Tripura has created history by becoming the first state in India to complete all Priority Areas under Deregulation Phase-II of the national Compliance Reduction and Deregulation initiative led by the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of India.

With this achievement, the state has also become the first in the country to complete all 51 Priority Areas under both Phase-I and Phase-II of the reform programme, strengthening its position as a leader in regulatory reforms, Ease of Doing Business, and technology-driven governance.

The reforms, launched in January 2026, focused on reducing compliance burdens, removing unnecessary procedures, digitising approvals, and building a transparent and investor-friendly administrative system across sectors, including Revenue, Urban Development, Industries, Labour, Environment, Tourism, Health, Education, and Digital Governance.

Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Thursday (May 14, 2026) inaugurated the high-altitude irrigation canal in Changthang region, constructed at an altitude of over 14,000 feet, and termed it a major step towards ensuring water security in the region.

During his first-ever visit to Changthang, the L-G also launched a plantation drive of 15,000 trees in the surrounding areas along with villagers, aimed at soil conservation, slope stabilisation and ecological sustainability, officials said.

Anthropic and ‌the Gates Foundation have pledged $200 million to back artificial intelligence-related public goods and areas including health and education, ⁠they said on Thursday.

Support from Anthropic’s technical staff and usage credits for its Claude AI will account for its half of ‌the financial commitment, while the Bill Gates co-founded Gates Foundation will provide grant funding, program design and expertise, officials ‌told Reuters.

The commitment will span four years.

The news ‌follows ⁠a $50 million pact that the Gates Foundation and ⁠OpenAI announced in January to support 1,000 African clinics and communities with AI by 2028.

As the world faces an energy crisis triggered by the war between Iran and the United States, backed by Israel, India signed a strategic deal with the United Arab Emirates for the supply for Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) to help ease the impact of the war.

India is the world's second largest LPG importer, making the deal a crucial one to ensure enough supply during global tensions. The deal was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's short two-hour trip to the UAE.

Apart from the LPG deal, both the countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on strategic petroleum reserves. This deal comes just hours after petrol and diesel prices in India were raised by ₹3 each on Friday, May 15.

Africa’s top public health ‌agency said on Friday (May 15, 2026) that there was a confirmed ⁠Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province.

The Africa Centres for ‌Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that ‌it was convening an urgent ‌meeting ⁠with Congo, Uganda, South Sudan ⁠and global partners to reinforce cross-border surveillance, preparedness and response efforts.

Uttar Pradesh has rejuvenated many rivers through the initiative of State Mission for Clean Ganga and allied agencies, officials said on Thursday (May 14, 2026), adding that community participation and collective action is helping restore rivers, sustain agriculture, and reconnect people with their cultural heritage.

The initiative eyes to rejuvenate many other small rivers across the State. In Pilibhit, the Gomti river was rejuvenated along a 47 km stretch across 16 gram panchayats through widening and deepening of the channel, revival of 23 ponds, and construction of ghats, the river regained its continuous flow.

Senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer G Trinadh Kumar has assumed charge as Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) at Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) , the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

A senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the 2002 batch belonging to the AGMUT cadre, Dr Kumar brings more than two decades of administrative and technical experience across forestry, environment, wildlife management, biodiversity conservation and natural resource management.

Before joining RINL, he served as Inspector General of Forests (Central) at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in Hyderabad. He also held the position of Regional Director, South Zone, at the Forest Survey of India in Bengaluru.

Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) has been honoured at the 12th Greentech CSR India Awards 2026, held in New Delhi on May 13, 2026, where it received Greentech Gold Awards in two key categories—Skill Development and Promotion of Education. The recognition highlights the company’s sustained efforts under its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives aimed at empowering communities through education, capacity building, and vocational training.

The award acknowledges BCCL’s consistent contribution toward fostering inclusive growth by creating opportunities for skill enhancement and educational development, particularly for communities in and around its operational areas. Through its CSR programmes, the company has been working to build a more skilled and self-reliant workforce, aligning with broader national development goals.

This recognition at a national platform reinforces BCCL’s continued commitment to social development and its focus on long-term community upliftment through structured CSR interventions.

The Assam Government will introduce the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill in the State Assembly on May 26. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma made the announcement while addressing the media after chairing the first Cabinet meeting of his second term as Chief Minister.

Mr Sarma said a special session of the Assam Assembly will be held from 21st to 26th of May, during which the newly elected MLAs will take oath. He added that the UCC Bill would be tabled on the concluding day of the session. He said the proposed legislation aims to address issues including the legal age of marriage, polygamy, inheritance, and live-in relationships.

He clarified that religious practices would remain outside the scope of the Bill. Tribal communities living in both the hill and plain regions of the State will also be exempted from the provisions of the proposed law. State Cabinet approved the draft Bill in yesterday’s meeting. With this move, Assam is set to become the third State, after Uttarakhand and Gujarat, to table a Uniform Civil Code Bill.

Nursing professionals from Kerala have made the state proud by winning the National Florence Nightingale Awards 2026 in recognition of their meritorious work.

Among the awardees were major general Lisamma P V, additional director general of the Military Nursing Service (MNS), Manjumol V S, senior nursing officer at the Pangappara Government Medical College health unit, and Deepa Biju, assistant nursing superintendent at the National Academic Medical Organisation (NAMO) Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. In addition, Aysha Beebu K from Lakshadweep also received the award.

Major general Lisamma, hailing from Kollam, assumed the role of additional director general of MNS in May 2025. Her leadership and service have been widely recognised.