Current affairs relevant to GS3.
India will chair the Common Criteria Development Board (CCDB) from April 2026 to April 2028. The post was confirmed at the CCRA's first quarter meeting in Tokyo (14 to 16 April 2026). The CCDB runs the technical work on the Common Criteria for IT security testing. India has been a CCRA certificate-authorising nation since 16 September 2013.
14 May 2026
The ITU Council, meeting in Geneva from 28 April to 8 May 2026, accepted India's proposal to host the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2030 (PP-2030). Final approval is likely at PP-2026 in Doha, Qatar, in November 2026. India also pushed its candidatures for Council re-election and for Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau.
14 May 2026
On 13 May 2026 the Cabinet approved a ₹37,500 crore scheme for surface coal and lignite gasification. It pays up to 20% of plant and machinery cost through competitive bidding and targets gasifying about 75 million tonnes of coal. The aim is to cut imports of LNG, urea, ammonia and methanol. Coal linkage tenure goes up to 30 years.
13 May 2026
A tripartite MoU signed on 20 April 2026 by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, NSHIP-TN and Sagarmala Finance Corporation will develop India's first mega greenfield shipyard at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. Planned capacity is 2.5 million gross tonnage a year, with about 15,000 direct jobs. It came under the India–Korea VOYAGES maritime framework.
13 May 2026
The CCEA approved MSP for 14 kharif crops for marketing season 2026-27 on 13 May 2026. Common paddy gets ₹2,441 per quintal, up ₹72. The biggest absolute rise is for sunflower seed (₹622), then cotton (₹557), nigerseed (₹515) and sesamum (₹500). Moong gives the highest margin over cost at 61%; most crops get 50%.
13 May 2026
The Union Cabinet on 13 May 2026 extended the lease of AAI land to MIHAN India Limited beyond 6 August 2039. MIL can now license Nagpur airport to GMR Nagpur International Airport Limited for 30 years from the operation date. It follows a Supreme Court ruling of 27 September 2024. The target capacity is 30 million passengers a year.
13 May 2026
The Department of Financial Services launched the Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMIP) of USD 1.5 billion on 12 May 2026, backed by a sovereign guarantee of USD 1.4 billion (₹12,980 crore). It covers hull and machinery, cargo, P&I and war risk for Indian-linked vessels. GIC Re is administrator. The guarantee applies only to claims above USD 100 million.
12 May 2026
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) of MHA and the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) signed an MoU on 12 May 2026 to fight mule accounts. I4C will share mule-account intelligence and suspect identifiers from its Suspect Registry. RBIH will use the data to train AI fraud models such as MuleHunter.ai, which banks already use.
12 May 2026
India and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) launched a new eight-year Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) for 2026–2033 on 12 May 2026. It has two priorities: social, economic and climate resilience of rural communities, and knowledge systems to scale proven models in India and the Global South. IFAD and NABARD also signed a partnership.
12 May 2026
The Ministry of Mines launched the second tranche of limestone block e-auctions in Jammu & Kashmir at Srinagar on 12 May 2026. Twelve blocks in Anantnag, Rajouri and Poonch are on offer: five first-attempt blocks and seven re-auctioned ones. They are at G3 and G4 exploration stages under UNFC. Bids are due by 21 July 2026.
12 May 2026