18 November 2025 Current Affairs

Government and Cabinet Decisions

• Union Cabinet expressed deep grief over the terrorist car explosion near Red Fort, Delhi .

• Cabinet approved revised royalty rates for Caesium, Graphite, Rubidium, Zirconium .

• Cabinet approved Export Promotion Mission (EPM) – boosts exports for MSMEs, new exporters, labour-intensive sectors .

National Updates

• India becomes 6th-largest patent filer globally – 64,000+ applications .

• 30th CII Partnership Summit 2025 inaugurated in Visakhapatnam by VP C. P. Radhakrishnan .

• Supreme Court orders Saranda Forest, Jharkhand → to be declared Wildlife Sanctuary .

• Ambaji Marble (milky white stone) receives GI Tag .

• 56th IFFI (20–28 Nov 2025) to be held in Goa .

Banking & Economy

• RBI fines ₹39.60 lakh on Tamilnad Mercantile Bank .

• Axis Bank conducts 10th edition of EVOLVE for MSMEs in Kozhikode .

• Wholesale inflation : 0.13% in September , negative in October 2025 .

• SBI to discontinue mCASH (OnlineSBI & YONO Lite) from 1 Dec 2025 .

• UAE completes first Digital Dirham (CBDC) government transaction in <2 minutes .

• Mallika Srinivasan gets 2nd extension as PESB Chairperson .

• NAM India (Nippon) enters strategic partnership with Germany’s DWS Group .

Defence Affairs

• Indian Navy unveils INS Mahe crest (first Mahe-class ASW-SWC).

• NES Conference 2025 held at Eastern Naval Command, Vizag (10–13 Nov) .

• MoD signs ₹2,095 crore contract with BDL for INVAR ATGMs (Buy Indian).

• India inaugurates Nyoma Airbase, Ladakh → C-130J landed by Air Chief Marshal AP Singh .

• DRDO–NSTL develops Man-portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (MP-AUVs) for MCM operations .

Space & Technology

• ISRO announces major expansion :