DAILY GK 19-20 MAY 2026
1. BIS
NOTIFIED E22-E30 FUEL NORMS
·
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which
works under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
(MoCAF&PD), notified specifications for E22, E25, E27, and E30
fuel blends, setting specifications for petrol mixed with up to 30% ethanol, beyond the current E20 blend
target.
·
New specifications have been established
under IS 19850:2026 for “E22, E25, E27 and E30 Fuel,
Admixture of Anhydrous Ethanol and Motor Gasoline for Usage in Positive
Ignition Engine Powered Vehicles.
·
E22, E25, E27 and E30 refer to petrol blending with ethanol
of 22%, 25%, 27% and 30%, respectively.
·
However, BIS notification has outlined only
the technical specifications required for latest ethanol blends, but did not mandate immediate nationwide rollout of
E30 fuel.
2. CBI
LAUNCHES AI-BASED ‘ABHAY’ HELPBOT
·
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),
under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel,
Public Grievances and Pensions(MoPP&P), launched an Artificial Intelligence
(AI)-based helpbot named ‘AI-Based
Helpbot for Authentication of Your
Notice (ABHAY)’ to authenticate CBI notices and
protect citizens from rising cyber fraud and digital arrest scams.
·
India’s first real-time notice verification
platform ‘Abhay’ launched to help
citizens identify fake notices issued in the name of the Central Bureau of
Investigation through the official CBI website.
·
A 24×7 AI-powered
platform that allows users to upload suspected Central Bureau of Investigation notices after One-Time
Password(OTP) verification to instantly check whether the document is
genuine or fraudulent.
3. UN’S
GFG REPORT 2026
·
United Nations (UN) latest assessment on
the state of the world’s forests, titled “the Global Forest Goals(GFG)
Report 2026” was launched during the 21st session of
the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) at UN headquarters
in New York.
·
The report highlighted that rising
demand for fuelwood (including woodfuel and charcoal)
emerged as the key driver of global forest loss, particularly across
sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, even as countries expand restoration and
afforestation programmes.
·
Apart from rising fuelwood demand, the
report identified agricultural expansion as the biggest cause
of deforestation globally.
·
The report was jointly prepared by the UN
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the UNFF Secretariat.
·
The report revealed that Global Forest Cover
declined from 4.18 billion hectares (ha) (in 2015) to 4.14 billion ha
(in 2025), which represents an annual net loss of 4.12 million ha.
·
The report highlighted that regions
like: South America and Africa, recorded the
steepest decline, losing 4.1 million ha and nearly 3 million ha every year,
respectively.
·
Globally, 16 million ha of
primary forests, crucial for biodiversity conservation and carbon storage, were
lost during the decade (between 2015 and 2025) with South America accounting
for the largest share of losses.
4. PM
NARENDRA MODI’S VISIT TO UAE
·
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi undertook an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as
part of the first leg of his 5-nation tour which
included the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy.
·
During his visit to the UAE, PM Narendra Modi
held a high-level meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
in Abu Dhabi, the UAE.
·
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was
signed on strategic collaboration between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves
Limited (ISPRL), the Government of India (GoI) and
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the UAE, aimed to
strengthen India’s energy security.
·
During PM Modi’s visit, the UAE
announced investment worth USD 5 billion in India by various entities of
the UAE.
5.
PM NARENDRA MODI’S VISIT TO
NETHERLANDS
·
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi was on a two-day official visit to the Netherlands at
the invitation of Rob Jetten, PM of the Netherlands.
·
During his visit to the Netherlands, PM Modi
met Dutch King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima at Palace Huis ten Bosch in
The Hague, the Netherlands.
·
The Leiden University Library of
the Netherlands restituted the 11th century Chola Copper Plates to the Government of India (GoI).
·
Both counties have adopted the Roadmap of India-Netherlands Strategic Partnership for the next 5 years
(2026-2030).
·
17
agreements were formalised in the fields of technology, green
energy, trade and mobility among other sectors.
6. PM
NARENDRA MODI’S VISIT TO SWEDEN
·
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was
on a two-day official visit to Sweden at the invitation of Ulf
Kristersson, PM of Sweden.
·
Previously, he visited the Nordic country in
2018 to attend the inaugural India-Nordic Summit.
·
PM
Modi honoured with the “Royal Order of Polar
Star”, Degree Commander
Grand Cross, one of the highest civilian honours of the Swedish Government.
·
This marked the 31st international
honour.
·
Main Outcome of Visit Are Launch
of India-Sweden Joint Innovation
Partnership 2.0.
·
Doubling
of bilateral trade and Investment (next 5 years).
·
Announcement
of Tagore-Sweden” Lecture under the theme VikasBhiVirasatBhi.
·
Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swedish National Space Agency(SNSA) to collaborate on India’s interplanetary mission i.e. Shukrayaan Mission
to planet Venus.
7. ESA-CAS
LAUNCHES SMILE SPACE WEATHER SATELLITE
·
European Space Agency (ESA) and
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) joint mission,
successfully launched “Solar wind Magnetosphere
Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) spacecraft” aboard
the Vega-C rocket from Kourou Spaceport,
French Guiana, to study interactions between solar
wind and Earth’s magnetosphere and improve space weather
forecasting capabilities.
·
The Vega-C rocket launched the SMILE satellite into a 707 kilometer (km)
circular orbit, from where it will undergo 11engine burns over 42 days to
reach its final elliptical orbit during its three-year mission.
8. WORLD’S
FIRST AI-DESIGNED GENE EDITOR FOR CROPS ‘PLANT - OPENCRISPR1’
·
The scientists
at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)’s Central
Rice Research Institute (CRRI), led by Dr. Kutubuddin Ali
Molla, developed and validated Plant-OpenCRISPR1
(POC1), the world’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI)-designed
genome-editing platform for plants, using rice as a model crop in Cuttack, Odisha.
·
POC1
uses AI-designed enzymes instead of naturally occurring
microbial proteins used in traditional CRISPR systems and is based on
OpenCRISPR-1 (OC1), an AI-generated nuclease originally designed for human
cells in the United States of America (USA).
9. GRSE
LAUNCHES OFFSHORE PATROL VESSEL ‘INS SANGHMITRA’
·
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Limited launched
‘Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sanghmitra(Yard 3039)’, the
first of four Next Generation Offshore
Patrol Vessels (NGOPVs) for the Indian Navy (IN),
at its yard in Kolkata, West Bengal.
·
It is a Shachi-class NGOPV being built under the Buy (Indian-IDDM(Indigenous
Design, Development and Manufacturing) category to strengthen India’s
indigenous naval and defence manufacturing capabilities under the Aatmanirbhar
Bharat and Make in India initiatives.
10. INDIA
SUCCESSFULLY TESTS ‘SURYASTRA’ ROCKETS
·
India successfully carried out consecutive
trials of ‘Suryastra’ Universal Rocket Launcher system, achieving
precise strikes on targets up to 300 kilometres (km)
and successfully meeting all mission objectives.
·
The
high-precision trials were carried out by NIBE Limited from
the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur,
Balasore, off the coast of Odisha.
·
Suryastra
is a long-range guided rocket artillery system developed to
carry out precision strikes on enemy command centres, radar installations,
logistics hubs, and strategic targets deep inside hostile territory.
·
Developed
by Pune(Maharashtra)-based NIBE Limited in collaboration with Elbit Systems,
Israel.
11.
HONORARY MEMBERSHIP OF 45
CAVALRY REGIMENT
·
Actor Ishaan Khatter was
conferred with an honorary membership of the 45
Cavalry Regiment of the Indian Armoured Corps for
his portrayal of a 45 Cavalry officer in the film ‘Pippa’ and
for showing respect towards the regiment’s ethos and legacy.
·
Ishaan Khatter was honoured for
portraying ‘Captain Balram Mehta’ in ‘Pippa’ and
representing the values of the 45 Cavalry Regiment.
·
Pippa, directed by Raja Krishna Menon and
produced by RSVP Movies and Roy Kapur Films, is based on the book “The
Burning Chaffees” by Balram Singh Mehta.
12. UNESCO
INTERNATIONAL AWARDS FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE
·
The United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Fondation
L’Oréal honoured five outstanding
women scientists with the UNESCO–L’Oréal International Awards for
Women in Science 2026 for their pioneering contributions in physical sciences, mathematics, and
computer science.
·
The
2026 awardees includes Professor LieslZühlke
from South Africa; Professor FeliceJacka
from Australia; Professor Sarah A.
Teichmann from United Kingdom; Professor Raquel Lia Chan from Argentina; and Professor GordanaVunjak-Novakovic from the United States.
13.
INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE
2026
·
Taiwanese
author YángShuāng-zǐ and Taiwanese-American translator Lin King won
the 2026 International Booker Prize for ‘Taiwan
Travelogue’, the first Mandarin
Chinese novel to receive the award in London.
·
YángShuāng-zǐ became the first Taiwanese
author, while Lin King became the first
Taiwanese-American translator to receive the award.
·
The award carried a cash prize of 50,000 British Pound Sterling (GBP).
