Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and held annually on 5 June since 1973, World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world. In 2025, it is hosted by the Republic of Korea.
To keep global warming below 1.5°C this century, we must halve annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Without action, exposure to air pollution beyond safe guidelines will increase by 50 per cent within the decade and plastic waste flowing into aquatic ecosystems will nearly triple by 2040.
Globally, an estimated 11 million tonnes of plastic waste leak into aquatic ecosystems each year. More than 800 marine and coastal species are affected by this pollution through ingestion, entanglement, and other dangers. The annual social and environmental cost of plastic pollution ranges between US$300 billion and US$600 billion.
The official theme for World Environment Day 2025 is “Beat Plastic Pollution.”
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities are responsible for the loss of 11–26 million tonnes of fish each year, which is estimated to have an economic value of US$10–23 billion.To curtail this impact, Target 4 of Goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Agenda adopted in 2015 by the UN General Assembly
The Committee on Fisheries endorsed the proposal for the declaration of 5 June as the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. The date reflects the day when the Port State Measures Agreement officially entered into force as an international treaty.
In the same resolution the UN also declared 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture, which will help focus attention on the small-scale fishermen and women who comprise 90 percent of the world's fisheries work force.
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), Shri Sarbananda Sonowal held bilateral meetings to explore possibilities of cooperation between India and Norway in multiple areas to further deepen the maritime relationship between the two countries.
Building on the Green Coastal Shipping Programme and Green Voyage 2050, India and Norway discussed deeper collaboration in green maritime technologies. Both sides explored joint efforts in smart logistics, digital port ecosystems, and clean coastal shipping. India’s MAITRI initiative and Norway’s expertise in AI-driven port management, digital twins, and alternative fuels
Indian side proposed to conduct a joint feasibility study for operationalising the Northern Sea Route (NSR) with Norwegian and Indian agencies. India expressed its keenness to work with Norway in Arctic navigation by collaborating on R&D in Arctic shipping, design and construction of ice-class vessels, advancement of navigational technologies.
The index of mineral production for the mining and quarrying sector for March 2025 stood at 156.8, increasing by 0.4% over March 2024. Minerals like iron ore, manganese ore and zinc concentrate saw notable increase in production during March 2025 compared to March 2024. Production of iron ore rose by 5.7% to 25.9 million metric tonne (MMT) during the said period.
Manganese ore production grew by 9.7% to 0.39 MMT and production of zinc concentrate rose by 5.5% to 0.19 MMT in March 2025 over March 2024. Iron ore accounts for 70% of the total MCDR mineral production by value. Production of iron ore was 289 million metric tonne (MMT) in FY 2024-25.
As per provisional estimates for the first month (April) of FY 2025-26, there is a steady increase in the production of these minerals as compared to the production in the corresponding month last year. Production of Bauxite has increased from 1.87 MMT during April 2024 to 2.13 MMT during April 2025, with 13.9% growth.
Production of Lead & Zine Ore has increased from 1.24 MMT during April 2024 to 1.27 MMT during April 2025, with 2.4% growth. Production of Zinc Concentrate has increased from 0.13 MMT during April 2024 to 0.14 MMT during April 2025, with 7.7% growth.
In the non-ferrous metal sector, primary aluminium production in FY 2025-26 posted a growth of 1.5% over the corresponding period last year, increasing to 3.47 lakh ton (LT) in FY 2025-26 (April) from 3.42 LT in FY 2024-25 (April). During the same comparative period, refined copper production has grown by 15.6% from 0.45 LT to 0.52 LT.
India is the 2nd largest Aluminium producer, and top-10 producer in refined copper.
It has been decided to conduct Population Census-2027 in two phases along with enumeration of castes. The reference date for Population Census - 2027 will be 00:00 hours of the first day of March, 2027.
For the Union Territory of Ladakh and the non-synchronous snow-bound areas of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00.00 hours of the first day of October, 2026. The Census of India is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990.
The last Census of India was conducted in 2011 in two phases, namely
i) Phase I – House Listing (HLO) (1 April to 30 September 2010) and
(ii) Phase II – Population Enumeration (PE) (09 February to 28 February 2011)
with reference date - 00:00 hours of the first day of March 2011,
except for snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh for which it was conducted during 11 to 30 September 2010 with reference date as 00.00 hours of the first day of October 2010.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Defence Mr Richard Marles in New Delhi on June 04, 2025. The two Ministers welcomed the signing of Australia-India Joint Research Project and agreed to intensify & diversify defence industry collaboration.
They deliberated to further the defence science and technology collaboration projects when they meet in Australia later this year for the third India-Australia 2+2 ministerial meeting. They also reviewed the progress made since the last 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held in November 2023.
Two more wetlands from India have been added to the list of Ramsar sites, taking the number of such sites in the country to 91. The latest to join the list of Ramsar sites in India are Khichan in Phalodi and Menar in Udaipur, both in Rajasthan.
Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention, headquartered in Gland, Switzerland. Recent sightings include species such as cinereous vulture, long-billed vulture, Himalayan griffon vulture and Egyptian vulture in the grasslands, besides Asian wooly-necked stork, ferruginous pochard, Dalmatian pelican, and black-tailed godwit.
India has been elected to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations for the period from 2026-28. The council is at the heart of the UN’s mechanism to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental.
The ECOSOC is at the heart of the United Nations system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental. It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed-upon goals.
It is also responsible for the follow-up to major UN conferences and summits, according to the UN statement. The UN Charter established ECOSO as one of the six main organs of the United Nations in 1945. The event centered around the theme "The timeless appeal of Dr Ambedkar's vision within the UN and beyond," underscoring his influence on both India and the global community
US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation to ban travel from 12 countries, citing national security and public safety threats. The proclamation signed by the President fully restricts and limits the entry of nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The White House informed that entry of people from seven other countries would also be partially restricted, which includes Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. President Trump enacted this through a presidential proclamation – similar to an executive order and the Trump administration feels it is in their purview to enact such a measure.
The annual Mela Kheer Bhawani was celebrated with great traditional fervor and gaiety at the sacred shrine of Mata Ragnya Devi at Tulmulla in Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. The Ganderbal is gateway to famous tourist spot Sonamarg along the Srinagar Kargil highway.
The festival is a symbol of communal harmony and brotherhood, reflecting the rich pluralistic ethos that has defined Jammu and Kashmir for centuries. The Mela reinforces the spirit of unity and the cultural heritage that binds the people of Jammu and Kashmir together. Mela Kheer Bhawani has always stood as an epitome of inter-community harmony.
he Mela was celebrated with religious joyfulness and enthusiasm, in North Kashmir’s Tikker Kupwara district and South Kashmir’s Logri Pora Aishmuqam Anantnag district and Manzgam and Devsar in Kulgam district.
Five public sector banks (PSBs), including State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda, are working out the details and workflow for a common collection firm to recover retail and MSME loans below Rs 5 crore. The initiative will be pursued through PSB Alliance Pvt Ltd, which will develop a proof of concept, said people familiar with the development.
At present, only three to four public sector banks outsource their debt recovery operations, and even then, primarily for retail loans. “This new collection agency can shape up to be a step before banks transfer such accounts to asset reconstruction companies. The proposed common collection firm is aligned with the government’s Enhanced Access and Service Excellence (EASE).
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi on Wednesday announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) to research artificial intelligence (AI) solutions in healthcare.
This comes a year after the two institutes were awarded a grant of ₹330 crore by the Ministry of Education under its Make AI in India, Make AI Work for India initiative. Chetan Arora, chief project manager, who will lead the AI-CoE from IIT Delhi, told Business Standard the CoE would be taken up as a Section 8 company (non-profit organisation).
Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique's brilliant young side outclassed Inter Milan on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory.
Captain Marquinhos - the most capped player in Paris Saint-Germain's history in European competition with 107 appearances - and his team-mates added another title to an already historic 2024-2025 season and etched their name forever in the Club's history by winning the title for the first time. Paris Saint-Germain have won 37 trophies since the arrival of QSI.
India is poised to see a massive surge in demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) professionals, with projections estimating the need for one million skilled individuals by 2026, according to the report India's AI Revolution: A Roadmap to Viksit Bharat, released by the Union Ministry of Electronics & IT.
Engineering education is at the heart of this shift. According to the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the number of approved B. Tech seats for the 2024-25 academic year has risen to 14.9 lakh--a nearly 16 per cent increase over four years.
This growth is largely driven by a more than 50 per cent rise in seats for Computer Science and allied streams such as AI/ML, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, and Blockchain--mirroring strong industry demand. Recently, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) announced the launch of Symbiosis Artificial Intelligence Institute (SAII).
Nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki won Poland’s presidential election, official results showed Monday, in a major blow for the pro-EU government. The 42-year-old fan of US President Donald Trump scored 50.9 percent of the vote in Sunday’s runoff in the highly polarised NATO and EU nation.
Poland, country of central Europe. Poland is located at a geographic crossroads that links the forested lands of northwestern Europe and the sea lanes of the Atlantic Ocean to the fertile plains of the Eurasian frontier. [Capital: Warsaw, Languages: Polish]
In a dazzling culmination of grace, beauty, and strength, Thailand's Opal Suchata was crowned Miss World 2025 in a star-studded ceremony in Hyderabad, Telangana. Born on March 20, 2003, in Phuket, Thailand, Opal Suchata Chuangsri hails from a hospitality-driven background, being the daughter of hoteliers.
Currently pursuing a degree in Political Science with a specialization in International Relations at Thammasat University, Opal is aligning her academic pursuits with her global aspirations—an apt trajectory for a young woman poised to make an impact on the world stage.
