Current affairs — 19 June 2026

Prelims pointers

• A 43-year-old resident of Melevaram near Farook College in Kozhikode was diagnosed with Nipah infection.
• The infected person had been on ventilator support at Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, since June 10.
• Health workers completed a preliminary survey of about 300 houses and began a fever survey in the locality.
• The article says Nipah has a mortality rate of up to 75% and can spread from infected animals to humans and directly between people.
• Fruit bats of the Pteropus species are described as the natural hosts of the Nipah virus.

Prelims pointers

• SEIAA revoked the environmental clearance granted to Brigade Enterprises for a proposed residential project in the Pallikaranai marshland Ramsar site.
• The decision followed a communication from the Tamil Nadu State Wetland Authority to SEIAA.
• The Wetland Authority said construction had begun without mandatory permission from it before the start of the project.
• Brigade Morgan Heights proposes around 1,250 residential units on about 14.7 acres in Perumbakkam within the Ramsar boundary.
• Brigade Group said it believed the revocation was not legally sustainable and that an appeal was pending before the Supreme Court.

Prelims pointers

• Until recently, the base years for GDP, CPI, WPI and IIP were either 2011 or 2012, according to the editorial.
• MoSPI released a new national accounts series, including GDP, with 2022-23 as the base year.
• The new GDP series includes methodological improvements and new data sources, including the double-deflator approach.
• MoSPI updated the CPI with a 2024 base year, a more inclusive item basket and more accurate weightages.
• The Commerce Ministry released a new Producer Price Index that is to replace the WPI in five years.

Prelims pointers

• The Union government made its submissions before the Delhi High Court during Telegram’s challenge to a temporary ban.
• The temporary restriction was imposed under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 until June 22, 2026.
• The Centre relied on an Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre assessment calling Telegram a growing hub for illicit activity.
• Cybercrime complaints involving Telegram rose from 75,688 in 2023 to 2.75 lakh in 2025, according to data placed in court.
• The Delhi High Court reserved judgment after hearing the government and Telegram on the platform-wide restriction.

Prelims pointers

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for New Delhi on June 18, 2026 after concluding visits to France and Slovakia.
• The France programme included Bharat Innovates in Nice, the G7 Summit in Evian and VivaTech 2026 in Paris.
• India was invited as a guest country to the G7 Summit held at Evian-Les-Bains in France.
• On the G7 sidelines, Modi met leaders including Donald Trump, Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen.
• India and Slovakia elevated ties to a comprehensive partnership and firmed up 11 agreements across several areas.

Prelims pointers

• The U.S.-Iran MoU says the minimum methodology for stockpiled enriched material will be on-site downblending under IAEA supervision.
• Downblending reduces the proportion of uranium-235 and increases the breakout time needed to make a nuclear weapon.
• Natural uranium contains about 0.72% uranium-235, while the remaining 99.28% is mostly uranium-238.
• In the described process, uranium hexafluoride cylinders are heated in an autoclave to 80-110°C so the compound becomes gas.
• IAEA inspectors verify the final uranium dioxide by sampling it and using thermal ionisation mass spectrometry at Seibersdorf, Austria.

Prelims pointers

• Jairam Ramesh called Bhupender Yadav’s June 13 defence of the Great Nicobar Island Project disappointing and unsatisfactory.
• The NGT on February 16, 2026, cleared the way for the project and directed strict compliance with environmental clearance conditions.
• The ₹81,000-crore project includes an international container transshipment port, an airport, a power plant and a greenfield township.
• The project is expected to involve felling close to a million trees and construction on a leatherback turtle nesting site.
• Ramesh said compliance reports after March 2024 and conservation plans by institutions such as WII and ZSI remained unavailable.

Prelims pointers

• U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran’s President signed a deal on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, meant to end the West Asia war.
• Under the deal, Tehran agreed to dilute its enriched uranium in return for large-scale economic relief.
• The article says the war was launched on February 28 by the United States and Israel.
• Iran counterattacked with missile and drone salvos across the region after the war began.
• The conflict effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, described as a crucial waterway for the world economy.

Prelims pointers

• Switzerland said U.S. talks with Iranian negotiators would not take place on Friday, June 19, 2026.
• Vice President JD Vance dropped plans to travel to Switzerland for the talks.
• The planned talks were set for the Swiss mountaintop resort of Burgenstock.
• Iran had said it was ready to begin technical talks after a 14-point accord extended a tenuous ceasefire by at least 60 days.
• Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that Tehran would respond decisively if the agreement was breached.

Prelims pointers

• AXSMarine said 25 verified commercial vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on June 18, the highest single-day count since April 18.
• The June 18 count was more than five times the average daily level recorded during the first ten days of June.
• Before the war, about 120 vessels a day passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Lloyd’s List.
• Economists said a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas exports passed through the strait in peacetime.
• The IMO said more than 500 commercial vessels were still stuck in the Gulf with about 11,000 seafarers on board.

Prelims pointers

• By 0328 GMT, Brent crude futures fell 43 cents, or 0.54%, to $79.42 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate slipped 17 cents to $76.43.
• Several tankers, including three Saudi-flagged vessels carrying 6 million barrels of crude, sailed through Hormuz after the U.S.-Iran interim deal.
• Analysts expect the deal to release more than 85 million barrels of oil stranded in the Middle East Gulf into global markets.
• The agreement includes the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil, a step that would further increase expected supply.
• Before the war, roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited the Strait of Hormuz.

Prelims pointers

• A U.S. official said Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire on June 19, 2026, after deadly exchanges in Lebanon.
• The truce began at 4 p.m. local time, or 1300 GMT, and was brokered by U.S. and Qatari mediators.
• A Gulf diplomat also confirmed the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire to AFP.
• The Lebanon clashes had threatened the Washington-Tehran deal to end the war after planned Switzerland talks were postponed.
• Donald Trump called on June 18 for a complete ceasefire on all fronts, including from Israel.

Prelims pointers

• TB screening camps are being conducted in 2,492 villages across Telangana.
• J.P. Nadda directed States to ensure diagnostic tests such as chest X-rays and sputum examinations for suspected TB cases.
• Under Nikshay Poshan Yojana, diagnosed TB patients receive ₹1,000 per month for nutritional requirements.
• Telangana is also providing food baskets to TB patients to ensure adequate nutrition.
• RBSK teams are conducting health screenings for children aged 0 to 18 years in the State.

Prelims pointers

• The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $1.5 billion financing for India.
• The financing is intended to support structural reforms for private-sector-led job creation and economic growth.
• The support is being provided under a Development Policy Financing operation.
• The World Bank said the financing can support job opportunities for 11 million youth entering the labour market each year.
• The operation is aligned with the World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework with India until 2031.

Prelims pointers

• President Droupadi Murmu said India would eradicate sickle cell anaemia well before the 2047 target.
• Seven crore people aged zero to 40 years have been screened under the National Mission launched in 2023.
• Mission-mode screening has identified nearly 2,50,000 people affected by sickle cell-related diseases.
• More than 20 lakh carriers have been identified through the screening initiative so far.
• Madhya Pradesh has screened 1.25 crore people and provided genetic counselling cards to most of them.

Prelims pointers

• A five-judge Larger Bench of the Madras High Court is hearing the reference on convict leave pending appeal.
• The reference arose from a conflict between Full Bench decisions in Yesu (2011) and Ramalakshmi (2025).
• The Division Bench made the reference on November 11, 2025 to resolve whether such leave can be granted.
• The issue concerns ordinary or emergency leave under the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules, 1982.
• The Supreme Court had suo motu impleaded several States on April 2, 2024 to examine procedures on leave, parole or furlough.

Prelims pointers

• Suhora Technologies assessed five glacial lakes in the Mago Chu basin of Tawang district, Arunachal Pradesh.
• The lakes examined had been classified by the NDMA as high-risk or very high-risk.
• The assessment used ICEYE, PlanetScope and LISS-IV satellite imagery to compare lake extent from 2016 to June 2026.
• Sanhapo Lake grew from 78.07 hectares in 2019 to 88.81 hectares by mid-June 2026.
• After the October 2023 Sikkim disaster, NDMA approved the National Glacial Lake Outburst Floods Risk Mitigation Programme.

Prelims pointers

• The ₹25,016 crore coal gasification project is located at Lakhanpur in Jharsuguda district, Odisha.
• Coal gasification converts coal into synthesis gas, which can be used to produce methanol, urea, ammonium nitrate and synthetic natural gas.
• India is described as the world’s second-largest producer and consumer of coal, with over 400 billion tonnes of coal reserves.
• The Government has approved incentive schemes with cumulative outlay up to ₹46,000 crore for surface coal and lignite gasification projects.
• The Lakhanpur project will produce 2,000 tonnes per day of ammonium nitrate using indigenously developed coal gasification technology by BHEL.

Prelims pointers

• The 10,000-tonne Aluminium Extrusion Press is planned at Ordnance Factory Ambajhari, Nagpur, a unit of Yantra India Limited.
• The press will support aluminium alloy profiles for defence systems, aerospace and aviation structures, missile programmes, railways and transport sectors.
• The source states that domestic defence production rose from ₹46,000 crore in 2014 to ₹1.78 lakh crore in FY 2025-26.
• India’s defence exports were stated to have increased from less than ₹1,000 crore in 2014 to ₹38,424 crore.
• Post-corporatisation OFB production rose from ₹12,755 crore in FY 2019-20 to ₹26,282 crore in FY 2025-26.

Prelims pointers

• NIXI celebrated its 23rd Foundation Day with policymakers, industry leaders, academia and technology experts.
• Four platforms were launched: IX Portal, myIRINN Portal, .IN Auction Portal and an AI-Powered WHOIS Screening Platform.
• The AI-powered WHOIS screening platform is meant to improve domain-name security and detect suspicious websites.
• NIXI manages over 39 lakh .IN domain names and operates 79 Internet Exchange Points across India.
• NIXI supports domain registrations in 22 Indian languages and India’s IPv6 adoption is about 78.34%.

Prelims pointers

• The Prime Minister disbursed incentives worth around ₹2,400 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana.
• PM-VBRY is described in the source as the Government of India’s flagship employment-linked incentive scheme.
• The incentive was stated to have supported the creation of 15 lakh employment opportunities across the country.
• The article reports that nearly 70 lakh new jobs were created and an equal number of first-time employees were brought under social security.
• The Prime Minister said India had moved from around 500 startups earlier to more than 200,000 registered startups across nearly every district.

Prelims pointers

• The Prime Minister said about two lakh people were connected with the PM-VBRY programme from 200 locations.
• The address described PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana as a bridge between youth getting their first job and industries.
• The speech stated that about 7 million jobs had been created and around 7 million first-time employees had received social security cover.
• Nearly 1 million youth who completed six months in their first job received incentives, with more than ₹2,000 crore reaching bank accounts.
• The Prime Minister cited over ₹12 lakh crore in infrastructure investment and more than ₹33 lakh crore in Mudra assistance as employment-supporting measures.

Prelims pointers

• Dunagiri, Sanshodhak and Agray are scheduled to be commissioned by the Indian Navy in Kolkata on June 21, 2026.
• The three platforms were designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata.
• Dunagiri is the fifth Project 17A stealth frigate and carries BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles and the Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile system.
• Sanshodhak is the fourth Survey Vessel (Large), designed for hydrographic surveys and oceanographic and geophysical data collection.
• Agray is the fourth Arnala-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft with torpedoes, indigenous rocket launchers and shallow-water sonar systems.

Prelims pointers

• IITM Pune signed the MoU with ARIES Nainital on 18 June 2026 through online mode.
• The MoU is for a period of more than fifty years and aims to promote collaborative climate change research.
• The agreement seeks to establish a Climate Observation Station at ARIES, Devasthal, under BCON.
• BCON will monitor meteorological parameters, climate-active trace gases, atmospheric chemistry and soil moisture observations.
• BCON is conceptualized and implemented by IITM under the Ministry of Earth Sciences to create a long-term climate monitoring framework.

Prelims pointers

• The review of Jharkhand’s power sector and urban development schemes was held in Ranchi.
• Matters under RDSS, DISCOM operational and financial parameters, resource adequacy and transmission planning were discussed.
• The Union Minister noted high AT&C losses and ACS-ARR gap and urged steps to reach sustainable levels.
• Prepaid conversion of meters for government consumers was specifically targeted by August 31, 2026.
• The State was urged to accelerate PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana and PM-KUSUM implementation.

Prelims pointers

• The Home Minister addressed the inaugural session of the 26th All India Fingerprint Conference 2026 in New Delhi.
• NCRB-Abhigyan, CrPI, e-Prosecution 2.0 and e-Forensics 2.0 were launched at the event.
• The criminal justice reform objective cited was justice within three years from FIR registration to conviction.
• CCTNS has been implemented in 17,840 police stations and legacy data includes 37 crore 68 lakh FIRs.
• NCRB-Abhigyan lets field police search the National Fingerprint Database using a certified fingerprint scanner.

Prelims pointers

• The Ministry of Defence signed the contract with Bharat Forge Limited, Pune, for the Indian Navy.
• The contract covers 12 sets of 1.25 MW Marine Gas Turbine Generators at a total cost of around ₹425 crore.
• The marine gas turbine generators are to have minimum 60 per cent indigenous content.
• The contract was inked under the Buy (Indian) category in New Delhi on June 19, 2026.
• Marine gas turbine generators power critical combat systems and advanced weapons and sensors on modern naval combatants.

Prelims pointers

• National Test House functions under the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India.
• The event took place at the NTH Western Region campus in Mumbai on June 19, 2026.
• A Microbiological Testing Laboratory at National Test House, Mumbai, was among the facilities inaugurated.
• A Shoe Testing Facility at NTH Northern Region, Ghaziabad, was also inaugurated during the event.
• The NTH-AURIC Satellite Centre at NICDC, AURIC City, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, was inaugurated.

Prelims pointers

• The 14th India-Uzbekistan Intergovernmental Commission meeting was held in Tashkent, with the Indian co-chair participating by video conference.
• India’s total exports of goods and services in FY 2025-26 were estimated at US$ 860.09 billion.
• Uzbekistan reported that trade turnover with India reached US$ 1.3 billion in 2025, registering 33.3 per cent growth.
• Pharmaceuticals, medical devices, agricultural products, machinery, electronics, automobiles, textiles and services were discussed as expansion areas.
• Both sides discussed regular review of non-tariff barriers relating to approvals, standards, testing, certification, customs and market access.

Prelims pointers

• President Droupadi Murmu graced the International Sickle Cell Day commemoration at Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh, on June 19, 2026.
• The National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission screened seven crore people, from newborns to those up to 40 years of age.
• Mission-mode screening has detected approximately 2.5 lakh people with sickle cell disease and identified over 20 lakh carriers.
• Madhya Pradesh screened over four lakh women under the Swasth Nari, Sashakt Parivar Abhiyan held from September 17 to October 2, 2025.
• Under Madhya Pradesh’s Sickle Mitra initiative, institutional representatives, voluntary organisations and NCC cadets were trained for awareness and assistance.

Prelims pointers

• Projects worth ₹3,680 crore have been approved for Madhya Pradesh under SBM-Urban 2.0.
• The approved projects include a central share of ₹2,036 crore for components such as waste and toilet infrastructure.
• More than 48 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste have been processed out of 57 lakh metric tonnes across 109 ULBs.
• Legacy-waste processing in the State has resulted in recovery of 509 acres of land.
• A CITIIS 2.0 project worth ₹106 crore has been approved for Ujjain Municipal Corporation.

Prelims pointers

• The second phase of the intensified 100-day TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan is scheduled to conclude in the first week of July 2026.
• India’s TB incidence declined from 243 per lakh population in 2014 to 187 per lakh population in 2024.
• TB mortality declined from 34 per lakh population in 2014 to 21 per lakh population in 2024.
• More than 28.1 crore people have been screened and 20 lakh have received TB preventive treatment since December 2024.
• The TB Mukt Bharat App is integrated with the AI-powered chatbot Khushi for citizen engagement and TB-related guidance.

Prelims pointers

• APEDA facilitated the first export consignment of fresh Uttarakhand litchi from Dehradun to Italy on June 18, 2026.
• The inaugural export consignment comprised one metric tonne of fresh litchi sent to Italy.
• Dehradun litchi is recognised for distinctive sweetness, red colour, delicate aroma and superior pulp quality.
• Rose Scented, Calcuttia and Bedana were mentioned as renowned varieties of litchi from the region.
• Farmers received prices approximately 25 per cent higher than prevailing domestic market rates under the export initiative.

Prelims pointers

• Talks between the U.S. and Iran were called off on Friday (June 19, 2026) after intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon , officials said, raising questions about an initial agreement to end the war in Iran.
• Israel and the militant group later agreed to a ceasefire, three officials said.
• Israel and Hezbollah agree on Lebanon ceasefire: U.S. official Word of the ceasefire came from two regional officials and a U.S. official.
• The truce was mediated by Qatar, the U.S. and Iran, the regional officials said.
• The three officials were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.