05 June 2026

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1. UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)

Context: 565 Indian peacekeepers, including 53 women, were conferred the UN Medal of Honour for service under UNMISS.

a) Establishment: Set up on 9 July 2011 through UN Security Council Resolution 1996, the same day South Sudan became independent.

b) Mandate: Protection of civilians, consolidation of peace, and assistance in building the country's political, judicial and security institutions.

c) India's role: India is the second-largest troop contributor to UNMISS, behind Nepal, with over 4,200 uniformed personnel deployed.

d) UN Medal of Honour: A UN military decoration conferred by the Secretary-General; broadly requires around 90 days of continuous service in a UN field mission.

2. Dark Patterns & Consumer Protection

Context: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) penalised PhysicsWallah and McAfee India for using deceptive design to mislead users.

a) Definition: Manipulative interface or choice-architecture designs that push consumers toward decisions against their interest; treated as 'unfair trade practices'.

b) Legal basis: Defined under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

c) Guidelines: CCPA issued the 'Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023' under Section 18 of the Act, identifying 13 specified dark patterns.

d) CCPA structure: Constituted under Section 10(1) of the 2019 Act; led by a Chief Commissioner and Commissioners, with an Investigation Wing headed by a Director General.

The 13 notified dark patterns:

a) False Urgency, Basket Sneaking, Confirm Shaming, Forced Action, Nagging, Subscription Trap, Bait & Switch, Rogue Malware, Disguised Advertisement, Interface Interference, Drip Pricing, Trick Question, and SaaS Billing.

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3. WPI Base-Year Revision & PPI Rollout

Context: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry revised the WPI base year from 2011-12 to 2022-23 and began phasing in a Producer Price Index (PPI).

a) Basket expansion: Tracked commodities rose from 697 to 957 to better mirror present-day industrial activity.

b) Green energy entry: Solar, wind and nuclear power were added under the 'Electricity' group for the first time.

c) Fuel reclassification: Crude petroleum and natural gas moved from 'Primary Articles' into 'Fuel and Power', pooling all primary energy together.

d) Weighting change: Item weights now use Gross Value of Output (GVO) instead of Net Traded Value, reflecting domestic production.

e) Methodology: Missing data handled via 'Targeted Mean Imputation', replacing the older 'Carry-forward' method; aligned with IMF recommendations.

f) PPI suite: Output PPI and a trial Input PPI (manufacturing) plus a Service PPI covering Banking, Securities, Insurance, Pension Fund Management, Railways, Air Passenger and Telecom.

4. Price Stabilization Fund for Scheduled Indian Airlines

Context: The Union Cabinet approved a fund to cushion airlines against volatile Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices linked to the West Asia crisis.

a) Corpus: One-time budgetary support of up to Rs 10,000 crore, given as an interest-free advance to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).

b) Route of funds: Channelled through the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; signatory ministries are Civil Aviation and Petroleum & Natural Gas.

c) True-up mechanism: When global ATF prices ease, the differential is recovered from OMCs and returned to the Consolidated Fund of India.

d) Conditions: Participating carriers must source ATF only from OMCs for up to three years (36 months), subject to annual review.

e) Oversight: A Monitoring Committee of Civil Aviation, Petroleum & Natural Gas, and the Department of Expenditure verifies claims and settlement.

5. APCNF & Food Planet Prize 2026

Context: Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) won the 2026 Food Planet Prize at Bastad, Sweden.

a) The prize: World's largest environmental award for transforming food systems, instituted by Sweden's Curt Bergfors Foundation.

b) Award value: Carries a USD 1.5 million grand prize for the winner.

c) APCNF: Launched in 2016 and run by Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS) under the state agriculture department.

d) Scale: Spans roughly 1.8 million farming families and about 3.4 lakh women's self-help groups.

6. Navachar Mantra Initiative

Context: Launched at IIT Delhi to scale up grassroots innovation from Tier-2, Tier-3 and rural India.

a) Nodal ministry: A scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

b) Implementing body: Executed by the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD).

c) Target group: Indian citizens aged 18-55 in aspirational districts and smaller towns; no registered company or finished product needed to apply.

d) Support: A one-year incubation cycle across six priority sectors, from agritech to MSME and artisan tech.

7. Urban Fire Safety - Malviya Nagar Incident

Context: A fire at a south Delhi bed-and-breakfast operating without fire clearance killed 21 people, including 12 foreign nationals.

a) Compliance issue: The facility ran without a valid Fire No-Objection Certificate (NOC).

b) Accountability: Negligence cases in such deaths can be pursued under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

8. Deepar Beel Wildlife Sanctuary

Why in News:The NGT sought a response on alleged unauthorised tree felling in the sanctuary and its eco-sensitive zone.

Key Facts:

a) Location: On the western edge of Guwahati city, Assam; notified in 1989 over an area of about 4.14 sq km.

b) Designation: The only Ramsar site in Assam and a recognised Important Bird Area.

c) Hydrology: Fed by the Basistha and Kalmani rivers; drained by the Khonajan channel into the Brahmaputra.

d) Fauna: Hosts Greater and Lesser Adjutant Storks, Spot-billed Pelican, Pallas's Sea Eagle, Siberian Crane and Pheasant-tailed Jacana.

e) Significance: Acts as an elephant corridor and a natural flood buffer for Guwahati.

9. June 3rd Declaration (Mountbatten Plan)

Why in News: 3 June 2026 marked the 79th anniversary of the 1947 declaration that set out the method of partition.

Key Facts:

a) Announced by: Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy, after the collapse of the 1946 Cabinet Mission Plan.

b) Core decision: Accepted the principle of partition and the creation of two dominions - India and Pakistan.

c) Provincial choice: Bengal and Punjab assemblies voted on partition; Sindh's assembly chose its dominion; NWFP and Sylhet held referendums.

d) Boundary Commission: Tasked with drawing the borders, later chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe.

e) Princely states: British paramountcy over 560+ states ended; they had to accede to India or Pakistan, not stay independent.

f) Date shift: Independence was advanced from PM Attlee's June 1948 deadline to 15 August 1947.

10. 'Carry Me Back' Policy

Why in News: Launched at Kedarnath by the Rudraprayag district administration to manage pilgrim-generated waste during the Char Dham Yatra.

Key Facts:

a) Lead bodies: Kedarnath Nagar Panchayat, working with the Healing Himalayas Foundation and Sulabh International.

b) Mechanism: Pilgrims receive bags to carry 400-500 g of dry waste back down to Gaurikund for disposal.

c) Mapping: Kedarnath and Gaurikund lie in Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand.

11. 14th Dalai Lama's Grammy Award

Why in News: The Dalai Lama formally received his Grammy trophy at his residence in Dharamshala (McLeodganj), Himachal Pradesh.

Key Facts:

a) The win: For the spoken-word audiobook 'Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama' at the 68th Grammy Awards.

b) First of its kind: He became the first head of Tibetan Buddhism to win a Grammy; Rufus Wainwright accepted the award on his behalf.

c) Category: Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording.

12. 1st World Yogasana Sports Championship 2026

Why in News: The inaugural global championship opened at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Key Facts:

a) Organisers: Yogasana Bharat, jointly with the World Yogasana Body and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

b) Format: A five-day event scoring athletes on precision, flexibility, balance and endurance.

c) Aim: Standardise competitive yoga rules to pursue future inclusion in the Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth Games.

13. India-Cambodia UPI Linkage

Why in News: India extended its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to enable digital payments in Cambodia.

Key Facts:

a) Significance: Adds Cambodia to the growing list of countries accepting UPI-based payments, deepening India's digital-payment diplomacy in Southeast Asia.

b) Mapping: Cambodia borders Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, with a coastline on the Gulf of Thailand; capital - Phnom Penh.