NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Delhi Launches Metro Monday Campaign: Delhi launched the ‘Metro Monday’ campaign on 18 May 2026 to promote public transport use and fuel conservation. The campaign is linked to the 90-day ‘Mera Bharat, Mera Yogdan’ initiative of the Delhi government and includes additional Delhi Metro Rail Corporation services on Mondays. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is the statutory body that operates the Delhi Metro network in the National Capital Region. From 18 May 2026, the corporation will run 24 additional train trips every Monday using six extra trains across its network. Kashmere Gate and ITO are stations on the Delhi Metro network in central Delhi.
2. West Bengal Approves Free Bus Travel for Women, Annapurna Yojana: West Bengal approved free bus travel for women in state-run buses and the Annapurna Yojana, also called the Annapurna Bhandar Scheme, on 18 May 2026. The free bus travel facility will start on 1 June 2026, and the welfare scheme will provide ₹3,000 per month to eligible women beneficiaries from the same date. Free travel for women will apply to all state-run buses across West Bengal from 1 June 2026. The measure is linked to public transport use by women, including students and working professionals, in both rural and urban areas of the state. The Annapurna Yojana is a direct benefit transfer-style welfare initiative for women from economically weaker households. The scheme provides monthly financial assistance of ₹3,000 and is intended to support household expenditure and financial security.
3. Supreme Court Issues Notice on DERC Appointments: The Supreme Court issued notice to the office of Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena on 9 May 2026 in a plea filed by the Delhi Government over appointments to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). The matter concerns the appointment of the DERC chairperson and other members under the regulatory framework for electricity in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Delhi Government stated that the Lieutenant Governor delayed the appointment of the DERC chairman by seeking legal opinion on whether the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court was required. A bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice P.S. Narasimha issued notice through the Principal Secretary of the Lieutenant Governor’s office.
4. K.P. Unnikrishnan Dies at 89: Former Union Minister K. P. Unnikrishnan died on 3 March 2026 at the age of 89 in a private hospital in Kozhikode, Kerala. He served as a Union Minister in the V. P. Singh Cabinet from 1989 to 1990 and held the portfolios of Surface Transport and Communications. K. P. Unnikrishnan was a six-time Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha. He represented the Vadakara constituency in Kozhikode from 1971 to 1996. K. P. Unnikrishnan was born on 20 September 1936. He studied at Madras Christian College and completed a law degree there. He began his professional life as a journalist before entering politics.
5. West Bengal raises upper age limit for state jobs: West Bengal has raised the upper age limit for recruitment to state government jobs from 11 May 2026 through amendments to the West Bengal Services (Raising of Age-limit) Rules, 1981. The notification was issued by the Finance Department (Audit Branch) of the West Bengal Government and applies to recruitment across multiple categories. The upper age limit for Group A posts has been fixed at 41 years. The upper age limit for Group B posts has been fixed at 44 years. The maximum age limit for Group C and Group D posts has been fixed at 45 years. Where any post or service already has an upper age limit above the newly notified limits, the existing provision will continue to apply. For recruitments under the West Bengal Regulation of Recruitment in State Statutory Bodies, Government Companies and Local Authorities Act, 1999, the upper age limit outside the Public Service Commission, West Bengal, will also be 45 years.
6. Amit Shah Flags Off 400 Dial 112 Vehicles in Chhattisgarh: Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off 400 emergency response vehicles for the CG Dial 112 service in Chhattisgarh on 18 May 2026. He also inaugurated 33 mobile forensic science laboratories, with one unit for each district in the state. Dial 112 is India’s integrated emergency response number for police, fire, medical, and disaster management services. The CG Dial 112 system in Chhattisgarh was earlier operational in 16 districts and has now been expanded to cover all districts and police stations in the state. Mobile forensic science laboratories are vehicles fitted with scientific tools for crime-scene examination and evidence collection. The 33 new units in Chhattisgarh are designed to assist police teams at crime scenes and support faster forensic processing.
7. Supreme Court Judge Strength Raised to 37: The Supreme Court of India’s sanctioned strength of judges, excluding the Chief Justice of India, has been increased from 33 to 37 through the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026. The total strength of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice of India, has therefore risen from 34 to 38. Article 123 of the Constitution empowers the President of India to promulgate ordinances when Parliament is not in session. President Droupadi Murmu promulgated the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, on 16 May 2026, and the ordinance was notified in the Gazette of India on the same date.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Rockefeller Foundation Announces $350 Million Global Aid Initiative: The Rockefeller Foundation released its 2025 Impact Report, titled Big Bets, Real Results, on 18 May 2026. The report stated that the Foundation awarded over US$350 million in 2025 through 235 grants and programme-related investments to 204 unique partners. The Foundation stated that its 2025 awards directly mobilised US3 billion and helped mobilise an additional US29 billion in indirect capital. The combined capital mobilised was US$32 billion in 2025. The Foundation said that its 2025 work covered Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and the United States. Its major programme areas included Universal Energy Abundance, Food is Medicine in the United States, and Regenerative School Meals globally.
2. PM Modi Receives Sweden’s Royal Order of Polar Star: Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Sweden’s Royal Order of the Polar Star, Commander Grand Cross, on 17 May 2026 in Gothenburg during his visit to Sweden. The honour was conferred by Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and is Sweden’s highest award for a foreign head of government. The Royal Order of the Polar Star was instituted in 1748 in Sweden. It is awarded to foreign citizens for civic merits, devotion to duty, and contributions to science, literature, and useful works. The order includes the grade of Commander Grand Cross, which is among its senior classes. India and Sweden maintain a strategic partnership that covers trade, technology, defence, green transition, and artificial intelligence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson discussed bilateral cooperation during the visit, and bilateral trade reached USD 7.75 billion in 2025.
3. India, Sweden Elevate Ties to Strategic Partnership: India and Sweden elevated their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership on 17 May 2026 during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Gothenburg, Sweden. The upgraded framework covers green transition, security, emerging technology, people-to-people ties, trade, and investment. The Strategic Partnership is structured around four pillars. These are Strategic Dialogue for Stability and Security, Next-Generation Economic Partnership, Emerging Technologies and Trusted Connectivity, and Shaping Tomorrow Together – People, Planet, Health and Resilience. The India-Sweden Joint Action Plan 2026-2030 provides the operational roadmap for cooperation across political, economic, technological, security, climate, and people-to-people domains.
4. Kami Rita Sherpa Climbs Everest for 32nd Time: Kami Rita Sherpa, a 56-year-old Nepali Sherpa guide, scaled Mount Everest for the 32nd time on 17 May 2026. He reached the summit at 10:12 a.m. Nepal time through the Southeast Ridge route. The ascent was part of an expedition led by 14 Peaks Expedition. Nepal’s Department of Tourism field office at Everest Base Camp confirmed the summit and issued a formal statement on the achievement. Mount Everest is the world’s highest mountain above sea level, with a surveyed elevation of 8,848.86 metres. The Southeast Ridge route is the standard route from Nepal and passes through the South Col before the final summit push. Kami Rita Sherpa was born on 17 January 1970 in Thame, Solukhumbu, Nepal. He first summited Mount Everest in 1994 at the age of 24. Before the 32nd ascent, he had completed his 31st summit on 27 May 2025. He also holds the record for the most 8,000-metre summits, with more than 40 ascents across peaks above 8,000 metres.
5. WHO Declares Ebola PHEIC in Congo and Uganda: The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 17 May 2026. The outbreak is centred in eastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo and has also been confirmed in Kampala, Uganda. Ebola virus disease is a severe viral haemorrhagic fever caused by viruses of the genus Ebolavirus. The disease was first identified in 1976 in outbreaks near the Ebola River region in the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, which is one of the species associated with Ebola virus disease. The Bundibugyo virus was first identified in Uganda in 2007.
6. India, Netherlands Sign Pact for Kalpasar Project: India’s Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Netherlands’ Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management signed a Letter of Intent on 17 May 2026 for technical cooperation on Gujarat’s Kalpasar Project. The project concerns a freshwater reservoir and dam across the Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat. The Netherlands is providing technical expertise and water management experience for the project. The cooperation draws on Dutch engineering experience with the Afsluitdijk Dam, a 32-km-long dam in the Netherlands that converted a saline gulf into a freshwater reservoir. The agreement is linked to the India-Netherlands Strategic Partnership on Water, which covers water management, climate adaptation, and sustainable infrastructure.
OTHER UPDATES:
DEFENCE
1. Sibash Kabiraj Appointed Gurugram Police Commissioner: Senior IPS officer Sibash Kabiraj was appointed as the new Gurugram Police Commissioner on 18 May 2026. He is a 1999-batch Indian Police Service officer and replaced Vikas Arora, who was posted as Additional Director General of Police (Administration), Panchkula. The Indian Police Service is one of the three All India Services under Article 312 of the Constitution of India. IPS officers are recruited through the Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. The police commissionerate system is used in several large Indian cities for urban policing and law-and-order administration. A Police Commissioner generally exercises powers of a District Magistrate in matters related to policing, subject to state law and administrative rules.
2. Pokhran Nuclear Tests and Operation Smiling Buddha: India conducted its first successful nuclear test, codenamed Smiling Buddha, on 18 May 1974 at Pokhran in Rajasthan during the tenure of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The test was officially described as a Peaceful Nuclear Explosion and made India a nuclear-capable nation. Pokhran is a nuclear test site in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. The 1974 test used plutonium and was carried out underground. India became the sixth nation to conduct a nuclear test after the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and China. India conducted the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in May 1998 under Operation Shakti. The tests involved five nuclear explosions and were led by scientists including A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, R. Chidambaram and Anil Kakodkar. India declared itself a nuclear weapons state after the 1998 tests.
3. First Made-in-India Airbus C-295 Ready for Flight Testing: The first domestically assembled Airbus C-295 military transport aircraft in India was completed at the Tata-Airbus facility in Vadodara on 17 May 2026 and was ready for flight testing. The aircraft is part of a 56-aircraft contract signed in September 2021 between India and Airbus Defence and Space for the Indian Air Force. The C-295 programme in India includes 16 fly-away aircraft from Spain and 40 aircraft to be manufactured in India under the Make in India framework. The first India-made aircraft was expected to begin flight tests in June 2026 and to be delivered to the Indian Air Force in September 2026.
SPORTS
1. BCCI Not a Public Authority Under RTI Act: The Central Information Commission (CIC) ruled on 18 May 2026 that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not a “public authority” under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. The order was passed by Information Commissioner P. R. Ramesh in an appeal concerning the BCCI’s role in representing India and selecting players for tournaments. The RTI Act, 2005 applies to public authorities, which include bodies owned, controlled, or substantially financed by the government. Section 2(h) of the RTI Act defines a public authority as an institution established or constituted by the Constitution, a law made by Parliament or a State Legislature, or a government notification.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. National AI Doctors Mission Launched in New Delhi: The National AI Doctors Mission (NAIDM) was launched at Health AI Con 2026 in New Delhi on 17 May 2026. The mission is a national initiative for training India’s medical fraternity in Artificial Intelligence (AI), clinical practice, and ethical use of digital tools in healthcare. NAIDM is a doctor-led initiative conceptualised by Medical Dialogues in collaboration with the National Medical Forum. The mission covers AI knowledge, practical skills, and an ethical framework for medical professionals in India. Artificial Intelligence in healthcare includes machine learning, decision-support systems, medical imaging analysis, and digital triage tools. In India, AI-related medical training is linked with the need for standardised learning pathways, governance norms, and clinical accountability.
2. Delhi Announces Collateral-Free Loans for Women-Led Startups: On 17 May 2026, the Delhi government announced collateral-free loans of up to ₹10 crore for women self-help groups and women-led startups. The Delhi government will act as the guarantor for these loans, and the initiative was announced at the Mega Self Help Group (SHG) Mela-2026 in northwest Delhi. Self-help groups are small, informal groups that pool savings and access credit for income-generating activities. In India, SHGs are commonly linked with women’s livelihoods, micro-enterprises, and rural and urban credit delivery through banks and government programmes. The announced support covers women involved in handicrafts, food processing, home-based manufacturing, khadi products, fashion, small-scale retail, and digital businesses. The measure is linked to institutional credit access, which is a banking term for loans provided through formal financial institutions such as commercial banks and cooperative banks.
3. IN-SPACe Leads Indian Space-Tech Delegation to Italy: The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) led a delegation of nine Indian space-tech companies to Space Meetings Veneto 2026 in Venice, Italy, on 16–17 May 2026. The delegation was headed by Dr. P.K. Jain, Director of the Programme Management and Authorisation Directorate at IN-SPACe. Nine Indian companies took part in the Venice event. The list included Astrogate Labs, Astrobase Space Technologies, VyomIC, Suhora, Kepler Aerospace, Hyspace Technologies, TakeMe2Space, Jarbits Pvt Ltd, and Dhruva Space. Astrobase Space Technologies is based in Karnataka, while Dhruva Space is an Indian space technology company engaged in satellite systems and space infrastructure.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. CAFE III Fuel Efficiency Norms Likely by May-End : Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency III, or CAFE III, is the third phase of India’s fuel-efficiency framework for passenger vehicles. The proposed norms are scheduled to apply from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2032, and the draft framework covers fleet-wide carbon dioxide emissions, credit trading, and vehicle classification rules. The draft CAFE III framework seeks to reduce average fleet emissions for passenger vehicles from about 113 g/km at the end of FY27 to 78.9 g/km by FY32. The latest draft proposes a revised emission curve for small cars and removes a 3 g CO₂/km relief that had appeared in earlier proposals. The draft also reduces the super-credit benefit for strong hybrids from 2.0 to 1.6 and for flex-fuel vehicles from 1.5 to 1.1.
2. India Revises Export Duties on Petrol and Diesel: India revised export duties on petroleum products on 15 May 2026, and the changes took effect from 16 May 2026. The revision covered petrol, diesel and Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), which are refined petroleum products used in transport and aviation. The Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on petrol exports was increased to ₹3 per litre. The export duty on diesel was reduced to ₹16.5 per litre from ₹23 per litre. The export levy on ATF was cut to ₹16 per litre from ₹33 per litre. The Road and Infrastructure Cess (RIC) on exported petrol, diesel and ATF was removed. Domestic excise duties on petrol and diesel remained unchanged, and retail fuel prices within India were not altered by this revision.
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