Economy Current Affairs One-liners — All time
Daily news by your exam, state and topic — each with a short summary, key facts and MCQs.
Mon, 18 May 2026
- On 18 May 2026 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held talks in Oslo, elevated India–Norway ties to a Green Strategic Partnership and set a goal of doubling bilateral trade by 2030.
- On 18 May 2026 Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said India is targeting exports of $1 trillion this year and $2 trillion over five years, after exports reached $863 billion, nearly 5% higher than the previous year.
Sun, 17 May 2026
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson held talks in Gothenburg during the PM's visit on 17 May 2026, elevated India–Sweden ties to a Strategic Partnership and adopted the India-Sweden Joint Action Plan 2026-2030.
- On 17 May 2026 a Ministry of DoNER team led by Secretary Sanjay Jaju visited the Kaithoon Common Facility Centre in Kota, Rajasthan, to explore blending the North-East's Eri silk with the GI-tagged Kota Doria fabric.
- The National Test House (Northern Region), Ghaziabad, under the Department of Consumer Affairs, has set up a state-of-the-art Shoe Testing Laboratory to test footwear against Indian Standards, PIB said on 17 May 2026.
- On 17 May 2026 Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated Madhur Dairy's new plant at Dashela in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, built for about ₹128 crore with a processing capacity of 2.5 lakh litres of milk a day.
Sat, 16 May 2026
- On 16 May 2026 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten met in The Hague, elevated India–Netherlands relations to a Strategic Partnership and adopted a Strategic Partnership Roadmap for 2026-2030.
- Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal gave the keynote address at the 2nd meeting of the BRICS Contact Group on Trade and Economic Issues (CGETI) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, PIB reported on 16 May 2026, saying intra-BRICS trade had risen to US$1.17 trillion.
- On 16 May 2026 PM Narendra Modi and Dutch PM Rob Jetten witnessed the signing of an agreement between Tata Electronics and ASML to support India's first front-end semiconductor fab at Dholera, Gujarat.
- A PIB backgrounder of 16 May 2026 says India accounts for over 70% of global jaggery production, diverts 20–30% of its sugarcane to jaggery, and saw jaggery exports rise 106.5% in value between 2015-16 and 2024-25.
- Government e Marketplace (GeM) observed its Incorporation Day 2026, PIB said on 16 May 2026, noting that the GeM SPV was incorporated on 17 May 2017 and that the platform now has over 1.36 lakh government buyers and nearly 25 lakh sellers.
Fri, 15 May 2026
- On 15 May 2026 PM Narendra Modi visited the UAE, where India and the UAE signed an ISPRL–ADNOC pact for up to 30 million barrels of ADNOC crude in India's strategic reserves, a Framework for the Strategic Defence Partnership, and announced US$5 billion of UAE investment.
- India's total exports (merchandise and services) in April 2026 were estimated at US$80.80 billion, up 13.59% from April 2025, the Commerce Ministry said on 15 May 2026.
- The PLFS monthly bulletin for April 2026, released by MoSPI on 15 May 2026, put the urban unemployment rate (15+) at 6.6% and the overall labour force participation rate at 55.0%.
- On 15 May 2026 Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw virtually inaugurated Sahasra Semiconductors' ATMP/OSAT facility – Rajasthan's first semiconductor plant and India's first SME-led semiconductor facility – and ELCINA's Electronics Manufacturing Cluster at Bhiwadi.
- The Kimberley Process (KP) Intersessional Meeting 2026, a four-day meeting on the natural diamond trade held under India's Chairship and its '3Cs' theme, concluded in Mumbai, PIB said on 15 May 2026.
- Hindustan Copper Limited, a Miniratna CPSE under the Ministry of Mines, reported a record profit before tax of ₹1,232.73 crore for FY 2025-26, up 95%, the ministry said on 15 May 2026.
Thu, 14 May 2026
- On 14 May 2026 DPIIT said annual WPI inflation rose to 8.30% (provisional) in April 2026 from 3.88% in March, driven by mineral oils, crude petroleum and natural gas.
- On 13 May 2026 Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal held the curtain raiser for the India-Africa Business Dialogue & Exhibition, to be held alongside the 4th India-Africa Forum Summit, noting India–Africa trade of US$93.69 billion in 2025-26.
- On 12 May 2026 the European Union included India in its revised draft list of countries allowed to keep exporting aquaculture products to the EU from September 2026, reversing an omission in Regulation (EU) 2024/2598.
Wed, 13 May 2026
- On 13 May 2026 the CCEA approved higher MSPs for 14 kharif crops for marketing season 2026-27, with paddy (common) at ₹2,441 per quintal and the biggest rise for sunflower seed (₹622).
- On 13 May 2026 Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal gave the LEAPS 2025 logistics awards in 13 categories, released the LEADS 2025 report, and said India's exports hit a record US$863 billion with a US$1 trillion target for the current year.
- On 13 May 2026 Chile's Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna held talks with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi, and both sides reaffirmed their commitment to an early conclusion of the India–Chile CEPA.
Tue, 12 May 2026
- On 12 May 2026 the Finance Ministry said public sector banks earned a record aggregate net profit of ₹1.98 lakh crore in FY 2025-26, their fourth straight profitable year, with gross NPA at a record-low 1.93%.
- On 12 May 2026 MoSPI said CPI retail inflation (base 2024=100) was 3.48% (provisional) in April 2026, up from 3.40% in March, with food inflation (CFPI) at 4.20%.
- On 12 May 2026 the Department of Financial Services launched the US$1.5 billion Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool, with a sovereign guarantee of US$1.4 billion (₹12,980 crore), to keep maritime insurance available amid Middle East tensions.
- On 12 May 2026 the Ministry of Mines launched the second tranche of e-auction of 12 limestone blocks in Anantnag, Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu & Kashmir at Srinagar.
- On 12 May 2026 the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) of MHA and the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) signed an MoU to feed I4C's Suspect Registry data into AI-driven fraud detection to catch mule accounts.
Mon, 11 May 2026
- On 11 May 2026 the 5th Informal Group of Ministers on West Asia, chaired by Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, was told India has 60 days of crude oil and natural gas and 45 days of LPG, and fertiliser stocks of 199.65 LMT against a Kharif 2026 need of 390.54 LMT.
- On 11 May 2026 MoSPI's PLFS Quarterly Bulletin for January–March 2026 put the overall LFPR (15+, CWS) at 55.5% and estimated 57.4 crore persons employed, with urban unemployment on a declining trend.