Current Affairs, 13 July 2026

Project 17A

A programme to build seven stealth guided-missile frigates, the Nilgiri class, for anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine roles.

Builders of Nilgiri class

Mazagon Dock built four ships and GRSE Kolkata is building three.

Sandhayak class

Four large survey vessels built by GRSE; INS Sanshodhak is the fourth and final ship. They map the seabed and produce nautical charts.

Arnala class

Eight-ship class of anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft, built by GRSE with L&T Shipbuilding, replacing the Abhay-class corvettes. A parallel Mahe class at Cochin Shipyard raises planned strength to 16.

Earlier stealth classes

Shivalik class (Project 17) was India's first indigenously designed stealth frigate, built at Mazagon Dock; the Talwar class was Russian-built.

Don’t confuse with Shivalik vs Nilgiri class: Shivalik is Project 17; Nilgiri is the follow-on Project 17A with better sensors, weapons and more indigenous content.

Don’t confuse with Arnala vs Mahe class: Arnala-class craft are built by GRSE with L&T; the Mahe class is being built at Cochin Shipyard.

Defence: Prelims tests exercises (with whom), equipment (who makes it) and firsts.

1. 2025Mains GS3 · Q20Why maritime security protects sea trade; challenges, way forward.
2. 2022Mains GS3 · Q10Maritime security challenges in India and initiatives to improve them.

UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.

Publishers

The report was released by MeitY with CERT-In, CSIRT-Fin and the cybersecurity firm SISA. It is the second consecutive year of this collaboration.

Central finding

Six of the seven predictions in last year's edition have already fully come true. The gap between a threat emerging and being exploited has shrunk to months or weeks.

AI asymmetry

The report names AI asymmetry as a defining risk. Low-resource attackers can do at machine speed what once needed specialist teams.

Anatomy of Cyber Failure

A 4-Layer Gap Archetype Framework that reconstructs how a breach unfolds, as a chain of compounding weaknesses.

CERT-In legal basis

CERT-In is the national nodal agency for cyber incidents, designated under the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008.

18-month roadmap

The report sets out a roadmap moving from foundational controls to continuous capabilities and then resilient security architectures.

Don’t confuse with CERT-In vs CSIRT-Fin: CERT-In is the national nodal agency for all sectors. CSIRT-Fin is a sectoral CSIRT for banking, securities market infrastructure, insurance and pension funds.

Reports and indices: 14 Prelims questions since 2013; they test who publishes a report and what it measures.

1. 2017Mains GS3 · Q9Discuss cyber attack threats and prevention security framework.
2. 2021Mains GS3 · Q10Analyse impact of cross-border cyber attacks; discuss defensive measures.
3. 2022Mains GS3 · Q19Elements of cyber security; examine India's National Cyber Security Strategy.
4. 2017Prelims Q85Who must legally report cyber security incidents in India?

UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.

Status and parent ministry

NSFDC is a Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Who evaluated it

An external agency, DOORS, did the impact study in FY 2025-26 on a sample basis.

Loan use and assets

93.34% used the aid for the intended purpose and 93.54% still hold the assets created.

Self-employment

Self-employed beneficiaries rose from 46.62% to 73.95% after assistance.

Women

Of 705 homemakers, 674 (95.60%) became self-employed.

Record disbursement

NSFDC disbursed ₹775.26 crore in FY 2025–26, up 27% on the previous year and its highest ever.

VISVAS Yojana

This interest subvention scheme saw ₹26.09 crore disbursed to 98,748 individuals.

SEED Scheme

₹11.18 crore went to 1,450 Self Help Groups across four States.

NFSC

Under the National Fellowship Scheme for Scheduled Castes, ₹215.39 crore supported 4,219 scholars in higher education.

Capital and cumulative reach

Authorised share capital is ₹1,800 crore and paid-up capital ₹1,515 crore. Cumulative disbursement is ₹9,567.14 crore, reaching over 16.96 lakh people by 31 March 2026.

Don’t confuse with NSFDC vs NSKFDC: NSFDC serves Scheduled Caste persons. The National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) serves safai karamcharis and scavengers.

Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.

1. 2014Mains GS2 · Q11Whether welfare protections for backward communities exclude them from urban business establishment.
2. 2020Mains GS2 · Q17Evaluate microfinance and SHGs for asset creation, income security, and women's empowerment.
3. 2023Mains GS2 · Q18Analyse linkages between education, skill development, and employment, given skilling programmes' success.
4. 2024Mains GS1 · Q18Why underprivileged sections don't get full affirmative action benefits despite policies
5. 1999Prelims Q22Which social group had highest poverty per 1990s government statistics, including Scheduled Castes
6. 2026Prelims Q57Statements on SC/ST constitutional provisions: Fifth Schedule, tax exemptions, Panchayat seat reservation.
7. 2026Prelims Q59Statements on the Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of SCs and STs: composition and chairperson.

UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.

Training dates and place

The first national training of master trainers runs for four days, 13 to 16 July 2026, in New Delhi.

Phase I coverage

Phase I covers 10 States, 100 Districts, 100 Blocks and 1,000 Gram Panchayats, including Bihar, Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Manual released

The Water Sufficient Panchayats Training Manual (Phase 1 and Phase 2) guides Gram Panchayats in preparing participatory, climate-responsive Water Security Plans.

Link with GPDPs

The plans are to be integrated with Gram Panchayat Development Plans, and the trainers will support the forthcoming People's Plan Campaign.

Priority

The programme is phased, with priority for water-stressed regions.

Don’t confuse with Water budgeting vs water audit: A water budget compares available water with demand for a village. A water audit checks how water is actually used and lost.

Don’t confuse with Jal Jeevan Mission vs this initiative: Jal Jeevan Mission focuses on tap water supply to rural homes. This initiative trains panchayats to plan water sources and demand.

Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.

1. 2016Mains GS1 · Q20How micro-watershed projects help water conservation in drought-prone regions
2. 2020Mains GS3 · Q8Salient features of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan for water conservation and security
3. 2018Mains GS2 · Q15Importance of Panchayats as local government and their financing sources
4. 2000Prelims Q68What the 73rd Constitution Amendment Act, 1992 aimed to achieve
5. 2010Prelims Q144Which authority recommends taxes Panchayats may appropriate to the Governor

UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.

Dates and purpose

The workshop runs from 13 to 17 July 2026. It develops the content model and refines the high-level structure of the ICHI alpha draft.

Organiser

CCRAS organises it through its WHO Collaborating Centre, NIIMH Hyderabad (CC IND-177).

National codes

The aim is a layered hierarchy of National Health Intervention Codes (NHIC) for the ASU systems.

Repository size

Ayurveda has 13 specialties, 76 therapies and 714 procedures. Siddha has 25, 130 and 996. Unani has 15, 179 and 551.

Earlier work

The workshop builds on base drafts from consultative meetings held in May 2026.

WHO classification family

ICHI is a WHO classification for interventions, a companion to ICD for diseases.

Don’t confuse with ICHI vs ICD: ICHI classifies health interventions (what is done). ICD classifies diseases and health conditions (what is diagnosed).

Don’t confuse with NIIMH vs GTMC: NIIMH Hyderabad is the CCRAS WHO Collaborating Centre hosting this workshop. WHO's Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) is at Jamnagar.

International bodies and relations: the largest group of news questions in Prelims (61 since 2013), often about background, members and location. In Mains, 27 news-triggered questions, mostly on India's interests.

1. 2018Mains GS2 · Q7Explain why local community-level healthcare intervention is needed for Health for All
2. 2015Mains GS2 · Q12Can private sector bridge public health gaps toward universal health coverage? Suggest alternatives
3. 2021Mains GS2 · Q6Analyze primary health structure as moral imperative and precondition for sustainable development

UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.