6 October 2026
India's National Telemedicine Service, eSanjeevani, has crossed 50 crore (500 million) teleconsultations.
The milestone was reached on 15 September 2026, with a cumulative 50,00,92,730 consultations across all 36 States and Union Territories.
The platform supports more than 1.42 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandir spokes, 19,473 medical hubs and 901 online OPDs, with 2,41,923 registered healthcare providers.
It is available in 15 languages and handles about 2.5 to 3 lakh consultations a day; its highest single-day figure is 6,30,315.
Women account for 57.14 per cent of utilisation, and 40.15 per cent of consultations are by citizens aged 46 years and above.
An AI-powered Clinical Decision Support System won the Gold Award under the National Awards for e-Governance 2026, and eSanjeevani is now integrated with ERSS-112.
Teleconsultations:
50,00,92,730
Milestone date:
15 September 2026
Women's share of use:
57.14 per cent
Highest single day:
6,30,315
Why it matters for exams: Digital health milestones, scheme statistics and e-governance awards are frequent UPSC and PSC factual questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
eSanjeevani National Telemedicine Service — India's national platform for remote doctor consultations.
ERSS-112 Emergency Response Support System — The single emergency number system that eSanjeevani is now linked to.
6 October 2026
The Ministry of Rural Development has notified the Schedule of Permissible Works under the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, known as VB-G RAM G.
The Schedule lists 375 works, a 41 per cent expansion over the 266 works under the previous framework.
The works are grouped under four pillars: Water Security (128), Core Rural Infrastructure (111), Livelihood-related Infrastructure (98) and Special Works for Extreme Weather Events and Disaster Preparedness (38).
The disaster pillar is a dedicated category for the first time in the rural works framework.
Livelihood-related works now make up 26 per cent of the total, against 1.1 per cent earlier.
Every work will originate in the Viksit Gram Panchayat Plan approved by the Gram Sabha and be tracked through the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack.
Permissible works:
375
Earlier framework:
266 works
Water Security works:
128
Livelihood share:
26 per cent
Why it matters for exams: Rural employment legislation and scheme design are core polity and rural-development topics for UPSC and PSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
VB-G RAM G Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) — The 2025 Act under which the new schedule of rural works is notified.
Gram Sabha Village assembly — The body of all voters in a village that approves the works plan.
6 October 2026
The Government's Special Campaign 6, with the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances as nodal department, is in its implementation phase from 2 to 31 October 2026.
The preparatory phase ran from 16 to 30 September 2026.
Targets uploaded to the portal as on 5 October 2026 include 12,45,073 cleanliness campaign sites, 6,18,516 public grievances and 19,52,472 physical files due for review.
The data was reported by 80 Ministries and Departments.
A new component asks identified Ministries to dedicate one day to a focused activity such as cleanliness, grievance redressal, office-space management or a plantation drive.
The campaign has drawn over 3,023 tweets and infographics and 103 PIB statements.
Implementation phase:
2 to 31 October 2026
Cleanliness sites:
12,45,073
Files due for review:
19,52,472
Reporting bodies:
80 Ministries/Departments
Why it matters for exams: Administrative reform drives and the departments that run them are staple governance questions in UPSC and SSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
DARPG Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances — The nodal department for Special Campaign 6.
Pendency Pending work — Files, references and grievances awaiting disposal.
6 October 2026
The 10th edition of the India Mobile Congress will be held at Yashobhoomi, Dwarka, New Delhi, from 7 to 10 October 2026, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating it on 8 October.
The theme is "Scale Without Boundaries".
Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia reviewed the final preparations on 5 October.
Organisers expect over 1.5 lakh attendees, 500+ exhibitors and partners, 600+ startups and 900+ thought leaders.
The release cites 1.01 billion broadband subscribers, 5G coverage in 99.9 per cent of districts and 4G in 98.7 per cent of villages.
India is described as the fifth country to develop its own indigenous 4G stack.
Edition:
10th
Venue:
Yashobhoomi, Dwarka
5G district coverage:
99.9 per cent
Villages with 4G:
98.7 per cent
Why it matters for exams: Telecom coverage figures and national tech events feature in UPSC prelims, SSC and banking general awareness.
UPSCSSCBank
In plain words
IMC India Mobile Congress — Asia's large annual telecom and technology forum held in New Delhi.
DoT Department of Telecommunications — The Union department that works with industry bodies to organise IMC.
6 October 2026
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the United Nations is "gridlocked" and has been "largely irrelevant" to decision-making on issues such as the Gulf and Ukraine conflicts.
He was speaking at the 5th Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi on Monday, 5 October 2026.
He linked the problem to a Security Council that no longer represents the entirety of global interest.
The UN started with 51 members and now has almost four times that number, he noted.
He said a few countries resisting UN reform were using Africa's interests as an argument, though Africa has put its own position in the intergovernmental negotiations.
His line, as reported by The Indian Express, was to "fix the United Nations, not work around it".
Forum:
5th Kautilya Economic Conclave, New Delhi
Original UN membership:
51
Growth in membership:
Almost four times
Security Council size:
15 (5 permanent, 10 elected)
Why it matters for exams: India's stand on Security Council reform is a recurring UPSC and PSC theme in international relations.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
UNSC United Nations Security Council — The UN body for international peace and security, with five veto-holding permanent members.
IGN Intergovernmental Negotiations — The UN General Assembly process where member states negotiate Security Council reform.
6 October 2026
A seven-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Tuesday disposed of a nearly 22-year-old reference on the limits of legislative privilege as "infructuous".
The bench found that the Tamil Nadu Assembly had withdrawn on 13 July 2004 the November 2003 resolution that triggered the case.
That development had skipped the court's notice when it made the December 2004 reference to a larger bench.
The Attorney General, the Solicitor General and senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, for the Assembly, agreed no live issue survived.
The court kept the wider questions on legislative privilege and free speech open for an appropriate future case.
The bench also had Justices Aravind Kumar, Prashant Kumar Mishra, Joymalya Bagchi, Vipul M. Pancholi, Shree Chandrashekhar and V. Mohana.
Bench strength:
Seven
Age of the reference:
Nearly 22 years
Assembly resolution withdrawn:
13 July 2004
Reference order:
December 2004
Why it matters for exams: Legislative privileges versus fundamental rights, and the working of larger benches, are standard polity and judiciary topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Infructuous Having no practical effect — A case is infructuous when events overtake it and no live dispute remains.
Legislative privilege Special rights of legislatures and members — Immunities that let legislatures function freely, whose limits are tested against fundamental rights.
6 October 2026
Justice Sunita Agarwal, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh will take the oath as Supreme Court judges on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, at 3:30 pm.
Hindustan Times reports this is the first time since the Court's establishment in 1950 that judges are sworn in the afternoon rather than at 10:30 am.
They are the Chief Justices of the Gujarat, Delhi and Telangana High Courts, and the Collegium headed by CJI Surya Kant recommended them on 28 September.
The Centre notified the appointments on 5 October.
The Court's working strength will rise to 37 against a sanctioned strength of 38, including the CJI.
Justice Agarwal will be the third woman judge on the Court, with tenure until April 2031.
Oath time:
3:30 pm, 6 October 2026
Collegium recommendation:
28 September 2026
Working strength after oath:
37 of 38
Judges sworn in:
Three
Why it matters for exams: Judicial appointments through the Collegium and the Court's sanctioned strength are frequent polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Collegium Forum of the CJI and four seniormost judges — The body that recommends appointments of Supreme Court and High Court judges.
Background
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre's page for India shows 45 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. Of these, 37 are Cultural, 7 are Natural and 1 is Mixed. The Mixed property is Khangchendzonga National Park. The Natural properties include Kaziranga National Park, Keoladeo National Park, Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Sundarbans National Park and the Western Ghats. The same page lists 78 sites on India's Tentative List, the inventory of properties the country intends to consider for nomination.
Properties inscribed:
45
Cultural:
37
Natural:
7
Mixed:
1
Tentative List sites:
78
Why it matters for exams: Counts of Cultural, Natural and Mixed World Heritage sites, and which site falls in which class, are staple questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Tentative List — An inventory of properties a country intends to consider for World Heritage nomination.
Background
ISRO's Launchers page says India has three active operational launch vehicles: PSLV, GSLV and LVM3. PSLV is configured with 6, 4, 2 solid rocket strap-on motors or as a core-alone version. GSLV, with an indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage, launches up to 2 tonne class communication satellites. LVM3 can launch 4 tonne class communication satellites and 10 tonne class payloads to LEOs, and its human-rated version, HRLV, is the vehicle identified for Gaganyaan. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram designs and develops launch vehicles, the liquid and cryogenic stages come from Valiamala and Mahendragiri, and Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, is the space port.
Active operational launchers:
3
GSLV communication-satellite class:
up to 2 tonne
LVM3 communication-satellite class:
4 tonne
LVM3 payload to LEO:
10 tonne
Why it matters for exams: Which launcher carries what, and which centre does what, is a regular science-and-technology question.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
HRLV Human Rated Launch Vehicle — The human-rated LVM3 identified as the launch vehicle for Gaganyaan.
Background
The Reserve Bank of India's primer on the government securities market says Treasury bills are short term debt instruments issued by the Government of India and are presently issued in three tenors: 91 day, 182 day and 364 day. They are zero coupon securities and pay no interest. They are issued at a discount and redeemed at face value, so the return is the difference. Cash Management Bills, introduced in 2010, have the generic character of T-bills but run for maturities less than 91 days, to meet temporary cash-flow mismatches of the Government of India.
T-bill tenors:
91 day, 182 day and 364 day
Interest paid:
None (zero coupon)
Cash Management Bill maturity:
less than 91 days
Why it matters for exams: Tenors of T-bills and the zero-coupon feature are standard banking and economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
CMB Cash Management Bill — A short-term instrument with the character of a T-bill, issued to meet temporary cash-flow mismatches of the Government of India.
Background
The RBI primer says a Government Security is a tradeable instrument issued by the Central Government or the State Governments, acknowledging the Government's debt obligation. The Central Government issues both treasury bills and bonds or dated securities, while the State Governments issue only bonds or dated securities, called State Development Loans (SDLs). Dated G-Secs carry a fixed or floating coupon paid on the face value on a half-yearly basis, and their tenor generally ranges from 5 years to 40 years. The Public Debt Office (PDO) of the Reserve Bank of India acts as the registry and depository of G-Secs.
Dated G-Sec tenor:
5 years to 40 years
Coupon payment:
half-yearly
Registry and depository:
Public Debt Office of RBI
Why it matters for exams: Who issues which government security and who keeps the registry are common economy and banking questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
SDL State Development Loan — The bonds or dated securities issued by State Governments.
PDO Public Debt Office — The office of the RBI that acts as registry and depository of G-Secs.
Background
The RBI primer says Section 24 (2A) of the Banking Regulation Act 1949, as applicable to co-operative societies, requires every primary (urban) co-operative bank to maintain liquid assets of not less than the percentage the Reserve Bank specifies in the Official Gazette, and not exceeding 40% of its DTL in India. This is in addition to the minimum cash reserve ratio (CRR) requirement. The liquid assets must be in the form of cash, gold or unencumbered investment in approved securities, and this is referred to as the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) requirement.
Ceiling on the requirement:
40% of DTL
Form of liquid assets:
cash, gold or unencumbered investment in approved securities
Statutory provision:
Section 24 (2A) of the Banking Regulation Act 1949
Why it matters for exams: SLR, CRR and what counts as a liquid asset are core banking and monetary-policy topics.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
DTL Demand and Time Liabilities — The deposit-type liabilities of a bank on which the liquid-assets requirement is calculated.
CRR Cash Reserve Ratio — The minimum cash reserve requirement a bank keeps in addition to SLR.