Monthly current affairs for May 2026

Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker has been appointed as the Festival Director for the 57th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. It is to be noted that the IFFI was established in 1952 and is one of the premier film festivals in Asia.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has launched the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite–Earth Observation-3 (PRSC-EO3) of Pakistan onboard the Long March-6 rocket.

The mission, conducted from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi, China, successfully placed the satellite into its designated orbit. It is to be noted that this marks the 640th mission of the Long March series of rockets.

The DRDO has unveiled two variants (tracked and wheeled) of the next-generation Advanced Armoured Platforms named “Vikram VT-21” in Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra. Developed by the Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (VRDE) to modernize the mechanized infantry of the Indian Army, the platforms are produced by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL).

The armament includes an indigenous 30 mm crewless turret with a 7.62 mm PKT gun and supports Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM). These amphibious platforms offer modular blast and ballistic protection (STANAG Level 4 and 5) and use hydro-jets for water traversal. It is to be noted that the current indigenous content is 65%, with a target to reach 90%.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has officially joined the International World Games Association (IWGA) as its 40th member. The announcement was made during the Annual General Meeting (AGM 2026) held at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (MoCAF&PD) has expanded procurement operations under the PM Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) in Chhattisgarh and launched the first structured pulse procurement under the Atmanirbhar Pulses Mission (APM) in Bihar.

The procurement drive is led by the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED). In Bihar, the NCCF has started the first organized procurement of masoor (lentil) under the APM. In Chhattisgarh, the process includes digitized farmer registration through the Electronic-Samyukti (E-Samyukti) portal and awareness campaigns.

The government of India has sanctioned the inaugural withdrawal worth ₹3,000 crore ($360 million) for the Maldives under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Currency Swap Framework (2024–2027). The facility is provided through the Indian Rupee (INR) Swap Window to offer short-term foreign exchange liquidity support to the member nations of SAARC.

The approval follows the settlement of a previous $400 million facility by the Maldives in October 2024. It is to be noted that the RBI has provided cumulative swap support worth $1.1 billion to the Maldives since 2012.

International Day of Women in Industry:

Day – April 21

Theme 2026 – “Celebrating Women’s Leadership in Industrial Development”

Observed since – 2026

Commemorating – The anniversary of its first Gender Policy entering into force in 2009

The Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh has officially notified the creation of 5 new districts in the Union Territory: Nubra, Sham, Changthang, Zanskar, and Drass.

This follows the preliminary approval granted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2024. With this, the total number of districts in the UT has increased from 2 to 7. It is to be noted that the region previously consisted of only the Leh and Kargil districts.

National Civil Services Day:

Day – April 21

Observed since – 2006

Commemorating – Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressing newly formed Administrative Service Officers at the Metcalfe House, Delhi

Dean Tavoularis, an Oscar winning production designer, passed away at the age of 93. He won the award in 1974 for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration for his work on the film ‘The Godfather Part II’.

Parminder Singh has been appointed as the CEO of Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Ltd (REIL) with immediate effect. It is to be noted that REIL is a joint venture (JV) between Reliance Intelligence Ltd and Facebook Overseas Inc of Meta.

Ravi K has been appointed as the 22nd CMD of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). He succeeds DK Sunil.

The RBI has issued a Master Direction to transition toward an Expected Credit Loss (ECL) based approach for asset classification, income recognition, and provisioning. The new directions will come into force in April 2027, replacing the current regulatory norms.

Under the proposed ECL framework, the 90-day rule for Non Performing Assets (NPAs) will be maintained, classifying loans as NPAs if repayments remain overdue for more than 90 days. Additionally, a new reporting framework for Over-the-Counter (OTC) FX derivative contracts will be effective from July 2027.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered the keynote address at the 38th foundation day of the SEBI in Mumbai. She highlighted that SEBI should expand investor awareness campaigns across digital platforms and regional languages to ensure wider protection.

She also launched “Mission Jagrook”, a nationwide investor awareness initiative aimed at safeguarding retail investors against misinformation, fraud, and manipulative financial content.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 12 new Global Geoparks, bringing the total number of sites to 241 across 51 countries. The new additions are located in China, France, Greece, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, Russia, Uruguay, and Tunisia, with the Dahar site being the first-ever for Tunisia. The total area covered by these geoparks exceeds 8.82 lakh sq km.

The label of UNESCO was established in 2015 and uses a “bottom up” approach involving local stakeholders. The status is valid for 4 years, after which the sites must undergo a revalidation process to retain the title.

The Uttar Pradesh government has introduced a 10-year warranty model for rural water schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), becoming the first state in India to mandate long-term accountability under the JJM framework. Under the ‘Jal Arpan’ initiative, the ownership of village water infrastructure is transferred to Gram Panchayats (GPs). The policy mandates that construction agencies must handle the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the water systems for a period of 10 years.

World Creativity and Innovation Day:

Day – April 21

Observed since – 2018

Union Minister CR Patil has launched the 9th edition of the India International Water Week (IIWW-2026) at Shram Shakti Bhavan in New Delhi. During the launch, he noted that over 60 lakh artificial recharge and water conservation structures have been created under the initiative. The Government of India (GoI) has set a target to establish 1 crore such structures by May 2026.

Coca-Cola India has signed a 3-year MoU with Invest UP, the investment promotion agency of the Uttar Pradesh government, to bolster environmental sustainability, community welfare, and access to safe drinking water in the state.

The agreement focuses on developing water access infrastructure and safe hydration solutions. It also aims to strengthen waste collection and recycling systems to improve environmental hygiene.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that the Government of India (GoI) has established a high-level panel to evaluate systemic threats posed by “Mythos”, an advanced AI model developed by Anthropic. The announcement was made after a meeting with Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and senior banking executives.

The committee is chaired by CS Setty, the Chairman of the SBI and leader of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). The primary objective of the panel is to assess “AI-born” risks to the financial sector and identify strategic technology investments required to enhance national resilience.