Monthly current affairs for May 2026

Union Minister S Jaishankar visited Jamaica, marking the first ever bilateral visit by an Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) to the country. During the visit, he held delegation-level talks with Andrew Michael Holness, the Prime Minister of Jamaica. India and Jamaica signed 3 MoUs to enhance cooperation in health, broadcasting, and the solarisation of the Hugh Lawson Shearer Building.

The Maritime India Foundation (MIF), the implementing agency for the Sagarmala Startup Innovation Initiative, has signed MoUs with the IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, and the Indian Maritime University (IMU) to establish Maritime Innovation Hubs (MIH).

The agreement marks the transition of the initiative into its execution phase. Under the partnership, the MIHs will mentor 36 startups that are currently developing 40 priority innovation projects to address critical challenges in the maritime sector of India.

The first green methanol production facility of India is being established at the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) in Kutch, Gujarat.

The project is being executed by Thermax Ltd for Synthesis in collaboration with Ankur Scientific. The plant has an initial production capacity of 5 tonnes per day. It is to be noted that the facility uses advanced biomass gasification technology to convert Prosopis juliflora (an invasive shrub locally known as ‘Gando Baval’) into green marine fuel for ocean-going vessels.

OP Jindal Global University (JGU), located in Sonipat, Haryana, has become the first Institute of Eminence (IoE) in India to receive accreditation from the Data Science Council of America (DASCA). The accreditation was granted under the “World Data Sciences & AI Initiative” (WDSAI) and remains valid until 2031.

OpenAI has launched a cybersecurity-focused initiative named “Daybreak” to assist software developers and security teams in detecting vulnerabilities, validating fixes, and accelerating system patching using AI tools.

It is to be noted that the launch follows the introduction of “Mythos” by Anthropic, which is an advanced cybersecurity AI system developed under the “Project Glasswing” initiative.

Himanta Biswa Sarma has sworn in as the Chief Minister of Assam for the second consecutive term. He is elected from the Jalukbari constituency for the sixth consecutive time. The oath of office was administered by Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya at a ceremony held at the Veterinary College Field in Khanapara, Guwahati.

Laura Virginia Fernández Delgado, belonging to the Sovereign People’s Party (PPSO), has been sworn in as the 50th President of Costa Rica for a 4-year term (2026-2030). She succeeds Rodrigo Chaves Robles.

Robert Edward Turner III (Ted Turner), a philanthropist and the founder of Cable News Network (CNN), passed away at the age of 87.

International Labour Day (May Day):

Day – May 01

Theme 2026 – "Ensuring a Healthy Psychosocial Working Environment"

Observed since – 1923

Commemorating – Labour strike in Chicago, USA in 1886 for 8-hour workday

Also known as – ‘May Day’, ‘Antar Rashtriya Shramik Divas’, and ‘Kamgar Din’

Day – First Sunday of May (May 03 in 2026)

Theme 2026 – “World Peace through Laughter”

Observed since – 1998

The Union Cabinet has approved the extension of the lease for land held by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and leased to MIHAN India Ltd (MIL) beyond August 6, 2039. The extension facilitates the licensing of Nagpur Airport to the concessionaire, GMR Nagpur International Airport Ltd (GNIAL), for a 30-year duration from the Commercial Operation Date (COD).

The initiative marks a significant step in developing Nagpur Airport into a regional aviation hub under the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) project.

It is to be noted that MIL was established in 2009 as a Joint Venture Company (JVC) between the AAI and the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd (MADC). The equity structure of the JVC consists of a 49% stake held by the AAI and a 51% stake held by the MADC.

NITI Aayog has inaugurated the Central Prabhari Officer (CPO) Portal in New Delhi to bolster real-time governance and streamline last-mile service delivery.

The digital platform is implemented under the framework of the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) and the Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP). The portal aims to minimize the disparity between field-level observations and administrative responses by utilizing a structured real-time reporting system.

The Union Cabinet has approved two semiconductor projects under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 1.0 with an investment of ₹3,936 crore. The projects include the first commercial Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology-based Mini/Micro-Light Emitting Diode (LED) display facility in India by Crystal Matrix Ltd (CML) and a semiconductor packaging unit by Suchi Semicon Pvt Ltd (SSPL) in Gujarat.

These are the final projects sanctioned under ISM 1.0, which is a specialized division of the Digital India Corporation under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). It is to be noted that ISM was launched in 2021 with a total outlay of ₹76,000 crore to build a self-reliant semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in India.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the increase of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane to ₹365 per quintal for the 2026-27 season. This is based on a 10.25% basic recovery rate and marks a 2.81% increase from the ₹355 per quintal rate of the 2025-26 season. The new price will be effective from October 2026.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has introduced an updated Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to expedite the clearance of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposals. The new SOP identifies 40 sub-sectors, where FDI proposals from countries sharing land borders with India will be processed within 60 days.

The expedited timeline applies to investments from China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Afghanistan. These 40 sub-sectors are grouped into 6 primary segments: capital goods manufacturing, electronic capital goods and components, advanced battery components, polysilicon and wafers, rare earth processing, and rare earth permanent magnets.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has issued a notification to empower the Principal Bench of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) in New Delhi to function as the National Appellate Authority for Advance Rulings (NAAAR). The notification will come into effect in April 2026, at which point the President of GSTAT will serve as the Presiding Officer for the NAAAR.

The RBI has granted approval to Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (KMBL) to acquire an equity stake of up to 9.99% in the paid-up share capital or voting rights of AU Small Finance Bank and Federal Bank Ltd. It is to be noted that the latter is one of the largest mid-sized private sector lenders in India based on market capitalisation (m-cap).

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has approved the “Viability Plan 2.0” to institutionalize performance monitoring and strengthen governance reforms for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs). The plan is extended for a 3-year duration from FY26 to FY28, following the completion of the FY22–FY25 phase.

The framework of the plan includes 30 performance parameters categorized under 4 pillars: operational excellence, asset quality, profitability, and growth. The initiative aims to enhance financial stability and improve operational efficiency across all 28 RRBs.

The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has signed an MoU with Prasar Bharati, the public service broadcaster of India, to enhance investor awareness across the country. Under the partnership, informative scroll messages will be broadcast on Doordarshan (DD) across its national and regional networks.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), has released its annual report titled “Crime in India 2024”. India registered 58.86 lakh cognisable crimes in 2024, which is a 6% reduction compared to the 62.41 lakh cases in 2023.

Of the total, 35.44 lakh cases were filed under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), while 23.41 lakh cases were under Special and Local Laws (SLL).

The national crime rate (cases per lakh population) decreased to 418.9 in 2024, from 448.3 in 2023. Among 19 metropolitan cities, Delhi reported the highest volume of cognisable offences with 2.75 lakh cases, although the city recorded the lowest charge-sheeting rate.