Monthly current affairs for June 2026

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.

The Gujarat government has signed an MoU with Meta Platforms Inc to launch a WhatsApp chatbot under the ‘Sugam Digital’ initiative.

The 2-year collaboration aims to enhance e-governance in the state by implementing AI driven public services, accessibility projects, and digital skilling programmes. Through this chatbot, citizens can access around 20 public services from 5 departments in both Gujarati and English.

Nikos Christodoulides, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, visited India at the invitation of PM Narendra Modi. He held bilateral discussions with PM Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

During his visit to Mumbai, President Christodoulides participated in the traditional bell-ringing ceremony at the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) and attended the Cyprus-India Business Forum. Both countries signed 6 MoUs across various sectors and made 8 major announcements to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

India and the USA have signed a framework titled “Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths” to secure the supply, mining, processing, and recycling of critical minerals and rare earth elements.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 11th Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in New Delhi. The US government is allocating over $30 billion through investments, loans, and public–private partnerships to strengthen critical mineral supply chains.

The Indian Army (IA) has launched ‘Q-FORCE’, an integrated digital application designed to streamline logistics and sustainment management by integrating multiple logistics and inventory platforms across diverse operational terrains.

Additionally, the IA has introduced ‘Kautilya’, an AI-powered command intelligence platform.

PT Usha, the President of Indian Olympic Association, and Dr. Dilip Tirkey, the President of Hockey India, have released a book titled “India’s Olympic Gold: Hockey Triumph at Amsterdam” in New Delhi.

Authored by hockey historian K Arumugam and published by Stick2Hockey, the book commemorates the 98th anniversary of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team winning their first Olympic Gold medal at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti has signed an MoU with the ISRO to enhance water resource management using satellite technology. The collaboration involves joint research across 24 key areas. It is to be noted that the Ministry has already supported 113 research projects in the water sector over the past decade.

Additionally, the third phase of the Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB) campaign has been launched, aiming to create 2 crore water conservation structures between June 2026 and May 2027. The previous phase of the campaign successfully created over 1.5 crore water conservation structures.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has announced two new joint life insurance savings plans named ‘LIC’s New Jeevan Sathi Single Premium’ and ‘LIC’s New Jeevan Sathi Limited Premium’.

These plans, designed for couples, will be available from June 2026. They offer joint life financial protection, guaranteed returns, fixed benefits, and a premium waiver on the first death, along with loan facilities and flexible payout options.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has unveiled a $20 billion, 3-phased plan to establish a permanent lunar base equipped with rovers and drones.

The plan aims to set up the base by March 2027, with the objective of landing astronauts on the moon in 2028. The mission is structured into 3 phases: Moon Base-I (2026-2028), Moon Base-II (2029-2032), and Moon Base-III (2032 onwards).

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has signed a strategic partnership with the Japan-based Fourth Valley Concierge Corporation (FVCC) to enhance workforce mobility for Indian professionals seeking employment in Japan.

The partnership will utilize the NSDC Trust’s “Credibility Check” framework to establish a transparent verification system for these professionals.

PM Narendra Modi visited Italy at the invitation of Giorgia Meloni, the PM of Italy. During their bilateral meeting in Rome, the leaders reviewed the progress of the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029.

The visit resulted in the adoption of a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) and a Defence Industrial Roadmap. Both nations also declared 2027 as the Year of Culture and Tourism and signed 10 MoUs across various sectors.

The RBI has approved leadership updates for two financial institutions. Sandeep Bakhshi has been re-appointed as the MD & CEO of ICICI Bank for a 2-year term, effective until October 3, 2028.

Additionally, Ketan Merchant has been granted a 3-month interim leadership extension at Fino Payments Bank.

The RBI has imposed a penalty of ₹10.1 lakh on City Union Bank for levying loan-related charges on priority sector agriculture advances up to ₹25,000 and for failing to report Self Help Group (SHG) member-level data to credit information companies.

Mintifi Finserve Pvt Ltd was fined ₹3.1 lakh for failure to upload certain Know Your Customer (KYC) records, and Newa Investments Pvt Ltd was fined ₹2.7 lakh for appointing directors without obtaining prior approval from the regulator.

Five new judges have been appointed to the Supreme Court (SC), taking its current strength to 37, one short of the sanctioned strength of 38.

The newly appointed judges are Senior Advocate Venkita Subramani Mohana, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, and Justice Arun Palli.

Swara Lakshmi Nair, a chess player from Bengaluru has secured the Woman International Master (WIM) title. She achieved this milestone at the Ptuj International Masters tournament held in Slovenia.

It is to be noted that she is the first WIM from Bengaluru and the second WIM from Karnataka, following Isha Sharma who achieved the title in 2019.

Vice Admiral Vineet McCarty has assumed charge as the 20th Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command (CINCAN), succeeding Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar.

Major General Rachel Thomas has been appointed as the Additional Director General of the Military Nursing Service (MNS), succeeding Major General Lissamma. Air Marshal Tarun Chaudhry has assumed charge as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Air Command, succeeding Air Marshal Balakrishnan Manikantan.

Union Minister Dr. Virendra Kumar has launched the Joint Elderly Empowerment & Virtual Assistance Network (JEEVAN) mobile application for senior citizens.

He has also launched the Senior Holistic Care Assistance and Training For Your Utility (SHATAYU) Geriatric Caregiver Dashboard. These platforms were unveiled during a virtual national workshop titled ‘Creating a Well-Functioning Care Economy’.