Project Sanction Order under Make-I category for the Design and Development of 6MW Medium Speed Marine Diesel Engine has been inked between Indian Navy and Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited. The signing took place in the presence of Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Sanjeev Kumar and Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan at South Block, New Delhi on April 02, 2025.
The prototype diesel engine with indigenous content of over 50% will be developed at a cost of Rs 270 crore with 70% funding from the Government of India. The order also includes development of detailed design for 3-10MW diesel engine. The developed engines will be used for Main Propulsion and Power Generation on ships of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.
Most of the diesel engines of higher capacity were being imported from foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) till date. This project will start the process in achieving self-reliance in marine engine development in the country.
It is a significant step in the ongoing efforts of the Government, led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, to indigenise critical technologies and achieve Aatmanirbharta in defence. It will further strengthen indigenous capabilities, save foreign exchange and reduce dependency on foreign OEMs. It will act as a catalyst for the development of defence industrial ecosystem in the country.
Working relentlessly towards development of the National Highway infrastructure in the country, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), during the Financial Year 2024-25, constructed 5,614 km of National Highways against the target of 5,150 km for the year.
In addition, the Capital Expenditure by NHAI in Financial Year 2024-25 for development of National Highway Infrastructure reached an all-time high of over Rs. 2,50,000 Crore (provisional) against a target expenditure of Rs. 2,40,000 Crore. This highest ever capital expenditure in a Financial Year by NHAI includes both Government budgetary support and NHAI’s own resources. The overall capital expenditure increased by around 21 percent as compared to Rs. 2,07,000 Crore in previous FY 2023-24 and by around 45 percent as compared to Rs. 1,73,000 Crore in FY 2022-23.
During FY 24-25, NHAI leveraged three modes for monetization, that included Toll Operate Transfer (TOT), Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) and Toll Securitisation. During the Financial Year, NHAI monetized assets for a total of Rs. 28,724 Crore. This includes NHAI’s highest ever single round InvIT receipt worth Rs. 17,738 Crore.
NHAI is committed to build world class National Highway infrastructure across the country that will contribute not only to the growth of the road sector but will also play a critical role in nation building and advancing the growth of the Indian economy.
The Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Durga Das Uikey informed in Rajya Sabha today that the Ministry is implementing the schemes namely Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM) and Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) under which funds are provided to the State Governments for establishment of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) to enhance livelihood opportunities and promoting tribal entrepreneurship.
The Scheme also supports for the value addition of minor forest produce (MFP) at these Kendras and does not specifically promote the cultivation of Nannari plants. An amount of Rs.180 Lakhs have been sanctioned to state of Andhra Pradesh including 12 VDVKs with 3601 members which are regularly engaged in the production of Nannari-related value-added products. The sanctioned funds can be utilized for training and capacity building, toolkit and machinery procurement, value addition and branding & packaging.
Under the 15th Finance Commission, various components like Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent girls (of 14-18 years in Aspirational Districts and North-Eastern region) have been subsumed under the umbrella Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) to address the challenge of malnutrition. It is a Centrally Sponsored mission, where the responsibility for implementation of various activities lies with the States and UTs. This mission is a universal self-selecting umbrella scheme that is being implemented across the country including in the State of Karnataka.
The beneficiaries under this mission are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers and Adolescent Girls between 14-18 years (North Eastern States and Aspirational Districts). Total 10,12,46,106 beneficiaries are registered on Poshan Tracker as on 28 February 2025 of which 44,38,725 beneficiaries are registered in the State of Karnataka with 99.61% beneficiaries verified by Aadhaar in the State.
IT systems have been leveraged to strengthen and bring about transparency in nutrition delivery support systems at the Anganwadi centres. The ‘Poshan Tracker’ application was rolled out on 1st March 2021 as an important governance tool.
All Anganwadi Workers are provided with smartphones. Near real time data collection for Anganwadi Services such as, daily attendance, ECCE, Provision of Hot Cooked Meal (HCM)/Take Home Ration (THR-not raw ration), Growth Measurement etc. has been made possible. Poshan Tracker is available in 24 languages including Hindi and English. The Physical Records of Growth Monitoring have been replaced by auto generated monthly report in Poshan Tracker. These reports can be downloaded as required.
The Poshan Tracker facilitates monitoring and tracking of al Anganwadi Centers, Anganwadi Workers and beneficiaries on defined indicators.
All Anganwadi Centres are registered on the Poshan Tracker application as on 28 February 2025.
UNICEF has appreciated the simplicity of Poshan Tracker application and how it has made the work of Anganwadi Workers easier; and ensured tracking of children and mothers on key health and nutrition related information.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has applauded the efforts made by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) on Poshan Tracker mentioning the ‘Poshan Tracker’ as one of the exemplary platforms for flawlessly collecting routine administrative data on nutrition.
During the G-20 Ministerial Conference on Women Empowerment 2023, Poshan Tracker was also showcased and discussed. It was part of the chair’s statement. The members recognized the importance of deployment of technology for monitoring nutrition and health services and early childhood care service delivery for pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls and children and took note of the Poshan Tracker application, a unique digital platform which seeks to digitize data near-real time monitoring and enabling policies for targeted intervention.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Women and Child Development Smt. Savitri Thakur in Rajya Sabha in reply to a question today.
The Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Durga Das Uikey informed in Rajya Sabha today that the Central Sector Scheme of Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) was started in the year 2018-19 to provide quality education at par with Navodaya Vidyalaya to the tribal children in their own environment.
Under the new scheme, Government decided to establish 440 EMRSs, one EMRS in every block having more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons (as per census 2011). 288 EMRS schools were initially funded under Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution, which are being upgraded as per the new model.
Accordingly, Ministry has set the target to set up total of 728 EMRSs benefiting around 3.5 lakh ST students across the country. To ensure quality education and holistic development for tribal students following facilities are being provided in EMRSs: –
Educational Infrastructure:
Well-equipped classrooms with modern teaching aids.
Science and computer laboratories.
Libraries with diverse learning resources.
Accommodation and Amenities:
Residential facilities for students and staff.
Separate hostels for boys and girls with essential amenities like bedding, furniture, and hygiene facilities.
3. Sports and Extracurricular Facilities:
Playgrounds and sports equipment.
Facilities for extracurricular activities like music, art, and sports
Health and Nutrition:
Regular health check-ups and medical facilities.
IT and Digital Learning:
Smart classrooms for digital education.
Computer labs with internet access.
Vocational Training:
Skill development and vocational training programs to enhance employability.
Further, National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) has been established as an autonomous body under this Ministry to manage and implement scheme of EMRS. NESTS has organized Principals’ Conclave bringing together all Principals of EMRSs from across the country for orientation in the areas of academic management, mental health, safety, HR matters etc. and the conclave enriched their knowledge and professional skills. NESTS has also empowered State societies to impart induction training to Teacher’s towards residential culture and academic transactions.
The Ministry is implementing several initiatives in collaboration with other government bodies to provide tribal students with access to digital and skill-based education while maintaining the traditional curriculum. These initiatives include:
i) Establishment of Smart classrooms equipped with digital boards in partnership with ERNET, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), to enhance digital learning in tribal schools.
ii) Setting-up of 400 Skill Labs in 200 EMRSs in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE) to provide hands-on vocational training and industry-relevant skills to students.
iii) Provision of online coaching sessions for IIT-JEE and NEET, along with recorded lectures tailored for Class 11 and 12 students, in collaboration with PACE- IIT & Medical. Additionally, special classes and focused training modules are provided to support both high-performing and academically weaker students.
iv) Allocation of a dedicated DTH channel by NCERT to enhance both curricular and extracurricular learning, including vocational education, ensuring wider accessibility for students in remote areas.
Additionally, to preserve and promote traditional curricula, regional language teachers have been recruited to support language learning and cultural continuity.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing following Scholarship Schemes to promote and encourage basic and higher education amongst ST population: –
Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST students (For Class IX and X)
Post Matric Scholarship for ST students (For Class XI and above)
National Scholarship Scheme for Higher Education of ST Students (earlier known as Top Class Scholarship Scheme): Scholarship is provided for pursuing Graduate/Post Graduate courses in the 265 top-class Government and Non-Government Institutes in professional fields such as Management, Medicine, Engineering, Information Technology, Law etc.
National Fellowship Scheme for Higher Education of ST Students: Scholarship to meritorious ST students for pursuing M. Phil or Ph.D. in India
National Overseas Scholarship for ST students: Scholarships are given to the meritorious Schedule Tribe (ST) students for pursuing higher education abroad. Pre and Post matric Scholarships scheme are open ended and every ST student with income up to 2.5 lakh can take benefit of these schemes.
Additionally, to encourage students to pursue higher studies, instructions have been issued to state societies to cover the application fees for national-level entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE, CLAT, etc., for students studying in Class XII in Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs). The cost of these application fees is to be borne by the respective State EMRS Societies, thereby reducing the financial burden on students and their families.
Section 479 (1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which has come into force with effect from 1.7.2024, provides that if a person, during investigation, enquiry or trial of an offence under any law (not being an offence for which the punishment of death or life imprisonment has been specified as one of the punishments under that law), has undergone detention for a period extending up to one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for that offence, he shall be released by the Court on bail. In case of a first-time offender, such a prisoner shall be released on bond by the Court, if he has undergone detention for a period extending up to one-third of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for such offence.
On the occasion of Constitution Day i.e., 26th November, last year, the Ministry of Home Affairs had launched a “Special Campaign”, under which the States and Union Territories (UTs) were requested to identify eligible undertrial prisoners under the provisions of Section 479 of BNSS and move their applications to the concerned Courts for their release on bail/bond. In terms of the data reported by the States and UTs in this regard, State/UT- wise number of eligible prisoners identified and who were granted bail by the Court under the provisions of Section 479 of BNSS upto 26.11.2024 are given in Annexure.
‘Prisons’/‘persons detained therein’ is a “State List” subject under Entry 4 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Therefore, the administration and management of prisoners is primarily the responsibility of respective State Governments/Union Territories, who have the responsibility to take appropriate action in this regard.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an advisory to the States and Union Territories on 1.1.2025 informing them that release of eligible undertrial prisoners on the occasion of Constitution Day was not a one-time exercise and the States/UTs need to take full advantage of the provisions of Section 479 of BNSS and provide the benefit of the same to all eligible undertrial prisoners on a continuous basis, as this can go a long way in mitigating the situation of long detention faced by undertrial prisoners and will also address the issue of overcrowding in prisons.
*****
State/UT-wise number of eligible prisoners identified and who were granted bail by the Court under the provisions of Section 479 of BNSS upto 26.11.2024
S.
No.
State/UT
Number of prisoners
identified
Number of prisoners
granted bail
1
Andhra Pradesh
2
0
2
Arunachal Pradesh
9
8
3
Assam
1
1
4
Bihar
46
28
5
Chhattisgarh
2
0
6
Goa
2
0
7
Gujarat
7
2
8
Haryana
10
9
9
Himachal Pradesh
0
0
10
Jharkhand
26
14
11
Karnataka
21
9
12
Kerala
3
0
13
Madhya Pradesh
72
37
14
Maharashtra
153
22
15
Manipur
2
0
16
Meghalaya
4
4
17
Mizoram
1
1
18
Nagaland
2
1
19
Odisha
6
2
20
Punjab
15
5
21
Rajasthan
19
4
22
Sikkim
0
0
23
Tamil Nadu
2
0
24
Telangana
0
0
25
Tripura
0
0
26
Uttar Pradesh
110
51
27
Uttarakhand
4
4
28
West Bengal
297
98
29
A & N Islands
0
0
30
Chandigarh
1
1
31
DNH & Daman Diu
0
0
32
Delhi
129
28
33
Jammu & Kashmir
5
5
34
Ladakh
0
0
35
Lakshadweep
0
0
36
Puducherry
0
0
Total
951
334
This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shri Bandi Sanjay Kumar in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) have informed that they have no comments to provide in the matter as the issues pertaining to employees of forest establishment of State Governments are not dealt with by the MoEFCC.
Further, as per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 do not contain any provision for regularization of contract labourers or for granting them permanent status.
To address the burden of mental disorders, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is implementing the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in the country under which767 districts were sanctioned for District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) to provide facilities at the Community Health Centre (CHC) and Primary Health Centre (PHC) levels, inter-alia, include outpatient services, assessment, counselling/ psycho-social interventions, continuing care and support to persons with severe mental disorders, drugs, outreach services, ambulance services etc. One of the objectives of DMHP is to provide suicide prevention services, work place stress management, life skills training and counseling in schools and colleges. In addition to the above, the Government is also taking steps to strengthen mental
healthcare services at primary healthcare level. Mental health services have been added in the package of services under Comprehensive Primary Health Care provided at these Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
This information was given by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Shri. M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS) chaired a meeting today at Manthan, DFS to discuss the revamp of the Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) and key issues related to Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance with the objective of making life of citizen comfortable while availing Financial Services. The meeting included senior officials from concerned Ministries/Departments, financial sector regulators, financial institutions, and other stakeholders.
In the meeting, Shri. Nagaraju emphasized the need for the modernization of the Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR) and streamlining of KYC process. Key issues & challenges concerning individuals and regulated entities, measures so far taken by the Government and Financial Sector Regulators and proposed measures for further enhancing efficiency, reducing redundancy and improving security relating to KYC process across financial sectors were discussed at length.
During the discussion, many suggestions were received from stakeholders which will be considered for further easing of the KYC process.
Maintaining data relating to sanctioned posts/vacancies is the responsibility of the respective cadre controlling authorities in various Central Government Ministries/ Departments/Organizations. Filling up of vacancies is done by the respective cadre controlling authorities in various Central Govt. Ministries, Departments and Organizations, and is a continuous process. Vacant posts in Central Government are being filled in a mission mode by the respective Ministries/Departments through Rozgar Melas. A total of 13Rozgar Melas have been held in West Bengal at various locations so far.
This information was given by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Home Affairs is implementing six projects under Umbrella Scheme for “Safety of Women” in collaboration with States and Union Territories for ensuring timely intervention and investigation in cases of crime against women and enhanced efficiency in investigation and crime prevention in such matters. Details of the project are as under-
112 Emergency Response Support System (ERSS)
Upgradation of Central Forensic Sciences Laboratories, including setting up of a National Forensic Data Centre
Strengthening of DNA Analysis, Cyber Forensic capacities in State Forensic Science Laboratories (FSLs)
Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children
Capacity building and training of investigators and prosecutors in handling sexual assault cases against women and children
Women Help Desk & Anti-human Trafficking Units
The Ministry of Home Affairs is funding for the setup of Women Help Desks (WHDs) in police stations, to improve women’s access to police services. So far, 14,658 WHDs are operational across all States and UTs, out of which 13,743 WHDs are led by women officers. Additionally, 827 Anti- Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) have been established across all States/UTs. The Cyber Crime Prevention against Women & Children project is implemented in all States and UTs. So far, Cyber Forensic Training Laboratories have been setup in 33 States/UTs and over 24,624 officials including police officers, judges and prosecutors have been trained. A portal for reporting cyber-crime against women and children is also active. Under the Nirbhaya fund, projects worth ₹245.29 crore have been approved for enhancing DNA and Cyber Forensic capabilities in State Forensic Labs across 30 States/UTs. DNA Analysis facility has been established in Chandigarh. Six National Cyber Forensic Labs, along with a National Forensic Data Centre has been approved. 34,626 officials including Investigation Officers, Prosecution Officers and Medical Officers have been trained on DNA evidence management and the use of Sexual Assault
Evidence Collection Kits. Also, 18,020 Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits has been distributed to States/UTs.
The Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) is operational across all 36 States/UTs. The upgraded ERSS (2.0) enhances emergency services with improved data centers, wider district coverage, higher call capacity, vehicle tracking, and disaster recovery. Disaster Recovery facilities are functional at C-DAC centers in Noida and Thiruvananthapuram. ERSS is now integrated with other emergency helplines such as Railway Helpline, Women Helpline, Child Helpline, and Disaster Response services.
This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shri Bandi Sanjay Kumar in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.