Daily Current Affairs

The International Day of United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers is observed globally on 29 May to honour the dedication, service, and sacrifice of UN peacekeepers worldwide, while remembering those who lost their lives in the cause of peace.

• 2026 Theme: ‘Invest in Peace’ — highlights the need for sustained global commitment to peacekeeping operations.
• 78th Anniversary: 29 May 2026 marks 78 years since UN Peacekeeping began in 1948 with the deployment of military observers to the Middle East under UNTSO.
• UNTSO: United Nations Truce Supervision Organization — the first UN peacekeeping mission, launched 29 May 1948.
• Established by: UNGA Resolution 57/129 in 2002; first observed on 29 May 2003.
• Coordinator: UN and its Department of Peace Operations (DPO).

World Digestive Health Day (WDHD) is observed on 29 May every year to raise awareness about the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, initiated by the World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO).

• 2026 Theme: ‘Chronic Diarrhea: Don’t Flush the Signs Away’
• Organiser: World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO) — formally established on 29 May 1958 at the last day of the 1st World Congress of Gastroenterology in Washington DC, USA.
• WDHD Origin: Established to commemorate the 45th anniversary of WGO in 2003.
• First Observance: 29 May 2004.

International Everest Day is observed annually on 29 May to commemorate the first successful ascent of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay on 29 May 1953. The day celebrates human endurance, courage, resilience, and the spirit of exploration.

• Origin: Initiated by the Government of Nepal; first observed in Nepal on 29 May 2008.
• 2026 Event: Everest Summiteers Summit 2026 (2nd edition) organised by Everest Alliance Nepal — 176 Mount Everest climbers from 26 countries honoured with special medals and certificates in Kathmandu, Nepal.
• First Successful Ascent: 29 May 1953 — Sir Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal/India).

In May 2026, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) released the National Health Accounts (NHA) estimates for India for FY 2022–23 — the 10th NHA report on health expenditure estimates.

• Key Finding: Government Health Expenditure (GHE) increased from Rs 1.30 lakh crore in 2013–14 to Rs 3.85 lakh crore in 2022–23, reflecting higher public investment in the health sector.
• Total Health Expenditure (THE): Rs 8.81 lakh crore in FY23, or 3.37% of GDP (base year 2022–23).
• NHA: National Health Accounts — a vital tool offering comprehensive insights into sources, scale, and patterns of health expenditure across India’s health system.
• Prepared by: National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), MoHFW, using the System of Health Accounts (SHA) 2011 framework.

In May 2026, Union Minister of State (IC) Dr. Jitendra Singh, Ministry of Science & Technology (MoST), inaugurated two key initiatives — PECVD system and RETINA incubation centre — at the IACS campus in Kolkata, West Bengal, on the occasion of the 150 years celebrations of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS).

• IACS Significance: Historic institution — birthplace of the discovery of the Raman Effect by Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman on February 28, 1928.
• PECVD: Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition system — developed under Ashok Kumar Barua; marks a major step in India’s renewable energy research; used in amorphous silicon solar cell production under Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• RETINA: Research Entrepreneurship for Translation, Innovation and NAvigation — newly inaugurated incubation centre designed to support commercialisation of scientific research and promote startup-driven innovation.
• Milestone: IACS celebrating 150 years — one of India’s oldest and most distinguished scientific institutions.

In May 2026, the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (MoPP&P), launched the NeSDA 2025 Portal for comprehensive assessment of e-governance service delivery.

• NeSDA: National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment — a biennial assessment framework developed by DARPG to measure the depth and effectiveness of existing e-governance mechanisms from the citizen’s perspective.
• Categories: All government portals assessed are classified into two categories: (1) State, UT, City and Central Ministry Portals; (2) State, UT, City and Central Ministry Service Portals.
• Focus Sectors: Covers G2C and G2B services across finance, labour, employment, education, local governance, utilities, social welfare, environment, tourism, public grievances, and transport.
• Parent Ministry: DARPG under MoPP&P.

In May 2026, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by PM Narendra Modi, approved the continuation of the SARTHAK-PDS scheme as an umbrella scheme with a central outlay of Rs 25,530 crore for 5 years during the 16th Finance Commission cycle until 31 March 2031.

• SARTHAK-PDS = Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling–Income with Automation in Public Distribution System.
• Coverage: 81.35 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 across all 36 States and UTs.
• Merges: Two existing schemes: (1) Assistance to State Agencies for intra-state movement of foodgrains and FPS dealers’ margin under NFSA 2013; (2) SMART-PDS (Scheme for Modernisation and Reforms through Technology in PDS).
• Implementation: Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) under MoCAF&PD.

In May 2026, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (MoAFW) released the Third Advance Estimates of Production of Major Agricultural Crops for 2025–26. India’s total foodgrain production is estimated at 376.563 Million Tonnes (MT) — a 5.3% increase over the previous year’s 357.732 MT, marking the highest-ever foodgrain production in India’s history.

In May 2026, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Programme — India’s first indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft project.

• AMCA: Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft — India’s first indigenous 5th-generation stealth fighter aircraft; a Make in India initiative.
• Cost: Estimated prototype development cost of Rs 15,000 crore for developing five flying prototypes and one structural test aircraft.
• Implementing Agency: Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under DRDO.
• Private Sector — First Time HAL Excluded: Private contenders: Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL); L&T-BEL-Dynamatic Technologies consortium; Bharat Forge-BEML-Data Patterns consortium.
• Manufacturing Hub: 650-acre greenfield facility and Core Integration and Flight Testing Centre at Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh.

In May 2026, Union Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (MDoNER) and CM Dr. Manik Saha launched ‘Tripura Mission Queen Pineapple’ — a Rs 236 crore convergence-led initiative for pineapple cultivation and value chain development in Tripura.

• USP: Promotes Tripura’s GI-tagged Queen Pineapple.
• Timeline: Q2 FY2025–26 to Q4 FY2028.
• Ecosystem: ‘Hub and Spoke’ post-harvest ecosystem — central processing hub near Agartala airport + 8 collection centres across West Tripura, Khowai, and Sepahijala districts.
• Features: IoT-enabled farm monitoring, digital traceability systems, cold storage, and reefer logistics.
• Ministry: MDoNER (Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region).

In May 2026, the West Bengal (WB) government officially began enrolment for the Annapurna Yojana, also known as the Annapurna Bhandar scheme, which aims to promote women’s empowerment and support household finances.

• Purpose: Provides monthly financial assistance to eligible women aged between 25 and 60 years who are permanent residents of West Bengal.
• Application Window: 90 days from June 1; applications can be submitted across municipalities and wards through online and offline modes.
• State: West Bengal.

In May 2026, RITES Limited (formerly Rail India Technical and Economic Service) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CRISIL (Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited) to jointly develop data-driven infrastructure consultancy solutions across multiple sectors in India and overseas.

• Objective: Strengthens analytical and advisory support for infrastructure projects through market intelligence, data validation, financial due diligence, and valuation support.
• Coverage: Enables consultancy projects across transport, energy, water, hydropower, wastewater, and industrial infrastructure sectors.
• RITES: Rail India Technical and Economic Service — a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Railways.
• CRISIL: Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited — India’s leading ratings, research and risk advisory company.

In May 2026, the Taiwan Stock Exchange surpassed India to become the world’s fifth largest stock market, with market capitalisation reaching USD 4.95 trillion compared to India’s USD 4.92 trillion, amid Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) outflows from India.

• Driver: Rise led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC); AI-driven semiconductor boom; TSMC shares surged 45–50% in 2026.
• India’s decline factors: FPI outflows, benchmark declines, reduced MSCI Emerging Markets Index weight, slower growth, high valuations, limited AI-linked firms, rising costs, and global capital shifts.
• India’s market cap: USD 4.92 trillion (now 6th largest).

In May 2026, National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) signed a MoU with Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI) in Mumbai, Maharashtra, to develop the steel and commodity derivatives ecosystem.

• Benefits: Protects steel manufacturers, MSMEs, OEMs, and infrastructure companies against steel price volatility.
• India’s Steel Production: India’s crude steel production increased by nearly 11% year-on-year to 168.4 MT in FY2025–26; projected to reach 300 MT by 2030.
• SUFI: Steel Users Federation of India — represents downstream steel users across industries.

In May 2026, India and the USA signed a Framework on ‘Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths’ on the sidelines of the 11th Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in New Delhi.

• Signed by: Dr. S. Jaishankar (External Affairs Minister, India) and Marco Rubio (U.S. Secretary of State).
• US Funding: Over USD 30 billion through investments, loans, and public-private partnerships.
• Quad Initiative: A separate critical minerals framework among all four Quad partners (Australia, India, Japan, USA) to mobilise up to USD 20 billion in public-private funding across the Indo-Pacific.
• Quad: Quadrilateral Security Dialogue — Australia, India, Japan, USA.

In May 2026, Janez Jansa, leader of the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), was appointed Prime Minister (PM) of Slovenia for the fourth term, succeeding Robert Golob.

• Parliamentary Approval: Received 51 votes in the 90-member National Assembly.
• Background: SDS formed a centre-right coalition with allied parties, ending the political deadlock that followed the 2026 parliamentary elections.
• Party: Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) — nationalist/centre-right orientation.
• Capital of Slovenia: Ljubljana.

In May 2026, India’s space startup Red Balloon Aerospace Private Limited launched India’s first indigenous Stratospheric Super Pressure Balloon (SPB) named ‘VISTA’ as part of Mission SANA at Indira Gandhi Stadium, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh (AP).

• Achievement: India is now among the world’s five countries with indigenous stratospheric balloon capability: USA, France, Japan, China, and India.
• Platform: VISTA ascended approximately 25 km above Earth; carried payloads from 7 national and international partners.
• Purpose: Test biological experiments, propulsion systems, earth observation sensors, onboard computing platforms, and navigation technologies.
• SPB Technology: Super Pressure Balloon (SPB) technology helps maintain stable altitude for weeks or months without losing gas during day-night temperature changes — unlike conventional zero-pressure balloons.

In May 2026, renowned Urdu poet and Padma Shri awardee Dr. Bashir Badr passed away at the age of 91 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (MP). He was born in 1935 in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh (UP).

• Padma Shri: Awarded by the Government of India in 1999 in the field of Literature and Education.
• Sahitya Akademi Award: Received the Sahitya Akademi Award (Urdu) in 1999.
• Literary Legacy: A collection of 69 ghazals is considered a masterpiece of his poetry.
• Born: 1935, Ayodhya, UP. Died: May 2026, Bhopal, MP. Age: 91.