Monthly current affairs for June 2026

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, an Italian national racing for Mercedes, has won the Formula One (F1) Canadian Grand Prix (GP) 2026.

The Andhra Pradesh government, in collaboration with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), has announced the launch of an angel fund through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH) in New Delhi.

The initiative aims to make the state a hub for deep-tech innovation by providing startups with early-stage funding, industry access, ecosystem support, and global scaling opportunities.

Dr. Bashir Badr, a renowned Urdu poet, passed away at the age of 91. He was a recipient of the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Sahitya Akademi Award (Urdu) in 1999 for his collection of 69 ghazals.

Commonwealth Day in India:

Day – 24 May

Commemorating – The birth anniversary of Queen Victoria in 1819

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (MoPP&P), has launched the portal for the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) 2025.

NeSDA is a biennial assessment framework developed by the DARPG to measure the depth and effectiveness of existing e-Governance (electronic governance) service delivery mechanisms from the perspective of citizens.

IIT Madras has launched an advanced hydrodynamic testing facility named “Circulating Water Tunnel Facility” at its Thaiyur campus in Chennai.

The facility is designed to strengthen indigenous ship design, ocean engineering research, and hydrodynamic testing capabilities in India. It was constructed with ₹4.5 crore in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding provided by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL).

Union Minister Piyush Goyal visited Canada to facilitate an economic reset and accelerate free trade negotiations. He led the largest-ever Indian business delegation to the country to fast-track the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Both nations aim to finalize a balanced CEPA by the end of 2026. India and Canada have set a target to scale bilateral trade from $8.5 billion to $50 billion by 2030. During his visit, he held bilateral engagements in Ottawa, including a meeting with Canadian PM Mark Carney.

India has signed a bilateral accession protocol with Ethiopia in Geneva, Switzerland, to facilitate the latter’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO).

It is to be noted that India supports the accession of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and developing nations to the WTO to promote inclusive growth and South-South cooperation. The agreement was fast-tracked under the guidance of Union Minister Piyush Goyal.

Suman Kalyanpur, a legendary Indian playback singer, passed away at the age of 89. She was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 2023.

An international team of researchers led by Dr. Ronaldo Laishram from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) has discovered an ancient cosmic structure named the “Loktak Protocluster”.

Located 12.6 billion light-years away in the constellation Sextans, the structure allows astronomers to observe the universe as it existed when it was only 1.2 billion years old (9% of its current age).

It is named after Loktak Lake in Manipur, the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India, famous for its “phumdis” (floating masses of vegetation). The discovery was made by integrating data from the Japan-based Subaru Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of NASA.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has unveiled the nationwide “Maritime Reform Utsav” during a review meeting of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) in New Delhi.

The initiative commemorates 12 years of maritime reforms in India. It focuses on reform gap analysis, inter-ministerial coordination, stakeholder participation, and skill development in maritime technologies and digital governance.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme, which is India’s first indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft project.

The government-funded programme has an estimated prototype development cost of ₹15,000 crore, covering the development of 5 flying prototypes and 1 structural test aircraft.

For the first time, the MoD has excluded Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) from the manufacturing process and invited private sector participation. A 650-acre greenfield manufacturing facility and the Core Integration and Flight Testing Centre of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) are being developed at Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, in collaboration with the selected private partner.

National Anti-Terrorism Day:

Day – May 21

Commemorating – Death anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi who was assassinated in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu in 1991

RBI has issued final amendment directions for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) and Rural Co-operative Banks (RCBs), mandating a 3-year cooling-off period for directors who have completed a continuous tenure of 10 years on the board.

RBI has also established an 8-member expert panel under the Quantum Secure and Adaptive Financial Ecosystem (Q-SAFE) initiative to evaluate the risks posed to the financial system by the adoption of quantum technology. The panel is led by Anil Prabhakar, a professor at the IIT Madras, who serves as the convener.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the private defence manufacturing complex of the NIBE Group in Shirdi, Maharashtra. The project involved an investment of over ₹5,000 crore.

Additionally, the Minister has approved the establishment of four defence corridors in Pune, Nashik, Ahmednagar, and Nagpur to strengthen the indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem of India.

Shyam Lal Meena, a veteran Indian Olympian archer, passed away at the age of 61. He was a recipient of the Arjuna Award in 1989.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange has surpassed India to become the world’s 5th largest stock market, with a market capitalization of $4.95 trillion compared to India’s $4.92 trillion.

The leading global equity markets, ranked by market capitalization, include the USA, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, and South Korea.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has become the first Global Systems Integrator (GSI) to partner with the France-based Mistral AI, an AI startup.

The collaboration aims to deliver advanced enterprise generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) solutions for clients worldwide. The former will use ‘Mistral Forge’ to develop custom enterprise AI models, allowing clients to integrate their specific data and context for better decision-making.

The Ayush Export Promotion Council (AYUSHEXCIL) has signed an MoU with the Spices Board of India to strengthen the traditional wellness and natural products sector in India.

The partnership focuses on export promotion, quality assurance, innovation, branding, and international market development for Ayush, medicinal spice, nutraceutical, and Ayurvedic products.

The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) has signed an MoU with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to launch the “BHASHINI Seva/Sanchalan - A BHASHINI Sahayogi Program”.

The initiative aims to enhance multilingual digital capabilities across the industry and internal trade ecosystem in India by leveraging the BHASHINI platform, which serves as the National Language Digital Public Infrastructure of the country.