• Regional Jurisdiction: This new centre will cater to the meteorological requirements of the Himalayan states/Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, and Himachal Pradesh.
• Reorganization: Until now, weather services for these regions were managed by the RMC based in New Delhi. This bifurcation will improve the accuracy of local forecasts.

India Meteorological Department (IMD):

• Establishment: Established on January 15, 1875.
• Headquarters: Currently located in New Delhi (Mausam Bhawan).
• Current Director General (DG): Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.
• 6 other Regional Meteorological Centres (RMCs): New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Nagpur, Guwahati.
• The IMD is one of the six 'Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres' of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It is also responsible for naming cyclones in the North Indian Ocean region (Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea).
• Mission Mausam: Launched on the occasion of the 150th Foundation Day (January 2025), with the aim of making India "weather-ready."

• Altitude and Location: Situated in the Changthang region of Eastern Ladakh, this village lies at an extreme altitude of 16,700 feet above sea level, right next to the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• This model village is being developed under the Central Government's flagship scheme, the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP).
• First Phase: In the first phase of this program, a total of 10 border villages in Ladakh will be developed as model villages, starting with Chumur.

Ladakh:

• Known as the 'Land of High Passes'.
• India's northernmost and largest Union Territory (by area); established on October 31, 2019.
• Capital: Leh is the capital and largest city of Ladakh.
• Boundaries: It is bordered by Tibet (China) to the east, Himachal Pradesh to the south, and Jammu & Kashmir to the west.
• Administration: It is administered by a Lieutenant Governor. Currently, Vinai Kumar Saxena holds this position.
• Lakes: Pangong Tso and Tso Moriri are renowned for their beauty and changing colors.
• Valleys: Nubra Valley is famous for its double-humped camels and sand dunes.
• Cultural Heritage: Key landmarks include Leh Palace, Shanti Stupa, and famous Buddhist monasteries such as Hemis, Thiksey, and Alchi.
• Astronomy: The Dark Sky Reserve located at Hanle is one of the world's highest sites for astronomical observation. Major Festivals: Hemis Tsechu, Losar (Tibetan New Year), and the Sindhu Darshan Festival are the main attractions here.
• Local Cuisine: Thukpa, momos, and a local salty tea known as 'Noon Chai' or 'Gur-Gur Chai' (butter tea) are very popular here.
• Language: Ladakhi, Bhoti, Purgi, and Hindi are primarily spoken here.
• First Petroglyph Conservation Park: The foundation stone for India's first Petroglyph Conservation Park was laid on April 19, 2026, at the Indus Ghat in Leh. Its objective is to preserve centuries-old rock carvings.
• Shyok Tunnel: The 920-meter-long Shyok Tunnel on the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi road—which is of immense strategic importance—was inaugurated in December 2025.

• Objective: To equip students with industry-relevant practical skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Machine Learning (ML), and emerging technologies.
• Collaboration: This lab is the result of nearly three years of continuous planning and collaboration between Chandigarh University and Intel India.

• Award Years: These honors were conferred jointly for the pending awards of the years 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
• Chief Guest: Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak honored the artists and read out a message from Governor Anandiben Patel.
• Key Disciplines: These awards are presented for outstanding contributions in the fields of music, dance, theatre, and folk arts.
• Special Honors: Along with the Akademi Awards, the prestigious Safdar Hashmi Award and B.M. Shah Award were also presented at the ceremony.

Key Award Winners:

Year 2021:

• Safdar Hashmi Award: Manoj Kumar Mishra (Rewa, Madhya Pradesh)
• B.M. Shah Award: Satish Anand (Delhi)

Year 2022:

• Safdar Hashmi Award: Rajesh Singh (New Delhi)
• B.M. Shah Award: Kamal Jain (Bhopal)

Year 2023:

• Safdar Hashmi Award: Ajay Kumar (Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh)
• B.M. Shah Award: Ravishankar Khare (Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh)

Year 2024:

• Safdar Hashmi Award: Shubhdeep Raha (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh)
• B.M. Shah Award: Sanjay Mehta (Bhopal)

• This cautious move was taken in view of global disruptions arising from escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia (specifically the US-Iran conflict) and rising crude oil prices.

Key Rates and Economic Projections (June 2026):

• Policy Repo Rate: 5.25%
• Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) Rate: 5.00%
• Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate: 5.50%
• Bank Rate: 5.50%
• Real GDP growth projection for FY 2026-27: Revised downwards from 6.9% to 6.6% (due to global supply chain disruptions and weak exports).
• CPI inflation projection for FY 2026-27: Revised upwards from 4.6% to 5.1% (due to a rise in domestic fuel prices and the risk of El Niño).

• Foreign Currency Assets (FCA): This constitutes the largest component of the reserves. It includes non-US currencies such as the Euro, Pound, and Yen in addition to the US Dollar (fluctuations in the value of these currencies impact the total reserves, a phenomenon known as the 'Valuation Effect'). During the week under review, FCA increased by $3.116 billion to $546.148 billion.
• Gold Reserves: India's gold reserves declined by $2.186 billion to $112.6 billion during the week under review.
• Special Drawing Rights (SDR): This is an international reserve asset created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF); it remained unchanged at $18.747 billion for the week.
• Reserve Position with the IMF: This represents India's quota or funds held with the IMF; it increased by $8 million to $4.826 billion.

• Why in the news?: It was declared India's 100th Ramsar site on June 5, 2026 (World Environment Day).
• Location: It is situated in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh.
• Type of Lake: It is a natural oxbow lake formed by the Ganges River.
• Local Name: It is locally known as Surha Tal.
• Status in Uttar Pradesh: With its inclusion, the total number of Ramsar sites in Uttar Pradesh has reached 13 (Tamil Nadu holds the top spot with 20 sites).
• Global Ranking: India now ranks third globally (100 sites) and first across Asia.

Ramsar Sites:

• These are wetlands of international importance that have been designated for conservation. They are named after the Iranian city of Ramsar, where the Ramsar Convention was signed.

Ramsar Convention:

• Signed: February 2, 1971, in Ramsar, Iran (World Wetlands Day is observed annually on February 2).
• Came into force: 1975.
• The list of Ramsar sites is maintained by the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, located at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) headquarters in Gland, Switzerland.
• India adopted this convention in 1982.
• First Indian wetland sites: Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) and Chilika Lake (Odisha) in 1981.
• Tamil Nadu has the highest number of sites (20), followed by Uttar Pradesh (12). Largest Ramsar site in India: Sundarbans, West Bengal
• Smallest Ramsar site in India: Renuka, Himachal Pradesh

• Career Beginnings: Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 6, 1986.
• Current Position: Prior to this appointment, he has been serving as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) at the headquarters in New Delhi.
• Flying Experience: He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot. He possesses over 3,300 hours of flying experience across more than 20 types of aircraft, including the Mirage-2000, MiG-21, and Jaguar.

Indian Air Force:

• Establishment: October 8, 1932 (as the Royal Indian Air Force)
• Motto: 'Nabhah Sprsham Deeptam' (Touch the Sky with Glory) — derived from the 11th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.
• Supreme Commander: President of India
• Chief of the Air Staff (2026): Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet (AP) Singh (28th Chief)
• Headquarters: Vayu Bhawan, New Delhi

The Air Force is divided into 7 commands:

• Western Air Command (WAC): New Delhi (Largest command)
• Eastern Air Command (EAC): Shillong
• Central Air Command (CAC): Prayagraj
• Southern Air Command (SAC): Thiruvananthapuram
• South-Western Air Command (SWAC): Gandhinagar
• Training Command (TRC): Bengaluru
• Maintenance Command (MTC): Nagpur

• Name: Jasmine Lamboria
• State: Bhiwani, Haryana
• Sport and Category: Boxing, 57 kg weight class (Featherweight category)
• Current Achievement: Became the world's number 1 boxer in the latest World Boxing rankings (as of June 2026). She secured this position by surpassing Poland's Julia Szeremeta.
• Historic Military Achievement: She is the first female boxer from the Indian Army to achieve this global milestone.
• Meenakshi Hooda: Along with Jasmine, India's Meenakshi Hooda has also retained her world number 1 ranking in the women's 48 kg category.
• Priya Ghanghas (60 kg) and Vishwanath Suresh (50 kg) have secured spots in the top 3 of their respective categories.

• Start of Tenure: Dr. Rahman will begin his one-year term on September 8, 2026.
• Successor: He will succeed the current President and former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
• Regional Rotation System: The UNGA presidency rotates annually among five regional groups. The 81st session fell to the Asia-Pacific Group.
• Historical Context: This is only the second time in Bangladesh's history that it has secured this position. Previously, Humayun Rashid Choudhury served as President in 1986.

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA):

• Establishment: 1945 (under the UN Charter)
• Headquarters: New York City, United States
• Members: All 193 UN member states are members.
• Representation: Each member state holds one vote (One Country, One Vote).
• Sessions: The regular annual session is held every year in September.
• Special Sessions: Can be convened upon the request of the Secretary-General or member states when necessary.
• President (President of the General Assembly): Elected for a one-year term for each session.

• Domestic Team: He represents the Andhra Pradesh team in domestic cricket.
• Ranji Trophy History: KS Bharat is the first wicketkeeper-batter in Ranji Trophy history to score a triple century (308 runs). He played this historic innings against Goa during the 2014-15 season.
• International Debut: He made his Test cricket debut against Australia in Nagpur in February 2023.
• Last International Match: He played his final Test match against England in Visakhapatnam in February 2024.

Cricket:

• Birthplace of Cricket: England is considered the birthplace of cricket. International Cricket Council (ICC):
• Established: 1909 (Initially named 'Imperial Cricket Conference'; became ICC in 1989)
• Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) [Prior to 2005, it was at Lord's, London]

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI):

• Established: December 1928
• Headquarters: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
• Pitch length: 22 yards (20.12 meters)
• Ball weight: 5.5 to 5.75 ounces (155.9 grams to 163 grams)
• Bat width: Maximum 4.25 inches (10.8 cm)
• Bat length: Maximum 38 inches (96.5 cm)
• Stump height (from the ground): 28 inches (71.1 cm)

Major domestic tournaments in India:

• Ranji Trophy: India's oldest and premier first-class cricket competition (Started: 1934)
• Irani Trophy: Played between the Ranji Trophy winner and the 'Rest of India' team
• Duleep Trophy: First-class matches played between India's geographical zones
• Vijay Hazare Trophy: India's premier limited-overs (50-over) domestic competition
• Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: India's domestic T20 competition
• Deodhar Trophy: 50-over List-A domestic tournament
• First Test match: India played its first international Test match against England at Lord's in 1932.
• First Test captain: C. K. Naidu
• First ODI Captain: Ajit Wadekar
• First World Cup: India won the ODI World Cup for the first time in 1983 by defeating the West Indies under the captaincy of Kapil Dev.
• Second World Cup: India won in 2011 by defeating Sri Lanka under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
• First T20 World Cup: India won in 2007 by defeating Pakistan under the captaincy of M.S. Dhoni.