Current affairs — 5 November 2026

Prelims pointers

• The September 12 New Delhi Declaration reaffirmed plans to implement the Memorandum of Understanding on the BRICS Carbon Markets Partnership.
• India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme has notified emission-intensity targets for 490 entities across nine sectors and opened an offset mechanism.
• China and India use output-based emissions-intensity benchmarks, while Brazil is establishing an absolute emissions cap.
• The proposed BRICS rulebook would use ISO 14064-consistent monitoring, mutually recognised verifiers and harmonised registry data fields.
• Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement provides a legal basis for bilateral mitigation transfers with corresponding adjustments.

Prelims pointers

• Justice Srinivasan Muralidhar chairs the International Commission of Inquiry discussed in the editorial.
• The report was described as the Commission’s third submission since October 7, 2023.
• The inquiry drew on medical records, satellite imagery, forensic analysis, witness testimony and videos posted by Israeli soldiers.
• The report urged UN members to prevent genocide, investigate and prosecute suspects, and set clear rules for AI use in conflicts.
• The article says the UN General Assembly lacks implementation power, while Security Council action is limited by lack of consensus.

Prelims pointers

• The proposal amends the Drugs Rules, 1945 and concerns drugs declared Not of Standard Quality on specified critical parameters.
• The five specified parameters are assay, dissolution, related substances, impurities and sterility.
• Immediate suspension may be ordered by the Central Licensing Approving Authority or the relevant State Licensing Authority.
• Restoration requires effective Root Cause Analysis and verified Corrective and Preventive Action by the manufacturer.
• Proposed Form 13 reporting would include DCGI, the relevant State or UT authority, and the drug's manufacturer and marketer.

Prelims pointers

• Cyclone Arnab made landfall on October 28 and caused damage estimated at roughly ₹4,526 crore in Andhra Pradesh.
• Initial estimates for Cyclone Murasu, which crossed the coast on November 3, put affected standing crops at about 52,500 hectares.
• Andhra Pradesh reported seven deaths from Arnab and Murasu, while Arnab damaged nearly 90,000 hectares of standing crops in southern Odisha.
• Cyclone Hudhud in October 2014 caused 63 reported deaths in Andhra Pradesh and damage estimated at nearly ₹22,000 crore.
• Recovery and reconstruction were added to the National and State Disaster Response Funds after a nudge from the Fifteenth Finance Commission.

Prelims pointers

• Uttar Pradesh will match Assembly voter lists with Panchayat and Urban Body rolls during the Special Summary Revision of Voter Lists 2027.
• Electoral Registration Officers must arrange Form 6 for an identified eligible citizen absent from every Assembly constituency roll in India.
• Fair price shop records will be used to identify eligible people aged 18 or above who are missing from the current voter list.
• Electoral Literacy Clubs and organisations including NSS, NCC and Nehru Yuva Kendra will support enrolment of young voters.
• The final Special Summary Revision rolls in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled to be published on January 4.

Prelims pointers

• Bihar reports 43,14,959 completed pucca houses under PMAY-G against 49,09,740 approved beneficiaries and an overall target of 49,16,649 houses.
• PMAY-G is a Union Ministry of Rural Development flagship scheme for houseless households and families living in kutcha or dilapidated houses.
• The first phase, covering 2016-17 to 2021-22, completed 36,63,701 houses against 37,00,531 approvals and a target of 37,01,138.
• The second phase covers 2024-25 and 2025-26 and has completed 6,51,258 houses against 12,09,209 approvals and a target of 12,15,511.
• Bihar reports ₹56,743.40 crore in scheme expenditure and financial assistance of ₹1.20 lakh per beneficiary, paid through bank-account transfers.

Prelims pointers

• The Punjab and Haryana High Court applied Supreme Court guidelines laid down in Sukdeb Saha’s case.
• School mechanisms and internal committees must cover bullying based on gender, gender identity and sexual orientation.
• The High Court declined to frame fresh guidelines because binding Supreme Court guidelines already occupied the field.
• Haryana’s School Education Department must ensure prompt, confidential handling of complaints and police reporting of disclosed cognisable offences.
• The CBSE must obtain and scrutinise annual reports required by the Supreme Court guidelines and act under its bye-laws for non-compliance.

Prelims pointers

• The October 29 glacial lake outburst flood occurred in Bhutan’s Gasa district and affected Sintaphu Tsho.
• Sintaphu Tsho grew from 23.33 hectares in 2016 to 24.13 hectares in 2026 before falling to 6.54 hectares after the flood.
• The adjoining supraglacial lake grew from 5.74 hectares to 16.51 hectares during 2016-2026, an increase of 188%.
• After the flood, the supraglacial lake fell to 12.47 hectares, about 24% lower but still more than twice its 2016 size.
• The flood destroyed facilities at Gasa Tshachu on the Mo Chhu River and triggered warnings for parts of West Bengal and Assam.

Prelims pointers

• Between 2011 and 2023, an estimated 496 million people moved out of poverty, while extreme income poverty at the $3-a-day line declined to 2.6%.
• India’s prosperity gap was 4.9 against a global benchmark of $28 per person per day in 2021 purchasing power parity terms.
• In 2023, 2.6% of the population lived below $3 a day, 16.1% below $4.20, and 80.0% below $8.30.
• The ILO India Employment Report 2024 found that approximately 90% of India’s workers were informally employed, with self-employment at 55.8% in 2022.
• Youth unemployment rose from 14.6% in Q1 FY2026 to 15.9% in Q1 FY2027, while real earnings were described as broadly flat.

Prelims pointers

• NFHS-5 found that more than half of women and about two-thirds of young children in India were anaemic.
• Double-fortified salt is fortified with iodine and iron and is proposed as a convenient vehicle because everyone consumes salt.
• Indians consume roughly twice the World Health Organization recommendation of five grams of salt per day, by the estimates cited.
• About one in three adults has hypertension, according to the article’s public-health context.
• India’s non-communicable disease action plan commits to a 30% relative reduction in salt intake.

Prelims pointers

• The Amazon is described as the world’s largest tropical forest and was once a vast carbon sink for human-induced carbon dioxide emissions.
• The reported study found that the Amazon releases more carbon dioxide than it absorbs from the atmosphere.
• Scientists measured carbon dioxide at different atmospheric altitudes using research airplanes between 2010 and 2024.
• The aircraft-based measurements were conducted at four Amazonian sites, and the findings identified Amazonia as a net carbon source.
• Fire caused as much as 38% of deforestation in 2024, according to the article’s description.

Prelims pointers

• Cyclone Arnab struck eastern India on October 28 and produced peak one-minute sustained winds of up to 202 kilometres per hour.
• Researchers at Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute used the Imperial College Storm Model, called IRIS.
• The model compared current conditions at 1.3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels with a climate without human-induced warming.
• Climate change increased the cyclone’s maximum wind speed by approximately 5% and its eyewall rainfall rate by 11% at landfall.
• Direct physical-asset damage in India was estimated to be 33% higher, with roughly 25% of total economic damage attributed directly to climate change.

Prelims pointers

• India announced an extension of a $500 million line of credit for road, health and defence projects in Guyana.
• S. Jaishankar met Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
• The two sides discussed trade and investment, energy, agriculture, infrastructure development, digital technology and capacity building.
• Three agreements covered manufacturing projects, Quick Impact Projects, Digital Public Infrastructure and a UPI-like system in Guyana.
• India and Guyana are members of the Commonwealth and were described as Global South partners with longstanding ties.

Prelims pointers

• Voyager I launched from Cape Canaveral on September 5, 1977, after Voyager II had launched on August 20, 1977.
• Voyager I reached Jupiter on March 5, 1979, Saturn on November 12, 1980, and crossed the heliopause on August 25, 2012.
• Each Voyager carries a golden record containing 116 photographs, a 12-minute audio collage, greetings in more than 50 languages and 90 minutes of music.
• Voyager I took 60 images on February 14, 1990, for a solar-system family portrait, and its cameras were then switched off to save power.
• The spacecraft’s three nuclear generators convert heat from decaying plutonium into electricity and have no moving parts.

Prelims pointers

• UPI processed 24.51 billion transactions worth about ₹29.82 lakh crore in August 2026.
• During 2025-26, UPI handled about 241.62 billion transactions worth roughly ₹314 lakh crore.
• The MDR framework applied up to 0.4% only to person-to-merchant payments above ₹2,000.
• Person-to-person transfers and person-to-merchant payments up to ₹2,000 would remain free.
• NPCI estimated that MDR would affect about 4% of merchant transactions, leaving 96% unaffected.

Prelims pointers

• NVS-03 was launched on October 30 to strengthen India’s NavIC regional satellite navigation system.
• The satellite was placed in an elliptical orbit before its engine was operated for 6,400 seconds to reach a circular orbit.
• ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan said NVS-03 was fully healthy, though in-orbit testing of its payload and other systems remained.
• Indian scientists insisted that the initially scheduled Axiom-4 launch be scrubbed after concern over a leak that was later identified as a line crack.
• Work on the fourth launch complex at Kulasekarapattinam in Tamil Nadu was under way, according to the ISRO Chairman.

Prelims pointers

• The Supreme Court held that the 24-hour clock begins at detention, not at formal arrest.
• The judgment was authored by a Bench headed by Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.
• Detention beyond 24 hours without production before a Magistrate requires the person’s release.
• A Magistrate must record the exact date and time of detention when the person is produced.
• Article 22(2) excludes only necessary journey time, not pre-arrest inquiry or investigation time.

Prelims pointers

• CMFRI documented 161 marine-mammal strandings along the Indian coast during 2024-25.
• Goa recorded 113 cases, followed by Keralam with 13 and Maharashtra with 11.
• The institute developed a GIS-based map to examine stranding patterns and support conservation.
• Humpback dolphins, or Sousa plumbea, accounted for the highest species total with 82 strandings.
• Indo-Pacific finless porpoises, or Neophocaena phocaenoides, accounted for 44 strandings.

Prelims pointers

• CBG blending with CNG and D-PNG reached 1.7% during the first half of the current fiscal.
• The blending targets were 3% for the current fiscal, 4% in 2027-28 and 5% thereafter.
• First-half CBG sales were 115.9 MMSCM against 6,800 MMSCM of combined CNG and D-PNG sales.
• Achieving 3% required annual CBG sales of 408 MMSCM, including 292.1 MMSCM more after September.
• Of 308 CBG plants under construction, 247 had no plans for pipeline connectivity.

Prelims pointers

• India had 248 kilometres of Metro lines across five cities in 2014.
• India’s Metro network is now described as nearly 1,200 kilometres across 26 cities.
• More than one crore people travel by Metro every day, according to the release.
• The Prime Minister linked Metro expansion with less time spent in traffic.
• The release associated Metro travel with more family time, greater productivity and better opportunities.

Prelims pointers

• INS Sahyadri is an indigenous guided-missile stealth frigate of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet.
• INS Sahyadri arrived at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan on 4 November 2026 for MALABAR 2026.
• MALABAR 2026 brings together the navies of India, Japan, the United States and Australia.
• The harbour phase includes professional interactions and coordinated planning before the sea phase.
• The sea phase involves INS Sahyadri and participating units from the United States, Australia and Japan.

Prelims pointers

• UIDAI has onboarded 300 Offline Verification Seeking Entities since the offline-verification ecosystem was rolled out in January.
• Aadhaar offline verification is described as secure, consent-based and paperless, with user control and data minimisation aligned with the DPDP Act.
• The Aadhaar App had recorded nearly 7.5 crore downloads and more than 86 lakh mobile-number updates.
• The app facilitated 22.16 lakh address updates and 40.25 lakh email updates without requiring a physical visit to a centre.
• The app recorded 4.6 crore biometric lock or unlock transactions and 3.61 lakh Aadhaar lock or unlock transactions.

Prelims pointers

• India’s non-fossil-fuel-based installed capacity has crossed 300 gigawatts.
• Non-fossil sources provided 50 per cent of India’s installed electricity capacity in 2025, five years ahead of its commitment.
• India’s solar power capacity grew from less than 3 gigawatts to over 170 gigawatts in a decade.
• More than 65 lakh households joined the solar movement under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.
• Nearly 30 lakh farmers benefited under PM-KUSUM, with solar pumps helping reduce diesel costs and create additional income.

Prelims pointers

• Cosmoserve Space’s Base 1 facility in Hyderabad covers approximately 14,800 square feet.
• Base 1 includes orbital rendezvous and capture labs, microgravity simulation platforms and satellite-integration clean rooms.
• Mission EMBRACE tested soft robotic petals in space in July 2026, within a year of Cosmoserve Space’s formation.
• India’s space economy was reported at nearly USD 9 billion and projected to reach USD 40–45 billion in the coming decade.
• India’s space-startup ecosystem expanded from a single-digit number to nearly 450 enterprises.

Prelims pointers

• Domestic coal production surpassed one billion tonnes for the second consecutive year.
• The conference called for domestic capabilities in critical-mineral exploration, mining, processing, refining and recycling.
• States were urged to deploy artificial intelligence and digitalisation in exploration, mine operations and mineral recovery.
• Post-mining rehabilitation and alternative livelihoods were proposed for inclusion from the beginning of mining operations.
• The 4th Conference of Mining Ministers was organised in Goa on 5–6 November 2026.

Prelims pointers

• India assumed the annually rotating Chairship of the Kimberley Process on 1 January 2026.
• The Kimberley Process operates through a tripartite framework of governments, the diamond industry and civil society.
• The Kimberley Process has 60 Participants representing 86 countries, with the European Union participating as one entity.
• ADPA has 15 effective member countries and eight observers, and its members account for over 60 per cent of global diamond production.
• The Kimberley Process Plenary is scheduled in New Delhi from 30 November to 4 December 2026.

Prelims pointers

• TRAI recommended creating Satellite Communication Network Provider Authorisation under Section 3(1)(b) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023.
• An authorised SCN provider could supply SCNaaS to eligible service providers but could not serve users directly.
• The proposed national authorisation could last 20 years and be renewed for up to another 20 years.
• TRAI recommended permitting MSS-based direct-to-device services in India using L-band and S-band spectrum.
• The proposed authorisation fee is 8 per cent of adjusted gross revenue, with no minimum authorisation fee.

Prelims pointers

• The Ministry of Culture signed an MoU with Google Arts & Culture through a virtual ceremony.
• The partnership covers ASI-protected monuments and sites, national-museum holdings, manuscripts, crafts, performing arts and living traditions.
• The Yuge Yugeen Bharat Museum is taking shape in the North and South Blocks of New Delhi.
• The museum’s digitisation is intended to record its buildings and artefacts and offer the public an early view.
• The Ministry wants India’s heritage to be explorable in Indian languages and on any device.

Prelims pointers

• DRDO flight-tested the quasi-ballistic missile Pralay at about 1110 hours on 5 November 2026.
• The test took place from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.
• Integrated Test Range instruments at Chandipur captured data confirming that all test objectives were fully met.
• Research Centre Imarat in Hyderabad and other DRDO laboratories indigenously developed Pralay.
• Bharat Dynamics Limited, a development-cum-production partner, produced the missile system.

Prelims pointers

• IPRD-2026 was a three-day Indian Navy dialogue organised with the National Maritime Foundation in New Delhi.
• The conference examined science, technology and academic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific through five thematic sessions.
• One session linked ocean governance with equitable deep-sea research, island resilience and marine-science use in shipping.
• The final session examined transformative maritime technologies and their dual-use implications.
• More than forty experts and distinguished speakers from 20 countries participated in IPRD-2026.

Prelims pointers

• The regular tax-devolution instalment released to State governments totalled ₹1,09,019 crore.
• The instalment was released on 5 November 2026 instead of its normal release date of 10 November 2026.
• The advance release was linked to the festive season and intended to support capital, development and welfare expenditure.
• Uttar Pradesh received ₹19,208 crore, the largest amount shown in the state-wise table.
• Bihar received ₹10,845 crore, while Madhya Pradesh received ₹8,010 crore under the release.

Prelims pointers

• The Inter-Ministerial Group recommended asset-monetisation proposals valued at over ₹1,100 crore.
• The IMG is chaired by the DPE Secretary and co-chaired by the Department of Telecommunications Secretary.
• The proposals primarily concern surplus land and building assets of Central Public Sector Enterprises.
• The recommended proposals will be considered by a Cabinet-delegated Alternative Mechanism before further action.
• NLMC is a wholly owned Government of India company under the Department of Public Enterprises in the Ministry of Finance.

Prelims pointers

• The MoU links the MSME Ministry's PM Vishwakarma framework with TRIFED's Tribes India retail and online network.
• TRIFED is the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• PM Vishwakarma was launched on 17 September 2023 for traditional artisans and craftspeople.
• TRIFED will facilitate onboarding, capacity building, quality assurance, packaging, imaging and cataloguing support.
• A proposed “Tribes India–PM Vishwakarma Collection” will display participating artisans' products subject to consent and policies.

Prelims pointers

• The SRI Fund was conceived for equity support to MSMEs, with a ₹10,000 crore Government commitment and expected fourfold private contribution.
• The Mother Fund invests only through Daughter Funds, and the Daughter Funds make investments in MSMEs.
• Commitments reached ₹8,305 crore, while nearly ₹48,000 crore was leveraged from private venture-capital and private-equity funds.
• Seventy-two Daughter Funds were empanelled, with ₹21,330 crore invested in 824 MSMEs; about 74 per cent were micro enterprises.
• Udyam and Udyam Assist registrations crossed 10 crore on 30 October 2026, and 37.6 per cent were women-owned enterprises.

Prelims pointers

• The Martyrs’ Memorial of the First War of Independence of 1857 was inaugurated in Ambala, Haryana.
• The release identifies 10 May 1857 as the date when armed revolution was sounded from Ambala.
• The memorial spans 22 acres, cost ₹594 crore and contains 22 galleries.
• Its technology features include virtual reality, holography and interactive projection.
• The complex includes Phulkari and Sarkanda craft elements, a 2,500-seat open-air theatre and a light-and-sound show.

Prelims pointers

• The RBI reviewed existing Priority Sector Lending guidelines to consolidate instructions issued over time.
• Separate 2026 draft Directions cover commercial banks, small finance banks and local area banks.
• Additional draft Directions cover regional rural banks and urban co-operative banks.
• Instructions omitted from the consolidated Directions would be repealed after issuance, with separate notification.
• Public comments are due by 26 November 2026 through Connect 2 Regulate or by email with the specified subject line.