Daily Current Affairs – 23-05-2026

Tamil Nadu News

TN Cabinet Reaches Full Strength

VCK MLA Vanni Arasu and IUML MLA Shahjahan were sworn in as ministers in the Tamil Nadu Cabinet by Governor R. N. Ravi Arlekar on May 22. This marked the second cabinet expansion under Chief Minister S. Joseph Vijay. With their induction, the Tamil Nadu Cabinet reached its maximum strength of 35 ministers, including the Chief Minister, as permitted in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Vanni Arasu, MLA from Tindivanam, was assigned the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, while Shahjahan, MLA from Papanasam, was given charge of the Minority Welfare and Waqf Board Department. The swearing-in ceremony was held at Raj Bhavan, Chennai, attended by Chief Secretary M. Saikumar, IUML President Khader Mohideen, and VCK President Thol. Thirumavalavan. After assuming office, Vanni Arasu approved Rs.75 crore for the 2026-27 socio-economic entrepreneurship scheme for Adi Dravidars and Tribes, Rs.61.56 crore under the NABARD RID scheme for establishing 120 village knowledge centres, and Rs.7.99 crore under the Prime Minister’s Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana for constructing 12 student hostels.

National News

Rajya Sabha By-Election in Tamil Nadu

The Election Commission of India announced that the Rajya Sabha by-election in Tamil Nadu for one vacant seat will be held on June 18. The vacancy arose after C. V. Shanmugam resigned from the Rajya Sabha following his election as an MLA. The same day, elections will also be held for 24 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states and one by-election seat in Maharashtra. The filing of nominations will begin on June 1 and end on June 8. The terms of 24 Rajya Sabha MPs from states including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram are ending between June 21 and July 19. Notable members whose terms are ending include former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, George Kurian, and Digvijaya Singh. In the 244-member Rajya Sabha, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) currently has 149 MPs, the opposition alliance 78 MPs, and non-aligned regional parties 17 MPs.

Agni-1 Missile Test by DRDO

The Agni-1 ballistic missile was successfully tested on May 22. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the missile is capable of striking targets within a range of 700 km to 1,200 km. It can carry conventional warheads or nuclear weapons up to 2,500 kg. The missile test was conducted at Chandipur test range, Odisha, where its operational and technical parameters were evaluated. The Agni-1 missile, in use since 1979, successfully hit the designated target during the trial. India possesses Agni series missiles from Agni-1 to Agni-4, with strike ranges varying from 700 km to 3,500 km.

RBI Surplus Transfer to Central Government

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it will transfer a record Rs. 2.87 lakh crore as surplus revenue to the Central Government for the 2025–26 financial year. This amount is 6.7% higher than the Rs. 2.69 lakh crore transferred in 2024–25. The RBI’s net income, before risk provisions and statutory allocations, increased from Rs. 3.13 lakh crore in FY 2025 to Rs. 3.96 lakh crore in FY 2026. The RBI balance sheet expanded by 20.61% to Rs. 91.97 lakh crore as of March 31. Based on the decision of the RBI Central Board of Directors, Rs. 1.09 lakh crore was allocated to the Contingency Risk Buffer for 2025–26, compared with Rs. 44,861 crore allocated in the previous year.

Ebola Monitoring Intensified in India

The Union Health Ministry directed all States and Union Territories to intensify monitoring and ensure medical preparedness to prevent the spread of Ebola virus in India. The advisory followed the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The directive was issued by Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava to State Chief Secretaries and Union Territory administrators. Monitoring under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) was ordered to be strengthened for travellers arriving from affected regions. Symptoms identified include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and skin and eye inflammation. The advisory called for readiness of isolation facilities, dedicated ambulances, trained personnel, personal protective equipment (PPE), and testing laboratories. The ICMR–National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, Maharashtra, has been kept fully prepared for testing suspected Ebola samples. No confirmed Ebola cases have been reported in India so far. In Tamil Nadu, surveillance was intensified at Chennai Airport, and symptomatic passengers were placed under 21-day medical observation.