Tuesday, 22 September 2026 · IST · Madhya Pradesh + National · 11 items · 2 MCQs
Madhya Pradesh dominates the day: Project Cheetah completed four years with four new cubs at Kuno, the state rolled out a first-of-its-kind free rural property registration scheme, released the 40th Ladli Behna installment and opened 7,500 police constable vacancies. Nationally, Moody's raised India's FY27 GDP forecast to 7%, the Vice-President opened India International Water Week 2026, and India advanced defence and connectivity milestones.
Prelims: MP national parks, wildlife projects, protected areas. Mains GS-III: conservation, biodiversity, species reintroduction.
Context
Project Cheetah completed four years on 17 September 2026, marked by the birth of four cubs to India-born female KGP12 at Kuno National Park, Sheopur district.
Key facts
Launched on 17 September 2022, when PM Modi released 8 cheetahs from Namibia into Kuno; cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952.
India's cheetah population now stands at about 52 (32 India-born); the four new cubs push the total toward 56.
Kuno lies in MP's Sheopur district; expansion is planned to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary and Nauradehi.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav called it 'a symbol of hope, resilience and growing success'.
MP is India's 'Tiger State' and 'Cheetah State', with the country's largest forest cover.
Way forward
Sustained prey-base management, disease surveillance and second-home sites like Gandhi Sagar are key to a self-sustaining metapopulation.
Concept
Kuno NP (Sheopur), Gandhi Sagar (Mandsaur-Neemuch on Chambal), Nauradehi WLS (largest in MP). Cheetah = only large cat that went fully extinct in India.
Fact schematic of Project Cheetah — 4 years, 52 total cheetahs, 32 India-born share donut, and key milestones. — StudyForGS
2. MP Cabinet's Kavach Scheme revives cooperative credit for farmers
The MP Cabinet cleared the Kavach Scheme to bring 5,000+ farmers with disputed cooperative loan accounts back into the formal credit system, part of a ₹32,070 crore package.
Key facts
Kavach Scheme targets 5,000+ farmers with disputed cooperative loan accounts.
State to provide ₹25 crore one-time equity; a ₹50 crore relief fund by Apex & District Cooperative Banks.
Enables fresh cooperative loans and re-entry into the formal credit system.
Part of a broader ₹32,070 crore package covering healthcare, sports and data-centre upgrades.
Way forward
Reviving cooperative credit for the 'Soybean State' can deepen farm liquidity if repayment discipline is maintained.
Concept
Cooperative credit in MP flows via Apex Bank → District Central Cooperative Banks → PACS. MP is India's leading soybean producer ('Soybean State').
Bar chart of the MP Cabinet package allocations by sector in rupees crore, highlighting the Kavach farmer scheme. — StudyForGS
3. MP launches free registration of 50 lakh rural properties — a national first
Prelims: state schemes & e-governance. Mains GS-II: governance, service delivery, property rights.
Context
MP launched the Swamitva Adhikar Abhilekh Nispadan Evam Panjiyan Yojana–2026 to register about 50 lakh rural properties free of stamp duty and registration fees — a first in the country.
Key facts
Targets registration of roughly 50 lakh rural properties across the state.
Zero stamp duty and zero registration fee for eligible rural properties — a national first.
Builds on the Centre's SVAMITVA drone-survey scheme to give villagers clear record of rights (adhikar abhilekh).
Aims to reduce land disputes and enable institutional credit against titled property.
Way forward
Timely digitisation and grievance redress will decide whether titles translate into real credit access and fewer disputes.
Concept
SVAMITVA (2020) = Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas; uses drones to map inhabited (abadi) rural land.
Flow diagram of MP Swamitva 2026 scheme: drone survey to record of rights to free registration to credit access. — StudyForGS
4. Ladli Behna 40th installment: ₹1,500 to 1.25 crore women
India's first long-range One-Way Attack drone 'KAL' completed trials at the Pokhran range, while HAL handed over Tejas trainers and other aircraft.
Key facts
'KAL' specs: 1,000 km range, 7–8 hours endurance, 50 kg payload, up to 5,000 m altitude.
Uses multi-band GNSS and an Inertial Navigation System.
HAL delivered 2 LCA Tejas FOC twin-seat trainers and 3 HTT-40 'Ankur' basic trainers.
Also handed over 4 Dhruv NG civil helicopters to Pawan Hans.
Way forward
Scaling loitering/attack drones and trainer output strengthens the push for defence self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat).
Concept
GNSS = Global Navigation Satellite System; INS aids navigation without external signals. LCA Tejas = indigenous Light Combat Aircraft by HAL.
Stat-tile schematic of the KAL attack drone specifications: 1,000 km range, 7-8 hour endurance, 50 kg payload, 5,000 m altitude. — StudyForGS
8. Jaishankar's Bhutan visit: ₹4,000 crore Line of Credit for energy
IRMPPSC: Prelims + Mains GS-II (International Relations)
Syllabus linkage
Prelims: India-Bhutan ties, neighbourhood. Mains GS-II: neighbourhood-first, development partnerships.
Context
During a 16–18 September visit to Bhutan, EAM S. Jaishankar announced a ₹4,000 crore concessional Line of Credit for energy and launched five development initiatives.
Key facts
₹4,000 crore concessional Line of Credit for energy projects.
Talks with King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and PM Tshering Tobgay.
Five initiatives across healthcare, connectivity, agriculture, clean mobility and renewable energy.
Reinforces India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy.
Way forward
Deepening hydropower and clean-energy links can anchor mutual gains while respecting Bhutan's development priorities.
Concept
Line of Credit = soft loan to a partner country for projects, often executed by Indian firms. India-Bhutan cooperation centres on hydropower.
Pillar diagram of five India-Bhutan initiatives — healthcare, connectivity, agriculture, clean mobility, renewable energy — atop a 4,000 crore Line of Credit. — StudyForGS
9. VP opens India International Water Week 2026 at Bharat Mandapam
Prelims: species in news, taxonomy. Mains GS-III: biodiversity, scientific discovery.
Context
Scientists formally described Leopardus tilcayo ('Tilcayo') from Bolivia's Yungas cloud forest — the first new living feline species named in over 100 years.
Key facts
Published in Current Biology on 17 September 2026.
Body length about 46 cm; weight about 1.4 kg.
Diverged from related species roughly 1.4 million years ago.
First new living feline species described in over a century.
Way forward
Fresh discoveries underline the value of protecting under-surveyed biodiversity hotspots like cloud forests.
Concept
Taxonomy names species via binomial nomenclature (genus + species). Yungas = montane rainforest on the eastern Andes slopes.
11. UDAN regional connectivity expands with MoUs across 22 states
The Civil Aviation Ministry signed MoUs with 22 states for the next phase of UDAN (RCS), deepening regional air connectivity.
Key facts
MoUs signed with 22 states for UDAN's next phase.
As of July 2026: 679 routes operationalised across 95 airports/heliports/water aerodromes.
Over 1.68 crore passengers served so far.
UDAN = Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik, launched 2016 under the Regional Connectivity Scheme.
Way forward
Viability-gap support and demand aggregation will decide whether new routes stay commercially sustainable.
Concept
RCS-UDAN caps fares on select seats and offers viability gap funding to airlines to connect underserved airports.
Data point of the day
7%
India's FY27 GDP growth — Moody's upgrade Moody's raised India's FY27 real GDP growth forecast to 7% from 6%; Q1 FY27 was already 7.8%, with inflation seen at 4.8%.
Prelims rapid-fire
Kuno National Park lies in MP's Sheopur district; Project Cheetah began 17 Sep 2022.
MP is India's 'Tiger State' and holds the country's largest forest cover.
Ladli Behna transfers ₹1,500/month via DBT to eligible women aged 21–60.
Moody's pegged India's FY27 growth at 7%; GIFT City ranked 37th in GFCI 40.
India International Water Week 2026 theme: 'Climate Resilient Water Management'.
SLINEX-26 — the 13th India–Sri Lanka naval exercise — was held at Visakhapatnam.
Practice MCQs — MPPSC Prelims pattern
Q1. With reference to Project Cheetah, consider the following statements:
1. It was launched at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh in September 2022.
2. Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952.
3. Kuno National Park is located in the Sheopur district.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: D All three are correct. Project Cheetah began on 17 September 2022 at Kuno NP (Sheopur district, MP); cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952.
Q2. The Swamitva Adhikar Abhilekh Nispadan Evam Panjiyan Yojana–2026, in the news, is associated with which of the following?
Free registration of rural properties in Madhya Pradesh
A central crop insurance scheme
Urban housing subsidies in Uttar Pradesh
A tribal scholarship programme
Show answer
Answer: A Madhya Pradesh launched the scheme to register about 50 lakh rural properties free of stamp duty and registration fees — a national first, building on the Centre's SVAMITVA drone-survey scheme.
Mains practice question
Q. "Project Cheetah is as much a test of habitat management as of political will." Examine the ecological and administrative challenges of cheetah reintroduction in Madhya Pradesh, and suggest a way forward. (250 words)
Hint / approach
Cover prey-base and territory needs, mortality/disease risks, second-home sites (Gandhi Sagar, Nauradehi), human-wildlife interface and livelihoods, the Kuno irrigation-dam trade-off, and MP's status as Tiger/Forest State.
📌 One-line revision: REVISE: Project Cheetah — 4 yrs, Kuno (Sheopur), 52 cheetahs (32 India-born) • MP Swamitva-2026 free registration of 50 lakh rural properties • Ladli Behna 40th: ₹1,500 to 1.25 cr women • Moody's FY27 GDP 7% • KAL drone 1,000 km.
