NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Native Fruit Tree Cultivation Promoted in Nilgiris : Native fruit tree cultivation is being promoted in Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu through a joint initiative of the district administration and the Department of Horticulture. The programme includes a dedicated acre of land at the Pomological Station in Coonoor for native fruit trees. The native fruit varieties identified for cultivation include wild figs, monkey fruit, wild guavas, jamuns, and Eleocarpus tectorius, which is locally known as Vikki fruit. These species belong to the broader category of indigenous fruit trees found in the Nilgiri hills. The United Planters’ Association of Southern India has been piloting intercropping of tea with fruit and medicinal plants in the Nilgiris. Intercropping is a cultivation method in which two or more crops are grown on the same land during the same season or in overlapping periods.
2. Mishmi Takin Spotted in Sikkim After Three Decades: A herd of eight Mishmi Takins, scientifically classified as Budorcas taxicolor, was filmed in North Sikkim’s Tingda Reserve Forest in the Bakuchen area around 17 June 2026. The record is the first video footage of Mishmi Takins in Sikkim and the first confirmed visual documentation of the species in the state in nearly three decades. The Mishmi Takin is a goat-antelope found in the Eastern Himalayas and adjoining mountain forests. It belongs to the family Bovidae, which includes goats, sheep, antelopes, and cattle. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. The Mishmi Takin occurs in parts of India, Bhutan, China, and Myanmar within montane forest and alpine habitat zones. Sikkim forms the westernmost edge of its global distribution range, and the species is associated with steep forested slopes and high-altitude vegetation.
3. Centre Launches AI-Based Smart Warehousing System: The Government of India launched an AI-powered smart warehousing system on 18 June 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi inaugurated the initiative in the presence of Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. Smart warehousing is a digital storage management model that uses connected devices, automation and analytics for monitoring warehouse operations. In India, the system is linked with foodgrain storage under the Public Distribution System, which handles subsidised foodgrains through the national food security network. The initial rollout covers 215 or 216 warehouses managed by the Central Warehousing Corporation. The Food Corporation of India plans to introduce similar smart systems in about 150 of its warehouses by October 2026. The project includes an end-to-end digital dashboard for real-time monitoring of warehouse operations.
4. Northeast’s Largest Organic Spice Plant Inaugurated in Meghalaya: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Northeast’s largest organic spice processing plant on 19 June 2026 at Bhoirymbong in the Ri Bhoi District of Meghalaya. The facility was established by the Eastern Ri Bhoi Organic Farmer Producer Company and has an annual processing capacity of 10,346 metric tonnes of spices. Organic spice processing involves cleaning, grading, drying, packaging, and value addition of spices produced under organic farming standards. India is a major producer of spices such as turmeric, ginger, black pepper, cardamom, and chilli, and the country has several spice clusters in the North-Eastern States and southern India. Meghalaya has a large base of small and marginal farmers, and organic farming is practised in several districts of the state. The state is associated with crops such as turmeric, ginger, black pepper, and bay leaf, which are grown in hill and forest-based farming systems.
5. Bengal Plans Dolphin Parks Along the Hooghly: West Bengal planned two dolphin parks on 18 June 2026, with one site along the Hooghly River and another at Kanthi in East Midnapore. The proposal was linked to aquatic biodiversity conservation, eco-tourism, and river-cleaning measures under the Namami Gange programme. Dolphin parks are conservation-linked sites for riverine species, especially the Ganges River dolphin, which is listed as endangered in India. The Hooghly River forms part of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system, which supports freshwater biodiversity in West Bengal. Namami Gange is a Central government programme for the rejuvenation of the Ganga and its tributaries through sewage treatment, river-surface cleaning, afforestation, and biodiversity conservation. Five new sewage treatment plants were planned for Kolkata to reduce untreated wastewater discharge into the Hooghly.
6. CSIR-NML Signs MoU for Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling: CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory (CSIR-NML), Jamshedpur, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with New Delhi-based R2E Greentech Private Limited on 18 June 2026 for the commercialisation of indigenous technology for recycling end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. CSIR-NML also signed a technology transfer agreement with Bengaluru-based CircuOre Private Limited on 17 June 2026 for the scientific recycling of waste lithium-ion batteries. The recycling technology transferred by CSIR-NML is designed to extract critical materials from end-of-life batteries. The process uses an integrated hydrometallurgical facility for critical metal extraction. Hydrometallurgy is a metal recovery method that uses aqueous chemistry for leaching, separation, and purification.
7. Coal Ministry Promotes Surface Coal Gasification Projects: The Union Cabinet approved a Scheme for Promotion of Surface Coal and Lignite Gasification Projects on 18 June 2026 with an outlay of ₹37,500 crore. The scheme covers coal gasification and lignite gasification projects in India and follows an earlier incentive scheme of ₹8,500 crore approved in January 2024. Surface coal gasification is an industrial process that converts coal into synthesis gas, also called syngas, through controlled reaction with oxygen, steam, or air. Syngas is used as a feedstock for methanol, hydrogen, synthetic natural gas, ammonia, urea, and sustainable aviation fuel. The January 2024 incentive scheme has 8 projects under implementation with incentives of ₹6,233 crore. Coal gasification projects worth more than ₹65,000 crore are under execution in India, and the government has projected nearly 25 projects by 2030 with total investments of about ₹2.5–3 trillion.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. IITs Improve Position in QS World University Rankings: The QS World University Rankings 2027 were released on 18 June 2026. IIT Delhi ranked 118th globally and became India’s highest-ranked institution in the edition. IIT Madras ranked 170th, IIT Bombay ranked 134th, and IIT Hyderabad ranked 588th in the same ranking list. The QS World University Rankings are annual global university rankings prepared by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. The rankings use indicators such as academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, and international student ratio. The 2027 edition included 52 Indian universities. India ranked fifth globally by the number of institutions in the list, after the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Germany. The number of Indian institutions in the QS rankings rose from 11 in 2015 to 52 in 2027.
2. Yarsagumba Harvest Season Draws Thousands in Himalayas: Yarsagumba, also called Yartsa Gunbu, is a high-altitude entomopathogenic fungus found in the Himalayas and used in traditional medicine. The fungus grows from the larva of ghost moths and is collected in alpine pastures in Nepal, India, Bhutan, and the Tibetan Plateau. Yarsagumba belongs to the genus Ophiocordyceps and is scientifically known as Ophiocordyceps sinensis. It occurs at elevations above 3,000 metres and is associated with cold alpine grasslands and the life cycle of ghost moth caterpillars. The collection season in Nepal usually runs from April to June in districts such as Mugu, Dolpa, Jumla, and Gorkha. In Chhekampar of Chumnubri Rural Municipality-7 in Gorkha, nearly all 812 households moved to pastures above 4,000 metres during the 2026 harvesting season.
3. International Festival of Yoga and Meditation Held in Leh: The International Festival of Yoga and Meditation 2026 is being organised across Ladakh from June 15 to 21, 2026, to mark the 12th United Nations International Day of Yoga. The week-long festival includes events in Leh, Siachen Base Camp, and Pangong Lake. The United Nations General Assembly declared 21 June as the International Day of Yoga in 2014. The first International Day of Yoga was observed on 21 June 2015, and the day is linked with the global practice of yoga as a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline. The 2026 edition was inaugurated by Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra at the Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre in Leh on 16 June 2026. The National Institute of Sowa Rigpa, Leh, and the Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre organised a seminar on “Integration of Yoga for Public Health” on 18 June 2026.
4. India’s AI Data Centre Expansion Faces Heat Challenge: India’s data centre sector is facing higher thermal stress because extreme heat increases cooling demand, electricity use, and water consumption. Planned AI data centres in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka are among the global locations assessed for high operational disruption risk from extreme heat. A data centre is a facility that stores, processes, and distributes digital data through servers, storage systems, and networking equipment. AI data centres and high-performance computing facilities generate more heat than conventional server rooms because they use dense computing hardware and continuous workloads. Traditional air cooling is often insufficient in high-density AI environments, and liquid cooling is used for thermal management in such facilities. The India Data Center Liquid Cooling Market was valued at USD 166.69 million in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 958.74 million by 2032 at a CAGR of 24.58%.
5. India Advocates Human-Centric AI Approach: India presented a human-centric and inclusive approach to Artificial Intelligence at VivaTech 2026 in Paris and at the G7 Summit session in France in June 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described India’s AI vision as “AI for all”, with an emphasis on access, safety, accountability, and global benefit. Artificial Intelligence refers to computer systems that perform tasks associated with human intelligence, including pattern recognition, language processing, and decision support. India’s stated approach places people at the centre of AI development and uses the phrase “AI for all” to describe inclusive access to technology. At VivaTech 2026, India participated as the AI Country Partner. The address at the event linked AI with wider access, growth, and environmental sustainability. On 23 November 2025, at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, India supported human-centric, global, and open-source critical technologies. On 22 April 2025, India reiterated its commitment at the 3rd UNAOC Dialogue on AI for One Humanity to share experience on an AI future that is human-centred and inclusive.
6. Celtic Prince’s Grave Found near Bad Camberg: Archaeologists announced the discovery of a princely grave near Bad Camberg in Hesse, Germany, during excavations linked to a solar park. The burial dates to the early La Tène period, around the middle of the first millennium BCE, and the grave goods include gold jewellery, weapon fragments, and a bronze jug imported from Etruria. The grave goods include several gold rings, one of which weighs 5 ounces, and a bronze jug imported from Etruria, the ancient region in central Italy. X-rays and CT scans have identified additional hidden objects inside the excavated soil blocks. The grave was found during construction-related excavation work for a solar park, a type of land development that can expose buried archaeological remains. The discovery is the first known Celtic princely grave found during construction work for a solar park in Hesse.
OTHER UPDATES:
DEFENCE
1. Ex-Agniveers Get 20% Reservation in Delhi Government Jobs: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu directed a 20% reservation for ex-Agniveers in Group ‘C’ posts in Delhi government departments and agencies on 18 June 2026. The order covers direct recruitment in operational services, including police constables, firemen, jail warders, and forest and wildlife guards. The Delhi administration set 30 June 2026 as the deadline for departments to complete the required changes in their Recruitment Rules. The decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by the Delhi Lieutenant Governor and attended by Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma and Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha. The reservation applies to direct recruitment in Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service, the prisons department, and the Department of Environment, Forest & Wildlife. These posts belong to Group ‘C’, which is a classification used in government service for non-gazetted posts.
2. India Inducts First Indigenous Hovercraft into Coast Guard: The Indian Coast Guard inducted its first indigenous Air Cushion Vehicle, designated H-561, on 18 June 2026. The hovercraft was built at Chowgule & Company Private Limited’s shipyard in Goa and is the first of six indigenous ACVs under construction for the force. An Air Cushion Vehicle is a hovercraft that moves on a cushion of air created by fans or lift systems. ACVs can operate over shallow water, mudflats, beaches, marshy terrain, and other low-support surfaces. The Indian Coast Guard uses hovercraft for coastal surveillance, rapid response, search and rescue, and humanitarian assistance. These craft are suitable for littoral zones, where conventional vessels face limits because of depth, sandbanks, and tidal variation.
3. Russia Considers BrahMos Missile for Its Own Arsenal: BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed as a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia. In June 2026, Russian officials and BrahMos Aerospace executives discussed possible induction of the missile into Russian armed forces and expansion of production capacity for future requirements. BrahMos is a two-stage supersonic cruise missile with land, sea, and air-launched variants. It is named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, which represent India and Russia in the joint venture. The missile is designed for precision strike roles and has been integrated with multiple Indian platforms. Its speed and low flight profile place it in the category of high-speed cruise missiles used for anti-ship and land-attack missions.
SPORTS
1. Fatima Sana Sets Women’s T20 World Cup Records: Fatima Sana, the Pakistan women’s cricket captain, set multiple records in Women’s T20 International cricket and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2024 and 2026. She became the first captain in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup matches to score a fifty and take three wickets in the same game. Fatima Sana made a fifty in 15 balls against Zimbabwe in Karachi on 16 May 2026. She finished unbeaten on 62 off 19 balls, and the previous fastest fifty record of 18 balls was held jointly by Sophie Devine, Phoebe Litchfield, and Richa Ghosh. Fatima Sana and Tuba Hassan added 71 runs for the ninth wicket in the same match against South Africa. This was the highest ninth-wicket stand in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup history.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. 15-Million-Year-Old Shark Fossils Found in Odisha: Fossils dating back nearly 15 million years were discovered near Baripada in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on 18 June 2026. The find includes shark teeth, shark vertebrae, fish bones, mollusc shells, and microscopic marine organisms from the Baripada Fossil Bed along the Budhabalanga river. The fossils belong to the Miocene Epoch, which lasted from about 23 million years ago to 5.3 million years ago. The presence of marine fossils in inland Mayurbhanj district indicates that parts of present-day Odisha were once covered by a shallow sea. The Baripada Fossil Bed contains vertebrate and invertebrate remains. Shark teeth and vertebrae are among the most common marine vertebrate fossils found at such sites, while mollusc shells and microfossils are used in palaeoenvironmental studies.
2. Plastic-Eating Bacteria Break Down PVC Microplastics: Researchers at the Faculty of Science, Cairo University in Egypt identified bacterial strains capable of degrading polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics in June 2026. The study was published in Microbial Cell Factories and indexed in the National Library of Medicine. Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is a synthetic polymer used in pipes, cables, flooring, packaging, and medical products. PVC contains chlorine in its molecular structure, and it is classified as one of the most widely produced thermoplastics in the world. Stutzerimonas sp. NH2 was identified as a key bacterium in the experiment and reduced the weight of PVC microplastics by over 23%. Glutamicibacter nicotinae NH27 also showed degradation activity, and the combined bacterial consortium reduced PVC weight by nearly 27% under tested conditions.
3. IRDAI Forms AI Working Group for Insurance Sector: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) constituted a seven-member working group on Artificial Intelligence for the insurance sector on 18 June 2026. The group has been tasked with preparing governance frameworks, best practices, safeguards, and an AI audit framework for insurance use cases. The working group is chaired by Sandeep K. Shukla, Director of the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad. Deepak Gaikwad, General Manager and Chief Information Security Officer of IRDAI, serves as the member-convener. The other members include senior officials and experts from CERT-In, Reserve Bank Information Technology, SBI Life Insurance, Star Health & Allied Insurance, and ICICI Lombard General Insurance.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. SBI Pays ₹8,813 Crore Dividend to Government: State Bank of India (SBI) presented a dividend cheque of ₹8,813 crore to the Central government on 8 June 2026 for the financial year 2025-26. The cheque was handed over in New Delhi by SBI Chairman C.S. Setty to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. SBI is India’s largest public sector bank and the Government of India holds about 55% equity in the bank. Dividend is a distribution of profits by a company to its shareholders. In the case of SBI, the Central government receives a large share of the dividend because it is the largest shareholder. SBI’s Central Board declared a dividend of ₹17.35 per equity share for the year ended 31 March 2026, with the payment date fixed as 4 June 2026. Dividend receipts from public sector enterprises form part of the Union government’s non-tax revenue. Public sector banks such as SBI contribute to this head through annual dividend payments based on their profits and board decisions.
2. Four New Namo Cities Proposed Under NCR Regional Plan 2041: Four new greenfield cities, called Namo Cities or Namo Nodes, are proposed under the National Capital Region Regional Plan 2041. The proposal was announced on 16 June 2026 after the 42nd board meeting of the NCR Planning Board, which functions under the National Capital Region Planning Board Act, 1985. The National Capital Region is a planning region that includes Delhi and adjoining districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and, in earlier planning frameworks, parts of neighbouring states. The NCR Planning Board prepares regional plans for land use, transport, urban growth, and infrastructure coordination across the region.
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