20 October 2026
The India-New Zealand free trade agreement takes effect on 20 October 2026, which falls on Dussehra. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal flagged off the first consignment in New Delhi on 19 October, a JCB-18Z mini excavator made in Pune. New Zealand's Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay joined online. New Zealand gives zero-duty access from day one to Indian engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, marine products, textiles, chemicals, leather and footwear, gems and jewellery and electronic goods, covering all of India's exports. India offers duty concessions on 70 per cent of its tariff lines, covering 95 per cent of New Zealand's export value to India, with sensitive industries left out. Annual bilateral trade is about $1.2 billion, and New Zealand has committed $20 billion of investment over 15 years.
Entry into force:
20 October 2026
Indian tariff lines with concessions:
70 per cent
Annual bilateral trade:
about $1.2 billion
New Zealand investment commitment:
$20 billion over 15 years
Why it matters for exams: Dates of entry into force and the tariff coverage of India's newest trade agreements are standard economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
FTA Free Trade Agreement — A treaty between countries that cuts or removes customs duties on trade between them.
Tariff line Tariff line — A single product category in a country's customs tariff schedule.
20 October 2026
A Supreme Court bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Shree Chandrashekhar has held that a Letters Patent Bench cannot interfere with the decision of a writ court merely because it takes a different view. The judgment in R. Saravanan v. Periyar University, reported as 2026 INSC 1136 and as 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 1068, was written by Justice Chandrashekhar. The court said interference is open only where the findings are demonstrably erroneous and the mistake is glaring on the face of the record, and that a Letters Patent Bench is not entitled to interfere on a mere showing of some error of fact or law. It set aside a Madras High Court Division Bench judgment of 29 August 2019, delivered under Clause 15 of that court's Letters Patent, which had reversed a single judge and restored the removal of a Deputy Registrar from service. The single judge's order, which had found the inquiry findings perverse, was restored.
Case:
R. Saravanan v. Periyar University
Citation:
2026 INSC 1136
Bench:
Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar
Provision considered:
Clause 15 of the Letters Patent
Why it matters for exams: Letters Patent appeals and the limits on intra-court appeals in High Courts are a recurring theme in polity and law questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Letters Patent Letters Patent — The founding charter of the older chartered High Courts, whose Clause 15 allows an appeal from a single judge to a division bench.
Certiorari Writ of certiorari — A writ by which a higher court quashes an order of a lower authority that is without jurisdiction or evidence.
20 October 2026
A division bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Aditi Choudhary of the Delhi High Court has closed a petition by two voters whose names were deleted from the Delhi electoral rolls after they could not complete enumeration during the Special Intensive Revision. The case is Nilotpal Datta and another v. Election Commission of India and others, reported as 2026 LiveLaw (Del) 1014. The petitioners had asked for their entries to be restored and for correction and transposition through Form 8 rather than fresh inclusion through Form 6. Standing counsel for the Election Commission, Sanjay Vashishtha, submitted that the grievance could be met by filing Form 6 under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and that the Electoral Registration Officer had offered assistance. The court held that the first petitioner's apprehension that filing it would amount to furnishing a false declaration was misplaced, since the suggestion came from the Commission's standing counsel on the officer's instructions, and left the petitioners free to file Form 6.
Bench:
Justices Dinesh Mehta and Aditi Choudhary
Citation:
2026 LiveLaw (Del) 1014
Form the court allowed:
Form 6
Rules cited:
Registration of Electors Rules, 1960
Why it matters for exams: Form 6, Form 8 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 are the operative detail behind electoral roll revision questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
SIR Special Intensive Revision — An exercise in which the Election Commission revises an electoral roll by enumerating every household afresh.
ERO Electoral Registration Officer — The officer responsible for preparing and correcting the electoral roll of a constituency.
19 October 2026
Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar told a press conference in New Delhi on 19 October 2026 that 78 ships and submarines and 120 fast interceptor craft have received Acceptance of Necessity, worth an estimated Rs 2.41 lakh crore. Forty-two platforms are already on order. The request for proposal for four landing platform docks went to shortlisted shipyards the previous week, and a request for proposal for the next-generation frigate was issued a couple of weeks earlier. Integrated full electric propulsion is to be developed under an intergovernmental agreement with the United Kingdom and is earmarked for the four landing platform docks. Under the iDEX scheme the Navy has received more than 4,000 proposals, granted Acceptance of Necessity for projects worth over Rs 3,500 crore and concluded contracts worth more than Rs 1,900 crore.
Value of platforms with Acceptance of Necessity:
Rs 2.41 lakh crore
Ships and submarines:
78
Fast interceptor craft:
120
Platforms on order:
42
Why it matters for exams: Acceptance of Necessity figures and platform counts are the kind of defence procurement detail examiners test.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
AoN Acceptance of Necessity — The first formal clearance in Indian defence procurement, which allows a purchase proposal to move to the tender stage.
LPD Landing Platform Dock — A warship that carries troops, vehicles and landing craft for amphibious operations.
iDEX Innovations for Defence Excellence — A Defence Ministry scheme that funds startups and small firms to build defence technology.
19 October 2026
Militants fired on a group of 14 Meitei villagers collecting firewood in the Sunurok hills under Sagolmang police station in Manipur's Kangpokpi district on 19 October 2026. Three men were killed and three were injured. The dead are Arubam Ronil, 35, Lairenlakpam Inaobi, 51, and Kshetrimayum Sushil, 32. Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo put the time of the shooting at about 9.40 am. The bodies were taken to Imphal and placed outside the chief minister's residence at Babupara before police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. A combing operation was launched with police, the Central Reserve Police Force, CoBRA, Assam Rifles and the Border Security Force, and Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh chaired a security review.
District:
Kangpokpi
Killed:
Three
Injured:
Three
Size of the group attacked:
14
Why it matters for exams: Manipur's security situation and the central forces deployed there recur in current affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CoBRA Commando Battalion for Resolute Action — A specialised jungle warfare and guerrilla warfare unit of the Central Reserve Police Force.
ADGP Additional Director General of Police — A senior rank in a state police force, next below the Director General of Police.
19 October 2026
The Reserve Bank of India issued notification RBI/2026-27/296 on 19 October 2026 under Section 51A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. It circulates a United Nations Security Council communication, press release SC/16480 of 15 October 2026, amending three entries on the 1267/1989 ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List. Two are individuals and one is an entity: QDi.082 Mounir El Motassadeq, whose 'In prison in Germany' address was removed; QDi.427 Noor Wali Mehsud; and QDe.132 Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, where the reference to Maulana Fazlullah as former leader was removed. Regulated entities must ensure they hold no accounts in the name of listed individuals or entities and act under Chapter IX of the Reserve Bank's Know Your Customer Directions, 2025. Any delisting request received by a bank is to be forwarded to the Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation) in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Notification:
RBI/2026-27/296
Entries amended:
03
UN press release:
SC/16480 of 15 October 2026
Enabling provision:
Section 51A, UAPA, 1967
Why it matters for exams: Section 51A of the UAPA and the 1267 sanctions machinery link banking compliance with counter-terror law, a favourite cross-subject question.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
UAPA Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 — India's principal anti-terror law, whose Section 51A allows freezing of funds of listed persons.
KYC Know Your Customer — The rules under which banks verify the identity of their customers.
19 October 2026
The Reserve Bank of India issued two notifications on 19 October 2026 that remove the same provision from two sets of directions. Notification RBI/2026-27/294 brings in the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks - Miscellaneous) Second Amendment Directions, 2026, under which paragraph 37 of Section C, 'Limits for Non-Option Derivative Contracts', in Chapter IV of the Commercial Banks Miscellaneous Directions of 2025 stands deleted. Notification RBI/2026-27/295 brings in the Reserve Bank of India (Small Finance Banks - Miscellaneous) Amendment Directions, 2026, deleting the same Section C from the Small Finance Banks Miscellaneous Directions of 2025. Both were issued under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and the amended instructions come into effect immediately upon issuance. Both were signed by Chief General Manager Sunil T S Nair.
Notifications:
RBI/2026-27/294 and RBI/2026-27/295
Provision deleted:
Paragraph 37, Section C, Chapter IV
Enabling provision:
Section 35A, Banking Regulation Act, 1949
Why it matters for exams: Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act is the Reserve Bank's standing power to issue directions, and bank examiners ask which law backs a circular.
UPSCBank
In plain words
Derivative Derivative contract — A financial contract whose value is based on an underlying rate, price or index.
SFB Small Finance Bank — A category of bank licensed by the Reserve Bank mainly to serve small borrowers and the unbanked.
19 October 2026
The Reserve Bank of India announced on 19 October 2026 that it will conduct an overnight variable rate repo auction under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility. The notified amount is Rs 50,000 crore and the tenor is one day. The auction is to be held on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. The bidding window is open from 9.30 am to 10.00 am. Variable rate repo auctions are the Reserve Bank's main tool for injecting short-term liquidity into the banking system at a rate set by bidding rather than fixed in advance.
Notified amount:
Rs 50,000 crore
Tenor:
1 day
Auction date:
21 October 2026
Window:
09:30 AM to 10:00 AM
Why it matters for exams: The Liquidity Adjustment Facility and variable rate repo auctions are standard banking awareness material.
Kerala PSCBank
In plain words
LAF Liquidity Adjustment Facility — The Reserve Bank window through which banks borrow from or lend to the central bank for short periods.
VRR Variable Rate Repo — A repo auction in which the interest rate is decided by bidding instead of being fixed in advance.
19 October 2026
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued an advisory to Meta, dated 10 October 2026, which came to light on 19 October. It asks the company to ensure that there is no 'disproportionate exposure of users to a single or limited set of narratives' and that users get a wider mix of credible information. Meta is asked to add context to photographs, videos and graphics from ongoing public events where their authenticity, date or location is unclear, and to review its recommendation and ranking systems so that misleading, manipulated or out-of-context content is not amplified or repeatedly recommended. The advisory also asks for stronger rapid identification, review and escalation of content with the potential to cause public disorder, and timely cooperation with law enforcement and authorised agencies. It cites the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the due diligence requirements of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and asks the company to act 'with immediate effect' and report the action taken.
Advisory dated:
10 October 2026
Issued by:
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
Rules cited:
IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021
Why it matters for exams: The Information Technology Rules of 2021 and the due diligence duties of intermediaries are examined often, and this is a live application of them.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MeitY Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology — The union ministry that administers India's information technology law and digital policy.
Intermediary Intermediary — A platform that stores or transmits content on behalf of others and must follow due diligence duties to keep its legal protection.
19 October 2026
A young orangutan of Sumatran origin, called Rocky, was flown from Gujarat to Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, Indonesia, on 19 October 2026. Indonesia's forestry ministry held a reception that officials of the Consulate General of India in Medan attended. The animal, then a baby, was rescued in 2024 by Maharashtra forest officials from an apartment in Dombivli in Thane, where it was kept in a cage with six pythons and a star tortoise. The CITES management authorities of India and Indonesia coordinated the return, and India waived all historical care and maintenance costs. Five baby orangutans found near Badapali village in Odisha's Balasore division on 9 September are being cared for at Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar, and the Indian mission in Jakarta is arranging a visit to India by Indonesian forestry ministry wildlife experts in November.
Destination airport:
Kualanamu International Airport, Medan
Year of rescue:
2024
Orangutans found in Odisha:
Five, on 9 September
Where the five are kept:
Nandankanan Zoological Park, Bhubaneswar
Why it matters for exams: CITES management authorities, the Nandankanan zoo and the native range of orangutans are all standard environment questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora — A treaty that controls international trade in listed wild animals and plants through permits issued by national management authorities.
15 October 2026
Justice Amit Mahajan of the Delhi High Court on 15 October 2026 set aside a Central Information Commission order that had directed the Indian Air Force to give certified copies of Special Flight Return Part II records with the names of security personnel redacted. The case is The Central Public Information Officer, Directorate of Personal Services, Air Headquarters, Indian Air Force v. Commodore Lokesh K Batra (Retd). The applicant, a retired naval officer, had sought details of foreign visits by Prime Ministers on Air Force aircraft between April 2013 and June 2018. The court held that the Air Force was justified in invoking the exemptions under Sections 8(1)(a) and 8(1)(g) of the Right to Information Act, 2005. It said the fact that public funds were spent on the visits does not by itself justify disclosure that may compromise security arrangements, and that a court or the Commission cannot substitute its own assessment for that of the competent security agencies.
Judge:
Justice Amit Mahajan
Date of order:
15 October 2026
Exemptions upheld:
Sections 8(1)(a) and 8(1)(g)
Period of records sought:
April 2013 to June 2018
Why it matters for exams: The exemptions in Section 8(1) of the Right to Information Act are frequently examined, and this judgment fixes two of them to a concrete fact situation.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CIC Central Information Commission — The appellate body set up under the Right to Information Act to decide second appeals against central public authorities.
CPIO Central Public Information Officer — The officer in a central public authority who answers applications under the Right to Information Act.
19 October 2026
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on 19 October 2026 that Washington is nearing completion of a trade agreement with India, saying, 'We're very close to doing that.' He linked the agreement to the President's decisions on national security waivers, including the tariff waiver tied to purchases of Russian oil. He said a country's economy cannot be unravelled over one central issue and that foreign policy has to balance many factors. Rubio is to make a three-day visit to India from 20 to 22 October 2026, scheduled to land at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai at 2.15 pm on 20 October and to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar there that afternoon. The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the talks will cover energy, trade and investment, defence, critical and emerging technologies and the situation in West Asia, and Rubio travels to Jamnagar in Gujarat the next day.
Where the remark was made:
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Visit dates:
20 to 22 October 2026
City of the talks:
Mumbai
Why it matters for exams: The India-United States trade negotiation and the Russian oil tariff waiver are among the most asked foreign policy items of the year.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
EAM External Affairs Minister — The union minister in charge of India's foreign relations.