Current Affairs

ISRO, Department of Atomic Energy collaborate on advanced lunar lander technology

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V Narayanan has informed that they have collaborated with the Department of Atomic Energy to develop an advanced artificial heating system that can protect lunar lander from the freezing weather of the Moon.

Addressing the CSIR-RISE Conclave in Bengaluru, ISRO chief explained that Chandrayaan 3 lander Vikram fuelled by solar energy, operated only for 14 days on Moon. ISRO will now work with the Atomic Energy Department to develop a lunar lander that can survive on the Moon for up to 200 days. This lander with artificial heaters can survive harsh weather conditions on the Moon. He added that this will help long-duration lunar exploration in future missions.

The lunar days and nights last about 14 Earth days each, and heat reaches 121 celsius and temperature dips to minus 129 celsius at night. Speaking further about research partnerships, V Narayanan disclosed that ISRO and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR have identified 40 areas of technological cooperation and 17 among them have already been approved for implementation in the first phase.



India aims to reach 155 GW of installed wind energy capacity by 2035: Union minister

India is aiming to achieve an installed capacity of 100 GW (gigawatt) of wind energy by 2030 from more than 56.1 GW now and scale it up to 155 GW by 2035, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said on Monday.

The wind industry has played an important role in advancing the vision of an ”Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) by creating a resilient and world-class supply chain ecosystem, he maintained.

Axis Securities' Rajesh Palviya recommends SRF and Phoenix Mills as buy calls

The Union minister was speaking after launching India’s first wind turbine supply chain management portal, WT-MARUT.



Indian Railways approves Rs 341 crore Kavach expansion projects across Northern and Western Railway zones

Indian Railways has approved Kavach deployment projects worth a combined Rs 341 crore across key sections of the Northern and Western Railway zones, reinforcing its commitment to enhancing rail safety through the indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.

The projects, sanctioned under the umbrella programme for provision of Kavach with an LTE-based communication backbone on balance routes of Indian Railways, will cover a total of 1,409 route kilometres across strategically important rail corridors in northern and western India.

In the Northern Railway zone, Indian Railways has approved a Rs 201-crore project for installation of Kavach on 811 route kilometres of the Ambala Division. The project will cover major sections including Ambala Cantonment–Ludhiana, Kalka–Chandigarh–New Morinda–Sahnewal, Sirhind–Daulatpur Chowk, Rajpura–Bathinda–Shri Ganganagar, and Ludhiana–Dhuri–Jakhal.



Usutu Virus Detected In Scotland Blackbirds; Experts Study Spread

It was something infectious disease expert Heather Ferguson never expected to see in her lifetime: a mosquito-borne virus originally from Africa spreading in Scotland. But a laboratory result confirmed just that: in April, UK authorities said that Usutu virus had been identified in blackbirds in Scotland for the first time. Despite climate change pushing temperatures higher, scientists still thought it too cool in Scotland for Usutu to thrive. The "shock" discovery was a "clarion call that... some risks might be coming here sooner than we thought," said Ferguson, a professor of infectious disease ecology at the University of Glasgow.

"We need to be prepared," she told AFP.

In the wilds of Scotland, scientists are trapping brown-grey culex pipiens mosquitoes -- the main vector of Usutu virus -- to study and better understand how the disease might spread. They were alerted by residents on the Isle of Arran, southwest of Glasgow, who noticed last summer that blackbirds were dropping dead with strange symptoms.



BHASHINI, GeM join hands to enable multilingual access across India’s public procurement ecosystem

In a significant step towards strengthening digital inclusion and expanding access to government procurement opportunities, the Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) and the Government e Marketplace (GeM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to integrate advanced multilingual capabilities across India’s public procurement ecosystem.

The partnership, signed under the “BHASHINI for Seva/Sanchalan – A BHASHINI Sahayogi Program,” aims to leverage BHASHINI’s artificial intelligence-powered language technologies to make GeM’s services accessible in multiple Indian languages, thereby enabling greater participation from businesses, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), startups, entrepreneurs, and local enterprises across the country.



Maharashtra to table ‘Women Farmers Empowerment Bill’ during upcoming Monsoon Session

The State government will introduce the Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Bill, 2026, during the upcoming Monsoon Session of the Legislative Assembly beginning on June 22, seeking to grant women farmers independent legal recognition and improve their access to welfare schemes and institutional support, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Friday (June 12, 2026).

Mr. Fadnavis reviewed a preliminary presentation on the draft Bill at a meeting attended by Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Ajit Pawar, Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane and Minister of State for Agriculture Ashish Jaiswal at his official residence on Friday.



From KG to PG, Odisha government announces ‘free and universal’ education

Students taking admission in government colleges and universities in Odisha will no longer have to pay fees, with the state government announcing that education will be “free and universal”.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Friday announced free education from kindergarten to postgraduate level (“KG to PG”) as the BJP government completed two years in office.

“Probably Odisha is the first state in the country to make such a provision in the education sector. It will immensely benefit the scholars especially the economically backward section,” Majhi said.

Officials said the decision is likely to benefit more than 10 lakh students.



‘India has emerged as world's 3rd-largest domestic aviation market’, says Delhi CM

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta highlighted the rapid transformation of India's infrastructure and digital ecosystem, stating that the country's metro rail network has expanded significantly over the years, while air connectivity has witnessed unprecedented growth through various government initiatives.

Addressing an event on Friday, Gupta said the metro rail system, which once had limited reach, has now become a vast network connecting major urban centres. "The metro network, which spanned 248 kilometres, has now expanded to over 1,095 kilometres and reached 26 cities. Similarly, we have witnessed a massive transformation in air connectivity. The 'UDAN' scheme turned the common citizen's dream of air travel into reality," the Chief Minister said.



Sudarsan Pattnaik wins the Russia Grand Sand Master Cup 2026

Sudarsan Pattnaik has once again brought laurels to the country as the renowned sand artist from Odisha became the first Indian to win the Russia Grand Sand Master Cup 2026.

While some success stories begin with everything a person could need, his began with almost nothing. He started as a small boy on a beach, with no money for paper or paint, so he chose to sculpt and draw in the only material that was free and endlessly available beneath his feet- sand.

And today, decades on, that same boy stands among the most renowned names in his field around the world.



First batch of NDA-trained women cadets commissioned as officers

A YEAR after they walked past the symbolic Antim Pag — the final step — at the National Defence Academy in Pune, the first batch of 17 women cadets trained at the NDA was commissioned on Saturday as officers, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of women’s participation in military service.

This is the first time women officers will be joining the forces with a permanent commission. This was made possible by an interim order passed by the Supreme Court in August 2021, while hearing a plea seeking directions to let eligible women take the NDA and Naval Academy entrance exams conducted by the UPSC. The first batch of women cadets joined the NDA in July-August 2022 as part of its 148th course.

So far, short service commission women officers could join the forces, and later seek permanent commission after completion of 14 years of service.