Monthly current affairs for May 2026

Union Minister Virendra Kumar has launched the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY) Portal and AJAY Mobile App to digitise and strengthen the implementation of Scheduled Caste (SC) welfare schemes across India.

The unified digital platform, introduced by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, eliminates paper-based workflows to ensure real-time reporting, enhanced transparency, and accountable service delivery.

According to the “World Economic Situation and Prospects 2026” report released by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA), the GDP growth of India for FY27 is revised down to 6.4% from the previous projection of 6.6%. The growth forecast for FY28 is also reduced to 6.6%.

The RBI has imposed regulatory restrictions on the Uttar Pradesh-based Nagar Sahakari Bank Ltd due to deteriorating financial conditions and supervisory concerns. Under these restrictions, a withdrawal cap of ₹10,000 per depositor has been placed on all savings, current, and other accounts for 6 months.

Skydo has secured in-principle approval to operate as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) within the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The DRDO has successfully completed the final deliverable configuration development trials of the indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3. The trials were conducted in both Air-to-Ground and Air-to-Air modes at the National Open Area Range (NOAR) near Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.

The ULPGM-V3 is a lightweight (12.5 kg) fire-and-forget missile with an extended standoff range of up to 10 km. It is to be noted that the missile is a upgrade over its predecessor V1 (free-fall) and V2 (propulsion-added) configurations.

Group Captain KK Venugopal (Retired) from the Executive Group of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has become the first Indian test pilot to be elected as a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) in the United States of America (USA).

It is to be noted that he was previously decorated with the Vayu Sena Medal (VSM) in 2004.

Bajaj General Insurance Ltd (BGIL) has launched a next-generation health indemnity insurance plan named ‘My Health Care Plan Edge+’ (MHCP EDGE+), offering comprehensive coverage ranging from ₹5 lakh to ₹5 crore.

The MHCP EDGE+ is available for individuals from 3 months of age, featuring a policy tenure of up to 5 years, lifetime renewability, and flexible waiting period options.

The Government of India (GoI) has approved Roorkee-based Skymap Pharmaceuticals Private Ltd as the strategic buyer for the 100% disinvestment of Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd (IMPCL).

Established in July 1978, IMPCL is a profitable Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) that manufactures and distributes standardised Ayurvedic and Unani medicines.

The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has launched the official online “Investors Support” portal.

The portal serves as a single-window digital platform designed to streamline communication and enhance confidence for global and domestic companies entering the semiconductor ecosystem of India. The platform also enables project tracking by providing comprehensive overviews of approved ventures under the national “Semicon India Programme”.

Karnataka Grameena Bank (KGB) has won the National Award from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The award is given recognising its outstanding performance in subscriber enrolment under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) scheme.

Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa, has conferred the Order of Mapungubwe, the highest civilian honour of the nation, on Indian-origin professors.

Salim Abdool Karim received the award under the Gold category, while Keertan Dheda was awarded under the Silver category. The honours were given recognising their exceptional contributions to the fields of medical science, epidemiology, and health policy.

The central government has constituted the High-Level Committee on Demographic Change (HLCDC) to conduct a scientific assessment of ‘unnatural demographic changes’ resulting from illegal immigration and other abnormal factors.

The committee, set up under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), is chaired by Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar (Retired). The other members of the HLCDC include Mritunjay Kumar Narayan (Census Commissioner of India), Durga Shankar Mishra, Balaji Srivastava, and Dr Shamika Ravi.

The National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) has launched the first exchange-traded weather derivatives contract in India, named “RAINMUMBAI”, marking the entry of the country into a regulated weather-risk trading market.

Scheduled for implementation in June 2026, the contract is designed to hedge the financial exposure of rainfall extremes and variability in Mumbai. It was developed in collaboration with the IIT Bombay and is based on official rainfall data from the India Meteorological Department. The contract features a tick size of 1 millimeter (mm) with a lot multiplier of ₹50 per mm and a maximum order size of 50 lots.

The RBI has cancelled the licence of Maharashtra-based Yashwant Co-operative Bank Ltd (UCB) with immediate effect, citing inadequate capital, poor financial health, and regulatory violations.

Following the liquidation process, eligible depositors of the UCB will be entitled to receive a deposit insurance claim of up to ₹5 lakh from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).

PM Narendra Modi has paid an official visit to Norway at the invitation of the Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Store. During the visit, PM Modi participated in the 3rd India-Nordic Summit held in Oslo (the capital of Norway), held bilateral talks with his counterpart, and attended the India-Norway Business and Research Summit.

The key outcomes of the visit included the elevation of bilateral relations between India and Norway to a Green Strategic Partnership, the decision of Norway to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), the agreement of India to participate in Nor Shipping 2027, and the launch of the India-Norway Digital Development Partnership.

PM Modi was conferred with the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit Grand Cross, one of the highest civilian awards of Norway, by King Harald V. This represents the 32nd global honour received by the PM. Both countries signed 12 agreements to strengthen cooperation across various sectors.

Tata Power Company Ltd (TPCL) has signed an MoU with the Bhutan-based state-owned utility, Druk Green Power Corporation Ltd (DGPC), to establish a clean energy cooperation framework.

The partnership aims to develop 5,000 Megawatt (MW) of clean energy capacity in Bhutan.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal has inaugurated the 68th Session of the Governing Body Meeting (GBM) of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. During the session, member countries reviewed the progress under the ‘APO Vision 2030’ framework, which focuses on productivity-led transformation in the Asia-Pacific region.

The APO National Award for Productivity Advocates was presented to Ashok Panjwani, while the APO National Award for Productivity Technical Expert was conferred on Bakul Limbasiya.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh held bilateral talks with South Korean Ministers Ahn Gyu-back and Lee Yong-cheol in Seoul. He also chaired the India-ROK Defence Industry Business Roundtable in Seoul to foster bilateral defence cooperation.

During the visit, India and the ROK exchanged an MoU to enhance cooperation in defence cyber security and defence information sharing. Additionally, two agreements were signed between Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Hanwa Co Ltd to facilitate collaboration between the defence industries of both nations.

India successfully tested the 'Suryastra' Universal Rocket Launcher system at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, Odisha, on May 28, 2026.

Developed by Pune-based Nibe Limited in collaboration with Israel's Elbit Systems, the system is India's first indigenous universal multi-caliber rocket launcher. The system demonstrated exceptional precision during the trials, with its tactical and strategic variants hitting targets at ranges of 150 km and 300 km, respectively.

NIBE Ltd (NIBE Ltd) has successfully conducted trials of its Vayu Astra-1 Loitering Munition (LM), which features a 100-km operational range. The trials were conducted at Pokhran in Rajasthan and Joshimath (Malari) in Uttarakhand under the No-Cost, No-Commitment (NCNC) model.

The Vayu Astra-1 is based on an Israeli-designed loitering munition system developed in collaboration with Elbit Systems. Under the NCNC model, NIBE Ltd managed the technology, conducted the demonstrations, and bore all operational and technical validation costs.