Current Affairs Quiz 9 June 2026

The Zojila Pass sits on the Great Himalayan range and remains closed for six to seven months a year due to heavy snow and avalanches, cutting off Ladakh by road in winter. The tunnel connects Baltal (Sonamarg) to Meenamarg near Drass, on National Highway-1, and cuts crossing time from over three hours to about 15 minutes.
It is being executed by Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL); the final breakthrough on June 9, 2026 was witnessed by Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, with full operation expected in about 2.5 years. Strategically, all-weather access is vital for military logistics to Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control with China, and it boosts tourism and trade.
It also raises questions of sustainable infrastructure in the fragile, seismically active Himalayas.

Credit rating agencies assess the creditworthiness of governments and companies and publish growth and inflation forecasts that influence borrowing costs and investor sentiment. The Big Three (Fitch, S&P, Moody’s) dominate the global market; Indian agencies include CRISIL, ICRA and CARE. Fitch’s cut reflects India’s vulnerability as an importer of over 85% of its crude oil: a war-driven price spike raises inflation, erodes real incomes and widens the trade deficit.
Fitch expects inflation to rise toward 5.3% by year-end and projects an RBI response; the RBI had held the repo rate at 5.25% on June 5, 2026. A forecast cut is distinct from a sovereign-rating downgrade; it signals near-term caution rather than a change in India’s credit rating.
India’s long-term sovereign rating outlook has otherwise been on an improving path.

Government Securities (G-Secs) are debt instruments issued by the RBI on behalf of the Government of India and are considered risk-free sovereign debt. The FAR was created to widen the foreign-investor base in G-Secs and support India’s inclusion in global bond indices such as the JPMorgan emerging-market index, which channels large passive inflows.
The June 2026 reforms removed tax (capital gains and withholding tax on interest) for FPIs on specified G-Secs and lifted short-term, concentration and security-wise limits. The aims are to deepen and add liquidity to the bond market, reduce the crowding-out of private borrowers, and attract long-term capital such as pension funds via long-tenor bonds.
The risks are capital-flow volatility, rupee exposure and constraints on policy space, so the reforms target stable, long-term capital.

The Seventh Schedule divides powers into the Union List, the State List and the Concurrent List. Police (Entry 2) and Public Order (Entry 1) are State subjects, giving states primary responsibility for law and order and the freedom to design forces like Singappenn.
The Centre complements this through schemes and funds: the Nirbhaya Fund (2013) supports women-safety projects, alongside One Stop Centres, women help desks and the emergency number 112. Constitutionally, Article 15(3) permits special provisions for women and children, and Article 21 guarantees the right to life with dignity.
A recurring debate is whether specialised women’s units deliver real protection or risk siloing safety, when the goal should also be gender-sensitisation across the entire force. The launch was made in Chennai on June 9, 2026.

The idea of an International Day of Yoga was proposed by the Prime Minister at the UN General Assembly in September 2014, and the UNGA adopted the resolution on December 11, 2014, with a record 177 countries co-sponsoring it, the highest ever for a UNGA resolution at the time. The first observance was in 2015.
The nodal ministry is the Ministry of Ayush. The 2026 theme, “Yoga for Healthy Ageing,” reflects a focus on “healthspan” over lifespan, positioning yoga as preventive healthcare amid India’s ageing demographics and rising non-communicable-disease burden, linking to Ayushman Bharat.
International Day of Yoga is also an instrument of India’s soft power and cultural diplomacy, projecting traditional Indian knowledge globally.

India has two streams of gallantry awards. The wartime awards, for valour in the face of the enemy, are, in descending order, the Param Vir Chakra, the Maha Vir Chakra and the Vir Chakra.
The peacetime awards, for valour away from the battlefield (such as counter-insurgency), are the Ashoka Chakra, the Kirti Chakra and the Shaurya Chakra. These awards were instituted in 1952 with effect from 1950.
The President of India, who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, confers them at investiture ceremonies. The 2026 ceremony (Phase-1) awarded 7 Kirti Chakras, 15 Vir Chakras and 29 Shaurya Chakras.
The exact ordering of both hierarchies is a frequently tested fact; note that the Param Vir Chakra (wartime) and the Ashoka Chakra (peacetime) are the highest in their respective categories.

The LPAI develops, manages and regulates India’s land ports (Integrated Check Posts) on borders with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Myanmar. The LPMS provides single-window clearance, slot booking, digital payments and real-time tracking, and integrates with ICEGATE (the customs portal) and the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), part of the PM Gati Shakti ecosystem.
The reform brings land ports in line with the digitised processes of airports and seaports, supporting the Neighbourhood First and Act East policies while improving border-security oversight. EXIM trade through land ports rose sharply over the past decade to about Rs 82,800 crore in 2024-25.
Distinguish the LPAI (land ports, under the MHA) from Major Port Authorities (seaports, under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways) and the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021.

India is one of the world’s largest crude-oil importers, with import dependence above 85%. An oil-price shock works through several channels: it raises fuel, transport and manufacturing costs (inflation); erodes real incomes and dampens consumption (the largest component of GDP); widens the trade and current-account deficits; and pressures the rupee, which can import further inflation.
It also creates a policy bind for the RBI, which must weigh supply-driven inflation against growth (it held the repo rate at 5.25% on June 5, 2026). Mitigation strategies include Strategic Petroleum Reserves, source diversification and discounted-crude purchases, accelerating renewables and ethanol blending to cut oil dependence, and rupee-based trade settlements to reduce dollar exposure.
This vulnerability is a recurring theme in India’s external-sector and energy-security analysis.

The Prime Minister proposed the idea in his September 2014 address to the UN General Assembly. The resolution’s rapid adoption and record co-sponsorship were widely seen as a diplomatic success.
The day is observed on June 21, the Summer Solstice, and the nodal ministry in India is the Ministry of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy). Each year has a theme; the 2026 theme is “Yoga for Healthy Ageing,” with Kolkata hosting the main event.
The day connects to public health (yoga as preventive care against non-communicable diseases), to India’s ageing demographics, and to cultural diplomacy. Distinguish the UNGA (which declared the day) from the WHO or UNESCO; the UNGA is the UN’s main deliberative body where all 193 members are represented.

The RBI acts as the debt manager for the central government, issuing dated securities (long-term) and Treasury Bills (short-term) through auctions. G-Secs are the benchmark risk-free instruments in the economy, and their yields influence borrowing costs across the financial system.
Deepening the G-Sec market by attracting diverse, long-term investors lowers the government’s borrowing cost and supports financial stability. India’s inclusion in global bond indices (such as the JPMorgan GBI-EM) channels significant passive foreign inflows into FAR-eligible G-Secs.
SEBI, by contrast, regulates the securities market (including equities and corporate bonds), while the Finance Commission recommends the sharing of taxes between the Centre and states. Knowing which institution does what, RBI (monetary policy and government debt), SEBI (market regulation), Finance Commission (fiscal devolution), is a common Prelims discriminator.

Ladakh shares a long, contested boundary with China along the Line of Actual Control, including sensitive sectors such as the Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso, where tensions escalated from 2020. Until now, the Zojila Pass closed Ladakh’s road link to the Kashmir Valley for six to seven months each winter, complicating logistics.
The 13.15 km tunnel (Baltal to Meenamarg/Drass, on NH-1, executed by MEIL) removes this seasonal bottleneck, enabling reliable year-round military and civilian movement. This complements other border-infrastructure efforts by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and projects under the broader push to match infrastructure on the Chinese side.
The Government of India holds that Ladakh, including areas under illegal occupation, is an integral part of India. The tunnel also boosts tourism and trade along the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh corridor.

A Geographical Indication identifies a good as originating from a particular place, where a given quality or reputation is attributable to that origin (for example, Darjeeling tea, Banarasi sarees, Kanchipuram silk). The GI Act, 1999 came into force in 2003 and is administered by the Geographical Indications Registry (Chennai) under the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks.
India’s first GI was Darjeeling tea (2004). A GI protects producers from misuse of the name, supports rural and traditional livelihoods, and can boost export value.
Assam’s other GIs include Muga silk, Joha rice and Kaji Nemu (lemon). Distinguish GIs (collective, origin-based) from patents (inventions), trademarks (brand identifiers) and copyrights (creative works), all part of the intellectual-property framework.

The DPDP Act, 2023 is India’s first comprehensive data-protection law. It treats anyone under 18 as a child, requires verifiable parental consent for processing their data, and prohibits tracking, behavioural monitoring and targeted advertising directed at children.
Globally, Australia was the first to legislate an under-16 social media ban (effective December 2025), and Canada is moving to introduce similar restrictions through an online harms bill, alongside the EU’s Digital Services Act. The core tension is between protecting children online and concerns about free expression, enforceability and the privacy implications of age-verification technology.
India’s approach combines the DPDP Act with the IT Rules, 2021 (intermediary obligations) and ongoing work on a Digital India Act. Distinguish the DPDP Act (data protection) from the IT Act, 2000 (the older cyber-law framework).

When a country’s bonds are added to a global index (such as the JPMorgan GBI-EM), index-tracking funds worldwide must buy them, bringing in substantial, relatively stable foreign capital. The benefits include a deeper, more liquid bond market, lower borrowing costs for the government, a more diversified investor base, and reduced crowding-out of private borrowers.
The risks include greater exposure to global capital-flow swings and currency volatility, since large foreign holdings can reverse during global shocks. India phased its index inclusion gradually and used the Fully Accessible Route to channel these flows into specified G-Secs.
The reforms aim to attract long-term, stable investors (such as pension and sovereign-wealth funds) through long-tenor bonds, while managing the volatility risk. This sits within the broader goal of financing the government’s borrowing efficiently without overburdening domestic savings.