APPOINTMENT

Neelam Meena Appointed First Woman Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal

• Neelam Meena was appointed Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal on 25 May 2026.

• She became the first woman to hold the post of Chief Electoral Officer in the state.

• The appointment was made by the Election Commission of India under the constitutional framework of election administration.

• Neelam Meena is a 1998-batch Indian Administrative Service officer from the West Bengal cadre.

• She replaced Manoj Kumar Agarwal, who was elevated to the position of Chief Secretary of West Bengal.

• Before this appointment, she served as Principal Secretary in the Consumer Affairs Department of the state government.

• The office of Chief Electoral Officer supervises electoral rolls, polling arrangements, and election management at the state level.

• Article 324 of the Constitution establishes the Election Commission of India as the constitutional authority for conducting elections.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

China’s Shenzhou-23 Mission and Tiangong Space Station

• Shenzhou-23 Mission was launched by China on 24 May 2026 aboard a Long March 2-F rocket.

• The spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and docked with the Tiangong Space Station within about 3.5 hours.

• The crew includes Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Lai Ka-ying, who became the first astronaut from Hong Kong to travel to space.

• The mission focuses on scientific research, station management, and long-duration human spaceflight studies.

• Tiangong serves as China’s modular space station for experiments in life sciences, medicine, fluid physics, and materials science.

• One astronaut from the mission is expected to remain in space for one year to study the effects of prolonged microgravity on the human body.

• China aims to send humans to the Moon by 2030 using the Mengzhou spacecraft planned for future lunar missions.

• China also plans to establish the first phase of the International Lunar Research Station by 2035 and host a Pakistani astronaut aboard Tiangong by the end of 2026.

India’s Largest Business Delegation Visit to Canada in 2026

• India sent its biggest-ever business and investment delegation to Canada from 25–27 May 2026 for trade and economic discussions.

• The delegation is led by Piyush Goyal and includes over 100 senior industry representatives from diverse sectors.

• Representatives from energy, infrastructure, technology, manufacturing, mining, automotive, and aerospace sectors are part of the visit.

• The main focus of the discussions is the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries.

• India and Canada aim to increase bilateral trade to CAD 70 billion by 2030 through stronger economic cooperation.

• Piyush Goyal is scheduled to hold meetings with Mark Carney, Maninder Sidhu, and Anita Anand.

• Bilateral trade between India and Canada stood at nearly 8.5 billion dollars during FY25.

• The visit is expected to accelerate negotiations on trade, investment, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, and defence cooperation.

NATIOANL NEWS

Mission Karmayogi 2.0 and Civil Services Capacity Building

• Mission Karmayogi 2.0 is the advanced phase of the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building launched in 2020.

• The programme focuses on role-based learning, competency-driven training, and digital capacity building for government employees.

• Capacity Building Commission oversees the Mission Karmayogi framework and sets standards for training quality and institutional reforms.

• The iGOT Platform serves as the digital learning portal for civil servants across departments.

• By April 2026, the iGOT platform had over 1.5 crore registered learners, more than 8 crore course completions, and 4,600+ multilingual courses.

• Learning outcomes from iGOT are linked with performance appraisal systems in government services.

• “Sadhana Saptah” was organised from 2–8 April 2026 to provide skill development and AI-based training for officials.

• Mission Karmayogi also partnered with Coursera to offer courses in technology, leadership, and data analytics through iGOT.

India’s New Foreign Tax Information Exchange Framework

• India will implement a new framework for foreign tax information exchange from 1 July 2026.

• The rules apply to both incoming requests from foreign tax authorities and India’s outbound requests for tax-related information.

• The Income Tax Department has classified all foreign tax information requests as “high priority” cases.

• Available information must be shared within 15 days, while incomplete cases require an interim progress report within the same period.

• Interim reports must mention investigation progress, operational constraints, and the expected completion timeline.

• The revised framework introduces stricter monitoring and monthly tracking of India’s outbound tax information requests.

• Tax information exchange helps authorities detect offshore assets, undisclosed income, transfer pricing issues, and cross-border financial transactions.

• India is also preparing for international crypto asset data sharing, which is scheduled to begin from April 2027.

STATE NEWS

Assam Uniform Civil Code Bill, 2026

• Assam introduced the Uniform Civil Code, Assam, 2026 Bill in the state assembly on 25 May 2026.

• The bill was tabled by Atul Bora on behalf of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

• A Uniform Civil Code proposes a common legal framework for marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, and succession matters.

• Article 44 of the Constitution places the Uniform Civil Code under the Directive Principles of State Policy.

• The bill makes registration of live-in relationships mandatory within 30 days and marriage registration compulsory within 60 days.

• Failure to register marriages or divorces within the prescribed period may attract a penalty of ₹10,000 under the proposed law.

• The legislation seeks to prohibit polygamy and retains the legal marriage age at 21 years for men and 18 years for women.

• Scheduled Tribes in Assam are exempted from the bill due to constitutional safeguards protecting tribal customs and traditional practices.

AWARDS

N Rajam Selected for Padma Vibhushan

• N Rajam has been chosen for the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour.

• The Padma awards are announced annually on the eve of Republic Day and are conferred by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• The Padma award categories include Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.

• N Rajam is widely known for introducing the Gayaki Ang style on the violin in Hindustani Classical Music.

• Gayaki Ang is a musical technique that imitates the tonal expression and ornamentation of the human voice.

• Born in Chennai in 1938, she initially trained in Carnatic music before specialising in Hindustani classical music.

• She served for several decades at Banaras Hindu University as professor, department head, and dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts.

• N Rajam previously received the Padma Shri in 1984, Padma Bhushan in 2004, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 2012.

SPORTS

Dev Meena and Kuldeep Kumar Create New Pole Vault National Record

• Dev Meena and Kuldeep Kumar jointly set a new men’s national pole vault record of 5.45 metres on 24 May 2026.

• The achievement came during the Federation Cup 2026 held in Ranchi.

• The previous Indian national record of 5.41 metres was held by Kuldeep Kumar before the Ranchi event.

• Dev Meena first cleared 5.42 metres to create a new record, after which Kuldeep Kumar crossed 5.45 metres.

• Dev Meena also successfully cleared 5.45 metres and secured the gold medal through the countback rule.

• Countback in athletics is a tie-breaking method based on the number of attempts taken at different heights.

• Both athletes achieved the qualification standard for the 2026 Asian Games and surpassed the Commonwealth Games qualifying mark of 5.25 metres.

• Dev Meena and Kuldeep Kumar train together in Madhya Pradesh under coach Ghanshyam Yadav.

India’s First Official Freediving Team for World Apnea Championship

• India will send its first official freediving team to the World Apnea Pool Championship in Budapest from 2 June 2026.

• The Indian team includes Archana Thiagarajan, Akshay Thatte, and Vachan H U.

• Freediving is an underwater sport in which athletes dive while holding their breath without using breathing equipment.

• The championship is organised under AIDA International, the international authority for competitive freediving.

• Archana Thiagarajan became the first Indian athlete to participate in a Freediving World Championship at Wakayama, Japan, in 2025.

• She is an 11-time national record holder and the first Indian woman to cross the 40-metre mark in competitive freediving.

• Akshay Thatte is India’s first Freediving Instructor Trainer and also a multiple national record holder in the sport.

• The Freediving Association of India became an Observer Member of AIDA International in March 2026, giving official international recognition to Indian freedivers.

SUMMIT AND CONFERENCE

National AI Summit on Water 2026

• National AI Summit on Water 2026 will be hosted in Bengaluru on 27 May 2026.

• The summit is being organised jointly by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board and Elets Technomedia Pvt. Ltd..

• The event will focus on Artificial Intelligence applications in urban water management and digital public infrastructure.

• Major discussion themes include smart operations, digital twins, water-loss reduction, cybersecurity, and ethical AI governance.

• BWSSB plans to showcase digital initiatives such as SCADA systems, GIS mapping, IoT-based tanker tracking, and smart metering technologies.

• The summit will introduce BWSSB’s Five Panchasutras framework for sustainable and climate-resilient urban water governance.

• More than 400 participants from government, research, technology, and industry sectors are expected to attend the summit.

• Siddaramaiah and D. K. Shivakumar are scheduled to inaugurate the event.