Kolkata is set to host the main celebrations for the International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2026, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to participate in the event on June 21.

Announcing the theme for this year’s Yoga Day, “Yoga for Healthy Ageing”, Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav said the focus would be on highlighting yoga’s role in promoting physical health, mental well-being and healthy ageing.

The announcement was made during Yoga Mahotsav 2026, organised at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Western Group of Temples in Khajuraho, marking the beginning of the 25-day countdown to IDY 2026.

The Union Government today informed the Supreme Court that it challenges pending in High Courts against the Transgender Persons Protection of Rights (Amendment) Act 2026. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the matter before a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, requesting that the transfer petitions be listed on Friday.

The Chief Justice, however, indicated that allowing High Courts to has filed transfer petitions seeking to bring before the Supreme Court the various examine the issue may have its own advantages. Responding, Mehta said that multiple High Courts are seized of the issue, raising the possibility of conflicting rulings. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had issued notice to the Union on writ petitions against the 2026 Amendment, which is challenged for removing the concept of self-identification of gender.

The West Bengal government on Wednesday launched the ‘Annapurna Yojana’ application form to provide eligible women in the state with monthly financial assistance of Rs 3,000. The scheme will replace the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, which was launched in 2021 under the previous government led by Mamata Banerjee.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari introduced the application form for the ‘Annapurna Bhandar’ scheme and said that the Women and Child Welfare Department, headed by Minister Agnimitra Paul, will serve as the nodal authority to ensure that the scheme benefits reach actual beneficiaries.

He added that since the enrolment process is a huge exercise and will take time to complete, beneficiaries under the existing ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme will continue to receive financial assistance under the existing system until the transition is completed.

India ranks second in Asia Pacific (APAC) markets with 1.6 GW operational capacity, establishing itself as a significant growth engine for digital infrastructure in the region.

The country also features among the top three APAC markets by development pipeline, with 3.1 GW under construction and planned.

According to the Cushman & Wakefield Global Data Center Market Comparison 2026 report, accelerating AI adoption, hyperscale cloud expansion, and rising enterprise demand continue to reshape global data center development patterns.

The report noted that India's data center ecosystem relies on a multi-market presence, with Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Pune, and Bengaluru included in the assessment.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to roll out a comprehensive ‘Farm to Home’ programme to ensure that fruits and vegetables cultivated by farmers reach consumers directly through Farmers’ Producer Organisations.

Reviewing six primary missions in agriculture and allied sectors at the Camp Office, he said the new marketing strategy would reduce costs, strengthen farmers’ incomes and deliver fresh produce to households.

The Chief Minister emphasised that crop planning must factor in the impact of El Niño, with region-wise assessments guiding sowing decisions.

He instructed officials to promote natural farming across districts, adopt PMDS half-moon methods in water-scarce areas and ensure minimum support prices to protect farmers from climate-related losses.

In a major setback for online gaming firms, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the constitutional validity of the 28% goods and services tax (GST) levy on online gaming and rejected challenges against retrospective tax demands worth over ₹1.5 trillion.

The ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications for the sector, with lawyers representing gaming firms warning of widespread insolvencies, and raising questions over the constitutional validity of a central law banning online gaming, since the verdict treats it as betting and gambling, a state subject.

The verdict, delivered by a bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan, dismissed a batch of petitions filed by online gaming companies, casinos, turf clubs and industry bodies challenging GST notices and the legal framework governing taxation of online gaming.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs CCEA today approved continuation of the Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling-Income with Automation in PDS, SARTHAK-PDS as an umbrella scheme, in the 16th Finance Commission cycle award period, with an outlay of 25 thousand 530 crore rupees as Central share. Briefing media in New Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, the scheme will provide assistance to state agancies for intra-state movement of food grains,will support fair price shops and help in modernisation of public distribution system.

Mr Vaishnaw said, it will have three major AI enabled modules named NIRMAL, ASHA and SAKSHAM. He said, Nirmal is AI driven realtime PDS beneficiary registry, Asha is multilingual AI grievance and citizen engagement platform and Saksham is AI enabled supply chain platform with vehicle tracking.
The CCEA has also decided to revise the norms of Central assistance for meeting expenditure incurred by States and UTs intra-state movement and handling of foodgrains and Fair Price Shops dealers’ margin and continuation of the existing funding pattern of Central Assistance.

The Minister said, the Scheme will work towards fulfilling the Government’s commitment to 81.35 crore persons covered under National Food Security Act. He said, the scheme is not replacement of the existing PDS scheme.

Sikkim, a tiny state nestled in the Himalayas, has been declared a fully literate state under the ULLAS (Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society) initiative. The announcement was made in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu during the convocation ceremony of Sikkim University at Manan Kendra in Gangtok on Wednesday.

This marks a historic educational milestone for Sikkim and is being celebrated with immense pride.

Sikkim now joins the elite club of fully literate states, which includes Mizoram, Goa, Tripura, and Himachal Pradesh.

It is the third state in the northeast and the fifth state in the country to achieve this feat. Mizoram was the first state in the country to achieve full literacy.

The Sports Ministry on Tuesday notified the rules of operation for the soon-to-be-formed National Sports Tribunal (NST) and the National Sports Board (NSB), stating that a dedicated portal would be set up for submission of disputes and maintenance of legal records.

In separate notifications addressing the roles of the two bodies, which will be formed under the National Sports Governance Act passed last year, the Sports Ministry reiterated that a search-cum-selection committee is in the process of being formed under the cabinet secretary.

The National Sports Board, that will function as the central authority for granting recognition to National Sports Bodies and ensuring compliance with governance, financial and ethical standards, will comprise a Chairperson and two members. It will have a three-year term.

A major international astronomy study led by an Indian scientist has discovered a massive structure of young galaxies in the early universe, naming it after a famous lake in Manipur. The cosmic structure has been officially named the Loktak Protocluster. It is a primitive galaxy cluster, described by scientists as a "city of galaxies" that is still being built by the forces of gravity.

A Glimpse into the Ancient Universe

The discovery was led by Dr Ronaldo Laishram, an astrophysicist from Manipur who is currently a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the study offers a rare look back in time:

Age: The Loktak Protocluster is seen as it existed 12.6 billion years ago.
Cosmic Timeline: At that point, the universe was only about 1.2 billion years old, meaning these galaxies are some of the earliest to form.