News In Short 26-06-2026

Rani Lakshmibai

Syllabus: GS1/Modern History

Context

• On June 18, 1858, Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi was martyred fighting British troops near Gwalior during the Revolt of 1857.

Rani Laxmibai in Revolt Against British

• Background: Rani Lakshmibai was the queen consort of the princely state of Jhansi.  The death of the king, Gangadhar Rao, had left the throne without a natural heir. 
  • The English East India Company (EIC) denied recognition to the adopted prince, and annexed Jhansi under the Doctrine of Lapse.
    • This doctrine stated that any princely state under British suzerainty would become part of British India if the ruler died without leaving behind a son as heir.
• The Revolt: During the uprising of 1857, she organized and led the defense of Jhansi.
  • She fought bravely against British forces and became a symbol of resistance.
  • She later joined forces with Tatya Tope and other rebel leaders.
• Death and Legacy: Rani Lakshmibai died in battle on 18 June 1858 near Gwalior while fighting British troops.
  • She is remembered for her famous determination, often summarized by the phrase: “Main apni Jhansi nahi doongi” (“I shall not surrender my Jhansi”).

Source: IE

Index of Services Production

Syllabus: GS3/ Economy

In News

• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is going to launch the Index of Services Production (ISP) in July 2026.

About Index of Services Production (ISP)

• The Index of Services Production (ISP) is a monthly high-frequency indicator developed by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to measure short-term changes in the real output of India’s formal services sector. 
• It is designed to complement the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for the services sector.
• It is developed by a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) chaired by Debjani Ghosh.

Why is it Needed?

• India’s services sector accounts for over 50% of the Gross Value Added (GVA) but lacked a monthly indicator to monitor real growth.
• ISP will provide timely data for economic monitoring, policy formulation, and forecasting.

Key Features ISP

• Coverage: It covers only the formal services sector and excludes the informal sector and non-market government services.
• Base Year: 2024–25.
• Methodology: Uses a fixed-weight Laspeyres volume index with GVA-based weights.
• Measures Real Growth: Converts nominal service output into real output using price deflators such as CPI and WPI.

Major Data Sources

• GST data: Trade, transport, telecom, accommodation, real estate, professional services, etc.
• Administrative data: Railways, air transport, banking, and insurance.
• ASISSE: Private health and education services.

Output Measurement

• Most sectors use turnover or GST-based value indicators adjusted for inflation.
• Railways and air transport are measured using quantity-based indicators such as passenger-kilometres.

Excluded Sectors

• Public administration and defence
• Government-run health and education
• Personal services
• Gambling and other non-market activities

Note: In the absence of a comprehensive Service Producer Price Index (SPPI), the ISP will primarily use CPI (Non-Food) as a proxy deflator to estimate real growth in the services sector.

Source: PIB

Kirthai-II Hydroelectric Project

Syllabus: GS1/ Geography, GS3/ Energy and Infrastructure

Context

• The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recommended in-principle approval of forest land for the 820 MW Kirthai-II hydroelectric project.

About

• Kirthai-II is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric project planned on the Chenab River in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir.
  •  A 121-metre-high concrete gravity dam will be constructed.
• It is the third hydroelectric project planned on the Chenab to receive approvals since the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty.
• The project will be implemented by the Chenab Valley Power Projects Ltd, a joint venture of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and the Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Limited.
• Kirthai-I is located upstream, while the Kiru Hydroelectric Project is situated downstream of Kirthai-II.
• Other major hydroelectric projects planned on the Chenab River include Sawalkote, Dulhasti-II, Ratle, Pakal Dul, Kwar, Kiru, and Kirthai Stage I.

Source: IE

China beats US with World’s fastest Supercomputer

Syllabus: GS3/Science and Technology

Context

• China ​has overtaken the United States to win the top spot on a list of the world’s fastest supercomputers.

About

• A supercomputer called LineShine, housed at the National Supercomputing Center in Shenzhen, has been crowned the world’s fastest supercomputer. 
  • The system clocked 2.198 exaflops— more than 2 quintillion calculations every second.
  • LineShine runs entirely on CPUs, the ordinary processors most supercomputers ditched years ago in favor of GPUs.
• El Capitan, a supercomputer that the US government uses ​to develop and maintain its nuclear weapons stockpile has been ranked second. 
• India’s Ranking: India’s most powerful supercomputer, Shakti Cloud, is currently ranked 32nd on the TOP500 list, with a performance of 84.31 petaflops. 
  • China’s LineShine is roughly 26 times faster than India’s most powerful listed system. 
• India’s supercomputing ambitions are being driven by the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), launched in 2015.
  • Under the mission, India has deployed 38 supercomputers across research and academic institutions, creating a combined computing capacity of 47 petaflops. 
  • India has also developed indigenous systems such as the PARAM Rudra series while expanding its broader digital and computing infrastructure.

What are Supercomputers?

• A supercomputer is an extremely powerful computer designed to perform vast numbers of calculations at very high speeds. Supercomputers are used for problems that are too complex or time-consuming for ordinary computers.
• Performance is often measured in FLOPS (floating-point operations per second).
• Modern supercomputers can perform quintillions (10¹⁸) of calculations per second, reaching exascale computing levels.
• Features:
  • Massive processing power: Thousands to millions of processors work together.
  • Parallel computing: Many calculations are performed simultaneously.
  • Huge memory and storage: Can handle enormous datasets.
  • Specialized design: Optimized for scientific and engineering tasks rather than everyday applications.

Source: TOI

Mahesh Dixit Appointed Intelligence Bureau Chief

Syllabus: GS3/Internal Security

Context

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by PM has approved the appointment of Mahesh Dixit as the Director of the Intelligence Bureau for a tenure of two years.
  • He succeeds Tapan Kumar Deka, who held the post since 2022. 

About

• Mahesh Dixit is a 1993-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre. 
• Though due to retire in August 2027, he has been granted a service extension under the provisions of FR 56(d) and Rule 16(1A) of the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958.
  • The rules allow the central government to extend in “public interest” the services of the chiefs of IB and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary and others, beyond 60 years age of superannuation.

Intelligence Bureau (IB)

• IB is India’s oldest intelligence agency formed in 1887 during the British colonial era.
• It is India’s internal security agency responsible for managing domestic threats.
• IB is under the governance of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• It is responsible for counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and intelligence collection in border areas, infrastructure protection, and anti-secession activities.

Source: TH

Airborne Early Warning & Control system ‘Netra’

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

Context

• IAF has got the Final Operational Clearance of indigenous Airborne Early Warning & Control system ‘Netra’.

About

• The Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) for the Netra was accorded in 2015 and it was inducted into the IAF in 2017. 
• It is developed by Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS) under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• It is mounted on the Brazilian Embraer EMB-145I aircraft platform.
• It has an active electronically scanned radar and 240-300 KM radar range.
• Its core functions inlcude airborne early warning system, tactical airspace control, and monitoring hostile aircrafts and drones.
• India is the fifth country in the world to develop this capability, as the Netra can detect, track, identify and monitor airborne and maritime targets enhancing the network-centric operations capabilities of the IAF.

Source: TH