Daily Current Affairs 15 June 2026

PM Narendra Modi has visited Gujarat, where he inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various development projects in Surat worth ₹18,800 crore, aimed at strengthening road connectivity, power infrastructure, and industrial development.

He also virtually inaugurated the first ‘World Yogasana Championship’ in Ahmedabad, which is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage City.

Key projects include Packages VI and VII of the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway, a 200-bed Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital, a transmission network expansion project, and Chemical and Bulk Drug Zone projects in Valsad and Bharuch.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has unveiled the ‘Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)’ (VB-G RAM G) framework.

The rural development initiative has been allocated a budget of ₹1.25 lakh crore and is set to be effective from July 2026. It aims to generate employment, create village assets, and promote digital governance across nearly 2.8 lakh Gram Panchayats.

The Government of India has re-appointed Swaminathan Janakiraman as the Deputy Governor of the RBI for a tenure of 2 years. This re-appointment will be effective from June 26, 2026.

Viyona Fintech India Pvt Ltd, a National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)-certified Technology Service Provider, has received certification as a Biller Operating Unit (BOU) under the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).

The BBPS is operated by NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL). This certification enables Viyona to facilitate billers across various sectors to collect payments through the Bharat BillPay network.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has signed an MoU with the IIT Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, to collaborate on the development of future-generation telecommunication technologies.

The partnership aims to accelerate the development, testing, and deployment of indigenous telecommunications technologies to strengthen the digital self-reliance of India.

The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research - Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI) in New Delhi has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Haryana government to implement the “Implementation of the Standard Framework for Paving and Greening of Urban Roads” project.

The initiative aims to reduce road dust pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR), Delhi, while promoting sustainable urban road infrastructure and enhancing long-term mobility planning and maintenance.

The National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has signed an MoU with the Dr. RS Tolia Uttarakhand Academy of Administration (DRSTUAoA) in Nainital to collaborate on capacity building regarding social defence issues in the state.

The Quality Council of India (QCI) has signed an MoU with the Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) to strengthen the quality, testing, accreditation, and skilling ecosystem in the Indian leather and footwear sector.

The collaboration aims to establish a framework for capacity building, certification, and development of testing infrastructure across key footwear clusters, including Agra, Bahadurgarh, Ranipet, Chennai, Calicut, and Kanpur.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has chaired the 16th BRICS Agriculture Ministers' Meeting in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Held under India’s 2026 BRICS Chairship, this was the first-ever BRICS agricultural summit to include both Member and Partner Countries.

The BRICS Agriculture Working Group identified 4 priorities: Food Security and Nutrition (focusing on smallholder farmers, women, and youth), Agricultural Trade, Regenerative Farming (promoting climate-resilient practices), and Investment and Innovation.

The summit concluded with the adoption of the ‘Indore Declaration’, which emphasises a farmer-centric global food system and rejects unilateral trade restrictions that threaten food security.

To implement the declaration, the member nations established 5 institutional networks: the BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture (coordinated by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming System Research (IIFSR), Modipuram), Network on Digital Agriculture (coordinated by the IIT Delhi), BRICS Agro-Inputs, Genetic Resources, and Information Network (BRICS AGRIN Framework), Knowledge-to-Action Hub (by strengthening the BRICS Agricultural Research Platform (BARP)), and the Global Forum on Farmers' Rights in Seed Systems.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered India the advanced Sukhoi Su-57, a fifth-generation stealth aircraft.

He also proposed joint production in India, including full technology transfer and the establishment of manufacturing facilities, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Bengaluru-based Avataar has launched 'Varya', India’s first indigenous, distilled video AI model, designed to make generative video storytelling accessible and affordable at a population scale. It was launched in partnership with the IndiaAI Mission.

The AI model operates as a text-to-video and image-to-video foundation model, offering enhanced speed and cost efficiencies to the digital ecosystem.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced the 4-member crew for the Artemis III mission, which is scheduled for a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) mission in late 2027. The crew comprises Randy Bresnik (Commander), Andre Douglas, and Frank Rubio from the USA, alongside Luca Parmitano from the European Space Agency (ESA).

The mission will test docking procedures between Starship of SpaceX, Blue Moon lander of Blue Origin, and Orion capsule of NASA, launched by the Space Launch System (SLS). This mission aims to demonstrate operational readiness for future human lunar landings and planned lunar operations.

The National e-Governance Division (NeGD), an independent business division under the Digital India Corporation (DIC) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has empanelled 6 firms to provide AI and Machine Learning (ML) solutions for central ministries and agencies.

The selected firms are TCS, NEC India, Kyndryl Solutions, Innefu Labs, CoRover.ai, and Cactus Technology Solutions. The empanelment is valid for 2 years, with a provision for an extension of up to 1 year.

Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, the current Vice Chief of the Army Staff, has been appointed as the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). He will assume charge on June 30, 2026, succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi has announced the fellowships and awards for 2024 and 2025. The Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna), the highest lifetime achievement honour in performing arts in India (restricted to 40 living individuals), has been conferred upon 7 eminent artists. The award carries a cash prize of ₹3 lakh, a Tamrapatra, and an Angavastram.

The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) were conferred upon 108 artists for their work in Hindustani and Carnatic music, classical and folk dance, theatre, and puppetry. The award includes a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, a Tamrapatra, and an Angavastram.

Additionally, the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, which honours young artists up to the age of 40, was presented to 106 recipients. Each recipient receives a cash prize of ₹25,000, a Tamrapatra, and an Angavastram.

Savitha Baskar, a 19-year-old Indian International Master (IM), has won the gold medal on tie-breaks at the Women’s Asian Individual Chess Championship 2026, held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Afruza Khamdamova of Uzbekistan secured the silver medal, while Song Yuxin of China claimed the bronze. In the Open section of the championship, Kong Xiangrui of China won the gold medal.

Salim Kumar, a veteran Malayalam actor, passed away at the age of 56.

He was the recipient of the National Film Award for Best Actor in 2010 for his performance in the film ‘Adaminte Makan Abu’.