National
1. Karnataka has launched India's first digital grievance system for gig workers, marking a major step in protecting platform-based employees. Developed by the Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers Board with the e-Governance Department, it offers a formal mechanism for complaints.
2. The Samarth Panchayat portal is a digital platform developed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for managing Own Source Revenue (OSR) in Gram Panchayats. The portal supports online demand generation, digital payment collection, asset management, and real-time monitoring of revenue performance across local bodies.
3. The Startup Kadapa initiative is a district-level entrepreneurship project in Kadapa district of the Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh. It is linked to the state's plans for youth-led enterprise, technology-based solutions, and support for startups, freelancers, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
4. The Supreme Court of India has examined the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, in cases involving unwanted pregnancies of minors and has asked for consideration of amendments to remove the gestational time limit in rape cases involving children. The Court has also linked the issue to reproductive autonomy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
5. The South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone is scheduled to begin operations on 1st June 2026 with its headquarters in Visakhapatnam. The Ministry of Railways issued a gazette notification on 4th May 2026, and SCoR has been constituted as India's 18th railway zone.
6. Larsen & Toubro, commonly known as L&T, will develop a coal-to-ammonium nitrate project in Odisha. Ammonium nitrate is an industrial chemical used mainly in fertilisers and in controlled industrial applications. Odisha is one of India's major mineral-rich States and has large coal-bearing regions.
7. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the founder-chairperson of Biocon, has named a successor for the company's leadership. Biocon is an Indian biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Biocon was founded in 1978 and operates in biopharmaceuticals, biosimilars, and research services. The company is among India's major life sciences firms and has a presence in regulated markets outside India.
8. The Union Cabinet approved on 5th May 2026 a proposal to increase the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India. With the Chief Justice of India included, the total strength of the Supreme Court will rise from 34 to 38 judges.
9. Tripura appointed Runiel Debbarma as the Chief Executive Member of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC). The TTAADC is a Sixth Schedule autonomous district council in Tripura and functions under the provisions of the Constitution of India.
10. The Union Cabinet has approved multitracking railway projects across 19 districts in India. Railway multitracking refers to the construction of additional railway lines on existing or new corridors to increase line capacity, reduce congestion, and improve train movement on busy routes.
11. India remained one of the largest migration corridors in the world in 2024, and remittances to India reached $134 billion in the same year. Remittances are cross-border personal transfers sent by migrant workers to households in their home countries.
12. Veteran film producer R. B. Choudary died in a road accident. He was associated with Indian cinema and was known in the film production field. Film production in India covers the financing, development, and making of motion pictures in languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi.
13. Nepal's President Ram Chandra Poudel promulgated the Constitutional Council Ordinance, which is a legal instrument used to amend or introduce provisions with immediate effect under the country's constitutional framework. The Constitutional Council is a statutory body in Nepal that deals with appointments to key constitutional offices.
14. The Union Government has extended the duty-free import of yellow peas and black gram until March 2027. Yellow peas are a pulse commodity used in food processing, while black gram, also called urad, is a major pulse crop in India. Duty-free import means that customs duty is not levied on specified goods for a fixed period.
15. Ground-level ozone has emerged as a pollution concern in Delhi, where it is formed near the Earth's surface through chemical reactions involving nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight. It is different from stratospheric ozone, which occurs in the upper atmosphere and forms the ozone layer.
16. The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the elevation of 10 advocates as judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Collegium system in India is used for appointments and transfers of judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts under the constitutional framework developed through judicial decisions.
17. NITI Aayog has proposed new standards for tyre pyrolysis oil and recovered carbon black, two products obtained from the thermal decomposition of waste tyres in the absence of oxygen. Tyre pyrolysis is an industrial process used to convert end-of-life tyres into oil, gas, char, and steel, and recovered carbon black is a solid carbon-rich material obtained from the process.
18. On 5th May 2026, the Bihar Cabinet approved the abolition of the Bihar Vigilance Investigation Cadre and its integration into the regular Bihar Police force. The Bihar Home Department issued the order for the restructuring, which covers Deputy Superintendents of Police, police inspectors, and sub-inspectors from the vigilance cadre.
19. Mission Mausam Urban Testbed has been launched in India to improve monsoon prediction through urban-scale weather observation and modelling. The initiative is linked with atmospheric science, numerical weather prediction, and city-level meteorological data collection.
20. A Telugu inscription dated to the 16th century has been found in Tadipatri, a town in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. Such inscriptions are primary sources for the study of regional history, language, religion, administration, and temple patronage in peninsular India.
21. The Supreme Court of India on 6th May 2026 refused the Union Government's request to adjourn the hearing of petitions challenging the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. A two-judge bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma is hearing the petitions on the constitutional validity of the law.
22. Delhi recorded the highest number of crimes against children and crimes committed by juveniles in the 2024 National Crime Records Bureau data. The city registered 7,662 cases of crimes against children and 2,306 cases of crimes by juveniles in metropolitan cities during the year.
23. Telangana recorded 423 human trafficking cases in 2024, the highest among all States and Union Territories in the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Crime in India 2024 data. India registered 2,135 human trafficking cases in 2024, and Telangana accounted for nearly 20% of the national total.
24. Royal Enfield, a two-wheeler manufacturer owned by Eicher Motors, plans to invest Rs. 2,200 crore in a new manufacturing facility and vendor park in Andhra Pradesh. The project will come up at Satyavedu in Tirupati district, near the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border, and will be Royal Enfield's first major production expansion outside Tamil Nadu.
25. Phalera cf. bucephala, commonly called the buff-tip moth, is a moth species in the order Lepidoptera. The species has been linked with agricultural concern in Ladakh, a high-altitude cold desert region in India where farming depends on short growing seasons and limited irrigation.
26. The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued an order on 7th May 2026 lifting the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the 2026 Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The MCC was also lifted for bye-elections in Assembly constituencies in Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Tripura after declaration of results.
27. Bengaluru recorded one of the highest suicide counts among Indian cities in the National Crime Records Bureau's Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India series. The city's suicide rate remained close to 20 per lakh population in 2022, 2023 and 2024, placing it at the top among major Indian cities on this measure.
28. India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 is linked with India's semiconductor policy framework and the development of domestic chip manufacturing capacity. Semiconductors are materials with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator, and they are used in chips for electronics, automobiles, telecom equipment, and defence systems.
29. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas notified revised royalty rates for crude oil and natural gas production on 8th May 2026. The revised structure applies to onshore, offshore, deepwater, and ultra-deepwater fields in India.
30. The National Federation of Churches in India (NFCI) was formally launched on 8th May 2026 at the Fourth National Ecumenical Bishops Fellowship Meeting in St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bengaluru. Cardinal Anthony Poola, Archbishop of Hyderabad and President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), was named the first Chairman of the NFCI.
31. The Supreme Court in May 2026 held that the statutory bar under Section 18 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, cannot be applied mechanically to deny anticipatory bail. The Court stated that judges must examine the FIR, the supporting material, and the nature of allegations before deciding whether a prima facie offence under the Act exists.
32. C. Joseph Vijay, known as Thalapathy Vijay, was sworn in as the 9th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 10th May 2026. The oath of office and secrecy was administered at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.
33. The Supreme Court issued notice to the office of Lieutenant Governor V. K. Saxena on 9th May 2026 in a plea filed by the Delhi Government over appointments to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). The matter concerns the appointment of the DERC chairperson and other members under the regulatory framework for electricity in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
34. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant launched the "One Case, One Data" initiative and the AI-powered chatbot "Su Sahay" at the Supreme Court of India on 11th May 2026. The initiative links judicial data from the Supreme Court, High Courts, district courts, and taluka courts into a unified digital system.
35. Tamil Nadu ordered the formation of the Singappen Special Task Force on 11th May 2026 for women's safety and preventive protection across the state. The unit functions under the direct supervision of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and has been announced as one of his first initiatives after taking oath on 10th May 2026.
36. The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-GRAMG) Act, 2025, will replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) across India from 1st July 2026. The Act was notified on 11th May 2026, and the VB-GRAMG Bill, 2025, received Presidential assent on 21st December 2025 after passage in Parliament on 18th - 19th December 2025.
37. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways revised the Build-Operate-Transfer guidelines for highway projects on 11th May 2026. The revised framework allows large funds and institutional investors to bid for BOT projects under the Public-Private-Partnership model.
38. The Supreme Court of India on 11th May 2026 considered the legal status of schools that impart religious instruction and left the issue to the Government of India for examination under constitutional and charity-law provisions. The matter concerns the classification of educational institutions that teach religion and their treatment under Articles 26(a), 19(1)(g), and 30(1) of the Constitution of India.
39. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying organised a National Conference on "Laboratory Animal Welfare: Policies and Best Practices" in New Delhi on 11th May 2026. The conference was convened by the Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals, which functions under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
40. India added 44 GW of solar capacity in 2025, taking the total installed solar capacity to 150 GW. By March 2026, India's installed solar power capacity had reached 150.2 GW AC, and the country ranked as the world's third-largest producer of solar power.
41. Pune is set to establish India's first Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in Shivajinagar, a densely polluted area in the central business district. The initiative is being developed by the Pune Municipal Corporation with support from ITDP India and is linked to the Maharashtra Electric Vehicle Policy 2021.
42. The Government of India notified a 1% cess on the total cost of construction incurred by employers for building and other construction works under the Code on Social Security, 2020. The notification was issued under Section 100(1) of the Code on Social Security, 2020, and it replaced a notification dated 26th September 1996.
43. The Supreme Court of India on 11th May 2026 held that caste-based abuses made inside a private residence and outside public view do not attract the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice N. V. Anjaria examined the requirement of "within public view" under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the Act.
44. West Bengal has raised the upper age limit for recruitment to state government jobs from 11th May 2026 through amendments to the West Bengal Services (Raising of Age-limit) Rules, 1981. The notification was issued by the Finance Department (Audit Branch) of the West Bengal Government and applies to recruitment across multiple categories.
45. Himanta Biswa Sarma is scheduled to take oath as the Chief Minister of Assam on 12th May 2026. The ceremony will mark his second consecutive term as Chief Minister of Assam after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance secured a majority in the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly.
46. The Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, constituted the Judicial Infrastructure Advisory Committee on 12th - 13th May 2026 for a nationwide roadmap on court infrastructure. The committee is linked to judicial administration, court facilities, computerisation, and financial planning for infrastructure across India.
47. N. Rangasamy was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Puducherry for the fifth time on 13th May 2026. The oath of office and secrecy was administered by Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan at Lok Nivas in Puducherry. He leads a National Democratic Alliance government in the Union Territory, which began its second consecutive term in power.
48. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has launched Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) as a market instrument for gold trading in India. EGRs are electronic records that represent ownership of gold stored in a vault or approved depository system.
49. India prohibited sugar exports with immediate effect on 13th May 2026, and the restriction remains in force until 30th September 2026 or until further orders. The order covers raw sugar, white sugar, and refined sugar under ITC (HS) Codes 1701 14 90 and 1701 99 90.
50. The Union Cabinet approved higher Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for 14 Kharif crops for the 2026-27 marketing season on 13th May 2026. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The estimated payout to farmers from the revised MSP structure is Rs. 2.60 lakh crore.
51. Karnataka withdrew the 5th February 2022, order on 13th May 2026, and the new order permits limited traditional and faith-based symbols with prescribed uniforms in educational institutions. The order applies to government schools, aided institutions, and private educational institutions under the state School Education Department from classes 1 to 12.
52. India raised the effective import tariff on gold and silver to 15% on 13th May 2026, from 6% earlier. The revised structure includes a 10% basic customs duty and a 5% Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess on imports of both precious metals.
53. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a consultation paper on 13th May 2026 proposing amendments to the SEBI (Issue and Listing of Municipal Debt Securities) Regulations, 2015. The proposal covers refinancing of existing debt, disclosure norms, pooled financing through Special Purpose Vehicles, and changes in the face value of privately placed municipal bonds.
54. The Election Commission of India launched Phase III of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls on 14th May 2026 across 16 States and 3 Union Territories. The exercise covers about 36.73 crore electors through door-to-door verification under the electoral roll revision process.
55. On 14th May 2026, the Congress party announced V. D. Satheesan as the Chief Minister of Kerala after the United Democratic Front won 102 of 140 seats in the Kerala Assembly elections. Satheesan, born on 31st May 1964, became the 13th Chief Minister of Kerala and had served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2021 to 2026.
56. Thirteen major reservoirs in India fell below 50% of normal storage capacity by 14th May 2026, and the Central Water Commission monitored 166 reservoirs across the country. The total live storage in these reservoirs declined from 71.082 billion cubic metres on 30th April 2026 to 63.232 billion cubic metres on 14th May 2026, which was 34.45% of total capacity.
57. The Supreme Court of India on 14th May 2026 examined the appointment process of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners under the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma considered the composition of the three-member selection committee and the role of the Union government in the process.
58. The Ministry of Ayush signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Digital India BHASHINI Division under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on 14th May 2026 in New Delhi. The MoU covers multilingual digital healthcare services for Ayush knowledge systems and related citizen-facing platforms.
59. Tripura became the first State in India to complete all Priority Areas under both Deregulation Phase-I and Phase-II of the national Compliance Reduction and Deregulation initiative. The State completed 51 priority reform areas, including 23 areas in Phase-I and 28 areas in Phase-II, during 14th and 15th May 2026.
60. Etor Gidi is an agro-based traditional festival of the Adi community in Arunachal Pradesh. It is celebrated at the beginning of the farming season (generally falls in Mid May) and is associated with agricultural rituals, communal participation, and village-level customs.
61. The 2.10 km Mahey Tokpo-Raldho irrigation canal was inaugurated on 14th May 2026 in the Changthang region of Ladakh. The canal lies in the Nyoma area at an altitude of over 14,000 feet and draws water from Yaya Lake. The canal project was initiated in 2022-23 and covers a remote high-altitude area of Ladakh.
62. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will begin India's first hydrogen-powered shuttle bus service in Delhi's Central Vista area on 15th May 2026. The service will connect the Central Secretariat Metro Station and the Seva Teerth Metro Station and will operate with two hydrogen fuel cell buses provided by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL).
63. Tripura became the first state in India to complete all priority areas under Deregulation Phase-II of the national Compliance Reduction and Deregulation initiative on 14th - 15th May 2026. The initiative is led by the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of India and covers regulatory simplification, approval digitisation, and reduction of procedural requirements across states and sectors.
64. The Madhya Pradesh High Court, Indore Bench, declared the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Dhar district a temple on 15th May 2026. The Bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi held that the religious character of the disputed structure is that of a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, also called Vagdevi.
65. Rathindra Bose was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the 18th West Bengal Assembly on 15th May 2026. He is a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from the Cooch Behar Dakshin constituency and a first-time legislator in the 294-member House.
66. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued notices to Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho and JioMart on 16th May 2026 over the alleged sale of herbicide products. The CCPA had earlier imposed penalties on several e-commerce entities on 16th January 2026 for the illegal sale of unauthorised walkie-talkies.
67. On 16th May 2026, the Narcotics Control Bureau announced Operation Ragepill, which led to the dismantling of an international syndicate involved in Captagon trafficking. The operation resulted in India's first seizure of about 227.7 kg of Captagon tablets and powder, with an estimated illicit market value of Rs. 182 crore.
68. India's Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Netherland's Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management signed a Letter of Intent on 17th May 2026 for technical cooperation on Gujarat's Kalpasar Project. The project concerns a freshwater reservoir and dam across the Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat.
69. Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off 400 emergency response vehicles for the CG Dial 112 service in Chhattisgarh on 18th May 2026. He also inaugurated 33 mobile forensic science laboratories, with one unit for each district in the state.
70. Uttar Pradesh has expanded river rejuvenation work under community-based restoration projects linked to rural sustainability and ecological resilience. The initiative operates through the State Mission for Clean Ganga and allied agencies, and it includes river restoration, pond revival, plantation, desilting, and encroachment removal across multiple districts.
71. Senior IPS officer Sibash Kabiraj was appointed as the new Gurugram Police Commissioner on 18th May 2026. He is a 1999-batch Indian Police Service officer and replaced Vikas Arora, who was posted as Additional Director General of Police (Administration), Panchkula.
72. Rajasthan's breast milk donation programme includes the Mother Milk Bank at Barmer District Hospital, the state-run human milk bank Jeevan Dhara in Jaipur, and the Yashoda programme under the Norway-India Partnership Initiative. The Barmer facility has collected 29,882 units of milk since 4th March 2018 and has supported 3,165 newborn babies.
73. The design of India's first bullet train for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project was unveiled on 18th May 2026 at the Ministry of Railways in New Delhi. The project covers 508 kilometres and connects 12 stations across Maharashtra, Gujarat, and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
74. India has notified new petrol standards for ethanol blends up to E30, with the Bureau of Indian Standards issuing a Gazette notification on 18th May 2026. The notified specifications cover E22, E25, E27 and E30, which denote petrol blended with 22%, 25%, 27% and 30% ethanol respectively.
75. Bharat Forge, through its Aerospace business, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Andhra Pradesh on 19th May 2026 to establish India's first private-sector Marine Gas Turbine repair, overhaul, and indigenous development complex in Visakhapatnam. The project will come up over about 80 acres within the Andhra Pradesh Defence Manufacturing Corridor and will be located near the Naval Dockyard, INS Eksila, and the Eastern Naval Command Headquarters.
76. Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, a former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader, died in Dehradun on 19th May 2026 at the age of 91. He was a retired Major General in the Indian Army and served as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand for two terms, from 2007 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2012.
77. The Supreme Court of India on 19th May 2026 permitted the euthanasia of rabid, incurably ill, or demonstrably dangerous stray dogs. The order was passed by a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N. V. Anjaria. The court linked the direction to public safety and to the handling of stray dogs under the Animal Birth Control Rules 2023.
78. Delhi International Airport Limited is developing an Automated People Mover system, also called an air train, for Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The planned system is India's first driverless airport air train and is designed for inter-terminal connectivity across a 7.7 km route.
79. Maharashtra signed Memorandums of Understanding with four companies on 19th May 2026 for nuclear energy generation projects with a combined capacity of 25,400 MW. The agreements were announced at Mantralaya in Mumbai and involve NTPC Limited, Adani Power Limited, Reliance Industries Limited, and Lalitpur Power Generation Company Limited.
80. Maharashtra has completed ground-truthing, or physical verification, of 23,404 wetlands out of 23,415 identified wetlands as of 19th - 20th May 2026. The remaining 11 wetlands are in Pune district, and the verified maps are to be sent to district administrations and the State Wetland Authority for notification under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules.
81. Shyam Metalics has announced a planned investment of Rs. 20,000 crore in West Bengal. The plan includes expansion at Kharagpur and Jamuria, two industrial locations in the state, with part of the investment linked to policy clarity on land acquisition and fiscal incentives.
82. Bihar approved a proposal on 20th May 2026 for direct international flights between Gaya and Bangkok. The Bihar cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, cleared the route for operation by InterGlobe Aviation Limited, which runs IndiGo Airlines. The service will run twice a week and will connect Gaya in Bihar with Bangkok in Thailand.
83. Commercial transport unions in Delhi-NCR announced a three-day strike from 21st to 23rd May 2026, over fare revision demands for taxis, auto-rickshaws, trucks, and goods vehicles. The unions linked their demands to rising prices of CNG, petrol, and diesel, and to disputes over commercial vehicle regulation in Delhi.
84. Tata Electronics semiconductor assembly and test facility is located at Jagiroad in Morigaon district of Assam. Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the commencement of the greenfield project on 13th March 2024. The project involves an investment of Rs. 27,000 crore, or about USD 3.6 billion.
85. On 21st May 2026, the West Bengal government made the singing of Vande Mataram compulsory in all recognised madrasas across the state during morning assemblies before classes begin. The directive applies to government model madrasas, government-aided madrasas, and unaided madrasas under the Directorate of Madrasa.
86. A 12th century Veeragallu, or hero stone, from the reign of Hoysala ruler Vishnuvardhana was discovered in Maniyur village in Nagamangala taluk of Mandya district, Karnataka, on 21st May 2026. Veeragallu are memorial stones found across parts of southern India and are associated with warriors, cattle defence, and local conflicts in the medieval period.
87. The Supreme Court of India ordered all police stations in India to register a First Information Report for every complaint of a missing child or missing person. The order was passed on 22nd May 2026 by a bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice R. Mahadevan. The directions cover missing children, missing adults, kidnapping-related offences, Anti-Human Trafficking Units, and a national data grid for trafficking cases.
88. The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) was approved by the Union Cabinet in December 2021 with an outlay of Rs. 76,000 crore. By May 2026, the mission had approved 12 semiconductor manufacturing and packaging projects with investments of around Rs. 1.64 trillion.
89. India has started work on two infrastructure projects linked to the Chenab river system with an estimated cost of nearly Rs. 2,600 crore. The projects include the Rs. 2,352 crore Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh and the Rs. 268 crore sediment-bypass tunnel at the Salal Dam in Jammu and Kashmir.
90. The 2024 Sample Registration System report of the Office of the Registrar General of India records a crude death rate of 6.4 deaths per thousand population and a total fertility rate of 1.9 children per woman. The report places the crude death rate above the 2019 and 2020 level of 6 and keeps the total fertility rate below the replacement level of 2.1 for the fifth consecutive year.
91. International Day for Biological Diversity is observed on 22nd May every year under the Convention on Biological Diversity. The 2026 theme is "Acting locally for global impact". Odisha's tribal seed conservation practices, community seed banks, and millet diversity are linked with biodiversity conservation, traditional agriculture, and climate-resilient farming.
92. India recorded 97 of the world's 100 hottest cities on 22nd May 2026 during a heatwave across northern, central and eastern India. Balangir in Odisha touched 48°C, while Sasaram in Bihar also reached 48°C and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh recorded 47°C.
93. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is planning a centralised food surveillance system for market sampling, laboratory testing, and digital alert generation. The proposed framework places surveillance sampling under a national mechanism, uses third-party agencies for sample collection, and links test results to a central database for faster regulatory action.
94. The Supreme Court of India's sanctioned strength of judges, excluding the Chief Justice of India, has been increased from 33 to 37 through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026. The total strength of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice of India, has therefore risen from 34 to 38.
95. Karnataka has started drafting individual climate action plans for 5,994 gram panchayats and 340 urban local bodies. The initiative is linked to the revised State Action Plan on Climate Change Version 2, which was updated in 2024 and aligned with India's commitments under the Paris Agreement.
96. India's rooftop solar capacity reached 20.8 GW in 2025 after 7.1 GW of new installations, which marked a 123% year-on-year increase. The residential sector accounted for 76% of annual rooftop solar installations in 2025, and the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana remained the main policy support for the segment.
97. India has reviewed the import duty structure on low-ash metallurgical coke, a key input in steelmaking, in 2026. The Ministry of Steel has sought withdrawal of anti-dumping tariffs on imports of low-ash metallurgical coke because of domestic supply constraints and higher local prices.
98. The Union government has planned a High-Powered Demography Mission to address illegal immigration, infiltration, and demographic change in border areas. The mission was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Independence Day address in 2025, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on 22nd May 2026 that the mission would be announced soon.
99. Oil India Limited announced a new natural gas discovery in the nominated Dandewala Field in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan on 22nd May 2026. The discovery is the first successful establishment of natural gas in the shallower Sanu Formation within the Dandewala field.
100. Raghav Chadha, a Rajya Sabha member, was appointed chairman of the Committee on Petitions of the Upper House on 23rd May 2026. The appointment took effect on 20th May 2026 after the committee was reconstituted by Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan.
101. The Museum of Medical Archives opened in Ulloor, Thiruvananthapuram, on 25th May 2026. It is Kerala's first private medical museum and India's first private medical museum. A medical museum is a collection space that preserves teaching aids, anatomical specimens, models, charts, and archival material related to medicine and medical education.
102. The Centre for HR Information Systems, Research and Analytics in Governance (CHIRAG) is a Centre of Excellence of Indian Railways. It was inaugurated on 25th May 2026 at the SCR Grounds near the Zonal Railway Training Institute in Moula-Ali, Hyderabad.
103. The Supreme Court of India declared access to trauma care an integral part of the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India on 26th May 2026. The ruling came in SaveLIFE Foundation & Anr. vs Union of India & Ors and directed time-bound reforms in emergency medical response, ambulance services, and trauma data systems.
104. India Post began the rollout of DigiPIN, a Digital Postal Index Number, on 27th May 2025 under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications. The system uses geo-coded digital addresses and is linked with India Post's postal network for mail delivery, tracking, and location identification.
105. Hari Babu Kambhampati was sworn in as the 27th Governor of Odisha on 3rd January 2025 at Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar. Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh of the Orissa High Court administered the oath of office, and Kambhampati succeeded Raghubar Das after his resignation.
106. The Assam Assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill by voice vote on 27th May 2026. The Bill was introduced in the state assembly on 25th May 2026 and was moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Atul Bora on behalf of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
107. India has become the global leader in issuing Internationally Recognised Certificates of Compliance under the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing. As of March-April 2026, India issued about 3,556 to 3,561 certificates out of a global total of 6,311 certificates recorded on the ABS Clearing-House.
108. Odisha's Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts department has launched a revival plan for the original Bomkai weaving tradition in Ganjam district. The project is titled Revival of Languishing Products (Cotton Bomkai Saree) and was approved by the state government in the last financial year.
109. India launched the National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) in 2021 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with an outlay of Rs. 11,040 crore. The mission covers oil palm cultivation, crude palm oil (CPO) production, and edible oilseed availability in India.
110. The archaeological site in Hazaribag district of Jharkhand has yielded evidence of a layered settlement in the Mohane river basin in Chauparan block. The site includes villages such as Dehar, Sohra, Mangarh, and Hathinder, where artefacts have been recovered during farming and foundation digging.
111. India's first solar power projects operated by women's self-help groups were launched in Telangana on 27th May 2026. A 1 MW solar power plant was inaugurated at Venkatapuram village in Errupalem mandal of Khammam district under the Indira Mahila Shakti scheme.
112. On 27th May 2026, the Supreme Court of India upheld the legality and constitutional validity of the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. The bench comprised Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
113. The Supreme Court of India upheld the retrospective levy of 28% Goods and Services Tax on online gaming companies on 27th May 2026. The bench of Justice J. B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan held that online gaming platforms fall within the GST framework as taxable actionable claims when a stake is placed.
114. The Supreme Court Collegium recommended five names for elevation to the Supreme Court on 27th May 2026. The list includes four High Court Chief Justices and Senior Advocate V. Mohana. The Supreme Court Collegium is the body that recommends appointments and transfers of judges in the higher judiciary of India.
115. The Union Cabinet approved the Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling-Income with Automation in PDS (SARTHAK-PDS) on 27th May 2026. The scheme has a central outlay of Rs. 25,530 crore and will run from April 2026 to March 2031.
116. Sikkim was declared a fully literate state on 27th May 2026 under the ULLAS - Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram. The state recorded a literacy rate of 99.82%, which is above the Ministry of Education benchmark of 95% for full literacy.
117. India will host the main International Day of Yoga 2026 event in Kolkata, West Bengal, on 21st June 2026. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ayush and Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav announced the venue on 27th May 2026 during Yoga Mahotsav 2026 at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh.
118. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, aged 77, announced on 28th May 2026 that he would step down from office during a breakfast meeting with Cabinet colleagues at his official residence in Bengaluru. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, and the proposed transition was linked to the Congress power-sharing arrangement formed after the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections.
119. India will host the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-IV) in New Delhi from 28th to 31st May 2026. The summit will be held with the African Union Commission and will bring together leaders and representatives from across the African continent.
120. Harsh Malhotra was appointed president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi unit on 28th May 2026. He replaced Virendra Sachdeva in the organisational post, and the appointment formed part of a wider BJP reshuffle that also covered Haryana, Punjab and Tripura.
121. Dhanendra Kumar, former Chairman of the Competition Commission of India, died on 28th May 2026 after a fire at his residence in Hauz Khas Enclave, South Delhi. He was a retired 1968-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Haryana cadre and had also served as Executive Director at the World Bank.
122. As of 28th May 2026, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has informed his cabinet colleagues of his decision to step down from office. Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar is expected to succeed him as the Chief Minister of Karnataka for the remaining two years of the term.
123. Kerala announced a proposal for three days of monthly menstrual leave for schoolgirls on 29th May 2026. The proposal formed part of the policy address delivered in the Kerala State Assembly by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar under the V. D. Satheesan-led United Democratic Front government.
124. Former Karnataka minister Venkataramanappa died at the age of 80 on 29th May 2026 at a private hospital in Bengaluru. He had been receiving treatment for age-related ailments and died following a heart attack. He was a Congress leader from Tumakuru district and served as an MLA four times.
125. The Election Commission of India will conduct a month-long Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Odisha from 30th May 2026. The exercise is part of Phase III of the Special Intensive Revision, which covers 16 states and three Union Territories.
126. India's electric vehicle battery demand is projected to rise from 20 GWh in 2025 to 200 GWh by 2032. The estimate was placed in a study linked to the Indian Energy Alliance and Customized Energy Solutions, and the study is scheduled for release at the 12th India Energy Storage Week in New Delhi from 8th to 10th July.
127. Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency III, or CAFE III, is the third phase of India's fuel-efficiency framework for passenger vehicles. The proposed norms are scheduled to apply from 1st April 2027 to 31st March 2032, and the draft framework covers fleet-wide carbon dioxide emissions, credit trading, and vehicle classification rules.
128. Gynacantha khasiaca, commonly called the Long-tailed Duskhawker, was rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh after 110 years. The species was sighted in October 2024 during a biodiversity survey in Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve in Changlang district.
129. India has prepared a plan to mandate 1% blending of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in Aviation Turbine Fuel from January 2027. The Union Government has set indicative targets of 1% in 2027, 2% in 2028, and 5% by 2030, with the initial focus on international flights.
130. Vaccinium piliferum, a rare wild relative of the blueberry, was rediscovered in the forests of Vijoynagar in Changlang district, Arunachal Pradesh, after 188 years. The species was first collected in 1836 from the Mishmi Hills and was recorded again in 1850 from the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya.
131. A Manipuri astrophysicist, Ronaldo Laishram, led an international team that discovered a galaxy protocluster dated to 12.6 billion years ago. The structure was named the Loktak Protocluster after Loktak Lake in Manipur, and it existed when the Universe was about 1.2 billion years old.
132. India is testing financial and government digital systems, including the Aadhaar national identity system and government login platforms, against vulnerabilities linked to Anthropic's next-generation AI model, Mythos. The tests involve Indian technology firms, the national cybersecurity agency CERT-In, and critical digital infrastructure used by public institutions and banks.
133. The Rusty-spotted Cat, scientifically named Prionailurus rubiginosus, was documented for the first time in the National Chambal Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh in May 2026. This record is the first confirmed presence of the species in southern Uttar Pradesh and adds a new locality to its known range in the state.
134. Odisha made the purchase of electric vehicles mandatory for new two-wheelers and four-wheelers used by the state government from 1st June 2026. The directive also applies to four-wheelers hired for official government work from the same date.
135. India's third phase of Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE III) norms is scheduled from 1st April 2027 to 31st March 2032. The norms are framed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power and apply to M1 category passenger vehicles with seating capacity of up to nine persons and a gross vehicle weight of up to 3,500 kg. The heavy vehicle Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) mandate is linked to new models from 1st April 2026 and to existing production models from 1st October 2026.
International
1. India rejected a Russian offer to sell liquefied natural gas cargoes subject to United States sanctions on 30th April 2026. The decision was conveyed during a visit to New Delhi by Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin, who met Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and other officials.
2. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Suriname during a three-nation Caribbean tour from 2nd to 10th May 2026. In Paramaribo, he handed over an India-assisted Agro Passion Fruit processing facility and co-chaired the 9th India-Suriname Joint Commission Meeting with Suriname's Foreign Minister Melvin Bouva.
3. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced a $70 billion regional investment plan on 3rd May 2026 for electricity links and digital infrastructure across Asia and the Pacific by 2035. ADB President Masato Kanda made the announcement at the bank's 59th annual meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
4. A suspected hantavirus outbreak on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius in the Atlantic Ocean caused three deaths and at least three other illnesses by 3rd May 2026. One case was laboratory-confirmed, and five other cases remained suspected, while the ship was docked in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde.
5. Canada became the first non-European country to participate in a European Political Community (EPC) summit when Prime Minister Mark Carney attended the 8th EPC meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, on 4th May 2026. The EPC was created in 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and brings together European Union members and other European states for political dialogue.
6. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is observing a nationwide Fire Safety Week from 4th to 10th May 2026 across healthcare facilities in India. The observance covers hospitals, medical colleges, district hospitals, and multi-speciality hospitals.
7. The Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope (PoET) achieved first light at the European Southern Observatory's Paranal Observatory in Chile's Atacama Desert. The system completed test observations and acquired spectra of the full solar disc and selected solar regions.
8. Singapore and New Zealand signed a legally binding agreement on 4th May 2026 to strengthen supply chain resilience and maintain the flow of critical goods. The pact covers essential supplies such as food, fuel, healthcare products, chemical products, and construction products.
9. India has gifted 10 BHISHM Cube mobile hospital units to Jamaica as part of bilateral cooperation in health support. BHISHM stands for Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog, Hita and Maitri, and the system is designed for rapid medical response in emergencies and disaster zones.
10. India has called for reforms in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and for stronger financial support from the Manila-based multilateral lender. The ADB was established in 1966 and has 69 members, including 50 from Asia and the Pacific and 19 from outside the region.
11. Cape Breton University, a public university in Nova Scotia, Canada, has signed memoranda of understanding with Indian institutions for academic cooperation. A memorandum of understanding, or MoU, is a formal agreement used by universities for collaboration in areas such as student exchange, research, and joint academic activities.
12. Japan and the Philippines have expanded defence cooperation through joint exercises and wider military engagement. Both countries are maritime states in the Indo-Pacific region and maintain security partnerships with several regional and extra-regional powers.
13. India and Japan exchanged agreements on quantum science, medical devices, and health research during bilateral meetings held in New Delhi on 5th and 6th May 2026. The agreements included a Letter of Intent on Quantum Science and Technology between Japan's Cabinet Office and India's Department of Science and Technology, and a Memorandum of Cooperation among the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Indian Council of Medical Research, and the Department of Science and Technology.
14. Ted Turner, the American media entrepreneur and founder of CNN, died at the age of 87 on 6th May 2026. He founded CNN in 1980 and later expanded his media holdings through Turner Broadcasting System, TNT, Cartoon Network, and Turner Classic Movies.
15. Vietnamese President To Lam received a ceremonial welcome in India during his maiden visit to the country. The visit forms part of bilateral engagement between India and Vietnam, two countries that maintain diplomatic relations and cooperation in multiple sectors.
16. A microbial ecosystem containing bacteria, archaea and DNA was found two metres below the surface of Chile's Atacama Desert. The Atacama Desert is the driest hot desert in the world and is often used in astrobiology studies because of its Mars-like conditions.
17. The Netherlands has partnered with the Indian spice industry on sustainability-related cooperation in the spices sector. India is a major global producer, consumer, and exporter of spices, and the Netherlands is a key European trade and logistics hub.
18. India and African countries are preparing for deeper cooperation ahead of the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS), a multilateral platform for dialogue between India and African states. The India-Africa partnership covers political, economic, developmental, and institutional engagement across the Indian Ocean and the African continent.
19. Ted Turner, the American media entrepreneur who founded Cable News Network (CNN), died at the age of 87. He was known for establishing one of the first 24-hour television news channels and for building Turner Broadcasting System in the United States.
20. Jeremiah Manele lost a no-confidence vote in the National Parliament of Solomon Islands on 7th May 2026. The 50-seat parliament voted 26 in favour, 22 against, and two members were absent. The motion was moved by Frederick Kologeto, the Member of Parliament for South Vella Lavella and a member of the People's First Party.
21. Plastic waste conversion into hydrogen fuel uses solar-driven photoreforming, a process in which light-sensitive photocatalysts break down polymers at low temperatures to produce hydrogen and industrial chemicals. Research in 2026 included systems that used plastic waste, solar power, and corrosive battery acid to generate clean fuel and chemical by-products.
22. Paraquat is a broad-spectrum herbicide used in the United States and restricted to certified applicators under federal rules. It has been banned in more than 70 countries, including China and Brazil, and it remains under regulatory review in the United States because of toxicity concerns and litigation linked to Parkinson's disease.
23. Canada's Bill C-22, formally called the Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act (SAAIA), is a proposed law under debate in the House of Commons in 2026. Apple and Meta have opposed the bill over provisions linked to encryption, metadata retention, and possible government access to electronic service providers systems.
24. The Timor Green Pigeon (Treron psittaceus) is an endemic bird species of Timor Island and nearby islands such as Rote, Semau, Atauro and Jaco. A study published in Oryx in May 2026 assessed the species using fieldwork conducted over 1,400 days between 2002 and 2025.
25. India's new Ambassador to China, Vikram Doraiswami, presented a copy of his credentials to Hong Lei, Assistant Foreign Minister and Director-General of the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, in Beijing on 7th May 2026. The presentation of credentials is the formal diplomatic step that begins an ambassador's assignment in the receiving state.
26. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) approved the restart and continued operation of Unit-2 of the Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) on 7th May 2026. The clearance allows the unit to operate for another 10 years after a major refurbishment and safety upgrade programme by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
27. The United States government began releasing classified and previously classified records on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) in 2026. The disclosures involved the White House, the Director of National Intelligence, the Energy Department, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Pentagon.
28. India and Trinidad and Tobago signed eight Memoranda of Understanding during External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's two-day visit to the Caribbean nation on 8th and 9th May 2026. The agreements covered tourism, healthcare, infrastructure, Ayurveda, vector control, and digital support for education.
29. Bangladesh has recorded 336 child deaths since 15th March 2026 in a measles outbreak, with more than 50,000 confirmed and suspected cases by 8th May 2026. The outbreak has affected 58 of 64 districts across all eight divisions, and the Directorate General of Health Services has reported cases among children mainly in the 1 to 14 years age group.
30. Nepal has objected to the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and has raised the issue through diplomatic protests with India and China. Nepal claims that Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani fall within its territory under the 1816 Sugauli Treaty.
31. Rolls-Royce, a British engineering company, has outlined plans to expand its presence in India across defence, civil aviation, and energy sectors. The company has linked its India strategy with military engine development, local manufacturing, and nuclear energy opportunities.
32. Balikatan 2026 is a joint military exercise between the Philippines and the United States that began on 20th April 2026 and is scheduled to end on 8th May 2026. The exercise involves more than 17,000 troops from the Philippines, the United States, Australia, Japan, Canada, France, and New Zealand.
33. Pakistan has announced 10th May as an annual observance named 'Marka-e-Haq Day'. The observance is linked to the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict and the first anniversary of 'Marka-e-Haq' and 'Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos'. The day will be observed every year without being a public holiday.
34. India was included in a revised draft list published by the European Union on 12th May 2026 for continued exports of aquaculture products to the 27-member bloc. The draft list is linked to export continuity beyond September 2026 for Indian aquaculture shipments to the EU market.
35. India is advancing a proposed subsea natural gas pipeline from Ras Al Jifan in Oman to Porbandar in Gujarat. The project is planned as a deep-sea link across the Arabian Sea with a route length of about 1,600 km to 2,000 km and a maximum depth of about 3,450 metres.
36. Russia conducted a test launch of the Sarmat super-heavy intercontinental ballistic missile on 12th May 2026 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region. The missile was stated to have hit its designated target at the Kura test range on the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the launch was linked to Russia's programme to modernise its nuclear forces.
37. Maize has become India's single-largest feedstock for ethanol production as of 12th May 2026, with maize-based ethanol reaching 182 crore litres in the first half of Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26. India's cumulative ethanol supplies crossed 515 crore litres in the same period, covering nearly 49% of the contracted volume of 1,059 crore litres.
38. P. Kumaran assumed charge as India's High Commissioner-designate to the United Kingdom on 13th May 2026 and formally stepped into the role on 14th May 2026 in London. He presented his credentials to Vice-Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, Scott Furssedonn-Wood, and his full tenure will begin after the presentation of credentials to King Charles III.
39. An Indian-flagged commercial vessel was attacked off the coast of Oman on 13th May 2026. All Indian crew members aboard the ship were reported safe after the incident. Merchant ships are commercial vessels used for the transport of cargo and passengers across sea routes. Civilian mariners are non-combatant seafarers employed on commercial vessels, and they operate under maritime safety and shipping regulations.
40. India assumed the BRICS Chairmanship on 1st January 2026 and hosted the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting in New Delhi on 14th May 2026. India's 2026 chairship works under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability". BRICS is an intergovernmental grouping of major emerging economies. The original members were Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
41. India has approached the United States for an extension of the waiver that allows imports of Russian crude oil already loaded on ships. The request comes amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz for 75 days and a rise in Brent crude prices from 80 to 120 per barrel between 2nd March and 9th March 2026.
42. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy from 15th to 20th May 2026. The tour produced investment commitments for India worth nearly US$40 billion across energy, technology, defence, shipping and manufacturing sectors.
43. National Endangered Species Day 2026 is being observed on 15th May 2026, which falls on the third Friday of May. The 2026 observance marks the 21st annual celebration of a global conservation day focused on threatened and endangered wildlife. The 2026 theme is "Celebrating America's Wildlife Comeback Stories. Championing the Endangered Species Act".
44. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi in New Delhi on 15th May 2026 on the sidelines of the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting. The talks covered the situation in West Asia, bilateral issues between India and Iran, and the security of international sea lanes used for oil and liquefied natural gas trade.
45. India and the United Arab Emirates signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 15th May 2026 for cooperation in strategic petroleum reserves and for increased liquefied petroleum gas supplies to India. The agreements were signed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Abu Dhabi, where bilateral talks were held with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
46. A new Ebola outbreak was confirmed on 15th May 2026 in Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the outbreak, and preliminary laboratory testing by the Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale found Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples.
47. Australia banned the neo-Nazi National Socialist Network (NSN) on 15th May 2026 under new anti-hate legislation. The ban took effect at midnight on 15 May 2026 and makes support, funding, training, recruitment, membership, and direction of the group a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
48. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Ali Falih Kadhim al-Zaidi on assuming office as the Prime Minister of Iraq on 16th May 2026. Al-Zaidi took office after being sworn in during a parliamentary session on 14th May 2026.
49. French President Emmanuel Macron invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the 52nd G7 Summit, which France will preside over in 2026. The summit is scheduled from 15th to 17th June 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, France. India is not a permanent member of the G7 and has been invited as a special guest.
50. India and Sweden elevated their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership on 17th May 2026 during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Gothenburg, Sweden. The upgraded framework covers green transition, security, emerging technology, people-to-people ties, trade, and investment.
51. The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 17th May 2026. The outbreak is centred in eastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo and has also been confirmed in Kampala, Uganda.
52. India and Norway elevated their bilateral relations to a Green Strategic Partnership on 18th May 2026 in Oslo during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. The partnership covers clean energy, maritime security, digital health, space cooperation, and the blue economy.
53. Venezuela announced the release of 300 prisoners from jail between 18th May 2026 and 22nd May 2026. The releases are taking place in Caracas under an amnesty law passed in February 2026. An amnesty law is a legal measure that removes criminal liability for specified offences or categories of persons.
54. The United States Senate advanced a resolution on 19th May 2026 to limit President Donald Trump's war powers on Iran. The procedural vote was 50-47, and the measure moved forward after seven earlier attempts had failed.
55. The United Nations revised India's GDP growth forecast for 2026 to 6.4% on 20th May 2026, down from an earlier estimate of 6.6%. The revision was issued in reports by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
56. India and Italy elevated their bilateral relationship to a Special Strategic Partnership on 20th May 2026 in Rome. The announcement was made during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The partnership covers defence, trade, technology, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, space, nuclear energy, and mobility.
57. India abstained on 20th May 2026 in a United Nations General Assembly resolution on climate change obligations. The resolution was adopted with 141 votes in favour, eight against, and 28 abstentions, and it referred to a July 2025 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on states legal obligations on climate change.
58. Archaeological structures dating to about 9,000 years ago have been identified beneath Lake Huron in North America. The sites belong to the Paleoindian and early Archaic periods and lie on the Alpena-Amberley Ridge, a former land bridge between north-east Michigan and southern Ontario during the last Ice Age.
59. S. "Soma" Somasegar, an Indian-origin technology executive and former Microsoft leader, died at the age of 59. He worked at Microsoft for 27 years after joining the company in 1989 and later served as managing director at Madrona Venture Group in Seattle.
60. India raised Pakistan's record of alleged genocidal acts at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Protection of civilians in armed conflict on 21st May 2026. The Indian statement was made by Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, after Pakistan raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir in the same debate.
61. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) announced on 21st May 2026 plans to invest over $10 billion across Taiwan's artificial intelligence ecosystem. The investment covers strategic partnerships, advanced packaging manufacturing, and supply-chain links for next-generation AI infrastructure.
62. India postponed the first International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) Summit in New Delhi on 21st May 2026. The summit had been scheduled for 1st June or 1st - 2nd June 2026 and was linked with the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit.
63. India and Cyprus elevated their bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership on 22nd May 2026 during the visit of Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides to New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Christodoulides held wide-ranging talks in New Delhi and announced new cooperation measures in trade, investment, defence, migration, mobility, and social security.
64. Saudi Arabia became the newest member of the International Big Cat Alliance on 22nd May 2026. The alliance now has 26 member countries and five observer nations. The International Big Cat Alliance is an India-led global initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023. The Union Cabinet approved the alliance in February 2024.
65. India, China and Japan have joined other World Trade Organization members, including Korea, Switzerland, Russia and Brazil, in criticising the United Kingdom's steel safeguard measures. The UK measures use tariff-rate quotas and a 25% tariff on imports above quota limits, and they were introduced in response to global steel overcapacity and the United States Section 232 tariffs of 2018.
66. Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez is scheduled to visit India next week for talks on oil sales. The visit comes at a time when India imports most of its crude oil and Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves.
67. India and Germany formalised a Comprehensive Roadmap on Higher Education in January 2026 during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to India. The roadmap covers institutional collaboration, academic exchange, research partnerships, student mobility, German language teaching, and preparatory routes for Indian applicants to German public universities.
68. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of more than 15,000 synthetic chemicals that resist degradation in the environment and in the human body. A U.S. study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene in April 2026 detected PFAS in 98.8% of 10,566 human blood samples.
69. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit India from 23rd May to 26th May 2026. The visit will be his first trip to India as the top diplomat of the United States and will include meetings in Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur and New Delhi.
70. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit India in May 2026 for bilateral talks and the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in New Delhi. The visit is expected to last from 24th to 26th May 2026 and will be Rubio's first trip to India after taking office in January 2026.
71. India and Russia held high-level Army talks on 24th May 2026 to expand defence cooperation and improve joint military capabilities. The 5th Sub Working Group (Land) meeting was held in New Delhi under the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military & Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC).
72. Pakistan has decided to issue a special Rs. 75 commemorative coin to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations with China. The State Bank of Pakistan announced that the coin will be available to the public from 25th May 2026, through exchange counters at the field offices of the SBP Banking Services Corporation.
73. India and the United States held high-level talks in New Delhi in May 2026 on defence, trade, strategic technology, energy, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, nuclear cooperation, counter-terrorism, and the Indo-Pacific. The discussions involved US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
74. Taiwan became the world's fifth-largest stock market on 25th May 2026, when its market capitalisation reached US4.95 trillion and India's market value stood at US4.92 trillion. Taiwan's rise followed a sharp rally in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest chipmaker.
75. India and the Republic of Korea held the 12th round of negotiations for upgrading the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK CEPA) in New Delhi from 25th to 27th May 2026. The talks followed a Joint Declaration signed on 20th April 2026 during the South Korean President's state visit to India. IK CEPA came into force in 2010 and provides the legal framework for trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.
76. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held separate meetings with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in New Delhi on 26th May 2026. The discussions covered Indo-Pacific cooperation, maritime security, supply chain resilience, and economic connectivity.
77. India will host the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in New Delhi on 26th May 2026. The meeting will be held at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and will bring together the foreign ministers of Australia, Japan and the United States.
78. South Korea unveiled a roadmap on 26th May 2026 to launch its first domestically built nuclear submarine by the mid-2030s. The project is designated as the Jangbogo N Project and is linked to South Korea's shipbuilding and reactor technologies. The project was announced at the inaugural meeting of the Committee on Future Defense Strategy in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.
79. India and China held the 35th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) in Beijing on 27th May 2026. The Indian delegation was led by Sujit Ghosh, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Chinese delegation was led by Hou Yanqi, Director General of the Boundary & Oceanic Affairs Department of China's foreign ministry.
80. Russia and the Taliban-led authorities in Afghanistan signed a military-technical cooperation agreement on 27th May 2026 during the International Security Forum in the Moscow region. The agreement was signed by Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and Afghan Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob.
81. North Korea rejected the denuclearisation call made by the Quad nations on 28th May 2026 and stated that it would not abandon its nuclear weapons programme. The Quad foreign ministers met in New Delhi, India, on 23rd May 2026 and issued a joint statement on 26th May 2026 that referred to North Korea's complete denuclearisation under relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions.
82. Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on 28th May 2026 for the construction of Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant. The project is estimated at about $16.5 billion, and Russia is expected to finance around 85% through an export loan. Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, will lead the project, which will use two VVER-1200 III+ reactors.
83. The United States State Department announced on 28th May 2026 that Brazil's two largest criminal organisations, Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), will be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) from 5th June 2026. Until the FTO designation takes effect, both groups are classified as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), a status that restricts financial transactions under United States sanctions rules.
84. The Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit was scheduled for New Delhi from 28th to 31st May 2026. India and the African Union postponed the summit on 21st May 2026 because of an evolving public health situation in parts of Africa. The health situation refers to an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
85. Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old Indian-origin student from Rancho Cucamonga, California, won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee on 28th May 2026. The 98th annual competition was held at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., and included nearly 250 spellers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Defence Department schools, and five other countries.
86. India and Oman have finalised the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which is expected to come into force on 1st June 2026. The agreement was signed in December 2025 and Oman ratified it through a Royal decree in February 2026.
87. India will host the first International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) Summit on 1st - 2nd June 2026 in New Delhi. The summit will bring together Heads of State or Government from member and observer countries, along with more than 400 conservationists, policymakers, scientists, and other representatives.
Defence
1. An Indian Army contingent has departed for Cambodia to participate in CINBAX-II, a bilateral military exercise. The exercise involves personnel from the Indian Army and the Royal Cambodian Army and forms part of India's defence cooperation with Southeast Asian countries.
2. The North Tech Symposium 2026 is being held in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, from 4th to 6th May 2026. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the three-day event on 4th May 2026. The symposium is jointly organised by the Northern and Central Commands of the Indian Army with the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).
3. The second edition of the India-Cambodia Bilateral Military Exercise CINBAX-II 2026 began at Techo Sen Phnom Thom Mreas Prov Royal Cambodian Air Force Training Centre, also known as Camp Basil, in Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia. The exercise is scheduled from 4th to 17th May 2026 and involves company-level joint training under Chapter VII of the UN mandate.
4. India may discuss the sale of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile to Vietnam. BrahMos is a joint venture missile system developed by India and Russia, and it is used by the Indian Armed Forces. BrahMos is a two-stage supersonic cruise missile with a range that has been extended in different variants. It can be launched from land, sea, air, and submarine platforms in specific configurations.
5. The inaugural India-Algeria Joint Commission meeting on defence cooperation took place in New Delhi on 5th May 2026. The meeting was co-chaired by Shri Amitabh Prasad, Joint Secretary (International Cooperation), and Major General Kaid Nour Eddine, Chief of Staff of the Naval Forces of Algeria.
6. European missile manufacturer MBDA signed an agreement with the Indian Air Force on 6th May 2026 to establish domestic Maintenance, Repair, and Mid-Life Overhaul capability for the MICA air-to-air missile system in India. The facility will be set up, operated, and maintained by the Indian Air Force, with MBDA providing industrial machinery, tooling, technical data packages, training, and specialist support.
7. The Chief of the Naval Staff of India met Myanmar's naval leadership to discuss maritime security cooperation. The meeting formed part of bilateral defence engagement between India and Myanmar, which share a land boundary of about 1,643 km and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.
8. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) plan to establish an Aircraft Integration and Flight Testing Complex in Puttaparthi in Sri Sathya Sai district, Andhra Pradesh. The project has in-principle approval from the Ministry of Defence and is linked to the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme and other indigenous combat aircraft and unmanned aerial systems.
9. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted the maiden flight trial of the Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) weapon system on 7th May 2026 off the coast of Odisha. The system was released from a Jaguar aircraft, and TARA is India's first indigenous glide weapon system.
10. The Indian Army Sailing Vessel IASV Triveni, crewed by 10 women officers from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, is sailing from Cape Town to Mumbai after a global circumnavigation that began on 11th September 2025. The 50-foot yacht was built in Puducherry and is expected to complete the expedition in June 2026.
11. The Indian Coast Guard held the girder-laying ceremony for the 4th, 5th and 6th Air Cushion Vehicles at the Rassaim Yard of Chowgule Shipyard in Goa on 11th May 2026. The project covers six indigenously fabricated Air Cushion Vehicles under a contract signed with Chowgule & Company Private Limited, Goa, on 24th October 2024.
12. India has set a 2047 defence roadmap for a fully integrated, self-reliant, all-domain military force with power projection across the Indo-Pacific and beyond. The plan is linked to the Defence Forces Vision 2047 and includes targets for domestic production, exports, and new operational commands.
13. India launched the Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMIP) in New Delhi on 12th May 2026. The pool provides insurance cover for Indian vessels on international sea routes, including war-risk and high-risk zones, and it has a total value of USD 1.5 billion with a sovereign guarantee of USD 1.4 billion.
14. Kalam & Kavach 3.0, India's defence and strategic dialogue platform, was inaugurated on 14th May 2026 at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. The third edition carried the theme "Taking JAI Forward With I2", where JAI stands for Jointness, Aatmanirbharta and Innovation, and I2 stands for Indigenisation and International Collaboration.
15. The foundation stone for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme infrastructure is being laid on 15th May 2026 at Puttaparthi in Sri Sathya Sai district, Andhra Pradesh. The project has an estimated infrastructure investment of Rs. 15,803 crore and covers about 650 acres.
16. Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace announced on 14th May 2026 that its Kaal Bhairava AI combat aircraft will be manufactured in Portugal. The project involves SKETCHPIXEL LDA, a European company that works on fighter jet simulation systems, and it is described as the first overseas production node for an Indian-designed autonomous combat aircraft.
17. The first domestically assembled Airbus C-295 military transport aircraft in India was completed at the Tata-Airbus facility in Vadodara on 17th May 2026 and was ready for flight testing. The aircraft is part of a 56-aircraft contract signed in September 2021 between India and Airbus Defence and Space for the Indian Air Force.
18. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Vietnam from 18th to 19th May 2026 and met President To Lam in Hanoi on 19th May 2026. He also held a bilateral meeting with Vietnamese Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang, and both sides discussed defence cooperation under the Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Vietnam.
19. India is set to receive the fourth squadron of the Russian-origin S-400 air defence missile system by the end of the week of 19th May 2026. The system forms part of a $5.43 billion agreement signed in 2018 for five S-400 squadrons from Russia. It is designed to engage aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at different ranges and altitudes.
20. The Indian Navy awarded a contract to Bengaluru-based defence technology firm Tonbo Imaging on 19th May 2026 for the integration and commissioning of a High Power Microwave (HPM) system for naval platforms. The project falls under the ADITI 3.0 innovation framework and is supported by the Ministry of Defence's iDEX initiative and the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO).
21. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) completed the final development trials of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 on 19th and 20th May 2026. The trials took place at a DRDO test range near Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh and used an integrated Ground Control System for command and control.
22. India and the Republic of Korea signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 19th May 2026 in Seoul for cooperation in defence, cybersecurity, and defence information sharing. The agreement was signed during the official visit of India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and South Korea's Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-Back.
23. PRAGATI 2026, a multinational military exercise, began in Meghalaya on 20th May 2026. The two-week exercise is being held at Umroi Military Station near Shillong and involves armed forces personnel from 13 countries.
24. The Indian Army developed two Artificial Intelligence-based digital systems, Kautilya and Q-FORCE, in 2026 for command intelligence and logistics management. Kautilya is an AI-powered command intelligence platform, while Q-FORCE is an integrated digital application for supply chain and sustainment operations.
25. RRP Defense Limited received a purchase order worth Rs. 29,83,81,230, or about Rs. 29.83 crore, plus applicable GST, from Bharat Electronics Limited on 20th May 2026. Bharat Electronics Limited is a Government of India enterprise engaged in defence electronics and related systems.
26. Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and South Korean Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul inaugurated the Indian War Memorial at Imjingak Park near Seoul on 21st May 2026. The memorial marks the 75th anniversary of the Korean War and commemorates the service of the 60 Para Field Ambulance and the Custodian Force of India.
27. India successfully test-launched the Agni-1 short-range ballistic missile on 22nd May 2026 from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha. The launch was conducted under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command, which manages India's strategic nuclear arsenal.
28. The Ministry of Defence is expected to issue a Request for Proposal for the manufacturing of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft by June 2026. The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, or AMCA, is India's indigenous fifth-generation stealth, multirole combat aircraft programme for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.
29. The Indian Air Force signed three contracts with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay on 27th May 2026 for predictive maintenance technologies for the Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet fleet. The agreements cover prognostic and prescriptive maintenance systems for military aviation applications in India.
Business, Economy & Banking
1. India and Canada have set a target to raise bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030. The two countries have also aimed to fast-track negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, with a goal of concluding it by the end of 2026 or earlier.
2. India and Vietnam have set a bilateral trade target of US$25 billion by 2030. The target relates to merchandise and services exchange between two Asian economies that are members of wider regional trade frameworks in the Indo-Pacific region.
3. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposed GARUDA, a green-channel mechanism for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), on 11th May 2026. GARUDA stands for Green-Channel: AIF Rollout Upon Document Acknowledgement and is linked to the filing and acknowledgement of Placement Memorandums (PPMs) for AIF schemes in India.
4. India's Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation rose to 8.3% in April 2026, the highest level in 42 months. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry released the WPI data on 14th May 2026, and the April figure was higher than 3.88% in March 2026. The Wholesale Price Index measures the average change in prices of goods at the wholesale level in India.
5. Mahindra & Mahindra and DBS Bank India launched India's first sustainability-linked dealer financing programme for the automotive sector on 19th May 2026. The scheme links loan interest rates for authorised Mahindra dealerships to environmental, social and governance performance, sales targets, and selected sustainability measures.
6. The National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) announced RAINMUMBAI on 20th May 2026 as India's first SEBI-approved exchange-traded weather derivatives contract. The contract is a cash-settled futures instrument linked to rainfall data for Mumbai during the monsoon months of June to September.
7. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) established the Energy, Food Security and Economic Resilience Facility on 20th May 2026. The facility provides up to US$10 billion over two years for member countries and clients affected by the Middle East conflict.
8. India blocked China's first request on 22nd May 2026 at the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body meeting in Geneva for the establishment of a dispute panel over India's tariffs and incentives for information technology goods and solar energy products. China had filed the dispute in December 2025 and held bilateral consultations with India on 10th February 2026 before moving to the panel stage.
9. The Reserve Bank of India approved a dividend of Rs. 2,86,588.46 crore for the Central Government for the accounting year 2025-26 on 22nd May 2026. The amount is the largest surplus transfer in the history of the Reserve Bank of India and is 6.7% higher than the Rs. 2.69 lakh crore transferred in 2024-25.
10. The Reserve Bank of India issued final Amendment Directions on 25th May 2026 for Urban Co-operative Banks and Rural Co-operative Banks. The directions prescribe a mandatory three-year cooling-off period for directors who complete a continuous tenure of 10 years on the board of the same co-operative bank.
11. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) formed an eight-member expert committee on 25th May 2026 to assess the benefits, risks, and challenges of quantum technology in the financial sector. The panel is named the Expert Committee for a Quantum Secure and Adaptive Financial Ecosystem (Q-SAFE) and will study quantum-related cyber threats for India's financial system.
12. Adani Green Energy Ltd commissioned a cumulative 3.37 gigawatt-hour Battery Energy Storage System at Khavda in Gujarat on 26th May 2026. The installation is the world's largest single-location battery storage deployment outside China and includes an additional 1.37 GWh commissioned in March 2026.
13. The Securities and Exchange Board of India is developing bond exchange-traded funds and derivatives on corporate bond indices to expand retail participation in India's debt market. SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey announced the initiative at the CareEdge Debt Market Summit in Mumbai on 26th May 2026.
14. India's new framework for exchanging foreign tax information comes into effect from 1st July 2026. The rules apply to requests received by the Income Tax Department from foreign tax jurisdictions and to India's outbound requests for tax information sent to other jurisdictions.
Science & Technology
1. The Great Dyke of Zimbabwe is a 550-kilometre-long igneous formation that dates to about 2.5 billion years ago. NASA scientists have identified a hidden internal geological structure within it using satellite imaging and geophysics mapping. The feature is not visible on the surface and appears as a slight difference in the dyke's inner composition.
2. Pixxel and Sarvam announced Pathfinder on 3rd May 2026 as India's first AI-powered orbital data centre satellite. Pathfinder is a 200 kg-class demonstration satellite planned for launch in the fourth quarter of 2026. Pixxel will design, build, launch, and operate the satellite. Sarvam will provide the artificial intelligence backbone for the mission, including on-board AI models for training and inference in orbit.
3. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched by NASA in December 2021, has detected a class of high-redshift objects called Little Red Dots (LRDs). These objects are compact, very red, and point-like in appearance, and they are observed in the early universe at large cosmological distances.
4. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has developed a priority pathogen list for syndromic surveillance in India. The list was released by the Division of Communicable Diseases on 17th November 2025 and is linked to infectious disease monitoring, diagnostic standardisation, and outbreak detection.
5. Astronomers have identified 27 candidate planets that may orbit two stars, a configuration known as a circumbinary system. Such planets are often called "Tatooine-like" planets because they circle a pair of stars, similar to the fictional planet Tatooine in the Star Wars series.
6. The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) introduced mandatory disclosure norms for researchers applying to its Advanced Research Grant (ARG) programme on 4th May 2026. The rules require applicants to disclose details and reasons for any publication retractions in the previous five years, and they apply to Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators.
7. Scientists have identified a rare giant tree species in the Andes, a major mountain range in South America that extends through seven countries, including Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. The discovery adds to the known plant diversity of the Andean region, which contains multiple ecological zones from tropical forests to alpine habitats.
8. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) directly studied the rocky exoplanet LHS 3844 b, also called Kuaꞌkua, on 4th May 2026. LHS 3844 b is a super-Earth located about 49 to 50 light-years away and is around 30% larger than Earth.
9. Scientists have identified a virus that can infect and kill drug-resistant bacteria. Such viruses are known as bacteriophages, or phages, and they target specific bacterial cells rather than human cells. Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and replicate inside them. They were first discovered in the early 20th century and have been studied as alternatives to antibiotics in bacterial infections.
10. Archaeopteryx is a genus of feathered dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period, and its fossils are among the most studied specimens in vertebrate palaeontology. A 150-million-year-old Archaeopteryx fossil provides evidence for the transition between non-avian dinosaurs and birds.
11. Skyroot Aerospace became India's first space-tech unicorn on 7th May 2026 after raising about 60 million at a valuation of 1.1 billion. The company is based in Hyderabad and works in the private space-launch sector in India.
12. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras Global Research Foundation established its first United States centre in Menlo Park, California, on 6th May 2026. The centre became operational on 24th April 2026 and is located near Silicon Valley for startup incubation, technology commercialisation, and deep-tech research.
13. Uttar Pradesh has set a deep-tech capital vision centred on artificial intelligence, quantum computing, drone technology, green hydrogen, cybersecurity, and medical technology. The state government linked this plan with the theme of self-reliance and with the slogan "Innovate in UP, Scale for the World".
14. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) launched two Artificial Intelligence-based weather forecasting products for monsoon regions that depend on rain-fed agriculture. One product was developed by the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) for Uttar Pradesh, and the other was developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune for district-level rainfall forecasting.
15. A new plant species named Cyphostemma annamalaii was discovered in the southern Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu on 7th May 2026. The species belongs to the grape family, Vitaceae Juss, and was found on Sanjeevi hill in Villupuram district.
16. India has activated a nationwide Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory Network with 165 specialised laboratories for hantavirus surveillance. The network uses RT-PCR technology for confirmation of suspected cases and works with the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology for diagnostic support.
17. Scientists have detected a fast radio burst named FRB 20240304B that travelled about 10 billion years before reaching Earth. The signal was first detected on 4 March 2024 by the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. Researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to identify its host galaxy as a small, clumpy, low-mass, star-forming dwarf galaxy.
18. National Technology Day is observed in India on 11th May every year. The day commemorates the Pokhran-II nuclear tests of 1998, which were conducted at the Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan on 11th May and 13th May 1998. Pokhran-II was also called Operation Shakti.
19. The Indian Council of Medical Research and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research launched SEHAT, or Science Excellence for Health through Agricultural Transformation, on 11th May 2026 in New Delhi. SEHAT is a national mission-mode programme that links agricultural research with health outcomes in India.
20. Scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia developed an electricity-free cooling system named Nescod, which stands for No Electricity and Sustainable Cooling on Demand. The system uses ammonium nitrate and water in a chemical cooling process and operates without compressors or continuous electrical power.
21. China has developed an AI-powered electrochemical technology that converts nitrate-laden wastewater into ammonia for fertiliser production. The method uses a dual-atom catalyst and operates at room temperature, unlike the conventional Haber-Bosch process used for industrial ammonia synthesis.
22. A study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in May 2026 has proposed the existence of a hidden ancient dwarf galaxy named Loki within the Milky Way. The finding is based on chemical and orbital data from 20 metal-poor stars located within 2 kiloparsecs of the Sun.
23. Anthropic and the Gates Foundation announced a $200 million partnership on 14th May 2026 to develop artificial intelligence tools for global health, education, and agriculture over four years. The partnership covers low- and middle-income countries and underserved communities, with support for health workers, teachers, policymakers, and farmers.
24. Scientists working in Antarctica have identified the oldest directly dated ice and air sample on Earth from the Allan Hills region of East Antarctica. The sample contains tiny air bubbles in 6-million-year-old ice and was dated through argon isotope analysis of trapped air.
25. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) led a delegation of nine Indian space-tech companies to Space Meetings Veneto 2026 in Venice, Italy, on 16th - 17th May 2026. The delegation was headed by Dr. P. K. Jain, Director of the Programme Management and Authorisation Directorate at IN-SPACe.
26. The National AI Doctors Mission (NAIDM) was launched at Health AI Con 2026 in New Delhi on 17th May 2026. The mission is a national initiative for training India's medical fraternity in Artificial Intelligence (AI), clinical practice, and ethical use of digital tools in healthcare.
27. Trachischium lalremsangai is a new worm-eating snake species described in the journal Herpetozoa on 19th May 2026. The species was named after Professor Hmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga of Mizoram University, and the type material was linked to specimens from Mizoram and Myanmar.
28. Parallel Web Systems, the startup founded by former Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal, launched Index on 19th May 2026. Index is a platform for content creators and publishers to receive compensation when artificial intelligence systems use their work.
29. Manindra Agrawal, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 20th May 2026. The Royal Society is a scientific academy in the United Kingdom and one of the oldest learned societies in the world, founded in 1660.
30. The UK government announced a free bus travel scheme for children in England on 20th May 2026. The measure is part of the "Great British Summer Savings" package and applies to participating local bus services during August 2026. The scheme allows children aged five to 15 in England to travel free on participating local buses.
31. ISRO confirmed in September 2023 that the Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander performed a controlled hop experiment on the lunar surface. The lander fired its engines on command, rose about 40 cm above the surface, and soft-landed about 30-40 cm from its original position.
32. Researchers have identified thriving microbial communities hundreds of metres beneath Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf. The findings were published in 2022 in Nature Communications and were followed by a 2024 description of a functional microbial community in seawater under the ice shelf.
33. India's Venus orbiter mission, also called Shukrayaan, is a planned interplanetary mission to Venus with international collaboration from Sweden. The mission will carry 19 payloads and will study Venus's atmosphere, exosphere, surface, weather systems and super-rotating clouds.
34. Oil India Limited announced a new natural gas discovery in the nominated Dandewala Field in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan on 22nd May 2026. The discovery is the first successful establishment of natural gas in the shallower Sanu Formation within the Dandewala field.
35. NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) conducted biomedical experiments in May 2026 on cancer therapeutics, cartilage tissue growth, heart stem cells, and DNA-inspired nanomaterials. The work took place during Expedition 74 and used the Japanese Kibo laboratory module and its Life Science Glovebox for space-based life science research.
36. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has offered full technology transfer of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to Indian industry. The offer comes before the first PSLV built under an earlier private-sector contract has completed its launch, and it is linked to India's launch vehicle industrialisation framework.
37. The Department of Space approved Common Technical Facilities in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu on 22nd May 2026. The facilities are linked to India's private-sector space manufacturing ecosystem and are being developed with the involvement of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre.
38. South Korea introduced its first humanoid robot monk, Gabi, at a Buddhist ceremony at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul on 6th May 2026. The robot was presented by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism ahead of Buddha's Birthday on 24th May 2026. A humanoid robot is a machine designed with a human-like body structure, including a head, torso, arms, and legs.
39. China's Chang'e-7 lunar exploration mission is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2026. The mission will study the Moon's south pole through environmental and resource surveys, with a focus on permanently shadowed regions and possible water ice deposits.
40. An international team of scientists published research in April 2026 in the journal Astrodynamics on a fuel-saving Earth-to-Moon trajectory. The study involved researchers from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and the University of Coimbra in Portugal. The lead author was Allan Kardec de Almeida Junior, and Vitor Martins de Oliveira was a co-author.
41. India has 191 recorded species of cockroaches, and more than 60% of them are endemic to the country. A Zoological Survey of India study published in the taxonomy journal Zootaxa also documented India's first and largest DNA barcode reference library for cockroaches.
42. NASA announced a three-phase plan for a permanent Moon base near the lunar South Pole on 24th March 2026 and reaffirmed it on 27th May 2026. The plan carries an estimated investment of $20 billion over seven years and forms part of the Artemis programme for sustained human presence on the Moon.
43. India's first National AI and Digital Water Summit, titled the National AI Summit on Water 2026, will be hosted by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) in Bengaluru on 27th May 2026. The summit is jointly organised by BWSSB and Elets Technomedia Pvt. Ltd., and the Memorandum of Understanding for the event was signed on 20th February 2026.
44. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced evidence of possible subsurface ice in cold craters near the Moon's south pole on 27th - 28th May 2026. The finding used data from the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and analysis by scientists from the Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory (PRL).
45. Odisha signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Intel and 3D Glass Solutions on 28th and 29th May 2026 to bring substrate manufacturing technology to India. The agreement is linked to semiconductor packaging and advanced glass-based integration at Info Valley in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district.
Government Schemes
1. Bihar introduced the Traffic Challan One-Time Settlement Scheme, 2026, through a gazette notification dated 30th April 2026. The scheme offers up to 50% relief on pending traffic e-challans for specified offences and remains operational through the financial year 2026-27.
2. Uttar Pradesh has approved a policy push linked to the use of cow dung for income generation in the farm sector. The initiative is connected with gaushalas, organic manure production, and rural livelihood activities in the state.
3. The Union Cabinet has approved Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme 5.0, which belongs to the family of credit guarantee measures used in India for liquidity support to eligible borrowers. The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, or ECLGS, was first introduced in 2020 as a pandemic-era measure for collateral-free additional credit to stressed businesses.
4. The Union Cabinet has launched the Cotton Productivity Mission to improve cotton yield and strengthen the cotton value chain in India. Cotton is a major commercial crop and a key raw material for the textile sector, which uses both long-staple and medium-staple varieties.
5. JANANI is a digital healthcare platform launched by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 7th May 2026 in New Delhi. The acronym JANANI stands for Journey of Antenatal, Natal and Neonatal Integrated Care. The platform is designed for maternal and child health services, real-time monitoring, and digital record management across India.
6. The Union Labour Ministry launched a nationwide free annual health check-up scheme for workers above 40 years of age on 7th May 2026. The initiative operates through Employees State Insurance Corporation hospitals and affiliated facilities under the Code on Social Security, 2020.
7. India has issued identity cards with QR codes to Census enumerators for the Census 2027 exercise. The QR code allows residents to verify the authenticity of enumerators by scanning the card through a mobile device. The first phase of the Census began on 1st April 2026 and is scheduled to end on 30th September 2026.
8. e-KYC registration has been made mandatory for beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana in Puducherry for ration purchase under the Central Bank Digital Currency scheme from 26th February 2026. The scheme uses the digital currency e₹ for food subsidy delivery and replaces the earlier Direct Benefit Transfer-Cash model in the Union Territory.
9. Andhra Pradesh has directed the implementation of a "Farm to Home" model for direct delivery of agricultural produce from farmers to consumers. The model covers fruits and vegetables and uses Farmers Producer Organisations for marketing, logistics, and doorstep supply.
10. Hazaribag in Jharkhand has been notified as India's first pearl farming cluster under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). The cluster has received an investment of Rs. 22 crore under a joint initiative of the Central government and the Jharkhand government.
11. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee launched Road RADAR on 8th May 2026 in Delhi to identify sources of air pollution through daily ground-level surveys. Road RADAR stands for Real-time Air Pollution Detection Across Roads and uses geo-tagged reporting for rapid redressal of dispersed pollution sources.
12. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta launched the Aftercare Scheme for Young Persons on 10th May 2026. The Delhi government has allocated Rs. 3.5 crore for the scheme in the 2026-27 financial year. The scheme applies to young persons leaving childcare institutions and orphanages after attaining 18 years of age.
13. Karnataka enforced a new Alcohol-in-Beverage (AIB) taxation policy on 11th May 2026. The policy changed excise taxation from a bulk litre-based system to a system linked to the actual alcohol content of beverages. The Karnataka Excise (Excise Duty and Charges) (2nd Amendment) Rules, 2026 reduced the number of excise slabs from 16 to 8.
14. West Bengal announced the proposed Annapurna Bhandar scheme on 11th May 2026 after the first cabinet meeting of the new BJP government. The scheme is linked to financial support for eligible women in the state and is scheduled for rollout from 1st June 2026.
15. On 13th May 2026, the Assam Cabinet approved the draft Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in its first meeting of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's second term. The bill is scheduled for introduction in the Assam Legislative Assembly on 26th May 2026, the concluding day of the session that begins on 21st May.
16. The Centre launched the Mizoram Ginger Mission on 13th May 2026 with an outlay of Rs. 189.79 crore. The project is also named the Mizoram Ginger Unique Selling Proposition (USP) - Sustainable Cultivation & Value Chain Development Project. The mission includes a plan to promote pharma-grade Mizo Ginger in international markets.
17. On 17th May 2026, the Delhi government announced collateral-free loans of up to Rs. 10 crore for women self-help groups and women-led startups. The Delhi government will act as the guarantor for these loans, and the initiative was announced at the Mega Self Help Group (SHG) Mela-2026 in northwest Delhi.
18. West Bengal approved free bus travel for women in state-run buses and the Annapurna Yojana, also called the Annapurna Bhandar Scheme, on 18th May 2026. The free bus travel facility will start on 1st June 2026, and the welfare scheme will provide Rs. 3,000 per month to eligible women beneficiaries from the same date.
19. Delhi launched the 'Metro Monday' campaign on 18th May 2026 to promote public transport use and fuel conservation. The campaign is linked to the 90-day 'Mera Bharat, Mera Yogdan' initiative of the Delhi government and includes additional Delhi Metro Rail Corporation services on Mondays (18th May).
20. Andhra Pradesh is set to commission its first project under the Integrated Clean Energy Policy 2024 in the Rayalaseema region on 22nd May 2026. The project is a 600 MW solar power plant developed by SAEL Industries with an investment of Rs. 3,000 crore.
21. NITI Aayog convened the first meeting of the High Powered Education to Employment and Enterprise Standing Committee on 22nd May 2026 in New Delhi. The committee was formed under the Union Budget 2026-27 to align education and skilling systems with labour market demand and to support the services sector.
22. Assam tabled The Uniform Civil Code, Assam, Bill, 2026 in the Assam Legislative Assembly on 25th May 2026. Assam Parliamentary Affairs Minister Atul Bora introduced the Bill on behalf of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
23. Mission Karmayogi 2.0 is the next phase of the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB), which was launched in 2020 for civil services training in India. The framework uses role-based learning, competency-based training, and the Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT) platform for government employees.
24. The Assam government tabled The Uniform Civil Code, Assam, 2026 Bill in the state assembly on 25th May 2026. The bill was introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Atul Bora on behalf of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
25. Kerala launched Project Zero on 26th May 2026 as an anti-corruption initiative for state administration. The programme covers bribery, cyber crimes, vigilance procedures, and complaint handling through the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau.
26. Karnataka plans to establish 1,000 Karnataka Public Schools from 1st June 2026, with the project launch scheduled in Shivamogga. The schools are planned under the School Education Department and the Minorities Department, and the model includes classes from Lower Kindergarten to II Pre-University Course in Kannada and English mediums.
27. West Bengal has launched the Annapurna Yojana, a cash assistance scheme for women, with effect from 1st June 2026. The scheme provides Rs. 3,000 per month to eligible women through Direct Benefit Transfer into Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.
Awards & Honours
1. Mario Miranda's birth centenary was marked on 2nd May 2026, and India Post unveiled a philatelic tribute in Panaji, Goa, on 3rd May 2026. The tribute included a commemorative cancellation and four picture postcards. Mario Miranda was born in 1926 in Daman and was raised in Loutolim, Goa.
2. Bengaluru has been ranked the world's fastest-growing major city through 2035 in Savill's Growth Hubs Index, which is part of the firm's Resilient Cities research programme. The index assessed 245 cities globally using projected GDP growth to 2035, personal wealth expansion, demographic trends, inward migration, and the number of high-income households.
3. Indian illustrator Anand RK, freelance investigative journalist Suparna Sharma, and Natalie Obiko Pearson of Bloomberg won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in the Illustrated Reporting and Commentary category on 4th May 2026. The winning work, titled trAPPed, is a visual investigation into India's digital arrest scam.
4. Shashi Shekhar Vempati, former Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati, has been appointed Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The CBFC is a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and functions under the Cinematograph Act, 1952. It certifies films for public exhibition in India and issues certificates based on age and content classification.
5. R. Balasubramaniam and K. V. Raju have been appointed as members of NITI Aayog, the Government of India's policy think tank. NITI Aayog was established on 1st January 2015 to replace the Planning Commission and to support cooperative federalism and strategic policy formulation.
6. Soma Mandal, an Indian science teacher from GD Goenka Public School, Delhi, won the South Asia regional title of the Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards 2026 on 6th and 7th May 2026. The award is presented by the International Education group at Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
7. The Archibald Prize 2026 was awarded on 8th May 2026 to Melbourne-based artist Richard Lewer for a portrait of Pitjantjatjara Elder Iluwanti Ken. The prize carried a cash award of $100,000 and the winning work was selected from 1,034 entries.
8. Jayen Mehta was unanimously elected as the first chairman of the Sardar Patel Cooperative Dairy Federation Limited (SPCDF) on 8th May 2026. He is the Managing Director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (Amul), and Sangram Chaudhary was elected vice-chairman of the federation.
9. Q. Manivannan, a non-binary transgender Indian from Tamil Nadu, was elected on 8th May 2026 as a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Edinburgh & Lothians East. Manivannan contested the seat for the Scottish Greens and became one of the first two transgender MSPs elected to Holyrood.
10. The National Florence Nightingale Awards for 2026 were conferred on 15 nursing professionals at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 12th May 2026. President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards on International Nurses Day, and each recipient received a Certificate of Merit, a medal, and a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh.
11. St Stephen's College in Delhi appointed Professor Susan Elias as its first female principal on 12th May 2026. She will take charge as the 14th principal of the 145-year-old college on 1st June 2026.
12. The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal released the LEADS 2025 Report in New Delhi and felicitated the winners of the LEAPS 2025 Awards. LEADS stands for Logistics Ease Across Different States and serves as India's annual assessment and benchmarking tool for the logistics sector across States and Union Territories.
13. Tushar Kumar, a 23-year-old Labour Party councillor, was elected and sworn in as the Mayor of Elstree and Borehamwood on 13th May 2026. He became the youngest Indian-origin mayor in the history of the United Kingdom. The Mayor Making Ceremony was held at Fairway Hall in Borehamwood.
14. Kami Rita Sherpa, a 56-year-old Nepali Sherpa guide, scaled Mount Everest for the 32nd time on 17th May 2026. He reached the summit at 10:12 a.m. Nepal time through the Southeast Ridge route. The ascent was part of an expedition led by 14 Peaks Expedition. Nepal's Department of Tourism field office at Everest Base Camp confirmed the summit and issued a formal statement on the achievement.
15. Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Sweden's Royal Order of the Polar Star, Commander Grand Cross, on 17th May 2026 in Gothenburg during his visit to Sweden. The honour was conferred by Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and is Sweden's highest award for a foreign head of government.
16. The Rockefeller Foundation released its 2025 Impact Report, titled Big Bets, Real Results, on 18th May 2026. The report stated that the Foundation awarded over US$350 million in 2025 through 235 grants and programme-related investments to 204 unique partners.
17. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit in Oslo, Norway, on 18th May 2026. The award is the highest civilian honour of Norway and the highest grade within the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit.
18. The Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) was ranked among the world's top five water utilities at the Global Water Summit 2026 in Madrid, Spain. The recognition came in the "Utility of the Year" category at the summit held from 18th to 20th May 2026.
19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the FAO Agricola Medal on 20th May 2026 at the Food and Agriculture Organization Headquarters in Rome, Italy. The medal was presented in the FAO Plenary Hall by FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu during Modi's visit to Rome.
20. Indian Army officer Major Abhilasha Barak received the United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for 2025 on 22nd - 23rd May 2026. She serves with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon as Commander of the Female Engagement Team in the Indian Battalion.
21. N. Rajam, a violinist associated with Hindustani classical music, has been named for the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award. The award is conferred by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan and is announced in the Republic Day honours list.
22. Neelam Meena, an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1998 batch from the West Bengal cadre, was appointed Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal on 25th May 2026. She became the first woman to hold the office of Chief Electoral Officer in West Bengal. The appointment was made by the Election Commission of India.
23. NASA awarded Blue Origin a multimillion-dollar contract on 26th May 2026 to deliver lunar rovers and related equipment to the Moon. The contract is linked to NASA's Moon Base initiative, which plans a base at the lunar South Pole for sustained human presence by the 2030s.
24. India ranked second in the Asia Pacific region in operational data centre capacity as of 27th May 2026, with 1.6 GW of live capacity. India also placed among the top three global markets by development pipeline, with 3.1 GW of capacity under construction and planned.
25. The President's Police Colour, also called Nishaan, is the highest ceremonial honour for a police force in India. On 28th May 2026, President Droupadi Murmu conferred the award on the Sikkim Police at Paljor Stadium in Gangtok.
26. Two Indian peacekeepers, Lance Havildar Harbhajan Singh and Naib Subedar Sujit Kumar Pradhan, will receive the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal posthumously from the United Nations. The ceremony will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 5th June 2026, and Major Abhilasha Barak will receive the 2025 Military Gender Advocate of the Year award on the same date.
Sports
1. The Indian women's recurve team defeated South Korea 5-1 in the Archery World Cup Stage 2 at Shanghai, China, on 7th May 2026 and entered the final. The team included Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Kumkum Mohod.
2. The Central Information Commission (CIC) ruled on 18th May 2026 that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not a "public authority" under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. The order was passed by Information Commissioner P. R. Ramesh in an appeal concerning the BCCI's role in representing India and selecting players for tournaments.
3. India's archery coaching set-up for the Asian Games and the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 includes foreign and Indian coaches for compound and recurve events. The Sports Authority of India centre at Sonepat is one of the main national training venues for archery in India.
4. On 22nd May 2026, the Delhi High Court allowed Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat to take part in the selection trials for the Asian Games 2026. The trials are scheduled for 30th and 31st May 2026, and the case involved eligibility rules issued by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
5. Delhi will host the 22nd Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship (CTTC 2026) from 27th July to 2nd August 2026. The seven-day event will be held at Thyagraj Stadium in Delhi and is being organised jointly by the Delhi government and the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).
6. India has signed a participation agreement with FIFA for the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup, which is scheduled for the international window from 21st September to 6th October 2026. The All India Football Federation has accepted the invitation and is awaiting further tournament details.
7. Gurindervir Singh set the men's 100 metres national record at 10.09 seconds on 23rd May 2026 at the National Senior Athletics Federation Competition in Ranchi. He became the first Indian athlete to officially run below the 10.10-second mark in the men's 100 metres event.
8. Dev Meena and Kuldeep Kumar set a joint men's national pole vault record of 5.45 metres on 24th May 2026 at the 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Competition in Ranchi. The mark was achieved during the Federation Cup 2026, where the national record was broken twice in quick succession.
9. The Union Government notified the National Sports Governance (National Sports Board) Rules, 2026, and the National Sports Governance (National Sports Tribunal) Rules, 2026, on 26th May 2026 under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025. The rules provide the framework for the National Sports Board and the National Sports Tribunal, which are two statutory bodies under the sports governance law.
10. India will field its first official freediving team at the World Apnea Pool Championship in Budapest, Hungary, from 2 June 2026. The team has three athletes: Archana Thiagarajan, Akshay Thatte, and Vachan H U.
References:
jagranjosh.com
gktoday.in
business-standard.com
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