2 Minute Series_30 January 2026

30^th January 2026

1. Uneven Availability of Secondary Schools: Recently, the Economic Survey identified the uneven availability of secondary schools as a major barrier to achieving NEP 2020’s target of 15 expected years of schooling, compared to the current average of 13 years.

Key Highlights: Only 17% of rural schools and 38% of urban schools offer secondary education, contributing to high dropouts in the 14–18 age group.
The primary reason for school dropouts continues to be economic compulsion—the need to supplement household income—followed by domestic and care responsibilities, especially among girls.
Nearly two crore adolescents (14–18 years) were out of school, as per PLFS 2023–24
44% of dropouts cited income supplementation as the main cause; over 67% of boys dropped out for work, while 55% of girls cited household responsibilities.
The Survey stresses the urgency of integrating vocational and skill-based education at the school level to address economically driven dropouts.
Learning outcomes show post-COVID recovery (PARAKH 2024), but gaps persist: only 35% of schools cater to children with special needs and 38% have trained teachers.
Student emotional well-being remains a concern, with only 55% feeling motivated to attend school and fewer than half feeling emotionally safe.
In higher education, the Survey calls for internationalisation, stronger State-level capacity, and deeper academia–industry collaboration to align education with economic needs.

2. PAIMANA: Recently, marking a major push towards data-driven infrastructure governance, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) operationalised a new web-based monitoring portal, PAIMANA.

About PAIMANA: Project Assessment, Infrastructure Monitoring & Analytics for Nation-building) is a centralised digital platform enabling end-to-end monitoring of major infrastructure projects.
Key Features: Serves as a national repository for large infrastructure projects.
Uses advanced analytics to generate web-based reports for informed decision-making.
Provides role-based access with customised dashboards, query, and review modules.
Helps identify data gaps, strengthening data quality and project oversight.
- New Projects under PAIMANA: 20 projects have entered the implementation stage.
Railways: Furkating–New Tinsukia line; Gondia–Dongargarh fourth line.
Urban Transport: Pune Metro Phase-II and Aviation: Greenfield Airport at Bundi, Rajasthan.

3. JALAJ Livelihood Centres: Recently, the Union Jal Shakti Minister inaugurated 25 JALAJ Livelihood Centres, a joint initiative of the Namami Gange Mission and the Wildlife Institute of India.

About JALAJ Livelihood Centres: The initiative follows a circular economy approach; wherein local communities are trained in eco-friendly livelihood practices while actively contributing to biodiversity protection and river ecosystem restoration.
- Objective: To merge river conservation with sustainable livelihood generation across the Ganga river basin.
- Key Features: Encourages community-led conservation, creating dignified and sustainable livelihood opportunities, with special emphasis on women’s empowerment.
Envisions a symbiotic relationship between rivers and people, linking ecological health with human well-being.
Each JALAJ centre reflects the local culture, traditions and indigenous communities of its respective Ganga basin location.
Designed as integrated hubs for community well-being, conservation awareness and skill development.
Equipped with facilities for aquatic biodiversity education, livelihood skill training, and marketing/sale of products created by trained beneficiaries.

4. Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026: Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notified the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, marking a comprehensive overhaul of the earlier waste management framework.

Core Principles of the 2026 Framework: The rules are based on the waste hierarchy, prioritising:

Prevention → Reduction → Reuse → Recycling → Energy recovery → Disposal (last resort)
Landfills are restricted to non-recyclable, non-recoverable, and inert waste only.
Higher landfill charges are imposed on unsegregated waste to discourage dumping and promote decentralised processing.
Solid Waste Management in India: Solid waste management remains a major urban governance challenge, driven by rapid urbanisation, rising consumption, and population growth.
India generates nearly 85 lakh tonnes of solid waste daily, with 30–40% contributed by bulk waste generators such as housing societies, commercial complexes, institutions, and government buildings.
While door-to-door collection and segregation have improved under Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), waste processing capacity has not kept pace with generation.
A large proportion of waste continues to end up in landfills, causing land degradation, groundwater pollution, air pollution, and health hazards.
Poor segregation at source remains the most critical bottleneck, increasing processing costs and inefficiencies.

5. V-BAT Drones: Recently, the Indian Army formally selected the US-based deep-tech firm Shield AI to supply advanced V-BAT autonomous drones under an emergency procurement framework.

About V-BAT Autonomous Drone System: A Group-3 Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).
It uses a ducted-fan configuration, allowing vertical launch and recovery like a rocket, followed by efficient horizontal flight for long-duration surveillance—without requiring runways.
Designed to deliver persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) in high-threat and contested environments, including areas with GPS denial or communication jamming.
Eliminates dependence on runways, catapults or recovery nets, enabling deployment from naval decks, rooftops and remote forward posts.
Technical Highlights: Endurance: Exceeds 12 hours of continuous flight.
Engine: Heavy-fuel engine compatible with standard military logistics.
Payload: Advanced high-definition ISR sensors and targeting suites.
This induction marks a strategic leap, as India adopts Hivemind AI software, enabling sovereign development of autonomous military capabilities rather than mere platform acquisition.

6. Global Innovation Index (GII): Recently, India’s Global Innovation Index (GII) rank improved from 66th in 2019 to 38th in 2025, leading among lower-middle-income countries.

Key Highlights: India now tops the lower-middle-income countries and ranks 1st in Central & Southern Asia. This reflects stronger innovation inputs, research output, startup depth, and IP creation.
Global Innovation Clusters: Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai feature among the top 50 most innovation-intensive clusters globally. These cities anchor India’s technology, startup, and R&D ecosystems, boosting innovation spillovers.
India emerges as a major global IP filer (2024): 4th in trademarks
6th in patents
7th in industrial designs
Growth Trends (FY20–FY25): Patent filings witnessed an almost twofold increase, reflecting stronger innovation activity.
Trademark registrations expanded by 5 times, indicating rising brand creation and formalisation.
Industrial design registrations surged 5 times, highlighting growth in design-led manufacturing.
WIPO ranked India 12th globally for its entrepreneurship policy framework and entrepreneurial culture.

7. Scabies: Recently, scabies has re-emerged as a public health concern, with the Economic Survey 2025–26 highlighting its neglect and strong links to poverty and overcrowding in tropical countries like India.

About Scabies: A highly contagious skin condition caused by the Sarcoptes scabiei mite, which burrows beneath the skin and triggers an allergic reaction.
Around 200 million people worldwide are affected at any given time; in 2017, the World Health Organization classified scabies as a Neglected Tropical Disease, reflecting its burden on vulnerable populations.
- Causes: Female mites (microscopic in size) tunnel under the skin, where they live, lay eggs and release waste.
The characteristic itchy rash is due to the body’s immune response to the mites.
Scabies spreads mainly through prolonged skin-to-skin contact, and sometimes via shared clothes, bedding or towels.
It affects people of all ages and backgrounds and is not linked to poor hygiene.
Symptoms: Intense itching, often worse at night, is the most common symptom.
In first-time infections, symptoms may appear after 4–6 weeks; reinfection causes symptoms within days.
Common sites include finger webs, armpits, groin, wrists, elbows, waist, buttocks and genital area.
Burrow marks (thin, wavy lines), bumps, and sores from scratching may be seen.
In infants and young children, rashes may also affect the palms, soles and scalp.
Treatment: Managed with topical anti-scabies creams/lotions and sometimes oral medicines.
Treatments are often applied from neck to toe and left on for 8–14 hours.
Ivermectin may be prescribed orally but is not recommended for pregnant women or children under 15 kg.
Itching may persist for weeks after treatment, even when mites are eliminated.
Prevention and control: All household contacts should be treated simultaneously, even if asymptomatic. Avoid close physical contact until treatment is complete.
Wash clothes and bedding in hot water and dry with heat or sunlight.
Items that cannot be washed should be sealed in plastic bags for at least a week.
Thorough cleaning and vacuuming of living spaces helps prevent reinfestation.

8. Digital Addiction: Recently, the Economic Survey has flagged rising digital addiction and screen-related mental health issues as a serious public health concern, particularly among children and adolescents.

Key Highlights: It recommends structured preventive interventions, including cyber-safety education, peer mentoring, compulsory physical activity in schools, parental training on screen-time control, age-appropriate digital access, and stronger platform accountability.
The Survey suggests network-level safeguards, such as separate data plans for educational and recreational use and default blocking of high-risk online content.
It calls for expanding the Tele-MANAS programme beyond crisis counselling to actively address digital addiction, with integration into schools and colleges and deployment of trained counsellors for early intervention.
A policy shift from treatment-centric to preventive and public healthcare is emphasised, linking long-term economic productivity to healthier human capital.
The Survey highlights the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, and mental health disorders—affecting even working-age populations, alongside persistent communicable diseases.
It stresses the need for technology-enabled public health surveillance, sustained investment in preventive care, nutrition, mental health, digital wellness, and community health systems.
Experts note that the pandemic accelerated screen dependence, worsening lifestyle diseases, and emphasise exercise, sleep, stress management, and traditional diets as key preventive measures.