In a significant development for agricultural exports from Jharkhand, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, flagged off the first commercial consignment of fresh mangoes from the State to the United Kingdom. The flag-off ceremony was held in Kolkata on 4 June 2026.
The consignment comprises 1.5 metric tonnes of fresh Amrapali mangoes sourced from Beura Farmer Producer Company Ltd., an all-women Farmer Producer Company (FPC) located in Bano Block of Simdega district, Jharkhand. The consignment is being exported by M/s JGB Agrofresh Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata, to London, United Kingdom.
The export follows an Export-Oriented Capacity Building Programme organized by APEDA on 5 May 2026 for Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs), Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and progressive farmers of Simdega district. The programme focused on export requirements, quality standards and market opportunities.
The Department of Consumer Affairs' e-Jagriti platform has been awarded the Silver Award under Category I-Government Process Re-engineering by Use of Technology for Digital Transformation at the prestigious National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG) 2026, presented by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.
The recognition comes after a rigorous evaluation process involving 341 nominations from Central Ministries, Departments and State Governments, reaffirming e-Jagriti's role in transforming consumer grievance redressal through technology-driven, citizen-centric service delivery.
Launched on 1 January 2025, e-Jagriti has unified four legacy applications OCMS, e-Daakhil, NCDRC CMS and CONFONET into a single AI-enabled, paperless platform.
Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh today launched the "NZP Saathi App", a smart digital zoo guide, and inaugurated Self-ticketing Kiosks at the National Zoological Park (NZP), New Delhi, aimed at enhancing visitor experience through smart navigation and easing online ticket booking.
The Minister formally launched the "NZP Saathi App" and inaugurated the Self-ticketing Kiosks, marking a significant step towards visitor convenience and digital transformation at the National Zoological Park.
The app also offers thematic tours, including Express Tour, Family Tour, Grand Zoo Tour and personalised "My Tour" options.
The Self-ticketing Kiosks will facilitate online ticket booking through UPI-based digital payments with free Wi-Fi connectivity for on-the-spot ticket booking.
The Government of West Bengal is set to join the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), the world's largest publicly funded health assurance scheme. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the scheme in the State will be signed between the National Health Authority (NHA), under the aegis of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
With the signing of the MoU, West Bengal will become the 36th State/Union Territory in the country to implement AB PM-JAY. The development marks a major milestone in the journey towards achieving equitable and accessible healthcare for all citizens across the nation.
Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY provides health cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to eligible beneficiaries. Since its launch, the scheme has emerged as a cornerstone of India's healthcare transformation, reducing out-of-pocket expenditure and,
improving access to quality treatment through a vast network of empanelled public and private hospitals.
The implementation of AB PM-JAY in West Bengal is expected to extend financial protection against catastrophic health expenditure to millions of eligible beneficiaries in the State while enabling seamless portability of healthcare benefits across the country.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa etched his name in the history books as he became the first Indian to win the prestigious Norway Chess title with a final-round victory over Germany's Vincent Keymer here, capping off a brilliant campaign in style.
Praggnanandhaa, who began the final day in third place with 15 points, delivered when it mattered the most, securing a classical win worth three full points to finish on 18 points and clinch one of the most coveted trophies in elite chess in 14th edition.
In doing so, the 20-year-old Chennai player achieved a feat that had eluded even Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand and reigning world champion D Gukesh among others, since the tournament's inception in 2013.
Competing in Norway Chess for only the second time, Praggnanandhaa endured a slow start in the elite six-player field before gathering momentum in the second half of the event to secure four wins on the trot.
His campaign was highlighted by a remarkable achievement -- defeating seven-time Norway Chess champion and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen twice in classical chess.
In a significant step towards enhancing consumer transparency and promoting fair trade practices, the Department of Consumer Affairs has amended the Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) dated 29.12.2023 for determination of net quantity and standard pack sizes of edible oils and fats under the Legal Metrology framework.
India has joined a select group of countries granted access to Claude Mythos Preview, Anthropic's advanced cybersecurity-focused AI model, as the company expands its Project Glasswing initiative.
The expansion brings approximately 150 organisations across 15 countries into the programme, including
including critical infrastructure providers from India, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. According to Anthropic, the latest cohort includes organisations whose services are essential to millions of people and whose disruption could have far-reaching consequences.
At first, only around 50 partners, mostly US companies, were brought into the program to test the model's powers before it could be weaponised by hackers. This recent expansion marks the first major push beyond the US and UK.
However, Anthropic has not publicly disclosed the names of the Indian organisations receiving access.
India and the United Kingdom on June 5, 2026 formally launched the Critical Minerals Global Supply Chain Observatory (GSCO).
The observatory was first announced during U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to India in October 2025 to “expand mineral coverage, further integrate advanced technologies and unlock new bilateral investment opportunities”.
The platform — to be jointly operated by India’s Technology Innovation in Exploration & Mining Foundation (TEXMiN), Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad and U.K.’s University of Cambridge — will institute a data-driven platform to monitor and analyse global critical mineral supply chains.
Joining the National Pension System (NPS) is set to become smoother after the pension regulator introduced a new digital onboarding framework called StAR NPS, allowing subscribers to open accounts and make contributions through a fully digital process.
The new platform, developed by BSE Technologies Private Limited (BTPL), has been operationalised for use by Points of Presence (PoPs), which act as intermediaries for NPS enrolment and servicing. The move is aimed at expanding digital access to retirement savings products while reducing paperwork and operational delays.
StAR NPS is a digital onboarding platform that enables PoPs and their distribution networks, including pension agents and mutual fund distributors, to register NPS subscribers electronically.
The system connects multiple entities within the NPS ecosystem, including Central Recordkeeping Agencies (CRAs) and the Trustee Bank, allowing subscriber information,
verification and contributions to be processed digitally. According to PFRDA, BTPL will act only as a technology service provider and will not undertake any regulated intermediary activities.
Under the new framework, the onboarding journey will be entirely digital.
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) appointed Neelkanth Mishra as Executive Director at the World Bank headquarters. He will succeed Parmeswaran Iyer, for a tenure of three years from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the order read.
Further, the ACC also approved extension of tenure of lyer beyond June 19 till joining of Mishra.
Mishra is at present working as Chief Economist with Axis Bank. Earlier he worked as Managing Director and Co-Head of Equity Strategy (Asia Pacific) and India Strategist for Credit Suisse.
before joining the Axis Group in 2023, he spent nearly two decades at Credit Suisse, where he served as Managing Director, India Strategist, and Co-Head of Equity Strategy for the Asia-Pacific region. His work has spanned macroeconomics, financial markets, public policy and investment strategy.
Veteran producer and former chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Pahlaj Nihalani, has passed away in Mumbai. He was 76. Born on January 10, 1950, Nihalani started his career as a producer with the 1982 movie ‘Haathkadi’. He is widely credited for giving actor Govinda his first big break with the 1986 movie ‘Ilzaam’.
He also introduced actor Chunky Panday with ‘Aag Hi Aag’ in 1987. He also produced films like ‘Shola Aur Shabnam’, ‘Aankhen’, ‘Dil Tera Diwana’, ‘Talaash’ and ‘Rangeela Raja’.
In January 2015, Nihalani was appointed as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification.
During his stint, he introduced strict new guidelines barring certain expletives even in ‘A’ rated films and sought to restrict content that could be seen as hurting religious sentiments or depicting violence. Critics in the film fraternity frequently accused him of overreach, while he maintained he was simply doing his job.
Current chairperson of the CBFC- Shashi Shekhar Vempati.
The Surha Tal in Ballia district, which provides habitat for over 310 bird species (including 125 waterbirds) and hosts up to 200,000 individual migratory birds during the winter, has been designated as Uttar Pradesh’s 13th Ramsar site and the 100th in India, putting the vast natural lake in the international spotlight.
Surha Tal is known officially as Jai Prakash Narayan Bird Sanctuary.
The announcement was made at a World Environment Day programme attended by chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow. UP forest minister Arun Kumar Saxena presented the certificate related to the site to Adityanath on the stage during the programme, an official statement said.
Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, an environmental treaty established in 1971.
Surha Tal falls on the Central Asian Flyway, through which migratory birds travel from Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent, making it a crucial stopover point.
The site has a natural rain-fed lake spread over nearly 2,549 to 3,432 hectares.
The area expands to around 42 square kilometres during the monsoon.
“Out of 13 Ramsar sites (in Uttar Pradesh), 12 were declared in the past seven years,” said Aditi Singh, chief conservator of forest, Uttar Pradesh.
Surha Tal was created by the consolidation of the land area of 45 villages of Baansdih in Ballia town area, aggregating to a total of 3432.93 hectares.
Starting 10 km from the Ballia City area, it stretches west to Bhikampur village and is bound by Dulwara Village to the southeast and Singhauli to the northeast.
Located near Basantpur village, around 17 kilometres from the district headquarters, Surha Tal was declared a bird sanctuary by the Uttar Pradesh government in 1991.
The designated wetlands in UP include the Upper Ganga River (spanning Hapur, Bulandshahr, Sambhal, and Amroha districts), Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary (Unnao), Sarsai Nawar Lake (Etawah), Samaspur Bird Sanctuary (Rae Bareli), Sandi Bird Sanctuary (Hardoi), Saman Bird Sanctuary (Mainpuri), Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary (Gonda), Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary (Agra),
Haiderpur Wetland (Muzaffarnagar), Bakhira Bird Sanctuary (Sant Kabir Nagar), Patna Bird Sanctuary (Etah), Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary (Aligarh), and Jai Prakash Narayan (Surha Tal) Bird Sanctuary (Ballia).
The total area covered by these Ramsar sites in the state is 43,147.15 hectares, which constitutes approximately 3.47% of the state’s total wetland area of 1,242,530 hectares, according to the National Wetland Atlas.
The government has constituted six sector-specific working groups to identify as many as 100 products for promoting their domestic manufacturing and reducing import dependence, an official said.
"The aim is to promote indigenisation of those products," the official said.
The groups will discuss the list of items for the purpose, and the final list prepared by them will be submitted to the cabinet secretariat within three weeks.
The six groups are on pharmaceuticals, biotech and medical devices; chemicals and petrochemicals, textiles and footwear; capital goods, automotive and electric vehicles, advanced capital goods; energy;
construction equipment and infrastructure; and defence and aerospace (only for items with civilian applicability) and electronics.
The members of these groups are from different ministries and departments, including commerce, DPIIT, Niti Aayog, pharmaceuticals, economic affairs, science and technology, chemicals, textiles, heavy industry, ports and
shipping, electronics and IT, road transport, new and renewable energy, and oil.
These groups will be chaired by the secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
These groups will identify products that are either not manufactured in India or are produced in inadequate quantities to meet the country's requirements.
The objective is to expand manufacturing for both domestic and global markets.
The move is also aimed at reducing the outflow of foreign exchange, as it is hurting the value of the Indian currency. India's imports were up 7.5 per cent to $775 billion in 2025-26.
India’s equity markets slipped to seventh place in terms of market capitalisation on June 2, 2026 as heavy foreign selling, weak earnings growth and limited exposure to AI-linked stocks allowed South Korea’s chip-heavy market to overtake it.
South Korean stocks have rallied this year, driven by AI chipmakers, which have lifted the combined value of companies listed on the KOSPI, KOSDAQ and KONEX to $5.01 trillion, surpassing the $4.85 trillion value of firms on India’s National Stock Exchange, exchange data showed.
India, once a darling among emerging markets, has now fallen two rungs in a fortnight after slipping behind Taiwan last month.
India’s Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex have lost 10.1% and 12.5% each this year, while the IT index - the second-heaviest sector on the benchmarks - has tumbled 19%, pressured by a subdued earnings outlook and persistent foreign selling.
Air India and Riyadh Air have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen air connectivity between India and Saudi Arabia, with plans to introduce codeshare and interline agreements that will allow passengers to travel across both airlines' networks through a single booking.
Under the proposed arrangement, passengers will be able to access smoother onward connections through Air India's hubs in Delhi and Mumbai and Riyadh Air's hub in Riyadh. The airlines said the collaboration is intended to support growing demand for business, tourism and family travel between the two countries.
Air India said it has significantly expanded its global partnership network since its privatisation in 2022. The airline currently has 25 codeshare partnerships and more than 120 interline agreements with airlines worldwide, giving its customers access to over 1,000 destinations.
The Union government has appointed IAS officer Saurabh Vijay as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the India AI Mission, according the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY).
Vijay, a 1998-batch officer of the Maharashtra cadre, has been given the additional charge alongside his role as CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
The post in the India AI Mission had remained vacant since the departure of former CEO Abhishek Singh from MeitY.
Meanwhile, the government has appointed 2001-batch IAS officer Priyank Bharti as the chairperson of the Online Gaming Authority.
Bharti is also serving as director general of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), a post previously held by Singh.
Bibisara Assaubayeva crowned as the Norway Chess Women 2026 champion with one round to spare after consolidating her lead in Round 9 of the prestigious tournament in Oslo. The Kazakh grandmaster had a classical game that ended in a draw vs. Anna Muzychuk but then Muzychuk took the win in the Armageddon tiebreak, using the black pieces.
The final round produced three decisive results in classical games, with no Armageddon deciders needed. Reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun defeated Assaubayeva with the white pieces, ending the champion’s unbeaten classical run.
Zhu Jiner capped off her tournament with an important classical victory over Humpy Koneru, a result that secured second place for Zhu.
The last-year champion Anna Muzychuk also finished strongly, defeating Divya Deshmukh and placing third.
Russian Language Day at the United Nations is celebrated on 6 June — the birthdate of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet, as well as the founder of modern Russian literature.
Russian Language Day is the result of a 2010 initiative by the UN's Department of Global Communications, establishing language days for each of the Organization's six official languages. The purpose of the UN's language days is to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity, and to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization.
June 6, 2026 is World Pest Day, an annual observance to raise awareness among the public, government and media about the important role that the pest control industry plays in protecting health, food, property and the environment from pest threats around the world.
The theme of World Pest Day 2026 is “Defending Health Across Borders: The Global Power of Pest Management” with the tagline “Marking 10 Years of World Pest Day- United Around the Globe.”
On 20 December 2018 the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 73/250 proclaiming a World Food Safety Day. As of 2019, every 7 June is a time to celebrate the myriad benefits of safe food.
A proposal to establish a World Food Safety Day went before the Second Committee of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.
he World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) jointly facilitate the observance of World Food Safety Day, in collaboration with Member States and other relevant organizations.
By its resolution 63/111 of 5 December 2008, the UN General Assembly designated 8 June as World Oceans Day.
The concept of a World Oceans Day was first proposed in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro as a way to celebrate our world’s shared ocean and our personal connection to the sea, as well as to raise awareness about the crucial role the ocean plays in our lives.
“Reimagine”, the theme of World Oceans Day 2026, invites us to change the way we see and care for the ocean. For too long, we have viewed it as something distant, when in fact it is part of our daily lives: the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the climate balance that makes our existence possible.
