public sector companies to accelerate indigenous defence manufacturing. These include missile radome technology to Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), DMR-1700 high-strength steel sheet technology to Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), and DMR-249A High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) steel plate technology to Steel Authority of India Limited’s (SAIL) Bhilai Steel Plant unit. These materials are essential for advanced defence platforms including missiles, armoured vehicles, and naval ships.

How: Technology transfer involves sharing technical know-how, manufacturing processes, quality standards, and testing protocols from DRDO’s research laboratories to industrial production facilities. Radomes are protective enclosures for radar systems on aircraft and missiles, requiring materials that are transparent to radio waves while being structurally strong. DMR-1700 steel provides high strength-to-weight ratio crucial for ballistic protection in armoured vehicles. DMR-249A HSLA steel offers superior weldability and toughness for naval applications. These transfers enable private and public sector companies to manufacture defence-grade materials domestically, reducing import dependence and supporting the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative in defence.

Why: Defence indigenization and technology transfer are strategic priorities for national security. Questions on DRDO, Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence, technology transfer mechanisms, and defence manufacturing appear in UPSC Prelims (Defence) and Mains GS3 (Defence Technology, Self-Reliance). This topic connects to the Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020, target of ₹1.75 lakh crore defence manufacturing by 2025, negative indigenization lists, and India’s ambition to become a major defence exporter while reducing imports from approximately 70% to 30% of total procurement.

What: ISRO announced that its second spaceport at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, is planned to become operational by December 2026. Spread across 2,300 acres along the coastline, this new launch facility will be dedicated to Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) missions, enabling approximately 20-25 launches annually for payloads up to 500 kilograms into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The facility will complement the existing Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

How: The Kulasekarapattinam spaceport’s southern location (closer to the equator than Sriharikota) provides advantages for launching satellites into equatorial and low-inclination orbits, requiring less fuel and enabling heavier payloads. The facility will have dedicated launch pads, assembly buildings, mission control centers, and propellant storage systems optimized for SSLV operations. SSLV is designed for commercial satellite launches, offering quick turnaround times (as low as 72 hours between launches), minimal launch infrastructure requirements, and cost-effective access to space for small satellites serving earth observation, communication, and IoT applications. The new spaceport will cater to growing global demand for small satellite launches, supporting India’s commercial space ambitions.

Why: Space infrastructure development and commercial space activities are important for India’s technological advancement. Questions on ISRO facilities, launch vehicles, commercial space policy, and India’s space sector reforms appear in UPSC Prelims (Science & Tech) and Mains GS3 (Space Technology). This topic connects to IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre), Space Policy 2023 enabling private sector participation, the growing small satellite market estimated at USD 7 billion globally, and India’s strategy to capture a larger share of the USD 400 billion global space economy.

What: Singapore endorsed India’s proposal to patrol the Malacca Strait during Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s visit to India, marking a significant development in Indo-Pacific maritime security cooperation. The Malacca Strait, located between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, is one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, with over 25% of global trade and 80% of China’s oil imports passing through it annually. The strait is approximately 800 kilometers long but only 2.8 kilometers wide at its narrowest point.

How: India’s naval presence in the Malacca Strait would involve coordinated patrols with littoral states (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia), information sharing on maritime threats including piracy and terrorism, participation in joint exercises, and contributing to maritime domain awareness through surveillance assets. India already has a bilateral agreement with Indonesia for coordinated patrols (CORPAT) in the Andaman Sea and maintains naval cooperation with Singapore through exercises like SIMBEX. Expanding patrol responsibilities demonstrates India’s capability and willingness to contribute to regional maritime security, aligning with its role as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region.

Why: Maritime security and India’s Indo-Pacific strategy are crucial foreign policy topics. Questions on strategic maritime chokepoints, India’s naval diplomacy, ASEAN partnerships, and Indo-Pacific security architecture appear in UPSC Prelims (Geography, International Relations) and Mains GS2 and GS3 (India’s Foreign Policy, Security). This topic connects to India’s Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) vision, Quad cooperation, concerns about China’s maritime assertiveness, and India’s Andaman and Nicobar Command positioned strategically near the strait as the only tri-service theater command.