Comprehensive May 2025 Current-Affairs Notes

Indian Governance & Constitutional Developments

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi held high-level defence consultations with NSA Ajit Doval and Service Chiefs
  • Navy: Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi
  • Air Force: Air Chief Marshal A P Singh
  • Defence Secretary: R K Singh
• President Droupadi Murmu invoked Article $143$ — sought Supreme Court advice on gubernatorial powers under Articles $200$/$201$ after delays by Tamil Nadu Governor.
• 10ᵗʰ Governing Council of NITI Aayog (May $24,$ $2025$, Bharat Mandapam)
  • Theme: “Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @ $2047$”
  • $24$ States + $7$ UTs; moment of silence for Pahalgam terror victims.
• Tamil Nadu to celebrate “Traders Day” on May $5$; package of regulatory simplifications, Tamil signage push, financial aid & grievance panels.
• Uttar Pradesh launched India’s first Vistadome Jungle Safari Train linking Dudhwa TR–Katarniaghat WS; panoramic eco-tourism initiative.
• National Florence Nightingale Awards $2025$: $15$ exemplary nurses honoured by the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• ‘Janta Ki Kahani – Meri Aatamkatha’, autobiography of Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatraya, released by VP Jagdeep Dhankhar.
• Maharashtra WAVES Summit: CM Devendra Fadnavis announced India’s first Edu City in Navi Mumbai; MoUs worth $₹3{,}000\;crore$ with University of York & Western Australia University; AI-Film City deals (Prime Focus, Godrej); aligns with NEP $2020$ & upcoming AI policy.
• Mizoram declared fully literate (May $20,$ $2025$) under ULLAS–Nav Bharat Saaksharta programme; first Indian state to hit $100\%$ literacy.
• National Technology Day $2025$ (May $11$)
  • Theme: “Empowering a Sustainable Tomorrow Through Innovation”
  • Commemorated Pokhran-II ($1998$), Hansa-3, Trishul milestones.
• Delhi Police ‘Nayi Disha – Path Back to Learning’: police-NGO-school partnership to re-enrol drop-outs; shift from enforcement to empowerment.
• ECINET: Election Commission to fuse $>40$ digital products into one voter-centric super-app; vision of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
• ‘Operation Hawk $2025$’ (CBI + foreign agencies) busted Discord/Arisu child-abuse ring; arrests: Sheik Muizz Ahmed, Mukul Saini; follows Operations Carbon & Megh Chakra.
• Kartarpur Corridor shut (May $7,$ $2025$) amid Operation Sindoor strikes in Pakistan/PoK post-Pahalgam attack (Apr $22$).
• Safe-Harbour rethink: Govt revisits IT Act $2000$ Section $79$ as part of Digital India Act; aim—greater social-media accountability.
• SBI rolled over $\$50\;million$ Maldivian T-bill (May $12,$ $2025$) — Neighbourhood First support amid Maldives debt crunch.
• Ethanol Blended Petrol: extra $2.8$ million t FCI rice sanctioned; total $5.2$ Mt for ESY $2024–25$; target $20\%$ blending by $2025–26$.
• Bharat 6G Vision: India now top-$6$ in $6\,G$ patents; >$₹300\;crore$ R&D, aim global leadership by $2030$.
• Exercise Raahat $2025$ (Indian Army + NDRF, Assam): full-scale flood HADR drill.
• Gyan Bharatam Mission (revamped National Manuscripts Mission) to be unveiled Jun $9,$ $2025$, budget boost to $₹60\;crore$; digitise $>1$ crore texts.
• Shillong–Silchar $₹22{,}864\;crore$ highway clears; multimodal sea route via Myanmar, complements Kaladan project; first high-speed hill highway in NE.
• WHO certified India trachoma-free at WHA-$78$.
• Government e-Marketplace (GeM) 8ᵗʰ anniversary: GenAI bot ‘GeMAI’, onboarded $>10$ lakh MSEs, $1.84$ lakh women entrepreneurs.

Economy & Macro-Indicators

• IMF April $2025$ Outlook projects India GDP $\$4.187\;trillion$ (overtakes Japan $\$4.186\;trillion$) ⇒ 4ᵗʰ largest by $2025$. Current top economies:
  • USA $\$30.5\;T$
  • China $\$19.2\;T$
  • Germany $\$4.74\;T$
  • India $\$4.19\;T$ (proj)
  • Japan $\$4.18\;T$ (proj)
• UN forecast (May $2025$): India GDP growth $6.3\%$ for $2025$ (vs $7.1\%$ in $2024$); drivers—consumption, public capex, services exports.
• CRISIL projects FY-$26$ GDP growth $6.5\%$; aided by easing inflation & better demand.
• LIC Guinness Record (Jan $20,$ $2025$): $588{,}107$ policies sold in one day; reinforces dominance since $1956$.
• RBI Local-Currency-Settlement pacts with UAE, Indonesia, Maldives, Mauritius to de-dollarise trade.
• India HDI rank improved to $130/193$ (value $0.685$); GII rank $102/193$; GDI $0.874$ (Group-5 low parity). HDR theme: “A matter of choice: People & possibilities in the age of AI”.
• Sample Registration System $2021$: Total Fertility Rate steady at $2.0$; Bihar highest $3.0$, Delhi/West Bengal lowest $1.4$. Elderly share—Kerala $14.4\%$ (top), Bihar $6.9\%$ (low).
• India on course to be largest potato producer by $2050$: output jump from $60$ Mt → $100$ Mt (CIP data).

Health, Social Security & Demography

• WHO Pandemic Treaty adopted (May $20,$ $2025$): vote $124$-$0$-$11$; preserves sovereignty; creates new financing arm; equity emphasis.
• India eliminated trachoma (SAFE strategy success) — certified at WHA-$78$.
• Maternal Mortality Ratio fell to $93$/$100{,}000$ live births ($2019–21$) from $97$ ($2018–20$); UN SDG target $<70$ by $2030$.
• Jan Suraksha Abhiyan schemes completed $10$ years (PMJJBY, PMSBY, APY).
  • PMJJBY: entry $18–50$ yrs, premium $₹436$, cover $₹2\;lakh$.
  • PMSBY: $18–70$ yrs, premium $₹20$, death/total disability cover $₹2\;lakh$.

Science, Technology & Space

• ISRO PSLV-C61/EOS-09 failure (May $18,$ $2025$): 3ʳᵈ-stage pressure drop; broke long PSLV success streak.
• Samudrayaan human-submersible to $6{,}000$ m — part of Deep Ocean Mission; resources, biodiversity & Blue Economy focus.
• Bharat 6G, terahertz & AI-native network R&D; goal sub-ms latency.
• CRISPR-Cas9 explained: RNA-guided Cas9 cuts DNA → edits; therapeutic promise.
• Kodaikanal Solar Observatory $125$ᵗʰ anniversary: commemorative stamp.
• ISRO & DBT biological payloads aboard ISS (Axiom-4): study microalgae/cyanobacteria for space nutrition; aligns with BioE3 policy.
• Snow Leopard survey (SPAI, May $2025$): Ladakh hosts $477$ cats over $93{,}000\;km^2$ — world-dense habitat; climate-infrastructure threats.
• Newly recorded butterfly Euthalia malaccana in Arunachal; citizen-science value.
• Assam’s AI anchor “Ankita” presented Cabinet outcomes; first regional-language AI newsreader.
• NASA GRAIL (Ebb & Flow) solved Moon nearside–farside asymmetry (thin crust, thorium-rich nearside due to tidal flexing).
• China’s Tianwen-2 to sample quasi-satellite $469219$ Kamoʻoalewa; probe Moon-origin clues.

Environment & Biodiversity

• Operation Olivia $2025$: Indian Coast Guard protected $6.98$ lakh Olive Ridley turtles at Rushikulya, Odisha.
• Intl Day for Biological Diversity $2025$ (May $22$) — theme “Harmony with Nature and Sustainable Development”.
• FSSAI crackdown on calcium carbide fruit ripening; promotes ethylene.
• Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki eruptions (May $19,$ Indonesia); ash $1.1$ km high; aviation red alert.
• Exercise Raahat & Assam flood preparedness enhances climate resilience.

Defence, Security & Diplomacy

• Operation Sindoor air-strikes; Kartarpur closure; linkage to Pahalgam attack.
• INS Sharda HADR exercise (Maldives); INS Kiltan at IMDEX Asia $2025$; underscores SAGAR & maritime diplomacy.
• Indian Navy inducted “Arnala” (first ASW SWC) via GRSE–L&T PPP.
• Nomadic Elephant $XVII$: India–Mongolia joint military drill (May $31$–Jun $13,$ Ulaanbaatar).
• Quad Honolulu tabletop launched Indo-Pacific Logistics Network for disaster relief.
• Golden Dome (US concept) — space-based missile defence; mirrors Iron Dome, integrates THAAD/Patriot/Aegis; raises Russo-Sino concerns.
• UK-Mauritius pact to return Chagos Islands; welcomed by India as decolonisation win.
• Algeria joined New Development Bank; boosts BRICS + outreach.
• Anita Anand (Indian-origin) became Canada’s first Hindu woman Foreign Minister (May $14,$ $2025$); oath on Bhagavad Gita.
• India extended $\$50\;M$ aid to Maldives (see above); also rolled treasury bill.
• India–Vietnam MoU on Buddhist cooperation at Vesak $2025$; Vietnam chapter of IBC launched.
• India–EU TTC issued research calls on Marine Plastic Litter & Waste-to-Green Hydrogen.
• India helped pass WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy $2025–34$; Jamnagar Global TM Centre; ICHI module donor agreement.

Infrastructure, Industry & Innovation

• Edu City, AI Film Cities in Navi Mumbai (see Governance section).
• Shillong–Silchar high-speed highway (see Governance section).
• GeM AI chatbot (see Governance).
• Airtel Payments Bank rolled out eco-friendly NCMC debit & prepaid cards.
• iGOT Karmayogi passed $1$ crore users; $>2,400$ courses, $3.1$ crore certificates; next-gen AI & localisation plans.

Literature, Media & Awards

• New York Times won $4$ Pulitzers $2025$; other winners: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, New Yorker.
• “PMO: Prime Minister’s Office Through the Years” by Himanshu Roy released (Apr $15,$ $2025$, Rupa).
• International Pandemic Treaty (WHO) — see Health.
• World Food Prize $2025$ to Mariangela Hungria for Biological Nitrogen Fixation research.
• International Booker Prize $2025$: Banu Mushtaq’s ‘Heart Lamp’; first Kannada & first short-story collection to win. Translator Deepa Bhasthi; $£50{,}000$ split equally.
• UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize $2025$ awarded to Nicaragua’s ‘La Prensa’.

Sports & Adventure

• Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma retired from Tests; Kohli ends with $9{,}230$ runs, $30$ tons; Shubman Gill tipped as next captain.
• Srihari LR became India’s $86$ᵗʰ Grandmaster at Asian Individuals (Al-Ain); trained under GM Shyamsundar; part of Chess Thulir Academy.
• Geeta Samota (CISF SI) scaled Everest; completes Seven Summits; boosts women empowerment in CAPF.
• ITBP scaled Mt Makalu (fifth highest) — $83\%$ success; Annapurna attempt aborted; collected $150$ kg trash.
• Spurs won $2025$ UEFA Europa League (1-0 vs Man United); Brennan Johnson goal; ends $17$-year trophy drought.
• FIFA Women’s World Cup $2027$ host cities in Brazil (incl. Maracanã). Tournament dates: Jun $24$–Jul $25$, $32$ teams.
• Khelo India Youth Games $2025$ in Bihar: $>6,000$ athletes across $27$ sports; new entries—sepaktakraw, esports; $38$ KICs created.
• SAFF U-19 Championship: India beat Bangladesh on penalties (May $18,$ Yupia) after 1$–$1 draw; second title.
• Deepika Kumari bronze at Archery WC Stage-$2$ (Shanghai).

International Affairs & Trade

• Vietnam launched $10$-year Golden Visa for Indians — tourism, IT, textiles, long-term residency lure.
• US–China agreed $115\%$ reciprocal tariff rollback + $90$-day truce (Geneva, May $2025$) — relieves global trade tensions.
• Suez Canal Authority offered $15\%$ toll discount to regain shipping post-Red Sea Houthi crisis.
• Sudan named Kamil al-Taib Idris interim PM; step toward civilian transition amid $2023$ civil war; $13$ million displaced.
• Quad IPLN tabletop (see Defence).
• INS Kiltan at IMDEX; INS Sharda in Maldives (see Defence).

Agriculture & Rural Initiatives

• Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan launched by Agri Minister Shivraj Chouhan in Odisha — science-tech transformation of farming.
• Extra FCI rice for ethanol (see Economy).
• FSSAI calcium-carbide ban (see Environment).

Miscellaneous & Cultural Heritage

• Gyan Bharatam Mission (see Governance).
• Honduras opened embassy in New Delhi — strengthening ties.
• ‘Operation Abhyas’ civil-defence drill by Karnataka Fire & ES; under MHA guidance.
• Pageantry: Post stamp for Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (see Science).
• UN Day of Vesak in Vietnam hosted India–Vietnam Buddhist MoU (see Diplomacy).