Current Affairs - Technology

IIT Bombay signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SBI Life Insurance on 1st July 2026 to establish the Bharat AI & Cyber Innovation Hub for Insurance. The initiative aims to develop indigenous AI-based cybersecurity solutions tailored to the Indian insurance sector, enhancing the protection of customer data and digital systems. The collaboration also focuses on research in quantum technologies, innovation incubation, executive education, and talent development. Additionally, the partnership supports SBI Life's strategic transformation into an AI-native insurance company, promoting advanced technological innovation and strengthening India's cybersecurity capabilities in the financial services sector.

Agnikul signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Finnish space technology company ICEYE on 1st July 2026 to develop, launch, and operate Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth observation systems from India. The partnership aims to establish an end-to-end sovereign space capability, reducing dependence on foreign launch providers while strengthening India's space ecosystem. SAR technology enables high-resolution imaging regardless of weather conditions or time of day, making it valuable for disaster management, border surveillance, defence, and environmental monitoring. The collaboration also seeks to position India as a major satellite manufacturing and launch hub for the Asia-Pacific region.

Researchers discovered a new species of pollution-eating bacteria, Brachybacterium netajii, in the Hooghly River, West Bengal, on June 26, 2026. The discovery was made through a collaborative effort involving Netaji Mahavidyalaya, the University of Burdwan, IIT (BHU), and Hiroshima University, Japan. The bacterium can degrade p-nitrophenol (PNP), a toxic industrial pollutant, by using it as a source of carbon and energy. It also shows remarkable resistance to heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury and can tolerate high salinity. The species was named in honour of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose for his contributions to scientific and technological advancement.

India's first Satellite-Based Landing System (SLS) approach on a jet engine aircraft using the indigenous GAGAN system was successfully conducted by the DGCA on June 28, 2026, at Udaipur Airport. The precision landing was performed by an IndiGo Airbus A320 using the Localiser Performance with Vertical Guidance (LPV) approach. Developed jointly by ISRO and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), GAGAN enables highly accurate satellite-based navigation and reduces dependence on conventional Instrument Landing Systems (ILS). This achievement marks a significant advancement in India's aviation technology and strengthens its indigenous Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) capabilities.

Chandigarh University developed a lightweight AI-powered Transformer Model designed to improve crop yield prediction through precision farming. The model uses imagery from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites along with climate variables such as rainfall, temperature, and soil moisture. It requires 40% fewer parameters than conventional AI models, enabling faster predictions with lower computational costs. The system was successfully evaluated on paddy, maize, moong, and sugarcane, outperforming traditional Random Forest and LSTM models. This innovation can support better farm management, agricultural planning, and efficient resource utilisation for farmers.