Current Affairs 18 May 2025

Khelo India Youth Games 2025 Concludes with Grand Ceremony.

• The Khelo India Youth Games 2025 wraps up with a colorful closing ceremony at Pataliputra Sports Complex, Patna.
• Maharashtra topped the medal tally with 158 medals (58 gold, 47 silver), followed by Haryana (117 medals) and Rajasthan (60 medals).
• Uttar Pradesh won gold in boys’ basketball, while Karnataka clinched gold in girls’ basketball.

BEL Signs Contract for Indigenous Counter-Drone System.

• Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Indian Army Air Defence signed a contract for the Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (IDDIS) to combat aerial threats.
• The DRDO-BEL developed system enhances India’s defense capabilities under the Make in India initiative.
• BEL secured ₹572 crore worth of additional orders, including AI-based solutions for ships, SDRs, etc.

WHO declare polio outbreak in Papua New Guinea.

• World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a polio outbreak in Papua New Guinea, urging an immediate vaccination campaign.
• Samples of the virus were detected in healthy children during routine screenings in Lae, a coastal city in the northeast.
• Polio, a highly infectious disease, primarily affects children under five, spreading via contact with infected faeces or respiratory droplets.

World's First In-Human Bladder Transplant Performed in the US.

• Surgeons in Southern California performed the first human bladder transplant, offering a groundbreaking treatment for patients with severe bladder conditions.
• The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Southern California (USC) surgeons operated on a 41-year-old man who had lost bladder function due to rare bladder cancer treatments.

IIT Delhi Launches "Manasvi" Mentorship to for High-School Girls.

• IIT Delhi organized Manasvi, a STEM mentorship initiative to inspire high school girls towards careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
• Led by IIT Delhi’s Academic Outreach and New Initiatives Office, the programme seeks to address gender disparities in STEM fields.
• Manasvi aims to equip girls with skills and confidence.