Assam
1. Assam Cabinet sets the first Assembly agenda, clears a draft UCC Bill, and orders austerity
The first cabinet meeting of the second Himanta Biswa Sarma term fixed the first session of the Assam Legislative Assembly for 21, 22, 25 and 26 May. The government said newly elected MLAs would take oath during this session, asked the Governor to appoint Chandra Mohan Patowary as Pro-tem Speaker, and indicated that the permanent Speaker would be elected after the swearing-in of members.
The BJP-led alliance also finalised Ranjeet Kumar Dass for the Speaker’s post. The same meeting approved a draft Bill on the Uniform Civil Code to be introduced on the final day of the Assembly session.
The cabinet specified that Scheduled Tribes (Hills) and Scheduled Tribes (Plains) would remain outside the Code’s purview, and that traditional religious customs, practices and rituals would also remain excluded. The state indicated that the proposed Code would mainly cover minimum age of marriage, prohibition of polygamy, equal rights for daughters in parents’ property, and matters relating to live-in relationships.
The cabinet package was wider than a legislative calendar. It created a task force under the Chief Secretary to examine how to provide government employment to two lakh youths in five years, appointed Devajit Saikia as Advocate General for the next five years, and announced an austerity package.
The austerity measures include no new government vehicles for six months, a 20% reduction in petrol and diesel expenditure compared with the previous financial year, a pause on procurement of foreign-made goods by the government for six months, and a shift to video-conference-based seminars and workshops.
The first Assembly session under the new government was scheduled for 21, 22, 25 and 26 May 2026. The draft UCC Bill will exclude ST Hills, ST Plains, and traditional religious customs and rituals. The cabinet also announced a jobs task force for two lakh government jobs in five years and a 20% cut in state spending on petrol and diesel.
2. Governor approves portfolios for the newly inducted Assam ministers
The Governor approved the allocation of portfolios for the newly inducted members of the Council of Ministers headed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after receiving and clearing the Chief Minister’s proposal. This converted the government from a swearing-in arrangement into a functioning ministry with departmental authority.
Under the allocation, Rameswar Teli received Transformation and Development, Labour Welfare, and Tea Tribes and Adivasi Welfare. Atul Bora was assigned Panchayat and Rural Development, Implementation of the Assam Accord, Border Protection and Development, and Excise.
These assignments matter administratively because they place implementation-heavy and politically sensitive sectors, especially those linked to border governance and tea-community welfare, under cabinet-level control immediately after government formation.
The remaining allocations gave Charan Boro charge of Transport and Welfare of Bodoland, while Ajanta Neog received Women and Child Development and Tourism. The report also noted that the Chief Minister and these four ministers had taken oath on 12 May 2026, marking the start of the third NDA term in Assam.
The portfolio allocation was approved by Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on 14 May 2026. Atul Bora received Implementation of the Assam Accord and Border Protection and Development, among other departments. Ajanta Neog was assigned Women and Child Development and Tourism, while Charan Boro got Transport and Welfare of Bodoland.
3. Assam reviews investment execution and power readiness after the summit phase
At a high-level review, the Chief Minister said that over 60% of the investment commitments made under Advantage Assam 2.0 had reached advanced stages. That matters because the story is no longer the size of summit announcements alone, but the conversion of those commitments into projects, clearances, and ground execution.
The review did not focus only on investment files. It also covered power and infrastructure projects, with the state flagging that Assam’s peak power demand, recorded at 2,950 MW last year, is expected to rise to 3,100 MW this summer.
The linkage between project monitoring and summer power readiness suggests that the state now views industrial credibility and grid reliability as connected rather than separate issues. The review also pushed quicker work on projects such as the Maa Kamakhya Access Corridor, indicating that the administration wants visible progress on both industrial and public-infrastructure fronts.
The Chief Minister said more than 60% of Advantage Assam 2.0 investment commitments are in advanced stages. Assam’s peak power demand is projected to rise from 2,950 MW last year to 3,100 MW this summer. The review covered investment, power, infrastructure, and the Maa Kamakhya Access Corridor.
4. Hollongapar records the first confirmed gibbon railway canopy crossing
A male western hoolock gibbon was recorded using a specially built canopy bridge to cross the railway line passing through Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam. Reports described it as the world’s first confirmed gibbon railway canopy crossing, and the event was treated as a conservation breakthrough for a species whose movement has long been constrained by linear infrastructure cutting across habitat.
The crossing is significant because the bridges were not improvised after the fact; they were part of a deliberate mitigation design effort. Earlier institutional documentation from the Wildlife Institute of India and the environment ministry had already identified the design and installation of artificial canopy bridges in Hollongapar as a strategy to deal with fragmentation caused by the railway line.
A WII newsletter from 2025 specifically noted that canopy bridges had been installed in the sanctuary with the expectation that gibbons would begin using them. The new evidence therefore moves the story from planning to proof of use.
The species involved was the western hoolock gibbon, India’s only ape species. The crossing took place over the railway line through Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Jorhat district. Earlier WII documentation had already noted the installation of artificial canopy bridges in the sanctuary.
India
5. BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting ends with a chair’s statement rather than a joint communiqué
The BRICS foreign ministers met in New Delhi on 14–15 May 2026 and reaffirmed commitment to the BRICS strategic partnership under the three pillars of political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
They also expressed support for India’s 2026 chairship theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
However, the meeting did not produce a joint statement. Instead, India released a chair’s statement and outcome document, and public reporting made clear that the key obstacle was disagreement over the war involving Iran and the role of the UAE.
The document itself acknowledged that there were differing views among some members on the situation in West Asia/Middle East, while reporting from the meeting said Iran had wanted BRICS to condemn the U.S.-Israeli attacks and that the UAE rejected Tehran’s allegations and reserved its rights to respond to threats.
Even so, the meeting preserved common ground on some themes: support for the Global South, the importance of dialogue and diplomacy, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and safe and unimpeded maritime commerce.
The meeting took place in New Delhi on 14–15 May 2026 under India’s chairship. India’s chair theme is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” The outcome was a chair’s statement, not a consensus communiqué, because of differences over the Iran war and related regional positions.
6. The Prime Minister’s UAE visit produces a broad strategic package on energy, defence, maritime infrastructure and AI
An official explainer on the Prime Minister’s UAE visit described the India–UAE partnership as one anchored in political trust, economic cooperation, and people-to-people links. It noted that bilateral merchandise trade crossed US$101.25 billion in FY 2025–26 and that cumulative UAE FDI into India from April 2000 to March 2025 reached US$25.19 billion.
The UAE was also described as India’s fourth-largest source of crude oil, third-largest source of LNG, largest supplier of LPG, and the only country participating in India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve programme.
The most concrete outcomes came in energy security. The ISPRL–ADNOC collaboration includes the potential for ADNOC crude oil storage in India’s strategic petroleum reserves up to 30 million barrels, including participation in facilities at Visakhapatnam and development of reserve facilities in Chandikol, Odisha.
The same framework also envisages possible crude storage in Fujairah as part of India’s reserve system and collaboration in LNG and LPG storage facilities in India. A separate IOCL–ADNOC understanding aims to strengthen long-term LPG supply security.
The package was wider than energy. It included a strategic defence partnership framework, an MoU for a ship-repair cluster at Vadinar, Gujarat, a maritime skill-development arrangement, an eight-exaflop supercomputing cluster in partnership between C-DAC and G42, and fresh UAE investment commitments.
India–UAE merchandise trade crossed US$101.25 billion in FY 2025–26. The ISPRL–ADNOC pact envisages storage of up to 30 million barrels in India’s strategic petroleum system. The visit also produced outcomes on defence, Vadinar ship repair, maritime skills, and an eight-exaflop supercomputing cluster.
7. India publicly tracks Hormuz-linked cargoes and seafarer safety amid regional disruption
The government said that SYMI, an LPG carrier flagged in the Marshall Islands and carrying 19,965 metric tonnes of LPG cargo for India, safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz on 13 May and was expected to arrive at Kandla on 16 May.
It also said NV SUNSHINE, a Vietnam-flagged LPG carrier carrying 46,427 metric tonnes of LPG cargo for India, crossed the Strait on 14 May and was expected to arrive at New Mangalore on 18 May.
In the middle of a regional crisis, the publication of these figures signalled active official monitoring of cargo continuity rather than passive observation.
The same official update reported that an Indian mechanised sailing vessel, MSV HAJI ALI, encountered an incident in Omani waters in the early hours of 13 May 2026, caught fire, and sank. All 14 crew members were rescued by the Omani Coast Guard, reached Dibba Port, and were reported safe after local formalities.
SYMI carried 19,965 MT of LPG and was expected at Kandla on 16 May 2026. NV SUNSHINE carried 46,427 MT of LPG and was expected at New Mangalore on 18 May 2026. The Indian dhow HAJI ALI sank after a fire in Omani waters, but all 14 crew members were rescued safely.
8. April trade data show export resilience but a wider merchandise deficit
Official trade commentary on the April 2026 numbers said India’s merchandise exports rose to US$43.56 billion from US$38.28 billion a year earlier, while imports increased to US$71.94 billion from US$65.38 billion. Overall exports of goods and services were estimated at US$80.80 billion for April.
On the face of it, the data show resilience in headline export growth despite an adverse external climate. The difficulty lies on the import side. India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to US$28.38 billion, and the commentary linked that widening to the conflict in the Middle East, which disrupted shipping routes, increased freight and energy costs, and drove up the import bill, especially for petroleum and electronic goods.
In other words, the numbers show that export performance alone has not insulated India from geopolitical cost shocks.
Sectorally, engineering goods, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and textiles were highlighted as export drivers. The top export destinations included the USA, Singapore, UAE, China, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Tanzania, the UK, Australia, and Sri Lanka.
April 2026 merchandise exports were US$43.56 billion, up from US$38.28 billion in April 2025. Imports were US$71.94 billion, widening the merchandise trade deficit to US$28.38 billion. Overall exports of goods and services were estimated at US$80.80 billion for April 2026.
9. NSO releases the first Supply and Use Tables under the revised base year
The National Statistics Office released the Supply and Use Tables for 2022–23 and 2023–24, marking the first comprehensive SUT set under the revised base year 2022–23, which replaced the earlier 2011–12 base year.
This is not a headline-grabbing political announcement, but it is institutionally important because SUTs sit at the core of modern national accounting and structural analysis.
The release states that annual revised estimates are now integrated with the SUT framework so as to eliminate discrepancies between the production/income approach and the expenditure approach at current prices. The release also notes alignment with the updated classifications NIC 2025 and COICOP 2018, consistent with the UN System of National Accounts framework.
In practical terms, this strengthens the coherence of the GDP series and improves product-industry mapping.
The empirical details are also notable. Total supply of goods and services at purchasers’ prices was ₹627.18 lakh crore in 2022–23 and ₹669.88 lakh crore in 2023–24. The construction industry accounted for 14–15% of total intermediate consumption in both years, while goods made up 72–73% of intermediate consumption and services 27–28%. The number of products in the SUT has also been increased to 155 from 140 in the previous base.
These are the first comprehensive SUTs under the revised 2022–23 base year. Total supply at purchasers’ prices was ₹627.18 lakh crore in 2022–23 and ₹669.88 lakh crore in 2023–24. The SUT product count has risen to 155, up from 140 in the earlier base.