31st October 2026

Explanation - Ayushman Vay Vandana Initiative was launched in 2024. It extends the benefits of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to elderly citizens, It aims to improve access to healthcare and reduce the financial burden of hospitalisation. It is implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Features — Under the initiative, all citizens aged 70 years and above are eligible for health coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per family annually for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. Senior citizens belonging to families already covered under AB PM-JAY receive an additional top-up cover of up to ₹5 lakh annually, exclusively for themselves. This coverage is separate from the existing family cover available to members below 70 years of age.

Explanation - The Gangetic dolphin remains listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. WILDLIFE ACT PROTECTION - After the launch of Ganga Action Plan in 1985, the government on November 24, 1986 included Gangetic dolphins in the First Schedule of the Indian Wildlife (Protection), Act 1972. This was aimed at checking hunting and providing conservation facilities such as wildlife sanctuaries. For instance, Vikramshila Ganges Dolphin Sanctuary was established in Bihar under this Act. CONSERVATION PLAN - The government also prepared The Conservation Action Plan for the Ganges River Dolphin 2010-2020, which “identified threats to Gangetic Dolphins and impact of river traffic, irrigation canals and depletion of prey-base on Dolphins populations”. NATIONAL AQUATIC ANIMAL - On October 5, 2009, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while chairing the maiden meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority, declared the Gangetic river dolphin as the national aquatic animal. Now, the National Mission for Clean Ganga celebrates October 5 as National Ganga River Dolphin Day.

Explanation - The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) is a statutory Corporation set up under an Act of Indian Parliament on 13 March 1963. The objectives of NCDC are planning and promoting programmes for production, processing, marketing, storage, export and import of agricultural produce, foodstuffs, industrial goods, livestock and certain other notified commodities and services on cooperative principles and for matters concerned therewith or incidental thereto. Functions - Planning, promoting and financing programmes for supply of consumer goods and collection, processing, marketing, storage and export of minor forest produce through cooperatives, besides income generating stream of activities such as poultry, dairy, fishery, sericulture, handloom etc. NCDC will now be able to finance projects in the rural industrial cooperative sectors and for certain notified services in rural areas like water conservation, irrigation and micro irrigation, agri-insurance, agro-credit, rural sanitation, animal health, etc.

Explanation - It is a proposed 11,000 MW hydropower project on the Siang River near the Geku Village in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The Siang River is the upper course of the Brahmaputra It is envisioned as one of India’s largest hydropower reservoirs and as a strategic countermeasure to China’s proposed 60,000 MW super dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) in Tibet’s Medog County. This project aims to not only harness hydropower but also to control flooding and erosion downstream in the upper Brahmaputra basin. The area is primarily inhabited by the Adi Tribe, an indigenous community with a strong connection to the Siang River. Developers: Jointly undertaken by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO).

Explanation - A digital arrest scam is a sophisticated cyber fraud in which criminals impersonate law enforcement agencies to intimidate victims into believing they are under “virtual arrest”. Scammers typically pose as officers from the police, CBI, ED, or even courts, using forged documents, spoofed phone numbers, or video calls to create a sense of urgency and fear. Victims are falsely accused of crimes such as money laundering, violating cyber laws, or involvement in illegal parcels. They are then coerced into staying on video call “under surveillance” and pressured to transfer money to supposedly secure or investigative accounts. Elderly individuals and professionals are frequent targets.