Current Affairs 20 April 2026
PMGSY
- Launched: on December 25, 2000, as a flagship centrally sponsored scheme under the Ministry of Rural Development.
- Objective: to alleviate poverty by providing all-weather road connectivity to previously unconnected rural habitations with a population of
- 500 or more in plain areas,
- 250 or more in special category regions, such as the North-Eastern states, Himalayan states, desert areas, and select backward districts.
- Key Phases:
- Phase I (2000): focused on providing initial all-weather connections to eligible unconnected habitations.
- Phase II (2013): Shifted focus to upgrading 50,000 km of the existing rural road network to improve transportation efficiency and support economic hubs.
- For Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas (2016): targeted 44 severely affected districts across nine states to improve both socio-economic development and the mobility of security forces.
Genome India Project (GIP)
- Launched: in 2020 by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
- It is an Indian equivalent of the Human Genome Project (HGP), a global-level effort to map human genomes, launched in October 1990 and completed in April 2003.
- Objective: To build a comprehensive catalogue of genetic variations that reflects the unique diversity of the Indian population.
- Sample Size and Diversity: The study collected samples from 10,000 healthy and unrelated individuals.
- These individuals represent 83 distinct population groups and span India’s four prominent linguistic families: Indo-European, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic, and Tibeto-Burman.
Gold
- Gold is a soft, ductile, corrosion-resistant metal found in native form (nuggets, veins, alluvial deposits).
- Dissolves in cyanide (used in mining) and forms amalgam with mercury.
- Reserves & Distribution:
- India: 518.23 million tonnes of gold ore (as of 2020).
- Top states (Reserves): Bihar (43%), Rajasthan (~25%) and Karnataka (~20%).
- Production leader: Karnataka (~97%); Key Mine is Hutti Gold Mines.
- Placer deposits: Kerala
- World:
- Top Producers: China (10%), Russia, Australia.
- Top importers: Switzerland, China, UK.
- Top Exporter: Switzerland, UAE, UK.
OCI Scheme
- Introduced: In 2005 by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955.
- Eligibility:
- Those who are eligible to become a citizen of India, spouses of Indian nationals or other OCI cardholders, Persons of Indian origin (PIOs merged with OCI), etc.
- Exceptions:
- No person, who or either of whose parents or grandparents had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the government may specify.
- Foreign Military or police personnel (serving or retired).
Samundra Manthan Mission
- Genesis: It was announced by the Prime Minister in 2025 as India’s National Deep Water Exploration Mission.
- It will be executed in a mission mode.
- Objective: It aims to explore oil and gas reserves
- Significance: Strengthens scientific research, technological innovations, underwater engineering, etc.