Monthly current affairs for May 2026

Red Balloon Aerospace has launched “Mission SANA”, the first indigenous super-pressure platform of India carrying commercial payloads from 7 national and international partners.

The launch places India among only 5 nations globally, alongside the United States, France, Japan, and China, to possess indigenous stratospheric (hydrogen) balloon capability.

The VISTA super-pressure platform of the company ascended to an altitude of 25 km above Earth from the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. It is to be noted that Red Balloon Aerospace, established in 2025, achieved operational commercial flight within an 8-month timeframe.

The Department of Space (DoS) has approved the establishment of Common Technical Facilities (CTFs) in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The initiative aims to strengthen the space ecosystem of India by promoting domestic manufacturing capabilities and supporting the growth of the space sector industry base.

Under this, a Space Manufacturing Park will be established at Khoraj, Gujarat, while a Space Vehicles Cluster will be set up at Thoothukudi, TN.

Five outstanding female scientists have been honoured with the “UNESCO–L’Oréal International Awards for Women in Science 2026”, presented jointly by the UNESCO and the Fondation L’Oréal.

The laureates for 2026 include Professor Liesl Zühlke from South Africa, Professor Felice Jacka from Australia, Professor Sarah A Teichmann from the UK, Professor Raquel Chan from Argentina, and Professor Gordana Novakovic from the United States (US).

Vijay Shankar, an Indian all-rounder from Tamil Nadu, has announced his retirement from domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL). The decision was made to enable him to explore opportunities in various overseas cricket leagues.

Vice President CP Radhakrishnan has released a book titled “The Library Man of India: The Story of PN Panicker” in New Delhi.

The book is authored by PP Sathyan, published by Rupa Publications, and chronicles the life of PN Panicker, who is widely acknowledged as the ‘Father of the Library Movement’ in Kerala.

International Day of Light:

Day – May 16

Theme 2026 – “Light for a Sustainable Future”

Observed since – 2018

Commemorating – The anniversary of Theodore Maiman’s first successful laser operation in 1960

World Endangered Species Day:

Day – Third Friday in May (May 15 in 2026)

Theme 2026 – “Celebrating America’s Wildlife Comeback Stories. Championing the Endangered Species Act”

Observed since – 2006

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.