Current Affairs One-liners — 18 February 2026

Wed, 18 Feb 2026

• President Droupadi Murmu reviewed the International Fleet Review (IFR) 2026 off Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 18 February 2026, with participation from 74 countries.
• Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced on 18 February 2026 that Gamini, a South African cheetah, had given birth to three cubs at Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, taking India's cheetah population to 38.
• The Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding on 18 February 2026 for the supply of rice for global humanitarian operations.
• The Election Commission of India announced on 18 February 2026 biennial elections to 37 Rajya Sabha seats from 10 states, with polling and counting on 16 March 2026.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in New Delhi on 18 February 2026 on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit.
• Health Minister J. P. Nadda and French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated the Indo-French Centre for AI in Health (IF-CAIH) at AIIMS, New Delhi, on 18 February 2026.
• French shipping major CMA CGM and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) signed a contract in New Delhi on 18 February 2026 for six 1,700 TEU LNG-fuelled feeder container vessels to be built in Kochi, Kerala.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful qualification level load test of the drogue parachute for the Gaganyaan programme at the Rail Track Rocket Sled facility of TBRL, Chandigarh, on 18 February 2026.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government of Spain, in New Delhi on 18 February 2026 during his official visit for the AI Impact Summit.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the 152nd birth anniversary celebrations of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur as chief guest in Nadia, West Bengal, on 18 February 2026.
• The Digital India BHASHINI Division launched VoicERA, an open-source, end-to-end voice AI stack, on the BHASHINI National Language Infrastructure at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi on 18 February 2026.
• The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Sub-Committee on GRAP revoked all Stage-II actions across Delhi-NCR with immediate effect on 18 February 2026 as Delhi's air quality improved.
• Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi on 18 February 2026 that India had set the Guinness World Records title for the most pledges received for an AI responsibility campaign in 24 hours.
• New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi addressed the launch of the India–UK Offshore Wind Taskforce on 18 February 2026, in the presence of UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy.