18 May 2026 Current Affairs (With PDF)

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Prime Minister’s Visit to the UAE

Narendra Modi made a landmark diplomatic visit to the United Arab Emirates as the first stop of his five-nation tour covering the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy.

Key Outcomes of the Visit

1. Energy & Strategic Petroleum Cooperation

• MoU signed between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for strategic collaboration.
• Proposal to store up to 30 million barrels of ADNOC crude oil in India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves.
• Discussions on storing crude oil in Fujairah as part of India’s overseas strategic reserve framework.
• Cooperation explored in LNG and LPG storage facilities in India.

2. LPG Supply Security

• Strategic collaboration agreement between Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
• Focus on long-term LPG supply arrangements and energy security.
• Potential long-term LPG sale agreement between ADNOC Gas Limited and IOCL.

3. Defence & Maritime Cooperation

• Framework advanced for a Strategic Defence Partnership.
• MoU between Cochin Shipyard Limited and Drydocks World to establish a Ship Repair Cluster at Vadinar.
• Cooperation includes offshore fabrication under the Maritime Development Fund Scheme.
• Additional MoU among CSL, DDW, and Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding for skill development in ship repair.

4. AI & Supercomputing

• Term sheet signed for setting up 8 Exaflop Super Computing Clusters.
• Partnership between Centre for Development of Advanced Computing and G42 under India’s AI Mission.

5. Investment Cooperation

• Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and National Infrastructure and Investment Fund to explore investments up to US$1 billion in India’s infrastructure sector.

India–UAE Bilateral Relations

1. Political Relations

• Diplomatic relations established in 1972.
• Ties elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in 2017.

2. Trade & Investment

• Bilateral merchandise trade crossed US$100 billion in FY 2025–26.
• Both countries aim to achieve US$200 billion trade by 2032.
• Bilateral Investment Treaty signed in 2024.
• UAE is India’s 7th-largest foreign investor.

3. Energy Partnership

• UAE is India’s 4th-largest crude oil supplier, 3rd-largest LNG supplier, largest LPG supplier and 2nd-largest export destination for India’s petroleum products.
• UAE is the only country participating in India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve programme.

4. Defence Cooperation

• Guided through the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC).
• Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in 2003 and operational since 2004.
• Includes cooperation on extradition and combating transnational crime.

5. Space Cooperation

• Indian Space Research Organisation and the UAE Space Agency signed an MoU in 2016 for peaceful space cooperation.

6. Indian Diaspora

• Around 3.5 million Indians reside in the UAE, forming the country’s largest expatriate community.

7. Multilateral Platforms

• India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)
• I2U2
• UAE-France-India Trilateral framework.

India’s First Human-Elephant Conflict Research Centre

Why in News?

Jharkhand is set to establish India’s first dedicated Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) Research Centre at the Palamu Tiger Reserve.

Aim of the Research Centre

• Study the increasing incidents of human-elephant conflict
• Develop scientific and evidence-based mitigation strategies
• Reduce casualties and habitat-related tensions
• Promote long-term human-elephant coexistence

Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC)

• Human-Elephant Conflict refers to the direct and indirect negative interactions arising when humans and elephants compete for Land, Water, Food resources and Habitat space

Major Causes of HEC

1. Habitat Loss and Fragmentation

• Shrinking forest cover and fragmented habitats force elephants into human settlements.

2. Urbanisation and Encroachment

• Expansion of agriculture, roads, and settlements into forest regions disrupts elephant movement.

3. Deforestation

• Large-scale deforestation reduces availability of natural food and shelter for elephants.

4. Infrastructure Development

• Infrastructure within elephant habitats, such as Railway tracks, Highways and Power lines increases accidental deaths and conflict incidents.

Consequences of Human-Elephant Conflict

1. Loss of Life

• Around 500 people reportedly die annually in elephant-related incidents in India.

2. Social Impact

• Forest-fringe communities face constant insecurity and displacement pressures.

3. Elephant Mortality

• Approximately 100 elephants die annually due to Retaliatory killings, Electrocution from illegal fences, Poisoning and Train collisions

4. Agricultural Damage

• Over 1 million hectares of crops are affected annually.

5. Livelihood Impact

• Crop destruction pushes many farmers into economic distress and debt.

6. Property Damage

• Thousands of homes and village structures are damaged every year.

Initiatives to Reduce Human-Elephant Conflict

1. Project Elephant (1992)

• Launched by the Government of India to Protect elephants, Conserve habitats and corridors & asddress HEC through mitigation and compensation mechanisms

2. Elephant Corridors

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has identified around 150 elephant corridors across India.
• Objective: Protect elephant migration routes from encroachment and fragmentation.

3. Haathi Mere Saathi Campaign

• Promote coexistence between humans and elephants.
• Reduce retaliatory violence through Public awareness, Community sensitisation, Conservation education

4. Project RE-HAB

• Full Form: Reducing Elephant-Human Attacks using Bees
• Implementing Agency: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
• Mechanism: Bee boxes are installed as natural barriers. The buzzing sound of bees deters elephants from entering farms and settlements.

World Health Statistics Report 2026

Why in News?

The World Health Organization (WHO) released the World Health Statistics Report 2026, presenting the latest global health indicators and assessing progress toward health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About World Health Statistics Report

1. Nature of the Report

• It is WHO’s annual compilation of global health data and trends.

2. Objective

• Progress toward health-related SDGs
• Global disease burden
• Health system performance
• Public health inequalities and emerging challenges

Key Findings of the Report

1. HIV Reduction

• New HIV infections declined by nearly 40% between 2010 and 2024.

2. Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

• The number of people requiring interventions for NTDs fell by 36%.

3. Malaria Concerns

• Despite progress in other diseases, global malaria incidence increased by 8.5% since 2015.

4. Improved Access

• More than 1 billion people gained access to Safe drinking water, Improved sanitation facilities between 2015 and 2024.

5. Air Pollution Crisis

• Air pollution continues to cause nearly 6.6 million deaths annually worldwide.

6. Polluting Cooking Fuels

• Around 2 billion people still depend on polluting cooking fuels, contributing to respiratory diseases and environmental degradation.

7. Mortality Reduction

• Since 2000, Maternal mortality declined by nearly 40% and Under-five mortality reduced by approximately 51%

8. Persistent Challenges

• Anaemia among women showed limited improvement globally.
• Childhood overweight prevalence reached 5.5%, indicating rising nutrition-related health concerns.

Universal Health Coverage (UHC)

1. Improvement in UHC Index

• The Universal Health Coverage service index improved from 68 to 71 between 2015 and 2023.

2. Financial Hardship

• Despite progress, nearly 1.6 billion people experienced deeper poverty due to high out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

1. Excess Deaths

• COVID-19 caused an estimated 22.1 million excess deaths between 2020 and 2023.

2. Comparison with Official Figures

• This estimate is more than three times higher than the officially reported 7 million deaths.

3. Life Expectancy Setback

• The pandemic reversed global life expectancy levels back to those recorded around 2011.

Lion Species Spotlight Programme

The Gir National Park in Gujarat hosted the launch of the ‘Lion’ Species Spotlight Programme by Bhupender Yadav as a pre-event to the International Big Cat Alliance Summit 2026.

International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA)

• IBCA is a global coalition dedicated to the conservation of seven major big cat species: Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar, Puma
• India will host the first-ever IBCA Summit in New Delhi in June 2026.

About Gir National Park

• Located in the Junagadh, Gir Somnath, and Amreli districts of Gujarat.
• It is the world’s only natural habitat of the Asiatic Lion.
• Known for rich biodiversity including leopards, hyenas, jackals, crocodiles, deer species, and diverse birdlife.
• Considered one of India’s most successful wildlife conservation models due to strong protection and community participation.

Key Conservation Highlights

• Asiatic lion population in the Greater Gir Landscape increased to 891 in 2025, marking a 32% rise compared to 2020.
• Barda Wildlife Sanctuary is being developed as a secondary habitat to support the natural dispersal and long-term conservation of Asiatic lions.

Kalam & Kavach 3.0

The 3rd edition of the Kalam & Kavach 3.0 defence conference was held in New Delhi.

About Kalam & Kavach 3.0

• Organised by the Ministry of Defence.
• It serves as a high-level platform for deliberations on India’s defence transformation, military modernisation, and future preparedness.
• Theme: “Taking JAI Forward With I²”
  - JAI: Jointness, Aatmanirbharta, Innovation
  - I²: Indigenisation, International Collaboration
• Objectives
  - Strengthen integrated military capability among the armed forces.
  - Promote defence innovation and indigenous defence manufacturing.
  - Enhance strategic and technological partnerships with global stakeholders.
  - Advance the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat in the defence sector.

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