(1) Ammonia leaks from factory, kills at least eight
Ammonia gas leaked from a seafood processing plant in Tiruvallur district on Sunday last week (June 21, 2026), killing at least eight people and over 60 being admitted for treatment. According to a bulletin, 77 individuals were affected by the leak. Routine industrial operations exposed workers to the leak. They developed respiratory complications, eye irritation and chest discomfort, all symptomatic of ammonia poisoning.
Following the incident, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay ordered the formation of a three-member committee to probe the incident. This committee was tasked with coming up with an interim report in 24 hours. The Chief Minister also asked officials to conduct joint inspections of hazardous factories in the State.
The body responsible for these checks is the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health, which publishes inspection compliance and on-time inspection performance on it dashboard. According to this data, only half of inspections conducted at hazardous factories were conducted on time.
(2) Eknath Shinde’s ‘Operation Tiger’ successful, Uddhav offers to step down as Shiv Sena (UBT) president
Last week, the speculated defections of six MPs from Shiv Sena (UBT) came into fruition for Eknath Shinde’s camp of Shiv Sena. On Sunday (June 21, 2026), the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that ‘Operation Tiger’ was successful.
On Wesnesday (June 17, 2026), top sources had confirmed to the The Hindu that two of the six MPs had not signed the letter to the Speaker, causing a halt in the ‘operation’. But by Sunday, sources had confirmed that all had defected. The six MPs that quit the Shiv Sena (UBT) and joined Eknath Shinde’s camp, and their respective parliamentary constituencies, are shown in the graphic below.
Earlier on Friday (June 19, 2026), Uddhav Thackerey offered to step down as the Shiv Sena (UBT) president if his leaders believed in the allegations levelled against him by the defected MPs. “Balasaheb Thackeray’s true heirs are my Shiv Sainiks. Succession is not determined by blood relations but by ideology”, said Eknath Shinde during the 60th foundation day held in Goregaon.
Meanwhile, Mr. Thackeray targeted the BJP for indulging in “dirty politics”, and said that Gen Z, which was being termed as “cockroaches”, will bring about a change in the country.
(3) Trump, Iran’s President sign deal to end West Asia war
After 40 days of war and more than 60 days of intense negotiations, the U.S. and Iran, on June 15, 2026, agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to end the war and start more substantive negotiations on contentious issues. The deal has kicked off a geopolitical storm, with Israel opposing it firmly, causing an unlikely rift between Washington and Tel Aviv.
The deal aims to draw a line under the war launched on February 28 by the United States and Israel, prompting Iran to counterattack with missile and drone salvos across the region and effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the world economy.
Under the agreement, Washington has committed to immediately waive oil sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy. The deal also states that once a final agreement is reached on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme, the U.S. will facilitate the release of a $300 billion reconstruction fund backed by regional nations.
Iran’s nuclear programme dates back to the 60s, with Tehran maintaining that the programme is intended for peaceful civilian purposes — a claim refuted by the U.S. and other Western nations.
Here is the key takeaways from the agreement:
(4) Kerala Budget at a glance: Deficit, debt and development push
Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Friday (June 19, 2026) presented the Revised Budget for 2026-27 in the Assembly, outlining a range of fiscal reforms, infrastructure projects and welfare measures aimed at revitalising the State’s economy.
Delivering his maiden Budget speech as Finance Minister in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, Mr. Satheesan sharply criticised the previous government led by Pinarayi Vijayan, accusing the former Left Democratic Front (LDF) administration of resorting to “deceptive practices” and leaving the State burdened with a “staggering debt trap”.
The Revised Budget, which modifies the 2026-27 pre-poll Budget presented by the LDF in January this year, envisages revenue receipts of ₹1,69,646.37 crore and revenue expenditure of ₹2,05,001.67 crore, resulting in a revenue deficit of ₹35,355.30 crore.
The Budget estimates net capital expenditure at ₹19,651.41 crore, net public debt at ₹52,364.13 crore, and an overall deficit of ₹41.23 crore. The government has also announced additional expenditure of ₹1,080.95 crore, taking the cumulative deficit at the end of the year to ₹1,504.63 crore.
Here is the key takeaways from the budget:
(5) Wholesale inflation jumps to 9.7% in May
Inflation at the wholesale level rose to 9.7% in May 2026, primarily driven by surging prices of crude oil, natural gas, mineral oils and, to a smaller extent, manufactured products, according to official data.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday released the new series of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) with an updated base year of 2022-23 and a wider ambit of goods measured. Due to the base year update, a historical comparison further back than April 2024 is not available. The May 2026 inflation rate is the highest since at least then.
The government also said that the Producer Price Index (PPI) will replace the WPI in five years.
“Considering the wide usage of WPI in price escalation clauses, this index will be released for five years from the date of its release, along with PPI, and will be discontinued thereafter,” the Commerce Ministry said in its release. “This would give sufficient time to users to switch from WPI to PPI,” the release said.
It added that the transition from WPI to PPI is in line with the global best practices adopted by advanced economies and the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Published – June 24, 2026 02:12 pm IST