Monthly current affairs for May 2026

The DRDO has inaugurated a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Field Training and Demonstration Centre at Burari plains in New Delhi.

Operating as a DRDO-CBRN Centre of Excellence (CoE), the facility is designed to bolster national preparedness for radiological and nuclear emergencies. The CoE is equipped with specialized technical infrastructure to facilitate emergency medical and tactical responses.

The DRDO, through the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), has successfully conducted a long-duration test of an actively cooled full-scale scramjet combustor.

The test was held at the Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) Facility in Hyderabad, Telangana. The combustor demonstrated sustained operational performance by achieving a run-time exceeding 1,200 seconds.

The IIT Madras Global Research Foundation has announced the establishment of its first international centre in Menlo Park, California.

The centre is designed to provide Indian deep-tech enterprises with access to international capital, markets, professional mentorship, and global partnerships. A total investment of $7.5 million is planned for the project.

Prabhat Kumar, the High Commissioner of India to South Africa, has handed over the official banner of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) to the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town. The banner will be permanently displayed at the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) facility.

It is to be noted that the IUCAA, situated in Pune, is an institution dedicated to research and education in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh has unveiled two AI-enabled weather forecasting models to provide hyperlocal monsoon and rainfall data. The models were collaboratively developed by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).

The “AI-Enabled Monsoon Advance Forecasting System” provides subdistrict or block-level forecasting for the first time, covering 3,196 blocks across 15 states and 1 Union Territory (UT) in the rainfed monsoon core zone of India. It is to be noted that the system predicts monsoon progression up to 4 weeks in advance with an error margin of 4 days.

The “High Spatial Resolution Rainfall Forecast” is a pilot project in Uttar Pradesh that uses the “Mithuna” weather model to downscale 12.5-km grids to a 1-km resolution. It generates specific rainfall forecasts for up to 10 days in advance.

N Rangasamy, belonging to the All India NR Congress (AINRC) party, has sworn in as the Chief Minister (CM) of Puducherry for a record 5th term. The oath of office was administered by the LG K Kailashnathan.

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) has announced the winners of the National Panchayat Awards 2025 (NPA-2025), recognizing 42 Panchayats for excellence in rural governance and sustainable development. Karnataka secured the highest number of awards with 6 honors, followed by Odisha and Andhra Pradesh with 5 awards each.

Under the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (DDUPSVP) category, 34 Gram Panchayats (GP) were selected based on the scores of the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2.0. The Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (NDSPSVP-2025) recognized 8 winners, comprising 3 District Panchayats, 2 Block Panchayats, and 3 GPs.

New Napam Gaon Panchayat in Assam was named the Best GP of India under NDSPSVP 2025, receiving a prize of ₹1.5 crore. Telcup in Bihar and Biraharu in Uttar Pradesh secured the second and third positions, earning ₹1.25 crore and ₹1 crore respectively.

Union Minister Amit Shah has launched two books titled “The Bench, the Bar, and the Bizarre” and “The Lawful and the Awful” at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The books are authored by Tushar Mehta (the Solicitor General of India) and published by Rupa Publications India.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.