The Special Investigation Team probing the loss of gold from the doorframes of the Sabarimala temple has asked for sanction to prosecute the officials it has named. The requests went to the Secretary of the Revenue (Devaswom) Department and to the Travancore Devaswom Board, routed through the Additional Director General of Police (Crimes). A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, which is monitoring the investigation in a suo motu case, told the State to expedite the sanction so that the trial can begin without further delay. The team is headed by Sasidharan IPS. The investigating officer told the Court that the inquiry into the Dwarapalaka idol plating is nearly finished and that further sanction requests will follow. The case has been posted to the first week of December. Sabarimala is administered by the Travancore Devaswom Board, one of the statutory Devaswom boards in Kerala.
Board that administers Sabarimala:Travancore Devaswom BoardHead of the investigation team:Sasidharan IPS
Why it matters for exams: The Travancore Devaswom Board, which administers Sabarimala, and the requirement of prosecution sanction before a public servant is tried are both recurring Kerala PSC and UPSC points.
The Kerala High Court has questioned Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, the State university whose main campus is at Kalady in Ernakulam district, over a condition it attached to lifting the suspension of sixteen students. They were told to tender an apology, although the departmental inquiry into the campus protest that led to the suspension had not been completed. The judges asked whether two months out of class was not punishment enough, and whether contrition could be insisted upon while the inquiry was still open. A suspension ordered pending inquiry, the Court noted, is a precaution and not a finding of guilt. The university was directed to place its stand on record. The matter reached the Court through writ petitions by the suspended students.
Students suspended:16Length of suspension:60 days
Why it matters for exams: Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, with its main campus at Kalady, is the State's only Sanskrit university and a standard Kerala PSC question on universities and their locations.
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on 12 November allowed the State's appeal and set aside a single judge's ruling of 29 September.
The single judge had struck down a Home Department order of 27 July 2026 that merged three recognised police associations into two.
Under that order the Kerala Police Officers' Association (KPOA) is dissolved; its members move to the Kerala Police Association (KPA) and the Kerala Police Senior Officers' Association (KPSOA), and its assets are split 60:40.
The associations had argued that the right to form associations under Article 19(1)(c) also protects how a body is made up.
The State replied that police rights fall under a special regime: Article 33 and the Police Forces (Restriction of Rights) Act, 1966.
The Bench drew a line between voluntary associations and bodies whose membership is fixed by statute or government action, and upheld the order.
Government order:27 July 2026Associations after merger:2 (KPA, KPSOA)Asset split:60:40
Why it matters for exams: Article 19(1)(c), the Article 19(4) and Article 33 limits on it, and the Police Forces (Restriction of Rights) Act, 1966 are standard Polity questions; this ruling applies them to police associations.
The Election Commission of India has released Keralam's draft voters' list under the special summary revision, with 1 January 2027 as the qualifying date.
Of the 2,73,60,254 names on the roll, women number 1,40,38,718 and men 1,33,21,267, with 269 third-gender voters.
There are 2,70,675 voters aged 18-19.
Claims and objections can be filed from 12 November to 11 December.
The list is kept at the offices of Electoral Registration Officers, at district Collectorates and with Booth Level Officers, and on the Chief Electoral Officer's website.
Chief Electoral Officer D. Sajith Babu asked every eligible person to check their entry.
Total voters (draft):2,73,60,254Women voters:1,40,38,718Claims and objections:12 November to 11 December
Why it matters for exams: The Election Commission (Article 324), the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the role of the Electoral Registration Officer are core Polity facts; this revision applies them in Keralam.
General Education Minister N. Samsudheen has announced the dates of Keralam's 2027 public examinations.
The SSLC examination begins on March 1, 2027; the Higher Secondary, VHSE and Kerala Kalamandalam examinations run from March 2 to March 30.
About 4.25 lakh students will write the SSLC at 3,049 centres, including centres in the Gulf and in Lakshadweep.
SSLC registration opens on November 18 and, for the first time, will be done through a new Unified Examination Management System (UEMS).
Results are expected in the first week of May.
The Commissioner for Government Examinations will issue the detailed timetable later.
Why it matters for exams: The SSLC and its full form, the new UEMS registration software and Kerala Kalamandalam's location are the durable facts here.
Opening the eighth Huddle Global at Kovalam on 12 November, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said Keralam's startup policy will now stress quality over numbers.
The State has more than 9,200 startups with over 76,000 jobs, built on the Technology Startup Policy of 2014.
The new goal is more than 100 startups with annual revenue above Rs 100 crore each.
Ten research-driven incubators will come up through the Translational Research and Innovation Centre-Kerala (TRIC-K), which is hosted at the University of Kerala and links academia with industry.
New debt-financing tools are planned through the Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC) and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC).
Huddle Global is organised by the Keralam Startup Mission (KSUM).
Startups in Keralam:more than 9,200New incubators:10Revenue target per startup:over Rs 100 crore a year
Why it matters for exams: TRIC-K at the University of Kerala, KSUM as the organiser of Huddle Global and the 2014 Technology Startup Policy are the durable facts.
At its meeting on 11 November, the Keralam Cabinet approved an action taken report on the recommendations of the Kerala State Commission for economically weaker sections among forward communities.
The commission had submitted its report in 2022.
The action taken report records what has been done on each recommendation, what the government intends to do, and why some recommendations will not be acted on.
Economically weaker sections (EWS) reservation was added to the Constitution by the 103rd Amendment Act, 2019, through Articles 15(6) and 16(6).
It allows up to 10 per cent reservation for EWS citizens not covered by other quotas.
The Supreme Court upheld it in Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India in 2022.
Commission report submitted:2022Cabinet meeting:11.11.2026EWS quota ceiling:10 per cent
Why it matters for exams: EWS reservation, the 103rd Amendment, Articles 15(6) and 16(6) and the Janhit Abhiyan ruling are frequent Polity questions; Keralam's own commission on the subject is in the news.
The National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS), Thiruvananthapuram, is hosting the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Indian Academy of Sciences (IASc) on 13 and 14 November.
Scientists, researchers and teachers from across India are taking part.
IASc president Govindan Rangarajan, who is also director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and NCESS director N.V. Chalapathi Rao briefed the press on 12 November.
As a lead-in, the Science Academies' Education Panel held a symposium for teachers, 'Frontiers in Science', on 12 November.
Edition:92nd Annual MeetingHost:NCESS, ThiruvananthapuramDates:13-14 November
Why it matters for exams: NCESS and the ministry it works under, the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian Institute of Science are standard science-institution questions.
The Indian Academy of Sciences, whose 92nd Annual Meeting is being held at NCESS in Thiruvananthapuram, was founded in 1934 by the Nobel laureate C.V. Raman.
On 27 April 1934 it was registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860.
The formal inauguration came on 31 July 1934 at Bengaluru with 65 Founding Fellows, and Raman was elected its first President.
Raman led the Academy until 1970.
Its 'Proceedings' first appeared in July 1934 and later split into theme journals.
Today the Academy is an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), which fully funds it.
Founded:1934Founding Fellows:65Parent department:Department of Science and Technology
Why it matters for exams: The founder, founding year, headquarters and parent department of the Indian Academy of Sciences are standard General Science and institutions questions.