19 October 2026
The Central Consumer Protection Authority has taken regulatory action against the online listing, hosting, advertising and facilitation of sale of regulated and hazardous explosive substances. The substances involved include Ammonium Nitrate, gunpowder, picric acid and PETN. In all, 3,940 sellers and listing entries were delisted from seven platforms: IndiaMART, TradeIndia, Dial4Trade, Justdial, Sigma-Aldrich India, ExportersIndia and Ibuychemikals. IndiaMART alone accounted for 3,092 of them, including 2,700 for Ammonium Nitrate. Dial4Trade was penalised Rs 10 lakh and its appeal was dismissed by the NCDRC after a hearing on 9 October 2026. ExportersIndia was penalised Rs 10 lakh on two separate counts. Platforms must now disclose the seller's valid PESO licence details and verify that the buyer is licensed before a sale. The action rests on the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, read with the Explosives Act, 1884 and the Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2012.
Listings delisted:
3,940
Platforms covered:
7
Penalty on Dial4Trade:
Rs 10 lakh
Consumer helpline:
1915
Why it matters for exams: Links the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 machinery to internal security regulation of explosives, a favourite overlap in governance questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CCPA Central Consumer Protection Authority — Regulator created by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to act against unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements.
PESO Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation — The central body that licenses the manufacture, storage and sale of explosives in India.
19 October 2026
The Indian Navy will hold the fifth edition of Swavlamban, its flagship Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation seminar, on 26 and 27 October 2026 at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. A curtain-raiser press conference was chaired by Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. Three documents will be released at the seminar: the Swavlamban 5.0 Document, the Compendium on Technology Imperatives, and the Naval Unified Systems, Ethernet and Tactical Utilisation interface standards. The exhibition is built around Maritime Surveillance, Counter-UAS, Artificial Intelligence and Quantum, NBCD, and Safety and Efficiency Enhancers. Sessions with venture capitalists will cover funding and commercialisation of indigenous technology, and panels will discuss the iDEX ecosystem and academic entrepreneurship. The Vice Chief said the seminar has since 2022 linked the Navy's requirements with Indian industry and academia.
Edition:
Fifth
Dates:
26 and 27 October 2026
Venue:
Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi
Why it matters for exams: Swavlamban and NIIO are the standard names asked when defence indigenisation is tested.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NIIO Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation — The Indian Navy's body for working with industry, start-ups and academia on indigenous technology.
iDEX Innovations for Defence Excellence — Defence Ministry scheme that funds start-ups and MSMEs to solve defence technology problems.
19 October 2026
The National Highways Authority of India has introduced a Toll Plaza Feedback feature on the Rajmargyatra mobile application so that highway users can report their experience at toll plazas. Annual pass holders will receive a notification after crossing a toll plaza inviting them to share feedback. All other users can reach the feature from the application menu and submit feedback on any toll plaza. A user rates the experience on a scale, selects the options relevant to the journey and may add remarks. The authority says the feedback will help it identify areas that need improvement and address user concerns. The announcement came from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Application:
Rajmargyatra
New feature:
Toll Plaza Feedback
Ministry:
Road Transport and Highways
Why it matters for exams: Rajmargyatra and NHAI's citizen-interface tools are routinely asked in infrastructure and e-governance sections.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NHAI National Highways Authority of India — The statutory authority that develops and maintains India's national highways.
19 October 2026
Mona Agarwal has won the gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event at the Asian Para Games 2026, setting a new Asian Para Games record with her score. The Prime Minister congratulated her, praising her precision, determination and composure. The Press Information Bureau release described the win as making India's opening day of the Games special. The SH1 classification in para shooting is for athletes who can support the weight of the firearm themselves.
Medal:
Gold
Event:
Women's 10m air rifle standing SH1
Record:
New Asian Para Games record
Why it matters for exams: Medal-winner-and-event pairs from the Asian Para Games are standard one-mark questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
SH1 Shooting classification one — Para shooting class for athletes who can hold the weight of the firearm without a stand.
19 October 2026
Avani Lekhara has won the silver medal in the women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event at the Asian Para Games 2026. The Prime Minister congratulated her on the score, her consistency and her determination, and said her performance continues to make the nation proud. The gold in the same event went to Mona Agarwal, who set a new Asian Para Games record. The two medals came on India's opening day of competition at the Games.
Medal:
Silver
Event:
Women's 10m air rifle standing SH1
Gold in same event:
Mona Agarwal
Why it matters for exams: Avani Lekhara is among the most frequently asked Indian para shooters, and the gold-silver pair in one event is an easy question to set.
Kerala PSCUPSC
19 October 2026
India will host the 61st meeting of the International Committee of Legal Metrology in New Delhi from 26 to 28 October 2026, the first time the country has hosted it. The Department of Consumer Affairs is organising the meeting in cooperation with the International Organization of Legal Metrology, an intergovernmental body founded in 1955. More than 100 international delegates and legal metrology experts are expected, including representatives of OIML member states, corresponding members and international organisations. A seminar on Evolutions in Legal Metrology will be held on 26 October, covering digitalisation of regulatory services, international harmonisation and recognition of measuring instruments, e-learning tools and new approaches to administration. An OIML strategy workshop on 27 October will take up the organisation's future direction. The 60th meeting was held on 13 and 15 October 2025 in Paris.
Meeting:
61st CIML Meeting
Dates:
26-28 October 2026
Delegates expected:
More than 100
OIML founded:
1955
Why it matters for exams: An India-hosted international body meeting with a clear founding year and host-city detail is a ready-made question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
OIML International Organization of Legal Metrology — Intergovernmental body founded in 1955 that frames international recommendations for measuring instruments.
CIML International Committee of Legal Metrology — The main decision-making body of the OIML.
19 October 2026
The Special Swachhata Campaign 6.0, which runs from 2 to 31 October 2026, has earned Rs 491.28 crore from scrap disposal in seventeen days. The figure is 1.61 times the Rs 304.72 crore reported in the same period of Campaign 5.0 in 2025. The number of cleanliness campaign sites rose to 8,34,509 from 2,75,432, a 3.03-fold increase. Space freed stood at 116 lakh sq ft against 113.12 lakh sq ft in the previous campaign. The Department of School Education and Literacy reported the most cleanliness campaign sites at 4,15,353, and the Ministry of Railways earned the most from scrap disposal at Rs 425.06 crore. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances freed 1,200 sq ft on a single floor of its own office.
Scrap disposal revenue:
Rs 491.28 crore
Cleanliness campaign sites:
8,34,509
Space freed:
116 lakh sq ft
Top earner:
Ministry of Railways, Rs 425.06 crore
Why it matters for exams: The campaign's revenue and site figures are the kind of comparative data asked in governance and current affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
DARPG Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances — The department that coordinates the Special Campaign on cleanliness and pendency disposal in government offices.
19 October 2026
The Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research have announced a partnership to advance doctoral research in earth system sciences. The memorandum of understanding was executed on 21 August 2026 and declared at a ceremony on 13 October 2026. All ten premier research institutes under the Ministry are now recognised as AcSIR Associated Research Institutes. PhD students selected through AcSIR will carry out research at these institutes under Ministry scientists who serve as AcSIR faculty, and the degree certificate will name the host institute. The memorandum was signed by Dr Praveen Kumar D., Scientist-G and Mission Director of Mission Mausam, for the Ministry and by Professor Manoj Kumar Dhar, Director of AcSIR. Research areas include numerical weather prediction, polar and cryosphere research, ocean observation, marine robotics, deep-sea mining, desalination, seismology and machine learning in earth sciences. Students will be credited as inventors on intellectual property arising from their work.
Institutes recognised:
10
MoU executed:
21 August 2026
Declaration ceremony:
13 October 2026
Why it matters for exams: AcSIR, Mission Mausam and the Ministry of Earth Sciences institutes are frequently asked in science and institutions questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
AcSIR Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research — A degree-granting academy that awards PhDs for research done at associated national laboratories.
Mission Mausam Mission Mausam — The Earth Sciences Ministry mission to strengthen India's weather and climate observation and forecasting.
19 October 2026
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has dismantled a gold smuggling syndicate in Gujarat whose dealings involved about 13.017 kg of foreign-origin gold valued at about Rs 19.41 crore. Searches ran for 42 hours beginning 16 October 2026 and three persons were arrested under the Customs Act, 1962. Officers seized about 890 grams of gold and recovered evidence relating to about 6.41 kg of illegally melted gold. At a jewellery shop in Ahmedabad they found undocumented foreign-origin gold bars and records of about 5.8 kg of smuggled gold routed through a separate handler. The gold had been brought in by air passengers through Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad and Surat International Airport, concealed in thin rhodium-coated wires, in the inner linings of trolley bags and as gold paste inside bag shells. An illegal melting facility in Vadodara and a Dubai-based financier were identified as parts of the chain.
Gold involved:
13.017 kg
Value:
Rs. 19.41 crore
Gold seized:
about 890 grams
Arrests:
3
Duration of searches:
42 hours
Why it matters for exams: DRI and the Customs Act, 1962 recur in internal security and economy questions, and the figures here are quotable.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
DRI Directorate of Revenue Intelligence — The apex anti-smuggling intelligence agency under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
19 October 2026
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh has launched revamped websites for the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Defence. The Ministry site is hosted at www.mod.gov.in. The new sites comply with the Digital Brand Identity Manual 3.0 and the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites 3.0. Content is available in 22 Indian official languages. The sites carry Ministry policies, initiatives, activities, notifications and defence updates for citizens and other users. The Ministry describes the redesign as supporting the Digital India and e-Governance goals of transparency, efficiency, accessibility and citizen-focused delivery on a secure platform.
Languages:
22
Standards followed:
DBIM 3.0 and GIGW 3.0
Launched by:
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh
Why it matters for exams: DBIM 3.0 and GIGW 3.0 are the current website standards for Indian government bodies and are being asked in e-governance questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GIGW Guidelines for Indian Government Websites — The central standard for accessibility, usability and content quality of Indian government websites.
DBIM Digital Brand Identity Manual — A common design and identity standard for government digital platforms.
19 October 2026
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched the upgraded Agri Welfare Portal. The portal lets farmers check eligibility online and apply directly for government schemes, subsidies and financial assistance from a mobile phone. Assistance is routed through Direct Benefit Transfer. The portal also carries weather information, scientific farming practices, seed and fertiliser availability and market prices. It works as a single-window gateway to PM-KISAN, AgriStack and the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, and brings Farmer Producer Organisations, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, scientists, researchers and startups onto one platform. It is built to run on basic smartphones and in areas with weak internet, and supports screen readers for persons with disabilities. A training campaign through Krishi Vigyan Kendras will support its rollout. Agriculture Secretary Atish Chandra and Additional Secretary Pramod Meherda were present at the launch.
Portal:
Agri Welfare Portal
Launched by:
Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Schemes linked:
PM-KISAN, AgriStack, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
Why it matters for exams: AgriStack, PM-KISAN and PMFBY are core agriculture scheme names, and a new single-window portal linking them is likely to be asked.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
AgriStack AgriStack — The government's digital public infrastructure for agriculture, built around farmer, land and crop registries.
KVK Krishi Vigyan Kendra — District-level farm science centres that carry research to farmers through training and demonstration.