5 November 2026
Qatar has created a single regulator for food safety. Amiri Decision No. (41) of 2026, issued by Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, establishes the General Authority for Food Safety. The Ministry of Public Health has now begun the paperwork to move its food safety mandates, functions and responsibilities to the new body. The ministry says the aim is one institution for food safety governance, instead of duties spread across several offices. The Authority is to keep food fit for human consumption at every stage of the food chain and to strengthen the national food control system. Minister of Public Health Mansoor bin Ebrahim bin Saad Al Mahmoud thanked the Amir for backing the public health system. The ministry says services will not be interrupted while the transfer is completed.
Instrument:
Amiri Decision No. (41) of 2026
New body:
General Authority for Food Safety
Ministry handing over:
Ministry of Public Health
Why it matters for exams: A new national regulator with a name and a legal instrument: the General Authority for Food Safety, created by Amiri Decision No. (41) of 2026, taking over food safety from Qatar's Ministry of Public Health.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Amiri Decision A decision issued by the Amir of Qatar — Qatar's head of state issues decrees and decisions that take effect on issuance and are published in the official gazette.
MOPH Ministry of Public Health — Qatar's health ministry, which held the food safety mandate before the new Authority.
6 November 2026
Qatar's Ministry of Education and Higher Education has issued the first edition of its school voucher policy for private schools and kindergartens. The policy rests on Law No 7 of 2012 and its amendments and on Cabinet Decision No 25 of 2023. A standard voucher is worth up to QR28,000. For students with disabilities the value is QR43,000, QR53,000 or QR78,000, depending on the approved level of support, and it covers tuition and approved educational and rehabilitation services. For the first time, eligibility rules now cover standalone private kindergartens in separate buildings and newly established schools from the start of their work. Vouchers go to Qatari students at every stage in participating private schools, and children of parents who retire become eligible on retirement. Applications from standalone kindergartens open on 1 April 2027 for the 2027-2028 academic year, with results due by the end of June. The ministry links the policy to Qatar National Vision 2030.
Standard voucher:
up to QR28,000
Highest disability support:
QR78,000
Legal basis:
Law No 7 of 2012; Cabinet Decision No 25 of 2023
Ministry:
Ministry of Education and Higher Education
Why it matters for exams: Qatar's school voucher policy, built on Law No 7 of 2012 and Cabinet Decision No 25 of 2023, pays up to QR28,000 a student and up to QR78,000 for the highest approved disability support level.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MoEHE Ministry of Education and Higher Education — Qatar's education ministry, which runs the voucher policy.
Qatar National Vision 2030 Qatar's long-term national development plan — The framework Qatar uses to plan human, social, economic and environmental development.
25 October 2026
Qatar hosted the World Investment Forum 2026 in Doha from 25 to 27 October. The forum is run by UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and is its biggest gathering on investment. The theme was Investing in the future. More than 5,000 people took part, among them heads of government, ministers, sovereign wealth fund chiefs and over 200 international journalists. Four prime ministers attended, from Qatar, Lesotho, Libya and Madagascar, along with four deputy prime ministers and close to 50 ministers. The programme included the United Nations Investment Promotion Awards and the Women in Business Awards. It was the first time Qatar hosted the forum, placing an Arab Gulf capital at the centre of the UN's investment agenda.
Dates:
25-27 October 2026
Organiser:
UNCTAD
Theme:
Investing in the future
Participants:
More than 5,000
Why it matters for exams: The World Investment Forum is UNCTAD's flagship investment gathering, and its 2026 edition was held in Doha on the theme Investing in the future, with the United Nations Investment Promotion Awards.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development — The UN body dealing with trade, investment and development, based in Geneva.
29 September 2026
Qatar hosted the 11th Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's Board of Governors in Doha. Qatar's Minister of Finance, Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, chaired the Board of Governors for 2026. At the close he passed the gavel to Mikayil Jabbarov, Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy, whose country will host the 12th Annual Meeting in Baku on 14 and 15 July 2027. Zou Jiayi is the bank's President. Hosting the meeting gave Doha the chair of a multilateral development bank for a year.
Meeting:
11th Annual Meeting, Doha
Approved members:
111
Capital:
USD100 billion
Next host:
Baku, Azerbaijan
Why it matters for exams: Qatar's Finance Minister Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari chaired the AIIB Board of Governors for 2026 at the 11th Annual Meeting in Doha, with Baku to host the 12th in 2027.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
AIIB Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank — A multilateral development bank for infrastructure, headquartered in Beijing.
2 November 2026
Doha is hosting the FIP World Cup Qatar 2026 in padel from 2 to 7 November. It is the third edition of the competition, after those in 2021 and 2024. Matches are being played at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Thirty-two national teams are taking part, 16 in the men's event and 16 in the women's. Qatar enters as host, and Argentina came in as reigning world champions. The last place in each category was settled at joint African and Asian qualifiers in Kuwait. The Qatar Padel Federation announced the arrangements, with Tariq Darwish Zainal, Secretary-General of the Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation, as tournament director. Qatar's padel team won gold at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, where the sport made its Asian Games debut. FIP awarded Qatar the 2026 and 2028 editions back to back.
Edition:
Third (after 2021 and 2024)
Teams:
32 (16 men's, 16 women's)
Venue:
Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha
Why it matters for exams: The FIP World Cup is padel's national team world championship, and Qatar hosts its 2026 and 2028 editions, with the 2026 event at Doha's Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
FIP International Padel Federation — The world governing body for padel, which awards the World Cup hosting rights.
13 October 2026
The Shura Council, Qatar's legislative chamber, has begun its 55th annual session. The Amir inaugurated the session, and the Council then held the first sitting of the second ordinary session of its second legislative term. Decree No. 58 of 2026, the order calling the Council to meet, was read to the house by its Secretary-General, Nayef bin Mohammed al-Mahmoud. Speaker Hassan bin Abdullah al-Ghanem presided. Members chose the heads of all six permanent committees unopposed under the Council's internal rules. Khalid bin Ghanem al-Ali takes Legal and Legislative Affairs, Yousef bin Ali al-Khater Internal and Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Yousef al-Mannai Economic and Financial Affairs, Abdullah bin Nasser bin Turki al-Subaie Health, General Services and Environment, Khalid bin Ahmed al-Obaidan Education, Culture, Sport and Media, and Dr Sultan bin Hassan al-Dhabit al-Dosari Social Affairs, Labour and Housing.
Session:
55th annual session
Convening order:
Decree No. 58 of 2026
Speaker:
Hassan bin Abdullah al-Ghanem
Permanent committees:
6
Why it matters for exams: The Shura Council is Qatar's legislative chamber; its 55th annual session was convened by Decree No. 58 of 2026 and its Speaker is Hassan bin Abdullah al-Ghanem, with six permanent committees.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Shura Council Majlis al-Shura, Qatar's legislative council — Qatar's law-making chamber, which meets in annual ordinary sessions.
2 November 2026
The fifth UNESCO Conference on Higher Education in the Arab States opened in Doha and ran for two days. Qatar's Ministry of Education and Higher Education organised it with UNESCO and the Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science. The theme was The New Learning Landscape in Higher Education in the Arab Region. Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, Minister of Education and Higher Education, led Qatar's side. Dr Nasser Bin Hamad Al Hinzab, Chairperson of the UNESCO Executive Board and Qatar's Permanent Representative to UNESCO, and Salah Khaled, who heads the UNESCO Regional Office in Doha covering the Gulf States and Yemen, took part. Delegates discussed recognition of academic qualifications across Arab countries, digital transformation, and the ethical use of artificial intelligence. The conference closed with a call for stronger cooperation among Arab higher education systems.
Edition:
Fifth
Theme:
The New Learning Landscape in Higher Education in the Arab Region
Venue:
Doha
Why it matters for exams: A Qatari diplomat, Dr Nasser Bin Hamad Al Hinzab, chairs the UNESCO Executive Board, and Doha hosted the fifth UNESCO Conference on Higher Education in the Arab States.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — The UN agency for education, science and culture, with headquarters in Paris.
5 November 2026
Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, opened the Design Doha Biennial 2026 in Doha.
This second edition runs until January 31, 2027, with 20 exhibitions, new commissions, public installations and cultural events.
Its theme is how traditional knowledge and craft can shape contemporary design.
The old quarter of Fereej Al Asmakh is the main hub, while Msheireb Downtown Doha hosts the flagship show, 'Arab Design Now 2026'.
That exhibition, curated by Noura Al Sayeh, brings together 81 designers and makers with 78 newly commissioned works.
One project is part of the Qatar-Canada and Mexico Year of Culture 2026, and another sets out a plan to regenerate the old centre of Al Khor.
Edition:
Second
Runs until:
January 31, 2027
Exhibitions:
20
Why it matters for exams: Qatar's capital, its cultural bodies (Qatar Museums) and its annual 'Year of Culture' partners are asked in world-affairs and GK sections.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Biennial — An event held once every two years.
Qatar Museums — Qatar's state body for museums, heritage sites and cultural events.
4 November 2026
Researchers at Sidra Medicine in Doha, a member of Qatar Foundation, have built the Middle East's first population-scale atlas of how genetic variation controls gene activity in blood.
The study is published in Nature Genetics as 'A catalogue of transcriptome genetic regulation in a consanguineous Middle Eastern biobank'.
The team drew on nearly 2,000 Qatar Biobank participants, pairing their whole-genome sequences with blood transcriptomics and clinical records.
The team found nearly 30,000 'causal' effects on gene regulation and linked them to 20 clinical traits and disease pathways.
It also looked at consanguinity, which raises the chance of inheriting two copies of the same variant, and showed this can affect gene activity too.
The work was led by Prof. Younes Mokrab and is meant to help precision medicine for Arab populations.
Participants:
nearly 2,000 (Qatar Biobank)
Causal effects found:
nearly 30,000
Journal:
Nature Genetics
Why it matters for exams: Genomics terms (genome sequencing, transcriptome, precision medicine) and national biobanks are asked in science and technology papers.
UPSC
In plain words
Transcriptome — The full set of RNA messages read from genes in a tissue at a given time.
Precision medicine — Treatment tailored to a person's genes, environment and lifestyle.
Biobank — A store of biological samples and health data kept for research.