Current Affairs — 1 June 2026

1. PM SVANidhi — Six Years of Empowering Street Vendors

Core Context & Background

The Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme was launched in June 2020 as an emergency micro-credit intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic to assist urban street vendors and hawkers hit by lockdowns. It is jointly administered by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Department of Financial Services (DFS), functioning as a central sector scheme — meaning it is fully funded by the central government.

Latest Developments & Current Updates

The scheme has now completed six years of active implementation. The cumulative impact is significant: over 75.5 lakh unique street vendors have accessed credit under the scheme, with total disbursements exceeding ₹17,800 crore across 1.12 crore loan sanctions. Over 55 lakh vendors have been digitally onboarded, executing more than 841 crore digital transactions worth an estimated ₹8.96 lakh crore. The SVANidhi se Samriddhi (SSS) sub-program has profiled over 50 lakh families, generating 1.52 crore welfare benefit sanctions.

UPSC Prelims Perspective

• PM SVANidhi is a Central Sector Scheme (not Centrally Sponsored), meaning 100% central funding.

• Loans are provided in three tranches: ₹15,000 → ₹25,000 → ₹50,000, unlocked on timely repayment.

• Interest subsidy: 7% per annum, credited directly to the beneficiary's bank account.

• Digital incentive: Annual cashback of up to ₹1,600 for digital transactions.

• Upon repayment of the second tranche, vendors get UPI-linked RuPay Credit Cards with a ₹30,000 limit.

• Collaboration with FSSAI for food safety and hygiene training.

• 46% of beneficiaries are women (34.81 lakh individuals); 70% belong to marginalized communities.

• Governed under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.

2. Operation Sheruwali — Counter-Terrorism in Rajouri

Core Context & Background

The Rajouri–Poonch belt in Jammu & Kashmir has seen a recurring pattern of militant activity in recent years, particularly in the dense forested terrain of the Pir Panjal mountain range. The Dorimal–Gambhir Mughlan forest belt in Manjakote sector has been identified as a persistent hideout zone for cross-border militants.

Latest Developments & Current Updates

Operation Sheruwali, now in its seventh consecutive day, is a large-scale cordon-and-search operation jointly launched by the Indian Army, J&K Police's Special Operations Group (SOG), and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The operation uses drones, helicopters, thermal imaging systems, and sniffer dogs. Security forces have established layered cordons blocking possible escape routes in forested terrain. The aim is to neutralize militants, destroy supply dumps, and cut off their logistics networks.

UPSC Prelims Perspective

• The Pir Panjal range separates the Kashmir Valley from the Jammu division — important map-based geography.

• Rajouri and Poonch districts sit close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan — a strategically sensitive zone.

• CRPF is India's largest Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

• Multi-agency operations involve the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in coordination — relevant to internal security architecture.

• Relevant GS Paper 3 topic: Role of security forces in combating Left-Wing Extremism and Terrorism, use of technology in internal security.

3. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)

Core Context & Background

India's healthcare ecosystem has historically been fragmented, with patient records scattered across disconnected hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies. The ABDM was conceived as a digital public infrastructure (DPI) to unify this ecosystem — similar in spirit to how UPI unified payments.

Latest Developments & Current Updates

ABDM has now crossed 90 crore ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) registrations — a major milestone in India's health digitization journey. ABHA is a 14-digit unique digital health identifier that allows citizens to compile, link, and share medical histories across different healthcare applications and facilities.

UPSC Prelims Perspective

• Launched: September 2021.

• Nodal authority: National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

• ABHA number: 14-digit unique health identifier (analogous to Aadhaar for health records).

• Six key building blocks of ABDM:

  • ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account)

  • Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR) — verified database of licensed doctors, nurses, paramedics

  • Health Facility Registry (HFR) — master list of hospitals, clinics, pharmacies

  • HIE-CM — Health Information Exchange & Consent Manager (consent-based data sharing)

  • Unified Health Interface — allows scheduling, teleconsultations across apps

  • National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) — automates insurance claims settlement

• ABDM operates on principles of open-standard interoperability and informed consent.

4. Northwest India Dust Storms and Aravalli Degradation

Core Context & Background

The Aravalli range — one of the world's oldest fold mountain systems — has historically acted as a natural barrier, blocking westerly winds carrying dust from the Thar Desert and the Middle East from penetrating into the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plains. Over recent decades, however, illegal mining has systematically dismantled this natural shield.

Latest Developments & Current Updates

A massive dust storm (locally called Andhi) swept through Churu, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, and Jodhpur in Rajasthan on May 30, 2026. A study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) confirms that 12 widening operational gaps have been created across the Aravallis due to the disappearance of 31 entire hillocks from illegal mining. As this barrier degrades, dust trajectories now penetrate far deeper into Haryana, Delhi-NCR, Punjab, and western Uttar Pradesh.

UPSC Prelims Perspective

• Aravallis are among the oldest fold mountains in the world (Precambrian era), running approximately 800 km from Gujarat to Delhi.

• They separate the Thar Desert (arid) from the fertile Gangetic plains.

• Dust storms form due to thermal low-pressure systems over the Thar during April–June; winds exceeding 35–40 kmph mechanically lift un-vegetated soil particles.

• IMD data: Delhi averages 2.5 dust-storm days in June — highest in India.

• WII (Wildlife Institute of India) — an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), headquartered in Dehradun.

• Key environmental concept: Obstacle dunes — sand accumulations formed at the base of wind-blocking terrain features.

5. CBSE On-Screen Marking (OSM) System Controversy

Core Context & Background

Conventional board examination evaluation involves physically shipping handwritten answer scripts to evaluators, who mark them manually. This process is time-consuming and prone to human arithmetic errors. OSM was introduced as a modernization measure to digitize this pipeline entirely.

Latest Developments & Current Updates

Following the Class 12 results, widespread discrepancies in scores prompted intense scrutiny of CBSE's OSM system. The digital evaluation infrastructure was outsourced to Coempt Eduteck Pvt. Ltd. under a Service Level Agreement (SLA). The controversy deepened when it emerged that CBSE's own governing body had in June 2025 advised limiting OSM to small-volume subjects as a trial run — advice that was bypassed in favor of full-scale nationwide rollout across all subjects in 2026.

UPSC Prelims Perspective

• CBSE — Central Board of Secondary Education, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education.

• OSM process: Handwritten scripts → scanned → anonymized → uploaded to cloud → digital marking by evaluators.

• Key features: Anonymization of roll numbers, digital canvas grading under video surveillance, auto-tabulation of scores.

• The controversy raises governance questions around public procurement of EdTech, accountability in digital evaluation, and the principle of evidence-based policy rollout (pilot before scale).

• Connects to broader GS2 theme of governance failures in public institutions.

6. BrahMos Missile — Export Deal with Vietnam

Core Context & Background

BrahMos is India's flagship supersonic cruise missile system, developed jointly with Russia. The Philippines became its first international buyer in 2022, marking a turning point in India's defence exports trajectory.

Latest Developments & Current Updates

At the Shangri-La Dialogue — Asia's premier defence summit held annually in Singapore — India's Defence Secretary confirmed the signing of a ₹5,800-crore BrahMos export deal with Vietnam. Vietnam will become the second Southeast Asian country to acquire BrahMos, after the Philippines. Simultaneously, negotiations with Indonesia are in their final stages, potentially making it the third buyer.

UPSC Prelims Perspective

• BrahMos = Brahmaputra (India) + Moskva (Russia) — a portmanteau naming.

• Developed by BrahMos Aerospace — a joint venture (1998) between DRDO (India) and NPO Mashinostroyeniya (Russia).

• Type: Supersonic cruise missile — speed approximately Mach 2.8.

• Principle: Fire and Forget — no continuous guidance needed after launch.

• Warhead: Up to 200 kg conventional warhead.

• Launch platforms: Land (Mobile Autonomous Launcher), Sea (warships/submarines), Air (Su-30MKI fighter).

• Sea-skimming capability: Can fly as low as 5 meters in terminal phase to evade radar.

• Shangri-La Dialogue — annual Asia Security Summit organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), held in Singapore.

• India's defence exports milestone: From ₹686 crore (2013-14) to over ₹21,000 crore in recent years — BrahMos is a cornerstone of this growth.

7. Admiral Krishna Swaminathan — New Navy Chief

Core Context & Background

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) is the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Navy, holding the four-star rank of Admiral. The CNS reports to the Ministry of Defence and coordinates with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) under the integrated theatre command architecture being progressively implemented by India.

Latest Developments & Current Updates

Admiral Krishna Swaminathan has officially assumed charge as India's new Chief of Naval Staff in a formal ceremony in New Delhi. He previously served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Western Naval Command — the Navy's primary operational command in the Arabian Sea. His priorities include rapidly scaling indigenous and AI-enabled technologies across naval platforms and deepening India's maritime presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

UPSC Prelims Perspective

• Indian Navy has three operational commands:

  • Western Naval Command — HQ: Mumbai (Arabian Sea, Pakistan border)

  • Eastern Naval Command — HQ: Visakhapatnam (Bay of Bengal, Malacca Strait monitoring)

  • Southern Naval Command — HQ: Kochi (primarily training command)

• CNS holds four-star Admiral rank and reports to the Ministry of Defence.

• Four roles of the Navy: Military, Diplomatic, Constabulary, and Benign/HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief).

• The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) oversees tri-service coordination — currently Lt. Gen. N.S. Raja Subramani (retd.).

8. Blue Micromoon

Core Context & Background

A full moon occurs roughly once every 29.5 days. Since calendar months are 30–31 days long, occasionally two full moons fall within the same month. The second such full moon is called a Blue Moon. Separately, a Micromoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon being at its apogee — the farthest point in its elliptical orbit around Earth.

Latest Developments & Current Updates

An unusual astronomical event — a Blue Micromoon — became visible in the night sky. This is the simultaneous occurrence of a Blue Moon and a Micromoon. NASA confirmed this specific full moon was the farthest, smallest, and dimmest of the year. The next Blue Micromoon will not occur until 2053.

UPSC Prelims Perspective

• Apogee: Farthest point of moon's orbit (~403,945 km from Earth) → Micromoon (smaller, dimmer appearance).

• Perigee: Closest point → Supermoon (larger, brighter appearance).

• Blue Moon: Second full moon in a single calendar month — occurs every 2–3 years.

• The moon does NOT actually turn blue — the name is a calendar term, not a color description. Bluish tint only occurs if volcanic ash or dust scatters red wavelengths.

• Moon's orbital period: 27.3 days (sidereal); 29.5 days (synodic, new moon to new moon).

• Blue Micromoon appears roughly 14% smaller and 30% dimmer than a Supermoon.

9. Nagaland Cascade Frog (Amolops kamal)

Core Context & Background

The Northeast Indian region — particularly Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya — lies within the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, one of the world's 36 recognized hotspots of exceptional species richness and endemic fauna. It remains significantly under-surveyed, leading to regular discoveries of species new to science.

Latest Developments & Current Updates

Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) discovered a new cascade-dwelling frog species, Amolops kamal, in Singrep village, Kiphire district, Nagaland — a mountainous area bordering Myanmar. The species was identified using integrative taxonomy — combining traditional morphological measurements with molecular phylogenetic (DNA) analysis. The research was published in the ZSI journal.

UPSC Prelims Perspective

• Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) — established 1916; under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC); HQ: Kolkata.

• Genus: Amolops, Family: Ranidae (true frogs).

• Habitat: Fast-flowing mountain streams and waterfalls (cascade frogs).

• Kiphire district — located in eastern Nagaland, bordering Myanmar — important for map-based questions.

• Integrative taxonomy: Combining morphology + DNA analysis for species identification — key scientific method.

• The species is a cryptic species — genetically distinct but morphologically similar to related species.

• Significance: Highlights the rich, understudied biodiversity of Northeast India and the need for stream and forest ecosystem conservation.

10. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) — Ebola Outbreak

Core Context & Background

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has historically recorded the highest number of Ebola outbreaks globally. Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe, often fatal hemorrhagic fever caused by the Ebola virus (genus Ebolavirus). The DRC has faced repeated outbreaks since the virus was first identified near the Ebola River in 1976.

Latest Developments & Current Updates

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited the DRC to coordinate response to an intensifying Ebola outbreak. He called for reconsideration of travel bans, which can impede international health response teams and humanitarian aid access.

UPSC Prelims Perspective

• DRC — second-largest country in Africa by area (largest: Algeria); capital: Kinshasa.

• Rich in cobalt (world's largest reserves), industrial diamonds, copper, and tropical rainforest.

• Historically known as Zaire (1971–1997).

• Ebola — zoonotic disease caused by Ebolavirus; natural reservoir believed to be fruit bats.

• WHO — specialized agency of the United Nations for international public health; HQ: Geneva, Switzerland.

• IHR (International Health Regulations) — legally binding framework governing state responses to global health emergencies, administered by WHO.

• The Congo Basin is home to the world's second-largest tropical rainforest, after the Amazon — important for ecology and climate regulation.