Why in News

• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) held a national conference on “Water as the Elixir of Life: Advancing Human Dignity through the Right to Water” at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on its 33rd Foundation Day, to look at water security as a human rights issue.

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• The two sessions covered water conservation and community participation, and drinking-water services and local governance.
• The Ministry of Jal Shakti said safe drinking water is part of the right to life under Article 21.
• NHRC’s Chairperson said that conservation must begin immediately and that the present generation must preserve natural resources for the future.

About India’s Water Challenge

• India has only about 4% of the world’s freshwater resources but supports nearly 18% of the world’s population, according to NITI Aayog.
• Per capita availability has fallen to about 1,300–1,400 cubic metres a year, below the water-stress threshold of 1,700 cubic metres.
• About 25% of blocks are in the critical, semi-critical or over-exploited groundwater categories, according to the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

About the Jal Jeevan Mission

• It was launched in 2019 to provide tap water connections to rural households.
• About 82% of the planned water-connection infrastructure has been created, and JJM 2.0 aims to complete the work by December 2028.
• Schemes based on surface water have risen from 15% to 48%, and groundwater-based schemes have fallen from 85% to 52%.
• About 2.4 million women have been trained to use field-testing kits and upload water-quality data.
• WaterAid India says about 86% of households now have functional tap connections.

About Namami Gange

• It follows an Integrated River Basin Management approach, with the goals of Nirmal Dhara (unpolluted flow) and Aviral Dhara (continuous flow).
• It has 527 projects, covering pollution abatement, ecological restoration, biodiversity and community participation.
• It is run by the National Mission for Clean Ganga under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

About the NHRC

• It is a statutory body set up under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, to protect and promote human rights.

Mains Angle

• Treating water as a human right means the State must ensure safe, affordable and non-discriminatory access, not just build pipes.
• Source sustainability matters as much as connections. A household tap works only if the source behind it is protected.
• Community participation, through Gram Panchayats, village water committees and women’s groups, makes schemes last.
• Progress on rivers should be judged by water quality and ecology, not by money spent or projects completed.

Why in News

• India’s yearly TB cases fell by 21% between 2015 and 2024, against a global fall of 12%, according to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025.
• A nationwide social media campaign by JOSH (Joint Squad for Health) teams was held on 13 October 2026 to involve young people in TB elimination.

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• Treatment coverage is 92% in India, against 78% globally, and TB deaths fell by 28% over the same period.
• Over 28.1 crore people have been screened, and over 20 lakh have received TB Preventive Treatment (TPT).
• 46,118 Gram Panchayats have been certified TB-free, and treatment success has risen to 90%, against a global average of 88%.

About the JOSH Campaign

• JOSH stands for Joint Squad for Health. It was piloted in 11 States and 55 districts.
• Each team has MY Bharat volunteers, National Cadet Corps cadets and a designated Class-I officer.
• It aims to spread awareness on early screening, treatment adherence and stigma-free communities, and to take TB elimination forward as a Jan Andolan.
• MY Bharat is an initiative of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for young people aged 15–29.

About the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP)

• In 2020, the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) was renamed NTEP. India aims to eliminate TB before the global target of 2030.
• It follows the four pillars of the National Strategic Plan 2020–25: Detect, Treat, Prevent and Build.
• Its activities include early diagnosis, quality-assured treatment, engagement with private providers, nutrition support, contact tracing and airborne infection control.

About the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan

• It was launched on 9 September 2022 as a Jan Andolan, to provide extra support to patients, increase community involvement and use CSR funds.
• The 100-Day TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan began on 7 December 2024 in 347 high-priority districts and has since been extended to all districts.
• Its second phase, from March 2026, held over 1.7 lakh Ayushman Arogya Shivirs in high-risk villages and wards.

About Patient Support

• Nikshay Poshan Yojana (2018): Financial assistance of ₹1,000 per month to each notified TB patient. About ₹4,454.68 crore has been paid to 1.38 crore beneficiaries.
• Ni-kshay Mitra: A “TB Friend” who supports a patient with food baskets, emotional support and help with livelihood. Individuals, NGOs, companies and public figures can volunteer.

About New Initiatives

• BPaLM regimen: A shorter treatment for drug-resistant TB with Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid and Moxifloxacin, which cuts treatment to 6 months. More than 15,000 patients have been started on it.
• TB Preventive Treatment (TPT): Given to household contacts and people living with HIV to stop infection turning into active disease.
• Technology: A 34-fold increase in X-ray screening through handheld units, and the TB Mukt Bharat App with an AI chatbot named “Khushi”.

About TB

• TB is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis and usually affects the lungs.
• It spreads through the air when a person with active lung TB coughs, sneezes or speaks, but not through handshakes, shared food or public toilets.
• Treatment and diagnosis are free at public health facilities. The toll-free helpline is 1800-11-6666.

Indian Economy and Governance

• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) organised a Conference of State Planning, Finance and IT Secretaries in New Delhi, to strengthen statistical systems for evidence-based policymaking and for Viksit Bharat @ 2047.
• The conference highlighted the new National Accounts Series, which uses 2022-23 as the base year, along with updated Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) series, to keep statistics in line with a more digital and formalised economy.

Focus areas of the conference

• Stronger State Statistical Systems and closer Centre–State coordination.
• More granular data at State, district and local levels, since national averages will not be enough to find development gaps.
• Use of AI, machine learning, geospatial systems and satellite imagery to make official statistics faster and more accurate, guided by quality, transparency, privacy, security and accountability.

• Statistics were described as an instrument of cooperative federalism, helping States and the Centre compare outcomes and learn from regional differences.

Bilateral Relations and Science and Technology

• India’s Minister for Science and Technology held bilateral talks with the UK’s Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade to strengthen cooperation in space, civil nuclear energy, scientific research and emerging technologies.
• Space: India’s space-sector reforms have opened the field to private industry. With around 800 space-technology startups in India, a closer link between Indian and British startups and smaller companies was proposed.

Civil nuclear energy

• India’s SHANTI Act, 2025 (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) is opening the nuclear sector to wider participation.
• The talks covered small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced nuclear technologies, in view of rising energy demand, electrification and data-centre needs.
• Cooperation in nuclear medicine, including radioisotopes and cancer-related uses, was also discussed.

• Emerging technologies: The two sides discussed AI, quantum technologies, cyber-physical systems, cybersecurity, advanced sensors and gravimeters. India is exploring smaller-scale AI models suited to local needs, and the UK has named AI a priority for its forthcoming G20 Presidency.

Governance, Social Security and Indian Economy

• The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is urging eligible establishments to apply under the Amnesty Scheme, 2026 before the deadline of 28 December 2026.
• It is a one-time transitional provision in the EPF Scheme 2026 (notified 29 June 2026). It lets Provident Fund (PF) Trusts that are recognised under the Income Tax Act, 1961, but lack a formal exemption order, regularise their exempt status.
• Legal background: A formal exemption order is issued under Section 17 of the EPF & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 or Section 143 of the Code on Social Security, 2020.

Key benefits

• Retrospective regularisation of exempt status.
• Waiver of Code on Social Security requirements such as the minimum employee headcount, corpus size and the 3-year compliance rule.
• Flexibility to comply afterwards as either an exempt or an unexempt establishment.
• Continued income tax benefits for recognised trusts.

• Data sharing: EPFO is working with the Income Tax Department to share records of exempted establishments, so that unnotified or non-compliant PF trusts can be identified and brought under the law.