[Newsbits] 19.3.2026: CA Visual Mindmap & Notes

1. RISA: Timeless Tribal

• Context: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched a premium signature brand to promote tribal crafts and textiles.
• Nodal Entities: Ministry of Tribal Affairs; implemented by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
• Key Features: Cluster-based development (10 clusters in the first phase).
  • Focus on premium domestic/global markets with sustainable packaging by the National Institute of Design (NID).
  • Important Crafts Covered: Eri silk (Assam), Pashmina (Ladakh), Dokhra art (Chhattisgarh), and Toda embroidery (Tamil Nadu).

2. Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) Framework

• Context: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) expanded the framework to include solar ingots and wafers (effective June 1, 2028).
• Overview: Launched in 2019 to ensure solar components meet domestic manufacturing standards and reduce import reliance.
• Key Features:
  • Mandatory certification for government-assisted projects.
  • Technical inspections conducted by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE).
  • Enforces Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) as a non-tariff barrier.
  • Tiered Lists: List-I (Photovoltaic (PV) Modules), List-II (PV Cells), List-III (Ingots/Wafers).

3. The Collegium System (Prelims Focus)

• Context: Recent critiques highlight a gap between formal principles and opaque practices, with 7 High Courts (HCs) unrepresented in the Supreme Court (SC) as of March 2026.
• Constitutional Basis: It is an extra-constitutional body evolved via judicial interpretation of Articles 124(2) and 217.
• Evolution (The Judges’ Cases):
  • 1st (1981): Executive primacy (consultation $\neq$ concurrence).
  • 2nd (1993): Judiciary primacy; introduced the Collegium (consultation = concurrence).
  • 3rd (1998): Expanded the Collegium to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) + 4 senior-most judges.
  • 4th (2015): Struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act.

4. Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojna (BHAVYA)

• Context: The Union Cabinet approved ₹33,660 crore to develop 100 plug-and-play industrial parks.
• Nodal Entities: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT); implemented by the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC).
• Key Features:
  • Parks ranging from 100–1000 acres with pre-approved land and clearances.
  • Financial support up to ₹1 crore per acre for core infrastructure.
  • Aligned with PM GatiShakti for multimodal connectivity.

5. Stockholm Water Prize 2026

• Context: Kaveh Madani awarded the prize for linking water science with policy, diplomacy, and public outreach.
• About the Prize: Established in 1991; regarded as the “Nobel Prize for Water”; conferred by the Swedish King.
• Winner Facts (Kaveh Madani): Youngest laureate and the first United Nations (UN) official to win. Director at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). Best known for his concept of “Water Bankruptcy”.

6. Small Hydro Power (SHP) Development Scheme

• Context: The Union Cabinet approved this scheme for FY 2026-27 to 2030-31 with a ₹2,584.60 crore outlay.
• Overview: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) initiative promoting decentralized 1–25 MW capacity projects.
• Key Features:
  • Requires 100% indigenous plant and machinery to qualify.
  • Funds Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) preparation.
  • Central Financial Assistance (CFA): ₹3.6 crore/MW for NE & Border States; ₹2.4 crore/MW for other states.

7. Indian Ocean Region

• Context: The second edition of the Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) commenced on March 16, 2026.
• Geography: 3rd-largest ocean, bordered by 36 littoral nations. Features an asymmetric, semi-annually reversing surface circulation driven by monsoon winds.
• Strategic Chokepoints: Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, Bab-el-Mandeb, and Suez Canal.

8. Krishi Sakhi Initiative

• Context: Launched by the Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited to empower women farmers.
• Key Features: Nationwide capacity building on crop insurance, month-wise awareness campaigns, and behavioral outreach regarding rural sanitation.