NATIONAL NEWS

Civil defence preparedness

• The Union Home Ministry directed states to conduct mock drills on May 7 to evaluate civil defence preparedness.
• It has decided to organise the Civil Defence Exercise and Rehearsal across the 244 categorised Civil Defence Districts of the country.

Appointing CBI Director

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Committee for the appointment of the CBI Director which was attended by the Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
• The meeting comes ahead of the end of the two-year term of incumbent CBI Director Praveen Sood on the 25th of this month.

CBI

India cuts off water flow from Baglihar Dam

• · India has cut off the flow of water through the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River and is planning similar measures at the Kishanganga Dam on the Jhelum River.

Major Dams in India

Mahila Maha Jansunwai Camp

• Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) Vijaya K Rahatkar inaugurated a five-day Mahila Maha Jansunwai Camp in the national capital organised by National Commission for Women.

National Commission for Women

STATE SPECIAL NEWS

72nd Miss World Pageant

• The 72nd edition of the Miss World pageant will be held in Telangana from the 10th to the 31st of May and Contestants from 120 countries will participate in this event.

Telangana

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India and Japan defence bilateral meeting

• · Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart General Nakatani in New Delhi and reviewed the defence and security pillars of the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

Japan

Gaza ‘conquest’

• Israel’s security Cabinet approved the expansion of military operations in Gaza, including the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory.

Israel

Alcatraz prison

• · U.S. President Donald Trump had directed officials to rebuild and reopen Alcatraz prison, based on a small island in California that closed six decades ago due to high operating costs.

United States of America

PERSON IN NEWS

Yashwant Varma

• A three-member in-house inquiry committee probing the circumstances leading to the discovery of half-burnt currency notes following a fire at the official residence of the High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma here has submitted its confidential report to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna.

Supreme Court:

ART & CULTURE

Piprahwa Relics

• The Ministry of Culture has taken swift action to prevent the auction of sacred Piprahwa Relics by Sotheby’s Hong Kong.
• Piprahwa Relics which was excavated from the Piprahwa Stupa in 1898 and it hold immense historical and spiritual significance because it is believed to be the burial place of a portion of Buddha's ashes given to his Sakya clan.

Piprahwa Stupa

Thrissur Pooram in Kerala

• An annual Hindu temple festival, Thrissur Pooram was celebrated in Thrissur, Kerala. It is held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur every year.

ENVIRONMENT + SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Indigenous India AI Stack

• Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh underscored the importance of building an indigenous India AI Open Stack foundational AI architecture embedded with science and engineering models tailored for Indian researchers.
• An AI stack is a collection of technologies, frameworks, and infrastructure components that work together to enable the development and deployment of AI applications.

DEFENCE NEWS

Multi-Influence Ground Mine

• · Indian Navy and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have successfully undertaken combat firing of the indigenously designed and developed Multi-Influence Ground Mine (MIGM) which will enhance undersea warfare capabilities of the Indian Navy.

DRDO

APPOINTMENTS

Parameswaran Iyer

• Parameswaran Iyer, Executive Director at the World Bank, has been temporarily appointed as India’s nominee Director on the Board of International Monetary Fund (IMF).

SPORTS

CCI Billiards Classic

• Pankaj Advani clinched his third CCI Billiards Classic title, defeating Dhruv Sitwala in the final in Mumbai.

Hyder Trophy $12K PSA Challengers title

• Abhay Singh of India clinched the Hyder Trophy $12K PSA Challengers squash tournament in New York.