DAILY GK 17-18 MAY 2026
1. IRAQPRIME
MINISTER
·
Ali Falih Kadhim al-Zaidi,
who was nominated by the Coordination Framework sworn
in as the new Prime Minister of Iraq and
Commander-in-Chief of the country’s Armed Forces.
·
At 40 years old, al-Zaidi makes history as
the youngest Prime Minister in Iraq’s modern
history.
2. CM
OF KERALA
·
Vadasseri Damodara
Menon Satheesan (V. D. Satheesan), represents the Paravur Assembly constituency in
Kerala, was sworn in as the 13th Chief
Minister (CM) of Kerala following the victory of the
United Democratic Front (UDF) in the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026.
·
The
oath of office and secrecy was administered by Rajendra Vishwanath
Arlekar, Governor of Kerala.
3. CEO
OF UIDAI
·
Saurabh Vijay officially
assumed charge as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the
nodal agency responsible for Aadhaar
operations under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
(MeitY).
·
He
succeeded Vivek Chandra Verma, Deputy Director
General of UIDAI, who was holding additional charge as CEO since April
2026.
4. RBI
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
·
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed Gunveer
Singh as Executive Director (ED) with immediate
effect and assigned him charge of the
Department of Payment and Settlement Systems (DPSS).
·
DPSS is
responsible for regulating and
supervising payment systems in India.
5. CHAIRMAN
OF COMMONWEALTH CHESS ASSOCIATION
·
Bharat Singh Chauhan was
re-elected as the Chairman of the Commonwealth Chess
Association (CCA) for the 2026–2030
term, during the Annual General
Body Meeting held at Wasakaduwa, Sri Lanka.
·
Office Bearers: Akhramsyah
Muammar UbaidshSanusi (Malaysia), G. Luxman Wijesuriya (Sri Lanka), and Vicky
Magu (South Africa) were elected as Deputy Chairman, General Secretary, and
Treasurer respectively.
·
The CCA announced the launch of the Commonwealth
School Chess Championship, with the first edition set to be hosted in Malaysia in October 2026.
6. CHAIRPERSON
OF PARLIAMENTARY PANEL ON SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT
·
MedhaVishram Kulkarni,
Member of Parliament (MP), Rajya Sabha, was appointed as Chairperson of
the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
·
The
appointment was officially approved by C. P. Radhakrishnan, Vice President of
India and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
·
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla named Sudheer Gupta as the Chairperson of the
Joint Committee on the Corporate Laws
(Amendment) Bill, 2026.
7.
INDIA ASSUMES CHAIRMANSHIP OF CCDB
·
India assumed the chairmanship of the Common
Criteria Development Board (CCDB) for two years, the leadership
position was confirmed during the 1st Quarter Meeting of the Common Criteria
Recognition Arrangement (CCRA), held in Tokyo, Japan.
·
A prestigious responsibility reflecting the
nation’s growing role in international Information Technology (IT)
security standards development.
·
Under the CCRA, member countries
accept each other’s IT security certificates without re-certification, enabling
seamless global trade in secure IT products.
·
India has been a member of the CCRA since
16 September 2013 as a Certificate Authorizing Nation, represented by the
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and
the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate
as the official body for IT security certification in India.
8.
FIRST STATE TO COMPLETE ALL PRIORITY AREAS
UNDER DEREGULATION PHASE–I AND II
·
The Government of Tripura became
the first state in India to complete all priority areas
identified under Deregulation Phase–I and Phase–II reforms aimed at
improving ease of doing business and reducing regulatory burden.
·
This initiative focuses on simplifying land
and urban governance processes.
·
It is the first state in India to complete
all 51 priority areas under both Deregulation.
·
Phase I: This phase was initiated in February
2025, covering 23 priority areas across revenue, Urban Development,
Industries, Labour, Environment, Factories & Boilers, Fire, Pollution
Control Board and Digital Governance.
·
Phase II: This phase was
initiated in January 2026 and covered 28 priority areas across
Revenue, Urban Development, Industries, Labour, Environment, Tourism, Health,
Education and Digital Governance.
9.
INDIA HOSTS KIMBERLEY PROCESS INTERSESSIONAL
MEETING 2026
·
India hosted the Kimberley Process (KP)
Intersessional Meeting 2026 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, under its 2026
Chairship, with Suchindra Misra, Special Secretary,
Department of Commerce (DOC), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I),
serving as the official KP Chair for 2026.
·
KP currently comprises 60 Participants representing
86 countries, with the European Union participating as a
single bloc, and the meeting brought together member countries, the World
Diamond Council (WDC), and civil society groups.
·
Deliberations were based on the “3Cs”
framework: Credibility, Compliance and Consumer Confidence.
·
KPCS was established under United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 55/56 in 2000 to prevent
conflict or “blood” diamonds from entering the legitimate global diamond trade.
10. INDIA’S
1ST SME-LED SEMICONDUCTOR ATMP/OSAT FACILITY
·
Union Minister AshwiniVaishnaw,
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), virtually
inaugurated India’s 1st Small and Medium Enterprise (SME)-led
semiconductor ATMP/OSAT(Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging
/ Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) facility at Bhiwadi,
Rajasthan.
·
This newly inaugurated facility, set up
by M/s SahasraSemiconductors Pvt. Ltd., has
been developed under the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic
Components and Semiconductors (SPECS), a flagship
scheme of MeitY.
·
The
facility, which spreads across 57,000 square feet (sq. ft.) of area, has been
set up with an investment of more than Rs 150 crore.
11. INDIA’S
1ST SOLAR-POWERED ‘ALGAE TREE’ TO TACKLE AIR POLLUTION
·
India’s first ‘Algae Tree’ inaugurated
at Swami Vivekananda Park in Bhopal, MP, to reduce urban
air pollution.
·
The
smart device utilizes microalgae suspended in a
liquid tank to absorb carbon dioxide(CO2) and perform photosynthesis, releasing
fresh oxygen back into the atmosphere.
·
The solar-powered bioreactor uses microalgae
to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, with one unit said to match the
carbon absorption of around 25 mature trees.
12. COMMITTEE
ON EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN
·
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla constituted
the parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women for
the year 2026–27 with effect from April 21, 2026.
·
Dr.
DaggubatiPurandeswari, Member of Parliament (MP) and Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
leader, has been appointed as the Chairperson of the committee.
·
The Committee on Empowerment of Women is
a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), was constituted
for the first time on April 29, 1997, during the 11th Lok Sabha in pursuance of
two identical resolutions moved in both the Houses of Parliament on March 8,
1996, for improving the status of women.
·
The term of the Committee does not exceed one
year, and it is reconstituted year after year.
·
The Committee comprises 30 members, including
20 nominated by the Speaker from the Lok Sabha and 10 nominated by the Chairman
of the Rajya Sabha from among its members.
·
Lok Sabha: HemaMalini, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and
IqraChoudhary among others.
·
Rajya Sabha: SudhaMurty, PT Usha and Swati Maliwal among
others.
·
The committee reviews National Commission for
Women (NCW) reports and advises the government on women’s welfare, equality,
education, and representation.
·
It also
monitors women-related schemes and examines issues referred by Parliament,
cutting across party affiliations.
13. NHAI LAUNCHES
‘PROJECT SAKSHAM’ TO EMPOWER RURAL WOMEN
·
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI),
under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways(MoRTH), in collaboration with
the Vertis Foundation, launched ‘Project
Saksham’ to empower rural women through skill development and
employment opportunities.
·
Project Saksham operates through 12 training
centres across India, providing underserved communities with industry-relevant
skills and pathways to formal employment.
