20th May Current Affairs

1. World Metrology Day 2026- MAY 20

Theme, “Metrology: Building Trust in Policy Making

celebrated globally on 20th May to mark the anniversary of the signing of the historic Metre Convention in 1875 in Paris

World Metrology Day commemorates the renowned meter convention in Paris, France in the year 1875

It laid the institutional and scientific foundation for a globally uniform metric measurement system and the International System of Units (SI).

India’s Initiatives in Metrology: India enactedThe Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1956.

India became the 13th country globally to issue OIML (International Organization of Legal Metrology) certificates, boosting global trust in its measurement systems.

The eMaap portal, digitizes legal metrology processes across 18 states for easier licensing, registration, and enforcement.

The launch of the “One Nation, One Time” initiative under Draft IST Rules 2025 aims to provide millisecond-accurate Indian Standard Time through Regional Reference

2. Delhi Govt announces major initiatives to strengthen water conservation in national capital

In a major push for water conservation, the Delhi government has decided to revive and operationalise rainwater harvesting systems in 75 CM Shri Schools across the capital.

This initiative is expected to create an annual rainwater harvesting capacity of nearly 50 crore litres.

To strengthen rainwater conservation, improve groundwater recharge and promote awareness about water conservation among students and local communities.

A comprehensive audit of rainwater harvesting infrastructure in all 75 schools has already been completed.

The government will implement the ‘, approved by the Delhi Jal Board in 2021, which is known for its low cost, minimal space requirement and near-zero maintenance.

Under the model, rainwater collected from rooftops will be filtered and channelled into storage units and borewells to recharge groundwater and revive dry borewells.

school rooftops alone could conserve nearly 13 crore litres of rainwater annually, while the total catchment capacity of the 75 schools could reach around 50 crore litres each year.

3.India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission honoured with 2026 Goddard Astronautics Award

India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission has been honoured with the 2026 Goddard Astronautics Award by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

India’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Vinay Kwatra, accepted the award on behalf of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at the AIAA ASCEND 2026 Conference.

In his remarks, Ambassador Kwatra outlined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Space Vision 2047, highlighting India’s roadmap for deep space exploration, human spaceflight, and the rapid growth of its commercial space sector.

He also called for strengthened collaboration between the governments, industries, and research institutions of India and the United States, underscoring the deepening partnership between the two nations in space exploration.

On 23rd August in 2023, Chandrayaan-3 made history as the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing near the Moon’s south pole- a region of immense scientific and strategic importance that had never before been explored at the surface level.

Chandrayaan-3 is India's third lunar mission and second attempt at achieving a soft landing on the moon's surface.

On July 14, 2023, Chandrayaan-3took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

The spacecraft seamlessly entered lunar orbit on August 5, 2023. The historic moment unfolded when the lander made a successful touchdown near the Lunar south pole on Aug 23, 2023.

Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to the moon, was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2008.

Chandrayaan-2 was launched on 22th July in 2019

Chandrayaan-4: Navigating the Path of Lunar Evolution

LUPEX: Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission, a collaborative effort between ISRO and JAXA(Japan), is poised to explore the Moon's polar regions.

4181st birth anniversary of Iyothethasar pandithar -20 May

He was born on 20 May 1845 in Madras presidency.

He was a prominent anti-caste activist and a practitioner of Siddha medicine.

Association with tribal people: In the 1870s, Iyothee Thass organized the Todas and other tribes of the Nilgiri Hills into a formidable force for the freedom movement.

In 1876, Thass established the Advaidananda Sabha and launched a magazine called Dravida Pandian in collaboration with Rev. John Rathina.

He established the “Dravida Mahajana Sabha ” in 1891 along with Rettamalai Srinivasan.

He established the Sakya Buddhist Society in Madras with branches all over South India.

The Sakya Buddhist Society was also known as the Indian Buddhist Association and was established in the year 1898.

To manage and coordinate the functioning of the society, he began a weeklymagazine, Tamizhan in 1908(Oru Paisa Tamilan in 1907).

5.PRAGATI -Multilateral Military Exercise

The multilateral military exercise PRAGATI 2026 commenced today at Umroi Military Station in Meghalaya.

PRAGATI-Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region.

The Defence Ministry said that 12 friendly nations, namely Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are participating in the exercise.

The exercise provides a common platform for participating armies to engage in professional exchange, learn from one another’s experiences and build closer military-to-military ties.

The two-week exercise will focus on counter-terrorism operations in semi-mountainous and jungle terrain.