Current Affairs — 18 May 2025
Daily news by your exam, state and topic — each with a short summary, key facts and MCQs.
Sun, 18 May 2025
Fires in Hyderabad's Gulzar Houz and a Solapur textile mill kill 25; PM announces ex-gratia
Seventeen members of a family died in a fire in a building at Gulzar Houz near Charminar, Hyderabad, and eight died in a fire at a textile mill in Solapur MIDC on 18 May 2025; the PM announced ₹2 lakh ex-gratia per deceased from PMNRF.
NCC cadets scale Mount Everest in NCC's third successful expedition
A National Cadet Corps team of 10 novice cadets — five girls and five boys, average age 19 — scaled Mount Everest on 18 May 2025, the NCC's third Everest ascent after 2013 and 2016.
International Museum Day 2025: 'The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities'
International Museum Day, organised every year on 18 May by the International Council of Museums (ICOM), was observed on 18 May 2025 with the theme 'The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities'.
'Sagar Mein Samman' launched on International Day for Women in Maritime
Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal unveiled 'Sagar Mein Samman', a policy initiative to raise women's participation in the maritime sector, at International Day for Women in Maritime celebrations in Mumbai on 18 May 2025.
National Soil Spectral Library inaugurated; Maharashtra becomes first State with a soil map
At a Krishi Samvad in Nagpur on 18 May 2025, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and CM Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the National Soil Spectral Library, making Maharashtra the first State to have a soil map.
Khelo India Annual Calendar launched to build year-round competition structure
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launched an Annual Calendar under Khelo India on 18 May 2025 to create a year-round competition structure, with an eye on the Commonwealth Games 2030 and Olympic Games 2036.
IIT Ropar's Pragati Founder Forum: nearly 50% of startups now from Tier 2 and 3 towns
Addressing the Pragati Founder Forum hosted by IIT Ropar on 18 May 2025, Union Minister Jitendra Singh praised the institute for promoting agri-startups and said nearly 50% of India's startups now come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns.
Foundation laid for ₹42.4 crore Integrated Aquapark at Kailashahar, Tripura
Union Fisheries Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh laid the foundation stone of a ₹42.4 crore Integrated Aquapark under PMMSY at Kailashahar, Tripura, at an event in Agartala on 18 May 2025.
CBIC holds nationwide 'Sundays on Cycle' cyclothon ahead of 8 years of GST
CBIC, with the Fit India Movement, held a nationwide 'Sundays on Cycle' cyclothon on 18 May 2025 in the run-up to eight years of GST, with the flagship event at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi.
Cooperation Minister: PACS in every panchayat by 2029; 57 initiatives in International Year of Cooperatives
Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, addressing a cooperative Maha Sammelan in Ahmedabad on 18 May 2025, said a PACS will be set up in every panchayat by 2029 and about 57 initiatives have been taken in the International Year of Cooperatives 2025.