Daily Current Affairs 02 June 2026 – IAS Current Affairs
Current Affairs 02 June 2026 focuses on the Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :
India-Australia Defence Dialogue-2026
Source: Indian Express
GS II: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Overview
- News in Brief
- Key outcomes of the India-Australia Defence Dialogue-2026
- Significance of India-Australia Defence Dialogue-2026
- What are the Maritime Exercises of India?
Why in the News?
India – Australia agreed to collaborate in maritime domain awareness activities during the second edition of the India-Australia Defence Minister’s Dialogue in New Delhi.
News in Brief
- India-Australia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue in New Delhi highlighted the significant progress in bilateral relationships and enhanced cooperation.
- Defence Minister and Australian Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Defence co-chaired the second edition of India-Australia Defence Ministers’ Dialogue
- The two Ministers welcomed the significant progress in the bilateral relationship, and reflected on the enhanced consultation & cooperation.
Key outcomes of the India-Australia Defence Dialogue-2026
- Advancement of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
- Strengthening maritime safety and security cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region.
- Exploring future defence science and technology research cooperation in new technology areas, like sensor technologies.
- Enhancing the 2020 Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA).
- Engagement in defence forces – Exercise Talisman Sabre 2027 and recent Australia’s participation in India’s Exercise Milan and Australia’s Exercise Kakadu in February and March 2026.
- Participation in the multinational air exercises 2026.
- Expansion of military cooperation into new areas.
- Supported freedom of navigation and adhering to international law, particularly the UNCLOS – United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982.
Significance of India-Australia Defence Dialogue-2026
- India-Australia Bilateral ties gain momentum with cooperation and strengthen Indo-Pacific Security.
- Advanced Maritime Awareness enables better Maritime surveillance to detect security threats.
- Improved defence cooperation through joint exercises.
- Strengthens strategic partnerships and paves the way for long-term development.
What is UNCLOS?
- United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea is the international legal framework that governs the world’s oceans and seas.
- It defines duties, rights and jurisdictions of nations regarding maritime zones, marine resources, navigation and environment.
- India is a state party to UNCLOS, having ratified the convention in 1995.
About the Maritime Exercise of India
Participation of the Indian Navy in bilateral and multilateral exercises with friendly nations.
Objective of Maritime Exercises:
- Mutual exchange of best practices.
- Enhance interoperability.
- Current tactical and technological practices are exchanged.
Recent Maritime Exercises:
- Exercise Milan: India’s largest biennial multilateral naval exercise.
- Exercise Malabar: Quad Nations (India, United States, Japan and Australia).
- Exercise Konkan: India and UK.
- India-Greece Bilateral Maritime Exercise: Maiden Bilateral exercise, featuring INS Trikand.
Indian Education System
Source: Indian Express
GS II: Issues relating to the development and management of social sector/services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Overview
- News in Brief
- Key Issues in the Indian Education System
- Constitutional Provisions Committees
Why in the News?
The NEET paper leaks and the surrounding controversies raised concerns about the integrity of the examination system.
News in Brief
- In the Indian Express article, the author Manish Sabharwal discusses the issue of paper leaks and the need for reform in the Indian Education System.
Key Issues in the Indian Education System
- Most of the Government school students fail at the most significant vocational skills: reading, writing, arithmetic and relationships, which are the most basic in learning.
- The demand and supply gap – more than 20 lakh students compete for a limited number of MBBS seats, which creates high pressure on students.
- The exam-centric system with scarcity of opportunities makes dominance of coaching factories, pressure on students and families, leading to paper leaks and malpractice.
- Many institutions fail to provide employability skills for the youth.
- This leads to an increase in unemployment (The skill mismatch).
Solution:
- Upgrade the outdated regulations in expanding schools, colleges and universities.
- Encourage Educational Entrepreneurship by reducing regulatory barriers.
- Expand supply through deregulation ( removing the requirement of state government NOC for Central Board Recognition).
- Empower Education technocrats like principals and deans to establish institutions.
- Needs to establish more schools and colleges.
- An increase in institutions and the availability of seats provides more opportunities for students.
Constitutional Provisions Committees
- Article 21-A – Free and compulsory Education for children aged 6 to 12.
- Article 45 – Directs the State to provide early childhood care and education for children below six years of age.
- Article 51-A (k) – Fundamental Duty of parents or guardians to provide educational opportunities to children aged 6 to 12.
- Article 29 & 30 – Protects the rights of minorities to establish educational institutions and ensures no citizen is denied admission in state-aided institutions based on race, caste, religion and language.
- Article 46 – Directs the State to promote the educational and economic interests of marginalised groups.
Related Policies:
- National Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 – makes Education more flexible, multidisciplinary and holistic, shifting away from rigid and rote learning academic systems.
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 – Ensure inclusive and equitable quality Education.
Committee Recommendations
1. The Radhakrishnan Commission of 1948:
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- The first major educational body appointed by the post-independence Government of India.
- Chaired by Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
- Also known as the University Education Commission.
Recommendations:
-
- Creation of the University Grants Commission
- Proposed 12-year pre-university schooling structure.
- Promoted Women’s Education and established rural universities.
- Recommended placing University Education in the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution.
- Highlighted reforming memorisation-based exams.
2. The Kothari Committee of 1968:
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- An ad-hoc body set by the Government of India to formulate the National Education Policy.
- Chaired by UGC Chairman Dr. D.S. Kothari.
- Also known as the National Education Commission.
Recommendations:
-
- Free and compulsory Education up to 14 years of age.
- Recommended “Three Language Formula” – Mother tongue, Regional language and foreign language (English).
- Emphasised the welfare of Teachers.
- Provide equal educational opportunities to all children regardless of socio-economic background.
National Family Health Survey
Source: Indian Express
GS II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Overview
- News in Brief
- What is the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)?
- Significance of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)
Why in the News?
Several indicators available in the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS) (2019-2021) have been omitted from the sixth NFHS factsheet released on May 29.
News in Brief
- The NFHS-5 factsheet had 131 key indicators, while the NFHS-6 factsheet has 101.
- The omitted data points include: several population-level statistics, indicators related to women’s and children’s health, family planning, and data on central government schemes such as the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan (sanitation) and the Ujjwala Yojana (cooking fuel).
What is the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)?
- A large-scale household survey was conducted across India.
- To track data on health, family welfare, and nutrition.
- Help policy-makers to evaluate and design public health programs effectively.
- The National Family Health Survey is conducted by the International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Missing Indicators in NFHS-6
Sex ratio at birth:
- Measured as the number of male births per 100 female births.
- Helps to prevent sex-selective practices and gender discrimination.
Civil Registration System Record
- The percentages of births and deaths not included in the survey.
- Ensures the effectiveness of the civil registration system.
Household Indicators
- Access to sanitation facilities – Swachch Bharat Abhiyan
- Use of clean cooking fuel – Ujjwala Yojana
- Helps to ensure their access to government schemes and the effectiveness of their implementation.
Women’s and children’s health
- Adolescent fertility rate
- Type of contraceptives used, family planning, whether women were informed of the side effects of their chosen contraceptive method, the out-of-pocket expenditure for each delivery.
- Helps to strengthen women’s and children’s health, the vulnerable groups in our society.
Data on health programs
- Cancer screening, HIV/AIDS indicators, children with diarrhoea, and indicators of abdominal obesity.
- These indicators help to assess the reach of preventive healthcare service delivery and awareness programs.
Concerns on Omissions
- Comparisons between NFHS-5 and NFHS-6 become difficult to drive conclusion.
- Comprehensive health database maintained by NFHS traditionally might reduce its reliability for researchers and policy-makers by omitting several indicators.
Reason cited by the Government for omissions
- Data Harmonisation: omitted indicators are included and have already been recorded in their respective administrative databases, like the Ujjwala Scheme, the report on Swachch Bharat, the Sample Registration Survey and the Indian Council of Medical Research.
Significance of the National Family Health Survey
- Formulating policies and programs related to healthcare, nutrition for children and women, and maternal health.
- Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Evaluating effectiveness of Government policies and programs implementation.
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