Monthly current affairs for May 2026

ICICI Bank, in partnership with Visa, has launched India’s first USD-denominated debit card for Non-Resident Indian (NRI) customers.

The card was introduced through the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Banking Unit (IBU) located at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The card is built on the Visa Infinite platform, which is the highest tier in the Visa network.

The Indian Army and the Indian Navy have signed a Memorandum of Association (MoA) on Affiliation in New Delhi. The agreement aims to strengthen inter-service cooperation, operational cohesion, and jointness among the armed forces.

It seeks to institutionalise structured professional exchanges, operational familiarisation, joint activities, and coordinated multi-domain operations between the two services.

Actor Ishaan Khatter has been conferred with an honorary membership of the 45 Cavalry Regiment of the Indian Armoured Corps. The honour is in recognition of his portrayal of Captain Balram Mehta in the film ‘Pippa’ and for demonstrating respect towards the ethos and legacy of the regiment.

The film ‘Pippa’, directed by Raja Krishna Menon and produced by RSVP Movies and Roy Kapur Films, is based on the book “The Burning Chaffees” authored by Balram Singh Mehta.

The inaugural edition of the multilateral military exercise named ‘Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region (PRAGATI) 2026’ commenced at the Umroi Military Station in Meghalaya.

A total of 12 friendly foreign nations are participating in the exercise alongside India. These include Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka from the immediate neighbourhood; Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); and the Maldives and Seychelles from the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has introduced a new post-retirement framework under the National Pension System (NPS) to provide subscribers with flexible periodic payout options. The regulator has launched Retirement Income Schemes (RIS) to facilitate flexible payouts during the decumulation phase while supporting corpus appreciation.

Currently, NPS subscribers can withdraw 60% of their corpus tax free at retirement, while the remaining 40% must be used to purchase an annuity. Additionally, PFRDA has extended the maximum age for maintaining NPS accounts from 75 years to 85 years for both government and non-government subscribers.

PM Narendra Modi participated in the Somnath Amrut Mahotsav at the Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath, Gujarat. He released a commemorative stamp and a ₹75 coin to mark 1,000 years of faith at Somnath and 75 years of the reconstruction of the temple after Independence.

PM Modi also inaugurated the Sardardham Hostel in Vadodara, Gujarat, built at a cost of ₹150 crore. He launched the Sardar Dham Education Support Yojana with an outlay of ₹500 crore to provide financial assistance, mentorship, and academic guidance to economically weaker students.

Russia has successfully test-fired the RS-28 Sarmat Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin termed the newly launched Sarmat as the world’s most powerful missile system. The missile, designated as ‘Satan II’ by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), is set to replace 40 Soviet-built R-36M2 Voyevoda missiles.

The book “Taiwan Travelogue”, written by Taiwanese author Yang Shuang-zi and translated by Lin King, has won the International Booker Prize 2026. It is the first book originally written in Mandarin Chinese to win this prestigious award.

The prize carries a cash reward of £50,000, which is split equally between the author and the translator. The story revolves around Aoyama Chizuko, a Japanese novelist who embarks on a culinary exploration of the island during a government-sponsored tour instead of performing her official duties.

Other books shortlisted for the prize include “The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran” by Shida Bazyar, “She Who Remains” by Rene Karabash, “The Director” by Daniel Kehlmann, “On Earth As It Is Beneath” by Ana Paula Maia, and “The Witch” by Marie NDiaye.

Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy has unveiled the Unified Bharat e Charge (UBC) platform, a national unified electric vehicle (EV) charging platform, during the ‘National Conference on Enabling Nationwide EV Charging Infrastructure’ held in Bengaluru.

The platform is being developed by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) with technical support from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). He also approved the installation of 1,243 EV charging stations in Karnataka with a financial outlay of ₹123.26 crore.

Union Minister JP Nadda and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have launched the ‘SEHAT Mission’ (Science Excellence for Health through Agricultural Transformation) in New Delhi. The mission is jointly launched by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW).

The initiative aims to connect agriculture, nutrition, and public health through scientific collaboration to build a framework for ‘Healthy Food, Healthy Farms and a Healthy India’.

Sudhangshu Seal, a veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leader, passed away at the age of 81.

He served as an MLA from the Jorabagan constituency between 2001 and 2004. He was elected as an MP from the Kolkata North West constituency in 2004 after defeating Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay.

Professor Kuljeet Kaur Marhas has been elected as a Fellow of The Meteoritical Society, becoming the first Indian woman to receive this distinction. She is the third Indian scientist to be awarded this international honour, following space scientists Devendra Lal and JN Goswami.

67th Raising Day of Border Roads Organisation (BRO):

Day – May 07

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has signed an MoU with the National University of Singapore Institute of Systems Science (NUS-ISS) to strengthen AI governance and digital leadership capabilities among Indian enterprises.

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has released the first satellite-tagged Ganges Softshell Turtle (Nilssonia gangetica) in the country at the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam.

The project was executed in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department and Kaziranga park authorities, with funding provided by the National Geographic Society. The adult turtle was fitted with a transmitter under strict veterinary supervision and released along the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River.

The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) has signed MoUs with the State Pharmacy Councils of Bihar, Maharashtra, and Mizoram to strengthen medicine safety, promote rational drug use, and enhance pharmacovigilance activities across India.

Indian Railways has approved infrastructure works, including slope stabilisation, tunnel rehabilitation, and bridge protection, on the Jammu-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra section with an investment of ₹238 crore.

The 54 km Kiul-Jhajha 3rd line project has been approved at a cost of ₹962 crore to enhance capacity on the high-density Howrah-Delhi route. Further, the Arakkonam-Chengalpattu doubling project has been sanctioned at a cost of ₹993 crore to strengthen the Chennai suburban rail network.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) has partnered with the France-based Exail Technologies to supply advanced Unmanned Mine Countermeasure (MCM) systems for the Indian Navy (IN). Under the agreement, L&T will serve as the prime contractor for the Indian Navy’s programme to build 12 Mine Counter Measure Vessels, with Exail Technologies acting as the technology partner.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Mizoram CM Lalduhoma have launched the ‘Mizoram Ginger Mission’. The initiative, with a financial outlay of ₹189.79 crore, is designed to enhance ginger cultivation and value chain development in the state. It also aims to promote Geographical Indication (GI)-certified pharma-grade Mizo Ginger in international markets.

The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has notified the implementation of the ‘Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin)’ (VB–G RAM G) Act, 2025, which will come into effect from July 2026. This Act will repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA, 2005).

The new Act provides a statutory guarantee of 125 days of unskilled manual work per financial year to every household, an increase from the 100-day provision under the MGNREGA. The scope of work under the VB–G RAM G Act, 2025, covers 4 key areas: water security, rural infrastructure, livelihood infrastructure, and climate resilience.