Current Affairs One-liners — 15 May 2025

Thu, 15 May 2025

• Dr Jitendra Singh announced on 15 May 2025 that India will conduct its first biological experiments aboard the International Space Station during the Axiom-4 mission, with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as a crew member, under the BioE3 policy.
• DPIIT said on 15 May 2025 that 187 startups were approved for income tax exemption under Section 80-IAC — 75 at the 79th and 112 at the 80th Inter-Ministerial Board meeting (30 April 2025) — taking the total past 3,700.
• India and the European Union launched two coordinated research calls under the India–EU Trade and Technology Council on 15 May 2025, on marine plastic litter and waste to green hydrogen, with a joint investment of ₹391 crore (about €41 million).
• The NHRC wrote to all States and UTs on 15 May 2025 asking for immediate implementation of the Supreme Court's 14 directives in Dr. Balram Singh v. Union of India (2023) to end manual scavenging and hazardous sewer cleaning, with action taken reports within eight weeks.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level review of the fisheries sector on 15 May 2025, focusing on fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone and high seas, and called for satellite technology, drones for fish transport and wider use of seaweed.
• DRDO's Kanpur-based Defence Materials Stores and Research & Development Establishment (DMSRDE) developed an indigenous nanoporous multilayered polymeric membrane for high-pressure seawater desalination on Indian Coast Guard ships, DRDO said on 15 May 2025.
• Dr Ajay Kumar, former Defence Secretary and a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, took oath as Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission on 15 May 2025.
• MoSPI's Periodic Labour Force Survey monthly bulletin for April 2025, released on 15 May 2025, put the unemployment rate (Current Weekly Status, age 15+) at 5.1% and the labour force participation rate at 55.6%.
• The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) revoked the security clearance of M/s Celebi and its associated companies on 15 May 2025 on grounds of national security.
• India's total exports (merchandise and services) in April 2025 were estimated at US$ 73.80 billion, 12.70% higher than the US$ 65.48 billion of April 2024, the Commerce Ministry said on 15 May 2025.
• Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the administrative-cum-academic block of the Central Agricultural University (Imphal) College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry at Jalukie, Nagaland, on 15 May 2025 and announced ₹338.83 crore for Nagaland's agriculture sector.
• The Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities launched the Sugamya Delhi Abhiyan in Dwarka, New Delhi, on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, 15 May 2025, to make the capital accessible for persons with disabilities.
• The Ministry of Defence opened an online portal for the fourth round of registration of schools as new Sainik Schools in partnership mode, from 15 May to 14 June 2025, under the plan to set up 100 new Sainik Schools.
• MoS Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol inaugurated a new ATC Tower cum Technical Block cum Fire Station at Kolhapur Airport on 15 May 2025 and flagged off the inaugural Star Air flight between Kolhapur and Nagpur.