(1) Prime Minister Modi pitches for austerity measures in the aftermath of West Asia tensions
Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for widespread adoption of work-from-home policies, reduced gold buying and fuel consumption, more support for local products and local tourism in a speech in Hyderabad on May 11, 2026, as a way for the public to help the country’s economy in the aftermath of war in West Asia.
Shortages of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) forced small restaurants to shutter in metro cities earlier, even as gas rationing protected households from the worst of the crisis. Promotion of piped natural gas and electric stoves were part of the government’s response to the energy crisis.
On May 15, the prices for petrol and diesel were hiked by ₹3 each, after oil-marketing-companies posted losses due to the war in West Asia.
Foreign exchange reserves have been under pressure, and the Indian ruppee’s strength against the dollar has been falling. Here is a look at how they have changed since March, when the Iran-U.S. war began.
(2) Political churn in Tamil Nadu as MLAs split in AIADMK camp
In the last week, Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian major AIADMK’s party cohesion took a hit after 25 MLAs expressed confidence in the newly elected Chief Minister Mr. Vijay’s government, even as party general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and other MLAs expressed a lack of confidence.
This split was evident during the floor test conducted on Wednesday last week (May 13, 2026). Mr. Vijay won the trust vote with 144 MLAs expressing support.
The rift within the AIADMK had been brewing since the Tamil Nadu Assembly election results came out on May 4, making Mr. Vijay’s party TVK the largest and giving the State a rare hung Assembly. It came to a head before the floor test, when former Ministers C. Ve. Shanmugham, S.P. Velumani and a group of MLAs submitted letters supporting Mr. Velumani as the Legislature’s party’s leader instead of Mr. Palaniswami.
Dissent within the party, however, is not new. Here is a timeline of dissent over the years.
(3) Hantavirus outbreak reported on a cruise ship
At least three people have died from an infection of hantavirus as of May 17, 2026, of twelve cases reported. The outbreak was discovered among passengers aboard MV Hondius, a cruise ship travelling off the coast of Argentina and heading for the Netherlands. The infection began with a 70-year-old Dutch man exhibiting symptoms on the ship after a bird-watching trip in Argentina earlier. Here is a timeline of its spread thereafter.
This strain of the virus was capable of human-to-human transmission, and close quarters aboard the ship helped its spread, as per the World Health Organisation, which assessed global risk of infection as ‘low.’ Symptoms of the disease include fever, fatigue, muscle pain and respiratory symptoms. Case fatality can range from less than 1% to 15% in Asia and Europe, and up to 50% in the Americas, as per WHO.
(4) 231 violent, poll-related incidents reported in West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026
Of the 370 poll-related incidents reported in West Bengal between March 15 (when the Election Commission of India’s Model Code of Conduct was imposed in the State) and May 7, data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) shows that a total of 231 were violent while 139 were peaceful demonstrations, mostly involving protests against the exclusion of voters from electoral rolls.
Compared to the past two Assembly polls (2016 and 2021) in Bengal, these polls have been less violent. As analysed in The Hindu’s previous stories, violent incidents accounted for 83.9% (172 of 205 cases) in 2016 and 78.53% (278 of 354 cases) in 2021. In comparison, only 62.43% (231 of the 370 cases) were violent in these polls.
The TMC upheld its rank as the most violent party in the State in the past decade. Out of the 106 incidents it was involved in since March 15, the part was the perpetrator in 45 incidents. Out of 91 incidents the BJP was involved in, the party members and supporters were perpetrators in 49 of those.
Incidents of violence flared on the day of polls (April 23 and April 29), and on the day of results. It also peaked on April 2, as tribunals began hearing appeals against deletion of 63 lakh voters and 24 lakh voters placed under adjudication.
(5) U.S. prosecutors to drop graft charges against billionaire Gautam Adani
Billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani has agreed to pay $18 million penalty in a U.S. civil court case linked to corruption without admitting guilt, his company said on Friday (May 15, 2026).
This comes a day after U.S. prosecutors were set to drop charges against Mr. Adani, who was accused of paying hundreds of millions of dollars of bribes and hiding the payments, The New York Times reported Thursday (May 14, 2026).
Mr. Adani was alleged in November 2024 to have agreed to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts. The Times said the move to abandon the charges, brought under U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, came after Adani hired new lawyers led by Robert Giuffra, one of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers.
Here are the major scandals and allegations against Mr. Adani in recent times.
Published – May 18, 2026 04:33 pm IST