· Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh visited Japan in the last week of May 2013. He praised Japan as a role model of economic growth. They decided to accelerate talks on civil nuclear deal that would allow Japan to export nuclear reactors to India.
· Prime Minister visited Thailand on 30th May 2013 and signed an extradition treaty and other pacts related to mutual cooperation in Space Technology development and cultural cooperation. An ambitious project to develop a 3,200 km highway linking India, Myanmar and Thailand was an important agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit.
· Chinese Premier Li Keqiang paid a three-day visit to India in the third-week of May. The two leaders decided to resolve the existing issues of border, water and trade through further discussions and also set milestones for future by listing new areas of cooperation such as civil nuclear energy and ensuring seamless connectivity between India, China and Myanmar.
· The Union cabinet approved the NSDA(National Skill Development Agency). This is instituted to coordinate and harmonise the skill development efforts of the government and the private sector to achieve the targets of the 12th plan and beyond.
· India announced that it will develop the Chabahar Port of Iran. This would reduce Afghanistan’s dependence on Pakistan.
· The Union Cabinet on May 1, 2013 approved the Rs.22,507 crore National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) that seeks to address healthcare challenges In towns and cities with focus on urban poor. The mission will be implemented in 779 cities and towns, each with a population of more than 50,000 and cover 7.75 crore people.
· To strengthen Woman Self Help Groups (SHGs) the Union Cabinet has approved key changes to the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), aiming to eradicate poverty in villages by empowering women.
· The Union Cabinet on May 16,2013 raised the income limit to Rs.6 lakh per annum from the existing Rs.4.5 lakh per annum that will allow more persons to take advantage of reservation benefits for OBCs in government jobs and admission to Central Educational Institutions.
· India gets observer status in Arctic Council along with China, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
· The Union Government on May 14, 2013 formed a Group of Ministers (GoM) to draft a law to institute the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from external influence.
· Indian Navy gets first fighter squadron in 30 years, they have been nicknamed 303 Black Panthers.
· Central Government will establish a National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency as an authority for promotion, regulation and control of efficient use of water in irrigation, municipal and industrial uses.
· IBSA(India-Brazil-South Africa) joint resolution to accelerate efforts towards achieving gender equality and empowerment of women signed.
· Malayalam gets Classical language status.
· The United States senate on May 23, 2013 approved the first Indian- American, Sri Srinivasan, as Judge of the US court of Appeals.
· Russia and the Unites States have agreed to jointly work to bring peace in Syria.
· Professor Stephen Hawking of Britain, turned down the invitation to visit Israel.
· Australian PM Julia Gillard introduced a tax bill to Parliament that would fund better care for Australians with severe physical and mental disabilities.
· G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meet in Aylesbury, England. G7 includes the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Canada.
· The first phase of Sri Lanks’s northern railway project, funded by a line of credit facilitated by India ,was commissioned on May 14,2013
· North Korea test fired Four Missiles in two days despite the plea of South Korea and the UN chief to halt the launches at a time of high tensions.
· Nawaz Shariff’s Pakistan Muslim League has secured majority in Pakistan’s National Assembly making Nawaz Shariff the new Prime Minister of Pakistan.
· Chinese Premier Le Keqiang was conferred with Pakistan’s highest civil award “Nishan-e-Pakistan” during his visit to Pakistan.
· Philippines former President Joseph Estrada was declared the winner of Manila’s mayoral election on May 14, 2013.
· Roberto Azevedo of Brazil will become the WTO(World Trade Organisation, Geneva) Chief. He will replace Frenchman Pascal Lamy.
· Air Asia India on May 15, 2013 appointed India-born and Singapore-based management consultant Mittu Chandilya as its first CEO.
· Lokman Singh Karki was in May 2013 sworn in as the Chief of Nepal’s anti-graft body.
· Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma was on May 21, 2013 named as the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)
· Radha Krishnan Mathur took over as the new defence secretary in South Block on May 25, 2013.
· Kamaruzzaman, Senior assistant secretary general of the Political party Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami was sentenced to death for genocide and war crimes.
· Noted Islamic Scholar and Leader of the Progressive Dawoodi Bohra Movement Asghar Ali Engineer passed away in Mumbai on May 14, 2013.
· 66th Cannes Film Festival - “Blue is the Warmest Color” wins the Prestigious Palm d’Or Award
· 66th Cannes Film Festival - Best Director: Amat Escalante for ‘Heli’, Best Screenplay: Tian Zhu Ding (‘A touch of Sin’) directred by Jia Zhangke , Best Actor: Bruce Dern in ‘Nebraska’ , Best Actress:Berenice Bejo in ‘Le Pass’ (The Past), Palme d’Or Short Film: ’Safe’ Directed by Byoung Gon Moon.
· Professor Ramdarash Mishra and Dr.Narendra Kohli were conferred with the Vyas Samman on May 23, 2013 for the year 2011 and 2012 respectively.
· American Writer Lydia Davis won the 2013 Man Booker International Prize. Her works include “ The End of the Story and Varieties of Disturbance”.
· The President of India Pranab Mukherjee presented National Florence Nightingale Award 2013 to 35 nursing professionals for their services with devotion, sincerity, dedication and compassion in New Delhi.
· Oomen Chandy wins United Nation’s Public Service Award for Mass Contact Programme.
· Singer Hariharan conferred with the Lata Mangeshkar Samman Alankaran 2013 conferred by the MadhyaPradesh Government.
· The Union Cabinet approved the proposal to set up two major ports in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh at an investment of about Rs. 15, 820 crore.
· India’s most lethal fighters Sukhoi-30 MKI squadrons to give cover from Tamilnadu airbase.
· Samina Baig became the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest on May 19, 2013.
· Arunima Sinha, became India’s first woman to conquer Mount Everest on a prosthetic leg.
· Matt Prior named England’s Cricketer of the year for 2012-2013
· Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila of Team Rajasthan Royals arrested for Spot-fixing.
· Third National Sub-Junior Hockey Tournament- Odisha clinches Boys title by defeating Jharkand. Haryana clinched Girls title by defeating Madhya Pradesh.
· Rafael Nadal (Spain) defeated Stanislas Wawrinka( Switzerland) to win the Madrid open 2013.
· Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer of Switzerland to win the Italian Open 2013.
· Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland defeated Spain’s David Ferrer to win the Portugal Open 2013.
· Serena Williams(USA) defeated Victoria Azarenka(Belarus) to win the Italian open 2013.
· P.V.Sindhu won the Malaysian Badminton Grand Prix by defeating Gu Juan of Singapore. Sindhu became the second Indian Girl to have won the Grand Prix Gold competition.
· Ananya Gupta wins Bronze medal in World School Chess Championship held in Greece.
· Ronnie O’Sullivan retained snooker;s World Championship title with an 18-12 win over Barry Hawkins at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre in May 2013.
· Jamang Deru of Arunachal Pradesh, India won three medals, which included two gold and one silver in the 15th Asian Youth Weightlifting Championships.
· Pugilist Preeti Beniwal on May 22, 2013 bagged the Gold Medal in Senior National Women’s Boxing Championship.
· The Union Government on May 8, 2013 approved a National Cyber security Policy with an aim to create a secured computing environment across the country.
· President of Afghanistan, Hamid Kharzai, visited India from May 20-22, 2013, during which he was conferred with Doctoris Honoris Causa for Letters by the Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab , on May 20, 2013 .
· The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 14 mega watt Solar Power project at Deoghar in Jharkhand on 30 April 2013. Along with the inauguration of this solar power project, the President also laid Foundation Stones for Pilgrim Queue Complex and Deoghar - Basukinath 44 kilo metre Solar Street Light Project.
· The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 3 May 2013 reduced the Policy Repo Rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) by 25 basis points, from 7.5 per cent to 7.25 per cent with immediate effect as part of its Annual Monetary Policy statement 2013-14. The reverse repo rate under the LAF also stands adjusted to 6.25 per cent. The RBI took this step to boost flagging economic growth.
· The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate, both stand adjusted to 8.25 per cent with immediate effect. The cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks has however been retained at 4 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities.
· Najib Razak on 6 May 2013 was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Malaysia for a second term by Malaysia’s king Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah.
· Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan on 14 May 2013 imposed a state of emergency in three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in an effort to curb the increasingly violent attacks by radical Islamist armed group Boko Haram.
· President Robert Mugabe on 22 May 2013 signed Zimbabwe's New Constitution into Law, clearing the path to crucial elections later this year. The Constitution was unopposed through both houses of parliament. The new constitution was approved overwhelmingly in a referendum in March 2013.
· The Supreme Court of India directed that the Kudankulam nuclear plant situated in Tamil Nadu could start its operations now. A bench of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra issued the directions to the government on safety as well as security of the plant, along with its operations.
· Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on 25 May 2013 inaugurated three new Aadhaar-enabled services- e-KYC, OTP (one time pin) authentication and Iris authentication, which would in turn help the residents of India in authenticating their identity anywhere and anytime via any digital platform.
· The RBI on 12 May 2013 imposed restrictions on gold import by banks in order to moderate the demand of gold for domestic use. The RBI decided to restrict the import of gold on consignment basis by banks, only to meet the genuine needs of exporters of gold jewellery.
· Prime Minister visited Thailand on 30th May 2013 and signed an extradition treaty and other pacts related to mutual cooperation in Space Technology development and cultural cooperation. An ambitious project to develop a 3,200 km highway linking India, Myanmar and Thailand was an important agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit.
· Chinese Premier Li Keqiang paid a three-day visit to India in the third-week of May. The two leaders decided to resolve the existing issues of border, water and trade through further discussions and also set milestones for future by listing new areas of cooperation such as civil nuclear energy and ensuring seamless connectivity between India, China and Myanmar.
· The Union cabinet approved the NSDA(National Skill Development Agency). This is instituted to coordinate and harmonise the skill development efforts of the government and the private sector to achieve the targets of the 12th plan and beyond.
· India announced that it will develop the Chabahar Port of Iran. This would reduce Afghanistan’s dependence on Pakistan.
· The Union Cabinet on May 1, 2013 approved the Rs.22,507 crore National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) that seeks to address healthcare challenges In towns and cities with focus on urban poor. The mission will be implemented in 779 cities and towns, each with a population of more than 50,000 and cover 7.75 crore people.
· To strengthen Woman Self Help Groups (SHGs) the Union Cabinet has approved key changes to the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), aiming to eradicate poverty in villages by empowering women.
· The Union Cabinet on May 16,2013 raised the income limit to Rs.6 lakh per annum from the existing Rs.4.5 lakh per annum that will allow more persons to take advantage of reservation benefits for OBCs in government jobs and admission to Central Educational Institutions.
· India gets observer status in Arctic Council along with China, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
· The Union Government on May 14, 2013 formed a Group of Ministers (GoM) to draft a law to institute the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from external influence.
· Indian Navy gets first fighter squadron in 30 years, they have been nicknamed 303 Black Panthers.
· Central Government will establish a National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency as an authority for promotion, regulation and control of efficient use of water in irrigation, municipal and industrial uses.
· IBSA(India-Brazil-South Africa) joint resolution to accelerate efforts towards achieving gender equality and empowerment of women signed.
· Malayalam gets Classical language status.
· The United States senate on May 23, 2013 approved the first Indian- American, Sri Srinivasan, as Judge of the US court of Appeals.
· Russia and the Unites States have agreed to jointly work to bring peace in Syria.
· Professor Stephen Hawking of Britain, turned down the invitation to visit Israel.
· Australian PM Julia Gillard introduced a tax bill to Parliament that would fund better care for Australians with severe physical and mental disabilities.
· G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meet in Aylesbury, England. G7 includes the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Canada.
· The first phase of Sri Lanks’s northern railway project, funded by a line of credit facilitated by India ,was commissioned on May 14,2013
· North Korea test fired Four Missiles in two days despite the plea of South Korea and the UN chief to halt the launches at a time of high tensions.
· Nawaz Shariff’s Pakistan Muslim League has secured majority in Pakistan’s National Assembly making Nawaz Shariff the new Prime Minister of Pakistan.
· Chinese Premier Le Keqiang was conferred with Pakistan’s highest civil award “Nishan-e-Pakistan” during his visit to Pakistan.
· Philippines former President Joseph Estrada was declared the winner of Manila’s mayoral election on May 14, 2013.
· Roberto Azevedo of Brazil will become the WTO(World Trade Organisation, Geneva) Chief. He will replace Frenchman Pascal Lamy.
· Air Asia India on May 15, 2013 appointed India-born and Singapore-based management consultant Mittu Chandilya as its first CEO.
· Lokman Singh Karki was in May 2013 sworn in as the Chief of Nepal’s anti-graft body.
· Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma was on May 21, 2013 named as the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)
· Radha Krishnan Mathur took over as the new defence secretary in South Block on May 25, 2013.
· Kamaruzzaman, Senior assistant secretary general of the Political party Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami was sentenced to death for genocide and war crimes.
· Noted Islamic Scholar and Leader of the Progressive Dawoodi Bohra Movement Asghar Ali Engineer passed away in Mumbai on May 14, 2013.
· 66th Cannes Film Festival - “Blue is the Warmest Color” wins the Prestigious Palm d’Or Award
· 66th Cannes Film Festival - Best Director: Amat Escalante for ‘Heli’, Best Screenplay: Tian Zhu Ding (‘A touch of Sin’) directred by Jia Zhangke , Best Actor: Bruce Dern in ‘Nebraska’ , Best Actress:Berenice Bejo in ‘Le Pass’ (The Past), Palme d’Or Short Film: ’Safe’ Directed by Byoung Gon Moon.
· Professor Ramdarash Mishra and Dr.Narendra Kohli were conferred with the Vyas Samman on May 23, 2013 for the year 2011 and 2012 respectively.
· American Writer Lydia Davis won the 2013 Man Booker International Prize. Her works include “ The End of the Story and Varieties of Disturbance”.
· The President of India Pranab Mukherjee presented National Florence Nightingale Award 2013 to 35 nursing professionals for their services with devotion, sincerity, dedication and compassion in New Delhi.
· Oomen Chandy wins United Nation’s Public Service Award for Mass Contact Programme.
· Singer Hariharan conferred with the Lata Mangeshkar Samman Alankaran 2013 conferred by the MadhyaPradesh Government.
· The Union Cabinet approved the proposal to set up two major ports in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh at an investment of about Rs. 15, 820 crore.
· India’s most lethal fighters Sukhoi-30 MKI squadrons to give cover from Tamilnadu airbase.
· Samina Baig became the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest on May 19, 2013.
· Arunima Sinha, became India’s first woman to conquer Mount Everest on a prosthetic leg.
· Matt Prior named England’s Cricketer of the year for 2012-2013
· Sreesanth, Ankit Chavan and Ajit Chandila of Team Rajasthan Royals arrested for Spot-fixing.
· Third National Sub-Junior Hockey Tournament- Odisha clinches Boys title by defeating Jharkand. Haryana clinched Girls title by defeating Madhya Pradesh.
· Rafael Nadal (Spain) defeated Stanislas Wawrinka( Switzerland) to win the Madrid open 2013.
· Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer of Switzerland to win the Italian Open 2013.
· Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland defeated Spain’s David Ferrer to win the Portugal Open 2013.
· Serena Williams(USA) defeated Victoria Azarenka(Belarus) to win the Italian open 2013.
· P.V.Sindhu won the Malaysian Badminton Grand Prix by defeating Gu Juan of Singapore. Sindhu became the second Indian Girl to have won the Grand Prix Gold competition.
· Ananya Gupta wins Bronze medal in World School Chess Championship held in Greece.
· Ronnie O’Sullivan retained snooker;s World Championship title with an 18-12 win over Barry Hawkins at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre in May 2013.
· Jamang Deru of Arunachal Pradesh, India won three medals, which included two gold and one silver in the 15th Asian Youth Weightlifting Championships.
· Pugilist Preeti Beniwal on May 22, 2013 bagged the Gold Medal in Senior National Women’s Boxing Championship.
· The Union Government on May 8, 2013 approved a National Cyber security Policy with an aim to create a secured computing environment across the country.
· President of Afghanistan, Hamid Kharzai, visited India from May 20-22, 2013, during which he was conferred with Doctoris Honoris Causa for Letters by the Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab , on May 20, 2013 .
· The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 14 mega watt Solar Power project at Deoghar in Jharkhand on 30 April 2013. Along with the inauguration of this solar power project, the President also laid Foundation Stones for Pilgrim Queue Complex and Deoghar - Basukinath 44 kilo metre Solar Street Light Project.
· The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 3 May 2013 reduced the Policy Repo Rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) by 25 basis points, from 7.5 per cent to 7.25 per cent with immediate effect as part of its Annual Monetary Policy statement 2013-14. The reverse repo rate under the LAF also stands adjusted to 6.25 per cent. The RBI took this step to boost flagging economic growth.
· The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate, both stand adjusted to 8.25 per cent with immediate effect. The cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks has however been retained at 4 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities.
· Najib Razak on 6 May 2013 was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Malaysia for a second term by Malaysia’s king Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah.
· Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan on 14 May 2013 imposed a state of emergency in three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in an effort to curb the increasingly violent attacks by radical Islamist armed group Boko Haram.
· President Robert Mugabe on 22 May 2013 signed Zimbabwe's New Constitution into Law, clearing the path to crucial elections later this year. The Constitution was unopposed through both houses of parliament. The new constitution was approved overwhelmingly in a referendum in March 2013.
· The Supreme Court of India directed that the Kudankulam nuclear plant situated in Tamil Nadu could start its operations now. A bench of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra issued the directions to the government on safety as well as security of the plant, along with its operations.
· Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on 25 May 2013 inaugurated three new Aadhaar-enabled services- e-KYC, OTP (one time pin) authentication and Iris authentication, which would in turn help the residents of India in authenticating their identity anywhere and anytime via any digital platform.
· The RBI on 12 May 2013 imposed restrictions on gold import by banks in order to moderate the demand of gold for domestic use. The RBI decided to restrict the import of gold on consignment basis by banks, only to meet the genuine needs of exporters of gold jewellery.