14th MAY CURRENT AFFAIRS

1. Periodic Labour Force Survey Revised to Provide Monthly and Quarterly Labour Market Data

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by the National Statistical Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has been revamped from January 2025

The revised methodology aims to provide high-frequency labour market indicators for both rural and urban areas under the Current Weekly Status (CWS) framework.

Key objectives of the revised PLFS include:

Monthly estimates of Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), and Unemployment Rate (UR)

Quarterly estimates for both rural and urban areas

Annual estimates under Usual Status (Principal Status + Subsidiary Status) and Current Weekly Status (CWS)

Key findings (January–March 2026):

Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):

Overall: 55.5% (slightly down from 55.8%)

Rural: 58.2%

Urban: 50.2%

Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):

Overall: 34.7% (stable)

Rural: 39.2%

Urban: 25.4%

Worker Population Ratio (WPR):

Overall: 52.8%

Rural: 55.7%

Urban: 46.9% (stable)

Unemployment Rate (UR):

Urban: 6.6% (declining trend)

Rural: 4.3% (slight increase)

2. Argentina’s Faustino Oro Becomes Second-Youngest Grandmaster At Age 12

In May 2026, Faustino Oro, the Argentina-born chess prodigy popularly known as the ‘Messi of Chess’, became the second-youngest Grandmaster (GM) in chess history at the age of 12 years, 6 months, and 26 days after securing his third and final GM norm at the Sardinia World Chess Festival 2026 in Sardinia, Italy by drawing against Russian chess GM Ian Nepomniachtchi.

He achieved the feat behind Abhimanyu Mishra of the United States of America(USA), who remains the youngest-ever GM, and became the seventh player in history to earn the GM title before the age of 13.

About Faustino Oro:

Rating Records: He became the youngest player to achieve International Chess Federation or Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) rating of 2300, the first under-12 player to cross the 2500 rating mark and the highest-rated 11-year-old in chess history.

3.India is hosting the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi on May 14–15, 2026

The BRICS logo for India’s Chairship beautifully blends tradition with modernity. The petals radiate the vibrant colors of all BRICS member countries, highlighting their collective strength and unity.

At the centre, the graceful “Namaste” gesture captures India’s timeless spirit of warmth, respect, and harmonious collaboration.

Complementing this visual identity are the three core pillars of BRICS—Political & Security cooperation, Economic & Financial partnership, and People-to-People exchanges—

The 13th BRICS Summit was held on 9 September 2021 in New Delhi

The 8th summit was held on 15–16 October 2016 in Goa, India

The 4th BRICS Summit was held on 29 March 2012 in New Delhi

BRICS

BRICS is a collaborative intergovernmental organization of major emerging economies, to amplify the global political and economic influence of its members

The acronym originally stood for Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining later in 2010.

The term BRIC was first coined by economist Jim O'Neill in 2001. The group began formal cooperation at the 2006 G-8 Outreach Summit and held its first official summit in Russia in 2009.

Expansion of Membership: The group expanded in 2024 with the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE. Indonesia joined in 2025

India’s current BRICS Sherpa is Sudhakar Dalela.

4.LEADS 2025

The LEADS 2025 Report (Logistics Ease Across Different States) and LEAPS 2025 Awards (Logistics Excellence, Advancement and Performance Shield) were released and presented by Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal on May 13, 2026, in New Delh

This seventh edition of the LEADS report, published by the DPIIT (Ministry of Commerce and Industry), assesses the logistics ecosystem across Indian states and Union Territories using a new four-tier performance structure.

The 2025 report shifted from a three-tier to a four-tier framework to better categorize logistics performance:

Top Performers): Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Mizoram, and Delhi.

High Performers: Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana

Accelerators (Improvement Momentum): Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Karnataka.Growth Seekers (Foundational Stage): West Bengal, Rajasthan, Sikkim

5. Justice Aravind Kumar Committee

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has constituted a high-powered Judicial Infrastructure Advisory Committee headed by Supreme Court Justice Aravind Kumar.

About the Justice Aravind Kumar Committee

The Judicial Infrastructure Advisory Committee is a high-level panel created to improve the physical and digital infrastructure of the Indian judiciary.

It includes senior judges from the Supreme Court and High Courts along with administrative and technical experts.

The committee has been constituted by the Supreme Court of India.

Objective

The committee aims to address long-standing infrastructure gaps in Indian courts.

It seeks to prepare a roadmap for developing modern, technology-driven, and citizen-friendly judicial infrastructure.

It also aims to secure greater financial support for modernization of courts