Potash are the minerals that contain potassium and are mainly used in fertilisers.
Potash is consumed mostly as fertilizer with more than 90 percent of consumption being utilized as fertilizer and it forms one of the three main agricultural nutrients which include N-P-K.
100 GW Solar Power Capacity Milestone
India has made a historical milestone after reaching the mark of 100 GW Solar power installed capacity (100.33 GW).
The solar power sector in India has seen a phenomenal rise of capacity by 3450 per cent in the last ten years.
It was increasing to 100 GW in 2025 compared to 2.82 GW in the year 2014.
The Solar energy continues to play a leading role in renewable energy development in India claiming 47 percent share of the total installed capacity of renewable energy in the country.
In 2024, a new solar capacity was set with 24.5 GW which is a more than two times as many solar installations compared with the previous year.
There was also an 18.5 GW of utility solar added last year, almost 2.8 times as much as 2023.
The most performing states are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
In 2024, the rooftop solar industry in India made a spectacular growth with 4.59GW new capacity added, which corresponds to a growth of 53% as compared to 2023.
NCSK extension
The life of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) has been extended by tenure of three years by the Union Cabinet.
It operates through the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
It enforces the provisions of law that bans manual scavenging in the nation.
It is the enforcing agency of the provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation act 2013.
The NCSK is mandated to propose certain programmes aimed at uplifting the sanitation workers to the Centre, enquire into the grievances of certain sanitation workers, study and observe their working conditions among others.
The initial NCSK was established in 1994 as a statutory body under the commission of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act of 1993 which expired in 2004.
The commission has since been performing its duties as a non-statutory organisation under the Ministry of Social Justice and its term keeps being renewed.
India- NITI Aayog Report on higher education 2025
The policy report drafted by the NITI Aayog naming it as Expanding Quality Higher Education by the means of States and State Public Universities.
Of all the states and Union Territories, the states of Jammu and Kashmir spend the highest in percent terms of GDP at 8.11 per cent, followed by Manipur (7.25 per cent), Meghalaya (6.64 per cent) and Tripura (6.19 per cent).
The highest per youth expenditure of higher education is still held by Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
States such as Rajasthan, Punjab and Chhattisgarh are behind in it.
Maharashtra tops the list of the higher education funding with a budget of 11,421 crore followed by Bihar (9,666 crore) and Tamil Nadu (7,237 Crore)
The lowest allocated budgets on higher education belong to state like Sikkim, (882.8 million, or 142 crore Rs.), Arunachal Pradesh (944.5 million or 155 crore Rs.), and Nagaland (990.3 million or 167 crore Rs.).
In view of the higher education expenditure as percentage of Gross State Domestic Product, (GSDP) Bihar is on top with 1.56 percent, Jammu and Kashmir with 1.53 and Manipur 1.45.
Telangana shows the lowest figure of 0.18 per cent, Gujarat and Rajasthan spend 0.23 per cent respectively.
The average density of universities in the country is 0.8.
With a density of 10.3, Sikkim is topped followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand.
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and the West Bengal and Maharashtra are the highly populated states and their state-level density is smaller than the national average in per square kilometer with 0.2 in case of Bihar.
States such as Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Kerala show enrolment of the girls being more than that of the male.
In smaller states and UTs (such as Chandigarh, Mizoram and Andaman and Nicobar Islands) the male-female enrolments are relatively equal (with a margin of just a few hundred school goers).
Gig worker Social Security Cover
Two announcements on social security cover of gig workers were made in budget speech.
The first is that the gig workers will receive health insurance by PM Jan Arogya Yojana.
Second is that such workers will be provided with identity cards using the e-Shram portal which would benefit 1 crore workers.
A gig worker is a person who participates in temporary, slack work or chores, frequently online, or as a contractor by profession.
They are found in practically all parts of the gig economy: food delivery, ride-hailing, e-commerce and other professional services.
In India, the Niti Aayog projects a figure of 12.7 Million gig workers in 2024-25 that could rise to 23.5 million by 2029-30.
In a seminal essay, John Maynard Keynes had prophesied three-hour shifts or 15-hours weeks a hundred years ago, in his now famous essay, The Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren.
Atal Bhujal Yojana Expansion
The Centre is planning to expand the Atal Bhujal Yojana,