Myanmar's President Min Aung Hlaing makes India his first visit
1 June 2026
Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 military coup and became Myanmar's President in 2026, visited India from 30 May to 3 June 2026, his first foreign trip in that office. He began at Bodh Gaya, held talks with Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi on 1 June, and ended in Mumbai. A joint statement was issued but no agreements were signed; India raised scholarships for Myanmar students from 36 to 100 a year. Myanmar's exiled National Unity Government protested the visit.
Background. India and Myanmar share a land border of about 1,643 km across four States: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project links Kolkata to Sittwe port and on to Mizoram. Myanmar is India's land bridge for the Act East policy.
Why CLAT asks: Which States border which neighbour, and the flagship connectivity projects, are easy one-liners.
Sources: All India Radio News: Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing arrives in Mumbai (2 June 2026); The Hitavada: Myanmar President Aung Hlaing begins India visit (31 May 2026)
Vice-President's first visit to Sri Lanka; OCI extended to the sixth generation
20 April 2026
Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan visited Sri Lanka on 19 and 20 April 2026, the first bilateral visit there by an Indian Vice-President. He announced that eligibility for the Overseas Citizenship of India card would extend to fifth- and sixth-generation Indian-origin Tamils, up from the fourth generation, which chiefly helps the Malaiyaha (plantation) Tamils, and that Sri Lankan government certificates would count as proof. He handed over the last houses under Phase III of the Indian Housing Project and doubled scholarships from 350 to 700. Talks with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake covered trade, energy, fishermen and India's $450 million package after Cyclone Ditwah.
Background. The OCI scheme was created in 2005 by inserting Section 7A into the Citizenship Act, 1955. OCI is not dual citizenship: it gives a lifelong visa and some rights, but not the vote or public office. The Palk Strait separates Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka; Katchatheevu island was recognised as Sri Lankan in 1974.
Why CLAT asks: What OCI does and does not give is a common question; so is the fishermen's dispute in the Palk Bay.
Sources: High Commission of India, Colombo: Visit of the Vice President of India to Sri Lanka, 19-20 April 2026; All India Radio News: VP Radhakrishnan concludes two-day visit to Sri Lanka (20 April 2026)
Nepal objects to the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via Lipulekh
4 May 2026
On 30 April 2026 India announced that the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra would resume between June and August, with batches of pilgrims going through the Lipulekh Pass. Nepal's Foreign Ministry objected on 3 May, saying that under the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 the areas east of the Mahakali river, including Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani, are Nepal's, and that it had told both India and China. India replied that Lipulekh has been a yatra route since 1954 and that Nepal's claims are neither justified nor based on historical facts.
Background. The Sugauli Treaty made the Kali (Mahakali) river Nepal's western boundary; the dispute is over which stream is its source. In 2020 Nepal amended its Constitution to adopt a map showing the area as Nepali. Lipulekh is near the India-Nepal-China trijunction in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district.
Why CLAT asks: The Sugauli Treaty and the Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura triangle are the core of any India-Nepal boundary question.
Sources: The Himalayan Times: Nepal protests Lipulekh yatra route as India calls territorial claims untenable (4 May 2026); Deccan Herald: Nepal objects to India's plans to conduct Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via Lipulekh
India rejects China's construction in the Shaksgam Valley
9 January 2026
On 9 January 2026 the Ministry of External Affairs said India rejects China's attempts to alter the ground reality in the Shaksgam Valley, that it considers the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement illegal and invalid, and that it does not recognise the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which runs through Indian territory under Pakistan's occupation. China replied that the area is its territory and the construction justified. On 13 January Army Chief Gen. Upendra Dwivedi also rejected China's claim.
Background. The Shaksgam Valley (the Trans-Karakoram Tract), north of the Siachen Glacier, was part of Jammu and Kashmir before 1947. Pakistan ceded it to China under the 1963 agreement. CPEC, part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, links Xinjiang to Gwadar port in Pakistan.
Why CLAT asks: Know why India opposes CPEC (sovereignty) and where the Shaksgam Valley lies.
Sources: IANS: Reject China's attempts to alter ground reality in Shaksgam Valley: MEA (9 January 2026); The Federal: Army chief rejects China's Shaksgam Valley claim, calls 1963 pact illegal
The US sanctions waiver for Chabahar port lapses
26 April 2026
The conditional US sanctions waiver that had let India develop and run a terminal at Iran's Chabahar port since 2018 ended on 26 April 2026, the government told the Lok Sabha. Reports said India had withdrawn personnel, had already paid its $120 million investment commitment, and was talking to both the US and Iran about the project's future.
Background. Chabahar is in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province on the Gulf of Oman, outside the Strait of Hormuz. In May 2024 India and Iran signed a ten-year contract for India Ports Global to run the Shahid Beheshti terminal. Chabahar gives India a route to Afghanistan and Central Asia that avoids Pakistan, and links to the International North-South Transport Corridor.
Why CLAT asks: Chabahar (Iran) and Gwadar (Pakistan) are often paired in questions; know which is which.
Sources: The Wire: US ends Chabahar sanctions exemption, threatening India's foothold; Hellenic Shipping News: Engaged with stakeholders on Chabahar Port project: Govt tells Lok Sabha
Bangladesh's Khalilur Rahman elected President of the UN General Assembly
2 June 2026
On 2 June 2026 the UN General Assembly elected Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman President of its 81st session, by 99 votes to 91 over Cyprus's Andreas Kakouris, in a rare contested vote. The post rotated to the Asia-Pacific Group. He took office on 8 September 2026 for one year. It is Bangladesh's second presidency, after Humayun Rasheed Choudhury in 1986-87.
Background. The General Assembly is one of the UN's six principal organs and the only one where all 193 members have equal votes. Its presidency rotates among five regional groups. The 80th session was presided over by Germany's Annalena Baerbock.
Why CLAT asks: Expect 'who presides over the UNGA' and 'how many members does the UN have'.
Sources: Al Jazeera: Bangladesh's Rahman elected UN General Assembly president in tight race (3 June 2026); WAM: UN General Assembly elects Bangladesh's Foreign Minister as next president
