UPSC Daily Current Affairs| One Liners 23-05-2026

One Liners 23-05-2026

Polity & Governance

JEEVAN App & SHATAYU Dashboard

• Launched by – Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

• Objectives – To empower senior citizens and strengthen caregiving support systems nationwide.

JEEVAN App (Joint Elderly Empowerment & Virtual Assistance Network)

• It is a dedicated mobile application for senior citizens.

• Focus on – Safety, welfare, healthcare access, and social inclusion.

• Features

  • Information on government schemes & welfare programmes.

  • Emergency assistance and support services.

  • Details of senior citizen homes supported by the Ministry.

  • Designed with user-friendly interface, simplified navigation, and accessibility features for elderly users.

SHATAYU Dashboard (Senior Holistic Care Assistance and Training for Your Utility)

• It is a digital dashboard to support caregiving services for senior citizens.

• Objective – To provides information on availability of geriatric caregivers at district and state levels.

Government Policies & Intervention

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission’s Milestone

Over 100 crore health records successfully linked with Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA).

• Ecosystem Growth – 450+ public and private health tech solutions integrated with ABDM.

• Government Platforms Driving Growth

  • CoWIN, Non-Communicable Disease Programme, PM-JAY, RCH programme.

  • State platforms – eKavach (UP), TeCHO (Gujarat), iHMS (Rajasthan), Andhra Pradesh health programmes.

  • National platforms – eHospital (NIC), eSushrut (C-DAC).

• Digital Building Blocks of ABDM

  • ABHA (Health ID)

  • Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR)

  • Health Facility Registry (HFR)

  • Health Information Exchange & Consent Manager (HIE-CM)

  • Unified Health Interface (UHI)

  • National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX)

• Significance

  • ABDM now among the world’s largest digital health ecosystems.

  • Longitudinal digital health records for citizens.

  • Supports a connected, paperless, efficient, and patient-centric healthcare system.

Environment

International Day for Biological Diversity 2026

• Celebrated annually on – 22^nd May.

• Held at – IIFM, Bhopal.

• Organized by – MoEFCC, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, NBA, and IBCA.

• Objective – To mark adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992).

• Theme – “Acting Locally for Global Impact”.

  • It emphasizes that global biodiversity goals depend on local, concrete action.

• Aligned with – Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), aiming to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

Science

Thermal Storage Innovation

• Research by – International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), under the Department of Science & Technology (DST).

• Innovation of – Cost-effective, scalable process for producing spinel nanocomposite Phase Change Material (PCM).

• Material designed for – Thermal energy storage (TES) in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants and industrial waste heat recovery systems.

• Technical Highlights

• Method – Simple co-precipitation process to produce spinel-type metal oxide nanoparticles with controlled particle size.

• Nanoparticles show excellent thermal stability and uniform dispersion, ideal for PCM integration.

• Addition of – Just 1% spinel oxide nanoparticles to PCM resulted in:

  • 45% increase in specific heat capacity (energy storage ability).

  • Enhanced efficiency and performance of TES systems.

• Advantages

  • Supports clean energy storage solutions.

  • Improves utilization of solar power & industrial waste heat.

  • Cost-effective, high-performance thermal batteries for sustainable energy applications.

Pregabalin

• Brought under – Schedule H1 of Drugs Rules, 1945 by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

• Reason for Action

  • Reports of misuse and abuse of Pregabalin, especially among youth.

  • Misused for sedative, euphoric, and dissociative effects.

  • Illegal stocking and unauthorized sales reported in some states.

• Medical Use – Prescribed for chronic pain, neuropathies, fibromyalgia, and neurological conditions.

Schedule H1 Provisions

• Sale only against valid prescription from a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP).

• Retailers must maintain a separate register of prescriptions and sales.

• Manufacturers must display “Schedule H1 Drug Warning” label prominently.

• Violations attract penal action under Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940.

• Objectives

  • To curb easy access and unauthorized sales.

  • To enhance prescription monitoring.

  • To strengthen supply chain accountability.

  • To safeguard public health from drug misuse and abuse.

• Stakeholder Advisory – Manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and pharmacists must ensure strict compliance with the notification.

Areca Nuts Seizure

Approximately 60,000 kg of smuggled foreign-origin areca nuts were seized.

• Conducted in – Mizoram and Assam.

• Seized by – Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Guwahati Zonal Unit.

• Routes – Smuggled into India from Myanmar via the Myanmar–Mizoram border.

• Impact

  • Illegal influx causing severe economic damage to domestic areca nut growers.

  • Undermines economic security in border regions.

Areca Nuts

• Areca nut is the seed of the fruit of the oriental palm Areca catechu.

• Found in – Tropical regions of the Pacific, South Asia, and Eastern Africa.

• Usage

  • Primarily used as a recreational stimulant.

  • Typically chewed wrapped in betel leaves (Piper betle), mixed with slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), and flavored with mint, clove, or tobacco.

  • Medicinal properties – Cathartic purposes & Treatment of intestinal parasites.