Current Affairs Today — May 29, 2026

Today’s Edition (May 29, 2026): FY26 GDP Provisional Estimates with new base year 2022-23 (NSO), the International Day of UN Peacekeepers with two Indian soldiers honoured posthumously, Odisha signs substrate MoU with Intel + 3DGS to close India’s chip-packaging gap, IAF-IIT Bombay predictive maintenance contracts for Su-30 MKI fleet, US designates Brazil’s Comando Vermelho + PCC as FTOs, IMD declares SW Monsoon onset with 92% LPA below-normal forecast, and Mount Everest 73rd anniversary of the first ascent.

At a Glance

1. FY26 GDP Estimates — New Base Year 2022-23

GS Paper 3 — Economy: On May 29, 2026, the NSO under MoSPI released the Provisional Estimates of Annual GDP for FY 2025-26 alongside the first major output under the revamped GDP series with base year 2022-23 (replacing 2011-12). Real GDP is estimated at ~7.6% — the fastest pace since FY22. Key drivers: private consumption (+6.5%) and gross fixed capital formation (+9.2%). The new series uses GSTN data, MCA-21 corporate filings, PLFS quarterly labour data, and Annual Survey of Industries 2022-23 — better capturing the digital economy, fintech, gig work and quick-commerce. Services dominate at ~55% of GVA; manufacturing ~17%; agriculture ~14%. Centre’s FY26 fiscal deficit target is 4.4% of GDP; capex is ₹11.21 lakh crore (3.1% of GDP). India’s nominal GDP crossed ~USD 4.15 trillion in 2026 (IMF April 2026 WEO).

2. International Day of UN Peacekeepers — Two Indians Honoured

GS Paper 2 — IR / GS Paper 3 — Security: May 29, 2026 marks the International Day of UN Peacekeepers (theme: “Invest in Peace”), with UNGA Resolution 57/129 (2002) as its anchor and UNTSO’s launch on May 29, 1948 as its date. UN Secretary-General António Guterres will posthumously confer the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal on Lance Havildar Harbhajan Singh (MONUSCO, DR Congo) and Naib Subedar Sujit Kumar Pradhan (UNMISS, South Sudan). India is currently 3rd–4th among contributors of uniformed personnel (recent UN data: ~5,165, behind Nepal, Rwanda and Bangladesh) — including ~155 women. Since 1948, India has contributed ~290,000+ personnel to 50+ missions; ~180 Indian peacekeepers have died in service — the highest from any nation. India’s Centre for UN Peacekeeping (CUNPK) at the United Service Institution, New Delhi (est. 2000) trains personnel from across the world.

3. Odisha–Intel–3DGS Semiconductor Substrate MoU

GS Paper 3 — S&T / Economy: On May 29, 2026, the Government of Odisha signed a tripartite MoU with US-based Intel and 3D Glass Solutions (3DGS) to bring advanced semiconductor substrate manufacturing to India — a key missing link in the chip ecosystem. The pact complements 3DGS’s ~₹2,000 crore Heterogeneous Integration Packaging facility at Info Valley, Bhubaneswar (foundation laid April 2026): 70,000 glass panels/year + 50 million assembled units/year + 13,000 3DHI modules/year. Substrates are the packaging layer between chip dies and circuit boards — and glass substrates enable next-gen 3D Heterogeneous Integration (3DHI) for AI, telecom and aerospace. 3DGS originates from Sandia National Laboratories’ Photo-Definable Glass technology. The deal is operationalised under the India Semiconductor Mission (₹76,000 crore, Cabinet approval December 15, 2021) which has now approved 10+ projects with ~₹1.6 lakh crore investment (PIB YER 2025).

4. IAF-IIT Bombay Predictive Maintenance for Su-30 MKI

GS Paper 3 — S&T/Defence: The Indian Air Force signed three indigenous contracts with IIT Bombay on May 27, 2026 to deploy predictive, prognostic and prescriptive maintenance systems for the Su-30 MKI fleet — IAF’s largest at ~260+ aircraft. The systems use sensor data + AI/ML diagnostics to estimate Remaining Useful Life and forecast failures before they occur, shifting maintenance from Time-Between-Overhaul to Condition-Based Maintenance Plus (CBM+). Target: aircraft availability from ~60-65% to ~75-85% and maintenance cost reduction ~20-30%. Indigenous content is 100%. Air Marshal KAA Sanjeeb, Director General (Aircraft), led the IAF side; IIT Bombay Director: Shireesh B. Kedare. Strategic relevance: IAF authorised strength is 42 squadrons, actual ~31 — increasing availability of existing fleet is the fastest squadron-equivalent.

5. US Designates Brazil’s CV and PCC as FTOs

GS Paper 2 — IR: The US Department of State on May 28, 2026 designated Brazil’s two largest criminal organisations — Comando Vermelho (CV, founded 1979, Rio de Janeiro) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC, founded 1993, São Paulo) — as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order 13224, with Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) status effective June 5, 2026. Brazilian President Lula da Silva criticised the move as US interference ahead of Brazil’s October 2026 presidential elections. The designation extends a Trump 2.0 pattern of treating Latin American criminal groups (Sinaloa, CJNG, Tren de Aragua, MS-13 designated Feb 2025) under counter-terrorism frameworks. India’s diplomatic instinct: non-interference in domestic affairs; multilateral counter-terrorism under UN frameworks, not unilateral lists. India and Brazil are co-members in BRICS, IBSA, G20, G77.

6. SW Monsoon 2026 — Early Onset, Below-Normal Forecast

GS Paper 1 — Geography / GS Paper 3 — Environment: The IMD declared the onset of the Southwest Monsoon over Kerala on May 24, 2026 — 8 days earlier than the normal date of June 1 (earliest onset since 2009). However, IMD’s seasonal outlook places 2026 monsoon rainfall at 92% of LPA — Below Normal — the first below-normal forecast since 2023. The LPA reference period is 1971-2020 with an LPA value of 87 cm. Onset criteria: ≥60% of 14 Kerala-Lakshadweep stations with ≥2.5 mm rainfall over 2 days + westerly winds at 600 hPa + OLR < 200 W/m². Below-normal forecast raises concerns for kharif sowing (~50% of food production), hydropower (~47 GW installed), reservoir storage, rabi soil moisture, and rural inflation. Key drivers: ENSO (neutral to weak La Niña), IOD (weakly positive), MJO, Eurasian snow cover. IMD was established in 1875 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

7. Mount Everest — 73rd Anniversary of the First Ascent

GS Paper 1 — Geography: May 29, 2026 marks the 73rd anniversary of the first successful Mount Everest summit by Edmund Hillary (NZ) and Tenzing Norgay (Indian-born Sherpa, Indian citizen) at 11:30 AM IST on May 29, 1953. The British expedition was led by Col. John Hunt; the route was via the South Col on the Nepal side. Everest’s official height is 8,848.86 m, jointly revised by Nepal and China on December 8, 2020. Names: Sagarmatha (Nepali, “Forehead of the Sky”), Chomolungma (Tibetan, “Goddess Mother of the World”). First measured in 1856 by Andrew Waugh in the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India; named after Sir George Everest in 1865. First Indian to summit: Avtar Singh Cheema (May 20, 1965); first Indian woman: Bachendri Pal (May 23, 1984). The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) Darjeeling was founded in 1954 with Tenzing Norgay as founding Director of Field Training. The HKH cryosphere — with ~54,000 glaciers supporting ~1.6 billion people — is losing mass 65% faster (2010-19) than the previous decade (ICIMOD 2023).

Brief — Other Important News

Kolkata to Host Main International Day of Yoga 2026 Event

GS Paper 1/2: Union MoS (I/C) Ayush Prataprao Jadhav announced at Yoga Mahotsav 2026 in Khajuraho (Western Group of Temples — UNESCO WHS) that Kolkata, West Bengal will host the main 11th International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2026 on June 21. The 2026 theme is “Yoga for Healthy Ageing” — linking yoga to India’s demographic transition and WHO’s Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030). IDY was adopted by UNGA Resolution 69/131 (December 2014) following PM Modi’s UNGA address in September 2014; observed annually on June 21 (longest day in Northern Hemisphere) since 2015. Nodal body: Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), Ministry of Ayush.

Core Sector Output Grew 1.7% in April 2026 — Energy Drag

GS Paper 3 — Economy: The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) grew at a subdued 1.7% YoY in April 2026, with five of eight sectors contracting. Growth: cement (+9.4%), steel (+6.2%), electricity (+4.1%). Contraction: coal (-8.7%), fertilisers (-8.6%), natural gas (-4.3%), crude oil (-3.9%), refinery products (-0.5%). The ICI has a combined weight of 40.27% in the IIP. Released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT. Eight sectors (by weight order): Refinery products, Electricity, Steel, Coal, Crude oil, Natural gas, Cement, Fertilisers. The print signals construction-led growth amid weakness in fossil-energy production.

Dhanendra Kumar — First CCI Chairman — Passes Away

GS Paper 2 — Polity: Dhanendra Kumar, the first Chairman of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), died at AIIMS Trauma Centre after a fire — suspected to have been triggered by an AC blast — at his Hauz Khas Enclave residence in South Delhi. He was 80. A 1968-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, he had also served as India’s Executive Director at the World Bank before becoming CCI’s founding chairman in 2009. CCI is a statutory body under the Competition Act, 2002, which replaced the MRTP Commission. Parent ministry: Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Latest major amendment: Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023 — introduced settlement/commitment regime and deal-value threshold for M&A.

UPSC Connect — Today’s Themes

Tomorrow: Watch for IMD’s June 1 monsoon advance update, Parliament’s response to the FY26 GDP print, and any RBI commentary on the growth-inflation balance ahead of the June MPC.

Sources: PIB, The Hindu, Indian Express, IMD, UN Peacekeeping, US State Department

Source: Current Affairs Today — May 29, 2026 — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs