Newspaper-based news digest for the RPSC RAS exam, dated Today's News — 29 June 2026.
International Relations
India and Seychelles unveil 19 outcomes; Modi calls Indian Ocean 'our shared home'
PM Modi held talks with President Patrick Herminie in Victoria and addressed the National Assembly of the Seychelles.
The 19 outcomes span defence, maritime security, space, healthcare, agriculture, digital payments and connectivity.
India announced the refit of PS Zoroaster for the Seychelles Coast Guard and a Dornier glass-cockpit upgrade.
Outcomes included an extradition treaty, outer-space cooperation and UPI-based digital payments.
Modi was conferred 'Guardian of the Blue Horizon' and India gifted a fast patrol vessel and Laser Radial class boats.
Source: The Hindu, 29 Jun 2026
Economy
India–UK CETA to enter into force on 15 July 2026
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement makes 99% of UK tariff lines duty-free for Indian products.
India will remove or reduce tariffs on about 90% of its tariff lines for UK products.
Spanning 30 chapters, it is forecast to add £5.1 billion to India's GDP and £4.8 billion to the UK's, and raise bilateral trade by £25.5 billion a year.
It includes India's first-ever standalone chapters on anti-corruption, gender and development.
Located in Koppal district, Karnataka, the dam on the Tungabhadra river is a lifeline of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
It irrigates about 16.4 lakh acres — 9.26 lakh in Karnataka, 6.25 lakh in Andhra Pradesh and 87,000 in Telangana.
New high-grade steel gates, expected to last 60 years, were installed at about ₹51 crore after a gate was washed away in August 2024.
Siltation has reduced the dam's storage capacity from 133 tmc ft to about 106 tmc ft.
Source: The Hindu, 29 Jun 2026
Environment
Suspected explosive kills elephant; spotlight on Kerala's mortality hotspots
A tuskless makhna elephant died in the Malayattoor forests of Ernakulam, the second such case in two months.
A study led by then Chief Wildlife Warden Pramod G. Krishnan found 744 wild elephants died between April 2019 and March 2025.
Electrocution was the leading unnatural cause; human-induced causes accounted for 77 deaths.
Juvenile elephants fall victim to explosive traps set for wild boar in the Malayattoor sector.
Source: The Hindu, 29 Jun 2026
Polity & Law
One year on, Delhi's eOffice platform speeds up public service delivery
Launched on 1 July 2025, the eOffice system now covers 235 departments and offices, with over 75% using it regularly.
Over 1.4 lakh e-files and more than 9.2 lakh e-receipts have been processed since July 2025.
The number of active users stands at 15,748; 177 of 235 offices use the platform regularly.
CM Rekha Gupta said it has accelerated file disposal and improved transparency and accountability.
Source: The Hindu, 29 Jun 2026
Rajasthan
Rajasthan's water self-reliance push: Yamuna MoU with Haryana and a 265-km Shekhawati pipeline
Rajasthan has only about 1.16% of India's surface water while spanning nearly 10% of its land area, making water self-reliance a priority.
A Rajasthan–Haryana MoU on Yamuna water sharing was signed in the presence of the Union Home Minister; Rajasthan gets its Hathnikund Barrage share per the 1994 agreement.
A 265-km underground pipeline (about Rs 32,000 crore) is planned to carry water to the drought-prone Shekhawati districts — Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu.
Conservation continues through the CM Water Self-Reliance Campaign 2.0, the Vande Ganga Water Conservation Campaign and the Amrit Sarovar scheme.
Source: ANI News, June 2026
Rajasthan
On International MSME Day, Rajasthan unveils RIPS-2024 incentives and new industrial policy
On 27 June 2026 the CM launched the Rajasthan Industrial Development Policy and the RAMP (Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance) Portal in Jaipur.
Rajasthan was described as the country's fourth-largest MSME base with more than 33 lakh enterprises.
New measures include support for 25 startups via the Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund and reducing the RIPS capital subsidy period from 10 to seven years.
Ease-of-business reforms: land-use conversion approval cut from 60 to 30 days and industrial-operation permission from 120 to 30 days.