Current Affairs — 18 April 2026

📖 Explanation

A constitutional amendment bill requires a special majority under Article 368 — at least two-thirds of the members present and voting, in addition to a majority of the total membership. With 528 present, the threshold is 352. The Bill secured only 298 votes in favour and was therefore defeated.

📖 Explanation

The Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan held that EWS candidates cannot claim automatic parity with SC, ST or OBC candidates on age relaxation and on the number of permissible attempts. The Court reasoned that these are 'ancillary considerations' tied to social, not economic, backwardness, and reflect the distinct nature of the EWS quota introduced by the 103rd Constitutional Amendment.

📖 Explanation

NIHSAD, Bhopal is the apex laboratory in India for foreign and emerging animal diseases, including highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The 14 April 2026 H5N1 confirmation at Hesaraghatta came from NIHSAD. NCDC and NIV handle human public-health labs; IVRI is broader animal-health research, but HPAI confirmation specifically goes to NIHSAD.

📖 Explanation

The Boilers Act, 1923 is the central law for the regulation, manufacture, inspection and certification of boilers in India. State Inspectorates of Boilers under DPIIT enforce it. The Factories Act covers broader factory worker safety, and the OSH Code, 2020 is set to consolidate labour laws on safety; but the boiler-specific regime continues under the 1923 Act.

📖 Explanation

On 17 April 2026, India and Austria operationalised a Fast-Track Investment Mechanism (FTM) at the India-Austria Business Forum. The FTM is a single-window dispute-resolution and approvals platform for cross-border investors. Both sides also positioned the wider proposed India-EU FTA as the larger trade driver.

📖 Explanation

India imports about 90% of its crude oil requirement. This is why disruptions in the Persian Gulf — for example, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz between 28 February 2026 and mid-April 2026 — translate so quickly into freight, insurance and pump-price spikes for India.

📖 Explanation

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran (to the north) and Oman's Musandam exclave (to the south). It connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, and is the world's most important oil chokepoint. It should not be confused with the Strait of Malacca (between Malaysia/Singapore and Indonesia) or with Bab-el-Mandeb (between Yemen and Djibouti).

📖 Explanation

Kerala reached the replacement-level TFR of 2.1 in 1987-88, well ahead of the rest of India. The other southern states followed in the mid-2000s. A TFR of 2.1 means each woman has, on average, just enough children to replace her generation; below this level, population eventually declines. NFHS-5 (2019-21) reported India's national TFR at 2.0, indicating the country has now also crossed into sub-replacement.

📖 Explanation

R. Vaishali won the FIDE Women's Candidates tournament held in Cyprus in April 2026, becoming the first Indian to do so since the event was first held in 1952. The winner of the Candidates earns the right to challenge the reigning Women's World Champion — Ju Wenjun of China — in the World Championship match later in 2026. Divya Deshmukh had earlier won the FIDE World Cup in July 2025.

📖 Explanation

India accounts for roughly 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions — the third largest, after China and the United States — but its per-capita emissions are the lowest in the G20, at about one-eighth of the average American level. Its historical (cumulative) contribution is just about 3%. India has also submitted updated NDCs targeting 500 GW of non-fossil installed capacity by 2030.

📖 Explanation

Tele-MANAS — Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States — was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2022. It is currently a voice-based helpline that has scaled significantly. The NIMHANS-ICMR consultation in April 2026 proposed augmenting it with AI-based screening, vernacular chat-bots and clinician-supervised digital CBT.

📖 Explanation

The 84th Constitutional Amendment (2001) extended an earlier freeze on the number of Lok Sabha seats, based on the 1971 Census, until the first Census taken after 2026. The 87th Amendment (2003) updated only the basis for redrawing constituency boundaries (to 2001 Census), while keeping the seat-number freeze intact. With the 2026-27 Census still under way, this freeze underlay the 131st Amendment debate.