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Today’s major current affairs, which are important for students preparing for government jobs-
International
1. MoU signed between India and South Korea
- On May 20, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh held bilateral talks with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-bak in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
- In this dialogue, India and South Korea signed MoU to increase cooperation in the field of defense and cyber security.
- In this MoU, agreements were made regarding Self-Propelled Air Defense System and Energy and Laser Weapon System.
- This 3-day visit of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is to increase cooperation in Indo-Pacific security and maritime stability.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the India-Korea Defense Industry Business Summit in Seoul.
NATIONAL
2. Military exercise PRAGATI of 13 countries starts in Meghalaya
- On May 20, joint military exercise ‘PRAGATI’ of 13 countries started in Meghalaya.
- The full name of PRAGATI is ‘Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region’.
- PRAGATI military exercise has started at Umroi Military Station in Meghalaya and will continue till May 30.
- Apart from India, 12 friendly countries – Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are involved in the military exercise.
- The main objective of military exercise PRAGATI is to enhance mutual coordination in anti-terrorism operations and better management at times of disaster.
- Jungle warfare, heliborne operations and field excavation will be conducted in this military exercise.
In the military exercise PRAGATI, all the armies will also showcase their modern war systems and technology.
3. Bilateral trade between India and UAE reaches 100 billion dollars
- On May 20, bilateral trade between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) crossed the $100 billion mark.
- UAE has now become India’s third largest trading partner. India and UAE have set a trade target of $200 billion by 2032.
- UAE Ambassador to India Abdulnasser Alshali gave this information at an event in New Delhi.
- The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries also came into force.
- There has been a huge increase in non-oil trade between India and UAE, i.e. trade other than oil. India imports petroleum, gold and precious gems from UAE.
PM Modi had signed several strategic agreements including in the energy sector during his visit to UAE on May 15.
4. Ladakh gave industry status to tourism sector
- On May 21, the Ladakh government announced to give industry status to the Ladakh hospitality sector.
- Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena approved granting ‘Industry’ status to hotels and guest houses registered with the Tourism Department.
- This order will be officially effective from June 1, 2026 in the entire Union Territory.
- This decision will directly benefit 1,257 registered hotels and guest houses of Ladakh. Of these, there are 1,078 hotels and guest houses in Leh and 179 in Kargil.
- After having an industrial sector, hotel and guest house owners will be able to get electricity and water facilities at industrial rates.
- By coming into the industrial sector, the businesses related to this sector will now get benefits in industrial subsidy and tax.
- Tourism and Culture Department of Ladakh has been nominated as the nodal department for the implementation of this scheme.
- Ladakh became a union territory of India on 31 October 2019. Initially it had only 2 districts, Leh and Kargil. On 27 April, 5 new districts Zanskar, Dras, Sham, Nubra and Changthang were created.
- With the arrival of industrial sector in Ladakh, it will be easy to expand homestay and small tourism. Now it will be easy to take loans from banks for basic infrastructure development.
After coming to Ladakh industry, there will be complete exemption in property tax also.
DEATH
5. Kerala senior journalist K.G. Parameswaran Nair passes away
- On May 20, senior Kerala journalist K.G. Parameswaran Nair passed away. He was 94 years old.
- Nair was associated with ‘Kerala Kaumudi’ daily newspaper for 35 years. Before joining Kerala Kaumudi, Nair started his career with Kaumudi Weekly.
- Nair was known for his excellent reporting and political journalism on the Kerala Assembly.
- Nair was also the President of the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club and was awarded 13 prestigious awards for his outstanding contribution to journalism.
- Nair received the Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai Award and the G.I. Karthikeyan Memorial Award.
- These two major awards were given to Nair by former Presidents of India, Dr. K.R. Narayanan and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam personally.
Journalist K.G. Parameswaran Nair wrote several books including ‘Kerala Niyamasabha’ and ‘Charitravum Dharmavum’ (Kerala Assembly: History and Duties).
6. Keralam announces creation of country’s first AI portfolio
- On May 20, the Kerala government has announced the creation of Artificial Intelligence i.e. AI portfolio for ‘AI for Governance’. This will be India’s first AI governance initiative.
- The government announced the creation of two AI Centers of Excellence (AI-CoEs) in the state under the ‘India AI Mission’ and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy).
- State Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty has been entrusted with the charge of India’s first AI Initiative.
- The first AI center will focus on ‘Bio-AI’. Kerala Startup Mission will set it up in the digital hub of Kochi.
- The second AI center, the General-Purpose AI Center, will operate at the Digital University Thiruvananthapuram.
- Both projects have been approved under the ‘Startup Financing Pillar’ of the India AI Mission. A budget of Rs 20 crore has been fixed for each centre.
- The Bio-AI Center will work on the theme ‘Nature Meets Compute’. In this, Kerala’s biodiversity, Ayurvedic knowledge and genomics research will be linked with AI technology.
- A target has also been set to help more than 40 thousand spice farmers through AI tools and increase their income by 20%.
The AI for Governance project will utilize the ‘Tejasvi’ supercomputer of Kochi University of Science and Technology and the Kerala Genome Data Centre.
today’s history
- Sher Shah Suri, founder of the ‘Sur Empire’ in India, died during an explosion at Kalinjar in 1545.
- In 1906, the Wright Brothers of America got an official patent for their ‘flying machine’.
- India’s first glider, Rohini, flew in 1963.
- In 1984, Bachendri Pal of India became the country’s first female mountaineer to conquer the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest.
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