Japan has suspended fresh mango shipments from India for the 2026 season, citing deficiencies in fumigation and disinfection standards at Indian treatment facilities.
The suspension of shipments ends nearly two decades of uninterrupted access to the Japanese market.
During recent inspections in March at a facility in Rehmanpur, Uttar Pradesh, officials reportedly identified gaps in fumigation and disinfection procedures. VHT is a mandatory non-chemical treatment process that exposes mangoes to controlled hot and humid air to eliminate pests such as fruit flies before export.
Following the inspection, the Yokohama Plant Protection Association issued a notice stating that mango consignments certified on or after March 25, 2026, would not be accepted. Imports will remain suspended until Japan is satisfied that operational standards have improved.
India exported 19,72,018 metric tonnes (MT) of seafood valued at Rs. 73,890.46 crore (USD 8.46 billion) during FY 2025–26, registering an all-time high in both volume and value despite challenging global market conditions, said Chairman, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Shri P. Jawahar, IAS.
The United States and China continued to be the principal importers of Indian seafood during the year.
Frozen shrimp remained the leading export item, contributing ₹49,037.93 crore (USD 5,624.48 million). It accounted for 40.19 per cent of the total export quantity and 66.52 per cent of the total export earnings in US dollar terms.
During FY 2025–26, shrimp exports registered a growth of 13.16 per cent in rupee value and 8.64 per cent in dollar value.
A total of 7,92,647 MT of frozen shrimp was exported during the year. The United States remained the largest market for frozen shrimp imports from India, importing 2,56,128 MT, followed by China (1,69,505 MT), the European Union (1,35,599 MT),
Southeast Asia (83,810 MT), Japan (40,776 MT), the Middle East (30,478 MT), and other countries combined (76,351 MT). Exports of Litopenaeus vannamei (L. vannamei) and Black Tiger shrimp recorded growth in both volume and value.
Frozen fish emerged as the second-largest exported seafood item, generating Rs. 5,658.37 crore (USD 643.70 million).
Dried seafood products ranked third, earning Rs. 5,079.09 crore (USD 577.44 million), and registered a positive growth trend of 78.05 per cent in rupee value terms.
Exports of frozen squid reached 1,02,060 MT, earning Rs. 4,493.80 crore (USD 513.84 million).
China emerged as the largest destination for Indian seafood exports in terms of quantity, importing 4,90,369 MT worth USD 1,611.32 million.
The European Union remained the third-largest destination in value terms, importing 2,97,518 MT worth USD 1,592.09 million
The India–Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force marking a defining milestone in bilateral economic relations and opening a transformative new chapter in strategic trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.
The India-Oman CEPA was signed on 18th December, 2025 in Muscat in the presence of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said. After completion of internal processes by both sides, the Agreement has entered into force on 1st June, 2026.
Oman is India's second-largest trading partner in the Gulf region and serves as a strategic gateway to the wider GCC market through its advanced port infrastructure. Bilateral trade between India and Oman reached USD 11.18 billion in FY 2025-26, registering a positive trend from USD 10.61 billion in FY 2024-25.
Vineet McCarty, AVSM assumed charge as the 20th Commander-in-Chief, Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC) at Sri Vijaya Puram on June 01, 2026. Commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 01, 1989, the Flag Officer is a specialist in Gunnery and Missiles.
Vice Admiral McCarty’s sea tenures include serving as part of the commissioning crew of INS Delhi and completing all specialist appointments onboard the frontline destroyer.
Prior to his current appointment, the officer held consecutive tri-service appointments at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) as Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Policy, Plans and Force Development) and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Doctrine, Organisation and Training) during 2025-26.
Maj Gen Rachel Thomas assumed the appointment of Additional Director General, Military Nursing Service on June 01, 2026. She succeeds Maj Gen Lissamma PV who superannuated on May 31, 2026 after four decades of distinguished service to the nation.
An alumna of the prestigious College of Nursing, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Maj Gen Thomas was commissioned into the Military Nursing Service on June 01, 1988.
India is hosting the 13th BRICS Urbanisation Forum on 11–12 June 2026 in New Delhi, Shri Manohar Lal, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, announced today at the pre-event press conference.
The Urbanisation Forum will be held under the theme ‘Cities for People: BRICS Cooperation for Inclusive and Resilient Urban Futures’.
The Forum is a key ministerial event under India’s BRICS Chairship in 2026, guided by the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Humanity First’ and the Chairship theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’.
The BRICS Urbanisation Forum was first hosted by India in New Delhi in 2013, formally placing urbanisation on the BRICS cooperation agenda. India again hosted the Forum in 2016 at Visakhapatnam, with a focus on sustainable urban development, smart cities and urban resilience.
India hosted the Forum virtually, again in 2021, focusing on urban recovery in the aftermath of the global pandemic.
With the 13th BRICS Urbanisation Forum in 2026, India is hosting the Forum for the fourth time.
Defence ministers from the United States, Britain and Australia announced a joint partnership to develop and deploy advanced underwater drone technology aimed at protecting undersea cables, strengthening maritime security and boosting military capabilities under the Aukus security pact.
These leaders said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore that uncrewed undersea vehicle (UUV) technology, expected to be ready by next year, will be equipped with sensors, weapons systems and other advanced capabilities to protect seabed infrastructure, conduct surveillance and reconnaissance, and support military operations.
British Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK would contribute 201 million dollars to the project, the first major initiative under Aukus Pillar Two, which focuses on advanced defence technologies, including artificial intelligence, hypersonic weapons and undersea robotics.
India’s Haj Mission won two prestigious awards at this year’s Khitamahu Misk ceremony in Saudi Arabia, marking a historic first for the country.
The Labbaytum Awards, given annually by the Saudi Haj Ministry to recognise excellence in pilgrim services, were presented to the Indian Haj Mission under the Best Haj Coordination and Communication category.
This year, approximately 175,000 Indian pilgrims performed the Haj. Officials credited the awards to coordinated efforts in ensuring smooth facilitation and welfare of pilgrims throughout the season.
The Labbaytum Awards are widely regarded as a benchmark of excellence in Haj mission performance among the dozens of countries that send pilgrims to Saudi Arabia each year.
Fintech infrastructure platform Decentro announced it has received final approval for a Payment Service Provider (PSP) licence from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) at GIFT City, strengthening its presence in the cross-border payments space.
With this, Decentro has become the first Indian payment aggregator to secure the approval.
With the licence, Decentro has established an entity in GIFT City and plans to offer a full-stack cross-border payments infrastructure for global businesses.
Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited ("Canara HSBC Life Insurance"), has entered a strategic bancassurance partnership with West Bengal Gramin Bank (WBGB), one of India's largest Regional Rural Banks, marking another important milestone in the company's journey to deepen financial inclusion across rural India.
As a part of this partnership, Canara HSBC Life Insurance will offer its range of life insurance solutions through WBGB's extensive network of 960 branches spread across West Bengal. The collaboration is aimed at making protection and long-term financial planning solutions more accessible to individuals and families across rural and semi-urban regions of the state.
Slovenia’s parliament has voted to bring back right-wing politician Janez Jansa as prime minister, after his last stint in power ended in 2022.
Legislators in the 90-member assembly voted 51-36 for Jansa marking a shift for the small European Union country recently run by a liberal government.
Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) signed a coalition agreement with several centre-right groups to form a new government, which now holds 43 seats in the assembly.
It will be the fourth time 67-year-old Jansa has been in office.
Famous poet and literary figure Bashir Badr passed away in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He was 91 years old.
He received the Padma Shri award in 1999 for his contribution towards literature and the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He also received the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for his poetry collection “Aas” in 1999.
He completed his post-graduation from Aligarh Muslim University, and later he joined Meerut College as a lecturer in the Urdu department. He taught there until 1990. This period is considered the most important phase of his poetic journey. During this time, he gained recognition both in India and abroad.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions posted a record value and volume during May, with the value rising 3 per cent to ₹29.90 trillion from Rs. 29.03 trillion in April.
During the period under review, volume also grew to 23.20 billion, up 4 per cent from 22.35 billion in April, said data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
This is the highest-ever volume and value clocked since UPI became operational in April 2016. “The more meaningful story is structural. The RBI's Payments Systems Report shows UPI's average ticket size has declined from Rs. 1,848 in 2021 to Rs. 1,313 in 2025.
A meeting was held on 1st June 2026 in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Kartavya Bhawan-III, New Delhi, led by Minister of MSME, Government of India, Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi, with a delegation from Republic of South Africa led by Minister of Small Business Development, Republic of South Africa, Ms. Stella Tembisa Ndabeni.
The meeting focused on exploring opportunities to strengthen cooperation and collaboration in the MSME sector, recognizing its vital role in economic growth, employment generation, and inclusive development.
Both sides discussed potential areas of cooperation, including enhancing access to finance, promoting enterprise formalization, accelerating digitalization, strengthening entrepreneurship & skilling in MSME development.
