Recent Current Affairs related to Kerala

Kaziah Liz Mejo, a 19-year-old from Kerala, has won the Miss Universe India 2026 title at an event organised by the Glamanand Group in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

With this, she has become the first woman from Kerala to secure the title.

It is to be noted that she will officially represent India at the 75th Miss Universe pageant, scheduled to be held in November 2026 in Puerto Rico.

The National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage (NIIMH), Hyderabad, under the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) of the Ministry of Ayush, has signed an MoU with the Kottayam (Kerala)-based Sevadhi Museum & Indological Research Institute (SEMIRI) for the systematic digitization and preparation of a descriptive catalogue for the medical manuscript collection of the latter.

MP Parameswaran, a renowned Indian nuclear scientist and Marxist theorist, passed away at the age of 92.

The Central University of Kerala (CUK) has signed an MoU with the Indian Navy to strengthen collaboration in the fields of maritime studies, defence research, innovation, and strategic knowledge development.

Iya Krish, an 8-year-old mountaineer from Kerala, has become the youngest person from Asia to scale Mount Toubkal (4,167 m), the highest peak in North Africa located in the Atlas Mountains.

She completed the 42 km trek during a 3-day expedition organized by Greenway Adventures Travel & Tourism LLC.

India hosted the BRICS Women Ministerial Meeting (WMM) in Kochi, Kerala under its BRICS Chairship 2026. During the meeting, member nations reached a consensus on two initiatives proposed by India: the 'BRICS Digital Repository of Best Practices' and 'BRICS Digital Capacity Building'.

India also hosted the 3rd BRICS Transport Ministers' Meeting (TMM) in Nagpur, Maharashtra, chaired by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The meeting concluded with the unanimous adoption of the Ministerial Declaration.

Moozhikkal Pankajakshi, a renowned exponent of the traditional puppetry art form Nokkuvidya Pavakkali, passed away at the age of 90. She was a recipient of the Padma Shri in 2020.

Bisleri International Pvt Ltd has signed a Letter of Association (LoA) with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) (Kerala and Mahe) to promote plastic waste management.

The partnership is facilitated through the flagship initiative of Bisleri, 'Bottles for Change' (BFC), and aims to support environmental sustainability in coastal regions.

Biswanath Sinha has assumed charge as the Chief Secretary of Kerala, succeeding Dr. A Jayathilak. His tenure is scheduled to extend until September 2028.

The Kerala government has presented the revised Budget for the FY27 in the state assembly. The budget estimates revenue receipts at ₹1.7 lakh crore and revenue expenditure at ₹2 lakh crore.

National Reading Day

Day - June 19

Observed since - 1996

Commemorating - The contributions of PN Panicker, known as the Father of the Library and Literacy Movement in Kerala

The RBI has launched "RBI Reelathon 2026", a statewide cyber fraud awareness campaign in Kerala.

The initiative is being conducted across 150 colleges in the state to promote financial literacy, cyber hygiene, safe digital banking, smart borrowing, and vigilance against online financial threats through student engagement and a reel-making competition.

The Kerala government has launched the ‘Priyadarshini’ free bus travel scheme. Under this initiative, women and transgender persons are eligible for free travel on ordinary Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses across the state.

The Kerala government has launched the Hostile Activity Watch Kernel (HAWK), which is the first fully digitised and judiciary-integrated wildlife offence management system of India.

The HAWK operates as a cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to manage wildlife crime data and support enforcement efforts. The system integrates forest records with the District Court Management System through an Application Programming Interface (API), making Kerala the first state in India to implement such a judiciary-integrated framework.

The National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG) 2026 recognized 17 projects across India to promote excellence in digital governance. The awards comprised 10 Gold Awards, 6 Silver Awards, and 1 Jury Award.

The Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI), managed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, received a Gold Award under Category VII. The e-Jagriti Platform, operated by the Department of Consumer Affairs, secured a Silver Award under Category I.

Recognized projects include the ‘Agri Stack’ project by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the ‘Mahakumbh 2025 Initiative’ by the Prayagraj Mela Authority. Additionally, the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC) received recognition for its ‘Blood Bag Traceability & Citizen Interaction Portal’, a citizen-centric health technology development.

Gold Award winners receive a trophy, a citation, and a cash prize of ₹10 lakh, while Silver Award winners are awarded a trophy, a certificate, and ₹5 lakh.

KP Dhanapalan, a senior Congress leader and former Member of Parliament, passed away at the age of 76. He represented the Chalakudy Lok Sabha constituency from 2009 to 2014.

Vice President CP Radhakrishnan has released a book titled “The Library Man of India: The Story of PN Panicker” in New Delhi.

The book is authored by PP Sathyan, published by Rupa Publications, and chronicles the life of PN Panicker, who is widely acknowledged as the ‘Father of the Library Movement’ in Kerala.

VD Satheesan has been sworn in as the 13th Chief Minister (CM) of Kerala. The oath of office was administered by the Governor of Kerala, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) has launched the ‘Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2.0’ for FY24 to evaluate the development, performance, and progress of Gram Panchayats (GPs). Tripura emerged as the top-performing state, with 943 rural local bodies (80% of the total 1,176) categorized as ‘Front Runner’ panchayats.

Kerala and Odisha followed as the next best performers, with 10% of the 941 GPs of Kerala and 8% of the 6,794 GPs of Odisha achieving the ‘Front Runner’ status. The Jugal Kishore Nagar Village Committee, located in the Sepahijala district of Tripura, is ranked as the top GP in the country with a performance score of 88.44.

Muni Narayana Prasad, the head of Narayana Gurukulam and a prominent spiritual leader, passed away at the age of 87. He was a recipient of Padma Shri in 2024.