Current Affairs 17 June 2026

Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project

A breakthrough has been achieved in the long-pending Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project after six states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan, agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for its implementation at a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.

Highlights

• The project is being developed on the Yamuna River.
• Following the signing of the MoU, the project will be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval.
• Project cost will be divided by the Union Government and the other six participating states in a 90:10 ratio.

Special Agreement

• Himachal Pradesh agreed to allocate its share of water to Delhi and Rajasthan.
• In return, Delhi and Rajasthan will share the cost of Himachal Pradesh’s portion of the power component of the project.

About the Kishau Dam Project

• Located on the Yamuna River along the border of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
• It is a multipurpose project involving water storage, drinking water supply, hydropower generation, and river flow regulation.

AP Chief Minister Visits Singapore

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu held high-level meetings in Singapore to strengthen cooperation in technology, higher education, urban development, infrastructure, and trade.

Highlights

• The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh met Lawrence Wong and sought Singapore’s support in:
  • Developing a semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in Andhra Pradesh.
  • Promoting research and innovation in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Technologies.
• The Andhra Pradesh government announced a collaboration with the National University of Singapore to establish the Quantum Valley Initiative in Amaravati.

Andhra Pradesh and Google to Form AI & Cloud Task Force

The Andhra Pradesh government is going to establish a special AI and Cloud Task with Google.

Drone Revolution in Modern Warfare

Recent conflicts in Ukraine, Lebanon, and West Asia have demonstrated that drones have become a central component of modern warfare. Low-cost, mass-produced unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are increasingly being used for surveillance, reconnaissance, precision strikes, logistics support, and electronic warfare, fundamentally changing the nature of battlefields.

Highlights

• The Russia–Ukraine war has evolved into the world’s first industrial-scale drone-intensive conflict.
• Ukraine extensively uses:
  • FPV (First-Person View) drones
  • Loitering munitions
  • Bomber drones
  • Fibre-optic drones resistant to electronic jamming.
• FPV drones are inexpensive platforms controlled through live video feeds and can be converted into precision strike weapons.
• Low-cost drones costing only a few hundred dollars can destroy military equipment worth millions of dollars, significantly altering battlefield economics.
• Hezbollah and Iran have also employed various drone systems, including the Shahed and Mohajer series, for reconnaissance and strike missions.
• Modern militaries are increasingly investing in counter-drone systems, electronic warfare technologies, and AI-enabled interception platforms.

Q1. The term “FPV Drone”, frequently seen in discussions on the Russia–Ukraine conflict, refers to:
A. Fixed Patrol Vehicle Drone
B. First-Person View Drone
C. Forward Positioning Vehicle Drone
D. Fast Precision Vector Drone

Q2. During his visit to Singapore, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu proposed collaboration with the National University of Singapore for which initiative in Amaravati?
A. Silicon Valley Project
B. Quantum Valley Initiative
C. Green Hydrogen Mission
D. Startup India Innovation Hub

Q3. Karan Bajwa, who was recently seen in the news in connection with Andhra Pradesh’s AI and cloud computing initiatives, is associated with which company?
A. Meta
B. Google Cloud
C. Oracle
D. NVIDIA

Q4. The recently approved Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project is being developed on which river?
A. Ganga
B. Sutlej
C. Yamuna
D. Beas