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🔆 NASHA MUKT BHARAT ABHIYAAN (NMBA): SIX YEARS OF PROGRESS 📍 About the Abhiyaan 🟢 Launched on 15 August 2020 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 272 vulnerable districts. 🟢 Extended to all districts on 15 August 2023. 🟢 It is the flagship awareness programme under the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR). 🟢 Objective: Prevent substance abuse through awareness, early identification, counselling, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration. 📍 Constitutional Provision 🟢 Article 47 (DPSP): Directs the State to endeavour to prohibit consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs injurious to health, except for medicinal purposes. 📍 Progress as on 10 November 2026 🟢 35.84 crore+ people reached. 🟢 14.33 crore+ youth and 11.32 crore+ women reached. 🟢 33.57 lakh+ awareness activities conducted in educational institutions. 🟢 2 lakh+ citizens enrolled as Nasha Mukti Mitr. 🟢 46.73 lakh+ pledges taken. 🟢 39.91 lakh persons treated and rehabilitated. 🟢 Persons seeking treatment and counselling increased from 2.08 lakh (2020–21) to 9.11 lakh+ (2025–26). 📍 Institutional Mechanism A three-tier monitoring structure has been suggested: 🟢 State/UT Level: Steering and Monitoring Committee headed by the Chief Secretary; meets quarterly. 🟢 District Level: Drug Demand Reduction Committee headed by the District Collector/Deputy Commissioner; meets monthly, with quarterly inspections. 🟢 Block Level: Committee headed by the Block Development Officer; conducts monthly field inspections. 📍 NAPDDR: Treatment Infrastructure 🟢 344 Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts (IRCAs). 🟢 198 District De-Addiction Centres (DDACs). 🟢 155 Addiction Treatment Facilities (ATFs). 🟢 71 Outreach and Drop-In Centres (ODICs). 🟢 45 Community-based Peer-Led Intervention centres (CPLIs). 📍 Important Initiatives 🟢 NMBA 2.0 App: Launched on 24 April 2026; provides e-pledge, awareness material, helplines and location of nearby de-addiction centres. 🟢 Nasha Mukti Mitr: Citizen volunteers who spread awareness and connect affected individuals with support services. 🟢 National De-addiction Helpline: 14446 – provides round-the-clock tele-counselling and referrals. 🟢 MANAS Helpline: 1933 – enables reporting of drug-related issues. 🟢 MoUs with spiritual organisations to expand community-level awareness. 📍 Funding 🟢 ₹333 crore allocated for NAPDDR in Union Budget 2026–27. 🟢 ₹10 lakh per district per financial year provided as grant-in-aid for campaign activities. 📍 Way Forward 🟢 Strengthen prevention, counselling and accessible treatment services. 🟢 Improve coordination among health, education, law enforcement and social welfare departments. 🟢 Expand evidence-based interventions for vulnerable groups. 🟢 Promote rehabilitation, skill development and social reintegration of recovered persons. 🟢 Use district-level data to identify substance-use hotspots and target interventions. 📍 UPSC Mains Practice Question Discuss the role of community participation and institutional coordination in addressing substance abuse in India. #goverment_schemes Join https://t.me/PIB_UPSC https://t.me/upsc_government_scheme

🔆 SWACHH SURVEKSHAN 2025–26 AWARDS 📍 Why in News? 🟢 The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, will confer the 10th edition of Swachh Survekshan Awards on 11 November 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. 🟢 Theme: “Swachhata Ki Nayi Pehel – Badhayein Haath, Karein Safai Saath.” 📍 About Swachh Survekshan 🟢 It is the flagship cleanliness assessment under Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban (SBM-U), conducted under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. 🟢 Its coverage has expanded from 73 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in 2016 to over 4,751 cities. 🟢 The 2025–26 edition evaluates ULBs across 43 indicators and 10 assessment areas. 🟢 More than 3,000 trained assessors conducted on-ground evaluations, supported by GPS-enabled monitoring and a digital assessment process. 📍 Key Assessment Areas 🟢 Waste segregation, collection and transportation. 🟢 Solid waste management and visible cleanliness. 🟢 Sanitation access and mechanised desludging. 🟢 Used-water management and sanitation-worker welfare. 🟢 Citizen feedback, grievance redressal and behaviour change. 📍 Swachh Shehar Jodi Initiative 🟢 Launched on 27 September 2025, it promotes mentorship and peer learning in urban waste management. 🟢 It connects 70 mentor cities with 191 mentee cities across 33 States/UTs. 🟢 Mentee-city performance improved between Swachh Survekshan 2024 and 2025: • Visible cleanliness: 48% → 70% • Door-to-door collection: 52% → 74% • Source segregation: 16% → 30% • Access to sanitation: 11% → 38% • Used-water management: 32% → 53% • Advocacy for Swachhata: 48% → 66% 📍 UPSC Mains Practice Question How can citizen participation, inter-city cooperation and technology improve urban sanitation and solid waste management in India? #Environment

🔆 BIMSTEC ADOPTS DELHI DECLARATION ON TERRORISM 📍 Why in News? The First BIMSTEC Home Ministers’ Meeting concluded in New Delhi on 13 October 2026, adopting the Delhi Declaration to strengthen regional security cooperation. 🔆 KEY HIGHLIGHTS 🟢 Members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. 🟢 Objective: Build a connected, secure, resilient, developed and prosperous BIMSTEC region. 🟢 Counter-Terrorism: Condemns terrorism, cross-border terrorism and violent extremism in all forms. 🟢 Terror Financing: Strengthens cooperation against terrorist financing, money laundering and misuse of emerging technologies. 🟢 Transnational Crimes: Focuses on drug trafficking, human trafficking, organised crime, cybercrime, arms smuggling and piracy. 🟢 Cyber Threats: Addresses online fraud, scam operations and the exploitation of trafficked persons. 🔆 KEY COOPERATION MEASURES 🟢 BIMSTEC Convention on Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organised Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking: In force since March 2021. 🟢 Mutual Legal Assistance: Calls for effective implementation of the Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, signed in March 2022. 🟢 Legal Cooperation: Encourages finalisation of conventions on extradition, transfer of sentenced persons and trafficking in persons. 🟢 Joint Action: Promotes intelligence-sharing, border management, training and capacity-building. 🟢 Institutional Cooperation: Encourages partnerships with UNODC, INTERPOL and FATF, among other organisations. 🔆 SIGNIFICANCE FOR INDIA 🟢 Strengthens regional cooperation against cross-border and transnational threats. 🟢 Enhances coordination among law-enforcement, intelligence and border-management agencies. 🟢 Promotes stability and security across the Bay of Bengal region. 🟢 Recognises the link between security and development. 🔆 PRELIMS QUICK REVISION 🟢 Full Form: Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. 🟢 Members: 7 countries. 🟢 Secretariat: Dhaka, Bangladesh. 🟢 Meeting: First BIMSTEC Home Ministers’ Meeting, New Delhi, 13 October 2026. 🟢 Declaration: Delhi Declaration on regional security cooperation. 🔆 MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION 📍 Discuss the role of BIMSTEC in strengthening regional security cooperation and combating transnational threats in the Bay of Bengal region. #InternationalRelations

🔆 NATIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP DAY – 9 NOVEMBER 2026 📍 Why in News? 🟢 National Entrepreneurship Day is observed on 9 November, marking the establishment of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in 2014. 🟢 It highlights entrepreneurship’s role in achieving Viksit Bharat @ 2047. 📍 India’s Startup Ecosystem 🟢 India has the world’s 3rd-largest startup ecosystem, with over 2.62 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups. 🟢 Startups have generated over 25 lakh direct jobs up to October 2026. 🟢 Over 1.07 lakh startups (around 48%) have at least one woman director or partner. 🟢 52% of recognised startups originate from non-metro cities. 🟢 Over 55,200 startups were recognised in FY 2025–26, the highest in a single year since 2016. 📍 Major Government Initiatives 🟢 Startup India (2016): Supports startups from ideation to scaling. 🟢 Fund of Funds for Startups: Provides risk capital through SEBI-registered AIFs; FFS 2.0 has a separate ₹10,000 crore corpus. 🟢 Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS): Facilitates collateral-free loans; guarantee cover increased to ₹20 crore per borrower. 🟢 Startup India Seed Fund Scheme: ₹945 crore corpus for proof of concept, prototyping and commercialisation. 🟢 Atal Innovation Mission: Promotes innovation and entrepreneurship; AIM 2.0 has an outlay of ₹2,750 crore. 🟢 PM MUDRA Yojana: Provides collateral-free loans up to ₹20 lakh. 🟢 PMEGP: Promotes self-employment through subsidy-linked bank loans for new micro-enterprises. 🟢 GENESIS: Supports technology startups, particularly in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. 📍 Rural and Women Entrepreneurship 🟢 SVEP: Supported 4.32 lakh rural enterprises by June 2026. 🟢 Around 86% of SVEP entrepreneurs belong to SC, ST, Minority and OBC communities. 🟢 Swavalambini Scheme: Supports young women through entrepreneurship training, financial guidance and 21 weeks of mentorship. 📍 Significance 🟢 Promotes job creation, innovation and self-employment. 🟢 Strengthens women-led and rural enterprises. 🟢 Expands entrepreneurship beyond metropolitan cities. 🟢 Contributes to inclusive growth and the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. 📍 UPSC Mains Practice Question How can entrepreneurship contribute to employment generation, women’s empowerment and inclusive economic growth in India? #Economy

🔆 DELHI’S FIRST RECREATIONAL YAMUNA CRUISE SERVICE 📍 Why in News? 🟢 Delhi is set to launch its first recreational river cruise service on 10 November 2026, inaugurated at Sonia Vihar. 🟢 The cruise will operate along the Sonia Vihar–Jagatpur stretch of the Yamuna. 📍 Key Features 🟢 The project is spearheaded by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. 🟢 It will use electric-powered cruise vessels, promoting clean and sustainable mobility. 🟢 Trial runs were successfully conducted in October 2026. 🟢 The initiative aims to promote river-based tourism and explore waterways for urban mobility. 📍 Institutional Collaboration 🟢 Developed in collaboration with: • Delhi Development Authority (DDA) • Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) • Delhi Jal Board (DJB) • Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Delhi Government 📍 Important for Prelims 🟢 The Yamuna is designated as National Waterway-110 (NW-110) under the National Waterways Act, 2016. 🟢 The project seeks to harness this waterway for recreational navigation and tourism. 📍 UPSC Mains Practice Question How can inland waterways contribute to sustainable urban mobility and tourism development in India? #Geography