Current affairs — 27 October 2026

Prelims pointers

• The proposed Tummidihatti Barrage is on the Pranahita River in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district of Telangana.
• Telangana sought Maharashtra's consent to increase the barrage height from 148 metres to 152 metres.
• The joint committee will include the Chief Secretaries and Water Resources Department Secretaries of both States.
• Depending on the barrage height, an estimated 1,000 to 2,300 acres of land could be submerged in Maharashtra.
• Water allocation and statutory clearances for the project fall under the purview of the Central Water Commission.

Prelims pointers

• The DNPA petition challenges provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025.
• A three-judge Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was scheduled to hear the petitions on October 27.
• The petition invokes constitutional protection under Article 14 and Article 19(l)(a), as rendered in the report, while seeking a journalistic exemption.
• Section 36 of the DPDP Act, read with Rule 23 and the Seventh Schedule, concerns the Central government's power to requisition information.
• Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act amended Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, according to the article.

Prelims pointers

• New South Wales is the first Australian state to legislate for human composting, legally termed terramation.
• Terramation is technically known as natural organic reduction and uses microorganisms to transform human remains.
• The body is placed with wood chips, straw and alfalfa at about 55–70°C with controlled moisture and oxygen.
• Terramation takes about two to three months and yields approximately one cubic metre of compost-like material.
• Katrina Spade launched the Urban Death Project in 2014; human composting is now permitted in 14 U.S. states.

Prelims pointers

• Researchers at SKUAST-Kashmir in Srinagar studied traditional rice varieties cultivated in Kashmir for many generations.
• The study of Kashmir’s traditional rice varieties was published in the journal The Plant Genome.
• The traditional varieties carry cold-tolerance genes and other genes associated with local adaptation.
• Modern rice varieties have partly lost genetic features retained by Kashmir’s traditional varieties.
• Genetic analysis found Kashmir’s traditional rice closer to varieties from the Korean Peninsula and Northeast China.

Prelims pointers

• The overnight money-market segment recorded volume of ₹6,99,171.74 crore and a weighted average rate of 5.74% on October 26, 2026.
• Triparty repo had volume of ₹4,88,510 crore at a weighted average rate of 5.74%, the largest overnight component reported.
• A four-day variable-rate repo operation of ₹1,50,007 crore had a cut-off rate of 5.55% and maturity on October 30, 2026.
• One-day MSF operations were ₹17,385 crore at 5.75%, while one-day SDF operations were ₹1,82,261 crore at 5.25%.
• Net liquidity including the day's and outstanding operations showed absorption of ₹34,082.13 crore; the statement defines net liquidity as Repo + MSF + SLF - Reverse Repo - SDF.

Prelims pointers

• The study analysed data from up to 1.14 million participants distributed across 46 study cohorts.
• Researchers used genome-wide association studies after participants completed validated questionnaires for the five broad personality traits.
• About 1,250 DNA variations were associated with personality traits, but each variation had a minuscule individual effect.
• A polygenic index combines the effects of many variants associated with particular traits into a single score.
• Genomic databases dominated by European-like genomes make polygenic-index predictions less reliable for populations with different genetic ancestries.

Prelims pointers

• India’s refining capacity is currently around 290 million tonnes per annum and is projected to reach 300 million tonnes per annum by 2030.
• The 300-million-tonne projection may not include all proposed greenfield refineries in the pipeline, according to the Minister.
• Some three-million-tonne refineries are scaling up to six million tonnes, while six-million-tonne facilities are expanding to nine million tonnes.
• Hardeep Singh Puri estimated that Europe was losing at least 2,50,000 barrels per day of refining capacity annually.
• The Minister said added refining capacity would support both domestic supply and exports of petroleum products, including diesel.

Prelims pointers

• The Road Transport Ministry amended Rules 115 and 115E of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, to create a regulatory pathway for E100 vehicles.
• E85 contains up to 85% ethanol, whereas E100 consists entirely of ethanol subject to applicable fuel specifications.
• E85 and E100 may be used only in flex-fuel vehicles designed by original equipment manufacturers; existing vehicles are not required to switch or be modified.
• Homologation is the authorised certification that vehicles and components satisfy technical, safety and environmental standards before approval for sale or road use.
• India achieved its E20 target in 2025; from April 2026, BS-VI vehicles must meet E20 emission standards and petrol sold nationwide must contain 20% ethanol.

Prelims pointers

• Kenya’s second reported Ebola death was a 65-year-old close relative of the first patient who developed symptoms while in quarantine.
• Seven Ebola patients remained under treatment in two isolation facilities, and no new infections were reported.
• Kenya announced its first-ever Ebola case on October 6 after the patient arrived from Congo through Uganda on October 3.
• Authorities identified about 135 contacts, placed 118 in quarantine and recorded eight positive tests: four health workers and four relatives.
• Contacts who completed 21 days in quarantine without symptoms were scheduled to begin being released on October 24.

Prelims pointers

• Current climate pledges are projected to reduce global greenhouse-gas emissions only 6% below 2019 levels by 2035.
• Full implementation including conditional elements would raise the projected reduction to 9% below 2019 levels by 2035.
• Most new NDCs link to net-zero targets between 2040 and 2070, with the majority aiming for 2050.
• NDCs and long-term targets together imply a best-estimate warming range of 1.7°C to 2.3°C by the end of the century.
• The report assessed 127 new NDCs representing 154 parties to the 2015 Paris Agreement, submitted from January 1, 2024 to August 31, 2026.

Prelims pointers

• Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy, the world’s fifth-largest country by area and host to most of the Amazon.
• Lula revived regional cooperation through ACTO by hosting the Belém summit in 2023 and making further commitments at Bogotá in 2025.
• The 2023 Belém Declaration established neither a binding collective deadline to end Amazon deforestation nor a ban on new regional oil projects.
• The Netherlands intends to contribute up to $500 million over a decade to the TFFF, subject to conditions; announced commitments total $7.8 billion.
• UNEP found that even full delivery of countries’ Paris Agreement pledges would put the world on course for 2.6°C warming by century-end.

Prelims pointers

• The Union government told the Supreme Court that it is contemplating a statutory framework on child pornography and non-consensual explicit adult content.
• The case was heard by a Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.
• The proposed law may require intermediaries both to take down offending content and to inform authorities about its upload.
• The contemplated policy framework may allow bona fide complaints by third parties, not only complaints by affected persons.
• NGO Prajwala said an earlier court-ordered mechanism was dysfunctional and highlighted the circulation of non-consensual intimate and sexual-assault videos.

Prelims pointers

• The case was heard by a Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.
• NPPA capped trade margins on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer medicines at 30% of MRP, effective November 9.
• The petitions sought stricter enforcement of price controls under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.
• Scheduled formulations face government-fixed price ceilings, while non-scheduled medicines remain outside that framework.
• By March 31, 2026, NPPA had recovered ₹1,582.4 crore of ₹10,029.8 crore demanded, leaving ₹8,447.4 crore outstanding.

Prelims pointers

• S. Jaishankar’s three-day Atlanta visit was scheduled for October 29-31 and included the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
• The Atlanta Quad meeting was to include the foreign ministers of India, the U.S., Australia and Japan.
• Quad leaders were expected to meet in Manila during the ASEAN-East Asian Summits in mid-November.
• May’s Quad outcomes included maritime surveillance, a critical-minerals framework and Indo-Pacific energy security.
• The article said the Manila meeting would be the first Quad leaders’ summit held in a non-Quad country.

Prelims pointers

• The six-month order covers 365 mandals in 31 districts: 111 severely drought-affected and 254 moderately drought-affected.
• Telangana received 615.5 mm of rain against a normal 740.6 mm from June 1 to September 30, a deficit of 17%.
• Paddy area declined 18%, from 69.19 lakh acres to 57 lakh acres; total kharif area fell to 126.06 lakh acres.
• Live storage in major and medium irrigation reservoirs was 179.63 TMC against a total capacity of 585 TMC.
• Relief directions include input subsidies through DBT, drinking-water augmentation, fodder, cattle camps and employment generation.

Prelims pointers

• India had 1,367.93 million telephone subscribers at the end of September 2026, including 1,319.19 million wireless subscribers.
• September recorded a net addition of 7.23 million telephone subscriptions and total monthly growth of 0.53%.
• Urban subscribers numbered 807.78 million and represented 59.05% of the total; rural subscribers numbered 560.16 million.
• Overall tele-density was 95.52% with M2M cellular mobile connections and 85.41% when they were excluded.
• September saw 16.77 million MNP requests, while active wireless subscribers at peak VLR numbered 1,212.80 million.

Prelims pointers

• DPIIT reported 2,50,046 recognised startups and over 25.42 lakh jobs across more than 770 districts and 56 industries.
• The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme approved ₹775.67 crore for 4,194 startups through 244 incubators across 32 States and Union Territories.
• The Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups guaranteed 532 loans worth ₹1,662.71 crore and doubled per-borrower cover to ₹20 crore.
• Of 47,957 reduced compliances, 22,290 were digitised, 16,141 simplified, 5,255 decriminalised and 4,271 eliminated.
• The National Single Window System hosts 3,779 services and its Know Your Approvals module provides visibility of over 8,000 approvals.

Prelims pointers

• DPIIT launched National Startup Awards 6.0 under Startup India; the awards have operated since 2019.
• NSA 6.0 comprises 20 sectoral categories and three special categories, including 12 newly introduced sectors.
• The three special categories cover women-led startups, North-Eastern startups and student innovators or aspiring entrepreneurs.
• The Student Innovator or Aspiring Entrepreneur Award has a total prize pool of ₹25 lakh across four sub-categories.
• Applications for NSA 6.0 opened on 27 October 2026 and remain open until 20 November 2026.

Prelims pointers

• The 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum met in New Delhi on October 26–27, 2026 under the theme “Fostering Parliaments For People-Centric Development”.
• The declaration identifies three cooperation pillars: political and security, economic and financial, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
• Its climate position invokes equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities while calling for implementation of NDCs.
• The declaration notes a proposal for a BRICS digital public infrastructure repository and pilot DPI projects for digital transformation.
• It calls for expeditious finalisation and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism within the United Nations framework.

Prelims pointers

• The Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave 2026 was inaugurated at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on October 27, 2026.
• The indigenous 500-Megawatt Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor was reported to have achieved First Criticality a few months earlier.
• The government committed ₹12,000 crore for market-ready laboratory technologies, matched by ₹12,000 crore from private investors.
• Annual patent filings were reported to have risen from fewer than 50,000 ten years ago to nearly 1.5 lakh in the previous year.
• Future-focused National Missions cited in the address cover semiconductors, quantum technologies, biotechnology, advanced materials, robotics, space, clean energy and next-generation communications.

Prelims pointers

• Yard 1283, the Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel Srishti, was launched at Goa Shipyard Limited on October 27, 2026.
• Sandeepa Sahay launched Srishti in the presence of Defence Finance Secretary Vishvajit Sahay.
• The indigenously designed and built ships will augment the Indian Navy’s existing OPVs and NOPVs.
• Stated roles include maritime surveillance, search and rescue, offshore-asset protection, HADR and anti-piracy missions.
• NGOPV construction is proceeding concurrently at GSL in Goa and GRSE in Kolkata.

Prelims pointers

• The 11th Garuda Shakti exercise began at Banyuwangi, Indonesia, and runs from October 27 to November 6, 2026.
• India’s contingent comprises Parachute Regiment special-forces troops; Indonesia’s comprises Indonesian Special Forces personnel.
• Training focuses on tactics, techniques and procedures for special operations in jungle environments.
• Activities include obstacle crossing, combat marksmanship, mountaineering, air assault training and combat-hardening sessions.
• A culminating validation exercise will simulate operational scenarios and assess endurance, coordination and combat readiness.

Prelims pointers

• The Indian Navy hosted the 33rd SIMBEX at Visakhapatnam, and the bilateral exercise concluded on October 26, 2026.
• The Harbour Phase included expert exchanges, cross-deck visits, professional interactions, sports and planning conferences.
• The Bay of Bengal Sea Phase covered maritime interdiction, anti-submarine, anti-air and anti-surface warfare drills.
• Singapore deployed Formidable-class stealth frigate RSS Supreme with an embarked SH-70B helicopter.
• India deployed INS Nilgiri, INS Kamorta, P-8I and Dornier aircraft, Hawk trainers and MH-60R helicopters.

Prelims pointers

• BRO’s Project Arunank celebrated its 19th Raising Day at Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh, on October 24, 2026.
• Raised in 2008, Project Arunank develops and maintains border infrastructure across challenging terrain in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Its construction practices include alternative materials, geocells and slope-protection measures to improve infrastructure resilience and durability.
• Welfare support for Casual Paid Labourers includes shelters, protective clothing, sanitation facilities and regular medical camps.
• Project Arunank reported planting 25,815 trees under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign.

Prelims pointers

• The Ministry of Culture and Bibliothèque nationale de France signed the MoU in Paris on 26 October 2026 under Gyan Bharatam Mission.
• The agreement was signed by Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal and BnF President Gilles Pécout.
• The five cooperation areas are digitisation, repository cross-sharing, technology exchange, conservation, and research and development.
• The partners will identify and digitise Indic-origin manuscripts and collections held by Bibliothèque nationale de France.
• Gyan Bharatam’s National Digital Repository is intended to provide structured, permission-based research access to Indian-origin manuscripts and Indian Knowledge Systems.

Prelims pointers

• Piyush Goyal’s two-day Netherlands visit covered October 25 and 26, 2026, and included a business delegation of approximately 60 people.
• The release describes the Port of Rotterdam as Europe’s largest port, a gateway for Indian goods to Europe and a major global supply-chain hub.
• The ministerial discussions covered Dutch investment in manufacturing, R&D, infrastructure, renewable energy, logistics and digital technologies.
• The India-Netherlands Business Forum was co-chaired by Piyush Goyal and Sjoerd Sjoerdsma and attended by approximately 200 business representatives.
• The visit built on the Strategic Partnership announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Netherlands in May 2026.

Prelims pointers

• Section 51A of the UAPA, 1967 underpins the account-related compliance obligations described in the RBI’s KYC Directions.
• UNSC press release SC/16488 of October 26, 2026 announced the removal of three individuals from the ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions List.
• After delisting, the asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo under paragraph 1 of Resolution 2734 (2024) no longer apply to the three names.
• The delisting request was considered under paragraph 75 of UNSC Resolution 2734 (2024) after submission by the designating State.
• Banks must electronically forward received delisting requests to the Joint Secretary (CTCR) in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Prelims pointers

• RBI notification RBI/2026-27/302 of October 27, 2026 communicated amendments to three individual entries on the UNSC sanctions list.
• The amended entries were QDi.340 Emilie Edwige Konig, QDi.342 Oumar Diaby and QDi.376 Peter Cherif.
• The UNSC action cited resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning ISIL, Al-Qaida and associated actors.
• Resolution 2734 (2024) provides for an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo, adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
• RBI-regulated entities were told to act under Chapter IX of the 2025 KYC Directions and follow the UAPA Order of February 2, 2021, as amended on April 22, 2024.

Prelims pointers

• SGB 2020-21 Series I was issued on April 28, 2020 under a Government of India notification dated April 13, 2020.
• Premature redemption may be permitted after the fifth year from issue, on a date on which interest is payable.
• The next premature-redemption date for SGB 2020-21 Series I was October 28, 2026.
• The RBI fixed the premature-redemption price due on October 28, 2026 at ₹14,159 per unit.
• The price used the simple average closing price of 999-purity gold for October 23, 26 and 27, 2026, as published by IBJA.

Prelims pointers

• The RBI held the 36th Conference of State Finance Secretaries in Mumbai on October 27, 2026.
• Finance Secretaries from 27 States and three Union Territories attended the conference.
• The conference theme connected expenditure quality, effective cash management and prudent debt management with States’ fiscal sustainability.
• The RBI Governor urged States to onboard onto the Unified Lending Interface and use Programmable CBDC for Direct Benefit Transfers.
• The conference reviewed State market borrowings, RBI short-term accommodation to States and adoption of a Benchmark Issuance Strategy.