The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), under the Digital India Corporation (DIC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and Government e Marketplace (GeM), the National Public Procurement Portal under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, have signed an MoU under "BHASHINI for Seva/Sanchalan - A BHASHINI Sahayogi Program",
to strengthen multilingual digital capabilities across India's public procurement ecosystem through the BHASHINI Platform, India's National Language Digital Public Infrastructure.
The collaboration aims to promote multilingual access, multilingual governance, and multilingual service delivery across GeM's digital platforms,
enabling stakeholders to access information and services in their preferred languages. The initiative seeks to advance Voice First language technology infrastructure and Generative AI solutions while supporting seamless interaction across 22 officially recognised Indian languages and other Indian languages.
Under the collaboration, GeM and the BHASHINI team will work towards the co-creation, integration, and deployment of multilingual digital public resources through initiatives including BHASHINI Udyat, Mitra, Appmitra, Sahyogi, and Pravakta.
On 17 February 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron elevated the bilateral relationship to a “Special Global Strategic Partnership” and jointly inaugurated the India-France Year of Innovation 2026,
calling for expanded and diversified cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, innovation, research, technology, digital technology and cyber space, health, culture, economy, educational links and people-to-people ties.
At the invitation of His Excellency Robert Fico, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, His Excellency Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, paid a State Visit to the Slovak Republic on 15 June 2026.
The visit is the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Slovakia since its independence in 1993, marking a historic milestone and charting a new course in the enduring friendship between the two nations.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1993, India and Slovakia have developed a traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation based on trust, equality and mutual respect.
Jharkhand’s rich cultural heritage has received a major boost with 11 traditional products from the state being granted Geographical Indication, or GI, tags.
Experts said the GI recognition will help preserve traditional arts and crafts while providing artisans and weavers greater access to national and international markets.
The newly recognised products include Bhoya Saree and Fabric, Kuchai Silk Saree, Kesaria Kalakand, Dokra Craft, Tumka Chadar, Baroni Paintings, Munda Jewellery, Jharkhand Bamboo Craft, Tussar Silk and Sarees, Jadopatia Painting, and Pancho Saree and Fabric.
Earlier, Sohrai Painting had also received a GI tag.
Former Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton won his first race as part of the legendary Ferrari team, capturing victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in Spain.
The triumph came in his 31st race with Ferrari in a year of resurgence for Hamilton.
The 41-year-old is in second place in the driver standings, trailing teenager Kimi Antonelli, who was seeking his sixth consecutive victory for his Mercedes team.
Hamilton finished sixth in the standings in 2025, well behind season winner Lando Norris of McLaren.
Hamilton finished 19.5 seconds ahead of Russell, with Norris finishing third. The trio made up the first all-British podium since 1968.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Slovakia's highest national award, The Order of the White Double Cross (1st Class).
President of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini conferred the award on PM Modi at a ceremony in Bratislava.
The Order of the White Double Cross (1st Class) is the highest civilian and military state decoration awarded exclusively to foreign citizens by Slovakia.
Modi is in Bratislava as part of his weeklong visit to Europe. It is the first visit to the European nation by an Indian prime minister.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on June 15, 2026 successfully conducted the flight-test of the Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM) from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha, marking a significant milestone in India’s indigenous missile development programme.
According to the DRDO, all mission objectives were successfully achieved during the test, with performance validated through data collected by various tracking instruments deployed by the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur.
The LRLACM is a fully indigenous missile system, with its critical subsystems developed by multiple DRDO laboratories in collaboration with Indian industry partners. The Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru, served as the nodal laboratory for the programme, it added.
Sarvam AI, India’s full-stack sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) company, has become a unicorn after raising $234 million, or around Rs. 2,210 crore, in a Series B funding round.
The round was led by HCLTech and Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Khosla Ventures and Peak XV Partners.
The fundraise marks a sharp jump from Sarvam's previous valuation of about $196 million in 2025, after it raised $228,000 from Avvanti Advisors, according to Tracxn data.
As part of the transaction, HCLTech will acquire a 10.46 per cent stake in the Bengaluru-based startup for Rs. 1,427.25 crore, making it the lead strategic investor.
Sarvam joins Bhavish Aggarwal-founded Krutrim as only India’s AI startups to achieve unicorn status.
The funding comes amid growing calls for India to develop sovereign AI capabilities following the US government’s export-control order blocking foreign nationals from accessing Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has tightened rules governing the sale of financial products by banks and other regulated entities by imposing conditions on the compulsory bundling of third-party products with their own offerings, mandating explicit customer consent and making lenders liable to compensate customers in cases of mis-selling.
The final norms on Responsible Business Conduct (Second Amendment) Directions, 2026, for regulated entities were released by the regulator on Monday. The new norms will come into effect from January 1, 2027.
India’s retail inflation marginally rose in May, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation rising to 3.93 per cent from 3.48 per cent in April, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The increase was driven largely by a rise in food inflation, which climbed to 4.78 per cent in May from 4.20 per cent in April.
Among states and Union Territories with a population above 5 million, Telangana recorded the highest inflation in May at 6.15 per cent, followed by Tamil Nadu at 5.11 per cent and Puducherry at 5 per cent, according to MoSPI data. Andhra Pradesh also reported elevated inflation at 4.9 per cent.
Among major states, Karnataka and Odisha posted inflation of 4.59 per cent and 4.54 per cent, respectively, remaining above the national average of 3.93 per cent. In contrast, Delhi recorded one of the lowest inflation rates at 2.5 per cent, while Tripura reported inflation of 2.02 per cent.
The rise in headline inflation was more pronounced in rural India. Rural CPI inflation stood at 4.25 per cent in May, compared with 3.53 per cent in urban areas. In April, rural and urban inflation were at 3.74 per cent and 3.16 per cent, respectively.
The International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR) is a universally-recognized observance adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and celebrated every year on 16 June. The Day recognizes the contribution of over 200 million migrants to improve the lives of their 800 million family members back home, and to create a future of hope for their children.
The International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR) 2026 is conceived as a call to action for public institutions, the private sector and civil society to focus collective effort on how remittances can be better supported to drive more durable household resilience and drive decent work opportunities, employment and entrepreneurship in rural communities.
The United States (US) and Iran have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to settle a 108-day war, senior US officials said, adding that a signing ceremony would take place on Friday and shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz would gradually pick up.
The MoU has been signed by US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Reuters reported, quoting a US official.
With this development, India is optimistic about a gradual resumption of energy supplies through the key shipping route — a development that could lower procurement and transportation costs.
India’s factory-gate inflation, measured by the wholesale price index (WPI), rose to 9.68 per cent in May from 8.3 per cent in April, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Higher prices of fuel, food articles and some manufactured goods drove the rise in wholesale inflation, with crude oil costs remaining elevated due to tensions in West Asia.
In the third month of the crisis, which saw a temporary pause in the conflict after the US-Iran agreement to a ceasefire, inflation in the fuel segment stood at 30.33 per cent compared to 24.71 per cent in the previous month.
Fuel and power remained the largest contributor to wholesale inflation during the month.
Within the category, inflation in crude petroleum and natural gas accelerated to 61.51 per cent, while mineral oils recorded inflation of 49.82 per cent.
The government said mineral oils, crude petroleum and natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, and basic metals were among the major drivers of wholesale inflation in May.
Food inflation, measured by the WPI Food Index, rose to 4.49 per cent in May from 3.11 per cent in April. Inflation in primary articles increased to 4.99 per cent from 3.78 per cent a month earlier, reflecting higher prices across agricultural commodities.
Manufacturing inflation also gathered pace, rising to 7.48 per cent in May from 6.68 per cent in April.
The May data marks the first release under the revised WPI series with a new base year of 2022-23, replacing the 2011-12 series. The government has also introduced new Producer Price Indices (PPIs), including Output PPI, Trial Input PPI and Service PPI for seven services sectors.
The updated WPI basket has been expanded to 957 items from 697 previously and now includes renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, along with nuclear electricity. Crude petroleum and natural gas have been moved from the primary articles category to fuel and power to better reflect energy price movements.
