Current Affairs MockDrill May 2026 Summary

National and State Affairs

• Aviation Rankings: Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu unveiled the 2nd phase of rankings for Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) compiled by DGCA. Avyanna Aviation Pvt. Ltd. was the only institute to achieve the 'A' category. Training flying hours increased from $32\%$ to $50\%$ while CPL issuance grew over $2.5$ times in 8 years.
• Heritage Collection: Central Cottage Industries Corporation (CCIC) launched "Soul Threads" at Jawahar Vyapar Bhawan, New Delhi, to promote Indian textile traditions.
• AI Emergency Helpline: Bengaluru Police is India's first to use an AI-powered multilingual feature in "Namma 112," supporting over 10 languages using the VANKI (Voice AI for Nationwide Key Interventions) system.
• Maharashtra AI Policy 2026: Aims to attract $₹10,000\,\text{crore}$ in investment and create $1.5\,\text{lakh}$ jobs by 2031. Includes setting up a Maharashtra AI Mission, 2,000 GPUs, and a $₹500\,\text{crore}$ startup fund.
• Humanitarian Diplomacy: India deployed "Aarogya Maitri" portable healthcare infrastructure (BHISHM Cube) in Jamaica. The system includes 72 transportable cubes with RFID and AI coordination.
• Disaster Management: Mizoram launched the "Khuarel" mobile app for real-time disaster reporting. Sikkim was declared India's 1st paperless judiciary state by CJI Surya Kant.
• Tolling Systems: India’s 1st Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) barrier-less tolling system launched at Chorayasi Toll Plaza, Gujarat, using ANPR and RFID (FASTag).
• Emergency Alerts: Ministry of Communications launched the Cell Broadcast System (CBS) developed by C-DOT. Integrated with the 'SACHET' platform, it sends real-time alerts without internet.
• Ship Repair Facility: A $₹1,570\,\text{crore}$ facility approved for Vadinar, Gujarat, to be jointly implemented by Deendayal Port Authority and Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL).
• Medical Standards: BIS published 6 new standards for assistive technologies under the NLEAP initiative, including crutches, walking sticks, and Braille signage.
• Sugarcane FRP: CCEA approved Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of $Rs\,365/qtl$ for the 2026-27 season at a basic recovery rate of $10.25\%$.
• Semiconductor Mission: Two new projects approved in Gujarat for Crystal Matrix Ltd (Mini/Micro-LED display) and Suchi Semicon (OSAT facility) with a combined investment of $Rs\,3,936\,\text{crore}$.

International Affairs

• Operation Project Freedom: Launched by US President Donald Trump to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz starting May 4, 2026, due to the Iran war blockade.
• Operation Urja Suraksha: India's naval mission since March 25, 2026, to escort Indian-flagged ships in the Gulf of Oman.

Banking, Finance, and Insurance

• EPFO Digitalization: Launch of "E-PRAAPTI" portal for tracking and activating inoperative EPF accounts using Aadhaar-based authentication.
• Risk Verification: SEBI operationalised the PaRRVA (Past Risk and Return Verification Agency) platform with CARE Ratings as the agency and NSE as the data centre.
• Mule Account Detection: Ministry of Finance directed adoption of the "MuleHunter.AI" tool, developed by RBIH, currently live in 26 banks.
• Credit Card Portfolio: Federal Bank to acquire Standard Chartered Bank’s India credit card portfolio comprising approximately $450,000$ cards for $Rs\,1,500\,\text{crore}$.
• NBFC Exemptions: RBI amended registration directions for NBFCs with assets less than $Rs\,1,000\,\text{crore}$ that lack public funds and customer interface.
• Calamity Relief: Revised RBI guidelines (effective July 1, 2026) allow banks to extend relief to borrowers in disaster-hit areas without waiting for individual requests.
• Insurance FDI: Government notified $100\%$ FDI in insurance companies and intermediaries under the automatic route. FDI in LIC remains capped at $20\%$.
• Electronic Gold Receipts: NSE launched EGRs as a new trading segment, allowing physical gold to be held and traded electronically via SEBI-accredited vaults.

Defence and Science

• Missile Tests: Successful maiden salvo launch of Naval Anti-ship Missile-Short Range (NASM-SR) by DRDO and Navy. DRDO also conducted the 2nd test of the LR-AShM hypersonic missile (strike range over $1,500\,\text{km}$ at $\text{Mach } 10$).
• Maritime Exercises: 4th India-Sri Lanka bilateral diving exercise "IN-SLN DIVEX 2026" held in Colombo. 2nd India-Cambodia exercise "CINBAX-II 2026" held in Kampong Speu Province.
• Naval Induction: Indian Navy received "INS Mahendragiri," the 6th stealth frigate under Project 17A, from Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL).
• Space Technology: Karnataka launched India’s 1st State-led CoE SpaceTech Foundation in Bengaluru. Space startup GalaxEye launched "Mission Drishti," the world’s 1st OptoSAR satellite.
• ISRO Mapping: Completed high-resolution Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) mapping for India at a $1:10000$ scale, integrated with the 'Gram Manchitra' portal.
• South Korean Satellite: SpaceX launched South Korea’s CAS500-2 Earth-observation satellite from Vandenberg, California.

Sports and Games

• IPL Milestones: 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) became the fastest player to reach 400 runs in a season ($167$ balls). Virat Kohli became the first batter to hit 800 boundaries and the 3rd to reach 300 sixes.
• SAFF Championship: India to host the 2026 SAFF Women’s Championship in Goa from May 24 to June 7.
• Transgender Umpire: Rithika Sri became the 1st transgender umpire from Tamil Nadu.

Appointments and Persons in News

• RBI Deputy Governor: Rohit Jain appointed for 3 years, replacing T Rabi Sankar.
• NITI Aayog: Dr R. Balasubramaniam and Dr Joram Aniya (1st woman from North East) appointed as full-time members.
• Broadcasting: Shashi Shekhar Vempati appointed Chairperson of CBFC; Prasoon Joshi appointed Chairman of Prasar Bharati.
• Corporate: Kumar Mangalam Birla appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Vodafone Idea Ltd.
• Record Swimmer: 7-year-old Ishank Singh became the youngest swimmer to cross the Palk Strait ($29\,\text{km}$ in $9\,\text{hours } 50\,\text{minutes}$).

Reports, Ranks, and Surveys

• Education Rankings: THE Asia University Rankings 2026 features IISc Bengaluru at 43rd. China leads with Tsinghua University at 1st.
• Health Survey: NSO’s 80th Round report shows median out-of-pocket medical expenditure (OOPE) for hospitalisation at $Rs\,11,285$. Government health insurance coverage rose to $45.5\%$ in rural areas.
• Gender Data: "Women and Men in India 2025" shows the sex ratio at birth improved to 917 (2021-23).
• Fish Production: Tamil Nadu topped India with $6.85\,\text{lakh tonnes}$ for 2025. Total national production rose by $3\%$ to $3.57\,\text{million tonnes}$.
• World Migration Report: India remains the top remittance recipient globally ($\$137\,\text{billion}$); the US is the top sender ($>\$100\,\text{billion}$).
• PAI 2.0: Ministry of Panchayati Raj released the Panchayat Advancement Index; Tripura leads with $80\%$ Front Runner GPs. Jugal Kishore Nagar Village Committee ranked 1st nationally.

Schemes and Agreements

• MSME Support: Cabinet approved ECLGS 5.0 with an outlay of $₹18,100\,\text{crore}$ to support MSMEs and airlines during the West Asia Crisis.
• Rural Assets: SVAMITVA scheme is unlocking an estimated $Rs\,135\,\text{lakh crore}$ worth of rural land assets.
• ADB Initiatives: ADB announced $\$70\,\text{billion}$ for energy (PAGI) and digital infrastructure initiatives by 2035.
• Judiciary: Cabinet approved increasing Supreme Court judge strength from 33 to 37 (total sanctioned strength of 38 including CJI).