Daily Current Affairs 9 May 2026

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has notified the ‘Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026’, which modifies the ‘Citizenship Rules, 2009’. The rules became effective on April 2026. Under the new provisions, minor children are prohibited from holding both Indian and foreign passports at the same time.

The rules introduce the electronic Overseas Citizen of India (e-OCI) system for issuing digital or physical OCI cards through a central digital database. The entire application process for OCI status has been moved to an online format. Additionally, the renunciation of OCI cards must be filed electronically, after which an official acknowledgment is issued and the name of the individual is removed from central records.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has officially notified the establishment of the South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone, headquartered in Visakhapatnam. The SCoR is the 18th railway zone in India and is scheduled to start operations from June 2026. The newly created zone will integrate the Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Guntur divisions in Andhra Pradesh to strengthen railway administration and infrastructure in the region.

PM Narendra Modi has participated in the ‘Mahila Sammelan’ in Varanasi (Kashi) and inaugurated development projects worth ₹6,350 crore.

He also inaugurated the 594 km long Ganga Expressway in Hardoi, which is a greenfield access-controlled project. Constructed at a cost of ₹36,230 crore, the expressway connects 12 districts and features a 6-lane configuration (expandable to 8 lanes).

The Union Cabinet has approved the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 5.0 with an outlay of ₹18,100 crore to assist Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in mitigating short-term liquidity stress arising from the crisis in West Asia. The scheme provides 100% credit guarantee coverage for MSMEs and 90% for non-MSMEs and the airline sector. Eligible borrowers include MSMEs and non-MSMEs with existing working capital limits and scheduled passenger airlines with outstanding credit facilities as of March 2026, provided their accounts are classified as standard.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) has signed reform-linked MoUs with Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Tripura, Mizoram, and Ladakh under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) 2.0.

The MoUs establish a framework for decentralized governance by empowering Gram Panchayats and Village Water & Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) to oversee the operation and management of in-village water supply systems.

The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in Raebareli has signed an MoU, a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA), and a Technology Transfer Agreement with the Hyderabad-based Lofty Laboratories.

The collaboration aims to promote research, innovation, and technology commercialisation to strengthen the ties between academia and industry in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.

According to the 13th edition of the “World Migration Report 2026” released by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a UN-related agency, India is the leading recipient of remittances in the world by receiving over $137 billion in 2024, making it the only country to cross the $100 billion milestone. It is followed by Mexico, Philippines, France, and Pakistan. The USA remains the primary source of global remittances with outflows exceeding $100 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and Germany.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh has attended the 23rd Defence Ministers’ Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The meeting focused on bolstering regional security cooperation and counter-terrorism efforts to promote stability amid evolving global challenges. Defence ministers from the member states of the SCO participated in the session to discuss strategic coordination and regional safety.

Annalena Baerbock, the 80th President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), has visited India at the invitation of Union Minister S Jaishankar. The visit aimed to reinforce the commitment of India to engagement with the UN.

During the visit, the UNGA President paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in New Delhi. She also held a high-level bilateral meeting with the Minister S Jaishankar at Hyderabad House to discuss various global issues.

The DRDO and the Indian Air Force have successfully conducted the maiden flight-trial of the Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) weapon off the Odisha coast.

It is to be noted that TARA is the first indigenous glide weapon system of India, designed as a modular range extension kit to convert unguided warheads into precision-guided munitions.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a contract worth ₹1,476 crore with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) for the procurement of five Ground-Based Mobile Electronic Systems (GBMES) for the Indian Army (IA).

It is to be noted that the procurement is categorized under the Buy Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) framework, which mandates a minimum indigenous content of 72%.

SpaceX has launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA.

The mission deployed the CAS500-2 Earth observation satellite of the Republic of Korea and 45 secondary rideshare payloads into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). It is to be noted that the operation was conducted as a multi-customer rideshare mission to facilitate the orbital placement of various technological instruments.

The Karnataka government has launched India’s first digital grievance redressal framework for gig workers on May 1 (International Workers' Day).

The system utilizes the Integrated Public Grievance Redressal System (IPGRS) portal to allow workers to lodge complaints regarding remuneration, working conditions, and disputes.

Ishank Singh, a 7-year-old from Ranchi (Jharkhand), has established a world record by swimming approximately 29 km across the Palk Strait. He completed the journey from Talaimannar (Sri Lanka) to Dhanushkodi (Tamil Nadu) in 9 hours and 50 minutes on April 30, 2026.

The Universal Records Forum (URF) has officially recognized him as the youngest and fastest individual to complete this route, surpassing the previous record of 10 hours and 30 minutes set by Jay Jashwanth in 2019.

Ayushman Bharat Diwas:

Day – April 30

Observed by – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW)

World Day for Safety and Health at Work:

Day – April 28

Theme 2026 – “Let’s ensure a healthy psychosocial working

environment”

Observed by – International Labour Organization (ILO)

Observed since – 2003