Current Affairs Today — June 22, 2026
A quick-scan roundup of every major development for UPSC and State PCS aspirants. Each item carries a Why in News hook, the key data, and the UPSC angle. Six of these are expanded into full deep-dive articles in today’s edition.
BRICS National Security Advisers’ Meeting in New Delhi
🗞️ Why in News India is hosting the BRICS National Security Advisers’ (NSA) Meeting in New Delhi on June 22-23, 2026, chaired by NSA Ajit Doval, as part of India’s 2026 BRICS Chairship.
Key Data
- Theme: “Non-traditional security challenges confronting the world today”.
- Reviews Joint Working Groups on counter-terrorism and ICT/emerging-technology security.
- China to be represented by its Foreign Minister (who also functions as its NSA); a Doval-Wang bilateral is expected.
- India holds the BRICS Chairship for the fourth time (2012, 2016, 2021, 2026).
UPSC Angle
Tests knowledge of BRICS membership (now 11 members), India’s Chairship themes, and plurilateral security diplomacy under GS2 International Relations.
📌 Facts Corner India’s 2026 BRICS theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.
EAM Jaishankar’s Visit to Mongolia and South Korea
🗞️ Why in News External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar began a four-day visit to Mongolia (June 22-23) and South Korea (June 24-25), 2026.
Key Data
- In Mongolia he meets the leadership and Foreign Minister B. Battsetseg.
- In South Korea he meets ROK Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and delivers a keynote at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity.
- Focus areas: semiconductors, AI, critical minerals, supply-chain resilience, and review of the India-Korea CEPA (in force since 2010).
UPSC Angle
Act East policy, Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and India’s “third neighbour” diplomacy with Mongolia.
📌 Facts Corner Mongolia is described as India’s “spiritual” or “third neighbour” owing to shared Buddhist heritage.
Tushar Mehta Reappointed Solicitor General
🗞️ Why in News Tushar Mehta was reappointed Solicitor General of India for three years (ACC order June 20), effective July 1, 2026; five Additional Solicitors General for the Supreme Court were also reappointed.
Key Data
- Mehta has been SG since October 10, 2018.
- Law officers are appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
- The SG and ASGs are statutory law officers, not constitutional posts.
UPSC Angle
Only the Attorney-General for India under Article 76 is a constitutional law officer; the SG and ASGs are statutory. A classic Prelims distinction.
📌 Facts Corner Article 76 deals with the Attorney-General for India, the first law officer of the country.
Kudankulam Unit-5 Reactor Pressure Vessel Installed
🗞️ Why in News The roughly 320-tonne Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) was installed at Kudankulam Unit-5 in Tamil Nadu by NPCIL in June 2026.
Key Data
- An India-Russia VVER-1000 project with Atomstroyexport (ASE).
- Installation followed AERB clearance for major-equipment erection.
- The full Kudankulam site has a potential of 6,000 MWe across six units.
UPSC Angle
India-Russia civil nuclear cooperation, VVER (pressurised water reactor) technology, and the NPCIL-AERB operator-regulator split.
📌 Facts Corner NPCIL operates India’s commercial nuclear plants; AERB is the independent regulator.
National Policy for Gulf Students Hit by CBSE Exam Cancellation
🗞️ Why in News The Centre told the Supreme Court on June 22, 2026 that it had notified a national policy for students affected by the cancellation of CBSE Class XII examinations in the Gulf.
Key Data
- The 2026 Gulf crisis forced cancellation of CBSE Class XII board exams for private candidates in the region.
- The matter is before the Supreme Court.
- The policy was notified by the Union government.
UPSC Angle
Right to education, the role of the executive during emergencies abroad, and diaspora welfare under GS2.
📌 Facts Corner The CBSE is a national board under the Ministry of Education conducting exams in India and abroad.
INST Mohali’s Zinc-Ion Battery Breakthrough
🗞️ Why in News INST Mohali developed a BDIM electrolyte additive for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs), reported in mid-June 2026.
Key Data
- The additive suppresses hydrogen evolution, corrosion, and zinc dendrites.
- Symmetric Zn//Zn cells lasted over 1,400 hours.
- The study appeared in ACS Electrochemistry.
UPSC Angle
Grid-scale energy storage, alternatives to lithium-ion, and indigenous materials science (GS3).
📌 Facts Corner INST Mohali is the Institute of Nano Science and Technology, an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
WEF Energy Transition Index 2026: India at 70th
🗞️ Why in News India climbed to 70th in the World Economic Forum’s Energy Transition Index (ETI) 2026.
Key Data
- Score of 54.9, up two places, among the strongest improvers.
- The ETI weights System Performance 60% and Transition Readiness 40%.
- India’s renewable-energy jobs stand at around 1.3 million.
UPSC Angle
Energy security, equity and sustainability trilemma; India’s 500 GW non-fossil target by 2030 and net-zero by 2070.
📌 Facts Corner The ETI is published annually by the World Economic Forum.
India-France TRISHNA Satellite for 2027
🗞️ Why in News The India-France TRISHNA satellite was confirmed for a 2027 launch following PM Modi’s announcement on June 18-19, 2026.
Key Data
- A joint ISRO-CNES thermal-infrared Earth-observation satellite.
- Approximately 57 m resolution with a roughly three-day revisit cycle.
- ISRO provides the platform and VNIR/SWIR instruments; CNES provides the thermal-infrared instrument.
UPSC Angle
India-France space cooperation, Earth observation for food and water security (GS3).
📌 Facts Corner TRISHNA = Thermal infraRed Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural resource Assessment.
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education Reports
🗞️ Why in News The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education tabled its 379th-381st reports (presented June 17, 2026).
Key Data
- Education spending is stuck at 4.12% of GDP, below the NEP 6% target.
- It criticised the CUET MCQ-only format for humanities.
- It flagged inadequate Anganwadi-cum-creche day-care.
UPSC Angle
Parliamentary oversight via standing committees, NEP 2020 targets, and the CUET-UG conducted by NTA.
📌 Facts Corner Standing committees are constituted under the Rules of Procedure of the Houses, not the Constitution.
Chapekar Brothers: 129th Anniversary
🗞️ Why in News June 22 marks the anniversary of the Chapekar brothers’ assassination of British officials in Pune in 1897, regarded as an early act of revolutionary nationalism.
Key Data
- On June 22, 1897, during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, Damodar and Balkrishna Chapekar shot Pune Plague Committee chief W.C. Rand and Lt. Ayerst.
- Damodar Hari Chapekar was hanged on April 18, 1898, the first revolutionary so executed.
- The brothers were inspired by Tilak’s Kesari writings.
UPSC Angle
Roots of revolutionary nationalism, coercive colonial plague administration, and the 1897 Tilak sedition trial (GS1).
📌 Facts Corner The Chapekar action is often called the first political assassination of the modern Indian freedom struggle.
Operation Barbarossa: 85th Anniversary
🗞️ Why in News June 22, 2026 marks 85 years since Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany’s 1941 invasion of the USSR.
Key Data
- Launched June 22, 1941 with around 3.8 million Axis troops along a roughly 2,900 km front.
- Opened the Eastern Front of World War II.
- Brought the USSR into the Allied camp; the largest land invasion in history.
UPSC Angle
World History (GS1): turning points of WWII and the alignment of the Grand Alliance.
📌 Facts Corner Operation Barbarossa remains the largest land military operation ever mounted.
Women’s T20 World Cup: South Africa Beat India
🗞️ Why in News South Africa beat India by six wickets at Old Trafford, Manchester on June 21, 2026 in the Women’s T20 World Cup.
Key Data
- India posted 158/7; South Africa chased 159 in 19.1 overs.
- Marizanne Kapp was 81 not out; Shree Charani took 3/24.
- The match marked Harmanpreet Kaur’s 200th T20I.
UPSC Angle
Sports current affairs for Prelims and interview general awareness.
📌 Facts Corner The Women’s T20 World Cup is the premier short-format global tournament for women’s cricket.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Record List A Fifty
🗞️ Why in News Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (14) set the fastest List A fifty off 11 balls on June 21, 2026.
Key Data
- He scored 94 off 29 balls.
- India A made 377/9 and beat Sri Lanka A by 66 runs in the Tri-Series final at Dambulla.
UPSC Angle
Sports awards and records in news.
📌 Facts Corner List A is the limited-overs equivalent of first-class cricket.
CPI Inflation and RBI Repo Rate
🗞️ Why in News CPI inflation rose to around 3.93% in May 2026, while the RBI held the repo rate at 5.25%.
Key Data
- CPI rose from 3.48% in April to about 3.93% in May 2026, within the RBI band.
- The RBI held the repo rate at 5.25% for a third consecutive meeting with a neutral stance.
- CPI is compiled by MoSPI/NSO; the repo rate is set by the Monetary Policy Committee.
UPSC Angle
Inflation targeting, the RBI’s 4% +/-2% band, and monetary policy transmission (GS3).
📌 Facts Corner The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has a flexible inflation target of 4% within a 2-6% band.
Facts Corner
📌 Facts Corner — Knowledgepedia
- BRICS now has 11 members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, plus Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
- India’s 2026 BRICS theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.
- The India-Korea CEPA has been in force since 2010.
- Only the Attorney-General (Article 76) is a constitutional law officer; the Solicitor General and ASGs are statutory.
- Kudankulam uses Russian VVER-1000 reactors; full site potential is 6,000 MWe across six units.
- INST Mohali is an autonomous institute under the DST.
- The WEF Energy Transition Index weights System Performance 60% and Transition Readiness 40%.
- TRISHNA is an ISRO-CNES thermal-infrared Earth-observation mission set for 2027.
- India’s education spending is stuck at 4.12% of GDP against the NEP 6% target.
- Operation Barbarossa (June 22, 1941) was the largest land invasion in history.
- The RBI’s flexible inflation target is 4% within a 2-6% band.
Sources: Ministry of External Affairs, Press Information Bureau, The Hindu, Indian Express
Source: Current Affairs Today — June 22, 2026 — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs
