Daily current affairs for 18 May 2026 with exam-focused key facts, connected news context, and revision notes for UPSC, SSC, banking and government exams.
Today at a glance
Key Updates:
AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) launched a segmented four-card credit card portfolio targeting first-time credit customers, young salaried professionals, Gen Z spenders, and affluent travellers. The AU Ananta Credit Card…
AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) and CheQ have launched a co-branded credit card featuring an LED-powered tap-to-pay indicator. The LED feature is powered by the Near Field Communication (NFC) field of the point-of-sale…
IDFC First Bank has launched the Hello Cashback secured RuPay credit card backed by a minimum fixed deposit of Rs 10,000. The card offers 3% cashback on the first Rs 10,000 of online spends per statement cycle and 5%…
Key Updates:
DMRC has partnered with Airtel Payments Bank to launch co-branded RuPay On-The-Go NCMC. The NCMC is an open-loop card designed to enable seamless payments across metro systems, buses, and other transit networks…
HDFC Bank will count UPI-based cash withdrawals at its ATMs towards the monthly free ATM transaction limit from 1 April 2026. After exceeding the free limit HDFC Bank will charge Rs 23 plus applicable taxes per…
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) received the Initiative of the Year Award from London-based Central Banking for creating the .bank.in domain. India became the first country globally to mandate a secure and exclusive Internet…
NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) has launched the NSE IX Global Access platform from GIFT City to enable Indian retail and Non-Resident Indian (NRI) investors to invest in 30 global markets. The platform initially…
Key Updates:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) revised India’s FY27 GDP growth forecast upward to 6.9% from 6.5%. ADB projects India’s FY26 growth at 7.6% and FY28 growth at 7.3%.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised India’s growth forecast for FY27 to 6.5% from 6.4% projected in January and 6.2% in October last year. Growth is expected to remain steady at 6.5% in 2027-28, keeping India…
S&P Global Market Intelligence (S&P Global) has lowered India's economic growth forecast for the financial year 2026-27 (FY27) to 6.6% from an earlier projection of 7.1%. The revision is driven by risks associated with…
World Bank upgraded India’s FY27 GDP growth forecast to 6.6%, 30 basis points higher than its October 2025 projection of 6.3%. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) projects FY27 growth at 6.9%.
Key Updates:
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has introduced a new special additional excise duty (SAED) structure for petroleum product exports. Petrol exports now attract an SAED of ₹3 per litre.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoP&NG) mandated oil marketing companies to supply ethanol-blended petrol with up to 20 per cent ethanol content across all states and Union territories from 1 April 2026. The…
The Karnataka government issued notifications on 12 November 2025 and 20 November 2025 providing women employees with one day of paid menstrual leave each month. The Karnataka Menstrual Leave and Hygiene Bill, 2025…
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has mandated the sale of petrol with up to 20 per cent ethanol and a minimum Research Octane Number (RON) of 95 across all states and Union Territories from April 1…
Key Updates:
The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the State Pharmacy Councils of Bihar, Maharashtra, and Mizoram. The agreements were signed at the IPC headquarters in Ghaziabad by…
The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Jagat Prakash Nadda, launched the Swasth Bharat Portal on May 7, 2026, during the 10th National Summit on "Innovation and Inclusivity: Best Practices Shaping India's…
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) launched JANANI (Journey of Antenatal, Natal and Neonatal Integrated Care) to unify pregnancy tracking and newborn care under a digital system. Developed as an…
Kerala Health Department launched the MeHEALTH mobile application to help users access information about nearby public health-care facilities and services. Users can view details of nearby hospitals, specialty…
Key Updates:
NITI Aayog released the second edition of its report “From Borrowers to Builders: Women and India’s Evolving Credit Market” on 7 April 2026 in New Delhi. The report was prepared by TransUnion CIBIL and MicroSave…
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) completed 11 years on 8 April 2026. Over 58 crore collateral-free loans worth more than ₹40 lakh crore have been disbursed since 2015.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognised more than 55,200 startups in FY26, representing a 51.6% increase over the previous year. Direct job creation by startups grew by 36.1% in…
L&T Finance Ltd (LTF) announced Spoorthi on Women’s Day to provide Home Loans and Loan Against Property (LAP) for business expansion and working capital to women entrepreneurs. Spoorthi offers extended tenors up to 25…
Key Updates:
Nigeria's Finance Minister Wale Edun signed a circular on April 1, 2026, to introduce a green tax surcharge on vehicles, effective from July 1. The tax is imposed on vehicles with engine capacities of 2,000 cc and above…
France announced a roadmap to phase out coal by 2030, oil by 2045, and gas by 2050 for energy purposes. The plan was unveiled during a global conference in Santa Marta, Colombia, which was co-hosted by Colombia and the…
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) circulated an updated CAFE-3 draft on 8 April, covering 2027-32 and relaxing the permissible emission slope to 0.00158 for 2027-28 and 0.00131 for 2031-32. The relaxed slope grants…
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) directed that from 1 April 2025 all petrol pumps nationwide must supply E20 petrol containing up to 20% ethanol. E20 petrol has an octane rating of about 95 RON compared…
Key Updates:
Indian Navy’s bianxial Commanders’ Conference 2026 will be held in New Delhi from 14 to 16 April. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan will address senior naval leadership on jointness and interoperability.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held bilateral talks with his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto in New Delhi and exchanged a Bilateral Military Cooperation Plan (MCP) for 2026-27. The meeting was held at the Manekshaw…
An MoU was signed between India and Israel to deepen defence ties and strengthen ongoing joint activities, including future seminars and cooperative initiatives. The International Defence Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT)…
The Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) of the Indian Army has partnered with the IIT-Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation to develop indigenous military technologies. A Nodal Indigenisation Centre…
Key Updates:
The International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed globally on 4 April 2026. The 2026 theme is 'Invest in Peace, Invest in Mine Action'.
Indian Institute of Technology Ropar (IIT Ropar) Defence Research and Innovation Foundation (DRIF) and Dhash Defense Systems Private Limited (DDS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 5 May 2026. The partnership…
The Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth nearly Rs 975 crore for the procurement of TRAWL assembly for T-72 and T-90 tanks. The contracts were signed with Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) and Electro Pneumatics and…
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) entered into a licensing agreement for transfer of technology (LAToT) with the Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam. NSTL is a constituent laboratory of…
Key Updates:
National Technology Day is observed every year on May 11 to commemorate the successful Pokhran-II nuclear tests of May 11, 1998. The 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, developed by…
Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace has achieved a valuation of $1.1 billion, making it the first space-technology startup in India to reach unicorn status. The company raised nearly $60 million in a funding round co-led…
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is hosting the 35th Plenary and Working Groups meetings of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 20/Subcommittee 14 in New Delhi. The…
Department of Posts (DoP) released two commemorative postage stamps to mark India's space achievements led by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The stamps depict India's journey from its first satellite…
Key Updates:
The Uttarakhand High Court stayed the felling of oak trees in Mussoorie on April 1 after a PIL revealed no NOC was sought from the forest department. Oak belongs to the genus Quercus in the Fagaceae family and 35 species…
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared March 21 as the International Day of Forests in 2012 to raise awareness about the importance of forest ecosystems. The theme for the International Day of Forests 2026…
The United Nations (UN) has approved the first credits under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM). The credited project is a clean cooking initiative in Myanmar that distributes efficient biomass cookstoves…
India submitted its 7th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 05 Mar 2026. Only two of the 23 national biodiversity targets—NBT1 (biodiversity-inclusive land and sea-use planning) and NBT2…
Key Updates:
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) confirmed an Ebola outbreak in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), recording 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases. Cases in the…
Cassava Brown Streak Disease causes root necrosis and can lead to total crop loss in infected cassava plants. About 33.7 per cent of Africa — roughly 10.2 million sq km — is at risk of CBSD spread.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has approved artemether-lumefantrine, the first antimalarial formulation designed specifically for newborns and young infants weighing between two and five kilograms. World Malaria Day…
International Malaria Conference (IMC) 6 organised by ICMR–National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR) concluded in New Delhi on 9 March 2026 after three days of scientific discussions. Conference theme was 'Discovery…
Key Updates:
The International Day of Families 2026 will be observed on May 15, 2026. The theme for the 2026 observance is "Families, Inequalities and Child Wellbeing".
The International Day of Happiness 2026 is observed on Friday, 20 March 2026, with the theme Social Media & Happiness. The United Nations (UN) organises the day in partnership with Action for Happiness and the Wellbeing…
International Day of Conscience observed annually on 5 April. United Nations General Assembly officially proclaimed day in 2019.
World Understanding and Peace Day is observed annually on February 23 to commemorate the founding of Rotary International (RI). The first Rotary Club meeting was held on February 23, 1905, in Chicago by Paul Harris…
Key Updates:
Dr Gopalrao Patil, a former Rajya Sabha member and paediatrician, passed away at the age of 94 in Latur, Maharashtra. He served as a member of the Rajya Sabha representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) between 1994…
Veteran politician and former Railway Minister Mukul Roy passed away at the age of 71 following a cardiac arrest in Kolkata. He was widely referred to as the Chanakya of Bengal politics and represented the Krishnanagar…
Ricky Andrew J Syngkon, 54, Shillong Lok Sabha MP and founding member of Voice of the People Party (VPP), died on Thursday evening at a hospital in Shillong after a sudden cardiac arrest while playing futsal in Mawlai…
Datta Meghe died on Sunday evening at the age of 89. He was elected to the Lok Sabha four times from Nagpur, Ramtek and Wardha constituencies.
Key Updates:
Jim Whittaker, the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest, died at the age of 97 at his home in Port Townsend, Washington. He achieved the historic ascent of the 29,032-foot peak on 1 May 1963, accompanied…
Arpita Patra, a faculty member of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, became the first Bengali woman to scale Ojos Del Salado. Ojos Del Salado is the highest volcanic peak in the world, standing at an…
Bhupatiraju Anmish Varma from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, established a new Guinness World Record (GWR) by completing the Seven Volcanic Summits challenge. Varma achieved the mountaineering feat in a record time of 92…
Divya Singh from Uttar Pradesh became the first woman of India to reach Everest Base Camp by bicycle after a 14-day journey from Kathmandu. She cycled 10–12 hours daily, carrying her bicycle on shoulders when trails were…