Daily Current Affairs Quiz: May 14, 2026

Notes:
India Meteorological Department launched India’s first Artificial Intelligence-enabled block-level monsoon forecasting system. The system was developed with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting. It provides hyperlocal and impact-based monsoon forecasts up to four weeks in advance. The model combines Artificial Intelligence with numerical weather prediction models and has an error margin of around four days. Forecasts and alerts will be shared through mobile apps, SMS, and agricultural extension networks.

Notes:
The Energy and Resources Institute released the report “India’s Nuclear Energy Vision: Strategic Pathways for Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Deployment.” The report states that India will require ₹23–25 lakh crore investment to achieve 100 Gigawatt nuclear power capacity by 2047. It emphasizes the role of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in ensuring clean energy, grid stability, and industrial decarbonisation. India currently operates 25 nuclear reactors with around 8.8 GW installed capacity. The Union Budget 2025–26 allocated ₹20,000 crore for SMR research and deployment, targeting five indigenous SMRs by 2033.

Notes:
Agalega Islands have gained strategic importance amid increasing competition in the Indian Ocean region. Agalega Islands are a two-island dependency of Mauritius located in the western Indian Ocean. The islands consist of North Island and South Island, connected by a natural sandbank during low tide. Their economy mainly depends on coconut oil exports. The islands are emerging as an important logistics and maritime surveillance base, enhancing India’s reach across the southern and western Indian Ocean.

Notes:
The forest department has started preparations for a scientific wildlife census in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary to study the population and movement of tigers, leopards, bears, deer, and foxes. The sanctuary is situated in the Kumaon Himalayas of Uttarakhand. Zero Point (Jhandi Dhaar), the highest point in the sanctuary, offers views of peaks such as Kedarnath, Chaukhamba, Shivling, Trisul, and Nanda Devi. Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary was established mainly to conserve the broadleaf oak forests of the Central Himalayan region.

Notes:
Botanists have discovered a new plant species named Melanoseris pendryi in the Sikkim Himalayas at elevations above 4,000 metres. It belongs to the genus Melanoseris of the Asteraceae family of flowering plants. The species is characterised by uniquely hairy purple petals and adaptation to harsh alpine conditions through a fleshy branching root system. It grows close to the ground among cushion-like alpine shrubs. Researchers have proposed classifying the species as Critically Endangered due to threats from tourism activities and grazing pressure.