NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. ICMR and Gates Foundation Launch Anaemia Challenge: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Gates Foundation launched a ₹1 crore Grand Challenge in New Delhi on 13 June 2026 to develop iron-rich food products for anaemia control. The challenge seeks affordable, nutrient-dense prototypes for adolescent girls and women of reproductive age in India. Anaemia is a condition in which the blood has a lower than normal concentration of haemoglobin or red blood cells. In India, anaemia affects nearly one in two adolescent girls and women of reproductive age, which is about 50% of this population group. The challenge focuses on food-based solutions beyond conventional supplementation. The programme offers grants of up to ₹1 crore for prototype development over one year. It is open to researchers, startups, food companies, and non-profit organisations. Applications are accepted until 3 July 2026.
2. India Becomes Third-Largest Domestic Aviation Market: India became the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market in April 2024, with airline capacity of 15.6 million seats. The market moved ahead of Brazil and Indonesia and stood behind the United States and China in global domestic traffic. The domestic aviation market covers passenger air travel within the borders of a country. In this market, airline capacity is measured in seats available on scheduled flights during a given period. OAG is a global travel data and analytics company that tracks airline capacity and schedules. India ranked fifth in the overall global aviation market in 2024, which includes both domestic and international passenger traffic. In the domestic segment, India rose from fifth place a decade ago to third place in April 2024. The United States and China retained the first two positions in the domestic aviation market.
3. Mizoram Leads in Electoral Roll Digitisation: Mizoram has recorded 68.05% digitisation of enumeration forms under the third phase of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls as of 12 June 2026. The state ranks first among 16 states and three Union Territories covered under the ongoing digitisation exercise. The Special Intensive Revision is an electoral roll update exercise conducted under the Election Commission of India. In Mizoram, the exercise began on 20 May 2026 and the enumeration phase is scheduled to continue until 28 June 2026. Khawzawl district recorded 96.16% digitisation of forms by 12 June 2026. Champhai district reached 92.57%, while Serchhip district reached 90.93% on the same date. Mizoram achieved 99.90% distribution of enumeration forms through 1,301 Block Level Officers by 12 June 2026. Block Level Officers are field-level officials used in electoral roll revision and voter enumeration work.
4. Odisha Announces Free Education from KG to PG: Odisha announced a plan on 12 June 2026 to provide free education from Kindergarten to Postgraduate level in all government institutions across the state. The measure covers institutions under the school and mass education department and the higher education department. Odisha already provides free education up to Class 10 in government institutions. The new proposal extends the coverage to higher secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels in government-run institutions. The state government stated that the policy is intended to cover more than 10 lakh students. The annual cost of the higher education component is estimated at about ₹30 crore to the state exchequer. The modalities for the scheme are being prepared before cabinet approval and notification. The policy will apply only to government institutions and not to private educational institutions. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced the measure during a press conference marking two years of the BJP government in the state. The announcement placed the education plan within the state’s wider administrative agenda.
5. Maharashtra to Introduce Women Farmers Empowerment Bill: The Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Bill, 2026, is scheduled for introduction in the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly beginning on 22 June 2026. The Bill seeks independent legal recognition for women farmers and wider access to welfare schemes and institutional support in Maharashtra. Agriculture in Maharashtra employs a large number of women, and the state has cited a figure of over 81% women in the agricultural workforce. Many existing agricultural benefits in India are linked to land ownership, which affects access for women, tenant cultivators, landless farmers, farm labourers, and migrant workers.
6. Government Proposes Unified Broadcasting Rules Under Telecom Act: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released the draft Telecommunications (Television, Radio and Associated Services) Rules, 2026, on 12 June 2026 for public consultation. The draft proposes a single regulatory framework for television, radio, Direct-to-Home, Headend-in-the-Sky, community radio, and Internet Protocol Television services under the Telecommunications Act, 2023. The draft rules cover television channels, television channel distribution services, teleports, television news agencies, private radio services, and community radio services. These services have been regulated through separate policy guidelines for about two decades. The Telecommunications Act, 2023 replaced the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, which was a colonial-era law. The new Act provides the statutory basis for authorisation and regulation of telecom and related services in India.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Gene Shalit Dies at 100: Gene Shalit was an American film critic and television personality born in New York City on 25 March 1926. He died on 12 June 2026 at the age of 100. Gene Shalit joined NBC’s Today show as a contributor in 1970. He became the programme’s arts editor in 1973 and remained associated with the show until 2010. He served as a film critic and arts commentator for more than four decades. Shalit became known for his bushy mustache, distinctive eyeglasses, flamboyant bow ties, and unusual hair. His reviews used puns and wordplay, and many of them became known for their humorous phrasing.
2. David Hockney Dies: David Hockney, a British artist born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, died at the age of 88 on 11 June 2026 at his home in London. He was born on 9 July 1937 and died less than a month before his 89th birthday. David Hockney was one of the best-known figures in contemporary art across the 20th and 21st centuries. His career lasted for seven decades and included painting, collage, photography, and iPad drawings. Hockney became known for paintings of swimming pools and colourful landscapes. He also used multiple media in the same career, including collage, photography, and digital drawing on the iPad. At the time of his death, Hockney had a current exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London. Future exhibitions were planned at Tate in London and the Munch Museum in Oslo.
3. India Appoints Dinesh Trivedi as High Commissioner to Bangladesh: India appointed Dinesh Trivedi as High Commissioner to Bangladesh on 27 April 2026. He became the first political appointee to an ambassadorial post in South Asia in more than three decades. He received his Letters of Credence from President Droupadi Murmu on 5 June 2026 and assumed charge in Dhaka on 12 June 2026. The High Commissioner is the head of a diplomatic mission in a Commonwealth country, and India uses the title for its mission in Bangladesh. Letters of Credence are formal diplomatic documents issued by a head of state to accredit an envoy to another country. Dinesh Trivedi entered Bangladesh by road through the Benapole-Petrapole land port, which is a major India-Bangladesh border crossing.
4. China Rejects Indian Chilli Consignments: China rejected multiple consignments of Indian dried red chillies on 11 June 2026 and temporarily suspended three Indian exporting firms. The action followed detection of alleged excessive methamidophos, an organophosphate insecticide, in the consignments. Methamidophos is an organophosphate insecticide used against insect pests in agriculture. It is associated with nervous system disorders and is not approved for use in chilli cultivation in India. China is the largest importer of Indian red chillies, and India exported 2.36 lakh tonnes of red chillies to China in the 2024-25 financial year. Indian chilli exports form a significant share of India’s agricultural shipments to East Asia. China has increased scrutiny of imported food products through residue testing and compliance checks. In May 2026, China rejected 70 consignments of Indian non-Basmati rice over concerns related to genetically modified organisms.
5. Canada Launches Meningitis B Vaccination Drive : Canada has recorded a rise in invasive meningococcal disease, with provinces such as Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Manitoba expanding vaccination measures for students and young adults. Meningitis B is a bacterial infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis, and it is one of the main causes of invasive meningococcal disease in Canada. Prince Edward Island began urging Grade 12 students to receive free Meningitis B vaccines on 29 May 2026. Nurses visited schools in the province, and around 850 Grade 12 students received the vaccine over the previous few weeks. Nova Scotia started offering free Meningitis B vaccines in 2023 to new post-secondary students aged 25 and under who live in dormitories or residence halls, as well as to new military recruits. Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are the only provinces that currently offer free Meningitis B vaccination for post-secondary students.
6. Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha Dies After Prolonged Coma: Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the eldest daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, died on 12 June 2026 at the age of 47 after nearly four years in a coma. She had been under treatment at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok since 15 December 2022. The Thai monarchy is the constitutional monarchy of Thailand, and the reigning monarch in 2026 is King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol was a member of the Chakri dynasty and held the title of princess in the Thai royal family. Princess Bajrakitiyabha collapsed in December 2022 while training her dogs in northeastern Thailand. Doctors treated her for a heart condition and infections, and her condition worsened in May 2026 because of multiple infections affecting several organs.
7. Trump Nominates Jay Clayton as Intelligence Chief: On 11 June 2026, President Donald Trump nominated Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, for the post of Director of National Intelligence. The Director of National Intelligence coordinates the 18 intelligence agencies of the United States, including the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. Jay Clayton served as chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission from 2017 to 2020 during Donald Trump’s first term. As the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, he oversees cases related to terrorism, espionage, securities fraud, and public corruption. The Director of National Intelligence is the head of the United States Intelligence Community. The office was created by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 after the September 2001 attacks and the 9/11 Commission report.
OTHER UPDATES:
DEFENCE
1. Railways Introduces Body-Worn Cameras for RPF Personnel: Indian Railways has introduced GPS-enabled body-worn cameras for Railway Protection Force personnel in the Samastipur division of the East Central Railway on 12 June 2026. The system adds 20 new devices to 37 already deployed and is used for surveillance, passenger safety, and monitoring of RPF personnel. Body-worn cameras are portable recording devices fixed on a uniform or body harness. In railway security, they are used by RPF personnel during patrolling, inspection, and crowd management in stations and trains. The cameras used by Indian Railways have included night vision, 32 GB storage, a 3000 mAh battery, and a wide-angle lens of 100 to 109 degrees. Some models can record continuously for five hours and have an eight-hour standby time, while footage can be transferred to a control room through a SIM card.
2. Rajnath Singh Inaugurates Advanced Weapon System Complex in Hyderabad: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an Advanced Weapon System Complex at the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex within the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad, Telangana, on 12 June 2026. The facility has been developed by the Missile Systems and Strategic Systems Cluster of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for next-generation weapon development and indigenous missile and air defence capability. The Defence Research and Development Organisation is India’s premier defence research agency under the Ministry of Defence. It works through multiple clusters, including the Missile Systems and Strategic Systems Cluster, which handles missile, strategic, and related defence technologies.
3. India Advances Mission Sudarshan Chakra Missile Shield: India has advanced an indigenous multi-layer missile defence programme under Mission Sudarshan Chakra through a series of missile tests and new defence infrastructure developments in 2026. The programme covers ballistic missile defence, air defence, and anti-ship warfare systems for military and strategic installations. Ballistic missile defence is a system designed to detect, track, intercept, and destroy incoming ballistic missiles before they reach their targets. India’s evolving architecture includes interceptor missiles for threats in the Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile class, which covers missiles with ranges between 2,000 km and 5,000 km. The Defence Research and Development Organisation conducted three consecutive missile flight tests on 10 and 11 June 2026. These trials validated technologies linked to India’s multi-layered ballistic missile defence architecture and anti-ship warfare capability.
4. DRDO Tests Ballistic Missile Defence and Anti-Ship Systems: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted three consecutive missile flight tests on 10 and 11 June 2026. The trials included interceptor missiles for Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) and the maiden flight test of the Naval Anti-Ship Missile-Medium Range (NASM-MR). Ballistic Missile Defence is a system designed to detect, track, intercept, and destroy ballistic missiles before they reach their targets. The DRDO trials involved interceptor missiles meant to neutralise Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs), which have a range of 2,000 km to 5,000 km. These interceptor missiles can operate in exo-atmospheric and endo-atmospheric modes. Exo-atmospheric interception takes place outside the Earth’s atmosphere, while endo-atmospheric interception takes place within the atmosphere.
SPORTS
1. Sudarsan Pattnaik Wins Russia Grand Sand Master Cup 2026: Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik won the Russia Grand Sand Master Cup 2026 on 12 and 13 June 2026. He became the first Indian to receive the award at the II International Festival of Sand Sculpture in the Kaliningrad Region of Russia. Sudarsan Pattnaik is an Indian sand artist known for large-scale sand sculptures on social and environmental themes. He is a recipient of the Padma Shri, which is one of India’s civilian honours. The Russia Grand Sand Master Cup is associated with the II International Festival of Sand Sculpture, which began on 11 June 2026. The festival brought together 12 sand sculptors from different countries. Pattnaik’s winning sculpture was a three-metre-tall artwork on climate change and global warming. The sculpture showed two faces of the Earth, one linked with environmental degradation and the other linked with afforestation and sustainable living.
2. Indian Whiskies Win at San Francisco Spirits Competition: DeVANS GianChand Indian Single Malt Whisky won a Double Gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2026 on 11 June 2026. GianChand Manshaa, a peated expression from DeVANS Modern Breweries Ltd., won a Silver medal at the same competition. Both whiskies also received Silver medals at the International Spirits Challenge 2026. The San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) is a global spirits competition held in the United States. It evaluates spirits through blind tasting by a judging panel and awards medals such as Gold, Silver, and Double Gold. A Double Gold medal at the SFWSC is awarded when every judge on the panel independently gives a spirit a Gold rating. This medal is used for spirits that receive unanimous top marks from the judges.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Japan’s H3 Rocket Returns With Low-Cost Variant: Japan’s H3 rocket returned to flight on 12 June 2026 from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture with the debut of its low-cost “30 configuration”. The mission, called Flight 6, used three liquid-fuel LE-9 engines and no solid rocket boosters. The second stage reached the targeted orbit, and six small satellites developed by universities and other organisations were believed to have separated successfully. The H3 is Japan’s flagship launch vehicle and is co-developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The “30 configuration” is a variant designed with three LE-9 engines and no solid rocket boosters. The H3 family includes multiple configurations for different payload requirements and launch costs. Flight 6 followed two previous mission failures in the H3 programme. The most recent failure occurred in December 2025 during Flight 8, when the rocket failed to place a navigation satellite into orbit because of a defect in the satellite mount. The June 2026 launch was originally scheduled for 10 June 2026 and was postponed because of adverse weather forecasts.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. India Expands Trade Ties for 2047 Economy Goal: India has expanded its trade agreements with the European Union, New Zealand, the European Free Trade Association, Canada and the United States in 2026. These agreements form part of India’s trade strategy linked with the goal of building a $30 trillion economy by 2047. A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a treaty between two or more economies that reduces or removes customs duties on goods and, in some cases, eases rules on services, investment and market access. India and the European Union signed an FTA on 27 January 2026 after nearly two decades of negotiations. The India-EU FTA gives immediate duty-free access to 70.4% of Indian tariff lines. It covers more than 90.7% of India’s export value to the European Union, and full implementation is planned to raise duty-free access to 99%.India and New Zealand signed an FTA on 27 April 2026. The agreement gives Indian exporters full duty-free access to the New Zealand market, while India will liberalise tariffs on about 70% of tariff lines covering 95% of bilateral trade.
2. UPI-NPI Corridor Launched for India-Nepal Remittances: India and Nepal launched a cross-border peer-to-peer remittance link by integrating the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with Nepal’s National Payments Interface (NPI) on 6 June 2026. The system became operational on 6 June 2026 and was announced by India’s finance ministry on 11 June 2026. The Unified Payments Interface is India’s real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The National Payments Interface is Nepal’s domestic digital payment system for bank transfers and wallet-based transactions. NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of NPCI, partnered with Nepal Clearing House Ltd (NCHL) to implement the payment link. The corridor uses mobile banking applications, UPI apps, and digital wallets for cross-border transfers.
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