Daily Current Affairs

World Milk Day is observed globally every year on 1 June to recognise the importance of milk and dairy products in nutrition, health, and sustainable agriculture. The 2026 theme is ‘Celebrating Women Farmers’, highlighting women’s vital contribution to dairy farming, animal care, and rural livelihoods worldwide.

• FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization; UN agency; HQ: Rome, Italy; founded 16 October 1945.
• White Revolution / Operation Flood — led by Dr Verghese Kurien (‘Father of the White Revolution’); implemented through NDDB (National Dairy Development Board), HQ: Anand, Gujarat; transformed India into world’s largest milk producer.
• SDG Links: SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption).

Global Day of Parents is a United Nations observance held annually on 1 June to honour parents for their commitment to raising children, nurturing families, and shaping future generations. The 2026 theme is ‘Together for Parents’, calling for community, institutional, and policy support for parental roles.

Telangana Formation Day is observed on 2 June every year to mark the creation of Telangana as India’s 29th state on 2 June 2014. The state was carved out of the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh after decades of struggle led by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) under K. Chandrashekar Rao.

The South Coast Railway Zone (SCoR) became India’s 18th railway zone effective 1 June 2026, with headquarters at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The zone was formalised through a gazette notification dated 4 May 2026, with Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirming the operational date on 28 April 2026.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has made the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) List-II for Solar PV Cells mandatory effective 1 June 2026. All net-metering projects and open access renewable energy projects commissioned on or after this date must mandatorily source solar modules from ALMM List-I and solar cells from ALMM List-II.

• ALMM Full Form: Approved List of Models and Manufacturers; original ALMM order issued 2 January 2019.
• Purpose: Reduce import dependence on China; strengthen Atmanirbhar Bharat in solar manufacturing.
• ALMM List-II: 9 domestic manufacturers with cumulative capacity of 13,067 MW.
• Exemption: Net-metering projects commissioned before 1 June 2026 are exempt from List-II requirements.
• Ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE); Minister: Pralhad Joshi.
• India’s Solar Target: 500 GW non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 (from ~156 GW currently).

D.K. Shivakumar, President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), was unanimously elected as Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader on 30 May 2026 and is set to take oath as the 26th Chief Minister of Karnataka on 3 June 2026, succeeding Siddaramaiah who completed a two-and-a-half year term.

India has signed a binding deal to supply BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to Vietnam, confirmed by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on 30 May 2026. Negotiations with Indonesia are also in final stages. This significantly expands India’s BrahMos missile exports in the Indo-Pacific region.

• First export: Philippines — January 2022; India’s first major missile export deal.
• Policy alignment: Part of India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership; aligns with Act East Policy and MAHASAGAR (Maritime And Humanitarian Action, Security And Growth for All in the Region).
• Defence Secretary: Rajesh Kumar Singh — 1989-batch IAS, Kerala cadre; Defence Secretary from 1 November 2024.

Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing held formal bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 1 June 2026, as part of his four-day official visit to India (30 May – 2 June 2026). This is the President’s first visit to India in his current capacity, following his election in April 2026 after parliamentary polls that ended years of military rule in Myanmar.

• Myanmar President: U Min Aung Hlaing — elected April 2026 following parliamentary polls that ended years of military rule.
• India-Myanmar Border: 1,640 km shared border across Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland.
• Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project: Key connectivity project linking Mizoram to Sittwe port in Myanmar; enables India’s Northeast access to the sea.
• India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway: Major road connectivity initiative under Act East Policy.
• India’s Policy: Neighbourhood First + Act East + MAHASAGAR.
• MEA Spokesperson: Randhir Jaiswal (Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs).

India and Germany are nearing the finalisation of a multi-billion-dollar submarine cooperation agreement for six HDW Class 214 submarines under the Indian Navy’s Project 75-I, as of 31 May 2026. The deal represents one of India’s largest ever defence acquisitions.

• Project 75-I: Indian Navy’s next-generation submarine acquisition programme; aims to build 6 advanced submarines in India under Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• HDW Class 214 (Type 214): German submarines with Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) — allows extended underwater endurance without surfacing.
• Partners: ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) (Germany) in partnership with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), Mumbai — India’s premier naval shipyard.
• Earlier Project 75: Six Scorpene-class submarines built with France’s Naval Group — all delivered; Project 75-I is the successor programme.

The Government of India assigned additional charge of Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D) and Chairman, DRDO to Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, following the retirement of Dr Samir V Kamat on 31 May 2026.

• DRDO: Defence Research and Development Organisation; founded 1958; HQ: New Delhi; ~51 laboratories; under Ministry of Defence.
• DDR&D: Department of Defence Research and Development — under Ministry of Defence; headed by the DRDO Chairman.

Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan assumed charge as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Western Naval Command (WNC) in Mumbai on 30 May 2026, succeeding Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan.

• New Commander: Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan — FOC-in-C, Western Naval Command; took charge 30 May 2026.
• Predecessor: Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan.
• Western Naval Command: HQ Mumbai; responsible for the Arabian Sea and western Indian Ocean — critical theatre given India’s West Asian energy interests and maritime trade.

Scientists described a new cascade-dwelling frog species, Amolops kamal, from Nagaland on 29 May 2026. The species was discovered near Singrep village, Kiphire district, during a field survey and represents a significant addition to India’s herpetofaunal diversity.

• Genus Amolops: Cascade frogs — known for inhabiting fast-flowing mountain streams; sensitivity to water quality makes them valuable ecological indicators.
• Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot: Nagaland falls within this hotspot — one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots recognised for exceptional species richness and high habitat loss threat.
• Significance: Adds to India’s amphibian diversity; underscores the need for conservation in Northeast India’s forests.

Despite contributing approximately 5% of global research publications, India accounts for nearly 20% of global research paper retractions in 2025, exposing deep structural flaws in India’s research ecosystem driven by a ‘quantity over quality’ culture incentivised by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).

• NIRF Issue: National Institutional Ranking Framework gives ~30% weightage to publications and citations — creating perverse incentives for quantity over quality; predatory and paper-mill journals exploited.
• NIRF: Launched 2015 by the Ministry of Education; annual ranking of Indian higher education institutions.
• Key Problems: Predatory/paper-mill journals, unethical self-citations, data manipulation by HEIs, lack of enforcement.
• Recommendations: Establish a Research Integrity Office (RIO); evaluate researchers on best 3–5 papers; stronger penalties for retractions; third-party verification of HEI data.
• India’s R&D spend: ~0.65% of GDP — far below the 2–3% norm of developed nations.

India’s MNRE ALMM List-II mandate (effective 1 June 2026) comes in the context of India’s ambitious renewable energy expansion. With current installed capacity of approximately ~156 GW non-fossil fuel, India is aggressively scaling towards its 500 GW non-fossil fuel capacity target by 2030 — a commitment under its NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) to the Paris Agreement.

• NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution): India’s updated NDC commits to 50% cumulative electric power from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
• ALMM significance: By mandating domestic solar cell sourcing (List-II), India reduces supply chain dependence on China while scaling solar capacity.
• International Solar Alliance (ISA): Co-founded by India and France at COP21 (2015, Paris); HQ: Gurugram, India; promotes solar energy adoption in tropical nations.
• PM-KUSUM Scheme: PM Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan — supports solar pumps and small solar plants for farmers; part of MNRE’s solar expansion push.