May 2025 

1. RBI Policy Rate Cut: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5% in May 2025, marking the third cut since February 2025.
2. RBI CRR Cut: The RBI also reduced the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 100 basis points to 3% in four tranches, effective September 2025.
3. RBI GDP Forecast: RBI retained India’s GDP growth forecast at 6.5% for FY 2025-26, with Q1 at 6.5%, Q2 at 6.7%, Q3 at 6.6%, and Q4 at 6.3%.
4. RBI Inflation Forecast: RBI revised down its FY26 inflation forecast to 3.7%, with Q1 at 2.90%, Q2 at 3.40%, Q3 at 3.9%, and Q4 at 4.4%.
5. India’s Economic Ranking: India officially surpassed Japan to become the world’s 4th largest economy by the end of 2025.
6. India-UK FTA Concluded: India and the UK concluded a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), eliminating tariffs on about 99% of products.
7. Startup Credit Guarantee Revised: The Commerce Ministry revised the credit guarantee scheme for startups, increasing the ceiling to Rs 20 crore per borrower.
8. MSP for Kharif Crops Approved: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved increased Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for Kharif crops for the 2025-26 marketing season, with paddy seeing a 3% increase.
9. Retrospective Environmental Clearances Struck Down: The Supreme Court of India struck down retrospective environmental clearances as illegal.
10. Revised Coal Allocation Policy: The Cabinet approved a revised SHAKTI policy for coal allocation to the power sector via auctions.
11. RoDTEP Scheme Restored: The central government restored benefits under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme for certain exports.
12. Climate Finance Taxonomy Draft: The Finance Ministry released a draft Framework of India’s Climate Finance Taxonomy for public feedback.
13. EPFO Instant Withdrawals: EPFO is set to allow instant PF withdrawals via UPI and ATMs by mid-2025.
14. Navi Mumbai International Airport: The first phase of Navi Mumbai International Airport, costing ₹16,700 crore, was anticipated to start commercial operations in April or May 2025.
15. Mumbai Coastal Road Project: The promenade and public underpasses for the Mumbai Coastal Road Project were planned to open in May 2025.
16. Khavda Renewable Energy Park: This mega project in Gujarat, spanning 726 sq km, was designated to deliver 30 GW of clean energy by 2025.
17. Jewar Airport Progress: Noida International Airport (Jewar Airport) was over 85% complete in its first phase, with commercial operations anticipated in April or May 2025.
18. Puga Geothermal Energy Project: India’s first geothermal power project in Ladakh was expected to be completed by 2025.
19. Padma Awards 2025 Announced: The Padma Awards for 2025 were announced on January 25, 2025, with recipients including Shri Adwaita Charan Gadanayak (Art), Shri Achyut Ramchandra Palav (Art), and others.
20. Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics: Indian scientists and researchers contributed significantly to CERN’s Large Hadron Collider experiments, receiving the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
21. Gulveer Singh’s Record: Gulveer Singh broke the Asian Athletics Championships 5000m record (13:24.77) and won gold in Gumi, South Korea.
22. Parul Chaudhary’s National Record: Parul Chaudhary set a new national record for the women’s 3000m steeplechase (9:12.46) at the Asian Athletics Championships, winning silver.
23. Pooja’s High Jump Gold: Pooja (18) won India’s first gold in women’s high jump since 2000 at the Asian Athletics Championships, clearing 1.89m.
24. Nandini Agasara’s Heptathlon Gold: Nandini Agasara secured heptathlon gold at the Asian Athletics Championships with 5941 points.
25. India 2nd in Asian Athletics: India finished second in the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 with 18 medals (8 gold, 7 silver, 3 bronze).

International News:

26. India-Pakistan Ceasefire: US President Donald Trump announced a full and immediate ceasefire between India and Pakistan following the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict.
27. Gaza War Continuation: Israeli military operations and bombing of the Gaza Strip continued into May 2025.
28. Houthi Missile Attack: A ballistic missile launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen struck near Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, injuring eight people.
29. Israeli Retaliatory Strikes: The Israeli military conducted six airstrikes on Hudaydah Port in Houthi-controlled Yemen in retaliation.
30. Syrian Druze Massacres: The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights reported mass executions against the Syrian Druze community amidst sectarian clashes.
31. Russian Drone Attack on Odesa: A Russian drone attack on Odesa, Ukraine, resulted in two fatalities and 15 injuries.
32. Sudanese Civil War Escalation: The Rapid Support Forces launched drone attacks on Port Sudan’s international airport, and an airstrike on a prison killed at least 20 prisoners.
33. Ecuadorian Conflict: Ecuador declared a three-day mourning period after 11 soldiers were killed in a guerrilla ambush.
34. UN Budget Crisis Deepens: The United Nations faced a deepening budget crisis, threatening lifesaving operations worldwide.
35. Glacier Melting Threat: A study indicated that nearly 40% of existing glaciers are in danger of melting even if global temperatures stabilize.
36. Brazil’s Renewable Energy Attraction: Brazil’s abundant renewable energy sources attracted significant investment in data centers.
37. DR Congo Education Crisis: Intensifying conflict and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo forced hundreds of thousands of children out of school.
38. WHO Greenlights New RSV Vaccines: The World Health Organization (WHO) approved new vaccines for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
39. UNSC Resolutions: The UN Security Council adopted Resolution S/RES/2781 (2025) on Sudan and South Sudan and S/RES/2780 (2025) on the situation in Libya.
40. Global Economic Slowdown: Morgan Stanley forecast a global economic slowdown in 2025, projecting annual growth at 2.9%.
41. Global Inflation Forecast: Global inflation is expected to continue slowing to 2.1% in 2025 from 2.4% in 2024.
42. AI Revolution Impact: The World Economic Forum’s Chief Economists Outlook highlighted the compounding effect of the ongoing AI revolution on the global economy.
43. Ultra-Thin Smartphones: Apple and Samsung reportedly planned to release ultra-thin smartphones like the Galaxy S26 Edge and iPhone 17 Air.
44. Huawei Watch 5: Huawei unveiled the Watch 5 with new fingertip-based health tracking using “multi-sensing X-TAP technology.”
45. Xiaomi’s 3nm Mobile Chip: Xiaomi confirmed the launch of its self-developed 3nm smartphone chip, Xuanjie 01 (Xring 01).
46. China’s Bird-Like Invisible Drones: China showcased new drones designed to mimic birds for surveillance and reconnaissance.
47. China’s Space-Based Supercomputing: China launched the first satellites for an on-orbit computing project aiming to create the world’s first space-based supercomputer.
48. Radiation-Detecting Robot Dogs: China developed compact robot dogs equipped with radiation sensors for hazardous environment inspections.
49. DeepSeek R1 AI Model: Chinese AI startup DeepSeek released the R1 model, performing on par with OpenAI’s models.
50. OpenAI Codex: OpenAI introduced Codex, a cloud-based software engineering agent capable of handling multiple coding tasks simultaneously.