16 October 2026
The World Food Forum ran from 8 to 16 October at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.
Its theme was Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.
More than 90,000 people from 189 countries took part, and in-person attendance doubled from the previous year to 32,000.
The Forum featured more than 200 sessions, exhibitions and side events, and its content reached an estimated 2.4 billion people online.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu told young participants, Every great transformation in human history began with someone young enough to believe it was possible.
The Forum closed with World Food Day on 16 October.
Dates:
8 to 16 October
Participation:
More than 90,000 people from 189 countries
In-person attendance:
32,000
Theme:
Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.
Why it matters for exams: The World Food Forum, its FAO host and World Food Day on 16 October form a cluster examiners link together.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations — The United Nations agency for food security and agriculture, headquartered in Rome.
19 October 2026
At the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum held during the World Food Forum in Rome, 38 countries and five regional initiatives presented proposed agrifood investments.
The proposals added up to a record $20.16 billion.
The Investment Forum is part of FAO's Hand-in-Hand Initiative, which is country-led and uses geospatial data to target the poorest areas.
The same Forum week also hosted the Science and Innovation Forum, which covered AI governance, biotechnology, climate adaptation and One Health.
Proposed investments:
$20.16 billion
Countries presenting:
38 countries and five regional initiatives
Why it matters for exams: The Hand-in-Hand Initiative and its record investment figure are the kind of named programme and number examiners pair.
UPSCBank
In plain words
Hand-in-Hand Initiative FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative — An FAO programme that uses geospatial and economic data to match investors with the poorest rural areas of participating countries.
15 October 2026
The Food and Agriculture Organization honoured 100 Women Heroes in Agrifood Systems and Rural Development at its Rome headquarters on 15 October 2026.
The ceremony marked the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 and coincided with the International Day of Rural Women on 15 October.
FAO had announced 99 honourees earlier, and Yin Yuzhen of China was revealed at the event as the 100th.
Yin Yuzhen has restored nearly 5,000 hectares in China's Mu Us Sandy Land and planted more than eight million trees.
FAO received 609 nominations from 131 Members, with each country's quota set by population size.
Director-General QU Dongyu opened the ceremony.
Honourees:
100 Women Heroes
Hundredth honouree:
Yin Yuzhen of China
Nominations received:
609 nominations from 131 Members
Land restored by Yin Yuzhen:
nearly 5,000 hectares
Why it matters for exams: The International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 and the International Day of Rural Women are dated facts examiners like to pair with an award.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Mu Us Sandy Land Mu Us Sandy Land — A desertified region in northern China where large-scale tree planting has been used to halt sand movement.
15 October 2026
At a high-level session of the Rome Water Dialogue 2026, held during the World Food Forum, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said water security requires more efficient use, fairer allocation and circular approaches.
He said, Water security is food security. Water is food. Water is life.
He called for wider use of reduce, reuse, recycle and replenish.
FAO launched the Mapping of Irrigation Potential and Needs Initiative, known as IRMA, a decision-support tool to identify where irrigation is feasible and needed.
FAO also reported progress on the Global Dialogue on Water Tenure, which it launched at the 2022 UN Water Conference.
Speakers included King Letsie III of Lesotho and LI Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
New initiative:
Mapping of Irrigation Potential and Needs Initiative (IRMA)
Four-R approach:
reduce, reuse, recycle, and replenish
Event:
Rome Water Dialogue 2026
Why it matters for exams: Named FAO initiatives on water and the four-R formula are easy to turn into one-mark questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Water tenure Water tenure — The rules and rights that decide who may use water, for how long and on what terms.
19 October 2026
The World Meteorological Organization reported on World Food Day that an intensifying El Nino is shifting rainfall patterns worldwide, from drought to flooding, and affecting agriculture, fisheries and food production.
Sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific are forecast to reach record levels in October to December 2026.
An outlook issued by ICPAC on 19 August predicts wetter than normal October to December rains in the equatorial and southern parts of the Greater Horn of Africa, where up to 70 per cent of annual rainfall in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia falls in that period.
Peru has suspended anchoveta fishing to protect stocks.
Wilfran Moufouma Okia, chief of the Climate Prediction Section at WMO, said, El Nino impacts vary from one region to another and often even within the same region, and also from season to season.
WMO scientific officer Sebastian Grey said the phenomenon increases drought risk in one part of the region while increasing flood risk in another.
Record sea-surface temperatures forecast:
October-December 2026
Share of annual rainfall in the October-December season:
up to 70% in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia
Fishing suspended:
anchoveta fishing in Peru
Why it matters for exams: El Nino's opposite effects within one region, and the Peruvian anchoveta link, are classic geography questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ICPAC IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre — The regional climate centre that issues seasonal forecasts for the Greater Horn of Africa.
Anchoveta Peruvian anchoveta — A small fish off Peru whose catch collapses when warm El Nino water reaches the coast.
19 October 2026
The World Meteorological Organization published the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum outlook for October to December.
Below-normal rainfall is likely across most of central and southern peninsular South Asia and some eastern areas.
Near-normal to above-normal rainfall is likely in northwestern South Asia, parts of the east and south, and the island nations.
Normal to above-normal maximum and minimum temperatures are likely across most of the region, which covers Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The outlook reflects very strong El Nino conditions over the equatorial Pacific alongside neutral Indian Ocean Dipole conditions.
Experts from the national meteorological services of all nine South Asian countries prepared it, with input from the WMO Regional Climate Centre Pune and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology among others.
Season covered:
October-December
Countries in the forum:
All nine South Asian countries
Climate drivers:
Very strong El Nino conditions with neutral Indian Ocean Dipole
Why it matters for exams: The north-east monsoon season, the Indian Ocean Dipole and the Pune regional climate centre are all examinable from this one outlook.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IOD Indian Ocean Dipole — The difference in sea-surface temperature between the western and eastern Indian Ocean, which shifts rainfall over South Asia and East Africa.
19 October 2026
The 19th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour was held on 14 and 15 October in Manila, Philippines.
Its theme was Protection of Migrant Workers through Regular and Safe Migration Pathways.
Governments, employers' and workers' organizations and other stakeholders agreed on 30 recommendations for regional action.
The recommendations ask member states to strengthen online recruitment governance and to adopt guidelines on artificial intelligence in recruitment.
They also ask platforms to verify employer and recruiter identities and to confirm that job advertisements are authorised, including those promoted by influencers and sub-agents.
Progress will be reported at the 20th Forum, to be held in Singapore in 2027.
Forum:
19th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour
Dates and venue:
14-15 October, Manila, Philippines
Recommendations agreed:
30
Next forum:
20th AFML, Singapore, 2027
Why it matters for exams: Kerala sends large numbers of workers abroad, so ASEAN-level recruitment rules and the ILO's role in them are directly relevant.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ILO International Labour Organization — The United Nations agency for labour standards, built on governments, employers and workers sitting together.
19 October 2026
A promotional event called Made in the Saloum Delta was held in Dakar on 10 October 2026, showing mangrove honey, oysters and ark clams from the region.
The Green Jobs for Women and Youth in the Saloum Delta project was implemented by the International Labour Organization and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
It ran from 8 December 2022 to 30 April 2026.
The project trained 530 women and young people in oyster and ark clam farming, 407 in beekeeping and 400 in green entrepreneurship.
It created or supported 1,200 jobs, 70 per cent for women and 30 per cent for young people, and brought 3,471 people under health insurance.
Fifteen cooperative societies were set up under the OHADA Uniform Act relating to cooperative societies.
Jobs created or supported:
1,200 jobs, 70% for women and 30% for young people
Trained in oyster and ark clam farming:
530 women and young people
Covered by health insurance:
3,471 people
Project period:
8 December 2022 to 30 April 2026
Why it matters for exams: Green jobs, mangrove livelihoods and a named donor ministry make this a usable case study for economy and environment answers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
OHADA Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa — A grouping of mainly francophone African states with a common set of business and cooperative laws.
19 October 2026
The International Labour Organization, through its Bureau for Employers' Activities, is helping the General Union of Libyan Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture and its member chambers build institutional capacity.
Three five-day capacity-development programmes ran in September 2026 with member chambers in Zliten, Jabal al Akhdar and the Western Region or Zuwara.
The programmes included 52 participants.
Topics covered governance and human resources, advocacy and representation, membership development, communication and visibility, member services and institutional action planning.
The work supports the Union's 2026-2028 Strategic Plan.
The follow-up roadmap includes testing at least one member-facing service and measuring progress from member requests and service uptake.
Programmes:
Three five-day capacity-development programmes
Participants:
52
Locations:
Zliten, Jabal al Akhdar and the Western Region/Zuwara
Why it matters for exams: The ILO's tripartite structure, with a separate bureau for employers, is itself an examinable fact.
UPSC
In plain words
ACT/EMP Bureau for Employers' Activities — The ILO unit that works with employers' organisations, one side of the agency's tripartite structure.
19 October 2026
The Federal Reserve Board announced the termination of enforcement actions with Gardner Bancshares, Inc. and Small Business Bank, both of Lenexa, Kansas.
Three actions were terminated, all effective October 13, 2026.
They were a Cease and Desist Order dated September 1, 2023 against Gardner Bancshares and Small Business Bank, a Cease and Desist Order dated November 13, 2024 against Small Business Bank, and a Prompt Corrective Action dated June 29, 2026 against Small Business Bank.
The release was published on October 16, 2026.
The Federal Reserve Board supervises bank holding companies and state member banks in the United States.
Actions terminated:
Three
Effective date:
October 13, 2026
Entities:
Gardner Bancshares, Inc. and Small Business Bank, Lenexa, Kansas
Why it matters for exams: Cease and desist orders and prompt corrective action are supervisory tools banking aspirants are expected to recognise.
UPSCBank
In plain words
Prompt Corrective Action Prompt Corrective Action — A supervisory framework that forces restrictions on a bank as its capital falls below set levels.
Background
The United Nations Treaty Collection lists the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties under registration number 18232. Its place and date of conclusion are given as Vienna, 23/05/1969. The Convention entered into force on 27 January 1980, in accordance with article 84(1). The Secretary-General of the United Nations is its depositary, and the register shows it was registered ex officio on the same day it entered into force. The agreement type is recorded as Multilateral and the instrument carries an annex. It has five authentic texts: Spanish, Russian, French, English and Chinese. It was published in volume 1155 of the United Nations Treaty Series, at page 331. The Treaty Collection files it under the subject terms Law of Treaties, Treaties-Agreements (application) and Legal matters.
Registration number:
18232
Place of conclusion:
Vienna
Date of conclusion:
23/05/1969
Entry into force:
27 January 1980
Treaty Series volume:
1155 (p.331)
Why it matters for exams: The place of conclusion, the depositary and the entry-into-force article of the convention on treaty law are standard international-law questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Depositary Depositary of a treaty — The state or official that keeps the original text of a treaty and receives ratifications and accessions.
Authentic text Authentic text — A language version of a treaty that is legally as valid as the others for interpreting it.
Ex officio Ex officio — Done by virtue of the office held, without a separate request.
Background
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations appears in the United Nations Treaty Collection under registration number 7310. Its place and date of conclusion are given as Vienna, 18/04/1961. It entered into force on 24 April 1964, in accordance with article 51. The depositary is the Secretary-General of the United Nations, but the register shows the registration date as ex officio 24 June 1964, two months after the Convention took effect. It has five authentic texts: Spanish, Russian, French, English and Chinese. The agreement type is recorded as Multilateral. It was published in volume 500 of the United Nations Treaty Series, at page 95, and is filed under the subject term Diplomatic and consular relations.
Registration number:
7310
Place of conclusion:
Vienna
Date of conclusion:
18/04/1961
Entry into force:
24 April 1964
Entry-into-force article:
article 51
Registration date:
ex officio 24 June 1964
Treaty Series volume:
500 (p.95)
Why it matters for exams: The convention that underpins diplomatic immunity is asked by its city of conclusion, its depositary and its Treaty Series volume.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Multilateral Multilateral agreement — A treaty open to many states rather than concluded between just two.
Treaty Series United Nations Treaty Series — The numbered volumes in which the United Nations publishes the treaties registered with it.