India’s push to deepen civil nuclear cooperation with the United States has gathered fresh momentum, with two broad objectives emerging at the centre of ongoing discussions – rapidly scaling up nuclear power generation to meet India’s growing base-load energy needs, and building a manufacturing ecosystem around small modular reactors (SMRs).

The developments come amid a high-level visit by an American nuclear industry delegation to India and a series of meetings with Union ministers, state governments and private sector companies.

India on Friday successfully carried out the test-launch of the Agni-1 short-range ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.

According to an official statement issued by the Ministry of Defence, the launch was conducted on May 22 under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command.

The Ministry said the test successfully validated all operational and technical parameters of the missile system.

The Agni-1 is a short-range ballistic missile developed as part of India’s strategic defence capability and forms an important component of the country’s deterrence architecture.

The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) has welcomed Saudi Arabia as its newest Member Country.

In a social media post, IBCA said Saudi Arabia’s joining is a significant collective step towards advancing global cooperation for Big Cat conservation and a sustainable planet.

The Reserve Bank of India on May 22 approved a record dividend of Rs 2.87 lakh crore to Centre for FY26, which would provide the Centre with a fiscal cushion to address challenges arising from the ongoing Middle East crisis.

"The Central Board approved the transfer of surplus of Rs 2,86,588.46 crore to the Central Government for the accounting year 2025-26," said RBI in a statement.

The gross income of RBI increased by 26.42% over the previous year while the expenditure before risk provisions increased by 27.6%.

Indian Army officer Major Abhilasha Barak, serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, has been honoured with the prestigious United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for 2025.

Major Barak is currently serving with the Indian Battalion as Commander of the Female Engagement Team in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). She is also the first woman combat helicopter pilot of the Indian Army.

With this recognition, Major Barak becomes the third Indian peacekeeper to receive the honour. Earlier, Suman Gawani was awarded in 2019 for her service with the UN Mission in South Sudan, while Radhika Sen received the award in 2023 for her work with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In a significant development with both strategic and political implications, India has initiated work on two major infrastructure projects linked to the Chenab river system—one involving a large inter-basin water diversion tunnel in Himachal Pradesh and the other aimed at restoring sediment management capability at the Salal Dam. Together, both projects are worth nearly Rs 2,600 crore.

The projects will be undertaken by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and CNN-NEWS18 has exclusively accessed documents put out by NHPC for starting work on both projects. They come at a time when New Delhi has sharpened its approach toward utilisation of waters from the western rivers governed under the “in abeyance" Indus Waters Treaty.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Republic of Korea’s Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul jointly inaugurated the Indian War Memorial at Imjingak Park in Seoul on Wednesday, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Korean War and honouring the contribution of Indian troops during the conflict.

According to the Defence Ministry, the memorial has been constructed to pay tribute to the courage, sacrifice, and humanitarian service of the 60 Para Field Ambulance of the Indian Army and the Custodian Force of India (CFI), which played a significant role during and after the Korean War.

Amid the West Asia crisis and its impact on global crude oil supplies, the Odisha government has made purchasing electric vehicles (EVs) mandatory for all government departments starting next month as part of austerity and fuel-conservation measures.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has directed that all new two-wheelers and four-wheelers purchased by government offices must be EVs from June 1. All four-wheelers hired on rent by departments must also be EVs, while purchase of petrol- and diesel-run vehicles will be allowed only under special requirements.

The move comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealing to citizens to minimise unnecessary use of petrol and diesel in view of the volatile international situation and rising concerns over energy security.

The first International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) Summit, which was scheduled to take place in New Delhi on June 1, has been postponed to a later date. The Summit focusses on the conservation of seven Big Cat species which are Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar, and Puma and their ecosystems.

The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) Summit was being organized in conjunction with the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit as several African countries host big cats and are important partners in global efforts towards conservation, ecological sustainability and biodiversity protection. Following the decision taken in consultation with the Chairperson of the African Union and the African Union Commission to convene the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit at a later date, it was decided that, in order to ensure broad and active participation from all Range countries, including African countries, the First IBCA Summit too will be convened at a later date.

India on Friday said that the Quad Foreign ministers meeting will take place on May 26, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit India for the meeting.

The Ministry of External Affairs said, “At the invitation of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, the Foreign Minister of Australia, Penny Wong; the Foreign Minister of Japan, Toshimitsu Motegi; and the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will undertake an official visit to New Delhi to participate in the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting on 26 May 2026.”

“In keeping with the Quad vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, the Ministers will build on discussions held in Washington, D.C. on 1 July 2025. They will exchange views on advancing Quad cooperation across priority areas, review progress on ongoing Quad initiatives, and reflect on recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and other international issues of mutual concern,” it said.