The estimated incidence of cancer cases in India for 2024 is 1,533,055, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Cancer Registry Programme data, Prataprao Jadhav, minister of state in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told the Lok Sabha on August 8, 2025.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified 159 primary laboratories as capable of testing pesticide residues in food commodities.
FSSAI has also deployed 285 mobile food testing labs across 35 states and Union territories for on-site testing of food products, Anupriya Patel, minister of state in the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers told the Lok Sabha.
Cochin Shipyard Limited and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited have built one vessel each powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The scheme guidelines for implementation of pilot projects for the use of green hydrogen in the shipping sector under the National Green Hydrogen Mission have been issued in February 2024, with an outlay of Rs 115 crore till 2025-26, Sarbananda Sonowal, Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways told the Lok Sabha.
The FAME-II Scheme was implemented for a period of five years — April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2024. FAME-II provided demand incentives for e-2W, e-3W, e-4W and grants for deployment of e-buses and setting up of EV public charging stations (EV PCS).
Some 8,885 EV PCS have been installed under FAME-II, as on July 1, 2025. Under FAME-II, Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) was introduced with the objective to promote domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles, their assemblies/subassemblies and parts/subparts.
Only those EVs which were complying with PMP were incentivised under FAME-II, Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, minister of state for heavy industries told the Rajya Sabha.
The Central Ground Water Board generates groundwater quality data on regional scale including the Uran, Alibag, Pen and Panvel talukas of Raigad district of Maharashtra as part of its groundwater quality monitoring programme and various scientific studies.
Fifty groundwater samples were collected from Raigad district during 2023, including six samples from Alibag taluka, three from Pen, four from Panvel and two from Uran.
Chemical analysis revealed that none of the samples exceeded the Bureau of Indian Standards permissible limit of electrical conductivity (EC > 3000 µS/cm), Ram Nath Thakur, minister of state for agriculture and farmers welfare told the Rajya Sabha.
Namo Drone Didi has been approved by the government as a central sector scheme for providing drones to Women Self Help Groups (SHGs), with an outlay of Rs 1,261 crore for the period 2023-24 to 2025-26.
Lead fertiliser companies (LFCs) have distributed 1,094 drones to ‘drone didis’ of SHGs in 2023-24, using their internal resources. Of these 1,094 drones, 500 have been distributed under the Namo Drone Didi Scheme.
As per the information provided by the Commissionerate of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra, LFCs have supplied drones to 47 SHGs in the state for application of nano fertilisers, Thakur told the Rajya Sabha.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan or PM-KUSUM scheme, central financial assistance to the extent of 30 per cent is provided to states (50 per cent for Northeastern & hilly states/Union territories/islands).
Further, the scheme allows the use of barren, marsh, fallow land, etc. for installation of solar plants up to 2 MW. In case the plants are installed in a stilt manner, cultivation can be done under them, allowing dual use of land. There is no report on long-term impact on national food security or crop production, Thakur told the Rajya Sabha.