Daily Current Affairs

Jio Platforms (JPL), the technology arm of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), entered the global top 20 in the latest Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) rankings for 2025 released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), becoming the only Indian technology innovator to break into the list.

The top five origins accounted for over 78.2% of all PCT applications filed in 2025.

• Huawei Technologies (China) – remained the world’s top PCT applicant for the ninth consecutive year with 7,523 applications.
• Samsung Electronics (Republic of Korea) – second with 4,698 applications.
• Qualcomm (USA) – third with 3,227 applications.

The Office of the Economic Adviser, under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, released the revised series of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) with base year 2022-23, replacing the existing series with base year 2011-12. A new series of Producer Price Indices (PPI) was launched alongside.

• New PPI Components: Output Producer Price Index (OPPI), Trial Input Producer Price Index (IPPI, manufacturing only), and Service Producer Price Index (Service PPI) covering seven services — Banking, Securities Transaction, Insurance, Pension Fund Management, Railways, Air (Passenger), and Telecom.
• Transition Plan: WPI will continue alongside PPI for five years, in line with IMF recommendations, after which WPI will be discontinued and PPI will become the primary producer-price measure.
• Back Series: WPI and Output PPI data released for May 2026 (provisional), with a back series from April 2023 to April 2026 (37 months).

Union Minister Prahlad Joshi, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), launched WT-MARUT (Wind Turbine Materials and Resources Utility Tracker) — India’s first Wind Turbine Supply Chain Management Portal — at the Global Wind Day Conference 2026 held in Goa.

• Purpose: Strengthens domestic wind manufacturing and supply-chain transparency, supporting India’s goal of 100 Gigawatt (GW) wind capacity by 2030.
• Development: Built by MNRE with support from the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA).
• Other Releases: Wind Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) Portal, a Coffee Table Book on Pawan Urja, and Knowledge/State-wise Policy Reports.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H), Telangana, will establish CODENE (Centre for Design and Engineering in Nuclear Energy) — India’s first Centre of Design Excellence in Nuclear Engineering — at its Hyderabad campus.

• Background: Part of a tripartite MoU between IIT-H, Coastal Engineering and Equipments (India) Pvt. Limited (CEEPL India), and France’s Dassault Systemes SE, signed during Bharat Innovates 2026 in Nice, France.
• Focus Areas: Next-generation reactor technologies, nuclear safety systems, computational modelling, advanced materials, and nuclear science training.
• Significance: Expected to boost India’s nuclear engineering design capabilities and build a skilled workforce for the expanding nuclear energy programme.

Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), under Digital India Corporation, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and Government e Marketplace (GeM) signed an MoU under the ‘BHASHINI for Seva/Sanchalan’ programme.

• Aim: Enable multilingual access, governance, and service delivery on GeM using voice-first technology and generative AI, across 22 official Indian languages and other regional languages.
• Collaboration: Joint development of multilingual resources through initiatives such as BHASHINI Udyat, Mitra, Appmitra, Sahyogi, and Pravakta, including translation APIs and voice-enabled tools.

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, reconstituted the Expert Committee on Agrobiodiversity, with Padma Shri awardee Dr. P. L. Gautam, former Chairperson of NBA and PPVFRA, as Chair.

• Legal Status: Reconstituted under Section 13(1) of the Biological Diversity (BD) Act, 2002, for a period of one year.
• Co-Chair: Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Chairperson of PPVFRA.
• Key Responsibilities: Integrating biodiversity considerations into agriculture and examining seed-sector issues under the BD Act, 2002.

The Indian Army received 106 jet-powered Peacekeeper (Agniveg) drones — 100 operational and 6 training — from defence manufacturer SMPP Limited. These are kamikaze drones (loitering munitions) that destroy targets by direct strike.

Developed with KB Indela, Belarus, and partially localised in India, the drone can operate effectively in jammed, spoofed, and GPS-denied environments, bridging the gap between artillery and long-range missile systems.

President Droupadi Murmu presented the Sword of Honour and President’s Gold Medal to Lieutenant Vishal Kumar at the Passing Out Parade of the 158th Regular Course, Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, for topping the overall Order of Merit.

• Other Honours: Academy Under Officer Prince Raj — Silver Medal (2nd); Senior Under Officer Tejas Bhatt — Bronze Medal (3rd).
• Background: Lt Vishal Kumar, from Patna, Bihar, cleared the NDA exam on his first attempt and served as Academy Cadet Adjutant (ACA) at IMA.

Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan released the book ‘Agatthiyar – The Unifier’, authored by O. Sharma Bhat and Dr. M. N. Sudha, translated into Tamil by Professor Kalyani, at an event in New Delhi. Published by Kalaimagal magazine, the book highlights sage Agatthiyar’s role as a unifying figure in ancient Indian knowledge traditions.

Legacy: Agatthiyar is credited with foundational contributions to Tamil grammar and Sangam literature, associated with the Pothigai Hills, Tamil Nadu, and the River Kaveri.

Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan inaugurated the ‘Priyadarshini’ free bus travel scheme, enabling women and transgender persons to travel free on 3,125 ordinary KSRTC buses across the state.

• Eligibility: All women and transgender persons, irrespective of income, caste, or social status; zero-value tickets via ETM.
• Significance: First welfare promise implemented under the UDF Government’s Indira Guarantees programme; estimated cost of over Rs 60 crore/month (Rs 800 crore annually); places Kerala alongside Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana in offering free bus travel for women.

The Indian Army signed an MoU with Bharti Airtel Limited to expand mobile communication infrastructure in Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, improving access to government services, education, healthcare, and financial inclusion while enhancing operational communication for forward-deployed troops.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) revised the trading framework for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), introducing dynamic price bands. The new rules take effect from 1 September 2026.

A pre-open call auction mechanism is introduced specifically for commodity ETFs to enhance price discovery; domestic ETFs continue to trade only during Indian market hours.

Sarvam AI, India’s full-stack sovereign AI startup, became India’s 130th unicorn after raising USD 234 million (~Rs 2,210 crore) as part of its USD 300 million Series B round, taking its valuation to USD 1.5 billion.

• Milestone: 5th startup to join India’s unicorn club in 2026 — after KreditBee, Neysa, and Aerospace; the only AI startup to do so so far.
• Investors: Led by HCL Tech and Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Khosla Ventures and Lightspeed.
• Stake: HCL Tech now holds a minority 10.46% stake, worth ~Rs 1,427.25 crore (~USD 150 million).

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)’s Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW) and the National Museum of Denmark: Njord — Centre for Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage, Copenhagen, signed an MoU to conduct a non-invasive underwater survey near Karaikal, Puducherry, to locate the wreck of the Danish ship Oresund, which sank in 1619 CE.

• Significance: Oresund is the first Danish vessel known to have reached India; the wreck offers evidence of early European maritime presence and Danish East India Company-era activity.
• Project Scope: Application of advanced non-invasive scientific methods to locate, document, and protect underwater cultural heritage.

The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight-tested the Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM), with an expected range of up to 1,500 km, from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha. The trial, conducted by the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, using a mobile articulated launcher, validated propulsion, guidance, navigation and control, and warhead delivery.

Development: An indigenously developed missile with sub-systems from various DRDO laboratories and Indian industry partners; Aeronautical Development Establishment, Bengaluru, is the Nodal Laboratory.

Observed every year on 17 June under the framework of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The 2026 theme, ‘Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore.’, calls for greater recognition of rangelands’ value and stronger investment in restoring degraded land.

• Origin: Declared by the UN General Assembly in 1994 through Resolution A/RES/49/115, the same year UNCCD was adopted following the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
• 2026 Alignment: Aligns with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
• Significance: Up to 40% of global land area is already degraded; healthy land provides nearly 95% of the world’s food.

International Day of Yoga (IDY) is observed annually on 21 June, the summer solstice, marking the UN’s recognition of yoga following a 2014 proposal by India. The 2026 theme, ‘Yoga for Healthy Ageing’, was announced by the Ministry of AYUSH, with the main event led by the Prime Minister and global coordination through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).