Current Affairs Monthly Capsule - May 2026

Vocabulary and terminology flashcards derived from the Monthly Current Affairs review for May 2026.

World Press Freedom Index 2026

An annual report by Reporters Without Borders where India ranked 157th out of 180 countries, recording the lowest average score in the index's 25-year history.

Norway

The country that retained the top position in the World Press Freedom Index 2026 for the 10th consecutive year.

Criminalisation of Journalism

A key concern identified in the 2026 index referring to the increasing usage of laws, such as national security and emergency provisions, to restrict or penalize journalistic work.

ISPRL and ADNOC Partnership

A strategic petroleum reserve partnership signed between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to strengthen India's long-term energy resilience.

8 Exaflop Supercomputer Cluster

An AI and computing project announced through collaboration between the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing and G42 during PM Modi's UAE visit.

R K Anand and Suparna Sharma

Two Indian journalists who won the Pulitzer Prize 2026 in the category of Illustrated Reporting and Commentary for their project titled 'trAPPed'.

trAPPed

An award-winning project that investigative depth and visual storytelling to expose 'digital arrest' scams in India.

National Florence Nightingale Awards 2026

Awards presented by President Droupadi Murmu to honor excellence in nursing services, featuring a theme of 'Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives.'

Taiwan Travelogue

A novel written by Yang Shuang-zi and translated by Lin King that became the first Mandarin Chinese work to win the International Booker Prize in 2026.

Sansad Ratna Awards 2026

Awards instituted in 2010 by the Prime Point Foundation to recognize outstanding parliamentary performance, honoring 10 Lok Sabha and 2 Rajya Sabha MPs in 2026.

Third India-Nordic Summit 2026

A high-level diplomatic platform held in Oslo where India and five Nordic nations agreed to a Green Technology and Innovation Strategic Partnership.

V Mohana

The senior advocate who became the second woman directly appointed from the bar to the Supreme Court of India in 2026.

PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern)

The WHO's highest emergency alert, declared in 2026 for the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

Bundibugyo Virus Strain

A rare form of Ebola linked to the 2026 outbreak for which treatment and vaccine coverage remain limited.

Hantavirus

A rare zoonotic virus primarily transmitted through rodents that raised health concerns in 2026 due to cases linked to the confined environment of cruise ships.

Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026

A bill approved to increase the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38 (including the CJI) to reduce case pendency.

Mission for Cotton Productivity

A government mission approved with a financial outlay of $₹5,659.22$ crore to target cotton production of 498 lakh bales by 2031.

Justice Lisa Gill

The first woman to be sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2026.

ShramMitra App

A digital labor market platform launched by Haryana to connect workers and employers, replacing the traditional labor chowk system.

Kartavya-KAAMS App

An AI-based attendance management system introduced in Karnataka to replace biometric tracking with facial recognition and geo-fencing.

V. D. Satheesan

The individual who took oath as the Kerala Chief Minister on 18 May 2026, leading the United Democratic Front back to power.

Nimapara Patha Utsav 2026

A cultural festival in Odisha that promotes Odia folk traditions under the Utkarsha Nimapara 2.0 initiative.

PM MITRA Park (Warangal)

India's first operational textile park developed under the 5F vision: Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign.

C. Joseph Vijay

The cinema superstar who was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 10 May 2026 after his party, TVK, emerged as the largest.

DPI@2047 Roadmap

A NITI Aayog plan to transform India into a $30$ trillion economy focusing on Digital Public Infrastructure evolution through versions 2.0 and 3.0.

Bharat-Bhutan Mystic Mountain Tour

A 14-day rail-cum-road journey launched by IRCTC via the Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist Train.

JANANI Platform

A digital platform launched by the MoHFW to monitor maternal and child healthcare through integrated health records.

ECLGS 5.0

An Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme approved with $₹2.55$ lakh crore to support businesses and airlines affected by the West Asia Crisis.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

A flagship social security scheme that, along with PMJJBY and PMSBY, completed 11 years on 9 May 2026.

BHAVYA Scheme

A scheme with an outlay of $₹33,660$ crore to establish 100 world-class industrial parks across India by 2032.

Keliber Project

Europe's first fully integrated lithium project launched in Finland to produce 15,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually.

Kevin Warsh

The individual confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new Chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, succeeding Jerome Powell.

Kami Rita Sherpa

The legendary Nepali climber who created history by summiting Mount Everest for the 32nd time in 2026.

Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA)

A Quad initiative expanded in 2026 to improve vessel tracking and maritime security across the Indo-Pacific region.

PaRRVA

The Past Risk and Return Verification Agency operationalized by SEBI to verify performance claims of investment advisers and research analysts.

GARUDA Mechanism

A SEBI proposal (Green-Channel: AIF Rollout Upon Document Acknowledgement) to speed up the launch of Alternative Investment Funds to as little as 10 working days.

Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMI Pool)

A $1.5$ billion insurance initiative launched by India to provide stable coverage for vessels and reduce dependence on foreign insurers.

IndiaAI and ICMR MoU

A partnership to integrate digital infrastructure with biomedical research to develop ethical and research-based healthcare AI solutions.

CINBAX-II

The second edition of the joint military exercise between India and Cambodia held in Kampong Speu Province in 2026.

TARA (Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation)

India's first indigenous glide weapon system that converts conventional bombs into precision-guided stand-off weapons.

Kaal Bhairava

India's first autonomous AI-powered combat aircraft developed by Flying Wedge Defence & Aerospace for overseas production.

Suryastra

India's first indigenous 300-km Universal Rocket Launching System launched in 2026.

Vikram-1

India's first privately built orbital rocket developed by Skyroot Aerospace, featuring 3D-printed engines.

Mission Drishti

The country's largest privately developed earth observation satellite built by GalaxEye and launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Sabastian Sawe

The athlete who became the first to run an official sub-2-hour marathon at the London Marathon 2026 with a time of 1:59:30.

Esha Singh

The Indian shooter who set a world record score of 43 points to win the women's 25m pistol gold at the ISSF World Cup Munich.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

A 15-year-old cricket prodigy who broke records for the most sixes in a single IPL season and became the youngest to score 600 runs in a season.

Operation Sindoor

A major India cross-border counter-terror operation conducted on May 7, 2025, which was commemorated by the Indian Army on its first anniversary in 2026.