News in Shorts: 26 May 2026

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

Context: The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) crossed 100 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) linked health records, strengthening India’s interoperable and citizen-centric digital healthcare ecosystem.

Key Achievements

• Rapid Expansion of Digital Health Records: ABDM doubled linked health records from 50 crore in February 2025 to over 100 crore within 15 months.
  • Nearly 10 crore records are being linked every 2–3 months.
• Strong State-Level Participation: Uttar Pradesh emerged as the leading contributor with over 15 crore linked records.
  • Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Gujarat also recorded significant progress in digital health integration.
• Public and Private Sector Integration: More than 450 government and private digital health platforms have integrated with ABDM.
  • Major contributors include CoWIN, PM-JAY, eHospital, eSushrut and State-level health platforms.

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About Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

• ABDM is a nationwide digital health initiative aimed at creating an interoperable, paperless and consent-based healthcare ecosystem in India.
• Launch: September 2021
• Nodal Agency: Implemented by the National Health Authority under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Eligible Beneficiaries: Every Indian citizen can voluntarily create an ABHA for digital access to health records.

Key Features

• ABHA Digital Identity: ABHA provides a unique 14-digit digital health ID for secure storage and sharing of medical records.
• Consent-Based Data Sharing: Health Information Exchange and Consent Manager (HIE-CM) enables secure and patient-controlled sharing of health information.
• National Digital Health Registries: ABDM maintains Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) and Health Facility Registry (HFR) for verified healthcare providers and institutions.

Asian Weightlifting Championships 2026

Context: India delivered a significantly improved performance at the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2026 held in Gandhinagar, winning 10 medals. This marked a strong comeback from the previous edition in Jiangshan, where India had finished without a medal.

About India’s Medal Tally

• India ended the championships with one silver and nine bronze medals. The medals were awarded separately in snatch, clean and jerk, and overall total categories

Winners

• Gold in Super Heavyweight Category
  • In the men’s super heavyweight category, Gor Minasyan of Bahrain, a two-time Olympic medallist, won the gold medal with a total lift of 457kg.

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Best Indian Performance

• Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Lovepreet Singh produced India’s best result on the final day. 
  • He finished fifth in the men’s 110kg+ category with a personal-best total lift of 386kg.
  • He lifted 174kg in snatch and 212kg in clean and jerk.

Key Indian Medal Winners

• Gyaneshwari Yadav won India’s only silver medal in the women’s 53kg snatch event. She also secured an overall bronze medal in the same category.
• Komal Kohar opened India’s medal account by winning bronze medals in the women’s 48kg category. She competed after replacing injured Olympic medallist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu.
• Ajith Narayana won two bronze medals in the men’s 71kg division, while Harjinder Kaur secured a bronze medal in the women’s 69kg snatch event.
• Sanjana added to India’s tally by winning three bronze medals in the women’s 77kg category.

Sourav Kothari Wins IBSF World Billiards Championship

Context: Indian cueist Sourav Kothari clinched the IBSF World Billiards Championship title in Carlow, Ireland, after defeating Pankaj Advani.

Major Highlights

• Sourav Kothari successfully defended his IBSF World Billiards Championship title, making it his second consecutive title victory in the tournament.
• Kothari won the final with a dominant scoreline of 1133–477. 

About IBSF

• The International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) is the global governing body for snooker and English Billiards.
• It was originally established in 1971 as the World Billiards & Snooker Control Council and was renamed the International Billiards & Snooker Federation in 1973.
• The IBSF is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through the World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS).

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Padma Awards 2026

Context: President of India conferred Padma Awards 2026 during the Civil Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Major Awardees

• Padma Vibhushan Recipients: 
  • Dharmendra (posthumously) for Art.
  • Violin maestro N. Rajam, who pioneered the “Gayaki Ang” style of classical music, a technique that enables violin to imitate human vocal music, earning her the title “Singing Violin”. 
• Padma Bhushan Recipients:  Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Uday Kotak, Dr. R. Ganesh and Dr. Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy.
• Padma Shri Recipients: Harmanpreet Kaur for contribution to sports. Other recipients included Taga Ram Bheel, Ratilal Mohanlal Borisagar, Swami Brahmdev and Kumar Bose.
• Total Awards in 2026: For 2026, the President approved 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards.

About the Padma Awards

• Padma Awards are among India’s highest civilian awards announced annually on the eve of Republic Day.
• Categories of Awards
• • Padma Vibhushan: For exceptional and distinguished service.
  • Padma Bhushan: For distinguished service of a high order.
  • Padma Shri: For distinguished service in any field.
• Instituted in 1954: The Padma Awards were instituted in 1954 and are conferred by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Fields Covered: They recognise exceptional service and achievements in fields such as art, literature, science, medicine, sports, public affairs and social work.
• Eligibility: All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or gender are eligible, including foreigners and posthumous awardees.

About the Civil Investiture Ceremony

• A Civil Investiture Ceremony is an official ceremony in which the President of India confers civilian honours and national awards on distinguished individuals.
• Venue: The ceremony is usually held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Presiding Authority: The ceremony is presided over by the President of India.

CBSE’s Digital Evaluation System

Context: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has come under scrutiny over the implementation of its new On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for Class 12 board examinations.

About the On-Screen Marking System

• On-Screen Marking (OSM) is a computer-based evaluation system implemented by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) starting with the 2026 Class 12 board examinations. 
• Mechanism:  Under this system, physical answer sheets are scanned into high-quality digital formats and uploaded to a secure portal. 
  • Teachers, using their login credentials, can then evaluate the answer sheets directly on a computer screen from their schools or designated evaluation centres, eliminating the need to handle paper copies.

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Benefits of OSM

• Error-Free Evaluation: OSM is expected to eliminate totalling errors.
• Uniform Assessment: The system aims to standardise evaluation across regions.
• Greater Transparency: CBSE says OSM improves fairness and transparency.
• Reduced Regional Bias: Digital evaluation enables cross-regional assessment of answer books.

Concerns Associated with OSM

• Errors in Scanned Answer Sheets: Students reported blurred pages, missing pages, and instances of receiving another student’s answer sheet.
• Payment Portal Glitches: The re-evaluation and scanned-copy portal faced excess deductions, partial deductions, and repeated transaction failures.
• Decline in Pass Percentage: Class 12 pass percentage fell to 85.29%, the lowest since 2019.
• Drop in Top Scores: The number of students scoring above 90% reportedly declined by around 16%.
  • Many parents have linked the fall in marks to the newly introduced On-Screen Marking system.

Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojna (BHAVYA)

Context: The DPIIT released operational guidelines for the BHAVYA Scheme to develop investment-ready industrial parks across India in May 2026.

About Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojna (BHAVYA) Scheme

• BHAVYA is a Central Sector Scheme aimed at developing world-class, plug-and-play industrial parks and smart manufacturing ecosystems across India.
• Objectives
  • To strengthen India’s manufacturing ecosystem through integrated industrial infrastructure and logistics connectivity.
  • To attract domestic and global manufacturing investments by reducing infrastructure and regulatory bottlenecks.
  • Support the objectives of Make in India, Aatmanirbhar Bharat, and PM Gati Shakti.
  • To enhance India’s integration with global value chains and generate large-scale employment opportunities.
• Nodal Body: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Project Management Agency (PMA): The National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) has been designated as the Project Management Agency for monitoring and implementation.
• Budget Outlay: ₹33,660 crore
• Financial Support: The scheme offers financial support of up to ₹1 crore per acre 
  • It also covers up to 25% of the expenditure on external infrastructure to facilitate efficient last-mile connectivity with national freight networks.
• Key Features of the BHAVYA Scheme
  • Scale and Financial Outlay: The scheme targets development of 100 industrial parks between 2026-27 and 2031-32.
  • Challenge-Based Selection: Industrial parks will be selected through a competitive challenge-based framework based on infrastructure quality, sustainability and connectivity indicators.
  • Plug-and-Play Infrastructure: The scheme focuses on ready-built industrial ecosystems with roads, utility systems, logistics facilities and digital governance mechanisms.
  • Multi-Tier Infrastructure: 
    • Core infrastructure such as roads, drainage and Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETPs).
    • Value-added infrastructure such as testing laboratories and logistics hubs.
    • Social infrastructure including worker housing, healthcare and skill centres.
• SPV-Based Implementation: Projects will be implemented through Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013.
• Guidelines for Implementation
  • Land Requirements: Minimum land requirement is 100 acres for non-hilly states and 25 acres for hilly, northeastern and smaller states.
    • Max allowances permit macro-clusters scaling up to 1,000 acres
  • PM Gati Shakti Integration: Industrial parks must be integrated with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multimodal connectivity.
  • GIS-Based Monitoring: The scheme provides for GIS-enabled monitoring, periodic audits and oversight by a National Level Steering Committee chaired by the Secretary, DPIIT.
  • Private Sector Participation: Private developers can participate through PPP-based SPVs with transparency, accountability and audit safeguards.

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Medical Innovations Patent Mitra: I2I Connect

Context: The Indian Council of Medical Research launched India’s largest biomedical innovation and technology transfer platform in New Delhi.

About “Medical Innovations Patent Mitra: Innovators-to-Industry (I2I) Connect”

• It is a structured biomedical innovation and technology transfer platform aimed at commercialising indigenous healthcare technologies.
• Organised By: The initiative was organised by the Indian Council of Medical Research under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Participants: The platform brought together
  • ICMR research institutes and scientists
  • Startups and biomedical innovators
  • Healthcare and pharmaceutical industries
  • Public health experts and policymakers
• Objective
  • To bridge the gap between laboratory research and industrial-scale healthcare manufacturing.
  • To accelerate technology transfer, intellectual property protection and commercialization of indigenous biomedical innovations.
• Key Focus Areas
  • Technology Transfer and Commercialisation: The platform facilitated transfer of 41 public health technologies from research institutions to industry partners for manufacturing and large-scale deployment.
  • Indigenous Vaccine and Diagnostic Development: Technologies related to typhoid, paratyphoid, tuberculosis, Japanese Encephalitis, Mpox, KFD and Chandipura virus were transferred to industry stakeholders.
  • Biomedical Innovation Ecosystem: More than 100 Indian technologies in diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines and medical devices were showcased to promote domestic biomedical innovation.
  • Intellectual Property Development: ICMR released the “Indian Biomedical Patent Landscape Report” and a “Technology Compendium” to strengthen India’s biomedical intellectual property ecosystem.
• Significance
• • Strengthening Healthcare Self-Reliance: The initiative supports indigenous production of vaccines, diagnostics and medical devices under the Make in India vision.
  • Promoting Public-Private Partnerships: The platform enhances collaboration between researchers, startups and industries for faster healthcare innovation deployment.
  • Advancing India as a Global Innovation Hub: The initiative marks a major step toward transforming India from a healthcare technology importer into a global provider of affordable healthcare solutions.

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