Top News

Pushkar Singh Dhami revealed some of the major points of the Uttarakhand Yoga Policy 2025 during the 38th International Yoga Festival at Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh as part of a major push to put the state on the world map as a wellness destination. Among the major elements of the policy, it plans to offer a dose of up to 20 lakh for establishing yoga and meditation centres, besides granting research grants of up to 10 lakh for the purpose of enhancing yoga education, training, and innovations. Besides the formation of five new yoga hubs, the government's other move is the extension of the services of AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres, which is expected to help Uttarakhand in its bid to become the 'global capital of yoga.'

The Chief Minister, addressing an international forum of yoga lovers, explained that yoga is not merely a physical activity; it is a comprehensive science that harmonizes the mind, body and soul. He further said that with the growth of stress, depression, and lifestyle diseases, yoga is an effective natural method of healing, strengthening the immune system, and attaining mental well-being.

The announcement took place at the time when people were celebrating the International Yoga Festival, a few of them being worldwide experts who held sessions on Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, meditation, and naturopathy. The Chief Minister partook in Ganga Aarti too, and thus highlighted the spiritual importance of the region.

Since Narendra Modi suggested International Day of Yoga as a global day of yoga, India has been spreading the awareness of yoga worldwide and the day is now, being celebrated by over 180 countries. Besides, the state is developing AYUSH facilities, more than 300 wellness centres are running and new hospitals are being set up in various districts.

Also, a budget of 10 crore rupees has been allocated to the creation of Spiritual Economic Zones in Garhwal and Kumaon. Yoga is becoming a public health solution and also an economic contributor through the policy, infrastructure, and international interest combined with the natural landscape and spiritual heritage of Uttarakhand.

In fact, coming up with ideas, building and developing eco-friendly yoga tourism in the State of Uttarakhand is a great medium to promote yoga and also to bring in the prosperity to the locals.

India's lunar exploration programme is gearing up for a new level with some major changes planned in the next missions. On Wednesday, the Chairperson of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), V. Narayanan, revealed that the planned Chandrayaan, 5 mission would have a heavier lander and rover which could work on the Moon for a much longer time.

While talking at the launch of the fourth edition of the Space Science and Technology Awareness Training programme (START 2026), Narayanan mentioned that the forthcoming mission aims at significantly increasing the duration and capability of India's lunar experiments.

"The Chandrayaan, 3 landers mission life was approximately for 14 days. We are aiming for a lifespan of about 100 days for the next mission, " he added.

Sample Return is Planned in Chandrayaan 4

India is ready for Chandrayaan, 4 which in fact, is before Chandrayaan, 5, and the purpose of this mission is to retrieve samples from the Moon and bring them to the Earth, which is a big technological leap in the exploration of planets.

Narayanan said that the rover which is being made for the coming missions will be a lot bigger too. For example, while Chandrayaan, 3 had a 25 kg rover only, the one which is of the next generation and is being developed to a large extent is supposed to be around 350 kg in weight, which will facilitate conducting the most advanced scientific lunar surface experiments.

Expanding Planetary Missions

The ISRO chief also outlined several upcoming interplanetary missions, including the proposed Venus Orbiter Mission and a future Mars landing mission, building upon the success of India’s earlier Mars Orbiter Mission.

“These projects are under discussion for government approval, and there is significant interest in expanding India’s scientific exploration in space,” Narayanan said.

Space Vision 2047

Quoting India's Space Vision 2047, the Prime Minister elaborated on the long, term blueprint of India's space programme announced by the government. Along with the human spaceflight programme Gaganyaan, India is also planning for other space missions that will be game changers.

ISRO is planning to send Indian astronauts into space in the next two years, have an Indian space station by 2035, and the first manned lunar landing by Indians will be in 2040.

Can India Reach the Moon Again? Major Question Arises After Chandrayaan 3

Narayanan recognized the great work of Chandrayaan 3 and pointed out that the mission allowed India to do a great feat at the Moon's south pole by being the first country to make a soft landing there successfully in 2023. The lunar surface investigation led to discovery of new minerals, analysis of moonquakes and lunar thermal profiling as well.

Besides this, he mentioned other scientific exploits like the solar probe Aditya, L1 and space telescope AstroSat which has been recently completing 10 years of successful operation in orbit.

"Starting from very basic levels, India has now got the technical competence to design launch vehicles, manufacture satellites, develop state- of- the- art optical instruments for space observations, " Narayanan remarked, highlighting the increasing importance of science & technology in India's space aspirations.

The Central government has informed the Rajya Sabha that a huge number of constable posts in the security forces.

The report stated that a staggering number of over 93000 Constable (General Duty) vacancies in various forces including Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles, according to the response of Ministry of Home Affairs to the question in Rajya Sabha on shortage of staff in frontline security forces.

The data reveal that the vacancy situation is present in Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Secretariat Security Force (SSF) and Rifleman (General Duty) in Assam Rifles.

The government's response came after the announcement of recruitment of SSC GD Constable 2026, which has shown 25487 vacancies for the posts of Constable (GD). The Commission has estimated that 23467 vacancies are for male candidates and 2020 for female candidates.

Officials have pointed out that the recruitment process in CAPFs is quite comprehensive as it involves a number of stages such as a computer-based test (CBT), physical efficiency test (PET), physical standard test (PST), and detailed medical examination. All these steps lead to the recruitment timeline getting stretched quite often.

The government also attributed various factors such as delay in recruitment cycles, medical disqualifications, retirements, and attrition in the forces to the large number of vacancies.

MPs have asked the authorities to accelerate the recruitment process in order to cover the shortage of manpower in those forces which are responsible for border management, counter-insurgency operations, and internal security.

Those who want to join the forces have been recommended to frequently visit the official SSC website to get the latest news on SSC GD 2026 exam schedule and recruitment process.

Meghalaya Board of School Education has announced the postponement of two Class 12 post-secondary school leaving certificate (HSSLC) examinations, which were to be held in the violence-affected West Garo Hills district.

This is due to safety concerns amid clashes that have been going on in connection with the nomination process of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) election.

The board has stated that Music examination on March 11 and Anthropology paper on March 12 have been postponed only for those students who are coming from West Garo Hills district. In all other districts of Meghalaya, the examinations are going to be held according to the schedule.

The authorities explained that the decision of postponing was made after the imposed curfew in many areas as a result of the rising tensions between the tribal and non-tribal groups when the candidates were filing their nominations for the GHADC polls. The officials added that their main concern was ensuring the safety of students, invigilators and examination staff.

1. R. Laloo, Director (Accreditation) and Controller of Examinations of MBOSE, stated that only examination centres situated in West Garo Hills are affected by the postponement.

"We always put student safety first. The examinations scheduled on 11th and 12th March have been cancelled in the West Garo Hills district only as other areas are still safe. This is due to the fact that the law and order situation is severely disrupted, " Laloo mentioned. The board will publish the new dates for the examinations, which have been postponed, soon after the situation improves, he added.

Currently, there are approximately 29,000 students in the state who are taking the Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) exams. Officials went on to explain that those students residing in other districts will be able to take their exams as per the previously announced schedule.

Students from the district which is affected have been instructed to keep visiting the official MBOSE website regularly for the latest information on the rescheduled examination dates.

The education authorities have also said that the postponement will be dealt with carefully so as not to cause much of a disturbance in the overall examination process and result declaration.

The Board of Secondary Education Rajasthan (RBSE) is set to release the Class 10 results for 2026 by March 20, source said.

"Board of Secondary Education Rajasthan (RBSE) will reveal the outcomes of the Class 10 examinations of 2026 at the latest by March 20, " officials stated. The official declaration in this case will be one of the earliest in recent years.

Exams attended by over 10 lakh students which were conducted from 12th February to 28th February are hoping for their results. Students can access their scores on the two official websites - rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in and rajresults.nic.in - by entering their roll numbers.

Board officials informed that the marking process has been significantly fastened after the involvement of more than 30,000 teachers, which led to the decision to announce results way ahead of the usual May schedule.

The news was shared during a media briefing organized by top board members and education department officials of the state. Pass percentage, performance of each district, and even merit lists will be published along with the results.

Students who do not clear one or more subjects will have the opportunity to appear for supplementary examinations scheduled in July 2026, the board said.

Reform Proposal: Twice-a-Year Board Exams

RBSE is at last eyeing a major overhaul in the system by planning to offer examinations twice a year as early as 2027. This new system will be applicable for students of Classes 9 to 12.

The proposal, which is being debated now, intends to lessen the burden of continuous study on students and give them an additional chance to get better grades. If the proposal is given a green light, the exam pattern may change to a semester system, thereby allowing students a second opportunity to appear for the same subject within the academic year.

According to the officials, test runs in some schools revealed encouraging outcomes nevertheless the scheme has to get the nod from the state cabinet following which it may be implemented.

Educationalists say that such measures might take Rajasthan's school assessment in step with the broad educational reforms being undertaken across the country based on the National Education Policy 2020, which among other things stresses the need for assessments that are more flexible and the lessening of exam-related stress for students.

In addition to that, students will, of course, have the right to ask for the re-evaluation or rechecking of their answer scripts subject to the board's prescribed rules once the announcement about the examination system is made.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has issued the official cut-off scores for the Civil Services Examination 2025 after releasing the final results this month. The cut-offs categorized by each category for the preliminary test, main written test, and final selection have been put up on the commission's official website.

Here are a few facts from the same. The Prelims Examination cut-off for the General category is 92.66 marks out of 200 in the General Studies Paper-I. Besides, candidates are required to score at least 33 per cent in the CSAT paper which is qualifying in nature.

For prelims, the cut-off for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) was at 89.34, while Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates required 92.00 marks for the qualification. Scheduled Castes (SC) cut-off was at 84.00 and Scheduled Tribes (ST) at 82.66, respectively.

According to category, for the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) categories, prelims cut-off marks ranged from 76.66 to 40.66.

The commission revealed the cut-off marks for the Mains written examination, which serve as a guide in deciding who qualifies for the personality test or interview stage. For the General category, the cut-off was 739 out of a total of 1750 marks, while for the EWS category, it was 706. The cut-off marks for OBC candidates stood at 717, for SC - 700, and for ST - 694. Ultimately, points from the mains examination and personality test (which total 2025 marks) are combined, the final cut-off was 963 for the General category. Final cut-offs were 926 for EWS, 931 for OBC, 905 for SC, and 902 for ST candidates. Civil Services Examination (CSE) is organized annually by UPSC to select candidates for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and other.

Those who are going to prepare for the next session may obtain detailed cut-off files by downloading them from the official UPSC website. Specialists have acknowledged that the released marks offer significant references to candidates who are gearing up for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2026, where the level of rivalry is expected to be high.