Monthly current affairs for June 2026

According to the latest rankings of the World’s Top 10 Richest People, released by the Forbes, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, retains the top position with an estimated net worth of $835 billion.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Alphabet Inc. (the parent company of Google), hold the second and third positions. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, is ranked fourth, followed by Larry Ellison, the co-founder and Chairman of Oracle Corporation, in the fifth position.

International Day of UN Peacekeepers:

Day – May 29

Theme 2026 – “Invest in Peace”

Observed since – 2003

Commemorating – The 78th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping, which began in 1948 with the deployment of military observers to the Middle East under the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).

The Indian Haj Mission has been honoured with two ‘Labbaytum Awards’ by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia.

The awards were conferred in the categories of Coordination and Communication, recognising the exemplary management of Haj operations and pilgrim services during Haj 2026. It is to be noted that this is the first instance of India receiving two Labbaytum Awards in a single Haj season.

Khalilur Rahman, the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, has been elected as the President of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He will serve a 1-year term, succeeding Annalena Charlotte Alma Baerbock.

Major Abhilasha Barak, an Indian Army officer, has been conferred the 2025 UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award. She served as the Engagement Team Commander and Gender Focal Point within the Indian Battalion under the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

She is the third Indian peacekeeper to receive this global award, after Major Suman Gawani (2019) and Major Radhika Sen (2023). It is to be noted that She is the first woman combat helicopter pilot in the history of the Indian Army.

The National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) has signed three MoUs to modernise Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) through digital innovation and structural enhancements.

Under the first agreement, the EdTech firm CoGrad will provide 499 EMRSs with two years of free access to its “Medha AI” platform. NESTS has also renewed its corporate philanthropy partnership with the Learning Links Foundation (Amazon) for another two years. Additionally, a governance MoU signed with the Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mission has standardised EMRS funding at ₹1.47 lakh per student.

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.

President Droupadi Murmu visited Sikkim to commemorate the Golden Jubilee (50 years of statehood) and inaugurate various developmental and cultural initiatives.

During the visit, she toured the Orchidarium, the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, and Nathu La at the India–China border. She attended the 7th Convocation of Sikkim University at Manan Bhavan in Gangtok. She flagged off the ‘Pink City Runners’ (a fleet of vehicles dedicated to women) at Ridge Park and presented the President’s Police Colour to the Sikkim Police at Palzor Stadium.

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched the 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan' in Ramsiya village of Raisen, Madhya Pradesh.

The campaign aims to promote sustainable agriculture, improve soil health, and raise awareness regarding climate-resilient farming practices.

The DRDO has successfully tested a high-calibre conventional bomb at the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) in Haryana.

The test was conducted following standard operating procedures (SOPs) and was supervised by senior officials from the Indian Air Force (IAF) and DRDO scientists. The trial aimed to validate advanced munitions and strengthen defence capabilities.

Dr Subhash C Kashyap, a distinguished constitutional expert and former Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha, passed away at the age of 97. He was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 2015.

He served the Parliament of India for over 37 years, from the first Lok Sabha under Jawaharlal Nehru to the 9th Lok Sabha. He held the office of Secretary-General from 1983 to 1990.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has signed three contracts with the IIT Bombay to indigenously develop AI-driven predictive maintenance technologies.

This initiative includes the development of a digital diagnostic health index for the Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft fleet. The Su-30MKI is a twin-engine, multi-role fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi, Russia, and customised for India by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

Decentro has become the first Indian Payment Aggregator (PA) to secure final approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to operate as a Payment Service Provider (PSP). The company will conduct its operations at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Established in 2020, the company plans to launch 4 services under the PSP framework, which include merchant acquisition, virtual account issuance, cross-border money transfers, and escrow services.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has launched the Logistics Port Performance Index (LPPI) for FY25 during the 37th Foundation Day celebrations of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority in Mumbai.

The LPPI, based on the ‘Sagar Aankalan’ framework, serves as a national benchmark to measure efficiency across key cargo sectors. The index recognized top performers: Paradip Port Authority (Odisha) for dry bulk, Sikka Port (Gujarat) for liquid bulk, and Mundra Port (Gujarat) for container cargo.

The Directorate General of Shipping has introduced 4 digital initiatives to strengthen the maritime sector: the 24x7 Grievance Redressal Module (e-Navik) for complaints from seafarers, the Ship Registration Module (e-Samudra) for electronic vessel registration, a Medical Practitioner Module for digitizing health check certifications, and the Unified Ship Recycling Credit Note Module, which offers a 40% credit note on scrap value for recycling at compliant Indian yards.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) have jointly launched the ‘Missions for Advancement in High-Impact Areas (MAHA) Water Mission’. The mission has a financial outlay of ₹200 crore to be implemented over 5 years. It will provide funding support of up to ₹20 crore per consortium.

The mission was unveiled during a national workshop on Research and Development (R&D) in Water held in New Delhi, aiming to bolster the water security of India through research and technology-driven solutions.

The AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, and United States) security alliance has launched a joint underwater drone programme under the ‘AUKUS alliance Pillar Two’ to co-develop advanced Uncrewed Undersea Vehicles (UUVs).

The initiative aims to develop adaptable, multi-mission UUV payloads to support undersea operations and maintain the collective strategic advantage of the partner nations. The first delivery of UUV technology under this programme is expected by 2027.

Neelkanth Mishra has been appointed as the Executive Director at the World Bank for a tenure of 3 years. He succeeds Parameswaran Iyer.

The Frontier Tech Hub of the NITI Aayog has released a 10-year roadmap titled “Future of India’s Semiconductor Industry” to strengthen India’s position in the global semiconductor value chain.

The roadmap, unveiled by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, aims to establish a semiconductor value chain worth $120–$150 billion by 2035, with India potentially capturing 10–13% of the global semiconductor market.

It is to bo noted that India imported semiconductor products worth $150 billion between FY17 and FY25. Projections suggest that annual imports could rise to $240 billion by 2035 if current trends continue.

Marcia Lou Griffin, professionally known as Marcia Lucas, an Oscar winning film editor, passed away at the age of 80.

She was known for her work on the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy and won an Oscar for Best Film Editing for ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope’ in 1978.

Raja Randhir Singh, a renowned Indian shooter and five-time Olympian, passed away at the age of 79.

He was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1979 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) for his contributions to shooting sports.