28 October 2026
President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced that 7 January will be marked each year as Zayed the Founder Day, a new annual national occasion.
The day honours Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE's Founding Father, and is meant to keep his vision, generosity and service to humanity before later generations.
Sheikh Mohamed made the announcement on X, declaring 7 January as the new national occasion.
The Founder's Office carries forward work on Sheikh Zayed's legacy; its strategic plan was approved earlier in the year by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, who chairs the Presidential Court.
The media offices of the Rulers of Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah reported their rulers welcoming the new day.
Sheikh Zayed led the uniting of the emirates into a new nation on 2 December 1971 and was its first President until his death in 2004.
Date of the occasion:
7 January, every year
Honours:
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Why it matters for exams: Creates a new UAE national occasion with a fixed date, 7 January, and names the Founding Father it honours.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
The Founder's Office The Founder's Office, UAE — The body that carries forward work on Sheikh Zayed's legacy.
28 October 2026
The Central Bank of the UAE decided to keep the base rate on its Overnight Deposit Facility at 3.9 per cent.
The decision was announced after the US Federal Reserve left its own policy rate unchanged, and it keeps the UAE's monetary stance in step with the Fed.
Short-term liquidity borrowed from the central bank stays priced 50 basis points over the base rate under every standing credit facility.
The base rate signals the general stance of monetary policy in the country and gives banks a floor for their overnight money market rates.
For households and firms in the UAE, a rate left on hold means deposit returns and loan pricing stay broadly where they are.
The Central Bank of the UAE, known by the abbreviation CBUAE, is the country's monetary authority.
Base rate:
3.9%
Facility:
Overnight Deposit Facility
Short-term liquidity borrowing:
50 basis points above base rate
Why it matters for exams: Fixes the CBUAE base rate at 3.9 per cent on the Overnight Deposit Facility and the 50-basis-point spread on standing credit facilities.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CBUAE Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates — The UAE's monetary authority, which sets the base rate.
2 November 2026
ADIPEC 2026, the energy industry gathering hosted by ADNOC, ran from 2 to 5 November at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
It was held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.
Organisers expected 239,000 visitors from more than 170 countries, with more than 2,250 exhibiting companies, 1,800 speakers and 30 country pavilions.
The programme carried 13 conference programmes with more than 380 sessions across 16 exhibition halls.
Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, the UAE's Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, was among the confirmed speakers, alongside energy ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Lebanon, Libya, Germany, Turkiye and Japan.
Jassim Al Shirawi, Secretary-General of the International Energy Forum, was also listed to speak.
The event places the UAE at the centre of the yearly global conversation on oil, gas and energy transition.
Dates:
2 to 5 November 2026
Venue:
Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre
Expected visitors:
239,000 from more than 170 countries
Why it matters for exams: Names the UAE host company and venue of ADIPEC 2026, its patron, and the UAE's energy minister.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ADNOC Abu Dhabi National Oil Company — The UAE state oil company that hosts ADIPEC.
30 September 2026
The UAE placed 25th among 139 economies in the Global Innovation Index 2026, up from 30th the previous year, and entered the world's top 25 most innovative economies for the first time.
The index is published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, a specialised agency of the United Nations.
The UAE came first in the world on four measures. They are its policies and culture for entrepreneurship, its pull for students from abroad, the finance available to start-ups and scale-ups, and fresh spending on research, development and advanced technology.
Among its other placings, it was first for higher education, second for business environment, fifth both for general infrastructure and for knowledge absorption, seventh for information and communications technology and eighth for credit.
Its ranking on innovation inputs improved to 12th from 14th.
Supporting figures cited with the result include UAE brands in the world's top 5,000 worth about $101.66 billion in 2026, up 15 per cent, and high-tech exports of about $68.05 billion in 2024.
Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri is the UAE's Minister of Economy and Tourism.
Rank in GII 2026:
25th of 139 economies
Previous rank:
30th
Publisher:
World Intellectual Property Organization
Why it matters for exams: Gives the UAE's rank in the Global Innovation Index 2026, the number of economies covered and the publisher, WIPO.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization — A specialised agency of the United Nations that publishes the Global Innovation Index.
Background
The federal budget plan of AED 292.5 billion reported in this section today is the work of the Cabinet, but the body that examines the federation's annual general budget draft law is the Federal National Council. Under Article 68 of the UAE Constitution the Federal National Council, or FNC - called the National Assembly of the Union in the Constitution's English text - has 40 members, and the seats are distributed to the member emirates as follows: Abu Dhabi eight, Dubai eight, Sharjah six, Ras Al Khaimah six, Ajman four, Umm Al Quwain four and Fujairah four. The FNC is one of the five federal authorities that the Constitution establishes. Its main functions under Articles 89 to 92 are passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws including financial bills, examining the annual general budget draft law and the draft law of the final accounts, being informed of and discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on federal affairs. The term of membership is four years with effect from the Council's first session, and since 2006 one half of the members have been elected by the electoral colleges while the other half are appointed by the Ruler's Court of each of the seven emirates. The FNC is a member of the International Parliamentary Union and the Arab Parliamentary Union.
Total members:
40
Abu Dhabi and Dubai:
8 seats each
Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah:
6 seats each
Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah:
4 seats each
Term of a member:
Four years
Why it matters for exams: The number of FNC members and the seat split between the seven emirates are standard one-mark questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
FNC Federal National Council — The consultative and parliamentary body of the UAE, created by the Constitution.
Electoral college — A limited body of voters chosen by each emirate's Ruler who then elect half the FNC members.
Final accounts — The closing statement of what the federation actually spent, which the FNC also examines.
Background
Every dirham figure in today's UAE items, from the AED 292.5 billion federal budget plan to Dubai's Dh2.1 trillion of projects, converts at a rate the UAE has held fixed for decades. Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the UAE, a constitutional federation of seven emirates, and it was Constitutional Amendment No. 1 of 1996 that made Abu Dhabi City the capital of the federation. Article 7 of the Constitution makes Arabic the official language of the federation and Islam its official religion, and Article 1 names the seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. The country is four hours ahead of GMT and its currency is the Emirati Dirham, abbreviated AED, which is pegged to the US dollar at 1 USD equal to AED 3.6725. The UAE lies in the Middle East on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula; its only neighbouring countries are Saudi Arabia and Oman, and it borders the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, which is known in the UAE as the Arabian Gulf. Its highest point is Jebel Jais, which stands at 1,934 metres in Ras Al Khaimah's Hajar Mountains.
Capital city:
Abu Dhabi
Official language:
Arabic
Currency peg:
1 USD = AED 3.6725
Highest point:
Jebel Jais, 1,934 metres
Why it matters for exams: The dirham peg, the capital, the official language and the UAE's neighbours are among the most repeated UAE questions in Kerala PSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
Currency peg — A fixed exchange rate that a central bank maintains against another currency.
Jebel Jais — The highest mountain in the UAE, in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.
Background
The Cabinet decision on the 2027 to 2029 federal budget reported in this section today is the act of one of the five federal authorities that the UAE Constitution creates. The Constitution was adopted on 2 December 1971 as a provisional, or temporary, constitution, and by Constitutional Amendment No. 1 of 1996 the federation's Supreme Council cancelled the word 'Temporary' from the Constitution wherever it appeared, making it permanent, and made Abu Dhabi City the capital of the federation. The Constitution runs from Article 1 to Article 152 in ten parts, from the federation, its fundamental constituents and aims to the armed forces and the security forces and the final and transitional provisions. Article 1 provides that the United Arab Emirates is an independent, sovereign, federal state consisting of the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. Article 45 provides for five federal authorities: the Supreme Council of the federation, the President and the Vice President, the Council of Ministers or Cabinet, the Federal National Council - which the Constitution's English text calls the National Assembly of the Union - and the federal Judiciary. Article 116 leaves the emirates all powers not assigned to the federation and Article 122 gives them jurisdiction in all matters not assigned to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federation. Article 144 requires the agreement of two-thirds of the votes of attending Federal National Council members to approve a draft constitutional amendment.
Establishment:
2 December 1971
Provisional constitution made permanent:
1996
Articles in the Constitution:
152
Federal authorities:
Five, under Article 45
Emirates named in Article 1:
Seven
Why it matters for exams: The founding date, the seven emirates and the five federal authorities are the core polity facts asked about the UAE.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Federal Supreme Council — The highest UAE authority, made up of the Rulers of the seven emirates, which elects the President.
Provisional constitution — A temporary basic law, which in the UAE lasted from 1971 until it was made permanent in 1996.
Background
The AED 292.5 billion federal budget plan for 2027 to 2029 reported in this section today includes a 2027 federal budget of AED 90.1 billion, whose largest share, AED 34.6 billion or 38.4 per cent, goes to social development and pensions, and it is spent in a country where expatriate residents far outnumber nationals. Indians are the largest expatriate community in the UAE, with more than three million living in the emirates; country profiles of the UAE put Emiratis at 11.6 per cent of the population and Indians at 38.2 per cent, the largest single group. Arabic is the official language, and the other languages spoken in the UAE include English, Hindi, Malayalam, Urdu, Pashto, Tagalog and Persian, a list that follows the countries its workers come from. Hindi has been recognised by the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department as the third official language of the emirate's labour courts, after Arabic and English, so that Indian workers can lodge claims over delayed wages, end of service entitlements and the return of their passports in their own language. Malayalam's place among the languages of the UAE comes from Kerala's long migration to the Gulf, though it is not a court language.
Largest foreign community:
Indians
Indians in the UAE:
More than three million
Hindi in the Abu Dhabi labour courts:
Third official language, after Arabic and English
Malayalam:
Among the languages spoken in the UAE
Why it matters for exams: The size and rank of the Indian community in the UAE, and the place of Malayalam there, are directly relevant to Kerala PSC candidates.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Expatriate — A person living and working in a country other than the one whose nationality they hold.
Emirati — The demonym for a citizen of the United Arab Emirates.
Background
The AED292.5 billion federal budget plan for 2027-2029 is spent by a federation, so it helps to know how that federation is put together.
The UAE was formed on 2 December 1971 as a constitutional federation of seven emirates.
The seven emirates are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the country.
Arabic is the official language.
The currency is the Emirati Dirham, written AED, which is divided into 100 fils.
The country has about 71,023.6 sq km of land along with about 27,624.9 sq km of territorial waters.
Union formed:
2 December 1971
Capital:
Abu Dhabi
Currency:
Emirati Dirham (AED), 100 fils
Land area:
about 71,023.6 sq km
Why it matters for exams: Holds the standing facts on the UAE: seven emirates, date of union, capital, official language, currency and area.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Fils Fils — The small unit of UAE currency; one dirham is 100 fils.
Background
The UAE's new national occasion on 7 January honours the man the country calls its Founder, so his offices are worth fixing in memory.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was Ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1966 to 2004.
He was the first President of the UAE, serving from the formation of the federation on 2 December 1971 until his death in 2004.
He was known as the Father of the Nation for his part in forming the federation.
His years in office covered the building of the country's federal institutions out of oil revenue.
That is the legacy the new Zayed the Founder Day is meant to carry to later generations.
Ruler of Abu Dhabi:
1966 to 2004
First President of the UAE:
from 2 December 1971 until his death in 2004
Why it matters for exams: Fixes Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as the UAE's first President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1966 to 2004.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Founding Father Founding Father of the UAE — The title the UAE gives Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Background
The six new Emirati ambassadors swore their oath before the head of state, so it helps to know who holds that office and what else goes with it.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has been President of the UAE since 2022.
He is also Ruler of Abu Dhabi, the emirate that is the country's capital.
Arabic is the official language of the country whose missions these envoys head.
The UAE covers about 71,023.6 sq km of land, along with about 27,624.9 sq km of territorial waters.
The currency used across its missions and its budget is the Emirati Dirham, divided into 100 fils.
These standing facts sit behind every UAE appointment and agreement in the news.
President of the UAE:
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, since 2022
Official language:
Arabic
Territorial waters:
about 27,624.9 sq km
Why it matters for exams: Fixes the UAE's head of state since 2022, the emirate he rules, the official language and the country's area.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Ruler of Abu Dhabi Ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi — The office held alongside the UAE presidency by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.