Current Affairs – June 29, 2026

{GS2 – IR} India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue

Context (IE): Recent high-level interactions between India and China emphasized on the early resumption of the India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED).

India and China established the SED in 2010 to deepen macroeconomic cooperation and address emerging economic challenges. Between 2011 and 2019, six rounds of dialogue were held covering diverse sectors such as infrastructure, energy, pharmaceuticals, and high technology etc.
However, following the Galwan Valley clashes (2020) and heightened tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the dialogue was suspended as bilateral relations deteriorated.

Why is Revival of SED Important?

Managing Economic Interdependence: Despite strategic differences, China remains one of India’s largest trading partners, with Indian industries dependent on Chinese imports of machinery, electronics, APIs and solar equipment. The SED can help manage this interdependence.
Addressing the Trade Deficit: India faces a persistent trade deficit (~$100B trade deficit) with China due to high imports. The dialogue can promote balanced trade and greater market access.
Strengthening Economic Security: Economic security is now central to national security. Cooperation on resilient supply chains, critical technologies, semiconductors and rare earths is essential.
Global Economic Uncertainty: Amid rising protectionism and supply chain disruptions, institutional dialogue can enhance regional economic resilience and reduce vulnerabilities.

Key Challenges in Reviving the Dialogue

Border Tensions: The unresolved boundary dispute and periodic tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) continue to undermine mutual trust and remain the biggest obstacle to normalising bilateral relations.
Persistent Trust Deficit: The events of 2020 significantly eroded political confidence between the two countries. Any revival of economic engagement must proceed alongside confidence-building measures.
Large Trade Imbalance: India’s widening trade deficit reflects structural dependence on Chinese manufacturing. Unless market access improves, economic engagement may remain asymmetric.
National Security Concerns: India has imposed stricter scrutiny on Chinese investments, digital platforms and infrastructure projects due to security considerations. Balancing economic cooperation with strategic interests remains a major policy challenge.
China’s Industrial Policies: China’s export-oriented manufacturing model, state subsidies and industrial policies create competitive disadvantages for Indian manufacturers & complicate efforts towards balanced trade.

{GS2 – IR} India-Seychelles Bilateral Relations

Context (IE): Prime Minister attended Seychelles’ 50^th Independence Day celebrations as the Guest of Honour and became the first Indian PM to address the Seychelles National Assembly.

Seychelles

Seychelles (Capital: Victoria) is a sovereign archipelagic republic in the western Indian Ocean, ~1,600 km east of mainland Africa. It is considered Africa’s smallest country by area and its richest by GDP per capita.
Shares maritime boundaries with Madagascar to the southwest, with Comoros and Mauritius to the south, and with the Maldives to the east.
The 115-island nation comprises older mountainous granitic inner islands and younger flat coralline outer islands. The inner islands form the world’s only mid-oceanic granitic island chain.
Seychelles is home to the giant Aldabra tortoise and the coco-de-mer palm, which produces the world’s largest seed. Aldabra Atoll is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site (1982), recognised for its pristine raised coral ecosystem and the world’s largest population of giant tortoises.

Key Outcomes of the Visit

PM Modi received the Guardian of the Blue Horizon, Seychelles’ highest honour for leadership in environmental conservation and sustainable development.
India announced a $175 million Special Economic Package for Seychelles. India gifted the Fast Patrol Vessel PS Lespwar to Seychelles Coast Guard, along with 6 ambulances, 10 utility vehicles, and 5 Laser Radial boats.
Seychelles formally joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to align its climate adaptation efforts with Indian Ocean partners. An agreement with HLL Lifecare extends India’s Jan Aushadhi scheme to supply affordable generic medicines to the Seychelles health system.
The two nations signed an Extradition Treaty to strengthen cooperation in combating transnational crime, piracy, and drug trafficking. Agreements were reached on the rollout of UPI and on collaboration in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and satellite applications.

{GS2 – MeitY} 11 Years of Digital India Mission

Context (PIB): The Digital India Mission (2015) has completed 11 years, transforming governance through Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), improving service delivery, inclusion, and the digital economy.

Key Initiatives under Digital India

JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile): Foundation of financial inclusion, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), and digital governance.
eSanjeevani & eHospital: Digital healthcare platforms providing telemedicine, online appointments, and hospital management.
CoWIN & Aarogya Setu: Digital platforms for vaccination management, health records, and public health services.
Government e-Marketplace (GeM): Transparent online procurement platform connecting government buyers with businesses.
Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC): Open, interoperable e-commerce network promoting competition and MSME participation.
GSTN: Digital platform for GST registration, return filing, tax payments, and e-invoicing.
PM GatiShakti: GIS-based digital platform for integrated infrastructure planning across ministries.
AgriStack: DPI for agriculture providing Farmer IDs, credit, insurance, and advisory services.
DIKSHA, SWAYAM & PM e-Vidya: Digital education platforms offering e-learning, teacher training, and remote education.
IndiaAI Mission: National initiative to strengthen AI infrastructure, innovation, skilling, and responsible AI adoption.

Achievements of Digital India

Largest DPI Ecosystem: Built platforms like Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, CoWIN, ONDC, & UMANG.
Financial Inclusion: 57.78 crore Jan Dhan accounts and ₹51 lakh crore+ DBT delivered to beneficiaries.
Digital Payments Leader: UPI processes ~49% of global real-time digital payment transactions.
Digital Connectivity: 97% of Gram Panchayats connected through BharatNet; 106.58 crore broadband subscribers.
Electronics Manufacturing: Production increased from ₹1.9 lakh crore (FY15) to ₹12 lakh crore (FY26); India is the 2nd-largest mobile phone manufacturer.
Digital Healthcare: 48+ crore eSanjeevani consultations, 220+ crore CoWIN vaccinations.
Global Leadership: India Stack partnerships with 24 countries and UPI expanded to multiple countries, showcasing India’s Digital Public Infrastructure model.

Challenges of Digital India

Digital Divide: Many Gram Panchayats still await BharatNet; rural divide & digital literacy gaps persist.
Cybersecurity: 20+ lakh cybercrime complaints (2024) indicate rising online fraud and cyber threats.
Data Privacy: Rapid growth of UPI (24,000+ crore annual transactions) demands strong implementation of the DPDP Act, 2023.
Infrastructure Gaps: Weak last-mile connectivity, power outages, and legacy IT systems hinder the seamless delivery of digital governance.
Inclusive Access: Digital gender gap, regional disparities, and accessibility barriers for PwDs continue to limit universal digital inclusion.

Context (TH): With ‘thin-fat’ phenotype children appearing lean yet carrying excess body fat and cardiometabolic risk, adolescent malnutrition in India reflects a double burden of undernutrition and obesity.

Current State of Adolescent Malnutrition in India

Double Burden: NFHS-6 (2023-24) highlights a worsening dual burden, with 29.3% of children stunted, while Indian adolescent obesity has surged 33-fold from 0.082% in 1990 to 2.72% in 2022 (Lancet 2024),
Anaemia Burden: NFHS-5 (2019-21) recorded anaemia among 59.1% of Indian adolescent girls and 31.1% of boys, with 21 of 28 states reporting an increase.
Dietary Poverty: Fewer than 10% of Indian adolescents consumed fruit or eggs daily, while over 25% reported no weekly intake of green-leafy vegetables.
Metabolic Signal: India records ~397 paediatric cases of Type-2 diabetes per lakh, ranking second globally after China for early-onset metabolic disease.

Factors for High Adolescent Malnutrition

Market Exposure: Ultra-processed food retail grew at a 13.37% CAGR between 2011 and 2021, while digital platforms bombard adolescents with targeted marketing for energy-dense foods.
Activity Deficit: About 74% of Indian adolescents aged 11-17 do not meet WHO’s recommended daily physical activity threshold.
Dietary Imbalance: Cereals supplying ~50% of Indian dietary protein, against the National Institute of Nutrition’s recommended 32%, crowd out fruits, vegetables, pulses, and eggs from adolescent diets.
School Neglect: Over 1 lakh single-teacher schools across India cannot timetable physical education or nutrition as standalone subjects alongside academic requirements.
Price Barrier: The 47% cost advantage of ultra-processed foods over minimally processed alternatives (UN SOFI 2025) renders nutrient-dense diets unaffordable for most Indian households.

Consequences of High Adolescent Malnutrition

Workforce Loss: Every 1% loss in adult height due to adolescent stunting reduces economic productivity by 1.4% and narrows India’s demographic-dividend potential.
Maternal Risk: Adolescent undernutrition and anaemia drive maternal complications, preterm birth, and low-birth-weight deliveries in adulthood.
Cognitive Deficit: Chronic adolescent undernutrition and severe iron-deficiency anaemia impair neurological development and reduce academic performance in secondary education.
Psychological Impact: Overweight and obesity in adolescents cause measurable psychological trauma, with systemic bullying and social stigma leading to a documented decline in long-term quality of life.

Government Schemes for Adolescent Nutrition

Deficit Nutrition: Mission Poshan 2.0 provides supplementary nutrition and iron-folic acid supplementation to adolescent girls aged 14-18 in Aspirational Districts and the North-Eastern Region.
Meal Coverage: PM POSHAN provides one hot cooked meal daily to over 11.8 crore children in Classes I-VIII across government and government-aided schools.
Label Disclosure: FSSAI mandated that sugar, salt, and saturated fat content be displayed in bold letters and larger font on nutritional labels of packaged foods.
Sugar Literacy: CBSE directed all affiliated schools to install sugar boards displaying hidden sugar contents.
IFA Delivery: Anaemia Mukt Bharat provides weekly iron-folic acid supplementation to adolescents aged 10-19, both in and out of school, through the WIFS programme.
School Zoning: FSSAI’s 2020 regulations prohibit the sale and advertising of high-fat, high-sugar, and high-salt foods within 50 metres of school premises.

{GS3 – Agri} Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) *

Context (IE): Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare received a subsidy for commercial farming under a MIDH sub-scheme.

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in 2014-15 to promote horticulture production, infrastructure, technology, and farmer collectives.
Beneficiaries: Individual farmers, FPOs, SHGs, cooperative societies, agricultural entrepreneurs, and state-level government entities involved in horticulture promotion.
Crops Covered: Fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa, and bamboo.
Funding Pattern: 60:40 (Centre: State) for general states, 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan states, and 100% Central funding for national agencies like National Horticulture Board (NHB), Coconut Development Board (CDB), Central Institute of Horticulture (CIH).
Nodal Agency: Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Sub-Schemes under MIDH

National Horticulture Mission (NHM): Supports holistic horticulture development across all states and Union Territories, excluding North Eastern and Himalayan regions.
Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States (HMNEH): Provides targeted horticulture assistance to 11 North Eastern and Himalayan states.
National Bamboo Mission (NBM): Develops the bamboo value chain to raise farm income, strengthen ecological security, and promote rural enterprises.
NHB: Established in 1984 and headquartered in Gurugram, it supports cold storage, commercial horticulture, and nursery infrastructure.
CDB: Promotes coconut cultivation, productivity, processing, value addition, and market development in coconut-growing states.
CIH: Located in Nagaland, it offers technical support, capacity building, and training in the North East.

Other Initiatives under MIDH

Coordinated Horticulture Assessment and Management (CHAMAN): Uses remote sensing and GIS for crop inventory, site-suitability mapping, and horticulture-area assessment.
Cluster Development Programme (CDP): Develops export-oriented horticulture clusters through geographical specialisation, with NHB as the implementing agency.
HORTNET: A web-based e-governance system enabling online applications, processing, and DBT to improve transparency in horticulture assistance.

Read More > India’s Horticulture Sector

{Prelims – Envi} Sustainable Development Report 2026

Context (DTE): The 2026 Sustainable Development Report was presented at the 3^rd Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC) in Germany, highlighting global progress towards the UN SDGs.

The Sustainable Development Report, published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), evaluates global progress towards the 17 SDGs.

Key Findings

Global Trend: East and South Asia made the most progress since 2015, led by India and China. Global progress remains slow on SDG 2, SDG 11, SDG 14, SDG 15, and SDG 16.
India’s Performance: India rose 18 ranks since 2015 to reach its highest-ever position of 94^th in 2026 (up from 99th in 2025), but trails Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
- Successes: Welfare schemes and DBTs reduced multidimensional poverty; gains in rural electrification advanced SDG 7, while digital connectivity advanced SDG 9.
- Challenges: India lags behind on 13 of the 17 SDGs, with SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) the main concern.

HSC is an annual forum that accelerates progress on the SDGs through cross-sector partnerships. It’s a joint initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), UNDP, the City of Hamburg, and the Michael Otto Foundation.

{Prelims – Geo} Volcán de Fuego

Context (IE): Guatemala’s Volcán de Fuego erupted again in June 2026, forcing tourists to flee as volcanic bombs, ash and smoke engulfed hiking trails.

Situated near Guatemala City, Volcán de Fuego is Guatemala’s most active stratovolcano and is located along the Central American Volcanic Arc.
Formed by the subduction of the Cocos Plate beneath the Caribbean Plate along the Middle America Trench, making the region highly volcanically active.
It produces frequent Strombolian eruptions every 15–20 minutes, releasing ash, volcanic bombs, lava, and gases; it has erupted more than 60 times since 1524.

Stratovolcano: A steep-sided, cone-shaped volcano built from alternating layers of lava, ash and volcanic debris, known for explosive eruptions.
Strombolian Eruption: A moderately explosive eruption characterised by intermittent bursts of lava, volcanic bombs, ash and gases caused by escaping gas bubbles.

{Prelims – S&T} First Nuclear-Heat-Based Hydrogen Facility

Context (PIB): Department of Atomic Energy inaugurated world’s first nuclear heat-based hydrogen production facility at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam.

The facility uses the Copper–Chlorine (Cu–Cl) Thermochemical Cycle, a process developed indigenously by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai.
The process uses heat generated by the nuclear process of the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Advantage: Unlike standard thermochemical cycles like Iodine-Sulphur needing over 850°C, the Cu–Cl cycle operates at 530°C and offers better thermodynamic efficiency.
Significance: It utilises a carbon-free heat source, eliminating GHG emissions, supporting India’s low-carbon energy future for Viksit Bharat.

FBTR at Kalpakkam is India’s premier second-stage nuclear research reactor that utilises a plutonium-uranium carbide fuel and liquid sodium coolant to generate more fissile material than it consumes.
Hydrogen generated through electrolysis, powered entirely by nuclear energy, is called pink hydrogen.

{Prelims – Misc} One Liners

IR – Operation Amistad (TH): India’s Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) mission launched to assist Venezuela after devastating earthquakes, reflecting India’s role as a first responder and its commitment to the ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ philosophy.