15 October 2026
The Reserve Bank of India announced the premature redemption price for Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) 2019-20 Series V.
The price is Rs 14,725 per unit.
It is based on the simple average of the closing price of gold of 999 purity for October 12, 13 and 14, 2026, as published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd.
The bonds of this tranche were issued on October 15, 2019, and the next premature redemption date is October 15, 2026.
Under the Government of India notification F.No. 4(7)-B(W&M)/2019 dated September 30, 2019, premature redemption may be permitted after the fifth year, on the date interest is payable.
Redemption price:
Rs 14,725 per unit
Tranche:
SGB 2019-20 Series V
Date of issue:
October 15, 2019
Redemption date:
October 15, 2026
Why it matters for exams: Sovereign Gold Bond pricing and the five-year premature exit rule are standard banking-awareness questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
SGB Sovereign Gold Bond — A government security denominated in grams of gold, issued through the Reserve Bank.
IBJA India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd — The trade body whose published gold prices the Reserve Bank uses for bond pricing.
15 October 2026
The Supreme Court has directed Indian Railways to extend insurance cover to tickets sold at reservation counters at all stations.
The cover must match what buyers of online tickets receive, and it takes effect from October 27, 2026.
The bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice R. Mahadevan said the direction shall be implemented mandatorily, failing which the responsibility shall be directly upon the Railway Board.
The Chairman and members of the Railway Board were asked to appear in person before the Court on November 16, 2026.
The order came in Union of India v. Radha Yadav, in a matter arising from railway safety, in which the Court was also unhappy with progress on foot overbridges and track fencing.
Effective from:
27.10.2026
Next hearing:
November 16, 2026
Case:
Union of India v. Radha Yadav
Why it matters for exams: A dated Supreme Court direction that changes a passenger entitlement is easy to frame as a question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Railway Board Railway Board — The apex body that runs Indian Railways under the Ministry of Railways.
15 October 2026
The Competition Commission of India has approved the acquisition of a majority stake in Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri Limited by GRT Jewellers (India) Private Limited.
GRT Jewellers is a private limited company primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of gems and jewellery in India.
Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri Limited is a publicly listed company in the same business.
The approval was announced by the Press Information Bureau on 14 October 2026.
Combinations above the thresholds set in law need the Commission's approval before they can be carried out.
Acquirer:
GRT Jewellers (India) Private Limited
Target:
Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri Limited
Stake:
Majority stake
Why it matters for exams: Clearances by the Competition Commission are a recurring current-affairs item in banking and economy papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
CCI Competition Commission of India — The regulator that clears large mergers and acquisitions in India.
15 October 2026
Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan released 'Dancing with Joy', the memoir of classical dancer, author and former Indian Railway Traffic Service officer Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant.
Speaking at the release, he said more than 700 district clinics and 500 day care cancer centres have been set up.
Approval has been given to operationalise 19 State Cancer Institutes and 20 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres.
He noted annual health coverage of Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat for eligible families.
He said the nationwide HPV vaccination drive launched in February 2026 aims to protect about 1.2 crore adolescent girls against cervical cancer, and more than 50 lakh girls have been vaccinated so far.
Day care cancer centres:
500
State Cancer Institutes approved:
19
Tertiary Care Cancer Centres approved:
20
HPV drive target:
about 1.2 crore adolescent girls
Why it matters for exams: The counts of district clinics, day care centres, State Cancer Institutes and HPV vaccinations are exactly the kind of figures examiners pick up.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
HPV Human Papillomavirus — The virus whose infection is linked to most cervical cancers.
IRTS Indian Railway Traffic Service — A central service that manages the operations and commercial side of Indian Railways.
15 October 2026
CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, and Manipur University, Imphal, have jointly begun a five-day training programme on seismic hazards.
It runs from 12 to 16 October 2026 at the Department of Earth Sciences, Manipur University, under the CSIR Integrated Skill Development Initiative.
There are 39 participants, drawn from the National Institute of Technology Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur University, Rajiv Gandhi University, the University of Delhi, Osmania University and Bangalore University.
Prof. R. K. Hemakumar Singh, Vice-Chancellor of Manipur University, said skill development matters in north-eastern India, which is highly vulnerable to earthquakes.
Dr Prakash Kumar, Director of CSIR-NGRI, leads the initiative, which aims to extend the CSIR Integrated Skill Development Programme to north-eastern India.
Dates:
12 to 16 October 2026
Participants:
39
Venue:
Department of Earth Sciences, Manipur University, Imphal
Why it matters for exams: CSIR laboratories and their locations, and the earthquake vulnerability of the north-east, are both standard examination ground.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CSIR-NGRI CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute — The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research laboratory at Hyderabad that studies the Earth's interior and earthquakes.
15 October 2026
The Reserve Bank of India has announced a special window to cover the full daily dollar requirements of three public sector oil marketing companies.
The companies are Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited.
Under the facility the Reserve Bank will sell US dollars to these companies through designated banks.
The window took effect on Monday, October 12, 2026, and will continue until further notice.
The announcement was issued as Press Release 2026-2027/1306 on October 10, 2026.
Companies covered:
Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum
Effective from:
October 12, 2026
Duration:
Until further notice
Why it matters for exams: A special dollar window for oil companies is a classic example of central bank intervention in the currency market.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
Designated banks Designated banks — The banks through which the Reserve Bank routes the dollar sales under this window.
15 October 2026
The Reserve Bank of India has announced regulatory measures for the foreign exchange market to ensure its orderly functioning.
The limit for hedging contracted exposures without producing proof of an underlying exposure has been cut from USD 100 million to USD 5 million equivalent, across all Authorised Dealers, and the same cut applies to exchange-traded rupee currency derivatives across recognised stock exchanges together.
Authorised Dealers may not allow a user to rebook any rupee-linked foreign exchange derivative contract that has been cancelled, though rollovers on maturity remain permitted.
Authorised Dealers must obtain and keep an undertaking from users confirming that the same underlying exposure has not been hedged with another Authorised Dealer.
For rupee foreign exchange derivative contracts with a notional value above USD two million equivalent, Authorised Dealers must hold a cash Foreign Exchange Risk Reserve with the Reserve Bank equal to 20 per cent of the rupee equivalent of the notional amount, where the user buys foreign currency against the rupee to hedge current account exposures.
Old limit:
USD 100 million
New limit:
USD 5 million equivalent
Risk reserve:
20 per cent of the notional amount
Reserve threshold:
Above USD two million equivalent notional
Why it matters for exams: The fall in the hedging threshold and the new 20 per cent reserve are precise, dated numbers an examiner can use directly.
UPSCBank
In plain words
Authorised Dealer Authorised Dealer — A bank or institution permitted by the Reserve Bank to deal in foreign exchange.
FERR Foreign Exchange Risk Reserve — A cash reserve a dealer must keep with the Reserve Bank against large rupee currency derivative positions.
Notional value Notional value — The face amount a derivative contract is written on, not the money actually exchanged.
15 October 2026
Eastern Railway has notified 1,354 special train trips for the Durga Puja and Chhath rush, for the period 01/10/2026 to 30/11/2026.
That is 12.08 per cent more than the 1,208 trips run in 2025.
Special night suburban services during Durga Puja, from 17 to 21 October 2026, rose 61.54 per cent, from 39 services in 2025 to 63 this year.
Holding area capacity at stations grew 35.61 per cent, from 102,777 square feet to 139,377 square feet, and unreserved counters during Durga Puja number 64 against 47 in normal periods.
CCTV cameras at high-rush stations rose 30.78 per cent from 1,439 to 1,882 units, and Railway Protection Force deployment rose 20.34 per cent from 1,514 to 1,822 personnel.
Special train trips:
1,354
Increase over 2025:
12.08%
Night suburban services:
63, up from 39
Holding area capacity:
139,377 sq. ft.
Why it matters for exams: Festive-season railway arrangements come with precise percentage changes that are easy to ask about.
Kerala PSCSSC
In plain words
RPF Railway Protection Force — The armed force of the Union that protects railway property and passengers.
Holding area Holding area — A marked waiting space at a station where crowds are held before boarding.
15 October 2026
The Department of Telecommunications and the International Telecommunication Union jointly organised the AI for Good Build-a-thon 5.0 on the last day of India Mobile Congress 2026 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi.
The theme was 'Creating innovative agents in 5G', and it was inaugurated by Dr. Bilel Jamoussi of the ITU.
More than 25 registered teams took part, with five online mentoring sessions and over 10 hours of mentoring.
The teams submitted 16 artificial intelligence prototypes, including knowledge-base, policy adviser and coordinator agents.
Team Netaxis of RVCE Bangalore came first, Team SNR second and Team Agentnet third, with a special women's prize for Team Orbitflow of SNU Chennai and Team Handshake Protocol.
Teams registered:
More than 25
Prototypes submitted:
16
Winner:
Team Netaxis, RVCE Bangalore
Venue:
Yashobhoomi, New Delhi
Why it matters for exams: The ITU's partnership with an Indian ministry and the India Mobile Congress venue are both likely question material.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ITU International Telecommunication Union — The United Nations agency for information and communication technologies.
Agentic AI Agentic artificial intelligence — Software agents that plan and act on a task rather than only answering a query.
15 October 2026
The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts has opened a three-day international conference, 'Bharat's Cultural Connections across the Globe', at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
It runs from 14 to 16 October 2026 and was inaugurated by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
The Prime Minister's message, read out by Secretary Vivek Aggarwal, described India's long history of cultural exchange, citing Nalanda and travelling monks, scholars and traders.
The conference marks the centenary of the Greater India Society, which was established in Calcutta on 14 October 1926.
The associated Brihattar Bharat Project involves scholars from about 51 countries and includes a five-year agenda for academic exchange under the Brihattar Bharat Scheme, 2026-2031, along with proposals for multinational nominations of shared intangible heritage to UNESCO's Representative List.
Conference dates:
14 to 16 October 2026
Greater India Society founded:
Calcutta, 14 October 1926
Countries in the project:
About 51
Scheme period:
Brihattar Bharat Scheme, 2026-2031
Why it matters for exams: Centenaries, the IGNCA and UNESCO's intangible heritage list are reliable sources of culture questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IGNCA Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts — An autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture that researches and documents the arts.
Representative List Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — The UNESCO list on which living traditions such as music, ritual and craft are inscribed.
Background
The Reserve Bank's announcement of a Rs 14,725 per unit price for the 2019-20 Series V gold bond shows how the early exit from these bonds works.
Under the Government of India notification F.No. 4(7)-B(W&M)/2019 dated September 30, 2019, premature redemption may be permitted after the fifth year from the date of issue.
It is allowed only on a date on which interest is payable, not on any day the holder chooses.
The redemption price is not a fixed sum: it is the simple average of the closing price of gold of 999 purity over the three business days before redemption, as published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd.
So a holder who exits early receives the market value of gold at that moment, which is why the Reserve Bank announces a fresh price for each tranche on each redemption date.
Earliest premature exit:
After the fifth year from issue
Permitted day:
A date on which interest is payable
Pricing basis:
Simple average of closing price of 999 purity gold of the previous three business days
Why it matters for exams: The fifth-year condition, the interest-payment-date rule and the three-day IBJA average are the three details questions turn on.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
999 purity 999 fineness gold — Gold that is 99.9 per cent pure, the grade used for the published benchmark price.
Premature redemption Premature redemption — Repayment of a bond before its full term, on the terms the issue notification allows.