The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched the DhartiAaba Janbhagidari Abhiyan, the largest benefit saturation campaign in India’s tribal regions, aimed at inclusive development and tribal empowerment. This initiative, rolled out from June 15 to 30, spans over 549 tribal-dominated districts and 207 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) districts, covering more than one lakh villages and habitations.

Described by Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram as a “historic step in realizing the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Antyodaya,” the campaign not only aims to deliver welfare schemes but also restore dignity, self-respect, and ownership in the making of Viksit Bharat.

Minister of State Durga Das Uikey called it an “unprecedented community-led model” backed by a synchronized multi-ministerial effort.

India's largest IT services firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), on Monday (June 16) said it has partnered with the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) to implement an AI-powered reconciliation solution aimed at modernising the bank's operations.

As part of this collaboration, TCS will deploy TCS BaNCSTM for Reconciliations to help the bank streamline complex transactions and automate key reconciliation processes using AI and automation.

With the implementation of TCS BaNCS for Reconciliations, the CEB will be able to automate the entire reconciliation lifecycle — from transaction matching and exception handling to investigation and reporting.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled three major tech platforms on Monday to improve the speed and precision of the country's disaster management agencies.

The home minister launched the Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response (ICR-ER), National Database for Emergency Management Lite 2.0 (NDEM Lite 2.0) and Flood Hazard Zonation Atlas of Assam at the two-day annual conference of relief commissioners, secretaries of disaster management and State Disaster Response Forces.

In a post on X, Shah said the three platforms "will equip our disaster management apparatus with the speed and precision of the new age technologies".

In families across the world, silver is used as a precious metal, next to gold. Happy occasions in most families are celebrated with gold and silver garlands and rings. Silver is, of course, less expensive than gold.

But when it comes to use in industry and energy production, silver beats gold flat. Silver is used to capture sunlight through rooftop solar panels across India, generating about 108 GW of clean and green electricity yearly across the nation (about 10% of what is generated from coal). In addition, mobile phones used by about 1.4 billion people across India use silver for electricity conduction and storage. Each mobile phone uses 100-200 mg of silver. Likewise, a typical laptop computer uses 350 mg of silver, and we have about 50 million laptops in India.

Nearly all of the nine nuclear-armed states, including India and Pakistan, continued intensive nuclear modernisation programmes in 2024, upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions, according to a report by a global think-tank.

India is believed to have once again "slightly expanded" its nuclear arsenal in 2024 and continued to develop new types of nuclear delivery systems, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a statement.

Pakistan also continued to develop new delivery systems and "accumulate fissile material" in 2024, suggesting that its nuclear arsenal might expand over the coming decade, it said.

The think-tank on Monday launched its annual assessment of the state of armaments, disarmament and international security in SIPRI Yearbook 2025.

India has joined an elite global group dedicated to the containment of the Rinderpest virus, commonly referred to as "cattle plague." This group includes facilities from the UK, USA, France, Japan, and Ethiopia.

Rinderpest was once the most destructive livestock diseases in history but was globally eradicated in 2011. However, Rinderpest Virus-Containing Material (RVCM) still remains in a few laboratories, posing potential risks if released.

A significant milestone in global animal health and biosecurity was reached when the ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal was designated as a Category A Rinderpest Holding Facility (RHF). India has laid down a global standard protocol in the NIHSAD centre to keep the virus and developed capabilities to conduct research on it.

India's unemployment rate climbed to 5.6% in May 2025 from 5.1% in April, as reported by the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). This increase reflects a rising challenge for job seekers across both rural and urban areas, notably among young people and women. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) also observed a broader decline in employment due to several seasonal factors.

Rural areas saw a considerable rise in unemployment among those aged 15–29, with the rate reaching 13.7% in May from 12.3% in April. The situation was similarly difficult for urban youth, where unemployment marginally increased to 17.9% from 17.2% the previous month. Overall, rural unemployment stood at 5.4%, while urban unemployment was slightly higher at 5.9%.

India has dispatched the second and final batch of machinery for Passion Fruit Processing to Suriname under the SEEDS (Supply of Equipment for Efficient Development of SMES) initiative. The External Affairs Ministry today said in a social media post that this is aimed at boosting Suriname’s SME Industry and farmers’ incomes. The project will strengthen India-Suriname bilateral ties.

An amount of Rs 951.27 crore has been sanctioned by the Union ministry of road transport and highways for construction of a new Tura Bypass in the West Garo Hills, Meghalaya spanning 29.03 kmto decongest the district headquarters Tura and enhance road safety in the urban areas. The bypass will connect NH-127B to NH-217 and will be built to a 2-lane configuration with paved shoulders, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced through a post on social media.

“NH-217 (formerly NH-51) serves as the principal artery linking Guwahati to Dalu, which lies at the international border with Bangladesh and functions as an inland customs check-post,” the official notification said. “The bypass will commence near Sanchonggre village on NH-127B and end at Jenggitchakgre village on NH-217. It is designed to circumvent the current alignment of NH-217, which traverses the densely developed and heavily congested urban core of Tura town, where narrow road widths and substantial traffic volumes impede mobility,” the Union minister said. “This infrastructure will not only alleviate congestion within Tura but also enhance road safety by segregating local traffic from through traffic,” the notification read.

India’s wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation eased to a 14-month low of 0.39 percent in May, down from 0.85 percent in April, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Food inflation dropped to 1.72 percent from 2.55 percent, while primary articles saw a contraction of 2.02 percent. The fuel and power segment registered deflation at 2.27 percent, and inflation in manufactured products slowed to 2.04 percent. The ministry attributed the positive inflation rate to rising prices in food products, chemicals, and transport equipment. WPI reflects wholesale-level price changes, differing from CPI which measures consumer-level price variations.