Daily Current Affairs 30 May 2026

Japan has suspended all fresh mango imports from India for the 2026 season, following the identification of critical safety lapses at Indian export processing centres.

This suspension, issued by the Yokohama Plant Protection Association, halts 20 years of uninterrupted trade during the peak summer harvesting window.

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance has launched the ‘Common Landing Portal for Unclaimed Financial Assets’.

Developed in collaboration with the Public Sector Bank (PSB) Alliance, this unified platform allows users to search for unclaimed bank deposits, insurance claims, shares, dividends, and mutual funds across the financial ecosystem.

The RBI has approved a record surplus transfer of ₹2.87 lakh crore to the Government of India (GoI) for FY26. This is higher than the previous year transfer of ₹2.69 lakh crore.

As of March 2026, the balance sheet of the RBI expanded by 20.61% to reach ₹91.97 lakh crore. It is to be noted that under the revised Economic Capital Framework (ECF), the RBI is required to maintain a Contingent Risk Buffer (CRB) within a range of 4.5% to 7.5% of the balance sheet size.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has launched a series of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)-backed strategic web portals and initiatives during its 37th foundation day celebrations in Mumbai.

The initiatives include the “SIDBI-RRB Co-Lending Platform” to facilitate collaborations between SIDBI and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to enhance credit flow to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in semi-urban and rural areas.

The “Modernization of Rural Enterprises” (MoRE) Programme was also launched to support 10,000 rural micro and artisan units through cluster-based interventions over the next 3 years. Additionally, the “Micro Credit Card Scheme” for MSMEs allows Udyam-registered micro enterprises to access credit of up to ₹5 lakh with a 75% guarantee coverage and without the requirement of mandatory primary security.

ZikZuk Technologies Pvt Ltd has received final authorization from the RBI to operate as a Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) issuer under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act (PSSA), 2007.

The Department of Posts has signed an agreement with Flipkart India to strengthen the e-commerce logistics ecosystem in India.

The partnership aims to enhance the efficiency of parcel delivery across urban, semi-urban, rural, and remote regions of the country.

PM Narendra Modi has visited Sweden at the invitation of the PM of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson. The visit transitioned the bilateral relations into a formal “Strategic Partnership” and adopted the “Joint Action Plan (2026-2030)”.

Building on a record $7.75 billion bilateral trade volume achieved in 2025, both nations agreed to double their trade over the next 5 years. During his address to the European Round Table for Industry (ERT) in Gothenburg, PM Modi highlighted that India has followed a “12-year trajectory of reforms, performance, and transformation”.

The “India-Sweden Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Start-up Platform” was initiated. The leaders also endorsed the “India-Sweden Technology and Artificial Intelligence Corridor (SITAC)”. Additionally, a virtual “India-Sweden Joint Science and Technology Centre (ISJSTC)” was launched to strengthen bilateral scientific cooperation.

In the field of space exploration, Sweden announced its participation in the Venus Orbiter Mission (“Shukrayaan”) of India, with the Swedish Institute of Space Physics supplying the advanced Venusian Neutrals Analyzer to fly aboard the spacecraft of the ISRO. Furthermore, both nations rolled out the “Tagore-Sweden” Lecture Series to deepen academic connections.

The Government of Odisha has signed an MoU with Intel Corporation and 3DGS Inc to establish an Advanced Packaging Glass Core Substrate Manufacturing Facility in the Bhubaneswar–Khurda region.

The project involves an estimated investment of $3.3 billion, making it one of the largest high-technology manufacturing investments in India.

Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has signed an MoU with EdCIL (India) Ltd, a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Education, to promote inclusive education under the former's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

The collaboration focuses on installing ‘Smart Digital Classrooms’ in schools located near the operational areas of SAIL.

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) has released findings from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), highlighting India’s progress in maternal and child health, nutrition, and financial protection. Institutional deliveries have reached 90.6%, while Antenatal Care (ANC) coverage has improved from 92.6% to 95.9%.

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) remains stable at 2.0, while the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) has increased from 66.7% to 69.1%. Full immunization coverage has improved from 83.8% to 87.1%, with vaccination rates for children aged 12-23 months remaining consistently high at over 96%.

Public health facilities remain the preferred choice for immunization, with 95.6% of children receiving most vaccinations through these channels. Child nutrition indicators have shown improvement, with stunting reduced by 17% and severe wasting reduced by 32%.

The 79th edition of the World Health Assembly (WHA79) was organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme “Reshaping Global Health: A Shared Responsibility”.

The assembly was chaired by Victor Atallah Lajam, the Minister of Health of the Dominican Republic, who served as the President of the assembly. Union Minister JP Nadda addressed the plenary session of the WHA79.

During the session, member states adopted more than 20 decisions and 13 resolutions on public health issues. Notably, the assembly passed its first-ever resolution on stroke to formally recognise it as a global public health priority. The resolution was led by Egypt and co-sponsored by Chile, Georgia, Palestine, Paraguay, and Tunisia.

China has launched the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft carrying 3 astronauts to the Tiangong Space Station for scientific research and orbital operations.

The spacecraft was launched onboard a Long March-2F Y23 (LM-2F Y23) carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The mission marks the first spaceflight of the country expected to support a year-long human residency in orbit. It is scheduled to conduct over 100 scientific experiments during its orbital tenure.

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) has selected 10 institutions under its Convergence Research Centres of Excellence (CoE) programme. The initiative aims to promote multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research to address complex societal challenges.

The selected institutes include IIT Gandhinagar (Gujarat), IIT Madras, IIT Dharwad (Karnataka), and IIT Kanpur. These centres are eligible for funding support of up to ₹25 crore for projects with a maximum duration of 5 years.

Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh has inaugurated India’s first ‘SkyCast’ system at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. With this, India has become the 19th country globally to implement this advanced integrated aviation weather monitoring system.

Developed under ‘Mission Mausam’, the system aims to enhance aviation safety by facilitating safer take-offs and landings. It integrates advanced atmospheric sensors to monitor atmospheric conditions up to an altitude of 3 km. A second facility is planned to be established at the Jewar Airport in Uttar Pradesh.

Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh has launched the second phase of the Unique Methods of Management and Treatment of Inherited Disorders (UMMID) programme for Rare Genetic Disorders (RGDs) in New Delhi.

Under Phase-II, the initiative will expand its network by setting up 25 additional National Inherited Diseases Administration (NIDAN) Kendras across 13 states and one Union Territory, along with three proposed training centres in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chandigarh. The NIDAN Kendras are designed to provide genetic testing and counselling.

It is to be noted that the first phase of the UMMID initiative was launched in 2019 by the Ministry of Science and Technology as the first comprehensive national program in India to introduce molecular diagnostics for rare genetic diseases.

The Delhi government has signed an MoU with the State Bank of India (SBI) to implement an integrated digital payment solution, ‘e-Pay’, on the state’s e-procurement portal.

India has launched its first electric hydrofoil vessel, the “Candela P12” (also called a “flying boat”), in Mumbai.

Developed by the Swedish manufacturer Candela, the vessel will be operated by JalVimana. The deployment is part of the initiative of the Maharashtra government to strengthen water-based transport infrastructure.

Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar has been appointed as the 48th Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) of the Indian Navy. He succeeds Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan.

Prior to this, he served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command. He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) in 2022 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) in 2026.

The 79th edition of the annual Cannes International Film Festival 2026 was hosted in Cannes, France. The Palme d’Or, the highest award, was won by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu for his drama ‘Fjord’, marking his second win. The Grand Prix was awarded to Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev for his political thriller ‘Minotaur’.

The Jury Prize was conferred upon ‘The Dreamed Adventure’ by Valeska Grisebach (Germany). The Best Director award was jointly presented to Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (Spain) for ‘La Bola Negra’ and Paweł Pawlikowski (Poland) for ‘Fatherland’.

The Best Actor award was shared by Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne (Belgium) for ‘Coward’, while the Best Actress award was jointly awarded to Virginie Efira (Belgium-France) and Tao Okamoto (Japan) for ‘All Of A Sudden’.

The Best Screenplay award was presented to Emmanuel Marre (France) for ‘A Man of His Time’, and the Camera d’Or for Best First Film was awarded to ‘Ben’Imana’ by Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo (Rwanda).

Professor Manindra Agrawal, the Director of the IIT Kanpur, and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist of the WHO, have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society (FRS).

The Royal Society is one of the oldest and most prestigious scientific academies in the world.

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the CM of Himachal Pradesh, has launched the second edition of the novel titled “Bazaar”, authored by Niranjan Dev Sharma.

The book is published by Aadhar Prakashan Pvt Ltd and chronicles significant social and political events from 1971 to 1992.

International Museum Day:

Day – May 18

Theme 2026 – “Museums Uniting a Divided World”

Observed by – International Council of Museums (ICOM)

Observed since – 1977

World Metrology Day:

Day – May 20

Theme 2026 – “Metrology: Building Trust in Policy Making”

Observed by – UNESCO

Observed since – 2000