Bengaluru Hosts 5th BRICS SAI Summit: Auditing for Ease of Living India hosted the 5th BRICS Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) Leaders' Summit in Bengaluru on May 8, 2026. Chaired by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, K.
Times Higher Education (THE) has released its Asia University Rankings 2026. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, is the top-ranked Indian institution, placed 43rd in Asia. India has the largest number of ranked institutions, with 128 universities, ahead of Japan and China.
The Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2026 has been conferred on Raghav Das Gaiha for his contributions to development studies. He is a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania and a former Professor of Public Policy at the University of Delhi.
Bengaluru City Police have introduced an AI-powered multilingual upgrade to the Namma 112 emergency system. Namma 112 is part of the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS), which runs India's national emergency number 112. The new tool, VANKI (Multilingual Voice AI for Nationwide Key Interventions), translates emergency calls in real time.
UNESCO and the Government of Sikkim are documenting Ru-Soam engineering, the traditional bridge-building knowledge of the Lepcha community. Ru-Soam refers to footbridges made of bamboo and cane in the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve. Built without steel or concrete, they work much like modern suspension bridges.
India has been ranked 157th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index 2026 published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The country fell from 151st place in 2025 and is placed in the 'very serious' category. The annual index assesses press freedom using indicators such as media independence, the safety of journalists and the legal environment.
Indian space startup GalaxEye has launched Mission Drishti, described as the world's first OptoSAR satellite. Weighing about 190 kg, it is India's largest privately developed Earth observation satellite. It combines Electro-Optical sensors with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), so it can capture images day and night and in all weather conditions, including through cloud cover.
India has deployed the Aarogya Maitri system in Jamaica to deepen health cooperation with Caribbean nations. The initiative forms part of India's Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) framework for emergency support worldwide. Aarogya Maitri is a portable, modular healthcare unit that enables rapid medical response, diagnosis and treatment during disasters.
That’s every story for now. Come back tomorrow for more.
See all current affairs Read daily on the appSwipe up