India took another step towards modernising its maritime sector on Thursday with the launch of the Logistics Port Performance Index (LPPI) for FY 2024-25 and FOUR major digital initiatives aimed at improving governance, transparency and ease of doing business across the shipping ecosystem.
The initiatives were launched by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), Sarbananda Sonowal during the 37th Foundation Day celebrations of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
In a major step towards accelerating economic activity in the Union Territory, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has notified the establishment of two Special Economic Zones in Puducherry region.
The Board of Approval for SEZs under the Ministry has given its nod for the setting up of a multi-sector economic zone at Karasur with an investment of Rs. 1,250 crore and an IT/ITES-related zone at Thattanchavady by investing Rs. 725 crore, an official release here said.
While the SEZ at Karasur will be developed by the Pondicherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment Corporation, the IT/ITES zone would be developed by an Urban Local Body, a first of its kind initiative in the country itself. The multi-sector SEZ would come up on an area of 86.2457 hectares and the IT/ITES zone would occupy 8.6230 hectares of land.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest information technology (IT) services company, has partnered with Mistral AI to become the first global system integrator partner for Mistral Forge, the French frontier-model firm’s advanced platform for enterprises to build frontier-grade artificial intelligence (AI) models.
The partnership combines Mistral’s frontier AI capabilities with TCS’ enterprise expertise, domain knowledge and engineering capabilities to help organisations scale enterprise AI responsibly and at greater speed.
As part of the agreement, TCS will use Mistral Forge to build customised AI models for enterprises.
TCS will also establish a dedicated Centre of Excellence for Mistral to drive joint innovation, develop industry-specific solutions, support project delivery and accelerate client value through early access to Mistral’s beta models.
K Krithivasan- Chief executive officer and managing director (MD) of TCS.
Former bureaucrat and the first chairman of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), Dhanendra Kumar, died in Delhi's Hauz Khas, police said on May 28, 2026.
Mr. Kumar (80), a 1968-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, also represented India at the World Bank as an Executive Director.
Mr. Kumar held several key administrative positions during his career, including Chairman and Managing Director of the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC) and Principal Secretary to the Haryana Chief Minister. Apart from his administrative career, Mr. Kumar was known as an author and public policy expert.
PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), the flagship micro-credit scheme of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), has completed six years of empowering street vendors through affordable collateral-free credit, digital inclusion and social security.
Vide Notifications of even number dated 01.06.2026, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the Hon’ble President of India is pleased to appoint (i) Shri Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice, High Court of Punjab and Haryana, (ii) Shri Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice, High Court of Bombay,
(iii) Shri Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Chief Justice, High Court of Madhya Pradesh, (iv) Shri Justice Arun Palli, Chief Justice, High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh and (v) Smt. Venkita Subramani Mohana, Senior advocate, to be Judges of the Supreme Court of India with effect from the date they assume charge of their office.
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has realised Rs. 21.26 crore under the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism during the financial year 2025–26. The amount was generated from approvals granted for research, commercial utilisation, intellectual property rights, bio-survey and bio-utilisation of biological resources,
reflecting growing industry participation in India's biodiversity governance framework.
During the period, the Seed sector emerged as the largest contributor, accounting for Rs. 11.75 crore, followed by the AYUSH sector with Rs. 5.56 crore. Other contributors included Nutraceuticals with Rs. 1.40 crore and Pharmaceuticals with Rs. 1.18 crore.
Contributions were also received from the Biotechnology, Cosmetics, Chemical, Biofuel and Food & Beverage sectors.
As on date, the National Biodiversity Authority has realised ABS funds amounting to Rs. 266 crore from users of biological resources and associated knowledge. Of this, Rs. 145 crore has already been disbursed to beneficiaries across the country.
To augment availability of cotton for the Indian textile sector, the Central Government has temporarily exempted all customs duties on import of cotton from 1st June, 2026 till 31st October, 2026.
The temporary duty exemption is expected to reduce input costs across the textile and apparel sector, thereby providing a targeted relief to manufacturers and consumers, while also keeping the interests of domestic farmers in mind.
Overall, the measure is anticipated to have a positive impact on the performance of the domestic textile industry, especially the small and medium enterprises, by ensuring better availability of cotton in the market.
The Central government has revised export levies on petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for the fortnight beginning June 1.
The duty has been set at Rs. 1.5 per litre on petrol exports, Rs. 13.5 per litre on diesel exports and Rs. 9.5 per litre on ATF exports, as per an official notification.
However, the Centre has left excise duty rates on petrol and diesel sold in the domestic market unchanged.
According to the notification, the revised rates have been prescribed based on the average international prices of crude oil, petrol, diesel and ATF prevailing during the period since the last review.
The export levies were introduced on March 27, 2026, to ensure domestic availability of petroleum products by discouraging exports in the backdrop of the West Asia crisis. The last revision came into effect on May 16, 2026.
On May 16, the government revised export taxes on petroleum products, imposing a special additional excise duty (SAED) of Rs. 3 per litre on petrol exports while reducing the duty on diesel to Rs. 16.5 per litre.
In a landmark development under the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU) scheme, the National Steering Committee (NSC) has approved the Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) for the Visakhapatnam ITI Cluster in Andhra Pradesh, submitted by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India),
along with their academic partner New Age Makers Institute of Technology (NAMTECH). The approval marks the first-ever Strategic Investment Plan to be cleared under PM-SETU and makes Andhra Pradesh the first State to operationalize an industry partnership under the scheme.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) clinched IPL 2026 glory, riding on a stunning 75* off 42 by Virat Kohli, to beat Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2026 final in Ahmedabad. Chasing a target of 156, Kohli remained unbeaten from start to finish, guiding RCB to their second successive IPL title.
RCB became only the third team after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) to successfully defend their IPL trophy.
Apart from RCB, 15-year-old batter from Bihar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, also stole the spotlight during the IPL 2026 season awards, as the Rajasthan Royals batter swept five of the 10 season awards.
Vaibhav, apart from the awards, also received a total of Rs 65 lakh as the combined prize money for his record-breaking season.
In the Asian Under-20 Athletics Championships, India’s Mogali Venkatram clinched gold in the men’s 800 metres in Hong Kong, earning the country’s first gold medal in the event at this year’s competition.
India also impressed in the relay events. The women’s 4×400 metres team of Bhumika, Tahura, Sehnoor and Neeru won gold and set a new championship record with a time of 3 minutes 38.07 seconds.
The women’s 4×100 metres quartet of Kajal, Bhavana, Aarti and Nipam secured silver, clocking 45.05 seconds to establish a new junior national record.
The men’s 4×400 metres team of Piyush Raj, Sayed Sabeer, Ranjith Kumar and Mohammed Ashfaq claimed bronze, also setting a new junior national record with a time of 3 minutes 5.54 seconds.
The championships are serving as a qualifying event for the World Under-20 Athletics Championships, scheduled to be held in Eugene, Oregon, in the United States from the 5th - 9th August.
The third observance of the International Day of Potato will be on 29 May 2026 (as 30 May falls on a Saturday), with the theme Where potatoes grow, livelihoods flourish. The theme positions the role of potatoes in strengthening livelihoods for farmers and value chain actors —from the highlands of the Andes to Africa, Europe, Asia and beyond.
On 30 May, we spotlight the potato, Solanum tuberosum (L.) – a crop regularly consumed by billions of people. Potatoes are a key crop across diverse farming systems globally, ranging from smallholders producing diverse heirloom varieties by hand in the Andes, to vast commercial, mechanized farms in different continents.
In 1987, the World Health Assembly passed Resolution WHA40.38, calling for 7 April 1988 to be a "a world no-smoking day." In 1988, Resolution WHA42.19 was passed, calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on 31 May.
This yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what WHO is doing to fight the tobacco epidemic, and what people around the world can do to claim their right to health and healthy living and to protect future generations.
UNICEF will launch the Global Day of Parents on 1 June under the theme “Together for Parents.”
Since the 1980s, the important role of the family has increasingly come to the attention of the international community. The General Assembly adopted a number of resolutions and proclaimed the International Year of the Family and the International Day of Families.
Designated by the General Assembly in 2012, Global Day of Parents provides an opportunity to appreciate all parents for their "selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifice towards nurturing this relationship."
