Current Affairs One-liners — 18 April 2025

Fri, 18 Apr 2025

• Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced on 18 April 2025, after an ISRO review meeting, that IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla would fly to the International Space Station on Axiom Space's Ax-4 mission, then scheduled for May 2025.
• Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated security forces on 18 April 2025 after CoBRA commandos and Chhattisgarh Police arrested 22 Naxalites in Bijapur and 33 surrendered in Sukma, making Badesetti the first Naxal-free panchayat.
• South Eastern Coalfields Limited signed a ₹7,040 crore agreement with TMC Mineral Resources to mine the Singhali underground mine in Korba using paste fill technology, the Coal Ministry said on 18 April 2025.
• The Finance Ministry said on 18 April 2025 that claims of the Government considering GST on UPI transactions above ₹2,000 are false, as no MDR is charged on UPI and hence no GST applies.
• Union Minister Pralhad Joshi visited the Greenko-built Integrated Renewable Energy Storage Project at Pinnapuram near Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, described as the world's first and largest of its kind, on 18 April 2025.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Elon Musk on 18 April 2025, revisiting topics from their meeting in Washington DC earlier in the year and discussing India–US collaboration in technology and innovation.
• The Petroleum Ministry said on 18 April 2025 that, from Q1 of FY 2025-26, domestic gas for CNG (transport) and PNG (domestic) will be allocated two quarters in advance, and New Well Gas will be allocated pro-rata instead of by auction.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways clarified on 18 April 2025 that no decision has been taken to roll out satellite-based tolling nationwide from 1 May 2025, and said an ANPR-FASTag-based barrier-less system will be implemented at selected toll plazas.
• The Anusandhan National Research Foundation announced on 18 April 2025 the selection of seven PAIR networks, with seven hub and 45 spoke institutions, under its Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research programme.
• The Department of Consumer Affairs notified rules on 18 April 2025 making verification and stamping of radar-based vehicle speed-measurement equipment mandatory under the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011, from 1 July 2025.
• On World Heritage Day, 18 April 2025, 'Sanskriti ka Panchva Adhyay', a compilation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speeches and thoughts on culture, was released at the IGNCA in New Delhi.
• Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the functioning of the Directorate General of Mines Safety at its headquarters in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, on 18 April 2025.