March 2026 (2nd week) Current affairs Practice Questions

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) is a flagship initiative launched by the Government of India in September 2020 to drive sustainable development in the fisheries sector. The scheme aims to address critical gaps in the fisheries value chain, from production to marketing

• Production Boost: Targeted to reach 22 million metric tons of fish production by 2025-26.
• Economic Goals: Doubling the export earnings to ₹1,00,000 crore and significantly increasing the income of fishers and fish farmers.
• Employment: Generating over 55 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities.
• Post-Harvest Management: Reducing post-harvest losses from 20-25% to approximately 10% through better cold chain and infrastructur

The PrSM (Precision Strike Missile) mentioned in recent news refers to a new generation of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles developed by Lockheed Martin for the United States Army.

LaBL 2.0 (Lighting a Billion Lives 2.0) is a next-generation decentralized renewable energy (DRE) programme launched by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in early 2026 to transition from merely providing light to powering productive livelihoods in rural India

Globally, women represent 27.5% of parliamentarians, while in India, they hold about 14% of Lok Sabha seats (74 in 2024), with significantly higher representation in local bodies.

The HALEU-Thorium (HALEU-Th) fuel cycle is significant for India because it offers a potential “shortcut” to utilizing the country’s vast thorium reserves decades earlier than originally planned. While India’s traditional three-stage nuclear programme requires the slow build-up of plutonium in fast breeder reactors before transitioning to thorium, HALEU-Th can be used in existing reactors today.

The Dumpsite Remediation Accelerator Programme (DRAP) is a year-long initiative launched by India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) Its primary goal is to fast-track the cleanup of legacy waste dumpsites across urban India to achieve the “Lakshya Zero Dumpsites” target by September 2026

• Location: A small coral/limestone island in the northern Persian Gulf, located approximately 25–30 km off Iran’s southwestern coast (Bushehr Province).
• Strategic Importance: It is Iran’s primary oil export hub, handling roughly 90% of its crude oil exports.

The Sharansthli program is a rehabilitation initiative launched by the Jammu & Kashmir administration under LG Manoj Sinha, aimed at providing compassionate government jobs to the next of kin of terror victims. It offers support to affected families, helping them rebuild their lives, restore dignity, and achieve financial independence after losing breadwinners to terrorism

Medicine waste poses significant environmental risks primarily through improper disposal, pharmaceutical active ingredients (APIs) entering water systems, and inadequate waste treatment processes. These risks are driven by a combination of healthcare system practices, patient behaviors, and industrial failures. 

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bengaluru-based startup Bellatrix Aerospace on March 5, 2026, to develop satellite systems and payloads for VLEO operations. This partnership specifically aims to produce next-generation satellites that can withstand high atmospheric drag in the 150 km to 450 km range.