The Vice President of India, C. P. Radhakrishnan released the book ‘The Library Man of India: The Story of P.N. Panicker’, authored by P. P. Sathyan, at Uprashtrapati Bhavan.
The Vice President noted that Shri Panicker, despite leading a simple life, carried an extraordinary dream that every individual, irrespective of caste, class, poverty, or geography, should have access to knowledge.
Describing Shri Panicker as the Father of Kerala’s Cultural Renaissance, the Vice President said he believed that knowledge should never remain the privilege of a few, but must serve humanity universally and become a force for social awakening.
India and Ethiopia signed the bilateral accession protocol in the context of Ethiopia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 22 May 2026 in Geneva, where the signing ceremony took place.
The protocol was signed by Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of India to the WTO, Dr. Senthil Pandian C., on behalf of India, and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, Tsegab Kebebew Daka, on behalf of Ethiopia.
Following the signing, the Protocol and its annexes were formally handed over and deposited with the WTO Secretariat.
India has consistently supported the accession of developing countries and Least Developed Countries to the WTO, recognising that their fuller integration into the multilateral trading system and global value chains is essential for building a more inclusive and balanced global economy.
The agreement was fast-tracked and concluded under the guidance of Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal.
India and Ethiopia share deep and enduring people-to-people and civilisational ties. India is Ethiopia’s second-largest trading partner, and Indian companies are among the leading foreign investors in Ethiopia.
Bilateral relations between the two countries were elevated to a Strategic Partnership during the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Ethiopia in December 2025.
The WTO accession process requires aligning domestic economic and trade policies with WTO rules and negotiating market access commitments with existing members.
Ethiopia is currently at an advanced stage of its accession process, with its Working Party having met for the seventh time on 22–23 April 2026.
As Ethiopia advances economic and trade policy reforms through the WTO accession process, new opportunities are expected to emerge for enhanced trade, investment, and business collaboration between India and Ethiopia.
The Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, organised a conference on “Next-Gen Trade Pacts: Leveraging India’s Partnership with Europe under FTAs” on 19 May 2026 at FICCI Federation House, New Delhi.
The conference brought together policymakers, industry representatives, trade experts, legal practitioners, and members of academia to deliberate on India’s evolving trade engagement with Europe under emerging free trade agreements.
The conference commenced with an inaugural session featuring Secretary General, FICCI, Anant Swarup, who welcomed the participants and highlighted the growing significance of India’s trade partnerships with Europe.
Chair, FICCI Foreign Trade and Trade Facilitation Committee and Managing Director, Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd., Harish Ahuja underlined the need to strengthen standards infrastructure, testing and certification capabilities, digital compliance tools, and institutional mechanisms to effectively address non-tariff barriers in European markets.
The conference featured four thematic sessions focusing on opportunities arising from India’s trade agreements with Europe, standards and regulatory compliance in European markets, services trade and digital economy engagement, and the implications of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for Indian industry.
The Department of Posts (DoP), Ministry of Communications and Flipkart India Private Limited have signed an Agreement for Last Mile Parcel Delivery Services.
The partnership aims to leverage the unparalleled reach and trusted delivery network of the Department of Posts along with Flipkart’s strong presence in India’s e-commerce sector to provide efficient, reliable and customer-centric parcel delivery solutions across the country.
Under the Agreement, the Department of Posts will provide last mile delivery services for Flipkart shipments across India.
Through this partnership, Flipkart will gain access to the Department of Posts’ vast network of over 1.6 lakh post offices and an unmatched delivery presence across India.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has notified the inclusion of the drug “Pregabalin” under Schedule H1 of the Drugs Rules, 1945 vide Gazette Notification G.S.R. 377(E) dated 13th May 2026, published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary on 20th May 2026.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment Launched “JEEVAN” (Joint Elderly Empowerment & Virtual Assistance Network) Mobile Application for Senior Citizens and “SHATAYU” (Senior Holistic Care Assistance and Training For Your Utility) Geriatric Caregiver Dashboard.
A Step Towards Safety, Care, Dignity and Empowerment of Senior Citizens and enabling elder Care Ecosystem through Technology Caregiving Support.
The app provides a range of features aimed at addressing the needs and concerns of senior citizens, including information on Government schemes and welfare programmes, emergency assistance and support services, and
details of senior citizen homes supported by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. The platform has been designed with a user-friendly interface, simplified navigation and accessibility features, keeping in view the requirements of elderly users.
Another, application “SHATAYU” (Senior Holistic Care Assistance and Training For Your Utility) a Dashboard, developed to support and strengthen caregiving services for senior citizens across the country was also launched during the National Workshop on “Creating a Well-Functioning Care Economy.”
It provides features such as information on the availability of Geriatric Caregivers in a particular district and the State for the senior citizens.
The platform has been designed with simplified functionalities and a user-friendly interface to ensure ease of access and effective service delivery.
The 68th Session of the Governing Body Meeting (GBM) of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) concluded successfully in New Delhi after three days of deliberations, strategic discussions and high-level engagements held from 20–22 May 2026 at Bharat Mandapam.
The meeting was hosted by the National Productivity Council (NPC) under the aegis of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
The three-day programme commenced on 20 May 2026 with preparatory and closed-door meetings, followed by networking and cultural engagements aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and collaboration among member economies.
The Asian Productivity Organization established the APO Accreditation Body (APO-AB) to assess and accredit Certification Bodies for Productivity Specialists among APO member economies. So far, 13 APO member economies, including India, have received certification.
During the event, the APO-AB Accreditation Certificate was presented to the National Productivity Organization Certification Body of Cambodia.
The closing session held on 22 May 2026 commenced with remarks by the APO Chair, followed by observations from India’s Alternate Director, Smt. Neerja Sekhar.
This was followed by the announcement that the 69th GBM will be hosted in Lao PDR in 2027 and the 67th Workshop Summit Meeting (SM) of Heads of APO Economies will be held in Sri Lanka in 2027.
ZikZuk Technologies Private Limited announced that it has received final authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) Issuer under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
The PPI authorisation, one of the most rigorous regulatory approvals in India's payments ecosystem, positions ZikZuk to operate at the intersection of digital payments, UPI infrastructure, and cross-border financial services.
A PPI is payment instrument where money is loaded in advance and used for subsequent transactions,covering General Purpose PPIs (Full-KYC and Small PPIs), and Special Purpose PPIs including Gift PPIs, Transit PPIs for public transport such as metro, bus,rail, and toll payments, and PPIs for Foreign Nationals and NRIs visiting India, issued under the UPI One World framework.
With this authorisation, ZikZuk is now positioned to build and scale a full suite of regulated payment products, from digital wallets and prepaid cards to stored-value solutions, all under the direct oversight of the RBI.
ZikZuk Technologies is a Hyderabad-based fintech company authorised by the Reserve Bank of India as a Prepaid Payment Instrument Issuer.
Naviin Goel, Director- ZikZuk Technologies.
India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission has been honoured with the 2026 Goddard Astronautics Award by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), presented in Washington DC on May 21.
On August 23, 2023, Chandrayaan-3 made history as the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing near the Moon's south pole -- a region of immense scientific and strategic importance that had never before been explored at the surface level.
The mission delivered critical data to support future human missions to the Moon and confirmed the presence of key chemical elements in the lunar south polar soil, pointing to local resources that could one day sustain manufacturing operations on the surface.
The Goddard Astronautics Award is the highest honour AIAA bestows for notable achievements in the field of astronautics. The award is presented to an individual or team. Team nominations include a listing of contributors, from which two at most are designated as representatives to formally accept the award.
The award received its current form in 1975, when the institute changed the name and widened the selection criteria of its former Goddard Award (which had been bestowed for contributions in the engineering science of propulsion and energy conversion).
India's Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Vinay Kwatra, accepted the award on behalf of the ISRO.
Johannesburg, Two of South Africa's internationally-recognised, Indian-origin scientists were among the 38 people awarded the country's highest civilian awards in recognition of their outstanding contributions toward public health.
Professor Salim Abdool Karim and Professor Keertan Dheda, were formally awarded the prestigious Order of Mapungubwe by President Cyril Ramaphosa at Pretoria.
This specific order recognises South African citizens who have achieved excellence and exceptional accomplishment to the direct benefit of South Africa and the global community.
The jungles of Mizoram and neighbouring Myanmar have yielded a new-to-science snake that relishes worms and prefers to stay underground.
The snake, Trachischium lalremsangai, has been described in the international Herpetozoa journal of the Austrian Herpetological Society by a team of four scientists from two continents. T
They are Virender K. Bhardwaj, Amit K. Bal, and Chhangte L. Tluanga from Mizoram University and Zeeshan A. Mirza from Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Biology.
The researchers named their find after Hmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga, a professor of Zoology at Mizoram University, for his “remarkable contributions to herpetology in India”
mentoring students, and fostering research collaborations within the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot.
Measuring about 2.4 million square kilometres, this hotspot covers the northeastern region south of the Brahmaputra River, parts of Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, and all of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
According to the researchers, the new species of snake from the genus Trachischium was described based on two specimens. The Mizoram University team found the first specimen during an expedition to the 100 sq. km Murlen National Park close to Mizoram’s 510-km border with Myanmar.
The Madhya Pradesh government is set to collaborate with Google in managing the Simhastha Kumbh to be held in Ujjain in 2028. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav discussed AI-based technological support for Simhastha with officials from Google Cloud India in Bhopal.
Additional Chief Secretary Neeraj Mandloi told that a strategic partnership is being established between the state government and Google Cloud India. As part of this, a Centre for Excellence will be set up in Indore. A memorandum of understanding related to this will be signed soon.
Google Cloud India officials said AI-based solutions are being developed in line with Madhya Pradesh’s priorities in agriculture, education, health, forestry, women and child development, and other departments.
Obstetric fistula is one of the most serious and tragic childbirth injuries. A hole between the birth canal and bladder and/or rectum, it is caused by prolonged, obstructed labour without access to timely, high-quality medical treatment.
It leaves women and girls leaking urine, faces or both, and often leads to chronic medical problems, depression, social isolation and deepening poverty.
Observed annually on May 23rd, the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula raises awareness about a devastating childbirth injury.
