A statue of the ancient sage Maharishi Sushruta, who is considered by some to be the father of surgery, was unveiled in the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, the United Kingdoms, India’s Consulate General in Scotland announced on X. The ceremony was a celebration of the ‘historical links’ between India and Scotland in the field of medicine and surgery, the consulate said.

The statue was installed in the Royal College at the initiative of Professor Chandra Cheruvu, who is a Laparoscopic and Upper Gastro-intestinal Surgeon at the University Hospital North Midlands.

Thanking Dr. Cheruvu, the Consulate said on X, “The ceremony celebrated India’s ancient medical heritage, the historical India-Scotland links in medicine and surgery, and the important role played by the Royal College in advancing surgical education worldwide. Special thanks to the Royal College and Prof Chandra Cheruvu for the initiative."

The Ministry of Minority Affairs on Monday announced the Haj Policy 2027, with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju unveiling the policy and opening the application process for prospective pilgrims.

Applicants can submit their Haj-2027 applications online through the Haj Committee of India portal and the Haj Suvidha App, making the process more accessible and convenient. The government said the quota distribution between the Haj Committee of India and private tour operators is expected to remain unchanged at a 70:30 ratio, with 1,22,518 seats allocated to the Haj Committee and 52,507 to the private sector. The Centre will also continue efforts to secure an increase in India’s Haj quota, which stood at 1,75,025 pilgrims last year.

The policy was announced following a Haj Review Meeting chaired by Rijiju on June 18, during which the conduct of Haj 2026 was reviewed and the roadmap for Haj 2027 was finalised. The Ministry said the early release of the policy and simultaneous opening of applications are aimed at ensuring timely preparations in accordance with the schedule prescribed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The United States has formally notified a proposed USD 482.2 million Foreign Military Sale to provide sustainment support services and related equipment for India’s Apache helicopters and M777A2 Ultra-Light Howitzers.

The arms sales notification was published in the Federal Register by the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which administers the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme of the US, on June 17.

The US Congress was informed about the possible sales of services for Apache Helicopters and M777A2 ultra-light howitzers to India by the Department of State on May 18.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the GARUDA (Green-Channel: AIF Rollout Upon Document Acknowledgement) mechanism, transitioning the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) framework from a traditional pre-clearance model to a fast-track, accountability-driven disclosure model. By introducing this regulatory green channel, SEBI aims to eliminate bureaucratic friction and accelerate time-to-market for fund managers, allowing private capital to flow into the economy much faster.

Welcoming this major reform, Archana Jahagirdar, Founder and Managing Partner, Rukam Capital, stated: “The AIF regime is a welcoming and a much awaited move by SEBI which is bound to see positive uptick of investor interest. The set up of the green channel will help in reducing timelines of fundraising and cost of setting up the vehicle because even if funds could raise the requisite capital from the market, they couldn’t really deploy anything till the vehicle was set up, leading to delays of deploying capital into startups. It is equally important to balance investor protection with ease of doing business. Faster, more efficient and cost-effective approvals will significantly improve market sentiment and accelerate capital deployment. I commend SEBI for taking this progressive step, which will go a long way in strengthening and growing India’s startup and investment ecosystem.”

The Aadhaar App has crossed over 31 million downloads since it was launched in January this year. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said that the growing adoption reflects people’s confidence in the App for bringing services at their fingertips.

Almost four million people have updated their mobile numbers using the App and around 850,000 people have used the App to update their address.

The app also includes features like locking or unlocking in a single click, face verification for proof of presence, authentication history, and a QR-based editable contact card for easy sharing of contacts instead of physical visiting cards.

Cyber agencies from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance have warned that frontier artificial intelligence models could change cyber offence and defence “within months”, urging companies and governments to treat cybersecurity as a board-level business risk rather than a purely technical issue.

In a joint statement dated June 22, cyber agencies from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand said AI is already changing the cyber-risk landscape by increasing the speed, scale and sophistication of cyber threats. The statement said frontier AI models are expected to exceed current industry expectations and “fundamentally” transform both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued revised guidelines for the Lead Bank Scheme (LBS), aimed at strengthening district-level credit planning, improving coordination among stakeholders and deepening financial inclusion across the country.

The central bank said it had undertaken a "comprehensive review" of the scheme and issued revised guidelines after examining public feedback received on the draft framework released earlier this year.

"The revised Circular on the Lead Bank Scheme (LBS) has been issued today," RBI said in a release issued on June 19. The central bank added that "feedback received on the draft circular has been examined and necessary modifications have been suitably incorporated in the final guidelines."

India will host the 11th BRICS Energy Ministers' Meeting in Gurugram on June 25-26, bringing together energy ministers and senior officials from BRICS nations to discuss cooperation on energy security, sustainability and innovation.

According to the Ministry of Power, the meeting will be held under India's BRICS Chairship 2026 and will focus on strengthening collaboration among member countries at a time when nations are balancing energy security, affordability and climate goals.

"The meeting will bring together Energy Ministers and senior officials from all BRICS member countries to advance cooperation on energy security, sustainability and innovation," the ministry said in a statement.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the re-appointment of senior advocate Tushar Mehta as the Solicitor General (SG) for a further term of three years.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel & Training on June 20 stated that Mehta's fresh term will take effect from July 1, 2026.

With this approval of the ACC, Mehta will continue as the Union Government's second-highest law officer (SG) and is set to complete eleven years as SG by the end of the fresh tenure.

Mehta assumed the SG office in 2018 and has already completed eight years in the role, making him one of the longest-serving SG in India's judicial history.

State Bank of India (SBI) has paid the government ₹8,800 crore as dividend for financial year 2026.

During the 71st Annual General Meeting in Mumbai on Thursday, Chairman CS Setty said the bank declared a dividend of ₹17.35 per share for FY26, up from ₹15.90 in FY25, translating into an estimated ₹8,813.4 crore payout to the government, which held a 55.52 per cent stake as of March 2026.

On June 8, Setty presented the ₹8,813 crore dividend cheque to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The higher payout underscores the bank’s strong profitability and highlights its continued role as a significant contributor to government revenues, even as it reinforces its balance-sheet and capital position.

For FY25, the government had received ₹8,076 crore as dividend from SBI.