8 October 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 10th edition of the India Mobile Congress at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, on 8 October 2026.
He said 5G networks run from over 5.5 lakh base stations and have reached every district.
Over ₹50 lakh crore has gone directly to beneficiaries through mobile platforms, with ₹5 lakh crore of leakage prevented.
Commercial semiconductor production is live at five locations.
He called for a global framework against cyber fraud and deepfakes and asked the GSMA to help build fraud-prevention mechanisms.
The event coincided with India hosting the GSMA Board meeting.
Venue:
Yashobhoomi, New Delhi
5G base stations:
over 5.5 lakh
Transfers through mobile platforms:
over ₹50 lakh crore
Semiconductor production sites:
five
Why it matters for exams: Questions on telecom milestones, 5G reach and digital governance figures recur in current affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GSMA GSM Association — The global industry body of mobile network operators.
Deepfake Deepfake — Synthetic media that imitates a real person's face or voice using AI.
8 October 2026
Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy, spoke for India at the 20th East Asia Summit Energy Ministers' Meeting in Manila, Philippines, on 8 October 2026.
He cited installed capacity of 558.8 GW and non-fossil capacity of 308 GW, 55% of the total, as on 30 September 2026.
India and Singapore are exploring options for a proposed 2,000 MW cross-border power interconnection.
One option is a land corridor of about 3,000 km from Imphal to Singapore via Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia.
He welcomed the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2026-2030 and reaffirmed India's support for ASEAN's efforts on the ASEAN Power Grid.
Installed capacity:
558.8 GW (30 Sep 2026)
Non-fossil capacity:
308 GW, 55%
India-Singapore interconnection:
2,000 MW
Land corridor option:
about 3,000 km
Why it matters for exams: India-ASEAN links, Act East Policy and installed power capacity figures are standard polity, economy and international relations material.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ASEAN Power Grid ASEAN Power Grid — A plan to link the electricity networks of ASEAN members for cross-border power trade.
East Asia Summit East Asia Summit — A leaders' forum of ASEAN members and partner countries, including India.
8 October 2026
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi inaugurated the 8th edition of Windergy India 2026 in Chennai on 8 October 2026; the event runs from 7 to 9 October.
India's installed wind capacity was 59.20 GW as on 30 September 2026.
FY2026 saw the highest-ever annual installation, 6.05 GW.
The national target is 100 GW of wind capacity by 2030.
About 400 exhibitors from more than 20 countries and 500 delegates took part, with pavilions from Denmark, Germany and Spain.
State governments were felicitated for land facilitation, timely clearances and Right-of-Way resolution.
Installed wind capacity:
59.20 GW (30 Sep 2026)
Record annual addition, FY2026:
6.05 GW
Target by 2030:
100 GW
Exhibitors:
about 400
Why it matters for exams: Renewable capacity figures and the 2030 targets are frequently asked in economy and environment sections.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Repowering Repowering — Replacing old wind turbines with newer, higher-capacity ones at the same site.
Right-of-Way Right-of-Way — The legal permission to lay lines or roads across land owned by others.
8 October 2026
A PIB release of 8 October 2026 reported findings of the Ayush Service Sector Report, a study by RIS released on Ayurveda Day 2026.
Women account for 43 per cent of the overall Ayush services workforce.
Their share is above 60 per cent in spas and wellness resorts, 58 per cent in educational institutes, 57 per cent in day-care centres and 53 per cent in hospitals.
The sector was estimated at US$36.92 billion in FY2024-25, a 16.91 per cent CAGR since FY2022-23.
Medical Value Travel generated an estimated US$1.77 billion in FY2024-25.
Women in workforce:
43 per cent
Sector size, FY2024-25:
US$36.92 billion
CAGR since FY2022-23:
16.91 per cent
Medical Value Travel:
US$1.77 billion
Why it matters for exams: Sector reports and women's workforce participation figures are favoured in economy and social-issues questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
RIS Research and Information System for Developing Countries — A policy research institute that prepared the Ayush Service Sector Report.
CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate — The yearly growth rate that would take a value from its start to its end figure.
8 October 2026
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal spoke in New Delhi on 8 October 2026 at the curtain raiser for the 31st CII Partnership Summit.
India's exports last year were USD 863 billion; the target for the current year is USD 1 trillion, nearly 16% growth.
Global trade is expected to grow around 2.5 to 3%, and global growth below 3%.
He said India is about a USD 4 trillion economy with potential to reach USD 30 trillion by 2047.
The export effort involves 63 million MSMEs and around 250,000 startups.
The summit will be held in Visakhapatnam on 12 and 13 November.
Exports last year:
USD 863 billion
Export target this year:
USD 1 trillion
Economy size:
around USD 4 trillion
Summit venue and dates:
Visakhapatnam, 12-13 November
Why it matters for exams: Export figures, targets and growth outlooks are regular economy and current affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CII Confederation of Indian Industry — An industry body that organises the annual Partnership Summit.
MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises — Firms classified by investment and turnover; a large part of India's exporters.
8 October 2026
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence at The Oberoi, New Delhi, on 8 October 2026.
The event was organised by the IndiaAI Mission and MeitY with the World Bank Group.
The report says AI can widen access to expertise and raise productivity, but gains depend on electricity, connectivity, computing, data, skills and institutions.
It notes that only one of the world's 25 low-income countries has published a national AI strategy.
Vaishnaw cited a 35% rise in TB detection and a 40% rise in sugarcane yields at Baramati with 30% less water and fertiliser.
Report:
World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence
Low-income countries with a national AI strategy:
1 of 25
TB detection rise:
35%
Baramati sugarcane yield rise:
40%
Why it matters for exams: Flagship international reports and India's AI governance programmes are common in science-technology and reports-and-indices questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IndiaAI Mission IndiaAI Mission — The government mission built on seven pillars, including compute capacity and the AIKosh datasets platform.
World Development Report World Development Report — The World Bank's annual flagship report on a major development theme.
8 October 2026
The Indian Air Force commemorated its 94th anniversary at Air Force Station Hindan, Ghaziabad, on 8 October 2026.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, reviewed the parade and delivered an address.
Three Mi-17 1V helicopters gave an aerial salute in 'Dhwaj' formation, and 33 young Air Warriors formed the Drummers Team.
Five Unit Citations were presented, including to 24 Squadron 'The Hawks' and 200 Squadron 'Skanda'.
The next Air Force Day aerial display is set for 25 October 2026 at Namo Ghat, Varanasi.
Anniversary:
94th
Venue:
Air Force Station Hindan, Ghaziabad
Unit Citations presented:
five
Next aerial display:
25 October 2026, Namo Ghat, Varanasi
Why it matters for exams: Armed forces anniversaries, formations and unit honours are standard defence current-affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Unit Citation Unit Citation — An honour awarded to an entire unit for exceptional service.
Mi-17 1V Mi-17 1V — A medium-lift military transport helicopter used by the Indian Air Force.
8 October 2026
Dr Jitendra Singh spoke at the NaMo Book Fest in Varanasi on 8 October 2026; the fest ran on 7 and 8 October.
He said opening the space sector to private players has helped reduce brain drain and created opportunities for young talent, citing Skyroot.
The space economy is around USD 9 billion and could reach USD 45-46 billion over the next 8-10 years.
Gross expenditure on R&D rose from around ₹46,000-47,000 crore in 2013-14 to around ₹2-2.5 lakh crore.
He spoke of a target of 100 GW of nuclear energy capacity by 2047.
Space economy:
around USD 9 billion
Projection in 8-10 years:
USD 45-46 billion
Nuclear capacity target by 2047:
100 GW
R&D spending now:
around ₹2-2.5 lakh crore
Why it matters for exams: Space-economy size, R&D spending and nuclear targets feature in science-policy and economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GERD Gross Expenditure on Research and Development — The total national spending on research and development in a year.
Brain drain Brain drain — The departure of skilled people to work abroad.
Background
Aditya-L1 is the first space based Indian mission to study the Sun.
The spacecraft is placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth.
A satellite in a halo orbit around L1 has the advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation or eclipses, which allows solar activity and its effect on space weather to be observed in real time.
The spacecraft carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, the chromosphere and the corona using electromagnetic, particle and magnetic field detectors.
Four payloads directly view the Sun and the remaining three carry out in-situ studies of particles and fields at the Lagrange point L1.
The remote sensing payloads are the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph, the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope, the Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer and the High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer.
The in-situ payloads are the Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment, the Plasma Analyser Package For Aditya and a set of advanced tri-axial high resolution digital magnetometers.
The satellite was placed in its intended orbit by the PSLV-C57 mission.
Orbit:
Halo orbit around Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1
Distance from the Earth:
About 1.5 million km
Payloads:
7, of which 4 remote sensing and 3 in-situ
Launch vehicle mission:
PSLV-C57
Why it matters for exams: The Lagrange point, the distance from the Earth, the count of payloads and the launch vehicle are the four facts an examiner extracts from this mission.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
L1 Lagrange point 1 of the Sun-Earth system — A point about 1.5 million km from the Earth where a spacecraft can hold station and view the Sun without interruption.
VELC Visible Emission Line Coronagraph — The remote sensing payload for imaging and spectroscopy of the corona.
ASPEX Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment — An in-situ payload that analyses solar wind protons and heavier ions with their directions.
Background
XPoSat, the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite, is India's first dedicated polarimetry mission to study the dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions.
The spacecraft carries two scientific payloads in a low earth orbit.
The primary payload POLIX, the Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays, measures the degree and the angle of polarization in the medium X-ray energy range of 8-30 keV.
POLIX is made of a collimator, a scatterer and four X-ray proportional counter detectors surrounding the scatterer, and the collimator restricts the field of view to 3 degree x 3 degree so that only one bright source falls in the field.
The second payload XSPECT, X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing, gives spectroscopic information in the energy range of 0.8-15 keV.
The sources studied include black holes, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei, pulsar wind nebulae, X-ray pulsars and magnetars.
POLIX is expected to observe about 40 bright astronomical sources of different categories during a planned mission lifetime of about 5 years.
The satellite was flown as the PSLV-C58 mission.
Primary payload and its band:
POLIX, 8-30 keV
Second payload and its band:
XSPECT, 0.8-15 keV
POLIX field of view:
3 degree x 3 degree
Launch vehicle mission:
PSLV-C58
Why it matters for exams: The two payload names with their energy bands are the whole question on this mission, and the energy bands are what separate the two.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
POLIX Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays — The primary payload, the first in the medium X-ray band dedicated to polarimetry measurements.
XSPECT X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing — The payload that provides fast timing and spectroscopic resolution in soft X-rays.
Background
Part XVII of the Constitution of India deals with official language.
Article 343 provides that the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devnagari script, and that the form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals.
Article 345 allows the legislature of a State to adopt by law any one or more of the languages in use in the State, or Hindi, as the language for its official purposes.
Article 348 provides that until Parliament by law otherwise provides, all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every High Court, and the authoritative texts of all Bills, Acts, Ordinances, orders, rules, regulations and bye-laws, shall be in the English language.
A Governor may, with the previous consent of the President, authorise the use of Hindi or of any other language used for official purposes of the State in proceedings in the High Court having its principal seat in that State, but this does not apply to any judgment, decree or order passed by that High Court.
Article 350 entitles every person to submit a representation for the redress of a grievance in any of the languages used in the Union or in the State.
Article 350A makes it the endeavour of every State and of every local authority to provide facilities for instruction in the mother-tongue at the primary stage to children of linguistic minority groups.
Article 350B provides for a Special Officer for linguistic minorities, appointed by the President, who reports to the President on the safeguards for linguistic minorities.
Official language of the Union:
Hindi in Devnagari script
Form of numerals for Union official purposes:
The international form of Indian numerals
Article on the Special Officer for linguistic minorities:
Article 350B
Why it matters for exams: Part XVII is a reliable source of one-mark questions, and the division between Hindi for the Union and English for the courts and the statute book is the heart of it.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Part XVII Part XVII of the Constitution of India — The part that covers the language of the Union, regional languages, the language of the courts and special directives.
Article 350B Special Officer for linguistic minorities — An officer appointed by the President to investigate matters relating to safeguards for linguistic minorities and report to the President.
Background
Article 344 of the Constitution requires the President to constitute a Commission on official language, which consists of a Chairman and such other members representing the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule as the President may appoint.
The Commission makes recommendations on the progressive use of Hindi for the official purposes of the Union, on restrictions on the use of English, on the language to be used for the purposes mentioned in Article 348, and on the form of numerals to be used.
In making its recommendations the Commission must have due regard to the industrial, cultural and scientific advancement of India and to the just claims and interests of persons belonging to the non-Hindi speaking areas in regard to the public services.
Article 344 also provides for a Committee consisting of thirty members, of whom twenty are members of the House of the People and ten are members of the Council of States.
They are elected by the members of the respective Houses in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
The Committee examines the recommendations of the Commission and reports its opinion to the President, who may then issue directions in accordance with the whole or any part of that report.
Under Article 120 business in Parliament is transacted in Hindi or in English, and the Chairman of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House of the People may permit a member who cannot adequately express himself in either to address the House in his mother-tongue.
Under the provisos to Article 210 the corresponding fifteen year period was substituted by twenty-five years for the Legislatures of Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura, and by forty years for those of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Mizoram.
Strength of the Committee under Article 344:
30
Members from the House of the People:
20
Members from the Council of States:
10
Method of election:
Proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote
Why it matters for exams: The composition of the Committee under Article 344 and the method by which its members are elected are a standard polity question, and the Article 210 provisos make a good second-order one.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Eighth Schedule Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India — The Schedule listing the languages whose representatives are appointed to the Commission under Article 344.
STV Single transferable vote — The voting method by which the thirty members of the Committee under Article 344 are elected.