State PCS - Rajasthan (RAS)

• 18 Nov 2025

Bio-Input Resource Centre

Why in News?

A new Bio-Input Resource Centre (BRC) has been inaugurated in Naudiha village, Nilamber–Pitamberpur block of Palamu district (Jharkhand) to support farmers adopting natural farming by providing locally produced bio-fertilisers and organic inputs.

Key Points

• About the Palamu Centre:
  • It is managed by a women entrepreneur, promoting rural women-led agribusiness. The centre will serve more than 600 farmers in the region.
  • The facility has been established with support from PRADAN and Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) as part of the state’s natural-farming expansion efforts.
  • It aligns with the national strategy under the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) to establish Bio-Input Resource Centres across India.
• About Bio-Input Resource Centres (BRCs):
  • BRCs are cluster-level units designed to produce and supply natural-farming inputs such as bio-fertilisers, bio-pesticides, Jeevamrit, Ghanjeevamrit, Neemastra, and other microbial formulations.
  • They are part of the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF), under which the Centre aims to set up 15,000 BRCs between 2022-23 and 2025-26.
  • BRCs may be operated by Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Self Help Groups (SHGs), cooperatives, or farmers practising natural farming, with financial and technical assistance from the government.

Operation Muskaan

Why in News?

A 17-year-old girl missing from Madhya Pradesh, was located and rescued near the Pakistan border in Rajasthan, through coordinated efforts under Operation Muskaan.

Key Points

• Operation Muskaan was launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs to rescue missing children, prevent child trafficking and ensure safe repatriation.
  • It is also commonly referred to as Operation Smile. It originated as a pilot project by the Ghaziabad Police in 2014, which, after massive success, was adopted and scaled up nationwide by the  Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in July 2015.
• It involves police, Child Welfare Committees, labour and social welfare departments, and uses tools like the national database of missing children, citizen tip-lines, and inter-state coordination.
• The teams use the MHA's TrackChild portal and often employ Face-Recognition Software (like Darpan) to match rescued children with the national database of missing children.
• Key activities include registration of missing children, mapping vulnerable spots, rescue operations, rehabilitation, and prosecution of traffickers or exploiters.

Rajasthan’s iStart Portal

Why in News?

The Government of Rajasthan announced that the iStart portal has emerged as a major driver of the state’s startup ecosystem, with over 7,100 startups registered and more than ₹1,000 crore in investments secured.

Key Points

• iStart is the flagship startup promotion programme of the Government of Rajasthan through the Department of Information Technology & Communications (DoIT&C).
• It offers a single-window online platform for startup registration, incubation, funding, mentorship and market access.
• The programme covers startups across sectors, including green technology, manufacturing, services, mobile/IoT, and solutions for local challenge categories.
• Incubation support is provided via iStart Nest centres and Techno Hub Jaipur, offering free workspaces, internet connectivity, hardware resources and mentorship.
• Financial incentives include idea-stage grants, seed funding, soft loans and equity investments, with additional prioritisation for women-led and rural startups.
• The ecosystem also includes the QRATE rating system to assess startups’ investment readiness, and provisions for government procurement to ensure market entry for early-stage enterprises.
• The portal has reportedly created more than 42,500 jobs in the state through startup activities.

Exercise Ajeya Warrior-25

Why in News?

India and the United Kingdom have begun the 8th edition of Exercise Ajeya Warrior-25, a bilateral military training exercise between the Indian Army and the British Army.

Key Points

• About Ajeya Warrior Exercise:
  • Ajeya Warrior is a bilateral military exercise between the Indian Army and the British Army, held biennially since 2011.
  • It focuses on enhancing interoperability, improving tactical coordination, and sharing best practices in counter-terrorism and peacekeeping operations.
  • It is conducted under a United Nations mandate, specifically aligned with Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which deals with peacekeeping duties related to threats to peace, breaches of peace, and counter-terrorism scenarios.
    
• About the 2025 Edition:
  • The 8th edition is being held from 17th to 30th November, 2025, at the Foreign Training Node, Mahajan Field Firing Ranges, Rajasthan.
  • A total of 240 personnel are participating, with equal representation from both armies. The Indian Army is represented by the Sikh Regiment.
  • Training includes simulation-based scenarios, Brigade-level mission planning, and field exercises resembling real-life counter-terror contingencies.