• New Rule: Foreign nationals visiting India on a visa valid for 180 days or less (who wish to extend their stay) may now register at any time prior to the completion of 180 days from their arrival in India.
• Previous Rule: Under the earlier rules, registration was mandatory and had to be completed within 14 days following the expiration of the 180-day period from the date of arrival in India.
• Strictness Regarding Late Registration: Permission for late registration—after the expiration of the stipulated 180-day period—will now be granted only under emergency or exceptional circumstances.
• Parent Act: This amendment has been effected under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
• Institutional Framework: Under this framework, the 'Bureau of Immigration' holds a robust statutory status.

• Capital: Washington, D.C.
• Largest City: New York City
• Currency: U.S. Dollar (USD)
• National Day: July 4 (Independence Day)
• Continent: North America

Major Landmarks:

• Statue of Liberty (New York)
• The White House (Washington, D.C.)
• Grand Canyon (Arizona)
• Disneyland (California)

• Total Value and Exports: 1,972,018 metric tonnes valued at ₹73,890.46 crore (US$ 8.46 billion).
• This marks the highest level ever recorded in history, in terms of both volume and value.

Key Export Commodity:

• Frozen Shrimp: Exports amounted to ₹49,037.93 crore (US$ 5,624.48 million).
• This accounts for 40.19% of the total export volume and 66.52% of the total dollar value.
• Shrimp exports recorded a growth of 13.16% in Rupee terms and 8.64% in Dollar terms.
• Frozen Fish: Ranked second, generating revenue of ₹5,658.37 crore.
• Dried Seafood Products: Ranked third, recording a massive growth of 78.05% in Rupee terms.
• Other Products: Include frozen squid, frozen cuttlefish, as well as live and chilled products.

Major Importing Countries and Market Trends:

• Largest Market by Volume: China remained India's largest buyer, importing 490,369 metric tonnes of seafood.
• Largest Market by Value: The United States (USA) topped the list in terms of value (₹20,263.27 crore); however, India's exports to the US market recorded a decline in both volume and value. Other Major Markets: The European Union (EU) ranked third, followed by Southeast Asia, Japan, and the Middle East.
• Major Logistics Hubs: Visakhapatnam, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Kochi Port.

• Gross GST Revenue: ₹1,94,184 crore (Year-on-Year Growth: +3.2%)
• Net GST Revenue (After Refunds): ₹1,66,904 crore (Year-on-Year Growth: +3.3%)
• Total Refunds Issued: ₹27,281 crore
• Cumulative Collections (April–May 2026): In the first two months of the financial year 2026-27, the total cumulative gross GST stood at ₹4,36,887 crore, which is 6.2% higher than the corresponding period of the previous year.

Component-wise Tax Collections:

• Central GST (CGST): ₹37,397 crore
• State GST (SGST): ₹45,143 crore
• Integrated GST (IGST): Out of the total collection, ₹51,990 crore was realized from domestic transactions, and ₹59,654 crore was realized from the import of goods.

• Total Transaction Value: ₹29.90 lakh crore (trillion), which is 3.4% higher than the ₹29.03 lakh crore recorded in April 2026.
• Total Transaction Volume: 23.20 billion transactions, representing a 3.8% increase over the 22.35 billion transactions recorded in April.
• Year-on-Year (YoY) Growth: Compared to the previous year (May 2025), there was a substantial increase of 24% in transaction volume and 19% in transaction value.
• Daily Average: During the month of May, an average of 748 million (74.8 crore) transactions were recorded per day.
• Average Daily Value: Digital payments amounting to approximately ₹96,465 crore were processed daily.

Status of Other Digital Payment Modes:

• FASTag: Witnessed a 5% increase, reaching a volume of 375 million (37.5 crore) transactions (valued at ₹7,308 crore).
• IMPS: Experienced a slight decline in volume, settling at 358 million (35.8 crore) transactions (valued at ₹6.96 lakh crore).
• AePS: The Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) saw a 6% decline, dropping to 88 million (8.8 crore) transactions.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI):

• Launch: April 11, 2016, by the then RBI Governor, Raghuram Rajan
• Developer Organization: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
• Regulatory Body: Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
• Objective: To facilitate instant, secure, and unified banking transactions on mobile platforms
• Transaction Types: Person-to-Person (P2P) and Person-to-Merchant (P2M)
• Nature of Transactions: 24×7 instant money transfer (interbank transfer), QR code-based payments
• Key Feature: Payments made using only a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) or mobile number
• Popular Apps Linked to UPI: PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, BHIM, Amazon Pay, etc.
• BHIM App: A government-owned, UPI-based app developed by NPCI (Launched: December 30, 2016)
• Major Countries Accepting UPI: Currently, UPI services are live in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France, Mauritius, and Qatar.

• Overall IIP Growth: A growth of 4.9% was recorded on an annual basis in April 2026.
• Manufacturing Sector: It was the best-performing sector, registering a growth of 6.2%.
• Electricity Sector: This sector witnessed a growth of 4.9%.
• Water Supply and Waste Management: This segment recorded a positive growth of 6.6%.
• Mining Sector: This sector registered a decline (negative growth) of 5.1%.

New IIP Series (Base Year 2022-23):

• New Base Year: The current base year is 2022-23 (previously, it was 2011-12).
• Revised Basket: The new list of commodities now includes 1,042 products, categorized into 463 Item Groups.
• New Changes: 120 new item groups have been added to accurately reflect modern industrial activities.

Index of Industrial Production (IIP):

• It is a short-term indicator that measures changes in the volume of industrial product output over a specific period.
• Issuing Authority: It is released every month by the National Statistical Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• Classification: The IIP is classified in two ways:
• Sectoral Basis: Manufacturing, Mining, and Electricity.
• Use-based Basis: Primary Goods, Capital Goods, Intermediate Goods, Infrastructure Goods, and Consumer Durables & Non-durables.

• It is the first and only integrated tri-service (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard) theatre command of the Indian Armed Forces.
• It was established on October 8, 2001, to safeguard strategic interests in the Bay of Bengal and the Strait of Malacca.
• Headquarters: Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Structure: Personnel and assets from the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, and Indian Coast Guard operate in an integrated manner within this command.

• Whom he succeeded: He has succeeded Air Marshal Balakrishnan Manikantan (PVSM, AVSM, VM), who retired on May 31, 2026, after 40 years of distinguished service.
• Commissioning: He was commissioned into the Fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in December 1989.
• Previous Appointment: Immediately prior to becoming the Chief of the Central Air Command, he served as the 'Senior Air Staff Officer' (SASO) at the Headquarters of the Southern Air Command.
• Central Air Command (CAC): This is a highly critical operational command among the seven commands of the Indian Air Force. Its headquarters is located in Prayagraj (Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh.

• Establishment: Its origins trace back to the colonial era in 1888, when the 'Indian Army Nursing Service' was introduced during the British period.
• Status: It is an integral part of the Indian Army, whose officers are granted regular military ranks (ranging from Lieutenant to Major General).
• Role: This service manages medical care and nursing administration in the military hospitals and field medical units of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, and Air Force).

• Justice Sheel Nagu: Became a Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in May 2011. Became the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in July 2024.
• Justice Shree Chandrashekhar: Appointed as a Judge of the Jharkhand High Court in January 2013. Assumed office as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in January 2025.
• Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva: Became an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court in April 2013; appointed as a Permanent Judge in March 2015. Became the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in July 2025.
• Justice Arun Palli: Became a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in December 2013. Appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in April 2025.
• V. Mohana: A Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court. She has argued numerous significant cases related to constitutional, civil, and service law. She is the second person in the history of the Supreme Court to be appointed as a Judge directly from the Bar (following Justice Indu Malhotra), and the 12th woman judge to serve in the Supreme Court.
• Under Article 124(2) of the Constitution, Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President.
• For the appointment of Judges, the President acts on the basis of the recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium (a body comprising the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most Judges).
• The format of the oath to be taken by the Judges is prescribed in the Third Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

• The Arduous Journey: Despite holding a full-time job in the corporate sector, she achieved this feat after just three years of rigorous hard work and training.
• Expedition Team: She completed this historic ascent under the guidance of Elite Expeditions, a company founded by the renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja.
• Corporate Background: Shraddha is an engineering graduate from the National University of Singapore and currently serves as the Head of Corporate Business for West Asia at DBS Bank in Dubai.

• Early Life and Birth: She was born on January 28, 1937, in Dhaka (present-day Bangladesh) as 'Suman Hemmady'. She later moved to Mumbai with her family.
• Career Debut: She was first heard publicly by the celebrated Ghazal singer Talat Mahmood, who helped secure her an opportunity to sing in the film industry. Her debut song was "Koi Pukare Dheere Se Tujhe" from the film *Mangu* (1954).

• Formation: June 2, 2014
• Capital: Hyderabad
• Official Language: Telugu
• Second Language: Urdu
• Major Rivers: Godavari and Krishna
• Borders Shared With: Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh
• Major Festivals: Bathukamma, Bonalu
• Major Crops: Rice, Cotton, Chilies, Tur (Pigeon Pea)
• Economy: Agriculture, IT Industry, Minerals
• Important Sites: Charminar, Golconda Fort, Warangal Fort, Ramappa Temple
• World Heritage Site: Ramappa Temple (UNESCO)
• Political Party: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS; formerly TRS)
• Industry: Hyderabad – Cyber ​​City, Biotech Hub