Daily current affairs for 18 July 2026 with exam-focused key facts, connected news context, and revision notes for UPSC, SSC, banking and government exams.
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Headlines 18 July 2026Key Updates:
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India’s net direct tax collections reached approximately ₹23.40 lakh crore as of 31 March. The net direct tax collection figure represents a 5.12% increase compared to the previous period.
The Income Tax Department reported net direct tax collections of ₹5,21,024.82 crore as of 17 June 2026 for the financial year 2026-27, marking a 14.64 per cent year-on-year growth. Gross direct tax collections for the…
Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rose 13.9% year-on-year to Rs 1,94,812 crore in June 2026. Cumulative gross GST collections for the April-June period of FY27 reached Rs 6,31,699 crore, an 8.4% increase…
GST Day is observed on July 1 to mark the anniversary of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) launched on July 1, 2017. The GST framework unified India's indirect tax structure by subsuming 17 taxes and 13 cesses under the…
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The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) initiative, ICMR-MINDS, won the Gold Award at the National Awards for e-Governance under Category 2 for innovation by use of AI and other new-age technologies for providing…
The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) has made it compulsory for researchers applying for the Advanced Research Grant (ARG) to disclose research paper retractions from the past five years. The policy…
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) will convene the 16th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) on June 29 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The CCHFW is the apex advisory…
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) released the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-6 Fact Sheets to highlight improvements in health, nutrition, and demographic indicators. The NFHS-6 Fact Sheets present…
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The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) launched the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) 2025 Portal to assess digital governance across States, Union Territories, and…
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the Scheme for Assistance in Ration Transport and Handling-Income with Automation in PDS (SARTHAK-PDS) with a central outlay of ₹25,530 crore. The programme is…
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay launched the 'Nalam TN' digital health portal to provide access to government health services through a single website. The Chief Minister inaugurated medical infrastructure worth ₹139.47…
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta launched the 'Metro Monday' initiative following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for fuel conservation amid the West Asia crisis. The initiative is part of the 'Mera Bharat, Mera…
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The Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) is operationalising provisions under the Code on Social Security to provide benefits for gig and platform workers. The government has approved the operationalisation of the…
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) National Indicator Framework Progress Report, 2026, to mark the 20th Statistics Day. The National…
The Atal Pension Yojana (APY), a flagship social security scheme of the central government, exceeded 9 crore total gross enrolments on April 21, 2026. The APY is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and…
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched three Jan Suraksha Schemes—Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), and Atal Pension Yojana (APY)—on May 9, 2015. The cumulative…
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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved an increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for 14 Kharif crops for the 2026-27 marketing season. The highest absolute increase in MSP was announced for…
Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah directed the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed) and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation (NCCF) to procure pulses and oilseeds directly from farmers…
The Odisha state Cabinet approved revised English spellings for 64 places across 26 districts to restore them to their Odia phonetic forms. The initiative was undertaken to preserve and promote the linguistic heritage…
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of ₹365 per quintal for sugarcane for the 2026–27 sugar season. The FRP is fixed for a basic sugar recovery rate of 10.25 per…
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The Uttar Pradesh education department developed a dedicated portal (http://cmtcts.upsdc.gov.in) for registration under the Chief Minister's cashless medical scheme for teachers. The scheme covers over 15 lakh teachers…
The Jay Prakash Narayan Sarvodaya Vidyalaya (JPNSV) scheme is a flagship initiative of the Uttar Pradesh government's Social Welfare department providing free residential education to socially, economically, and…
The Government of Uttar Pradesh is implementing the Small River Rejuvenation initiative through the State Mission for Clean Ganga (SMCG) to restore ecological resilience and rural sustainability. The Namami Gange and…
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved the Startup Policy 2026 and Data Centre Policy 2026 to strengthen the state's innovation ecosystem and digital infrastructure. The Startup Policy 2026 introduces a ₹1,000 crore Startup…
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CAFE Phase III fuel-efficiency norms are expected to take effect from April 2027. Mandatory advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) for commercial vehicles will begin with new platforms from January 2027, with broader…
The government is expected to notify the final Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) III norms by the end of May 2026. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is updating the compliance formula to shift the reference fuel…
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has modified the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) guidelines to allow large institutional investors to bid for highway projects. The revised norms permit sovereign wealth…
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) notified the draft Telecommunications (Spectrum Assignment by Administrative Process) Rules, 2026, on June 17 to regulate satellite communication services. Satellite companies…
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The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) amended the Drugs Rules, 1945, on July 10, 2026. Medicinal formulations containing more than 12% v/v ethyl alcohol in quantities exceeding 30 mL now require manufacturing…
Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist Mylswamy Annadurai has been appointed as the Chairman of the Curriculum Design Committee for School Education in Tamil Nadu for a three-year tenure. The…
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) issued a circular on May 14, 2026, relaxing rules for the surrender of annuity policies under the National Pension System (NPS). Surrender is now permitted in…
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) committee on astronaut selection and management has recommended including four civilian specialists from science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) backgrounds…
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The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) hosted the ASPIRE-SHAKTI event at its New Delhi headquarters to commemorate women in STEM. CSIR Secretary and Director General Dr. N. Kalaiselvi unveiled the…
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) completed drilling its second geothermal well in the Puga Valley of Ladakh. The drilling was conducted by the ONGC Energy Centre, reaching a depth of 1,000 metres at an altitude…
China is constructing the world's largest hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet. The project is designed to generate approximately 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which is about…
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), in partnership with Vertis Foundation, is expanding 'Project Saksham' to provide vocational training and employment to rural women and underserved youth. The initiative…
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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved two highway projects with a combined investment of ₹14,114.81 crore. A six-lane road tunnel on NH-148AE connecting Shivmurti Interchange on Dwarka Expressway…
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) issued new guidelines for states to shift the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) base year to 2022-23 to align with national Gross Domestic Product (GDP)…
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved National Highway (NH) projects worth approximately ₹24,249.6 crore in Odisha, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar. The Rameshwar-Paradip section of the Odisha…
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttar Pradesh on April 28-29 to launch development projects worth approximately ₹6,350 crore. In Varanasi, the Prime Minister will dedicate 48 completed projects worth over ₹1,050…
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The 'India BESS Market Review' report, released by the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) and Customized Energy Solutions (CES) at India Energy Storage Week (IESW), projects India's energy storage system (ESS) capacity…
The Union Government approved Karnataka's proposal for the installation of 1,243 electric vehicle (EV) chargers with an outlay of ₹123 crore under the PM E-DRIVE initiative. The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) is…
Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) has commissioned a cumulative 3.37 Gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery energy storage system (BESS) at Khavda in Gujarat. The BESS at Khavda is the world's largest single-location battery storage…
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Metallurgical Laboratory (CSIR-NML), Jamshedpur, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with New Delhi-based M/s R2E Greentech Pvt Ltd. The agreement is for…
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Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar will commemorate the 3rd National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Day at Rabindra Sadan in Kolkata, West Bengal. The Department of…
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) launched a nationwide Fire Safety Week from May 4 to 10 to strengthen fire prevention and response systems in healthcare facilities. Union Health Secretary Punya Salila…
The Ministry of Railways approved a ₹341 crore project to expand Kavach, an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system designed to prevent train collisions and over-speeding. A sanctioned cost of ₹140…
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) issued new guidelines for states to shift the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) base year to 2022-23 to align with national Gross Domestic Product (GDP)…
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The government launched the Bharat Tex 2026 Event App to enhance Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven networking, business matchmaking, and participant engagement at India’s flagship textile event. The digital platform…
Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat), the flagship youth engagement platform of the Department of Youth Affairs, achieved a Guinness World Records title for the highest participation in an online quiz within one week. The record…
The Bharath Digital Infrastructure Association (BDIA) announced Bharat Digital Samvad, which is India's first dedicated national forum on digital sovereignty and infrastructure policy. The summit is scheduled for 20 May…
The Ministry of Jal Shakti will host the 9th India International Water Week (IIWW) from September 22-26, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The theme for the IIWW is Climate Resilient Water Management.
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The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Agreement on Social Security Contributions, also known as the Double Contribution Convention (DCC), will come into force on July 15, 2026. The CETA comprises…
India and the United States of America (USA) have completed 99 per cent of negotiations for the first tranche of their bilateral trade agreement. A USA trade delegation is scheduled for negotiations in New Delhi from…
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the United Kingdom (UK) will come into force on July 15. The agreement is projected to boost bilateral trade by £25.5 billion annually, add £4.8 billion to the UK's Gross…
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal will undertake a three-day official visit to London, United Kingdom, from 25 to 27 June 2026. The visit precedes the entry into force of the India-UK Comprehensive…
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Researchers from the Central University of Rajasthan (CURAJ) have developed an inexpensive and sensitive sensor to detect toxic lead ions in drinking water. The sensor was developed in collaboration with the Finnish…
L&T Energy GreenTech Ltd (LTEGL) signed a long-term agreement with Japan's ITOCHU Corporation to supply 300,000 tonnes of green ammonia annually. The green ammonia will be supplied from the upcoming LTEGL facility in…
ACME Green Molecules has signed a long-term agreement with Japan's Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company (MGC) to supply 100,000 tonnes of green methanol annually. The deal is estimated to be worth approximately $1 billion and…
Researchers from the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute for Research on Women's Health (ICMR-NIRWoH), Mumbai, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, have developed an…
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Two new solitary bee species, Elaphropoda triangulata and Habropoda adi, have been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh. The species were identified by researchers from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the…
A new species of lizard, Mesalina bishnoi, has been discovered near Gajner in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan. The discovery, formally described by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), represents the first confirmed…
Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the University of Calcutta discovered a new lynx spider species, Hamataliwa mawlyngot, in Meghalaya. The species was named after Mawlyngot village in the East…
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…
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A new genus and species of tiger moth, named Antaram idukki, has been discovered in the Idukki district of Kerala in the southern Western Ghats. The species belongs to the subfamily Arctiinae (Erebidae) within the order…
The Southern Birdwing, one of India's largest butterflies, was recorded for the first time in Telangana in the Kollapur Range of the Amrabad Tiger Reserve. Also known as the Sahyadri Birdwing, this large swallowtail…
A study conducted by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Prof Ramkrishna More College has identified 191 species of cockroaches in India. The research highlights that 60% of the cockroach species found in the…
Two new species of jumping spiders belonging to the genus Mogrus have been discovered in India. The newly identified species are named Mogrus shushka and Mogrus pune.
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China achieved its first-ever controlled recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster using the Long March 10B rocket. The Long March 10B lifted off from the Hainan commercial space launch site (Wenchang Spacecraft Launch…
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully completed the first lift-off and landing test of its prototype reusable rocket. The test was conducted at the JAXA test site in Noshiro, Akita region, where the…
Agnikul Cosmos (Agnikul) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Finnish space technology firm ICEYE to build, launch, and operate Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth observation systems from India. SAR…
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted a flight test of the Pinaka Long-Range Guided Rocket (LRGR) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, Balasore. The flight test…
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India Women defeated England Women by 270 runs in the one-off Test at Lord's. This was the first women's Test match ever played at Lord's.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi set a world record for the fastest List A half-century by scoring 50 runs in 11 balls during the Tri-Nation Series final against Sri Lanka A. The previous world record for the fastest List A fifty…
The 10th edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in England and Wales from 12 June to 5 July 2026. The tournament will feature 12 teams for the first time…
Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma equalled the record of Jhulan Goswami for the most wickets in women's international cricket, with both players reaching a total of 355 wickets. Deepti Sharma achieved the feat by taking…
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The Global Liveability Index 2026 was released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The index assessed and ranked a total of 173 cities based on liveability parameters.
NITI Aayog and the Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) organised the Paryavaran NITI Manthan conference in New Delhi on 4 May 2026 to reform waste tyre management. India recycled approximately 3 Million Metric…
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is India's most valuable unlisted company with a valuation of ₹4.86 lakh crore according to the 2025 Burgundy Private Hurun India 500 report. The NSE has filed preliminary papers with…
RE, a brand under Eicher Motors Ltd (EML), will invest ₹2,200 crore in two phases, with completion targets of 2029 and 2032, to establish a manufacturing facility and vendor park in Andhra Pradesh. The project marks the…
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Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar will commemorate the 3rd National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Day at Rabindra Sadan in Kolkata, West Bengal. The Department of…
National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) launched the anthology titled "Divya Bharat: A Window to the Soul of India" on 17 April 2026. The initiative aims to inspire citizens and global travellers to…
The main celebration of the International Day of Yoga 2026 will be held in Kolkata on June 21. The theme for the 2026 observance is Yoga for Healthy Ageing.
Akashvani inaugurated ‘Swar Prerna Veethika’, a dedicated photo gallery, on July 1, 2026, at the Akashvani Rang Bhavan Auditorium in New Delhi to celebrate its 90th anniversary. The gallery was inaugurated by Padma…
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International Malala Day is observed globally on July 12 every year. The United Nations (UN) officially declared July 12 as Malala Day in 2013.
The International Day of Living Together in Peace is observed every year on May 16. The theme for the 2026 observance is Building Trust through Dialogue, Inclusion, and Solidarity.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 12 July as the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms through resolution A/RES/77/294. Sand and dust storms (SDS) impact at least 11 of the 17 Sustainable…
Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) commenced its first scheduled international flight to Abu Dhabi on July 15, 2026. The flight is operated by Air India Express and will run three times a week.
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A 90-kilogram bronze statue of Maharishi Sushruta, the pioneer of modern plastic surgery, was unveiled at the Playfair Auditorium of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) in the United Kingdom. Maharishi…
The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) launched the 'Strategic Roadmap for Making Ayurveda Global' to transform Ayurveda into a globally recognised, evidence-based healthcare system by 2047. Exports…
The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), the apex research body under the Ministry of Ayush, launched three major initiatives during its 5th Executive Committee meeting. A research methodology…
World Vitiligo Day is observed on June 25 to raise awareness about vitiligo, a long-term skin condition where patches of skin lose natural pigment due to the dysfunction of melanocytes. The theme for World Vitiligo Day…
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Agnikul Cosmos (Agnikul) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Finnish space technology firm ICEYE to build, launch, and operate Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth observation systems from India. SAR…
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports constituted a Search-cum-Selection Committee for the National Sports Board. Cabinet Secretary Dr. T.V. Somanathan was appointed to lead the five-member committee.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, an institution established in 1660. She is the first Indian in the institution's 365-year record to be named a Fellow after a parent who also…
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Saibal Chattopadhyay as the Chairperson of the National Statistical Commission (NSC). Shubhabrata Das, Satyendra Bahadur Singh, and Madhavan Mukund have been…