Current affairs — 1 November 2026

Prelims pointers

• The challenged Cabinet Committee decision was approved on May 21, 1965 after an MHA note was placed before it on May 17, 1965.
• A March 1965 conference of Chief Justices recommended a common judicial language, with English continuing until Hindi could replace it.
• Article 348(2) permits a Governor, with the President’s previous consent, to authorise a regional language in High Court proceedings.
• The Article 348(2) permission described in the report does not extend to judgments, decrees or orders passed by the High Court.
• Hindi was permitted in Rajasthan High Court in 1950 and in the High Courts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar from 1969, 1971 and 1972 respectively.

Prelims pointers

• The 2026 southwest monsoon ended nearly 13% below the long-term rainfall average of 87 cm.
• East and Northeast India had their driest monsoon season since rainfall records began in 1901.
• Since 1950, seven Indian monsoons have coincided with a moderate or strong El Niño, and five were deficient.
• The IMD uses “deficient” for monsoon rainfall at least 10% below the long-term average, as occurred in 2026.
• Despite one of the twentieth century’s strongest El Niños, 1997 ended with nearly normal, or “average”, monsoon rainfall.

Prelims pointers

• Gross GST collections exceeded ₹2.31 lakh crore in October 2026, rising 22.9% year-on-year.
• October's total was the second-highest monthly GST mop-up, after the roughly ₹2.43 lakh crore collected in April.
• Domestic-sales GST revenue rose 16% to over ₹1.59 lakh crore, while import revenue rose 42% to ₹72,246 crore.
• GST refunds increased 6.5% to ₹27,934 crore, and net collections rose 26% to over ₹2.03 lakh crore.
• During April-October, gross GST collections grew 13.2% to over ₹14.77 lakh crore and net collections grew 13% to over ₹12.69 lakh crore.

Prelims pointers

• ESA launched Gaia in December 2013 to create an accurate three-dimensional map of the Milky Way.
• Gaia operates around the Sun-Earth L2 point about 1.5 million km from Earth, opposite the Sun.
• The mission uses astrometry, photometry and spectroscopy to measure position, brightness, colour and radial motion.
• The third dataset used observations from 2014-2017 and included radial velocities for 33 million stars.
• Gaia detected more than 100,000 starquakes and catalogued more than 800,000 binary systems and 156,000 asteroids.

Prelims pointers

• The three bilateral meetings took place on October 31 on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta.
• Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed Ukraine, the Gulf situation and multilateral issues.
• The meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski covered Ukraine, India-EU ties and the G20.
• Poland attended the year's G20 meetings as a full participant following an invitation from the United States.
• Jaishankar and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reviewed bilateral cooperation and discussed multilateral issues.

Prelims pointers

• The Azini was seized on October 29 between Bandar Bayla and Hafun in northeastern Somalia.
• A Puntland maritime-security officer said 12 pirates captured 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards.
• The Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean warned that the vessel could be used as a mother ship for further attacks.
• The European Union's naval Operation Atalanta was investigating the seizure and ships were urged to remain vigilant.
• By August, pirates had hijacked six commercial vessels since April across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean.

Prelims pointers

• Murasu was forecast to cross the southern Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur with wind speeds of 100-120 kmph.
• The IMD placed SPSR Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Bapatla and Krishna districts on red alert for November 2.
• APSDMA identified 20 mandals at risk of extremely heavy rainfall: nine in Eluru, five each in Krishna and NTR, and one in Bapatla.
• Andhra Pradesh prepared 1,688 medical teams, 116 relief camps, 13,165 emergency beds and 43,672 anti-snake venom injections.
• Odisha identified 150 landslide-prone locations in Gajapati district and directed collectors to evacuate people from vulnerable areas.

Prelims pointers

• The Star Rating Awards for coal and lignite mines will be held in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, on November 2, 2026.
• The policy assesses operational efficiency, technology adoption, occupational safety, environmental management and sustainable development.
• Its parameters also include rehabilitation and resettlement and initiatives for the welfare of local communities.
• Ratings range from five stars to no star after assessment and validation by reviewers appointed by the Coal Controller’s Organisation.
• Mines with the highest star ratings for assessment year 2024–25 will be felicitated at the ceremony.

Prelims pointers

• Total coal imports fell 5.83%, from 111.05 MT in August 2025 to 104.57 MT in August 2026, a reduction of 6.48 MT.
• Power-plant coal imports declined 6.39%, from 22.77 MT to 21.32 MT over the same year-on-year comparison.
• Imports by imported-coal-based power plants rose 0.98%, from 18.13 MT to 18.31 MT; these plants are designed mainly for imported coal.
• Blending imports for domestic coal-based power plants fell 35.23%, from 4.64 MT to 3.00 MT.
• Imported coal’s share of consumption fell from 21.20% to 19.30%, while coking-coal imports declined from 28.49 MT to 27.30 MT.

Prelims pointers

• Coal India’s October 2026 total coal supply reached a monthly record of 70.3 MT, above 69.4 MT in March 2026.
• Power-sector supply reached a monthly record of 57.1 MT, compared with the previous 56.5 MT record from May 2024.
• October production was a record 67.2 MT, surpassing the 62.47 MT recorded in October 2024.
• Average daily rake loading for the power sector reached 310, exceeding the previous monthly record of 302.8 from March 2025.
• Coal India was established on November 1, 1975; its FY 2026–27 production target is 815 MT.

Prelims pointers

• The conference of PAC chairpersons from Parliament and State/UT legislatures will open in Thiruvananthapuram on November 3, 2026.
• Its theme is “Audit, Accountability and Good Governance – The Evolving Role of the PAC.”
• Public Accounts Committees examine public expenditure and whether public funds are used in accordance with legislative intent.
• The meeting will discuss public financial management, the evolving audit landscape and ways to strengthen legislative scrutiny.
• The two-day conference will conclude on November 4, 2026, with a valedictory address by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Prelims pointers

• Bharat RE 2026 was scheduled for November 2-5 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi under the theme Invest. Innovate. Inspire.
• The release projected participation from over 130 countries and more than 40 ministers.
• Australia, Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom were named as Country Partners.
• The summit was to run alongside the ninth ISA Assembly and the fourth International Conference on Green Hydrogen.
• More than 400 exhibitors were expected to showcase technologies and solutions including solar, wind, green hydrogen and energy storage.

Prelims pointers

• Dinesh Vitthalrao Ganvir assumed charge as the 55th Director General of GSI, an attached office of the Ministry of Mines.
• Ganvir joined GSI on July 1, 1994 and previously headed its Central Region while holding charge as National Mission Head-II.
• His assignments included the Western Bastar Craton, the Sakoli Fold Belt and conservation studies at Bhimbetka and Ellora.
• The release reports 202 critical-mineral blocks, of which 40 had been auctioned, among blocks handed over during his tenure.
• GSI’s stated focus includes critical-mineral exploration, landslide early warning, cryospheric studies, offshore exploration and hazard assessment.

Prelims pointers

• The international-passenger trials run from November to December 2026 at seven airports: Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Mumbai, Chennai and Amritsar.
• Eligibility is limited to Indian nationals holding e-passports and travelling on select international flights operated by Air India and IndiGo.
• A Verifiable Credential is created by scanning the e-passport’s MRZ, reading its chip through smartphone NFC, capturing a selfie and verifying details.
• Digi Yatra complements existing travel processes; users must still carry documents and complete airline checks and immigration formalities.
• The platform has over 26.5 million users and more than 110 million journeys across 39 domestic airports; 25 more are planned by 2027.

Prelims pointers

• President Droupadi Murmu attended the commemoration at Gurukul, Kurukshetra, Haryana, on November 1, 2026.
• The Balidan Shatabdi Samaroh marked the 100th anniversary of Swami Shraddhanand's martyrdom.
• The President described his life journey as a progression from Munshiram to Mahatma Munshiram and then Swami Shraddhanand.
• She said he advocated social unity and conveyed mutual goodwill and national unity from the platform of Delhi's Jama Masjid.
• The address credited him with strengthening the Gurukul system and opposing untouchability as contrary to Vedic principles.

Prelims pointers

• Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan inaugurated the National Organ Transplant Games 2026 at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi.
• The initiative involved the Renal Care Foundation, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization.
• The Vice-President stated that one deceased organ donor can save up to eight lives.
• A total of 570 transplant recipients and donors performed Tadasana together during the programme.
• The organisers received a World Book of Records, New Delhi, certificate for the largest congregation of transplant recipients and donors performing Tadasana.

Prelims pointers

• NHLML is a special-purpose vehicle of NHAI and is developing the Sindi Railway project through AMARA TRANZ Solution.
• NHLML and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority are jointly developing the project on 150 acres near Sindi Railway station.
• The dry-port route will allow specified Vidarbha products to reach Bangladesh through Haldia without travelling to Mumbai.
• The release expects transport cost per container on that route to decline from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹1 lakh.
• Planned facilities include cold storage, warehouses, exporter clusters and a customs office for container handling.

Prelims pointers

• The King of Bhutan conceived the 108 Stupas project and led its implementation in Gelephu Mindfulness City.
• Thousands of volunteers erected 108 stupas in one day; each was 15 metres tall and separated from the next by 108 metres.
• The stupas extend along 11.7 kilometres beside the Aie, or Mau, River near Bhutan’s border with Assam.
• The project aims to establish Gelephu Mindfulness City as a prominent centre of Vajrayana Buddhism.
• Stupa No. 76 was dedicated by Bhutan’s King to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his support for Gelephu Mindfulness City.

Prelims pointers

• EPFO reported approximately eight crore contributory members, 85 lakh pensioners and a retirement corpus of nearly ₹32 lakh crore.
• EPFO said its average claim-settlement time declined to 2.57 days in October 2026 through the CITES 2.01 transformation.
• The verified WhatsApp service will provide PF balances, the latest five transactions, passbook information and PMVBRY-related guidance.
• Automatic settlement covers eligible Aadhaar-verified inoperative EPF accounts with balances up to ₹1,000 after identity and bank verification.
• Approximately one lakh inoperative accounts involving ₹5 crore are expected to benefit from automatic settlement.

Prelims pointers

• Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit assumed charge as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff on November 1, 2026.
• He is an Experimental Test Pilot and Qualified Flying Instructor with more than 3,500 hours of flying experience.
• V in VAYU denotes Vigilance, Victory and Readiness, including operational preparedness and restoration of sanctioned combat strength.
• Y denotes Yukti, covering innovation in doctrine, technology and procedures, including AI-enabled command and control and counter-drone capabilities.
• U denotes Unity of Effort and jointness with the Army, Navy and national agencies; JAI expands to Jointness, Aatmanirbharta and Innovation.

Prelims pointers

• About 40,000 trained volunteers built 108 Jangchub Chortens in nine hours under Bhutan’s Project 108.
• Gelephu lies about 240 km south-southeast of Thimphu and borders Assam’s Chirang district.
• King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk envisions Gelephu Mindfulness City as a spirituality-driven global economic hub.
• Each Jangchub Chorten is 15 metres tall, and the structures are spaced 108 metres apart along the Mau Chhu River.
• The chortens used steel and other improvised building materials, departing from the traditional use of stone and earth.

Prelims pointers

• DGCA and UCADA made two pilots mandatory on every Char Dham helicopter charter sortie.
• The mandate followed the October 30 Joshimath helicopter crash, which killed six people including the pilot.
• Operators proposed suspending Char Dham charter services from November 2 while seeking a review of the directive.
• Operators said the rule would raise crew, accommodation and logistics costs beyond their limited operating margins.
• UCADA said a possible drone strike was included in the investigation and that specific helicopter routes had been drawn up.