Of the 24 Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees, six are getting new chairpersons in a reshuffle in which the Trinamool Congress (TMC) gives up two chair posts. Among BJP MPs, Sudhanshu Trivedi will lead the Commerce panel, Sujeet Kumar the Personnel panel, Shashank Mani the Labour panel and Sudhir Gupta the Railways panel.
India's network of quantum-secure communication has now passed the 1,000 km mark. With this, the country has already covered more than half of the target set for the eight-year National Quantum Mission, and it has done so in under three years of the mission's run. The milestone shows that progress is running well ahead of schedule.
West Bengal began its first tiger reintroduction project after a three-year-old Royal Bengal tigress was shifted from Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar and released into Buxa Tiger Reserve in Alipurduar district. The translocation is aimed at restoring a tiger population in Buxa through animals brought in from another reserve.
Gujarat has reorganised the Porbandar Forest Division to improve forest management and build Barda, in the Saurashtra region, into a second habitat for Asiatic lions beyond the Gir landscape. The step follows the natural return of lions to Barda after 143 years. Gujarat's 2026 lion census counted 891 Asiatic lions, compared with 674 in 2020.
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh is heading India's parliamentary team at the 153rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), under way in Arusha, Tanzania. The Assembly's theme is “Enhancing good governance and empowering communities through inclusivity, trust and opportunities for all.” Its agenda takes in AI, climate change, health, women's participation, peace and security, human rights and democracy.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) marked its centenary on 1 October 2026. The first Public Service Commission was set up on 1 October 1926 with Sir Ross Barker as Chairman. Under the Government of India Act, 1935, it was reorganised as the Federal Public Service Commission.
PM-DHARA (PM-Developing Harmonized and Accelerated Renewable-energy Access) has received the Union Cabinet's nod to strengthen transmission networks within States. By FY 2032–33 it aims to enable the evacuation of as much as 135 GW of renewable power. The Centre will provide ₹54,082 crore to cover intra-State transmission charges and keep power tariffs low.
According to WHO's Global Health Estimates, India's life expectancy at birth was 71 years in 2023, above Pakistan (68.2) but below Bangladesh (72.7). It had dropped from 70.5 years in 2019 to 68.1 in 2021 before recovering. Healthy life expectancy stood at 60.6 years in 2023. An Indian aged 60 could expect 18.8 more years, 13.7 of them healthy.
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