PIB Snippets 3 Topics UPSC Prelims & Mains

PIB Snippets — September 9, 2026

PM-SETU’s fresh ₹735.70 crore ITI boost, the 7th India-Japan Joint Working Group on Forests, and the 9th Rashtriya Poshan Maah

🛠️

PM-SETU: Industry-Led ITI Transformation Gets Fresh Boost of ₹735.70 Crore

The 5th National Steering Committee meeting of PM-SETU approved Strategic Investment Plans worth ₹735.70 crore for ITI clusters in Rajasthan, UP and Telangana — taking total sanctioned investment to ₹2,171 crore across 9 ITI clusters.

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; transforms Govt ITIs into industry-led training centres via a Hub-and-Spoke cluster model.
ITIs operate under the Directorate General of Training (DGT) under MSDE, providing craftsman/technician-level training.

Source: PIB

🌲

The 7th India-Japan JWG on Forests, under the 2015 MoC, discussed Tree Outside Forests (TOFs), Forest Genetics and Forest Stack, endorsing a Roadmap for 2027-2031.

India side led by MoEFCC; Japan side by its Forestry Agency (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries).
TOFs: trees outside designated forest land (farms, roads, urban areas) — supplementary source of timber and carbon sequestration.
Delegations visited IWST Bengaluru, Mysuru sandalwood farms, and Nagarhole Tiger Reserve (part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Western Ghats).

Source: PIB

🍎

The 9th Rashtriya Poshan Maah begins September 9, 2026 in Varanasi, themed “Hamari Anganwadi, Hamari Jimmedari” — marking 10 years of PMMVY.

Mission Poshan 2.0 (2021-22, MWCD) unified POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anganwadi Services/ICDS, and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls.
PMMVY is India’s flagship maternity benefit programme, marking 10 years with a 100% Saturation Drive.
Key concept: over 85% of brain development occurs by age six, with the most rapid growth in the first 1,000 days — the scientific anchor for India’s nutrition policy.
The Poshan Tracker (launched March 2021) is the digital platform for real-time monitoring of Anganwadi Services.

A complementary two-week April campaign since 2018; the 8th edition (April 2026) focused on “Maximizing Brain Development in the First Six Years.”

Diet diversity, fresh cooked meals, community participation, child development, and marking 10 years of PMMVY.

Source: PIB