6 October 2026
The People's Bank of China announced enhanced financial support for the economy on Tuesday, 29 September 2026.
The one-year Pledged Supplementary Lending (PSL) rate was cut from 1.75% to 1.5%.
PSL support now extends to the 'six networks': water networks, new-type power grids, computing power networks, communication networks, urban underground pipelines and logistics networks.
The sci-tech innovation relending quota rose by 200 billion yuan, from 1.2 trillion to 1.4 trillion yuan.
The private enterprise relending facility quota rose from 1 trillion to 1.3 trillion yuan.
From 1 October 2026, interest subsidies for housing loans will apply for one year.
One-year PSL rate:
1.75% to 1.5%
Sci-tech relending quota:
1.2 trillion to 1.4 trillion yuan
Private enterprise relending quota:
1 trillion to 1.3 trillion yuan
Why it matters for exams: Central-bank rate tools and relending quotas are staple economy questions, and China's policy moves are tracked in international affairs.
UPSCSSCBank
In plain words
PSL Pledged Supplementary Lending — A central-bank loan facility for policy banks, set at a stated interest rate.
Relending Relending quota — Central-bank funds lent on to banks for use in targeted sectors.
6 October 2026
Xinhua reported on 4 October 2026 that China's holiday consumption market posted steady growth.
On 1 October, railway passengers hit 25.2 million, a single-day record.
Authorities projected 2.13 billion cross-regional trips over the seven days, averaging 300 million a day.
Foot traffic at 78 major shopping districts rose 3.4% year on year and revenue rose 5.3% from 1 to 3 October.
The trade-in programme generated 19.63 billion yuan and benefited 3.48 million consumers.
Highway tolls were waived for private vehicles, and local governments are handing out some 310 million yuan in consumer vouchers and subsidies over the month-long tourism campaign.
Railway passengers on 1 October:
25.2 million
Trade-in programme turnover:
19.63 billion yuan
Projected cross-regional trips:
2.13 billion over seven days
Why it matters for exams: Holiday-consumption data and stimulus tools such as trade-in subsidies show how China steers domestic demand.
UPSCSSCBank
In plain words
Trade-in programme Consumer goods trade-in programme — A subsidy scheme encouraging consumers to replace old cars and appliances.
6 October 2026
The Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress approved the revised National Defense Mobilization Law at its 24th session in August 2026.
It took effect on 1 October 2026.
The law has 14 chapters and 82 articles.
It is the first update since the original law was adopted in February 2010.
It defines national defense mobilization as State activities ensuring a rapid transition between peacetime and wartime.
It calls for promoting advanced technologies in national defense mobilization.
Structure:
14 chapters and 82 articles
Effective date:
1 October 2026
Original law adopted:
February 2010
Why it matters for exams: China's legislative organs and defence laws feature in polity-comparison and security questions.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
NPCSC Standing Committee of the National People's Congress — The permanent body of China's top legislature that passes laws between full sessions.
6 October 2026
The fifth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee will be held in Beijing in October 2026.
The decision was made at a CPC Central Committee Political Bureau meeting on Thursday, 30 July 2026.
The session will study major issues on advancing the Party's full and rigorous self-governance.
The 21st national congress of the Party is scheduled for autumn 2027.
Session:
Fifth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee
Venue and month:
Beijing, October 2026
Next Party congress:
21st national congress, autumn 2027
Why it matters for exams: China's party-state structure, the Central Committee and Politburo are recurring comparative-polity topics.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Plenary session Plenary session of the Central Committee — A full meeting of the Central Committee, held between Party congresses to decide major issues.
Politburo Political Bureau — The senior body of the Central Committee that sets the plenum's date and agenda.
6 October 2026
Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying outlined the plan on 30 September 2026.
By 2030 the national water network is to cover 82% of China's territory.
Reservoir storage is to rise by 15 billion cubic meters, and 91% of key levees are to meet standards.
Irrigated farmland is to grow by 40 million mu, and tap water coverage in rural areas is to reach 98%.
A national water network dispatch center is to be set up.
The network is one of six prioritised networks of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
Territorial coverage by 2030:
82%
Added reservoir storage:
15 billion cubic meters
Rural tap water coverage:
98%
Why it matters for exams: Water security and Five-Year Plans link economy, environment and governance questions.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Five-Year Plan 15th Five-Year Plan — China's medium-term national development plan, here covering 2026-2030.
6 October 2026
China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said at a press conference on 29 September 2026 that China is on track for a bumper grain harvest in 2026.
Summer grain output exceeded 150 million tonnes for the first time.
Early rice output remained above 28 million tonnes for the sixth consecutive year.
Annual grain output has stayed above 700 million tonnes for two consecutive years, 2024 and 2025.
Per capita grain availability has surpassed 500 kg, higher than the global average.
Last year (2025), meat production exceeded 100 million tonnes for the first time.
The contribution of science and technology to agricultural development has exceeded 64 percent.
Summer grain output:
above 150 million tonnes
Early rice output:
above 28 million tonnes
Per capita grain availability:
above 500 kg
Why it matters for exams: Grain output records and food-security figures are regular agriculture and economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Early rice Early rice — The first rice crop of the year, harvested before the late rice crop.
6 October 2026
The eighth batch of new professions was officially recognised on 9 September 2026 by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other departments; Xinhua's 6 October 2026 report highlights it.
The batch has 11 new occupations and 23 new job types.
Low-altitude economy roles include drone swarm flight planners and low-altitude logistics specialists.
Digital economy roles include AI engineering technicians and embodied intelligent robot application technicians.
Since 2019 China has released eight batches totalling 121 new occupations.
New occupations in this batch:
11
New job types in this batch:
23
Total since 2019:
121 new occupations
Why it matters for exams: Labour-market and skills classification changes link economy, technology and employment questions.
UPSCSSCBank
In plain words
Low-altitude economy Low-altitude economy — Economic activity using airspace close to the ground, such as drone logistics.
Background
China has a land area of about 9.6 million sq km and is the third largest country in the world, after Russia and Canada.
Its land boundary runs to some 22,800 km and its mainland coastline to approximately 18,000 km.
The terrain descends from west to east like a staircase; the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, averaging more than 4,000 m and called the roof of the world, forms the highest step.
Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest), 8,848 m above sea level, is the main peak of the Himalayas and the world's highest peak.
The Yangtze, 6,300 km long, is the largest river in China and the third largest in the world after the Nile and the Amazon; the Yellow River, 5,464 km, is the second largest in China.
The Tarim River, 2,179 km, is China's longest interior river, and the man-made Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou runs 1,801 km.
Poyang Lake, 3,583 sq km, is the largest freshwater lake, and Qinghai Lake, 4,583 sq km, the largest saltwater lake.
Land area:
about 9.6 million sq km
Land boundary:
some 22,800 km
Largest river:
The Yangtze, 6,300 km long
Largest freshwater lake:
Poyang Lake, 3,583 sq km
Why it matters for exams: Physical geography of a large neighbour is standard preliminary material, and the rank of the Yangtze, the length of the Grand Canal and the two largest lakes are repeatedly asked.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Interior river — A river that drains into an inland lake, a desert or a salt marsh instead of reaching the sea.
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau — The highest step of China's terrain, averaging more than 4,000 m above sea level.
Grand Canal — A man-made waterway from Beijing to Hangzhou that links five major rivers.
Background
The systems and policies of a special administrative region rest on Article 31 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China.
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was adopted at the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress on 4 April 1990 and was put into effect as of 1 July 1997.
Under it the National People's Congress authorizes the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to exercise a high degree of autonomy and to enjoy executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication.
The Basic Law provides that the socialist system and policies shall not be practised in the Region and that the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years.
In addition to the Chinese language, English may also be used as an official language by the executive authorities, the legislature and the judiciary of the Region.
Apart from the national flag and national emblem, the Region may use a regional flag and regional emblem; the regional flag is a red flag with a bauhinia highlighted by five star-tipped stamens.
Annex I sets the method for the selection of the Chief Executive, Annex II the method for the formation of the Legislative Council and its voting procedures, and Annex III the national laws to be applied in the Region.
Constitutional basis:
Article 31 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China
Basic Law adopted:
4 April 1990, Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress
In effect from:
1 July 1997
Previous capitalist system unchanged for:
50 years
Why it matters for exams: Examiners ask how one country can hold a region with its own legal system, and the answer lies in a named constitutional article and an authorisation by the national legislature.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Basic Law — The law enacted by the National People's Congress prescribing the systems to be practised in a special administrative region.
Final adjudication — The power to decide a case last, with no appeal to a court outside the system that holds it.
National People's Congress — China's national legislature, which enacted the Basic Law and authorises the Region's autonomy.
Background
The United Nations list of Member States records China (the People's Republic of) with a date of admission of 24-10-1945, the year the Organization itself came into being.
The Security Council is composed of 15 Members.
Its five permanent members are China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States; the ten non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.
China became the 143rd WTO Member in December 2001, at the end of a long accession negotiation.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a multilateral development bank, began operations in Beijing in 2016 with 57 founding Members.
UN date of admission:
24-10-1945
Security Council:
15 Members, five of them permanent
WTO accession:
the 143rd Member, December 2001
AIIB:
began operations in Beijing in 2016 with 57 founding Members
Why it matters for exams: Membership and seniority in the big multilateral bodies is asked directly, and the serial number of a WTO accession is the kind of detail that separates candidates.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Permanent member — One of the five states that hold a seat on the UN Security Council without being elected to it.
Accession — The process by which a state that did not help found an organisation negotiates its entry.
AIIB Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank — A multilateral development bank for infrastructure, with its headquarters in Beijing.
Background
Tiangong is China's space station, built to serve as a state-level space lab supporting long astronaut stays and large-scale scientific and application experiments.
It has a basic three-module configuration: the core module, Tianhe, and two lab modules, Wentian and Mengtian.
It is designed to accommodate 25 experiment cabinets.
The Wentian lab module supports experiments on life, ecology, and biotechnology.
The Mengtian lab module carries cabinets for the physics of fluids, material science, combustion science, and basic physics.
The crewed programme is run by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
Shenzhou crewed spaceships are launched on Long March-2F carrier rockets from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China and reach the station by a fast automated rendezvous and docking.
Space station:
Tiangong
Core module:
Tianhe
Lab modules:
Wentian and Mengtian
Launch centre for crewed flights:
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Why it matters for exams: Space station names, module names and launch centres are asked as straight one-mark recall, and the modules are easy to confuse with the cargo craft.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Tiangong — China's space station, in orbit as a laboratory for long crewed stays.
CMSA China Manned Space Agency — The agency that runs China's crewed space missions and announces their results.
Rendezvous and docking — The manoeuvre by which an arriving spacecraft matches orbits with a station and joins it.
Background
China ratified the World Heritage Convention on 12 December 1985.
The UNESCO record for China lists 42 cultural properties, 15 natural properties and four mixed properties.
Among the cultural properties are the Great Wall, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, the Ancient City of Ping Yao, the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City, the Grand Canal and the Beijing Central Axis.
Among the natural properties are the Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area, the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, Qinghai Hoh Xil and the Badain Jaran Desert - Towers of Sand and Lakes.
All four mixed properties are mountains: Mount Taishan, Mount Huangshan, Mount Wuyi and the Mount Emei Scenic Area, which includes the Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area.
China has served four mandates on the World Heritage Committee.
Convention ratified:
12 December 1985
Cultural properties:
42
Natural properties:
15
Mixed properties:
4
Why it matters for exams: Country-wise World Heritage counts and named properties are a recurring one-mark item, and the small mixed category is the part candidates usually miss.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Mixed property — A World Heritage property inscribed for both cultural and natural value.
World Heritage Convention — The 1972 UNESCO treaty under which States Parties nominate properties for the World Heritage List.
World Heritage Committee — The elected body of States Parties that decides which properties are inscribed.