Monthly current affairs for May 2026

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has signed a tripartite MoU with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co Ltd (HD KSOE), National Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries Park Tamil Nadu Ltd (NSHIP-TN), and Sagarmala Finance Corporation Ltd (SMFCL) to develop the first Mega Greenfield Shipyard in India at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

The project will have an annual shipbuilding capacity of 2.5 million Gross Tonnage (MGT). The agreement was exchanged during the state visit of the President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Jae Myung. It is part of the India-ROK Comprehensive Framework ‘VOYAGES’ (Shared Vision for Operation of Yard Assisted Growth with Efficiency and Scale).

India and the UAE have signed 6 agreements to enhance cooperation in the energy and defence sectors during the visit of PM Narendra Modi to Abu Dhabi. Entities based in the UAE have committed an investment of $5 billion in India.

The UAE has also announced a plan to double the crude oil export capacity by 2027. This involves the construction of an additional pipeline to the Port of Fujairah to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

India has won 2 medals, including 1 gold and 1 bronze, at the 20th edition of the Shanghai Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage 2 held in Shanghai, China.

The women’s recurve team, comprising Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, and Kumkum Mohod, has won gold. Sahil Jadhav has won bronze in the men’s individual compound category. Turkiye topped the overall medal standings with 6 medals (2 gold), followed by China and South Korea.

IndiaAI Mission has signed an MoU with the Bengaluru-based Karya, a Nonprofit Organization (NPO), to enhance accessibility within the AI economy. The partnership focuses on data, technology, and capacity building, specifically to strengthen the infrastructure of AIKosh, the national AI data platform of India for research and development (R&D). Both organizations also aim to develop model evaluation frameworks and establish standards for dataset quality, validation, and interoperability.

The National e-Governance Division (NeGD), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has felicitated five states for their outstanding DigiLocker integration initiatives.

The states include Gujarat, Karnataka, Keralam, Nagaland, and Rajasthan. The felicitation took place during the “National Consultative Workshop on Strengthening Cybersecurity Frameworks for State Data” held in New Delhi.

Rajasthan has inaugurated its first semiconductor plant and a new Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) in Bhiwadi.

Established by Sahasra Semiconductors Pvt. Ltd with an investment of over ₹150 crore, it is the first Small and Medium Enterprise (SME)-led semiconductor plant in India to start commercial production.

The RBI has cancelled the banking licence of the Mumbai (Maharashtra)-based Sarvodaya Co-operative Bank Ltd, effective from May 12, 2026. It is to be noted that the action was taken under Sections 22(4) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

Ashok Kumar Panda has been appointed as the CMD of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). He succeeds Krishna Kumar Singh.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), under the Department of Consumer Affairs, has organized the 35th Plenary and Working Groups meetings of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 20 / Subcommittee (SC) 14. The meetings for the ‘Space Systems and Operations’ subcommittee were hosted for the first time in India at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

The event saw the participation of 131 international delegates from 13 countries. It is to be noted that the ISO/TC 20/SC 14 is responsible for developing international standards for space systems to ensure safety and sustainability in global space activities.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) have developed “Phoenix Geocell”, India’s first technical textile geocell made from 100% end-of-life mixed plastic waste.

The technology uses a 3-dimensional (3D) honeycomb-like structure made from processed mixed plastic waste. It is to be noted that the innovation has been recognized by the “India Book of Records” and “Asia Book of Records” during a ceremony at the CSIR-CRRI auditorium in New Delhi.

Faustino Oro, an Argentina-born chess prodigy known as the “Messi of Chess”, has become the second-youngest Grandmaster (GM) in history. He attained the title at the age of 12 years, 6 months, and 26 days after securing his third and final GM norm at the Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026 in Italy.

He is the 7th player in the history of the sport to earn the GM title before the age of 13. It is to be noted that Abhimanyu Mishra of the USA currently holds the record for being the youngest-ever GM.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has nominated Priyanka Mittal, the Director of KRBL (Khushi Ram & Behari Lal) Ltd, as the Co-Chair of the Saudi-India Business Council (SIBC).

Dr Siddeek Ahmed, the Chairman of Eram Holdings, has been appointed as the Chair of the Indian side of the SIBC.

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel has inaugurated the second edition of the “India Aircraft Leasing and Financing Summit” (IALFS 2.0) at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar.

The summit was organised through a collaboration between the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu presided over the summit. During the event, he highlighted that India is set to emerge as the third-largest civil aviation market in the world by 2035.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has signed an agreement with the European missile manufacturer MBDA to establish a Maintenance, Repair, and Mid-Life Overhaul (MRO) facility for MICA (Missile d’Interception, de Combat et d’Autodefense) air-to-air missiles in India.

The initiative aims to strengthen domestic defense sustainment and improve operational readiness. Under the agreement, the IAF will manage the setup, operation, and maintenance of the MRO facility, while MBDA will provide technical assistance, machinery, training for personnel, and comprehensive data packages.

India has hosted the 10th edition of the Indian Ocean Dialogue (IOD-10) in New Delhi under the theme “Indian Ocean Region in a Transforming World”. The event was organized by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Secretariat.

India holds the chairship of the IORA for the 2025-2027 period. The inaugural session of the IOD-10 was addressed by Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and ministerial representatives from Mauritius and Yemen. During the session, Sarbananda Sonowal highlighted that the participation of women in the maritime sector of India has increased by 340% since 2020.

International Firefighters’ Day (St Florian’s Day):

Day – May 04

Observed since – 1999

Commemorating – Death of 5 firefighters who fought a wildfire in

Linton, Australia in 1998

The Ministry of AYUSH has signed an MoU with the Digital India BHASHINI Division to enhance multilingual digital services. The collaboration aims to integrate AI-powered multilingual access across various digital platforms and services of AYUSH. Under the partnership, BHASHINI technologies will be utilized to provide services related to AYUSH in all 22 Scheduled Indian languages.

The Ministry of Textiles has signed an MoU with the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) to conduct evidence-based policy research in the textile and apparel sector.

The collaboration aims to support the formulation of data-driven and analytically robust policies to strengthen the domestic textile industry.

The RBI has signed an MoU with the European Central Bank (ECB) to enhance collaboration in the field of central banking. This agreement replaces the previous MoU signed in 2015. The updated MoU establishes a framework for regular policy dialogue and exchange of information between the two institutions.

Vietnam President To Lam has visited India at the invitation of PM Narendra Modi to strengthen cooperation in defense, trade, and critical technologies. He held a bilateral meeting with PM Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. He also met President Droupadi Murmu and Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh.

During the visit, the bilateral ties were elevated to an “Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” (CSP). Both nations have set a target to increase bilateral trade to $25 billion by 2030. A total of 13 MoUs were signed between the two countries.

In Mumbai, President To Lam visited the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and participated in the India-Vietnam Business Forum. At the forum, 27 cooperation agreements were exchanged between firms of Vietnam and India across multiple industries.