Lead IAS Daily Bulletin - 21 August - Zonal Council, Military Exercises, NAMASTE Scheme, Bond Tokenisation

Sep 20, 2026

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Lead IAS Daily Bulletin dated 21 August 2026 consolidates key governance and defence updates, including India’s Zonal Council framework: its statutory advisory role, objectives for resolving inter-state regional issues, and details of zonal composition. It also covers India–Japan bilateral military exercises and outlines several India-related bilateral and multilateral drills. The bulletin further explains the government’s NAMASTE scheme expansion for rural sanitation workers and provides an overview of SEBI’s planned bond tokenisation pilot, highlighting benefits for access, settlement speed, and transparency.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Zonal Council

Purpose, nature, and structure

Five Zonal Councils

North Eastern Council and Inter-State Council

Bilateral and multilateral military exercises

India–Japan: Dharma Guardian, JIMEX, Veer Guardian

India plus one country and multilateral drills

NAMASTE Scheme

Expansion and key design elements

Bond Tokenisation

SEBI pilot concept and benefits

21 August 2026 Zonal Council Union Home Minister urged southern states to resolve water disputes swiftly at the Zonal Council meeting, stressing cooperative federalism and balanced regional development. o Zonal Council are statutory, advisory bodies aimed at promoting Centre–State and inter-State cooperation, set up in 1957 under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 o Background: The idea was proposed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956. Five Zonal Councils were established in 1957. o Nature: Deliberative and advisory bodies; their recommendations are not legally binding on the Centre or States. o Objective: Provide a common platform to resolve interState/regional issues, promote balanced socio-economic development, and strengthen Centre–State cooperation. o Five Zonal Councils: o Northern: Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Ladakh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chandigarh. o Central: Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh. o Eastern: Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal. o Western: Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli. o Southern: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry. o Organisation of Zonal Council: o Chairman: Union Home Minister. o Vice-Chairman: Chief Ministers of member States, by rotation for one year. o Members: Chief Minister + two ministers from each State; two representatives from the UTs in the zone. o North Eastern Council: Established under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971 (effective 1972); comprises Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim (added in 2002). o Structure & Functions: Chaired by the Union Home Minister and the Minister for Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER) as Vice-Chairperson; promotes regional planning, development and security coordination. o Inter-State Council: A constitutional, advisory body under Article 263 that promotes coordination and cooperation between the Centre and States. o Chairman: Prime Minister. o Members: Chief Ministers of all States and UTs with legislatures; Administrators of UTs without legislatures; Governors of States under President’s Rule; and 6 Union Cabinet Ministers nominated by the PM, including the Home Minister. Bilateral military exercises with Japan Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi held bilateral talks and agreed to expand bilateral military exercises. o Dharma Guardian: India–Japan Army exercise focused on land and jungle warfare; held annually. o JIMEX: India–Japan Navy exercise involving maritime, anti-submarine and guided-weapon drills; held annually. o Veer Guardian: India–Japan Air Force exercise between the IAF andJASDF; started in 2023 and held annually. o Bilateral Exercises (India + One Country): o Vajra Prahar – with USA, special forces exercise. o Indra – with Russia, combined army, navy, and airforce drill. o Yudh Abhyas – with USA, focuses on counterterrorism and joint operations. o Shakti – with France, army-to-army cooperation. o Sampriti – with Bangladesh, joint training and disaster management. o Mitra Shakti – with Sri Lanka, army cooperation. o Nomadic Elephant – with Mongolia o Multilateral Exercises (India + Multiple Countries): o Malabar–naval exercise with USA, Japan, Australia (Quad nations) . o Kavkaz / INDRA Multinational – India participates in exercises in Russia/Central Asia. NAMASTE Scheme The Centre government plans to expand the NAMASTE scheme to rural areas. o National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) is a Central sector scheme launched in 2023 to ensure safety and dignity of sanitation workers. o Ministry: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in convergence with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. o Implementation: by the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC). o Objective: To formalize and rehabilitate the pe

FAQs

What is the role of the Zonal Council and how are its recommendations treated?

Zonal Councils are deliberative and advisory bodies aimed at promoting centre–state and inter-state cooperation. Their recommendations are not legally binding on the Centre or the States.

How does the NAMASTE scheme plan to improve rural sanitation management?

The Centre plans to expand NAMASTE to rural areas. It is a Central sector scheme launched in 2023 to ensure the safety and dignity of sanitation workers and to formalize and rehabilitate people involved in hazardous cleaning of sewer and septic tanks.

What is bond tokenisation and what advantages does it bring?

Bond tokenisation converts bonds into digital tokens on a blockchain, enabling investors to own even a fraction of a bond. It supports retail access through fractional ownership, faster settlement potential, and increased transparency via tamper-resistant records.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Ezra