Current Affairs Quiz 7 June 2026

Gilgit-Baltistan is part of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). India rejects any Pakistani attempt to bring material change there, including elections, as having no legal validity.
The region is strategically central: the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, passes through it, and the Shaksgam Valley adjoining it was ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963 (India claims it). The Karakoram Highway runs through Gilgit-Baltistan, linking Pakistan to China.
This is the consistent Government of India position that a UPSC answer on territorial sovereignty and India-Pakistan relations must reflect.

The NPT (1968, in force 1970) rests on three pillars: non-proliferation, disarmament, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The five recognised nuclear-weapon states are the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
India has never signed the NPT, viewing it as discriminatory, but maintains a strong non-proliferation record and a policy of No First Use and credible minimum deterrence. In 2008 India received a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), enabling civil nuclear commerce.
North Korea withdrew from the NPT in 2003 and has since conducted nuclear tests. The defunct Six-Party Talks (China, US, Russia, Japan, and the two Koreas) once sought Korean denuclearisation; the IAEA is the global nuclear watchdog.

Unsafe food causes hundreds of millions of illnesses and over 400,000 deaths globally each year, with the burden falling hardest on young children and low-income populations. International food standards are set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a joint WHO-FAO body.
In India, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), a statutory body under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare), sets and enforces food standards and runs initiatives like Eat Right India. Around World Food Safety Day 2026, the FSSAI rolled out a standardised vegan logo for transparent labelling, to become mandatory from July 1, 2027.
Food safety links to public health, consumer rights, food-export competitiveness, and SDG 2 and SDG 3.

The FSSAI lays down science-based standards for food articles and regulates their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure safe and wholesome food. It runs the Eat Right India movement, food fortification, hygiene ratings, and labelling reforms such as the new vegan logo.
The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 replaced a patchwork of earlier statutes (including the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954) to create a unified regulator. International food standards come from the Codex Alimentarius Commission (WHO-FAO).
Distinguish the FSSAI (food safety standards) from the Consumer Protection framework (consumer rights and redress) and the Essential Commodities Act (supply and pricing of essential goods).

The Belt and Road Initiative, launched by China in 2013, is a vast connectivity and infrastructure programme. CPEC links China’s Xinjiang to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea, passing through Gilgit-Baltistan via the Karakoram Highway.
India is the most prominent country to stay out of the BRI, on the grounds that CPEC violates its sovereignty and that BRI projects raise debt-sustainability and transparency concerns. Adjoining the region, the Shaksgam Valley was ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963, which India does not recognise.
India instead promotes alternative connectivity through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Indo-Pacific partnerships. The MEA reaffirmed in June 2026 that Gilgit-Baltistan is an integral part of India.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group is a multilateral export-control regime of nuclear-supplier countries that seeks to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of nuclear materials and technology. The 2008 waiver was unique to India, recognising its record despite non-membership of the NPT. India has since sought full NSG membership, which has been blocked, partly by China.
India is a member of three other export-control regimes: the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR, 2016), the Wassenaar Arrangement (2017), and the Australia Group (2018). North Korea, by contrast, withdrew from the NPT in 2003 and faces UN sanctions.
The IAEA is the nuclear watchdog; the NSG is a supplier cartel; do not confuse the two.

South Korea is a presidential republic in which executive power rests largely with the directly elected President; the Prime Minister assists the President and helps oversee ministries, but is not the chief executive (unlike in India’s parliamentary system, where the PM heads the government). The nomination of a technology-company chief executive reflects how central AI and the digital economy have become to national competitiveness.
India and South Korea share a Special Strategic Partnership (upgraded in 2015) and a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA, 2010, under review), with South Korea featuring in India’s Act East Policy. Cooperation spans semiconductors, electronics, shipbuilding and defence.

Norway Chess is among the most prestigious invitational tournaments, traditionally featuring the world’s top players. India’s current generation of Grandmasters, including Praggnanandhaa, D. Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi, has propelled the country to the top of world chess.
India won double gold (open and women’s) at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest. This generation traces its inspiration to Viswanathan Anand, India’s first Grandmaster (1988) and a five-time World Champion who has mentored many of the young players.
India’s chess surge reflects a deep talent pipeline, a strong grassroots and online ecosystem, and the value of sport as soft power and youth aspiration.

NEP 2020 envisaged the internationalisation of Indian higher education, including allowing top global universities to operate campuses in India. The UGC notified enabling regulations in 2023, and several foreign universities (including Australian and UK institutions) have since announced or opened Indian campuses, with GIFT City, Gujarat, an early hub.
The stated aims are to widen access to global-standard education, reduce the outflow of students and foreign exchange, and raise domestic academic standards through competition. Concerns include equity (affordability), regulation of quality, and the impact on Indian institutions.
The University of Liverpool is a UK Russell Group university.

India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974 (Pokhran-I, “Smiling Buddha”) and declared itself a nuclear-weapon state after Pokhran-II in 1998. Its doctrine rests on No First Use, credible minimum deterrence, and massive retaliation if attacked.
India has not signed the NPT (viewing it as discriminatory) or the CTBT, but observes a voluntary testing moratorium and has a clean non-proliferation record. The 2008 NSG waiver, following the India-US civil nuclear deal, allowed civil nuclear trade.
India is a member of the MTCR (2016), the Wassenaar Arrangement (2017) and the Australia Group (2018), but not the NSG. North Korea’s June 2026 declaration that its nuclear status is non-negotiable underscores the contrast with India’s posture.

In 1963, Pakistan and China signed a boundary agreement under which Pakistan ceded the Shaksgam Valley (also called the Trans-Karakoram Tract) to China. India rejects this transfer as illegal, since it regards the territory as part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir that acceded to India in 1947.
The valley sits north of the Karakoram and adjoins Gilgit-Baltistan, through which the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Karakoram Highway run. Together these make the region a node where India’s disputes with both Pakistan (PoJK) and China (boundary, CPEC) intersect.
The June 2026 Gilgit-Baltistan elections and India’s protest renewed attention on this contested geography.

Established in 1963 by the FAO and WHO, the Codex Alimentarius (“food code”) develops harmonised international standards on food safety, labelling, additives, contaminants and hygiene. Although Codex standards are voluntary, they carry weight in international trade because the WTO’s agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary measures reference them as the benchmark for resolving trade disputes.
For India, aligning with Codex is essential for food exports (for example, seafood and spices). Domestically, the FSSAI sets standards under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
World Food Safety Day (June 7, led by WHO and FAO) raises awareness of these issues; the 2026 theme is “From burden to solutions: safe food everywhere.”