Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the Guardian of the Blue Horizon Presidential Distinction by Seychelles President Dr. Patrick Herminie on 28 June 2026. The honour recognised India's contribution to the Blue Economy, sustainable management of ocean resources and support for Small Island Developing States. It was presented during the 50th year of diplomatic relations between India and Seychelles.

Key Points:
•   The distinction was conferred by Seychelles President Dr. Patrick Herminie.
•   It recognises India's efforts in promoting the Blue Economy and ocean sustainability.
•   The award highlights India's support for Small Island Developing States.
•   India's environmental initiatives such as Mission LiFE, International Solar Alliance and Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam were acknowledged.
•   The honour was linked to 50 years of India-Seychelles diplomatic relations.
•   It reinforces India's role as a trusted development partner in the Indian Ocean Region.

Additional Information:
•   Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean.
•   Victoria is the capital of Seychelles.
•   The Blue Economy focuses on sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth and livelihoods.

India launched Operation Amistad on 26 June 2026 to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to Venezuela after earthquakes of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude struck the country on 24 June 2026. Two Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft carried an Indian Army rescue and medical team along with more than 35 tonnes of relief supplies. The mission included deployment of indigenous BHISHM portable hospital units.

Key Points:
•   Operation Amistad was launched for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in Venezuela.
•   The relief mission followed 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes on 24 June 2026.
•   Two IAF C-17 Globemaster aircraft were deployed for the mission.
•   A 41-member Indian Army rescue and medical team was sent to Venezuela.
•   The medical task force included personnel from the 60 Para Field Hospital and nine medical officers.
•   The aid consignment exceeded 35 tonnes and included two BHISHM cubes.

Additional Information:
•   BHISHM stands for Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita and Maitri.
•   A BHISHM Cube is an air-liftable portable hospital made up of 72 cubes.
•   It can treat up to 200 casualties simultaneously.
•   Caracas is the capital of Venezuela.

Bharat Dynamics Limited received an order worth ?1,109.37 crore from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for launchers of the indigenous HELINA anti-tank guided missile system. HELINA, or Helicopter-launched Nag, is a third-generation fire-and-forget missile developed by DRDO. The procurement will support integration of the missile system on Indian military helicopter platforms and strengthen indigenous anti-armour capabilities.

Key Points:
•   BDL secured a ?1,109.37 crore order from HAL for HELINA missile launchers.
•   HELINA stands for Helicopter-launched Nag.
•   It is an indigenously developed third-generation fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile.
•   DRDO developed HELINA as the helicopter-launched version of the Nag missile.
•   Its engagement range is from 500 metres to 7 kilometres.
•   The missile has top-attack and direct-attack modes and uses an Imaging Infrared seeker.
•   The Indian Air Force version of HELINA is known as Dhruvastra.

Additional Information:
•   The contract includes ?238.34 crore worth of Line Replaceable Units for the Countermeasure Dispensing System.
•   CMDS protects military aircraft against radar-guided and heat-seeking missiles by deploying defensive decoys.
•   HELINA can operate in mountainous terrain and in day, night and adverse-weather conditions.

Right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella won Colombia's presidential run-off election held on 22 June 2026. He secured 49.7 percent votes and defeated left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda, who received 48.7 percent votes. The election marked the return of the right wing to power after four years.

Key Points:
•   Abelardo De La Espriella won 49.7 percent of the vote.
•   Ivan Cepeda secured 48.7 percent votes in the run-off.
•   More than 26.3 million Colombians cast their ballots.
•   Colombia had 41.4 million eligible voters.
•   Around 33,000 ballot-box results were challenged by the opposition.
•   De La Espriella entered politics as a businessman with no prior political experience.

Additional Information:
•   Colombia is located in South America.
•   Bogota is the capital of Colombia.
•   The currency of Colombia is the Colombian Peso.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation conducted India's first Satellite-Based Landing System approach on a jet aircraft using GAGAN at Udaipur Airport on 28 June 2026. The precision landing was performed by an IndiGo Airbus A320 using the Localiser Performance with Vertical Guidance approach. GAGAN was jointly developed by ISRO and Airports Authority of India.

Key Points:
•   The landing was conducted at Udaipur Airport.
•   An IndiGo Airbus A320 performed the approach.
•   LPV approach was enabled through GAGAN technology.
•   GAGAN stands for GPS-aided Geo Augmented Navigation.
•   It reduces dependence on ground-based Instrument Landing Systems.
•   It marks satellite navigation expansion from turboprops to jet operations.

Additional Information:
•   GAGAN is India's indigenous Satellite Based Augmentation System.
•   It provides horizontal and vertical guidance for precision landings.
•   ISRO was established in 1969 and is headquartered in Bengaluru.

The Department of Atomic Energy inaugurated the world's first hydrogen production facility based on the Copper-Chlorine thermochemical cycle at IGCAR, Kalpakkam, on 26 June 2026. The facility uses heat from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor and process technology developed indigenously by BARC. It is intended for large-scale carbon-free hydrogen generation using nuclear process heat.

Key Points:
•   The facility is located at IGCAR in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu.
•   It uses the Copper-Chlorine thermochemical cycle.
•   Heat is supplied from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor.
•   BARC developed the process technology indigenously.
•   The system produces hydrogen without carbon emissions.
•   It supports non-electric applications of India's nuclear programme.

Additional Information:
•   IGCAR was established in 1971 at Kalpakkam.
•   BARC was established in 1954 and is located at Trombay, Mumbai.
•   The Atomic Energy Commission was established in 1948.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the AI-enabled Rural Internal Audit Portal on 28 June 2026 at the Rashtriya Gramin Vikas Sammelan in New Delhi. The portal is a unified digital platform for end-to-end management of risk-based and compliance audits. It was conceived by the Office of the Chief Controller of Accounts and developed with NIC.

Key Points:
•   The portal supports risk-based and compliance audits.
•   It was launched by Shivraj Singh Chouhan in New Delhi.
•   NIC developed it in collaboration with the Chief Controller of Accounts office.
•   Its Map View module provides geospatial audit visualisation.
•   AI is used for predictive analytics and pattern recognition.
•   It digitises Action Taken Reports and audit observations.

Additional Information:
•   The pilot was launched in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, in April 2025.
•   The portal became fully operational in October 2025.
•   NIC was established in 1976 and is headquartered in New Delhi.

The Indian Coast Guard commissioned ICGS Akshay, a new-generation Fast Patrol Vessel, at Goa Shipyard Limited on 27 June 2026. The vessel was designed and built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Limited. It will support maritime law enforcement, coastal security, search and rescue, and marine environmental protection operations.

Key Points:
•   ICGS Akshay was commissioned at Goa Shipyard Limited.
•   It is a new-generation Fast Patrol Vessel.
•   The vessel was designed and built indigenously by GSL.
•   Akshay means indestructible.
•   It will strengthen maritime law enforcement and coastal security.
•   It is equipped for search and rescue and marine environmental protection.

Additional Information:
•   Indian Coast Guard was established on 18 August 1978.
•   It functions under the Ministry of Defence.
•   Its motto is Vayam Rakshamah, meaning We Protect.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 10th Apex Level meeting of the Narco-Coordination Centre in New Delhi on 26 June 2026. The meeting launched the Vision Document on Drug Control for 2026-2029 and the NCB Annual Report 2025. It adopted a four-pillar strategy to strengthen drug control, enforcement and demand reduction.

Key Points:
•   Amit Shah chaired the 10th Apex NCORD meeting.
•   Vision Document on Drug Control 2026-2029 was launched.
•   The strategy covers enforcement, precursor control, demand reduction and capacity building.
•   The meeting adopted the Detect, Disrupt and Destroy policy.
•   New NCB zonal offices were inaugurated in Jammu and Guwahati.
•   A target was set to destroy 2,09,500 kg narcotics worth over ?6,000 crore.

Additional Information:
•   NCORD was constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2016.
•   It works through Apex, State, District and Sub-divisional levels.
•   NCB was established in 1986 under the NDPS Act, 1985.

Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan presided over the MSME Day 2026-Udyami Bharat event in New Delhi on 27 June 2026. At the event, National Small Industries Corporation was upgraded from a Schedule B to a Schedule A Central Public Sector Enterprise. Several MSME digital platforms and products were also launched.

Key Points:
•   NSIC was upgraded from Schedule B to Schedule A CPSE.
•   The event was held at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.
•   PMEGP 2.0 and SAMADHAAN 2.0 portals were launched.
•   MSME Global Mart 2.0 and MSME Testing Portal were introduced.
•   The portals support all 22 Scheduled Indian languages.
•   Ponduru Khadi of Andhra Pradesh was showcased as a GI-tagged textile.

Additional Information:
•   NSIC was established in 1955.
•   It functions under the Ministry of MSME.
•   Its headquarters is in New Delhi.

Union Minister J.P. Nadda launched Aarogya Setu 2.0 and a suite of Digital Public Infrastructure for Health tools at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on 29 June 2026. Aarogya Setu 2.0 has been revamped as a Personal Health Record application for managing ABHA. The initiatives aim to improve digital health access, claims processing and clinical workflows.

Key Points:
•   Aarogya Setu 2.0 functions as a Personal Health Record application.
•   It helps users manage their ABHA account.
•   Features include AI health insights, medicine reminders and wearable integration.
•   Ayushman Sarathi is a WhatsApp chatbot for PM-JAY services.
•   NHCX enables standardised digital health-claim processing.
•   e-Sushrut Clinic digitises clinical workflow and connects with ABDM.

Additional Information:
•   ABHA stands for Ayushman Bharat Health Account.
•   NHCX stands for National Health Claims Exchange.
•   Drug Registry supports uniform coding of medicines.

The West Bengal government announced plans to table a Uniform Civil Code Bill in the State Assembly in the week following 25 June 2026. The proposed Bill aims to replace religion-based personal laws with common rules for marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and succession. West Bengal is set to become the fourth state after Independence to move towards a common civil code.

Key Points:
•   The Bill is proposed to be tabled in the West Bengal Assembly.
•   It covers marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and succession.
•   It seeks to replace religion-based personal laws with common rules.
•   West Bengal would become the fourth state to move towards a UCC after Independence.
•   Uttarakhand became the first state to pass a UCC law in February 2024.
•   Gujarat and Assam introduced similar legislation in 2026.

Additional Information:
•   Article 44 of the Constitution refers to a Uniform Civil Code.
•   It is included among the Directive Principles of State Policy.
•   Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal.

The Assam government integrated tea and plantation-class landholdings into the Farmers' Registry Portal on 26 June 2026. The move provides Small Tea Growers with a unique Farmer ID for easier access to fertilisers, credit and government schemes. It links Aadhaar, land records and personal details through a single digital identity.

Key Points:
•   Tea and plantation landholdings were integrated into the farmers registry.
•   Small Tea Growers will receive a unique Farmer ID.
•   The system improves access to fertilisers, credit and government schemes.
•   It covers 133,626 registered small tea growers.
•   It is expected to benefit more than 1.5 lakh growers and 6 lakh individuals.
•   STGs account for about 50 percent of Assam's green-leaf production.

Additional Information:
•   The portal supports Direct Benefit Transfer of subsidies.
•   Growers can access land records and submit crop surveys online.
•   Dispur is the capital of Assam.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi launched the Go East initiative on 26 June 2026 during the CII Eastern Region Council meeting in Bhubaneswar. Go East stands for Government of Odisha - Eastern Investment Accelerator and Special Task Force. The initiative aims to accelerate investments and reduce industrial setup time through regulatory reforms.

Key Points:
•   Go East was launched by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
•   A Go East Cell will be created within IPICOL.
•   A high-level Special Task Force will accelerate projects.
•   The IPR-2022 will be revised to prioritise non-mineral industries.
•   The target is to reduce setup time from 160 days to below 100 days.
•   477 projects worth about ?9.5 lakh crore have been approved since June 2024.

Additional Information:
•   The projects are expected to generate employment for about 6 lakh people.
•   Paradip is being developed for chemicals, petrochemicals and semiconductors.
•   Bhubaneswar is the capital of Odisha.

Researchers at Chandigarh University developed an AI-powered lightweight Transformer Model for crop-yield prediction using climate data and satellite imagery. The model uses imagery from ESA's Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites along with rainfall, temperature and soil moisture data. It uses 40 percent fewer parameters than conventional models and was tested on four major crops.

Key Points:
•   The model is designed for precision farming and smart agriculture.
•   It uses Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery.
•   It integrates rainfall, temperature and soil moisture data.
•   It requires 40 percent fewer parameters than conventional models.
•   It was tested on paddy, maize, moong and sugarcane.
•   It outperformed Random Forest and LSTM models.

Additional Information:
•   Sentinel satellites are operated by the European Space Agency.
•   The model can improve farm planning and resource optimisation.
•   It enables faster predictions with lower computational costs.