📰 PIB Notes for UPSC – 12 June 2026
Daily PIB Current Affairs | UPSC & SSC Exam Preparation
Today's PIB Notes for UPSC covers 10 key topics —
BRICS Agriculture Ministers' Conference (Indore), India AI Mission's Varya Video Model,
Jaspal Rana's Passing, Global Coalition for Social Justice (ILC Geneva),
Global Wind Day 2026 Conference (Goa), MoRTH Landslide Mitigation for Hill Roads,
Supernova SN 2023zcu Study (ARIES), CSIR-CRRI & MCD ECOFIX Partnership,
CPI Inflation May 2026, and PIB Backgrounder on Antyodaya in Action.
Each topic has simplified notes, prelims extra points & an interactive MCQ —
ideal for UPSC Prelims & SSC CGL.
Ministry of Agriculture
BRICS Agriculture Ministers' Conference – Indore 2026
📝 Key Notes
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
❓ MCQ Practice
- Two-day BRICS Agriculture Ministers' Conference commenced in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
- Inaugurated by Union Agriculture Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan; MoS Shri Ramnath Thakur also present.
- India's key agricultural stats shared:
- Agriculture sector annual growth: ~4.5%
- Total foodgrain production: 376 million tonnes (MT)
- Wheat production: ~118 MT
- Horticulture production: 378 MT
- Fish production: 19+ MT
- ~43% of India's workforce is in agriculture & allied sectors.
- ~87% of Indian farmers are small & marginal farmers.
- Key schemes cited: PM-KISAN, Kisan Credit Card, crop insurance, natural farming (Khet Bachao Abhiyan).
- Drone Didi initiative highlighted as symbol of women's empowerment in rural areas.
- India's philosophy: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam & Atithi Devo Bhava stressed for global cooperation.
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
- BRICS Agriculture — BRICS countries collectively represent ~40% of world population & significant share of global food production.
- PM-KISAN = Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi — ₹6,000/year direct income support in 3 instalments to eligible farmers.
- Kisan Credit Card (KCC) — provides short-term credit for crop cultivation; interest subvention scheme of 2% (additional 3% for prompt repayment).
- Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) — crop insurance; premium capped at 2% (Kharif), 1.5% (Rabi), 5% (horticulture).
- Drone Didi scheme — trains women SHG members to operate agricultural drones; provides ₹8 lakh subsidy per SHG.
- Indore = India's cleanest city multiple times (Swachh Survekshan); commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh.
- India is world's 2nd largest agricultural producer; world's largest exporter of rice, spices & cotton.
❓ MCQ Practice
Q. What percentage of India's farmers are classified as small and marginal farmers, as stated at the BRICS Agriculture Conference 2026?
~87% of India's farmers are small and marginal farmers (landholding <2 hectares). 43% refers to agriculture's share of the workforce.
Ministry of Electronics & IT
India AI Mission Launches 'Varya' – Indigenous Video AI Model
📝 Key Notes
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
❓ MCQ Practice
- Varya = distilled AI video generation model launched by Avtaar.ai (Avataar), supported by IndiaAI Mission.
- Unveiled in New Delhi in presence of Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY.
- Key innovation: Distillation technique — reduces video generation from 50 steps → 4 steps (10x efficiency).
- Cost: ₹0.48 per second of video — up to 10x cheaper than leading global models.
- Workflow: Idea → Video → Story (text prompt → image → video → extended clips).
- Avataar was selected by IndiaAI Mission to build indigenous foundation AI capabilities.
- Uses subsidized national AI compute infrastructure provided by IndiaAI Mission.
- Designed for India's cultural contexts — regions, festivals, communities, food, clothing, everyday life.
- Tagline: "Affordable AI is Inclusive AI".
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
- IndiaAI Mission — launched 2024; ₹10,372 crore outlay; aims to build India's AI ecosystem (compute, datasets, startups, research).
- Distilled video generation = model compression technique; "student model" replicates a larger "teacher model" with far less computation.
- MeitY = Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology — nodal ministry for Digital India, AI, cybersecurity.
- Foundation AI Models = large-scale AI models trained on broad datasets; base for downstream applications (e.g., GPT, Llama).
- India's AI ranking: Top 5 globally in AI talent (Stanford AI Index 2024).
- Digital India Corporation (DIC) — implements Digital India programme under MeitY.
- Frugal Innovation = developing affordable, resource-efficient solutions for mass markets — India's competitive advantage in global tech.
❓ MCQ Practice
Q. Varya, the AI video model launched under IndiaAI Mission, reduces video generation steps from 50 to how many using distillation technique?
Varya uses distillation to reduce video generation from 50 steps to just 4 steps, making it ~10x more cost-efficient at ₹0.48 per second of video.
Prime Minister's Office
Passing of Shri Jaspal Rana – Indian Shooting Legend
📝 Key Notes
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
❓ MCQ Practice
- PM Narendra Modi expressed deep sadness over the passing of Shri Jaspal Rana.
- Described as a profound loss to the world of Indian sports.
- Jaspal Rana = legendary Indian pistol shooter; multiple Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
- Also recognized for his role as a mentor — trained young shooters including Abhinav Bindra.
- PM paid tribute to his excellence, discipline and service to sporting world.
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
- Jaspal Rana — born 1976; from Uttarakhand; specialised in 10m Air Pistol & 25m Rapid Fire Pistol.
- Won gold at 1994 Commonwealth Games (Victoria, Canada) — considered one of India's greatest shooting performances.
- Won multiple CWG gold medals — one of India's most decorated Commonwealth Games shooters.
- Awarded Arjuna Award (1994) and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2001) — now called Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
- India's biggest shooting achievement: Abhinav Bindra — Olympic Gold (10m Air Rifle), Beijing 2008 — India's first individual Olympic gold.
- National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) — governing body for shooting sport in India.
- Shooting governed globally by ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation).
❓ MCQ Practice
Q. The 'Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award' was previously known as which of the following?
India's highest sports honour was earlier called Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. It was renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021 to honour the hockey legend.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
Global Coalition for Social Justice – ILC Geneva Sidelines
📝 Key Notes
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
❓ MCQ Practice
- MoS Shobha Karandlaje participated in Coordination Group Meeting of Global Coalition for Social Justice (GCSJ) on 11 June 2026 — sidelines of 114th ILC, Geneva.
- GCSJ = established in 2023 by ILO; multi-stakeholder platform to strengthen multilateral cooperation and translate political commitments into concrete action.
- India met Labour Ministers of Bangladesh, Moldova, Brazil, Switzerland, Vice Minister of Belgium & ILO DG at the meeting.
- India reaffirmed commitment to working with ILO, govts, employer & worker organizations for Coalition's objectives.
- India's contribution focus: inclusive growth, social protection, responsible business, international cooperation for equitable labour markets.
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
- ILO = International Labour Organization; HQ: Geneva; founded 1919; tripartite UN body.
- ILC = International Labour Conference — "World Parliament of Labour"; meets annually in Geneva in June.
- GCSJ launched at ILO Centenary (1919–2019); operationalized 2023 — brings together 100+ partners across governments, businesses, civil society.
- Social Justice = equitable distribution of wealth, equal opportunity — core mandate of ILO since its founding.
- India's social protection coverage: 19% (2015) → 64.3% (2025) — highlighted at ILC.
- Decent Work Agenda = ILO framework: productive work + rights + social protection + social dialogue.
❓ MCQ Practice
Q. The Global Coalition for Social Justice (GCSJ) was established by which organization and in which year?
GCSJ was established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2023 as a multi-stakeholder platform to strengthen multilateral cooperation on social justice globally.
Ministry of New & Renewable Energy
Global Wind Day 2026 Conference – Goa
📝 Key Notes
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
❓ MCQ Practice
- MNRE to host Global Wind Day 2026 Conference on 15 June 2026 in Goa.
- Theme: "Wind Energy: From Ambition to Acceleration".
- Led by Shri Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for NRE; MoS Shri Shripad Yesso Naik also present.
- India's wind energy status: World's 4th largest wind power market.
- Record addition in 2025-26: 6.1 GW of wind capacity.
- Targets: 100 GW by 2030 | 155 GW by 2035.
- Part of India's larger goal: 500 GW non-fossil capacity + Net-Zero by 2070.
- Key institutions: CEA, SECI, IREDA, NIWE, Grid India, IWTMA, WIPPA, IWPA.
- Report to be unveiled: "Elevating India's Wind Turbine Exports for Global Markets".
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
- Global Wind Day = observed on 15 June every year; promoted by Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) & WindEurope.
- NIWE = National Institute of Wind Energy — under MNRE; HQ: Chennai; India's apex wind energy R&D institution.
- IREDA = Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency — finances renewable energy projects.
- SECI = Solar Energy Corporation of India — PSU implementing large RE projects.
- India's total installed RE capacity: ~220 GW+ (2025-26).
- India's NDC target: 50% of cumulative power from non-fossil sources by 2030 (updated Paris Agreement commitment).
- World's top wind power markets: China > USA > Germany > India.
- Repowering = replacing old wind turbines with newer, more efficient ones — emerging priority in India's wind sector.
❓ MCQ Practice
Q. India is currently ranked at what position globally in wind power market size?
India is the world's 4th largest wind power market. The ranking is China > USA > Germany > India. India added a record 6.1 GW in 2025-26.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
MoRTH – Advanced Landslide Mitigation for Hill Roads
📝 Key Notes
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
❓ MCQ Practice
- MoRTH deploying InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar)-based landslide monitoring & early warning along 100-km Char Dham route, Uttarakhand.
- Advanced warning system planned for Parwanoo-Solan section of NH-5 (Himachal Pradesh) — monitors landslides, land sinking, groundwater, rockfall in real time.
- MoU signed with Geological Survey of India (GSI) for tunnel geological investigations & geohazard data sharing.
- Phased construction approach: 1 year dedicated to slope cutting & stabilisation before road construction.
- Partnerships: THDC India Ltd (Uttarakhand & Arunachal landslide works), DGRE, GSI, NIRM, IIT Roorkee, IIT Delhi.
- Technologies: Drones, LiDAR surveys, Digital Terrain Models, soil nailing, cable anchors, retaining walls, hydroseeding.
- India's NH in hill states: 16,788 km out of 1,46,570 km total NH network.
- Uttarakhand alone: 58 treated + 96 ongoing + 104 DPR preparation landslide sites.
- Cost context: Mountain highways cost ₹15-30 crore/km; single landslide = ₹10-25 crore repair + 2-5 days disruption.
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
- InSAR = Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar — satellite-based technology to detect millimeter-level ground deformations; used for landslide prediction.
- LiDAR = Light Detection and Ranging — remote sensing tech using laser pulses to map terrain in 3D.
- GSI = Geological Survey of India — world's 2nd oldest geological survey (est. 1851); under Ministry of Mines.
- DGRE = Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment — DRDO lab specialising in snow & avalanche research; based in Chandigarh.
- Char Dham = Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath — pilgrimage circuit in Uttarakhand; part of Char Dham Pariyojana (highway expansion project).
- Himalayan region = geologically young, active tectonic zone — highly vulnerable to landslides & earthquakes.
- National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) — responsible for disaster risk reduction including landslide guidelines.
❓ MCQ Practice
Q. MoRTH is piloting InSAR technology for landslide monitoring along which route in India?
MoRTH is piloting InSAR technology for landslide monitoring along a 100-km stretch of the Char Dham route in Uttarakhand. NH-5 Parwanoo-Solan is getting an advanced warning system.
Ministry of Science & Technology
Supernova SN 2023zcu – Indian Scientists' Study Helps Build Cosmic Distance Scale
📝 Key Notes
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
❓ MCQ Practice
- Study of Supernova SN 2023zcu published in The Astrophysical Journal by scientists from ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences), Nainital — autonomous institute under DST.
- SN 2023zcu discovered on 8 December 2023 at edge of spiral galaxy NGC 2139, ~90.7 million light-years away.
- Type: Type IIP Core-Collapse Supernova — explosion of a massive red supergiant star (8–17 times Sun's mass).
- Distance estimated: ~27 Mpc (Megaparsecs) using Expanding Photospheric Method (EPM).
- Progenitor star mass: ~12 times Sun's mass; explosion energy: 2 × 10⁵¹ ergs.
- Significance: Helps estimate distances of local universe — contributes to building the Cosmic Distance Scale.
- Key characteristic of Type IIP: "Plateau" phase in light curve due to hydrogen recombination in large hydrogen envelope.
- Authors: Monalisa Dubey, Dr. Kuntal Misra, Naveen Dukiya (ARIES) + international collaborators.
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
- ARIES = Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences — located in Nainital, Uttarakhand; under DST; operates the 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope — largest optical telescope in Asia.
- Supernova = catastrophic stellar explosion; classified as Type I (no hydrogen) & Type II (hydrogen present); Type IIP = hydrogen + plateau phase.
- Core-Collapse Supernova (CCSNe) = occurs when massive star (>8 solar masses) exhausts nuclear fuel; gravity overcomes pressure — creates neutron star or black hole.
- Cosmic Distance Scale / Distance Ladder = hierarchy of methods to measure astronomical distances (parallax → Cepheid variables → Type Ia supernovae → Hubble constant).
- EPM (Expanding Photospheric Method) = distance measurement technique using apparent brightness vs actual expansion of supernova surface.
- 1 Parsec = 3.26 light-years; 1 Mpc = 1 million parsecs = 3.26 million light-years.
- Supernovae are crucial for nucleosynthesis — create heavy elements (iron, gold, uranium) scattered across universe.
❓ MCQ Practice
Q. Which Indian research institute studied the supernova SN 2023zcu and published findings in The Astrophysical Journal?
ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences), Nainital — an autonomous institute under DST — conducted the detailed study of SN 2023zcu.
Ministry of Science & Technology
CSIR-CRRI & MCD – ECOFIX Technology for Pothole Repair
📝 Key Notes
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
❓ MCQ Practice
- MoA signed between CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on 10 June 2026.
- Scope: Functional & structural road evaluation, construction quality supervision, capacity building of MCD engineers.
- Technology transferred: ECOFIX — instant pothole repair technology using processed iron and steel slag aggregates.
- ECOFIX invented by Shri Satish Pandey, Head, Flexible Pavement Division, CSIR-CRRI.
- Other CRRI technologies: Steel Slag Road Technology, Rejupave, MSS+ — promote circular economy.
- CSIR-CRRI = 7 decades of contributions to road sector in India.
- Benefits: Faster repairs, durable roads, reduced road dust, conservation of natural resources, circular economy principles.
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
- CSIR-CRRI = Central Road Research Institute — CSIR lab established 1952; HQ: New Delhi; India's premier road research institution.
- CSIR = Council of Scientific and Industrial Research — under Ministry of Science & Technology; 37 national labs across India.
- Steel Slag = by-product of steel manufacturing — used in road construction; promotes waste-to-wealth & circular economy.
- Circular Economy = system that minimises waste by reusing, recycling & regenerating materials — key to sustainable development (SDG 12).
- MCD = Municipal Corporation of Delhi — unified after merger of NDMC, SDMC, EDMC in 2022; one of India's largest urban local bodies.
- Pothole repair = critical urban infrastructure issue; India loses thousands of lives annually in pothole-related accidents (Road Transport Yearbook data).
- PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) — rural road connectivity scheme; now PMGSY-IV focused on road upgradation.
❓ MCQ Practice
Q. ECOFIX, recently signed between CSIR-CRRI and MCD, is a technology related to which application?
ECOFIX is an instant pothole repair technology developed by CSIR-CRRI using processed iron and steel slag aggregates — a waste-to-wealth circular economy innovation.
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation
CPI Inflation – May 2026: 3.93%
📝 Key Notes
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
- All India CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation for May 2026: 3.93% (provisional); base year: 2024=100.
- Rural inflation: 4.25% | Urban inflation: 3.53%.
- Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) inflation: 4.78%; Rural: 4.85% | Urban: 4.66%.
- Housing inflation: 2.12%.
- Lowest inflation items: Potato (-23.71%), Peas (-11.47%), Motor car (-7.19%).
- Highest inflation items: Silver Jewellery (+155.23%), Tomato (+48.43%), Gold/Diamond (+40.93%), Ginger (+32.49%).
- Data collected from 1,407 urban markets + 1,465 villages; response rate: 100%.
- CPI for June 2026 to be released on 13 July 2026.
3.93%
CPI Combined (May 2026)
4.78%
Food Inflation (CFPI)
2.12%
Housing Inflation
+155%
Silver Jewellery (Highest)
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
- CPI = measures retail price change; compiled by MoSPI; released monthly.
- RBI's inflation target (Flexible Inflation Targeting): 4% ± 2% (i.e., 2-6% range); primary instrument is Repo Rate.
- MPC = Monetary Policy Committee — 6-member body; sets repo rate to control inflation; constituted under RBI Act.
- WPI = Wholesale Price Index — measures wholesale price changes; compiled by DPIIT (Ministry of Commerce).
- Base year revision: CPI base changed from 2012=100 to 2024=100 — reflects updated consumption basket.
- NSO = National Statistical Office — data collection wing of MoSPI; conducts PLFS, HCES etc.
- Core inflation = CPI minus food & fuel — measure of underlying price pressure; closely watched by RBI.
❓ MCQ Practice
Q. What is RBI's mandated inflation target (CPI) under the flexible inflation targeting framework?
RBI's mandated CPI inflation target is 4% ± 2% (range: 2–6%) — set under the Monetary Policy Framework Agreement and administered by the 6-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
PIB Backgrounder
Antyodaya in Action – Ensuring Dignity, Opportunity & Growth for All
📝 Key Notes
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
❓ MCQ Practice
- Antyodaya = "uplift the last person first" — governance philosophy of PM Modi's govt since 2014; concept from Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.
- PM JANMAN (PM Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan) — targets 75 PVTG communities across 18 states & 1 UT; ₹24,104 crore outlay; 11 interventions by 9 ministries; launched November 2023.
- Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs): 491 of 500 operationalised; 38,391 PVTG members trained.
- EMRS (Eklavya Model Residential Schools): 1.56 lakh students in 499 schools; 323 more under construction; students clearing JEE/NEET grew from 2 (2022-23) to 597 (2024-25).
- PM-AJAY (PM Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana): Covers 47,334 villages, 597 districts, 26 states; reaches 4 crore SC citizens & 83 lakh households.
- SHREYAS scheme: 2025-26 — 4,156 SC students in premier institutions, 990 in free coaching, 72 overseas scholarship, 4,153 SC research fellows.
- SHRESHTA scheme (June 2022): 2025-26 — 19,754 SC students in 288 schools; income limit ₹2.5 lakh for NETS.
- SC Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education: 18.9% (2014-15) → 25.9% (2021-22).
- PM-YASASVI: OBC, EBC, DNT students; 5 components; 30% seats for girls.
- PM DAKSH: Skill training for SC, OBC, EBC, DNT, sanitation workers; 2.08 lakh+ trained.
- SEED (Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs): Free coaching, health insurance, housing, livelihoods; 2025-26 — 4,485 DNT students coached, 73,569 Ayushman cards issued, ₹16 crore to 64,701 individuals for livelihoods.
- PM VIKAS (2025): Merged 5 minority schemes; 73,200 enrolled, 12,429 trained, 1,405 certified.
- Aspirational Districts Programme (2018): 112 districts; deepened with Aspirational Blocks Programme (2023) — 500 blocks, 329 districts.
- Janjatiya Gaurav Divas: 15 November (birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda); 150th birth anniversary observed as Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh (15 Nov 2024 – 15 Nov 2025).
- 11 Tribal Freedom Fighter Museums sanctioned; 4 inaugurated (Jharkhand, MP ×2, Chhattisgarh).
⭐ Prelims Extra Points
- PVTG = Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups — most marginalised of STs; criteria: pre-agricultural tech, declining/stagnant population, low literacy; India has 75 PVTGs across 18 states + 1 UT.
- Birsa Munda = tribal freedom fighter from Jharkhand; led Ulgulan (Great Tumult) movement against British & landlords in 1899-1900; called "Dhartaba" (Father of the Earth).
- TRIFED = Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India — markets tribal products; runs Tribes India brand.
- DAPSC = Development Action Plan for SCs — 38 ministries, 239 schemes.
- VISVAS = interest subsidy (5% p.a.) on loans for SC/OBC/Safai Karamcharis via DBT.
- Aspirational Districts Programme — uses Delta Ranking to create competitive improvement among districts on 49 key indicators across 5 sectors.
- PM VIKAS = PM Virasat Ka Samvardhan — convergence of Seekho Aur Kamao, USTTAD, Hamari Dharohar, Nai Roshni & Nai Manzil.
❓ MCQ Practice
Q. PM JANMAN scheme targets how many Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) communities across India?
PM JANMAN targets 75 PVTG communities across 18 states and 1 UT with a budget of ₹24,104 crore, implementing 11 interventions through 9 ministries. Launched November 2023.
