NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ Conference Begins in Indore: The two-day BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ Conference began in Indore under India’s presidency, with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan emphasizing the spirit of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” and global cooperation in agriculture. The conference theme is “Food Security for the Future through Small Farmers, Women and Youth”, focusing on food security, climate change, digital technology, and the role of women farmers. India highlighted its agricultural achievements, including an average annual growth of 4.5% over the past decade and total food production reaching nearly 376 million tonnes, while stressing the importance of empowering small and marginal farmers.
2. IIT Bhubaneswar Develops ‘ArsenSafe’ Portable Device for Detecting Arsenic in Drinking Water: Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar has developed “ArsenSafe”, a portable handheld device that can detect arsenic contamination in drinking water without the need for laboratory facilities. Developed by the Sensors and Spectroscopy Research Group of IIT Bhubaneswar in collaboration with incubated startup Nano Semic Pvt Ltd, the device provides a rapid, affordable, and highly sensitive solution for water quality testing. ArsenSafe enables on-site detection of arsenic contamination with minimal training, making it especially useful for improving access to safe drinking water in rural and resource-constrained areas.
3. 12 June – National Red Rose Day: National Red Rose Day is observed every year on 12 June to celebrate the beauty, fragrance, and symbolism of red roses. The red rose is widely recognized as a symbol of love, romance, passion, and respect, making it one of the most popular flowers worldwide. The day encourages people to express their feelings and appreciation by gifting red roses to loved ones, friends, and family members.
4. Government Releases Producer Price Index Data: India released Producer Price Index data for goods and services on 15 June 2026. The government also introduced a revised Wholesale Price Index series with a 2022-23 base year and announced a five-year transition towards the Producer Price Index framework. The Producer Price Index measures price changes at the producer level before goods and services reach final consumers. India’s new framework includes three indices: Output PPI, Trial Input PPI, and Service PPI. Output PPI captures prices received by domestic producers, while Trial Input PPI covers the manufacturing sector on an experimental basis. The Service PPI initially covers seven sectors. These sectors are banking, securities transactions, insurance, and management of pension funds, railways, air passenger transport, and telecom. The Service PPI is scheduled for quarterly release.
5. Telangana Launches Breakfast and Milk Scheme: Telangana launched its flagship Breakfast and Milk Scheme on 15 June 2026, when schools reopened after the summer vacation. The scheme covers students from pre-primary to Class XII in government schools and junior colleges across the state. The state has allocated an annual expenditure of ₹720 crore for the scheme. The allocation includes ₹540 crore for breakfast and ₹180 crore for milk and ragi malt supply. The scheme aims to benefit about 29 lakh students in government institutions. The first phase covers 1,302 educational institutions, including 1,269 government schools and 33 junior colleges. The initial rollout benefits around 1.44 lakh students across eight districts. The scheme is implemented with support from the Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Trust and Manna Trust.
6. Uttar Pradesh Launches Teacher Cashless Health Scheme Portal: The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a dedicated registration portal for the Chief Minister’s cashless medical scheme for teachers and their dependents. The portal, cmtcts.upsdc.gov.in, was rolled out on 6 June 2026 for basic education teachers under the education department. The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved the cashless medical treatment scheme on 29 January 2026 for teachers, non-teaching staff, and dependent family members in the Basic and Secondary Education Departments. The scheme covers about 11.95 lakh beneficiaries from basic education and 2.97 lakh beneficiaries from secondary education. By 10 March 2026, the scheme was extended to more than 2, 00,000 teaching and non-teaching staff in the higher education sector. The scheme was first announced by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Teachers’ Day, 5 September 2025.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. JNPA Retains India’s Top Container Port Status; Ranks 22nd Globally in CPPI 2025: Maharashtra’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) retained its status as India’s best-performing container port in the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) 2025, improving its global rank to 22nd. The CPPI is jointly published by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, and JNPA has been among the top 20 most improved ports globally over the last six years. Pipavav Port ranked 28th globally, overtaking Mundra Port (30th) to become India’s best-performing private container port in 2025. Visakhapatnam Port witnessed a major decline, falling 34 places to 104th position in 2025 from 19th place in 2023. Globally, Port of Fuzhou (China) topped the CPPI 2025 rankings, with Chinese ports occupying four of the top five positions, highlighting China’s dominance in container port performance.
2. Bharat Innovates 2026 Inaugurated by PM Modi and French President Macron in Nice: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron jointly inaugurated the first edition of Bharat Innovates 2026 at Nice, France, showcasing India’s commitment to fostering global innovation and DeepTech collaborations. Organised by the Ministry of Education, Bharat Innovates 2026 serves as a global platform connecting Indian DeepTech innovators with international stakeholders to promote innovation-driven partnerships and technological advancement.
3. India and France Launch ‘ATL Bridge’ to Boost Youth Innovation Collaboration: India and France launched the India-France ATL Bridge to strengthen bilateral innovation cooperation and foster collaboration among young innovators from both countries. The initiative will connect students through school-level innovation laboratories modeled on India’s successful Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) framework. A Letter of Intent (LoI) was exchanged between the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and La Fondation Dassault Systèmes to formalize the partnership. Launched on the sidelines of Bharat Innovates 2026 in Nice, France, the initiative will establish France’s first School Innovation Lab based on the ATL model as part of the India-France Year of Innovation 2026.
4. 14 June – World Blood Donor Day: World Blood Donor Day is observed every year on 14 June to raise awareness about the need for safe blood and to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving contributions. Theme 2026 – One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives. The day is celebrated on 14 June, the birth anniversary of Karl Landsteiner, who discovered the ABO blood group system and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930.
5. Telangana-Iran Agreement to Digitise Rare Manuscripts: The Department of Heritage Telangana signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Noor International Microfilm Centre, Iran Cultural House, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, New Delhi, on 15 June 2026 for the digitisation, preservation, conservation, and cataloguing of rare manuscripts, paintings, books, and archival records. The agreement covers about 737 manuscripts, 3,091 paintings, 14,522 library books, and 101 Dastawazats, which are archival records. The collaboration covers collections in Persian, Urdu, Arabic, and other languages. Experts from the Noor International Microfilm Centre will carry out digitisation, indexing, cataloguing, repair, and preservation work at no cost to the Telangana government, and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran will bear the funding.
6. India Tests Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile: India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight-tested the indigenously developed Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM) on 15 June 2026 from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. The missile is designed as a long-range precision-strike weapon for the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. The LRLACM has an estimated range of 1,000 to 1,500 km. It has been developed entirely in India, with subsystems built by multiple DRDO laboratories and the Aeronautical Development Establishment in Bengaluru serving as the nodal laboratory. The missile draws on technologies matured under the Nirbhay programme. Indian industry partners also participated in the development of the system.
7. Swiss Voters Reject Population Cap Proposal: Swiss voters rejected a proposal on 14 June 2026 to cap the country’s population at 10 million by 2050. The initiative was called “No to a Switzerland of 10 Million” and “Sustainability Initiative”, and it was placed before voters as a national referendum. Final results showed about 54.79% to 55% of voters opposed the proposal, while 45.21% to 45% supported it. Voter turnout was around 58.86% in the referendum. Switzerland’s population stood at about 9.1 million at the end of 2025. The proposal was put forward by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which is one of the major political parties in Switzerland.
OTHER UPDATES:
DEFENCE
1. Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth Appointed Next Army Chief: The Government has appointed Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth as the next Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) with effect from 30 June, succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi. He is currently serving as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff. An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Lt Gen Seth was commissioned into the Armoured Corps in December 1986 and has nearly four decades of military experience across operational, strategic, capability development, and institutional domains.
2. INS Tarkash Arrives in Seychelles, Strengthening India–Seychelles Maritime Cooperation: INS Tarkash arrived at Port Victoria during its operational deployment to the South West Indian Ocean Region and escorted the Seychelles Coast Guard ship PS Zoroaster from India to Seychelles after its refit in Kolkata. The deployment highlights the strong maritime partnership between India and Seychelles, enhancing interoperability and cooperation to address shared maritime security challenges in the Indian Ocean Region.
3. INS Agray Joins Arnala-Class Anti-Submarine Fleet: INS Agray is the fifth ship of the Arnala class of Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) for the Indian Navy. The vessel was launched on 13 March 2024 and delivered by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, on 30 March 2026. The Indian Navy ordered eight ASW SWCs under a contract valued at ₹6,311.32 crore, signed on 29 April 2019. These ships are designed for shallow water operations, coastal surveillance, and mine detection and neutralisation. INS Agray has more than 80% indigenous content. The ship carries waterjet propulsion, which is used for manoeuvrability and lower noise levels, along with hull-mounted sonar, variable depth sonar, anti-submarine torpedoes, and rockets.
SPORTS
1. Kane Williamson Retires from International Cricket: Kane Williamson announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing an end to a distinguished career spanning more than 15 years with the New Zealand national team. Williamson retires as New Zealand’s highest international run-scorer with 19,346 runs across all formats, including 9,500+ Test runs, 33 Test centuries, and six double centuries. As captain, he led New Zealand to the finals of the 2019 Cricket World Cup and 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, and guided the team to victory in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship Final 2021.
2. Former Asian Games Gold Medallist and Shooting Coach Jaspal Rana Dies: Jaspal Rana, former Asian Games gold medallist and high-performance coach of Indian pistol shooters, passed away at the age of 49. He played a key role in strengthening India’s presence in international shooting. Rana won 15 Commonwealth Games medals (9 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze) and received the Arjuna Award (1994), Padma Shri (1997), and Dronacharya Award (2020). He was also credited with helping Manu Bhaker win two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Oilseeds Kisaan Mitra: India Launches First Nationwide WhatsApp-Based AI Advisory for Oilseed Farmers: Oilseeds Kisaan Mitra is India’s first nationwide WhatsApp-based AI advisory service for oilseed farmers, developed by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research (ICAR-IIOR), Hyderabad. The service was launched by the Secretary, DARE & Director General, ICAR during the National Oilseeds Conference held in New Delhi on 6 February 2026. It provides free, instant, and research-based crop advisory to oilseed farmers through WhatsApp in their preferred language, without requiring any additional app download.
2. BSNL and IIT Kanpur Join Hands to Develop Next-Generation Telecom Technologies: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur signed an MoU to jointly research, develop, test, deploy, and commercialise next-generation telecom technologies. The collaboration will focus on advanced communication technologies and the development of future-ready telecom infrastructure tailored to India’s requirements.
The initiative supports the Government of India’s vision of strengthening digital infrastructure and expanding connectivity access across the country.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. World Bank Projects India to Remain Fastest-Growing Major Economy with 6.6% Growth in FY27: According to the latest Global Economic Prospects report by the World Bank, India is expected to remain the world’s fastest-growing major economy, with GDP growth projected at 6.6% in FY2026-27. India’s growth is estimated to moderate from 7.7% in FY2025-26 to 6.6% in FY2026-27 due to higher energy prices and rising input costs. The World Bank projects India’s growth to rebound to 7.2% in FY2027-28, supported by stronger domestic demand and improved export performance.
2. FSSAI Regulates Healthy and Organic Food Claims: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulates food labelling, brand names, and product claims under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. In June 2026, FSSAI issued notices to food business operators for using claims such as “healthy”, “organic”, “zero maida”, “true vitamin”, and “plant-based vegan” on packaged foods. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, is the principal law for food safety regulation in India. FSSAI frames and enforces standards for food composition, labelling, advertising, and misleading claims under this law. Food labels in India are governed by the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, which require truthful product descriptions and clear ingredient disclosure. Trade names and brand names that create a false impression about a product’s nature can attract regulatory action.
No comments:
Post a Comment