In Current Affairs for 09 May 2026, we will see the latest national and international current affairs news. These important current affairs will be beneficial for your upcoming NDA, CDS, CDS OTA, AFCAT, TA, Agniveer Army, Agniveer Navy, Agniveer Air Force, Women Military Police, INET, MNS, ACC exams, SCO, PCSL, CAPF, and SSB interviews, and direct entries for Army, Navy, and Air Force like SSC Tech, TGC, JAG, NCC, TES, 10+2 Cadet. Download a PDF file about current events at the end of this article. Let us now see the Current Affairs.
Current Affairs 09 May 2026
Richard Lewer Wins Archibald Prize 2026
The prestigious Archibald Prize 2026 was awarded to Richard Lewer on 8 May 2026 for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara Elder Iluwanti Ken. The award carried prize money of 100,000 Australian dollars and the winning artwork was selected from 1,034 entries.
The Archibald Prize, established in 1921, is one of Australia’s most respected portrait painting awards. It is organised annually by the Art Gallery of New South Wales and recognises excellence in portraiture.
Richard Lewer has been shortlisted for the award six times, including in 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025 and 2026. His winning painting portrays Iluwanti Ken, a senior Indigenous artist and traditional healer, known as a ngangkari in Central Australia.
The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes exhibition opened to visitors on 9 May 2026 and will continue until 16 August 2026, featuring 59 finalist artworks.
Delhi Launches “Road RADAR” to Monitor Air Pollution
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee introduced a new initiative called Road RADAR on 8 May 2026 to identify and monitor pollution sources across the capital through daily field inspections.
Road RADAR stands for Real-time Air Pollution Detection Across Roads. The programme uses geo-tagged reporting technology to quickly identify pollution-related problems and send them to the concerned authorities for action.
Under this initiative, 13 surveyors have been deployed, with one assigned to each district of Delhi. Officials use the MCD-311 mobile application to conduct field surveys and upload reports.
The programme aims to report nearly 1,000 pollution-related issues every day, with each surveyor expected to identify at least 70 cases daily. The monitoring covers around 18,000 kilometres of roads every month.
Road RADAR tracks 11 major pollution sources, including:
- Road dust from unpaved roads
- Potholes and damaged footpaths
- Construction and demolition waste
- Garbage accumulation
- Biomass and plastic burning
- Sand and loose material on roadsides
- Unregulated parking areas
The system has also been designed to prevent duplicate complaints and ensure faster response by civic agencies.
Jharkhand Achieves Zero Primary Dropout Rate
Jharkhand has achieved a major milestone in school education by recording a 0% primary school dropout rate in the academic year 2024-25.
According to data from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) and a report released by NITI Aayog on 8 May 2026, the state reduced its primary dropout rate from 6.41% in 2014-15 to zero in 2024-25.
Significant improvements were also seen at other levels:
- Upper primary dropout rate declined from 7.42% to 1.7%
- Secondary dropout rate reduced from 23.2% to 3.5%
A dropout rate refers to the percentage of students leaving school before completing a particular stage of education.
The report also highlighted changes in the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER). Jharkhand’s primary GER decreased from 109.2% in 2014-15 to 92.5% in 2024-25, while the secondary GER increased from 66.05% to 72%.
GER measures the total number of students enrolled at a particular education level as a percentage of the official age-group population for that level. It can exceed 100% when overage or underage students are enrolled.
IIT Madras Opens Deep-Tech Research Centre in California
The overseas research arm of Indian Institute of Technology Madras, known as IITM Global, has launched its first research and innovation centre in the United States.
The new centre was established in Menlo Park, California, and officially became operational on 24 April 2026. The announcement was made during the SelectUSA Investment Summit held from 6 to 9 May 2026.
The project involves an investment of 7.5 million dollars, including a greenfield investment of 4.5 million dollars from IITM Global.
The Menlo Park centre will focus on deep-tech research, startup incubation, and technology commercialisation. Deep-tech includes advanced scientific and engineering fields such as:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Robotics
- Clean technology
- Immersive digital systems
Menlo Park is part of the famous Silicon Valley region, known globally for technology innovation and startup ecosystems.
Europe Day Celebrated on 9 May
Europe Day is celebrated every year on 9 May to mark the historic Schuman Declaration of 1950, which laid the foundation for European unity after World War II.
The declaration proposed closer political and economic cooperation among European nations so that future wars in Europe could be prevented.
Europe Day celebrates peace, unity, democracy, and cooperation among European countries. The 2026 celebrations focused on solidarity and stronger cross-border partnerships.
The European Union currently consists of 27 member countries with a population exceeding 450 million people. The EU operates a single market that allows the free movement of goods, services, people, and capital among member states.
As of 2026, the European Union is also strengthening trade and strategic ties with India while continuing discussions on future expansion with candidate nations such as Montenegro.
Review Questions
1. Who won the Archibald Prize 2026?
A. Iluwanti Ken
B. Richard Lewer
C. Henry Dunant
D. Raja Subramani
Answer: B. Richard Lewer
2. The Archibald Prize is associated with which field?
A. Literature
B. Science
C. Portrait Painting
D. Architecture
Answer: C. Portrait Painting
3. Road RADAR was launched in which Indian city?
A. Mumbai
B. Bengaluru
C. Chennai
D. Delhi
Answer: D. Delhi
4. What does “Road RADAR” stand for?
A. Road Repair and Development Action Report
B. Real-time Air Pollution Detection Across Roads
C. Rapid Air Dust Analysis Report
D. Road Area Detection and Review
Answer: B. Real-time Air Pollution Detection Across Roads
5. Which state achieved a 0% primary dropout rate in 2024-25?
A. Bihar
B. Odisha
C. Jharkhand
D. Gujarat
Answer: C. Jharkhand
6. UDISE+ is mainly related to which sector?
A. Agriculture
B. School Education
C. Health
D. Banking
Answer: B. School Education
7. IIT Madras launched its first US research centre in which city?
A. New York
B. Boston
C. Menlo Park
D. Chicago
Answer: C. Menlo Park
8. The new IIT Madras centre in California will mainly focus on:
A. Textile manufacturing
B. Deep-tech research
C. Tourism studies
D. Mining technology
Answer: B. Deep-tech research
9. Europe Day is celebrated annually on:
A. 1 May
B. 5 May
C. 8 May
D. 9 May
Answer: D. 9 May
10. Europe Day commemorates which historic declaration?
A. Magna Carta
B. Schuman Declaration
C. Treaty of Versailles
D. Lisbon Declaration
Answer: B. Schuman Declaration
