Current affairs — 3 November 2026

Prelims pointers

• The Supreme Court held a suo motu hearing on Delhi-NCR air pollution on October 12.
• The hearing brought firecracker restrictions, religious sentiments and public health into focus.
• The Bench cited enforcement difficulties while considering restrictions on firecrackers.
• The Bench cautioned against a blanket ban on firecrackers, according to the article.
• The Bench emphasised public awareness and voluntary restraint to encourage less-polluting alternatives.

Prelims pointers

• Israel’s electorate was reported at 7.3 million for the Knesset election.
• Thirty-eight officially recognised political parties competed for 120 Knesset seats.
• A party needs 3.25% of the vote to enter the legislature; only 11 parties were expected to cross that threshold.
• Knesset elections are conducted on a proportional-representation basis.
• The three blocs received 53, 48 and 19 seats respectively, while voter turnout reached 77.7%.

Prelims pointers

• Officials said Benjamin Netanyahu was seeking another wave of strikes on Iran after the November 3 U.S. midterm elections.
• Qatari mediators reportedly held two rounds of talks with Iranian officials in the preceding week.
• The proposed framework linked an end to Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz with removal of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports.
• Donald Trump had not made a decision on renewed strikes, according to the report and remarks attributed to Marco Rubio.
• Regional officials warned that escalation could increase Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping and draw in Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

Prelims pointers

• Murasu's landfall process began near Ongole at 1 a.m. on November 3, 2026.
• Winds near the landfall point were 100-110 kmph, with gusts reaching 120 kmph.
• IMD warned that storm surge could inundate low-lying areas of South Coastal Andhra Pradesh.
• Maximum peak surge was expected over Bapatla and over Krishna and Prakasam districts.
• As of 1 a.m., Ongole had recorded 18 mm of rain and Kothapatnam had recorded 74.7 mm.

Prelims pointers

• Healthy human tissue can carry cancer-driving mutations without developing tumours, according to the article.
• Chronic inflammation from smoking damages lung tissue before definitive cancer-causing mutations take root.
• Chronic smoke exposure alters lung stem cells and weakens their safety mechanisms.
• Smoke exposure also weakens local immune defences and creates a precancerous tissue state.
• Common KRAS and TP53 mutations triggered tumours only in smoke-conditioned tissue in the reported study.

Prelims pointers

• More than 1.9 million hectares burned in Indonesia between January and September 2026, according to FireWatch data.
• Drained peat becomes highly flammable, can smoulder underground for weeks and releases large amounts of smoke.
• BMKG said very strong El Niño and the Indian Ocean Dipole reduced rainfall around Indonesia.
• CREA estimated 5,310 pollution-related deaths in September, including 3,560 linked to forest and land-fire smoke.
• A monthly record 58 million people faced unhealthy or hazardous air, while PM2.5 exposure was linked to 333,470 acute respiratory infections.

Prelims pointers

• Pakistan and Belarus sponsored the draft on conventional-arms control at regional and subregional levels.
• The UNGA First Committee approved it on November 2, 2026 by 180 votes to two, with no abstentions; India and Israel voted against.
• India’s First Secretary Anmol Sher Bedi argued that conventional-arms control is a global issue rather than primarily a regional one.
• India cited UN Disarmament Commission consensus outcomes from 1993, 1999 and 2017 to question a fresh request for principles.
• India separately opposed a paragraph referring to conventional-arms-control proposals made in the context of South Asia.

Prelims pointers

• About three-quarters of emerging human infections originate in animals, according to the article.
• The article cites India’s 1.4 billion people and approximately 536 million livestock in its One Health context.
• Ashoka’s second Major Rock Edict records medical care for people and animals and the planting of healing herbs.
• The second Major Rock Edict cited in the article was cut into stone in the third century BCE.
• Rudolf Virchow introduced the word “zoonosis” and rejected a division between animal and human medicine.

Prelims pointers

• Notification No. FEMA 23(R)/(2)/2026-RB was issued on November 2, 2026 and took effect from October 1, 2026.
• The amendment defines a resident individual as a natural person who is resident in India.
• A resident individual exporting services is deemed to submit the EDF by giving payment-receipt information to the Authorised Dealer.
• For a service exporter other than a resident individual, the deemed-EDF rule applies up to ₹10 lakh of inward remittance or equivalent.
• IDPMS entry within five working days applies where a service importer is not a resident individual and value exceeds ₹10 lakh or equivalent.

Prelims pointers

• SUVIKALP was developed by the Coal Controller Organisation under the Ministry of Coal for mine repurposing decisions.
• The platform is aligned with the Mining Plan Guidelines for Coal and Lignite Mine, 2025.
• SUVIKALP uses TOPSIS, a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making method, to evaluate and rank repurposing alternatives.
• RECLAIM is the Community Engagement and Development Framework integrated into SUVIKALP to include local priorities.
• PRISM expands to Post-Mining Repurposing Implementation Strategic Model and supports movement from project identification to execution.

Prelims pointers

• UNFCCC COP31 is scheduled at Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026.
• India seeks a COP31 decision to commence the Climate Finance Work Programme.
• India cited Article 9.1 while arguing that developed-country climate finance should be predictable, public and concessional.
• India wants Global Goal on Adaptation indicators to be voluntary and not determine access to finance.
• At UNCCD COP17, India reiterated its commitment to restore more than 26 million hectares by 2030.

Prelims pointers

• IPRD-2026 is described as the Indian Navy’s annual apex-level international strategic dialogue.
• The three-day New Delhi conference was organised with the National Maritime Foundation, the Navy’s knowledge partner.
• Its theme was “Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific”.
• The first session released a monograph titled “Sea Blindness and Maritime Heritage in India”.
• The second session discussed IPMDA, information sharing, underwater domain awareness and protection of critical maritime infrastructure.

Prelims pointers

• DPIIT organised the bioeconomy roundtable in collaboration with NITI Aayog and NITI Frontier Tech Hub.
• The roundtable was held at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi and chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
• Regulatory proposals discussed included a Regulatory Sandbox, Single Window Clearance and simplified patent applications.
• Biopharma SHAKTI was identified as an initiative announced in the Union Budget 2026–27.
• Shared laboratories, testing facilities and clinical-trial facilities were discussed as ways to reduce startup costs.

Prelims pointers

• Rule 43A of the Drugs Rules, 1945 specifies authorised entry points through which drugs may be imported into India.
• The draft adds ICDs, SEZ Bommasandra and Noida International Airport to the authorised gateway network.
• Proposed Haryana ICD locations are Sonipat, Piyala and Harsaru.
• Proposed Telangana locations are the ICDs at Sanath Nagar and Thimmapur in Hyderabad.
• Existing authorised gateways cited in the release include ICD Dhannad and ICD Tihi in Indore.

Prelims pointers

• The eFiling 3.0 workshop is an initiative under the eCourts Mission Mode Project.
• The Department of Justice scheduled the workshop at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on 4 November 2026.
• National Informatics Centre sessions will cover eCourts services, Single Sign-On, the mobile app and eFiling 3.0.
• Phase III of the eCourts Project aims at end-to-end digital and paperless courts and citizen-centric eServices.
• Phase III provides for universal adoption of eFiling across all courts.

Prelims pointers

• Tiger Triumph 2026 is the fifth India–US bilateral tri-service Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief exercise.
• Its opening ceremony was held at the Maritime Warfare Centre, Visakhapatnam, on 2 November 2026.
• The 2026 edition is a Tabletop Exercise focused on coordination and planning for large-scale HADR operations.
• India's Navy, Army, Air Force and Special Forces personnel are represented in the exercise.
• A National Disaster Response Force team is participating in Tiger Triumph for the first time in its fifth edition.

Prelims pointers

• The Consultative Committee meeting on defence-force modernisation was held in Jaisalmer on 3 November 2026.
• Its focus areas included capability development, tri-service integration, indigenous manufacturing and disruptive technologies.
• The FY 2026-27 defence budget was Rs 7.85 lakh crore, with Rs 2.19 lakh crore as capital outlay.
• Defence production rose from Rs 46,429 crore in FY 2014-15 to Rs 1.78 lakh crore in FY 2025-26.
• The Army formations named in the release were the Asani, Bhairav and Shaktiban platoons.

Prelims pointers

• INS Sahyadri completed the India–Republic of Korea Navy bilateral exercise at Busan on 29 October 2026.
• The harbour phase included professional discussions, cross-deck visits, operational briefings and expert exchanges.
• INS Sahyadri and ROKS Munmu the Great participated together in the sea phase.
• The sea phase included coordinated navigation, helicopter operations and joint maritime manoeuvres.
• The exercise sought to improve maritime cooperation, mutual understanding and interoperability between the two navies.

Prelims pointers

• The third Delhi Defence Dialogue was organised by MP-IDSA on 3–4 November 2026.
• The dialogue theme joined four elements: defence reforms, Aatmanirbharta, collaborations and exports.
• The erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board was corporatised into seven Defence Public Sector Undertakings.
• Defence production was about Rs 1.78 lakh crore in FY 2025-26, while exports reached Rs 38,424 crore.
• The Government's 2029 targets are Rs 3 lakh crore in defence production and Rs 50,000 crore in defence exports.

Prelims pointers

• The Health Ministry proposed amending the Drugs Rules, 1945 to regulate authorisation for drug-batch release.
• Manufacturers would have to authorise a suitably qualified and experienced person for batch release.
• The proposal requires prescribed records for every manufactured batch and a format for the Batch Release Certificate.
• Batch release involves reviewing relevant quality parameters and documentation before distribution.
• The changes aim to clarify responsibility, improve traceability and support Good Manufacturing Practices compliance.

Prelims pointers

• The ninth India–Sri Lanka Coast Guard High-Level Meeting was held at Mirissa on 3 November 2026.
• Director General Paramesh Sivamani led the Indian Coast Guard delegation at the bilateral meeting.
• Rear Admiral Ruwan Rupasena, Director General of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard, headed Sri Lanka’s delegation.
• Core cooperation areas were Marine Pollution Response, Maritime Search and Rescue, and Maritime Law Enforcement.
• The delegations also explored capacity building and technical assistance to strengthen operational cooperation.

Prelims pointers

• The sacred Shakyamuni Buddha relics displayed at Tawang Monastery were brought from the National Museum, New Delhi.
• Gaden Namgyal Lhatse is the name used in the release for the historic Tawang Monastery.
• The International Buddhist Confederation’s Piprahwa exhibition highlighted the relics’ discovery in 1898.
• The National Museum curated “Crossroads of Dhamma” on Buddhism’s historical, artistic and cultural evolution.
• After Tawang, the relics were scheduled for Bomdila from 8–13 November and Namsai from 14–20 November 2026.

Prelims pointers

• The Telecommunication Interconnection (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026 take effect on 1 January 2027.
• Section 11(1)(b) of the TRAI Act, 1997 empowers TRAI to prescribe interconnection terms and ensure technical compatibility.
• Existing LDCA/SDCA traffic and E1/TDM-based POIs must migrate within three years to LSA-level and IP-based arrangements respectively.
• Bank-guarantee reassessment validity and intervals were extended from six months to twelve months.
• Delayed-payment interest is mutually agreed but capped at SBI’s one-year MCLR plus two percent.

Prelims pointers

• The Pune Metro projects inaugurated or initiated through video conferencing were valued at around ₹21,800 crore.
• The Hinjawadi–Shivajinagar corridor was inaugurated to improve connectivity to a major information-technology hub.
• India’s metro network was reported at nearly 1,200 km across 26 cities, serving more than one crore commuters daily.
• Maharashtra had nearly 175 km of operational metro lines, with more than 680 km under construction.
• The Urban Challenge Fund was approved in February 2026 with one lakh crore in Central assistance for urban investment mobilisation.

Prelims pointers

• The Sikkim Milk Union's Microbiology Laboratory was inaugurated under the National Programme for Dairy Development.
• The Churpi Traceability initiative seeks to strengthen traceability, identity and marketability of the traditional dairy product.
• Sikkim's milk production rose 79%, from 1.37 lakh litres to 2.45 lakh litres per day.
• Dairy cooperative societies increased from 389 in 2014–15 to 733 in 2025–26, a rise of 88%.
• A Centre of Excellence was announced for conservation and development of indigenous Siri cattle, including use of IVF.

Prelims pointers

• RBI launched the November 2026 round of the Urban Consumer Confidence Survey, or UCCS.
• The Urban Consumer Confidence Survey is conducted regularly across 19 Indian cities.
• UCCS seeks qualitative views on the economy, employment, prices, household income and spending.
• RBI states that the survey’s results provide useful inputs for monetary policy.
• Hansa Research Group Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, was engaged to conduct the round for RBI.

Prelims pointers

• The November 2026 Inflation Expectations Survey of Households covers 19 Indian cities.
• IESH captures subjective inflation assessments based on households’ individual consumption baskets.
• Qualitative responses cover general and product-group prices three months and one year ahead.
• Quantitative responses cover current inflation and inflation three months and one year ahead.
• Hansa Research Group Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, was engaged to conduct the round for RBI.