Current Affairs - State

The Punjab government notified an 8 percentage-point increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for eligible state government employees, raising the rate from 42% to 50%. The corresponding Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners and family pensioners was also increased from 42% to 50%. The revised rates are effective from September 1, 2026. The decision followed consultations involving employee-trade unions and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The government stated that the increased allowance would provide additional financial support to employees and pensioners amid rising costs of essential commodities and other expenses.

Madhya Pradesh became the first state in India to provide free registration for rural residential properties under the Swamitva Adhikar Abhilekh Nispadan Evam Panjiyan Yojana-2026. The scheme was launched by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in Indore on September 17, 2026. It targets the registration of approximately 50 lakh privately owned rural properties across all 55 districts of the state. Beneficiaries are exempted from Stamp Duty and Registration fees for their property documents. The month-long campaign will run from September 17 to October 17, 2026, with Patwaris facilitating the process at the village level and revenue officials finalising registrations.

Assam is the state where Adani Power has laid the foundation stone for a 3,200 MW ultra-supercritical thermal power project in Chapar, Dhubri district. The project involves an investment of ₹48,000 crore and is expected to become the largest power generation asset in the Northeast region. It is part of the Adani Group’s commitment to invest ₹1 lakh crore in the Northeast over 10 years. The project is also projected to create around 40,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities across Assam, supporting industrial growth and infrastructure development in the state.

Andhra Pradesh Police launched the Centralised Drone Monitoring Portal (CDMP) and SafeStay AP app to strengthen surveillance, crime prevention, and public safety. The initiatives were launched in Guntur on September 22, 2026, by Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta in collaboration with Guntur Superintendent of Police Vakul Jindal. The CDMP provides authorised police personnel with a centralised live feed of active police drones and AI-powered monitoring and analytics. SafeStay AP provides real-time occupancy information from hotels and paying guest accommodations. Students and technology professionals from KL University contributed to developing these technology-based policing solutions.

The Assam government announced that all government offices in the state will transition to a paperless e-Office system from January 1, 2027. The decision, announced by the Chief Minister's office on September 23, 2026, aims to make public administration transparent, efficient, and people-friendly. The e-Office system, designed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), digitises file handling, notes, drafting, digital signing, and archiving. Currently, all 58 departments of the Assam Secretariat already use e-Office, and implementation is being extended to directorates and Deputy Commissioners' offices. Assam began this digital governance initiative in 2021 and launched e-Office District in 2026.