TODAYS TOP NEWS
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1. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday (May 18) felicitated senior Telangana police officers in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, for their role in suppressing Maoist activity and making Telangana a Naxal-free State.
2. The tender process for the Hyderabad–Vijayawada Regional Ring Road along National Highway 65 has been completed, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav said on 10 May. He made the remark during a meeting with the Telangana Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy.
3. Delhi International Airport Limited is developing an Automated People Mover system, also called an air train, for Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The planned system is India’s first driverless airport air train and is designed for inter-terminal connectivity across a 7.7 km route.
4. The University of Hyderabad has been nominated as the Lead Knowledge Institution for Telangana under NITI Aayog’s State Support Mission. The university will assist the State government with policy research, monitoring frameworks, technical expertise and capacity-building across multiple strategic sectors.
5. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is chairing the Central Zonal Council meeting in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, with Chief Ministers of four states. The visit also highlights Bastar’s anti-Naxal development push, tribal welfare plans, and conversion of security camps into public service centres.
6. Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched AI-powered Dial 112 emergency response vehicles in Chhattisgarh. The upgraded emergency system now covers all 33 districts with smart tracking, women safety features, forensic vans, and faster emergency response support.
7. India has unveiled the first proposed design of its Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, set to run at 320 kmph and cut travel time to just two hours. Here’s everything about the route, stations, launch timeline, project progress, and what India’s first high-speed rail means.
8. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has constituted the Committee on Empowerment of Women, appointing BJP MP Daggubati Purandeswari as chairperson.
9. In a dramatic twist to West Bengal’s most charged post-poll contest, Falta’s self-styled ‘Pushpa’, TMC candidate Jahangir Khan, who had built his campaign around an image of defiance and publicly vowed never to bend, on Tuesday stepped away from the May 21 repoll, a move that could virtually hand the BJP a walkover in the constituency.
10. Major General (Retd.) Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, the former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and senior BJP leader, has passed away in Dehradun after a prolonged illness. He was known for his disciplined leadership, clean image and the administrative reforms, and he left a lasting mark in both military service and public life.
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LEGAL REPORT
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1. The Supreme Court Collegium Approves Appointment of 19 Judges for Madras High Court, Including 9 Judicial Officers and 10 Advocates.
2. The use of his name by V D Satheesan while swearing-in as Kerala Chief Minister has triggered a row in Kerala. Satheesan used his full name Vadasseri Damodaran Menon Satheesan during the swearing-in on Monday. A section has triggered a campaign that Satheesan intentionally used the full name to highlight the surname Menon, which is used by the upper caste Nair community.
3. The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday stayed criminal proceedings against Amazon Seller Services Private Limited in a case of copyright infringement involving the sale of pirated copies of a book authored by late journalist Ravi Belagere.
4. Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and others in criminal contempt proceedings initiated by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma. Justice Sharma started the contempt proceedings against the AAP leaders over “orchestrated social media campaign” against her in relation to the liquor policy case proceedings.
5. Commercial transport unions in Delhi-NCR announced a three-day strike from May 21 to 23, 2026, over fare revision demands for taxis, auto-rickshaws, trucks, and goods vehicles. The unions linked their demands to rising prices of CNG, petrol, and diesel, and to disputes over commercial vehicle regulation in Delhi.
6. A Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed the bail plea of former JNU student Umar Khalid, accused in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, saying the grounds for seeking the relief are unreasonable.
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DEFENCE News
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1. The National Defence Academy (NDA) has inducted the SIG 716 assault rifle into its training curriculum, ensuring that cadets are familiarised with modern battlefield weaponry at an early stage of their military grooming.
The SIG 716, manufactured by US-based SIG Sauer, is currently the Indian Army’s primary battle rifle.
2. Captain Sanjeev Agnihotri has assumed charge as Officer-in-Charge of Naval Air Enclave Porbandar during a ceremonial parade held at the Naval Air Enclave on May 18, 2026.
3. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has announced that Group Captain K K Venugopal, Executive Director and Chief Test Pilot (Fixed Wing), has been elected as a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP).
4. Defence technology firm Tonbo Imaging has secured a contract from the Indian Navy under the ADITI 3.0 innovation framework for the integration and commissioning of a High Power Microwave (HPM) system for naval platforms, marking a significant step in the country’s indigenous directed-energy weapons programme
5. India and Vietnam reviewed maritime security and defence cooperation during bilateral meetings held in New Delhi on 6 May 2026 and in Hanoi on 19 May 2026. The discussions involved India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence Phan Van Giang, and covered defence partnership, military training, defence manufacturing, and regional stability in the Indo-Pacific reg).
6. The Indian Air Force has marked the historic milestone as Squadron Leader Saanya has becomethe first women in the Indian Air Force to earn the Cat-A Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI) qualification. It showcases the growing role of the women in the India’s defense forces.
7. Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, arrived in Sri Lanka last night for a three-day official visit aimed at further strengthening bilateral defence ties and military cooperation between the two neighbours.
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FINANCE
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INDIAN RUPEE VALUE
💷 GBP ₹129(Approx)
€ Euro : ₹112(Approx)
USD ₹ 95(Approx)
🇨🇦 Canada :CAD ₹70
🇦🇺 Australia : ₹ 69
🇦🇪 UAE Dirham : ₹ 26
🇨🇳 China Yuan ¥ : ₹ 14
🇲🇻 Maldives Rufiya : ₹ 6.16
🇧🇹 Bhutan ngultrum : ₹ 1.00
🇳🇵 Nepal Rupee : ₹ 0.63
🇧🇩 B’desh Taka* : ₹ 0.78
🇵🇰 Pak Rupee : ₹ 0.34
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Rupee : ₹ 0.30
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BSE SENSEX
75,200.85 −114.19 (0.15%)🔻
NIFTY
23,618.00 −31.95 (0.14%)🔻
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Rates in Financial Capital Mumbai
GOLD : ₹ 15,600/ 01gm (24 krt)
SILVER : ₹ 2,90,000/KG
1. Mahindra & Mahindra and DBS Bank India launched India’s first sustainability-linked dealer financing programme for the automotive sector on 19 May 2026. The scheme links loan interest rates for authorised Mahindra dealerships to environmental, social and governance performance, sales targets, and selected sustainability measures.
2. Bharat Forge, through its Aerospace business, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Andhra Pradesh on 19 May 2026 to establish India’s first private-sector Marine Gas Turbine repair, overhaul, and indigenous development complex in Visakhapatnam. The project will come up over about 80 acres within the Andhra Pradesh Defence Manufacturing Corridor and will be located near the Naval Dockyard, INS Eksila, and the Eastern Naval Command Headquarters.
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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
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1. Actor Ishaan Khatter has been conferred honorary membership of the 45 Cavalry Regiment of the Indian Armoured Corps in recognition of his portrayal of Captain Balram Singh Mehta in the war film Pippa.
Directed by Raja Krishna Menon, Pippa is based on Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta’s memoir The Burning Chaffees and revolves around the role played by the 45 Cavalry regiment during the Indo Pakistani War of 1971, particularly the Battle of Garibpur that contributed to the liberation of Bangladesh.
2. Rubika Liyaquat has stepped down as consulting editor at News18 India, ending a two-year stint during which she fronted the channel’s flagship debate show Goonj and other programmes.
Sushant Sinha has left Times Now Navbharat, where he hosted News Ki Pathshala, Newslaundry has learnt.
According to sources, Liyaquat may join Times Now Navbharat, where she is expected to take over the prime-time slot vacated by Sinha. Sources also claim that Sinha may move to News18 India to replace her.
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20 May (Wednesday)
Vedic Ritu/ Grishma
Drik Ritu : Grishma (Summer)
पक्ष :: Shuklapaksh
(In Purnimanta calendar)
Vikram Samvat – 2083
Month : Jyeshta 04,
(In Amanta calendar)
Shaka Samvat – 1948
Month : Jyeshta 04
Tithi : Chaturthi (up to 11:07 am)Panchami
Nakshatra:Ardra (up to 6:11 am)Punarvasu
Pushya
Rahu : 12:23 PM – 02:02 PM
Yamaganda : 07:26 AM – 09:05 AM
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Ms. Pooja, |
