21 October 2026
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appointed Yerlan Karin, aged 50, as Vice-President of Kazakhstan by decree on 31 August. The Kurultai gave its consent to the appointment earlier the same day. Karin had been first deputy head of the presidential administration, and had earlier served as adviser, aide and State Counsellor. The post of Vice-President was created by the Constitution adopted at a referendum, which took effect on 1 July. Under it the President appoints the Vice-President with the consent of a majority of the members of the Kurultai. The Vice-President represents the President in dealings with the Kurultai, the government and other state agencies, and takes over the President's powers until an election if the President leaves office early.
Vice-President:
Yerlan Karin
Body giving consent:
Kurultai
Constitution in force from:
1 July
Why it matters for exams: A newly created constitutional office in a neighbouring Asian state is a ready question on comparative polity.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Kurultai Kurultai of the Republic of Kazakhstan — The single chamber of Kazakhstan's parliament under the new Constitution.
21 October 2026
The World Bank says Kazakhstan's economy expanded by 6.5 per cent in 2025 and then moderated to 4.1 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2026. Growth is projected to moderate to 4.6 per cent in 2026. Inflation eased to 9.8 per cent in August 2026 from 12.3 per cent in December 2025, against the National Bank's target of 5 per cent. Unemployment stood at 4.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 and the fiscal deficit held steady at 2.2 per cent of GDP. Public debt remained stable at 24.4 per cent of GDP and foreign reserves rose to 70.6 billion dollars. The poverty rate is expected to fall to 7.9 per cent by 2028. Kazakhstan has a population of just over 20 million and a density of 7.4 people per square kilometer.
Projected growth:
4.6% in 2026
Inflation:
9.8% in August 2026
Foreign reserves:
$70.6 billion
Public debt:
24.4% of GDP
Why it matters for exams: World Bank country figures are commonly set as direct recall questions on economy.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Fiscal deficit Fiscal deficit — The gap between a government's total spending and its total receipts other than borrowing.
21 October 2026
The ninth edition of the India-Kazakhstan Joint Military Exercise KAZIND was held from 28 September to 11 October 2026 at Oskemen in Kazakhstan. The Indian contingent comprised 60 personnel drawn mainly from a battalion of the Garhwal Rifles, along with troops from other arms and services and personnel of the Indian Air Force. The Kazakh contingent was of matching strength and was made up primarily of Land Forces personnel. The Indian armed forces contingent departed for the exercise from India before it began.
Exercise:
KAZIND-2026, ninth edition
Venue:
Oskemen, Kazakhstan
Indian contingent:
60 personnel
Why it matters for exams: Names, editions and venues of India's joint exercises are among the most frequently asked defence questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Oskemen Oskemen, Kazakhstan — A city in eastern Kazakhstan that hosted the exercise.
21 October 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, in a meeting announced by the Press Information Bureau on 13 September 2026. The Prime Minister recalled India's civilizational ties with Kazakhstan and welcomed the steady growth of bilateral relations. The two leaders reviewed cooperation in political affairs, trade, defence and security, connectivity, energy, critical minerals, emerging technologies, the creative economy and people-to-people ties. They also exchanged views on regional and international developments. Both sides committed to strengthening the strategic partnership for regional peace, stability, development and prosperity.
Summit:
18th BRICS Summit, New Delhi
Leaders:
Narendra Modi and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Why it matters for exams: Summit venues and the areas listed in a bilateral readout are standard international relations questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
BRICS BRICS grouping — A grouping of major emerging economies that holds an annual summit.
21 October 2026
Kazakhstan voted on 23 August to fill the 145 seats of the Kurultai, its new single-chamber parliament. All seats are filled from party lists and deputies serve five-year terms. Turnout was 74.08 per cent, with 9,351,539 of 12,623,289 eligible voters taking part. Five parties crossed the 5 per cent threshold: Adilet with 71.17 per cent, Auyl with 6.26 per cent, Respublica with 5.56 per cent, Aq Jol with 5.21 per cent and the Nationwide Social Democratic Party with 5.11 per cent. The People's Party of Kazakhstan polled 3.11 per cent and Baytaq 1.07 per cent, both below the threshold. Observers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Commonwealth of Independent States described the voting as transparent.
Seats in the Kurultai:
145
Turnout:
74.08 per cent
Threshold:
5 per cent
Why it matters for exams: The first election to a newly unicameral parliament is a likely international affairs question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Threshold Electoral threshold — The minimum share of votes a party must win to receive seats.
Background
The United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States maintains a list of Landlocked Developing Countries. The list contains 32 countries. Kazakhstan appears on it as entry number 12. Countries marked with an asterisk on the list are also Least Developed Countries, and Kazakhstan carries no such mark. Although Kazakhstan has a long frontage on the Caspian Sea, the Caspian is an enclosed body of water, so the country has no coast on an open ocean.
Countries on the LLDC list:
32
Kazakhstan's entry number:
12
Why it matters for exams: Landlocked status and the UN groupings of countries are frequent geography and international organisation questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
LLDC Landlocked Developing Country — A developing country with no coast on an open sea, grouped by the United Nations for special support.
Background
Kazakhstan has seven properties on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Four are cultural: the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, the Petroglyphs of the Archaeological Landscape of Tanbaly, the Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor, and the Rock Mosques and Associated Sacred Sites of Mangystau. Three are natural: Saryarka - Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan, Western Tien-Shan, and Cold Winter Deserts of Turan. The Silk Roads corridor is a transnational property shared with other states. Kazakhstan's acceptance of the World Heritage Convention is recorded as 29 April 1994.
Total properties:
7
Cultural:
4
Natural:
3
Why it matters for exams: The count and names of a country's World Heritage properties are standard art and culture questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Transnational property Transnational World Heritage property — A World Heritage site whose parts lie in more than one country.
Background
Kazakhstan's bicameral parliament, made up of the Majilis and the Senate, has been replaced by a single chamber called the Kurultai. The Kurultai has 145 seats, against 148 in the two chambers it replaced, and its deputies serve five-year terms. All seats are filled by proportional voting from party lists; earlier, 69 of 98 Majilis seats came from party lists and 29 from single-mandate districts, while 40 of the 50 Senate seats were chosen by regional councils and 10 appointed by the President. The post of Vice-President has been restored after being abolished earlier. The Vice-President represents the head of state in dealings with the Kurultai and government bodies, must be non-partisan and cannot run a business or serve as a lawmaker. If the President resigns early, the Vice-President assumes the powers of head of state and a presidential election must follow within two months. The Constitution also establishes the primacy of national law over international law.
Parliament:
Kurultai, unicameral
Seats:
145
Term of deputies:
Five years
Chambers replaced:
Majilis and Senate
Why it matters for exams: Comparative polity questions turn on whether a legislature is unicameral or bicameral and on how the head of state is replaced.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Unicameral Unicameral legislature — A parliament with a single chamber.
Background
KAZIND is the joint military exercise of India and Kazakhstan, held annually since 2016. Its aim is to build the joint capability of both armies to undertake counter-terrorism operations in a sub-conventional scenario under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, with a focus on semi-urban and mountainous terrain. Drills include a joint response to a terrorist action, establishment of a joint command post and an intelligence and surveillance centre, securing a helipad and landing site, combat free fall, special heliborne operations, cordon and search, and the employment of drones and counter-drone systems. The exercise alternates between the two countries; the edition held at Auli in Uttarakhand had an Indian contingent of 120 personnel drawn mainly from a battalion of the Kumaon Regiment, with the Kazakh side drawn from its Land Forces and Airborne Assault Troopers.
Partner country:
Kazakhstan
Focus:
Counter-terrorism in semi-urban and mountainous terrain
UN Charter provision:
Chapter VII
Why it matters for exams: The partner country, the terrain focus and the UN Charter chapter cited are all asked about India's joint exercises.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Sub-conventional operations Sub-conventional operations — Military operations below the level of conventional war, such as counter-terrorism.
Background
Saryarka - Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan is a natural World Heritage property made up of the Naurzum State Nature Reserve and the Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve. The property covers 450,344 hectares, with a buffer zone of 211,147.5 hectares outside it. It holds two groups of fresh and salt water lakes that sit on a watershed between rivers flowing north to the Arctic and rivers flowing south into the Aral-Irtysh basin. The Korgalzhyn-Tengiz lakes and the Naurzum lakes are listed as Ramsar sites, and Lake Tengiz depends mainly on inflows from the Nura River. About 200,000 hectares of Central Asian steppe lie within the property, giving a refuge to more than half the species of the region's steppe flora. It was inscribed under criteria (ix) and (x), for ongoing ecological processes and for biodiversity, including vast numbers of migratory birds and the critically endangered saiga antelope.
Area of the property:
450,344 ha
Buffer zone:
211,147.5 ha
Reserves included:
Naurzum and Korgalzhyn
Flagship species:
Saiga antelope
Why it matters for exams: Steppe ecology, Ramsar wetlands and the saiga antelope recur in environment questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Ramsar site Ramsar site — A wetland designated under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.