UPSC current affairs · Thursday

Current Affairs, 7 May 2026

4 issues picked from 34 PIB releases · about 2 minutes each · written by UPSC Grade, each fact checked against its PIB release or by a second model

How to readRead “Why in news” and “What it is” for every issue. Open For Prelims or For Mains for the exam you’re preparing for, then Test yourself at the foot of each card. Half the news questions in Prelims are answered from background, not the news itself.

In 60 seconds

Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP). PMEGP beat its 15th Finance Commission target, setting up 4.04 lakh micro-enterprises with full fund use.
JANANI Platform (Maternal and Child Health). Health Ministry launches JANANI, an upgraded RCH portal with QR-enabled mother and child health cards.
NITI Aayog Report on School Education System in India. NITI Aayog's decade-long review of school education gives 13 recommendations to improve quality.
National Pension System and Atal Pension Yojana. PIB explainer maps India's multi-pillar pensions: NPS, UPS, APY, EPS and social pensions, with March 2026 data.

Scheme

Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)

GS3 Economy - MSME and employment schemesGS2 Welfare schemesPrelims and Mains

Why in news: On 7 May 2026 the MSME Ministry reported PMEGP results for the 15th Finance Commission cycle (FY 2021-22 to 2025-26): 4,03,706 micro-enterprises set up and about 36.33 lakh jobs.
What it is: PMEGP is a credit-linked subsidy scheme of the Ministry of MSME. It helps set up new micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector, mainly in rural and semi-urban areas. Aid comes as a margin money subsidy on bank loans.

Nodal agency: KVIC implements the scheme at the national level under the MSME Ministry.
Form of aid: Margin Money subsidy on bank-sanctioned loans.
Reach since FY 2014-15: About 8.12 lakh entrepreneurs got Rs 24,398.61 crore subsidy, generating jobs for about 73.08 lakh persons.
Sector: Only non-farm sector enterprises are supported.
Launch: PMEGP was launched in 2008-09 by merging PMRY and REGP.
Implementing agency: PMEGP is implemented through the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) under the MSME Ministry.
Type of support: Margin money subsidy on bank loans for new micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector.
Outlay and units: Outlay of ₹13,554.42 crore was fully used; 4,03,706 units were set up against a target of 4,02,000.
Scheme type: PMEGP is a central sector scheme that helps set up new micro-enterprises with small project costs, funded through small loans.
Reach among small projects: From FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25, about 63% of manufacturing units and 93% of service units with project cost up to Rs 10 lakh were assisted.
No collateral: As per RBI guidelines, banks are not to insist on collateral security for loans up to Rs 10 lakh.
Education requirement: No educational qualification is needed for projects up to Rs 10 lakh in manufacturing and up to Rs 5 lakh in services.
Interest rates: Banks set PMEGP loan interest rates themselves within RBI's framework, since rates on advances are deregulated.
CHAMPIONS portal: The Ministry's CHAMPIONS portal handles grievances on its schemes including PMEGP and offers handholding and guidance to MSMEs.

Don’t confuse with PMEGP vs PMMY (Mudra): PMEGP gives a margin money subsidy for new micro-enterprises; Mudra gives collateral-free loans to small businesses without a subsidy.

Don’t confuse with PMEGP vs MUDRA: PMEGP gives a margin money subsidy on bank loans through KVIC; MUDRA loans are collateral-free credit without a subsidy element.

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.

Test yourself

Source: PIB, Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises, 7 May, 10:52 IST · Release 288606

Issue page →

Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.

Scheme

JANANI Platform (Maternal and Child Health)

GS2 Health · Maternal and child healthGS3 Digital governancePrelims and Mains

Why in news: On 7 May 2026 the Union Health Ministry launched JANANI, a digital platform for maternal and child health records, at a national summit on best practices.

Full form: JANANI stands for Journey of Antenatal, Natal and Neonatal Integrated Care.
Origin: It is an upgraded version of the existing RCH portal and builds a longitudinal health record.
MCH card: It introduces QR-enabled digital Mother and Child Health cards, with automated alerts for high-risk pregnancies.
Interoperability: It can integrate with national platforms such as U-WIN and POSHAN.
Registration IDs: Beneficiaries can register using ABHA, Aadhaar (OTP and biometric) or mobile number, with pan-India search.
Progress: So far 1.34 crore beneficiary registrations and over 30 lakh pregnant women registrations.

Don’t confuse with JANANI vs Janani Suraksha Yojana: JANANI is a digital tracking platform. Janani Suraksha Yojana is a cash-incentive scheme for institutional delivery under the National Health Mission.

Don’t confuse with U-WIN vs POSHAN: U-WIN is the digital platform for immunisation records. POSHAN is the nutrition tracking platform.

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.

Test yourself

Source: PIB, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 7 May, 12:14 IST · Release 288608

Issue page →

Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.

Report or index

NITI Aayog Report on School Education System in India

GS2 Social Justice · EducationPrelims and Mains

Why in news: NITI Aayog released a policy report on India's school education system on May 6, 2026. It reviews a decade of data and sets out 13 recommendations.
What it is: This is a NITI Aayog policy report titled 'School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement'. It analyses access, infrastructure, equity, digital integration and learning outcomes across all States and UTs. It combines official and survey data with stakeholder consultation to propose a roadmap.

Publisher: The report was released by NITI Aayog, by Vice Chairman Suman Bery and CEO Nidhi Chhibber, on May 6, 2026.
Data sources: It uses secondary data from UDISE+ 2024-25, PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, NAS 2017 and 2021, and ASER 2024.
Scale of the system: India has 14.71 lakh schools and over 24.69 crore students, the largest school system in the world.
NITI Aayog: NITI Aayog is the government's policy think tank, set up in 2015 to replace the Planning Commission. It is not a statutory body and its reports are advisory.

Don’t confuse with UDISE+ vs ASER: UDISE+ is the government's administrative data system on schools. ASER is a household survey on learning levels run by the civil society group Pratham.

Don’t confuse with NAS vs PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan: NAS was the National Achievement Survey. PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 is the newer national assessment under the PARAKH body.

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

No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Education report with useful data and sources like UDISE+ and PARAKH. Reports are only 14 of 327 Prelims questions, mostly on the publisher, so no practice question.

Source: PIB, NITI Aayog, 7 May, 13:13 IST · Release 288610

Issue page →

Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.

Scheme

National Pension System and Atal Pension Yojana

GS3 Economy · Social security and pensionsGS2 Welfare schemesPrelims and Mains

Why in news: On 7 May 2026, PIB published an explainer on India's pension landscape. It reports NPS and APY figures as on 31 March 2026 and describes the shift from defined-benefit to contributory pensions.
What it is: Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is a government-backed pension scheme, mainly for unorganised-sector workers. It is run by PFRDA under the National Pension System and is delivered through banks and the Department of Posts. It was launched in 2015 along with PMJJBY and PMSBY to widen social security cover.

Regulator: PFRDA runs APY. Banks, State Level Bankers' Committees (SLBCs) and the Department of Posts deliver it.
Record enrolment: APY added 1.35 crore subscribers in FY 2025-26, its highest annual enrolment.
Cumulative reach: Gross enrolments crossed 9.10 crore as of 18 May 2026, covering all States and UTs.
Launch: APY was launched on 9 May 2015 as part of the Jan Suraksha schemes.
APY eligibility: Open to bank account holders aged 18 to 40 who are not income tax payers.
APY administrator: APY is run by PFRDA under the National Pension System architecture.
APY pension slabs: Guaranteed monthly pension of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 after age 60, depending on contributions.
NPS two-tier structure: Tier I is the primary retirement account with withdrawal restrictions. Tier II is a voluntary savings account with more liquidity.
NPS Vatsalya: NPS Vatsalya (2024) lets parents or guardians open a pension account for a minor. It converts to a regular NPS account when the minor reaches majority.
Launch date: APY was launched on 9 May 2015.
Administered by: PFRDA administers the scheme.
Eligibility: Open to Indian citizens aged 18 to 40, except current or past income tax payers.
Pension benefit: Guaranteed monthly pension of ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 after age 60.
Delivery channels: Banks of all types and the Department of Posts enrol subscribers.

Don’t confuse with APY vs NPS: APY is a fixed-pension scheme within NPS aimed at unorganised workers. NPS is the wider market-linked pension system.

Don’t confuse with APY vs PMJJBY/PMSBY: PMJJBY and PMSBY are one-year renewable insurance covers. APY is a long-term pension scheme.

Don’t confuse with PMJJBY vs PMSBY: PMJJBY covers death from any cause (ages 18-50, Rs 436). PMSBY covers accidental death and disability (ages 18-70, Rs 20).

Don’t confuse with NPS vs UPS: NPS gives no assured payout and depends on market returns, with 14% government contribution. UPS is an option within NPS with an assured payout and a pool corpus.

Don’t confuse with EPS vs NPS: EPS (1995) is EPFO-run, pooled and formula-based for organised private workers. NPS is an individual-account scheme regulated by PFRDA.

Don’t confuse with APY vs PMJJBY and PMSBY: PMJJBY and PMSBY are life and accident insurance schemes launched alongside APY in 2015; APY is a pension scheme.

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.

Why it matters

Extends old-age income security to unorganised workers who lack formal pensions.
Rising women and youth enrolment shows growing awareness of retirement planning.
Gives low-cost insurance and pension cover to poor and unorganised-sector workers through bank and post office accounts.
Digital enrolment through the Jan Suraksha Portal and faster claim settlement widen reach.
Extends old-age income security beyond government employees to informal workers.
Contributory schemes support fiscal sustainability and build long-term savings.
Record enrolments show growing reach through banks and post offices.

Problems

Subscriber persistency: many may stop contributing, which the Secretary flagged.
Reaching the urban informal sector remains limited.
Cover is one-year and needs yearly renewal by auto-debit, so lapses can occur.
APY excludes income tax payers and gives a fixed pension whose real value may fall with inflation.
Market-linked NPS gives uncertain payouts, and low-income informal workers may not save regularly.
Social pensions under NSAP are small, averaging about ₹1,000 a month in most States/UTs.
Contributions are voluntary, and many subscribers may stop paying or drop out.
Fixed pension amounts may lose real value over decades through inflation.

Way forward

Strengthen financial literacy and subscriber engagement through banks and SLBCs.
Expand outreach among urban informal workers.
Strengthen awareness and ease renewal and claim processes, especially in rural areas.
Review pension slabs and cover amounts periodically against inflation.
Raise social pension amounts and widen enrolment of informal and gig workers through digital outreach.
Keep strengthening PFRDA oversight and subscriber awareness on annuity choices.
Improve retention through auto-debit reminders and financial literacy.
Review pension levels and incentives so that benefits keep pace with inflation.

Put in your answer

APY scale: APY has over 9 crore gross enrolments and AUM above ₹54,000 crore, showing the reach of the pension scheme.

Persistency focus: The DFS Secretary stressed persistency, financial literacy and urban informal outreach as priorities.

Claims paid under PMJJBY: Rs 21,512.50 crore paid for 10,75,625 claims as on 29.04.2026.

Claims paid under PMSBY: Rs 3,667.52 crore paid for 1,84,662 claims as on 29.04.2026.

Women in APY: Females are around 49% of APY enrolments, showing gender inclusion.

Multi-pillar pension system: India's pensions combine defined-benefit, contributory, statutory payroll-linked and tax-funded social pensions.

NSAP top-ups: As of August 2025, States/UTs top up NSAP by ₹50 to ₹3800 a month per beneficiary.

Code on Social Security, 2020: It provides enabling provisions to extend social security, including pension-linked benefits, to gig and platform workers.

No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Explainer on NPS and APY with coverage and asset figures. Lasting topic, but the release gives few new facts to build a question on.

Source: PIB Headquarters, 7 May, 17:13 IST · Release 288622

Issue page →

Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.

What we left out: 30 of 34 releases

Speeches without a decision (8)
Same issue as another release (9)
Routine consultation notices (2)
Routine MoUs (2)
Routine data and seizures (1)
Visits and bilateral meetings (1)
Ceremonies and exhibitions (1)
Routine rankings (1)
Review meetings (1)
Visits and port calls (1)
Ceremonies and campaigns (2)
Routine data and clarifications (1)

Practise the day’s news

In UPSC’s formats, inside each issue. The answer and why come after you choose.

1Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)MCQ · 11 true or false
2JANANI Platform (Maternal and Child Health)MCQ · 7 true or false

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