Daily Current Affairs – May 18, 2026

The recent Rs 3 hike in petrol and diesel prices, announced after the Prime Minister's national exhortation for austerity, was widely anticipated, according to a research report by Systematix. It stated that the hike is almost "certainly the beginning of a series of hikes, not the end of one."

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has prepared a list of the highway stretches for monetisation with Haryana accounting for the highest number of assets followed by Uttar Pradesh.

A day before his swearing-in,Chief Minister-designate V.D. Satheesan unveiled the 20-member Council of Ministers of the Congress-led UDF government

Tata Trusts-backed digital inclusion platform Haqdarshak is under the government’s Digital India initiative to improve access to welfare schemes.

Steel Authority of India (SAIL) reported a robust 47% year-on-year surge in March quarter net profit, reaching Rs 1,835 crore, driven by a 5% revenue increase to Rs 30,813 crore. Full-year standalone profit also climbed significantly. The company recommended a final dividend of Rs 2.35 per share.

Fund Manager Kashyap Javeri views market corrections as opportunities, not warnings. He advocates for investing during volatility, highlighting recent payoffs for those who entered fresh positions or topped up existing ones during the March dip. Javeri is strategically investing in auto ancillaries, capital goods, private banks, and pharma (CDMO), while remaining cautious on infrastructure.

Public sector banks are increasingly relying on surplus funds and short-term borrowing from the RBI to meet loan demand as deposit growth lags. But analysts caution that without stronger deposit mobilization, credit growth may face constraints.

India is increasing renewable energy but lacks storage capacity. The government plans to support long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies to address this, with a financial scheme expected by FY28, as current infrastructure can't efficiently manage renewable power in low generation periods.