12th JUNE CURRENT AFFAIRS

1Varya, the country's First Distilled video AI model, developed by the AI startup Avataar

India AI Mission launches Indigenous Varya, a Video Story Generating AI Model Claiming to Offer Quality at Affordable Price

Developed by Avtaar.ai under the support from AI Mission, Varya Claims to cut Video Generation Time from 50 Steps to 4 Making it, Ten Times Efficient Over Leading Models

Developed with support from the IndiaAI Mission, Varya uses a distillation technique that reduces video generation from 50 steps to 4 steps, while maintaining comparable output quality.

According to Avataar’s internal inference-cost benchmarks, Varya can generate video at ₹0.48 per second, making it upto 10x more cost-efficient than several leading global video models.

The product experience is designed around a simple promise: Idea → Video → Story.

2World Day Against Child Labour 2026 – June 12

The United Nations (UN’s) World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) is observed annually across the globe on June 12 to raise awareness about child labour and mobilize efforts for its elimination.

2026 Theme: “Red card to child labour: Fair play for children, decent work for adults”

Launch: The WDACL was launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2002.

According to the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, ‘child’ means a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age.

The 2016 Amendment completely prohibits the employment of children below 14 years.

It also prohibits the employment of adolescents in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations and processes and regulates their working conditions where they are not prohibited.

Under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, ‘Child’ means a male or female aged six to fourteen years.

As per the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 vide its amendment in 1986 a ‘child’ is defined as a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 defines ‘child’ as a person who has not completed eighteen years of age. The term ‘adolescent’ is not defined in the JJ Act, 2015.

Constitutional Provisions For Child Upliftment

Article 21 A (Right to Education): The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 14 years.

Article 23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour.

Article 24: Prohibition of employment of children in factories, mines, etc.

Article 39(e): Protects children from exploitation.

Article 39(f): Ensures children’s development with dignity and freedom.

Article 45: Early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years.

Child Labour Laws in India

Factories Act, 1948: It prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in factories.

The Mines Act, 1952: It prohibits the employment of children below the age of 18 years in mines.

Right To Education Act, 2009: It provides free, compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14.

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016: It prohibits:

the employment of children below 14 years and

the employment of adolescents (14-18 years) in hazardous occupations.

3.NSS 81st Round Socio-Economic Survey for Migration Particular

The National Statistics Office (NSO) under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, Regional Office, Chennai organised a Regional Training Conference (RTC) for the NSS 81st Round of Socio-Economic aspects for Migration Particulars of Household Survey

The survey period will be from July, 2026 to June, 2027

Scope of the Migration Particulars Survey

This survey will be capturing vital information about the Outmigrants, Short Term migration for employment and other migration particulars.

The Survey will be conducted on the basis of Usual place of Residence (UPR) and core household concept for determining the Migration particulars of the household.

The pattern of Migration and reason for migration at any period of time will be captured, it will provide valuable insights for the formulation of National level policies considering the Migration of households.

4.IIT Madras Brain Centre releases the world’s most detailed 3D atlas of human brainstem

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has released the world’s most detailed 3D Atlas of human brainstem, through its high throughput brain imaging and computing platform that transforms whole human brains into 3D cell-resolution atlases.

Developed by Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre (SGBC) at IIT Madras, ‘ANCHOR’ (Atlas of Neurochemical Characterization of the human brainstem with 3D Reconstruction)

These maps encompass more than 200 brainstem nuclei and fiber tracts, reconstructed from hundreds of serial sections.

To resolve distinct neurochemical cell types, eight complementary immunostains were overlaid across more than 500 sections, enabling detailed mapping.

ANCHOR was released during the 3rd BRICS Neuroscience Symposium 2026 held from 5th to 7th June 2026 at the IIT Madras campus.