The rule is aimed at reducing disturbance to wildlife and restoring discipline inside safari routes. Similar measures have been reported in other protected areas, with some parks asking visitors to deposit phones at entry gates and others requiring devices to remain switched off during the drive.
The message from Indian authorities is clear: travellers should exercise extreme caution, know exactly what they are carrying, and avoid any conduct that could expose them to prosecution under Maldivian law.
The plantation campaign formed the centrepiece of the announcement. According to the ministry, major contributions came from Northeast Frontier Railway with 9.3 lakh trees, South Central Railway with 9 lakh, Northeast Railway with 8.7 lakh, and Northern Railway with 8.5 lakh.
At the core of the new system is the creation of the Online Gaming Authority of India, which will function as an attached office of MeitY with its head office in Delhi.
The proposed sanctuary will span around 227 hectares, covering nearly 6.7% of the wetland area. The site is ecologically important and serves as a habitat for a wide range of waterbirds, including both resident and migratory species.
Truck Mounted Attenuators are specially engineered impact-absorbing devices designed to reduce the severity of collisions.
The government said the programme has made visible progress on the ground. As of March 2026, 31,055 individuals had been identified under the beggary rehabilitation sub-scheme, while 9,935 had been rehabilitated. The release also said 21 Garima Grehs, which serve as shelter homes for transgender persons, are currently operational across 17 states, with three more sanctioned in August 2025.
By leveraging Aadhaar Offline Verification methods—such as QR code-based verification and secure, digitally signed documents—entities can now “Show, Share, and Verify” identity information without requiring real-time connectivity to UIDAI’s central database.
A major share of the scheme’s strategic weight falls on the North East and the Himalayan frontier regions, where terrain, climate stress, cross-border river systems and infrastructure gaps make water planning particularly complex.
A major pillar of the programme is digital monitoring. The Poshan Tracker platform, launched on March 1, 2021, now enables near real-time tracking of service delivery across the country. As of March 2026, it was monitoring nearly 14.03 lakh Anganwadi Centres and about 8.95 crore eligible beneficiaries, including pregnant women, lactating mothers, children up to six years of age and adolescent girls.
