Monthly current affairs for June 2026

The IIT Hyderabad will establish the Centre for Design and Engineering in Nuclear Energy (CODENE), which will be the first Centre of Design Excellence in Nuclear Engineering in India.

The centre is being established under a tripartite MoU signed between IIT, Coastal Engineering and Equipments (India) Pvt Ltd (CEEPL India), and France-based Dassault Systemes SE during the ‘Bharat Innovates 2026’.

The Indian Army has signed an MoU with Bharti Airtel Ltd to expand mobile communication infrastructure in Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in the presence of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, has inaugurated the advanced manufacturing facility of Jabil Inc. at the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in Ranjangaon, Pune.

The facility aims to create an export-centric ecosystem for manufacturing next-generation hardware for AI data centres.

Jio Platforms (JPL), the technology arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), has entered the global top 20 in the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) rankings for 2025 released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

JPL is the only Indian technology innovator to secure a position in the top 20 list. China leads the world in 2025 PCT filings with 73.7 thousand applications, while India ranked 12th globally with 3.07 thousand PCT applications.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has completed 12 years of the ‘Skill India’ initiative, which is one of the world’s largest skilling ecosystems.

In terms of infrastructure growth, the number of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) has increased from 9,776 in 2014 to over 13,888, expanding access to skill development nationwide.

President Droupadi Murmu has approved the merger of REC Ltd (REC) into the Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC). The merger aims to create a larger and more efficient public sector power financing institution.

According to the “QS World University Rankings 2027” released by the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (USA) has secured the top position globally for the 15th consecutive year.

It is followed by Stanford University (USA), Imperial College London (UK), the University of Oxford (UK), and Harvard University (USA). The National University of Singapore (NUS) is ranked 10th globally, remaining the highest-ranked university in Asia.

Among Indian institutions, the IIT Delhi is the top-ranked institution for the second consecutive year, securing the 118th position globally. It is followed by IIT Bombay at 134th and IIT Madras at 170th.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of the Chairperson and members of the National Statistical Commission (NSC).

Dr. Saibal Chattopadhyay has been appointed as the Chairperson, while Prof. Shubhabrata Das, Satyendra Bahadur Singh, and Dr. Madhavan Mukund have been appointed as members of the commission.

Sudarsan Pattnaik, a sand artist from Puri, Odisha, has won the Russia Grand Sand Master Cup 2026 at the II International Festival of Sand Sculpture in Kaliningrad, Russia. He is the first Indian to receive this honour.

His winning entry was a 3-meter high sand sculpture depicting two contrasting faces of Earth. It is to be noted that he was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2014 for his contributions to the field of Arts.

US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have signed a 14-point MoU aimed at ending the conflict between the two nations. The interim agreement was finalised electronically during the G7 summit in France.

The agreement mandates an immediate ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and a 60-day negotiation period for a comprehensive peace settlement. The US and its regional partners have also committed to a $300 billion reconstruction fund to support the economic development of Iran.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released its “2026 Technology Pioneers” cohort, which features 100 early-stage companies from 23 countries. The USA leads the list with 43 startups, followed by China and the UK.

India is represented by 9 startups in the 2026 cohort (compared to 10 in the 2025 list), bringing the total number of Indian firms in the WEF cohort to 28. The selected companies will contribute to WEF initiatives through a two-year engagement program.

India and Thailand have held the 10th Defence Dialogue in Bangkok, Thailand, to strengthen bilateral security cooperation.

During the dialogue, both nations agreed to deepen collaboration in manufacturing, research, innovation, and capability development.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the subscription of equity shareholding in Axis Finance Ltd by Kedaara Pearl Holding and Kedaara Capital Fund IV AIF.

The CCI has also approved the acquisition of PGIM India Asset Management Pvt Ltd and PGIM India Trustees Pvt Ltd by TVS Emerald Ltd and TVS Venu Management and Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd.

The Ministry of Defence has commissioned the first batch of 17 women cadets trained at the National Defence Academy (NDA) into the Indian Armed Forces, marking a historic milestone in gender inclusion.

The Indian Army commissioned 9 women officers at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The Indian Air Force commissioned 5 women officers at the Air Force Academy (AFA) in Dundigal, Hyderabad, and the Indian Navy commissioned 3 women officers at the Indian Naval Academy (INA) in Ezhimala, Kerala.

The DRDO has conducted three consecutive flight tests of its integrated multi-layered Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system. These trials, executed from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha, demonstrated the system’s capability to intercept long-range (5,000 km) and medium-range (2,000 km) missiles using two advanced interceptor missiles.

Additionally, the maiden flight test of the indigenous Naval Anti-Ship Missile–Medium Range (NASM-MR) was also successfully conducted.

Gavri Devi, a prominent Mand folk singer, passed away at the age of 98. She was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986 and the Rajasthan Ratna in 2013 for her contributions to folk music.

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has signed an agreement with the Gujarat government to develop a Common Technical Facility (CTF) for the space-tech sector at the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) in Khoraj, Gujarat.

IN-SPACe will provide technical expertise and financial assistance of up to ₹100 crore for the procurement of equipment required for the development of the CTF.

According to the Ministry of Defence, India’s annual defence production has reached an all-time high of ₹1.78 lakh crore in the FY26. This marks a 15.6% annual growth from the ₹1.54 lakh crore recorded in FY25.

India and Japan have adopted the 'Rules of Implementation' for the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement.

Announced by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), this initiative establishes the first operational framework for India to trade bilateral carbon credits to facilitate the achievement of global climate goals.

Kane Williamson, former captain of the New Zealand cricket team, has announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect.

He concluded his career as New Zealand’s all-time leading run-scorer with 19,346 international runs.