1 Bhutan launches world’s first national cryptocurrency tourism payment system
In May 2025 , Bhutan has launched the world’s first national cryptocurrency tourism payment system in collaboration with Binance Pay, a subsidiary of Binance Holdings Ltd. , and DK Bank, Bhutan ’s first fully digital bank . The initiative enables travelers to use cryptocurrencies for service payments, promoting ease of transactions and furthering financial inclusion during their trip to Bhutan.
2 Rajnath Singh inaugurates largest Brahmos production plant in Lucknow
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated the BrahMos Aerospace Integration and Testing Facility in Lucknow . It was inaugurated on 11 May 2025 , which is also celebrated as National Technology Day in the country. The day marks the testing of nuclear weapons by India in Pokhran, Rajasthan in 1998. in the country. The day is celebrated to commemorate and the contribution of Indian science and technology. Lucknow is the largest production facility of BrahMos Aerospace Limited which manufactures BrahMos missiles. Other production facilities are in Hyderabad, Nagpur, Pilani, Thiruvananthapuram . The new production facility has been built in the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor. It has been constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore and is spread over 80 hectares of land in Lucknow. The new production facility will produce 80-100 BrahMos missiles per year . The facility is also equipped to produce an advanced version of the BrahMos NG (new generation) missile. The facility will be further upgraded to produce 150 BrahMos NG per year . BrahMos Aerospace Limited owns this production facility. The BrahMos missile is the world’s first supersonic cruise missile developed and manufactured by BrahMos Aerospace Limited . BrahMos Aerospace Limited is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and NPO Mashinostroyenia of Russia .
3 Country’s first 3nm chip design centers launched in Noida and Bengaluru
India took a big leap in the semiconductor sector by inaugurating the country’s first 3 nanometer (3nm) chip design centers in Noida and Bengaluru on Tuesday. These state-of-the-art centers have been set up by Renesas Electronics India Pvt Ltd. On this occasion, Union Electronics, Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnav inaugurated these design facilities. Union Minister Vaishnav said that this is India’s first center that will work on cutting-edge chip design like 3nm, which puts India at the forefront of global semiconductor innovation. He said, “We have previously designed 7nm and 5nm, but designing 3nm is really next-generation technology.” It is worth noting that Renesas Electronics is a leading embedded semiconductor solution provider. The company serves the automobile, industrial, infrastructure and IoT sectors with a broad product portfolio including high-performance computing, embedded processing, analog and connectivity and power. Renesas is opening design centers in Noida, Bengaluru and Hyderabad in India.
4 UP CM Yogi Adityanath unveils ‘UP-AGRIS’ and ‘AI PRAGYA’ in collaboration with World Bank
In May 2025, Chief Minister(CM) of Uttar Pradesh(UP) , Yogi Adityanath along with President of World Bank ( WB), Ajay Banga jointly launched two initiatives ‘UP AGRIS (Uttar Pradesh Agricultural Development and Rural Enterprise Ecosystem Strengthening) ’ and ‘ AI PRAGAYA (Artificial Intelligence Programme for Resource, Awareness, Development and Youth Advancement) ’ to promote agricultural innovation and digital transformation at a launch event in Lucknow, UP . The initiative of the UP government with the assistance of the World Bank aims to reach closer to its vision of becoming a USD 1 trillion economy. The UP AGRIS initiative has been launched with the aim of revolutionizing agriculture in 21 districts of Bundelkhand and Purvanchal regions, which will increase productivity and promote advanced, technology-based farming. The UP AGRIS project costing Rs.4000 crore will get a loan of Rs.2737 crore from the World Bank for a period of six years, while the UP government will contribute Rs.1166 crore.
5 Now Ayurveda Day will be celebrated every year on 23 September: Center
Taking an important decision, the central government has announced that Ayurveda Day will now be celebrated on 23 September every year. This change has been made through a gazette notification issued on 27 March 2025. Earlier it was celebrated on the day of Dhanteras , which changes every year according to the Hindu calendar and falls in October or November . Because of this, the date of Ayurveda Day was not fixed every year, which caused problems in organizing events at the national and international level. The ministry said that in the coming decade, the date of Dhanteras will vary between October 15 and November 12, which will cause further instability. To solve this problem, the Ministry of AYUSH constituted a committee, which suggested four possible dates. Of these, September 23 was finalized. This date coincides with the Autumn Equinox, this is the day when day and night are almost equal. This balance matches the basic principle of Ayurveda which is based on the balance between body, mind and spirit.
6 The 78th Cannes Film Festival begins in the French Riviera of France
The 78th Cannes Film Festival is starting in the French Riviera, France . The twelve-day festival will bring together filmmakers, actors and cinema lovers from across the world to showcase the achievements of international cinema. Films across all categories – including documentaries – will be premiered during this time, with winners in several other categories including Best Director, Best Actor and the coveted Palme d’Or. Meanwhile, India is also set to make a strong presence at the Cannes Film Festival this time. Legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray ‘s 1970 classic ‘ Aranyer Din Ratri ‘ will be screened in the festival’s Classic Films category. Director Neeraj Ghaywan’s second feature film ‘Homebound’ has been selected for the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2025. Indian actor Anupam Kher is set to attend the festival with his directorial debut ‘Tanvi: The Great’. This film of his will be screened here for the first time. ‘A Doll Made of Clay’ produced by Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute will also be screened at the film festival. The famous American actor, producer and director, Robert De Niro will be awarded the honorary Palme d’Or at the film festival.
7 12 major ports to handle record cargo of 855 million tonnes in 2024-25
A total of 855 million tonnes of cargo was handled by the 12 major ports of the country in 2024-25 as against 819 million tonnes in 2023-24 . Cargo handling registered a growth rate of 4.3% over 2023-24 . For the first time , Paradip Port and Deendayal Port have handled more than 150 million tonnes of cargo in a financial year. A combined 855 million tonnes of cargo was handled by the 12 major port authorities in 2024-25, an increase of 4.3% over the previous year. The highest growth rate was recorded in high container throughput (10%), followed by fertilizer cargo handling at 13% and POL (petroleum oil and lubricants) cargo handling at 3%. The growth rate in miscellaneous commodities was 31%. For the first time, Paradip Port Authority and Deendayal Port Authority handled more than 150 million tonnes of cargo in a financial year.
Delhi Assembly will become the first assembly in the country to be fully run on solar energy . Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta and Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena jointly laid the foundation stone of a 500 kW solar power plant at the Delhi Assembly premises on May 12, 2025. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was the chief guest at the ceremony. This will be another achievement of Delhi in solar power generation. Recently, the country’s first vertical bi-facial solar plant was inaugurated at the Okhla Vihar metro station of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in New Delhi . Currently, the power requirement of Delhi Assembly is partially met by a 200 kW rooftop solar power plant . The new rooftop solar power plant will be installed by removing the existing rooftop solar power plant. The new 500 kW rooftop solar power plant will be spread over 3,250 square feet, which is expected to be completed in 45 days . This rooftop solar power plant is expected to be fully operational before the start of the next monsoon session of the Delhi Assembly. The Rs 2 crore power project will generate a total of 8,20,000 units of electricity, which will be sufficient to meet the Assembly’s current annual power requirement of 7,00,000 units.
9 Ladakh has the highest number of snow leopards recorded in the world with 477 snow leopards
According to a study conducted by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWP), Ladakh in collaboration with the Dehradun (Uttarakhand) -based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and New Delhi -based National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) , in May 2025 , the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh has recorded the highest number of snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in the world . The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE by the Public Library of Science (PLOS) . The study estimates Ladakh to have 477 snow leopards , which is about 68% of the total population of this elusive big cat in India.
10 Pakistan launched ‘Operation Banyan al-Marsu’ against India
On May 10, 2025, Pakistan will play its first cricket Test against India ‘ Operation Banyan al-Marsu which aimed to target military installations in India : Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir, J&K); Kashmir (J&K) and Pathankot (Punjab), Bhuj (Gujarat), among others. The operation was launched in response to India’s Operation Sindoor , which was carried out on May 7, 2025. The name of the operation is inspired by the Quran (the holy book of Muslims). ‘Banyan al-Marsu’ in Arabic means ‘ a wall made of molten lead ‘ which symbolises unity, strength and an unbreakable front.
11 India beat Sri Lanka to win tri-series ODI in Sri Lanka
The Indian women’s cricket team has won the three-nation One Day International (ODI) tri-series by defeating hosts Sri Lanka by 97 runs in the final . The tri-series, which featured women’s cricket teams from India, Sri Lanka and South Africa , was held in Sri Lanka from 27 April to 11 May 2025. All matches of the tri-series were played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. During the league stages, India won one match and lost one match against the hosts Sri Lankan team, while it won both its matches against the South African team. India finished on top of the points table and qualified for the final. Sri Lanka finished second in the points table and qualified for the final to be played at the Premadasa Stadium on 11 May.