News in Shorts: 20 May 2026

20 May 2026

SHE-MARTs Initiative

Context: The Ministry of Rural Development held consultation in Bhubaneswar, Odisha to operationalise SHE-MARTs for strengthening women-led rural enterprises and marketing ecosystems.

UPSC Online Courses

About SHE-MARTs

SHE-MART stands for Self Help Entrepreneurs – Marketing Avenues for Rural Transformation.
Announced In: Union Budget 2026–27.
Nodal Ministry: The initiative is being developed under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).
Objective: To create women-led rural marketing ecosystems to improve enterprise growth, branding and market access for Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
Key Features of SHE-MARTs:
- Community-Owned Outlets: SHE-MARTs will function as retail outlets owned and managed by women’s groups through Cluster Level Federations (CLFs).
- Direct Market Access: The initiative aims to provide structured retail platforms for SHG women to sell products directly to consumers without intermediaries.
- Permanent Infrastructure: The scheme will establish permanent retail and aggregation centres for SHG-made products along with value-addition support.
- Lakhpati Didi Mission: The initiative supports the government’s target of creating 3 crore additional “Lakhpati Didis” by 2029.
- Convergence with Other Schemes: SHE-MARTs are expected to converge with initiatives like VB-GRAM-G for women-centric infrastructure and market support systems.
Significance: SHE-MARTs aim to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship, rural incomes, financial inclusion and sustainable rural market systems.

Government Curbs Precious Metal Imports to Protect Forex Reserves

Context: The Indian government has taken several measures to curb gold and silver imports to reduce pressure on the rupee, forex reserves and current account deficit (CAD).

Key Government Measures

Silver Imports: The government has placed silver imports for domestic consumption under the “restricted” category, requiring prior government approval.
Increase in Customs Duty: Customs duty on gold and silver was raised from 6% to 15%, while duty on platinum increased from 6.4% to 15.4%.
Limits on Gold Imports: A quantitative limit of 100 kg was imposed on gold imports under a key export scheme to prevent misuse of duty-free import facilities.
Exemptions: Silver imports for jewellery exports, 100% Export-Oriented Units (EOUs) and units in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) remain unrestricted.

Why is India Taking These Steps?

Rising Precious Metal Imports: India’s silver imports rose by 150% to $12.05 billion in 2025-26, while gold imports increased 24% to $71.98 billion.
High Prices: International silver prices rose by 74% and gold prices by 30% during the year, increasing India’s import bill despite lower import volumes.
Pressure on Forex: India’s foreign exchange reserves reportedly declined by around $32 billion within 10 weeks amid the West Asia crisis.
Rupee Depreciation: A weakening rupee has further increased the cost of imports and external sector pressures.

About Silver

Silver is a naturally occurring precious metal with the symbol Ag and atomic number 47.
Properties of Silver:
- Silver is a soft, white, lustrous precious metal with high malleability and ductility.
- It also has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity among all metals.
Uses of Silver:
- Silver is widely used in electronics, solar panels, batteries and electrical equipment due to its excellent electrical conductivity.
- It is also used in jewellery, coins, medicine, mirrors and antimicrobial products because of its lustre, reflectivity and antibacterial properties.
Silver in India:
- Deposits: India has very limited native silver deposits, with the notable Bharak deposit in Rajasthan being a rare exception.
- Occurrence as By-Product: Silver mainly occurs with lead, zinc, copper and gold ores, especially sulphide ores like argentiferous galena.
- Method of Extraction: In India, silver is mostly extracted as a by-product through smelting, electrolysis and chemical refining of lead-zinc and copper ores.
- Major Producing States: Rajasthan dominates India’s silver reserves with around 86% share, followed by Karnataka, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.
Global Status: Peru has the world’s largest silver reserves, while Mexico is the world’s largest producer of silver.

Afsluitdijk Dam

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the iconic Afsluitdijk dam in the Netherlands along with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten.

About Afsluitdijk

Structure: Afsluitdijk is a 32-km dam and causeway in the Netherlands that separates the North Sea from the IJsselmeer freshwater lake.
Global Benchmark: It is considered a global benchmark in flood control and land reclamation.
Protective Role: It protects large parts of the Netherlands from the North Sea.
Freshwater Storage: It also enables freshwater storage.

India–Netherlands Cooperation

Letter of Intent: India and the Netherlands signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) regarding the Kalpasar Project in Gujarat.
Participating Ministries: The LoI was signed between the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Netherlands’ Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.
Area of Cooperation: The cooperation focuses on technical cooperation for the Kalpasar Project.

About Kalpasar Project

Freshwater Reservoir: The project aims to create a freshwater reservoir across the Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat.
Integrated Infrastructure: It proposes integration of tidal power generation, irrigation, and transportation infrastructure.

UPSC Online Coaching

About Netherlands

Location: Country in northwestern Europe bordering the North Sea, Germany, and Belgium.
Capital: Amsterdam.
Administrative Capital: The Hague.
Nickname: Often called the “Low Countries” because much of its land lies below sea level.

Zwan-Wolf Effect

Context: Scientists using NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) Mission have, for the first time, observed the Zwan-Wolf plasma effect in Mars’ thin atmosphere despite the planet lacking a global magnetic field.

About the Zwan Wolf Effect

Plasma Compression: It is a plasma phenomenon in which charged particles are compressed and channelled along magnetic flux tubes.
Discovery: The effect was discovered in 1976.
Earlier Observations: Earlier, it had only been observed in planetary magnetospheres such as Earth’s.

Role of Space Weather

Amplification During Solar Outbursts: Solar outbursts and intense space weather events are believed to amplify the Zwan-Wolf effect in the Martian atmosphere.
Dynamic Nature of Martian Magnetosphere: The Martian induced magnetosphere constantly changes in size and shape in response to variations in solar activity.

Scientific Significance and Implications of the Research Findings

Magnetic Environment of Mars: The observation is significant because Mars lacks a strong global magnetic field and instead possesses an induced magnetosphere formed through interaction between the solar wind and its atmosphere.
Advancement in Scientific Understanding: The discovery improves understanding of atmospheric and plasma processes on Mars and demonstrates that such effects can occur even in weak and unstable magnetic environments.
Insights for Other Celestial Bodies: The findings provide valuable insights into similar plasma phenomena on other weakly magnetised or unmagnetised bodies such as Venus and Titan.

About MAVEN Mission

Launch: The MAVEN spacecraft was launched by NASA in November 2013 and entered Mars’ orbit in September 2014.
Mission Objective: MAVEN is one of seven active Mars orbiters and studies Mars’ atmosphere and its interaction with solar wind to understand how the planet lost much of its atmosphere and evolved from a wetter world into the cold, dry planet seen today.

Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA)

Context: Iran has established a new regulatory body called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) to oversee shipping operations in the Strait of Hormuz.

About PGSA

Regulatory Body: PGSA is a newly created Iranian statutory authority responsible for monitoring and managing maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Shipping Controls: Vessels transiting the Strait will be required to register with the authority, comply with its directives, pay transit charges, and obtain entry permits.
Regional Security Context: The move comes amid rising tensions in West Asia following the conflict involving US-Israeli coalition forces and Iran.

Click to Know UPSC Coaching Centres in India

About the Strait of Hormuz

Location: It is a narrow sea passage connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Geographical Position: It lies between Iran in the north and Oman–UAE in the south.
Global Energy Route: About 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes through the Strait of Hormuz
Narrow Passage: At its narrowest point, the Strait is about 33 km wide, making it a major maritime chokepoint.
Strategic Islands: Iran controls several strategically important islands near the Strait, including Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.