About Mission Queen Pineapple:

• It is designed for promoting Tripura’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) — the GI-tagged Queen Pineapple.
• Objective: It has an objective of establishing an integrated pineapple value-chain ecosystem in the State.
• The initiative aims to address structural gaps and unlock the premium market potential for Tripura's Queen Pineapple, transforming discarded leaves into wealth.
• Time Period: The Mission is designed as a three-year implementation roadmap from Q2 FY2026 to Q4 FY2028 for promoting Tripura's Unique Selling Proposition (USP),
• Nodal Ministry: Minister for the Development of North Eastern Region

Key Facts about Queen Pineapple:

• It is a spiny, golden-yellow variety known for its sweet taste, pleasant aroma, juicy flesh, and rich nutritional value.
• It contains vitamins A, B, and C, as well as minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron.
• The fruit has Total Soluble Solids (TSS), or sweetness, ranging from 13 to 17.2 degrees Brix and acidity levels between 0.6 and 0.8 per cent, giving it a balanced sweet-tart flavour.
• It is also the state fruit of Tripura.
• It received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2015.

About Forest Advisory Committee (FAC):

• It is a statutory body established under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980.
• Functions: It considers questions on the diversion of forest land for non-forest uses such as mining, industrial projects, townships and advises the state government on the issue of granting forest clearances.
• Process of Transferring Forest Land:
  • Once the FAC is convinced and approves (or rejects a proposal), it is forwarded to the concerned State government where the land is located.
  • State government then has to ensure that provisions of the Forest Right Act, 2006, a separate Act that protects the rights of forest dwellers and tribals over their land, are complied with.
  • The FAC approval also means that the future users of the land must provide compensatory land for afforestation as well as pay the net present value.
• It is under the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

About Central Consumer Protection Authority:

• It was established under Section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
• The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which replaced the 1986 Act, came into force in 2020.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
• Composition of CCPA:
  • Chief Commissioner: A Chief Commissioner heads the CCPA and has two other commissioners:
    • One commissioner deals with goods-related issues.
    • The other commissioner handles service-related complaints.
  • Functions and Powers of CCPA:
    • The CCPA protects, promotes and enforces the rights of consumers as a class under the Act.
    • It prevents unfair trade practices and curbs false or misleading advertisements.
    • It ensures that no one publishes or disseminates false or misleading advertisements.
    • It can initiate class-action suits, including recall, refunds, and cancellation of licenses, when necessary.
    • The CCPA can conduct inquiries and investigations through its investigation Wing, headed by a Director-General.
    • It can order the discontinuation of unfair practices, impose penalties on errant businesses, and enforce consumer welfare measures.

About Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary:

• Location: It is located in the northern part of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra (spread over the three districts Pune, Thane and Raigad).
• It is named after Lord 'Bhimashankar' (one of the twelve Jyotirlingas).
• It was declared as Wildlife Sanctuary in 1985.
• Rivers: Two major tributaries of river Krishna namely Bhima and Ghod originate from this area.
• Vegeattion: Major forest types are western subtropical broad leaved hill forest to moist deciduous types with a few included small patches of evergreen forests.
• Flora:
  • Sacred Groves (Deorais): The sanctuary has unique sacred groves protected by socio-religious rules.
  • It also consists of Bilschmiedia dalzellii, Mangifera indica, Olea dioica, Syzygium cumini, Carallia brachiata, Myristica malabarica, Diospyros malabarica, D. montana, D. sylvatica and Symplocos racemosa.
• Fauna:
  • The main wild speies are Giant Indian squirrel (Ratufa indica elphinstoni), Panther (Panthera paradus), Sambar (Cervus unicolor), Mouse Deer Tragulus memina, Hyaena (Hyaena hyaena), Wild boar (Sus scrofa).

About Sanchi Stupa:

• It was built by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the third century BC.
• It enshrines religious relics or remains of the Buddha and his most revered disciples.
• The development of the Sanchi complex was supported by patronage from Vidisha’s mercantile community.
• It was in abject ruins when it was “discovered” by British officer Henry Taylor in 1818.
• Later on Alexander Cunningham, led the first formal survey and excavations at Sanchi in 1851. 
• Structure:
  • It is enclosed by a massive stone railing pierced by four gateways, which are adorned withelaborate carvings (known as Sanchi sculpture).
  • The stupa itself consists of a base bearing a hemispherical dome (anda), symbolizing the dome of heaven enclosing the earth.
  • It is surmounted by a squared rail unit (harmika) representing the world mountain, from which rises a mast (yashti), symbolizing the cosmic axis. 
  • The mast bears umbrellas (chatras) that represent the various heavens (devaloka).

About Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin:

• It was launched in 2016 by restructuring the erstwhile rural housing scheme Indira Awaas yojana (IAY).
• It aims to provide financial assistance to eligible rural households, including houseless families and those living in zero, one, or two-room kutcha houses, to construct pucca homes with basic amenities.
• Target: the Government initially set a target of 95 crore houses for FY 2016–17 to FY 2023–24 and approved the continuation of the scheme for another 5 years (FY 2024–25 to FY 2028–29) with an additional target of 2 crore houses.
• Minimum unit size: Each house must have at least 25 sq. m, including a dedicated hygienic cooking area.
• Beneficiary Selection: It is carried out on the basis of housing deprivation parameters and exclusion criteria prescribed under the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011.
• Financial Assistance and Funding: The scheme provides direct financial support for house construction:
  • Unit Assistance:₹1.20 lakh in plain areas and ₹1.30 lakh in hilly states (including North Eastern states, J&K, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand).
  • Funding Pattern:
    • The cost is shared between the Central and State governments in the ratio 60:40for plain areas and 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan states.
    • For Union Territories without a legislature, the Centre provides 100% of the funding.
  • Monitoring: The entire process is managed through e-governance solutions like the AwaasSoft Management Information System (MIS) and the AwaasApp mobile application.

About Singapore:

• Location: It is an island country located off the coast of the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia, between the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.
• Bordered by: It borders South China Sea to the east, the Strait of Malacca to the west, and the Riau Islands lie to the south.
• It is separated from Malaysia by the Johor Strait(North) and from Indonesia by the Singapore Strait.
• Capital City: Singapore
• It is one of member country of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
• Geographical Features of Singapore:
  • Climate: It is in the equatorial monsoon region and its climate is characterized by uniformly high temperatures and nearly constant precipitation throughout the year.
  • Highest Peak: Its highest point is Timah Hill.
  • It is the largest port in Southeast Asia and one of the busiest in the world.

About National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment:

• It is a biennial assessment framework developed by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
• It measures the depth and effectiveness of existing e-Governance service delivery mechanisms from the citizen’s perspective.
• Global Reference: It is based on the Online Service Index (OSI) of the UN e-Government Survey.
• It assesses the availability, accessibility and maturity of online service delivery across States, Union Territories and focus Central Ministries/Departments.
• NeSDA serves as an important benchmarking exercise for improving online service delivery across the country.

 NeSDA 2025 framework dimensions and additions:

• Portal Coverage: All Government Portals assessed under NeSDA are classified into two categories, viz:
  • State, UT, City and Central Ministry Portals
  • State, UT, City and Central Ministry Service Portals
• Focus Sectors and Mandatory Services Coverage: It  covers G2C and G2B services across key sectors, viz., Finance, Labour & Employment, Education, Local Governance & Utility Services, Social Welfare, Environment (including Fire), Tourism, Public Grievance, Transport and Travel sectors.
  • It proposes an expansion on focus sectors with the addition of services of Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
  • In NeSDA 2025, a total of 59 mandatory services are proposed to be assessed for every State & UT and 43 services to be assessed covering Central Ministries/Departments.
• Assessment Parameters: It includes Security, Privacy, Open Government Data (OGD), E-Participation, Ease of Use, Emerging Technology

About Central Industrial Security Force:

• It is a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) in India operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• It provides security to various critical infrastructures and important national installations.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Motto: “Protection and Security”.
• Establishment of Central Industrial Security Force:
  • The idea of forming a specialised industrial security force gained urgency after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
  • The CISF came into existence in 1969 through the CISF Act 1968 with a sanctioned strength of only three battalions. 
  • The original charter of CISF was to provide integrated security cover to certain sensitive public sector undertakings.
  • The Act was amended in 1983, declaring the CISF as an Armed Force of the Union.
• Organisation Structure of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF):
  • It is headed by an Indian Police Service officer with the rank of Director-General, assisted by an IPS officer in the rank of Addl. Director-General.
  • The force is divided into seven sectors (Airport, North, North-East, East, West, South, and Training) and also has a Fire Service Wing.
  • The force consists of seven training institutes – six Recruit Training Centers and the National Industrial Security Academy (NISA). 
• Functions of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF):
  • It provides security to India’s most critical infrastructure facilities, like nuclear installations, space establishments, airports, seaports, power plants, etc.
  • In addition, the CISF also protects important government buildings, iconic heritage monuments, Delhi Metro, Parliament House Complex.
  • CISF personnel are trained in disaster management techniques, enabling them to actively respond to natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, and cyclones.
  • CISF is one of the largest Fire Protection Service providers in the country. CISF is the only force with a customized and dedicated fire wing.

About Duttaphyrnus dhara:

• It is a new toad species found in
• Habitat: It prefers forest-edge and semi-natural habitats.
• Features:
  • It is a small, forest-associated toad.
  • It has a compact body, wider head and absence of prominent cranial ridges.
  • It has small but distinct tympanum, moderate toe webbing, and a rough dorsum covered with numerous pointed keratinised warts.
  • It has a brown body with irregular black patches, a narrow pale mid-dorsal line, dark fingers and toes, and a creamy white underside marked with black blotches.
  • It is clearly different from its closest known relatives, Duttaphrynus stuarti and Duttaphrynus chandai.