Current Affairs: 21 May, 2026

India Launches Arunachal Kiwi Mission with Focus on Exports, Cold Storage, and Branding

On May 21, 2026, the Central Government launched the 'Arunachal Kiwi: The USP of Arunachal Pradesh' mission with a dedicated financial outlay of ₹167 crore to establish the state as a global organic fruit hub.
The mission utilizes a cluster-based approach to construct six integrated Post-Harvest Management Hubs (in areas like Ziro Valley and Dirang) to eliminate the traditional 7 to 10-day distress-sale window.
Strategic objectives include restoring Arunachal Pradesh's lapsed NPOP organic certification to ensure traceability and grant over 1,500 farmers access to premium domestic and international export markets.

India officially assumed the 2026 chairmanship of the Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA) under the IAEA during the 48th Meeting of National Representatives held in Navi Mumbai.
The RCA is a 22-member intergovernmental framework that officially came into force in 1972, following initial foundational concepts discussed at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai in 1964.
Under India's leadership, the 2026 agenda focuses on advancing peaceful nuclear science collaboration across the Asia-Pacific in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, water resource management, and environmental sustainability.

On May 21, 2026, India commenced work on two strategic Chenab river infrastructure operations: the ₹2,352 crore Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh and the ₹268 crore Sediment-Bypass Tunnel at Salal Dam in Jammu and Kashmir.
Concurrently, India has aggressively fast-tracked six major run-of-the-river hydropower projects on the Chenab basin in J&K, including the massive 1,856 MW Sawalkote and 1,000 MW Pakal Dul facilities.
These infrastructural launches coincide with India's ongoing suspension of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (initiated in April 2025) and its official rejection of a May 2026 Court of Arbitration award regarding the Kishanganga and Ratle projects.