Current affairs — 8 October 2026

Prelims pointers

• The WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted in 2025 by 124 member-states, including India; 11 abstained and none voted against it.
• The Agreement is not yet open for ratification because its Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing annex is still under negotiation.
• PABS is meant to support fair access for low- and lower-middle-income countries to vaccines, medicines and therapeutics during pandemics.
• At the September 2026 UN High-Level Meeting, India paired support for international coordination with national sovereignty and equitable access.
• India launched the Global Initiative for Digital Health during its G-20 presidency in 2023 and is actively engaged in PABS negotiations.

Prelims pointers

• Cheetahs Vyom and Neera were released into Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve on October 7, 2026.
• The reserve is Madhya Pradesh’s third cheetah habitat after Kuno National Park in Sheopur and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur.
• Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, also called Nauradehi Tiger Reserve, covers about 2,339 square kilometres across Sagar, Damoh and Narsinghpur districts.
• The area was designated a tiger reserve on September 20, 2023, after integration with Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary.
• About 439 hectares have been specially arranged for the cheetahs, including secure enclosures known as bomas and other facilities.

Prelims pointers

• India’s cumulative municipal property-tax receipts were 0.15–0.2% of GDP, against 0.6% in middle-income countries.
• Property tax has three stages: enumeration, valuation and assessment, and billing and collection.
• GIS property mapping with satellite imagery and drones still requires physical inspections by municipal assessors.
• The Chennai study found municipal tax assessors achieved better outcomes than assessors from outsourced firms.
• Across Bengaluru, Pune and Ghaziabad, municipal base rates were not revised when elected councils were absent.

Prelims pointers

• The Election Commission’s special enrolment drive was scheduled to continue until October 9.
• The drive covered Tamil Nadu and other States where Special Intensive Revision had been completed.
• District-level special camps for eligible young voters were proposed, preferably on October 10.
• Electoral Literacy Clubs in schools and colleges were to promote awareness and facilitate enrolment.
• Electoral Registration Officers were to review progress regularly with Booth Level Officers.

Prelims pointers

• Tamil Nadu received 44.208 tmc ft of Cauvery water in June-September 2026 against a period quota of 123.14 tmc ft.
• Mettur dam storage stood at 36.639 tmc ft against its 93.47 tmc ft capacity, with 10 tmc ft reserved for specified non-irrigation needs and dead storage.
• Tamil Nadu received about 3.35 tmc ft between September 24 and October 4 against a CWMA direction for 5.18 tmc ft over 15 days.
• Cauvery-delta paddy coverage was 1.68 lakh acres on October 5, down from 2.64 lakh acres at the corresponding point a year earlier.
• Direct sowing accounted for about 1.27 lakh acres, while Cuddalore and Tiruvarur together made up roughly 72% of current paddy coverage.

Prelims pointers

• The sugarcane fair and remunerative price for the 2026-27 season was fixed at ₹365 per quintal at a basic recovery rate of 10.25%.
• The Centre advised mills to begin crushing on October 15, 2026, expecting October output to exceed 10 lakh metric tonnes rather than the usual 3-4 lakh metric tonnes.
• Raju Shetti demanded a sugar minimum selling price of ₹50, an ethanol purchase price of ₹70 and a sugarcane price of ₹5,000.
• India’s annual sugar production was reported at about 300-340 lakh metric tonnes, against domestic consumption of about 280-290 lakh metric tonnes.
• Current-season sugar production was expected at around 306 lakh metric tonnes, compared with an initial estimate of about 343 lakh metric tonnes.

Prelims pointers

• The Madras High Court dismissed Bank of Baroda’s review of an August 24, 2026 order revoking a Look Out Circular.
• The case concerned Kondepati Ganga Prasad, guarantor for a high-value loan taken by GVR Infra Projects.
• The court linked freedom to travel abroad to Article 21 and cited Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978).
• Justice V. Lakshminarayanan said a bank manager’s letter to the Bureau of Immigration could not be treated as law under Article 21.
• The bank had filed no fraud complaint against the guarantor with the CBI or State police.

Prelims pointers

• The Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme supports recovery action for 24 identified species and their habitats.
• India’s National Red List Roadmap, launched at the 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, targets plant and animal Red Data Books by 2030.
• Of 7,516 Indian animal species assessed for the IUCN Red List, 1,012 are threatened; the assessments cover only 7.2% of documented Indian animal species.
• Project Nilgiri Tahr surveys recorded 1,303 tahrs in 2025 and 1,364 in 2026 across its conservation landscape.
• A 2026 Wildlife Institute of India assessment estimated 270 dugongs: 158 in Palk Bay and 112 in the Gulf of Mannar.