20 October 2026
The Prime Minister's Office issued a message congratulating Deepthi Jeevanji on winning gold in the Women's 400m T20 event at the Asian Para Games. The release says she defended her title with a Games Record. The Prime Minister said her success will inspire countless young athletes. The release was posted by PIB Delhi on 20 October 2026.
Event:
Women's 400m T20
Medal:
Gold
Why it matters for exams: Para-athletics medallists and their exact event classes are a standing question area in current affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
T20 Track classification T20 — A para-athletics class for athletes with an intellectual impairment.
20 October 2026
The Prime Minister's Office congratulated Pradeep Kumar on winning silver in the Men's Javelin Throw F53/54 at the Asian Para Games. The release records that this is his second consecutive Asian Para Games silver and that he set a personal best. The message said consistency and excellence shine together and wished him well for future endeavours. It was posted on 20 October 2026.
Event:
Men's Javelin Throw F53/54
Medal:
Silver
Why it matters for exams: Medal, event and classification together make a clean one-mark question for examiners.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
F53/54 Field classification F53/54 — A seated throws class in para-athletics.
20 October 2026
The Prime Minister's Office congratulated Bhavina Patel on a bronze medal in the Women's Singles Class 4-5 event at the Asian Para Games 2026. The release was issued by PIB Delhi on 20 October 2026.
Event:
Women's Singles Class 4-5
Medal:
Bronze
Why it matters for exams: Bhavina Patel is a recurring name in para table tennis questions, and the class number is the usual distractor.
Kerala PSCSSC
20 October 2026
The Prime Minister's Office congratulated Sonalben Patel on winning bronze in the Women's Singles Class 3 event at the Asian Para Games. The release was posted on 20 October 2026.
Event:
Women's Singles Class 3
Medal:
Bronze
Why it matters for exams: Class numbers separate the two table tennis bronzes of the same Games and are often asked as a pair.
Kerala PSCSSC
20 October 2026
The Prime Minister's Office congratulated Ravanni Valasanaini on winning bronze in the Women's 1500m T11 event at the Asian Para Games 2026. The release was posted on 20 October 2026.
Event:
Women's 1500m T11
Medal:
Bronze
Why it matters for exams: T11 is the class most often confused with T12 and T13 in para-athletics questions.
Kerala PSCSSC
In plain words
T11 Track classification T11 — A para-athletics class for runners with the most severe visual impairment, who run with a guide.
19 October 2026
The Reserve Bank of India announced that the Government of India will re-issue two dated securities for a total notified amount of Rs 33,000 crore. They are 6.53% GS 2031 for Rs 19,000 crore, repayable on September 7, 2031, and 7.71% GS 2066 for Rs 14,000 crore, repayable on May 18, 2066. The Government may retain additional subscription of up to Rs 2,000 crore against each security. The auction is set for Friday, October 23, 2026, by the multiple price method, with settlement on Monday, October 26, 2026.
Total notified amount:
Rs 33,000 crore
6.53% GS 2031:
Rs 19,000 crore
7.71% GS 2066:
Rs 14,000 crore
Auction date:
October 23, 2026
Why it matters for exams: Dated securities, notified amount, greenshoe and the multiple price method are standard banking-exam vocabulary.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
Greenshoe Additional subscription option — It lets the issuer retain extra subscription beyond the notified amount.
e-Kuber RBI's Core Banking Solution — Auction bids are submitted through this system.
19 October 2026
The Reserve Bank published the full auction result for State Government Securities held on October 19, 2026. The total notified amount was Rs 24,400 crore and the total amount accepted was Rs 23,016.418 crore. Andhra Pradesh accepted no amount against its Rs 1,000 crore notified stock. Punjab accepted Rs 316.418 crore of the Rs 700 crore notified for its 2035 security. Maharashtra was the largest borrower on the day, with Rs 1,500 crore, Rs 2,000 crore, Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 2,500 crore accepted across four maturities.
Total notified:
Rs 24,400 crore
Total accepted:
Rs 23,016.418 crore
Auction date:
October 19, 2026
Why it matters for exams: State Development Loans and the gap between notified and accepted amounts are regular economy questions.
UPSCBank
In plain words
SGS State Government Securities — Dated securities issued by State governments to borrow from the market.
20 October 2026
A Supreme Court bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu observed in Dr MK Ravi Varma etc etc v. National Institute of Technology and Ors that not a single precedent has remarked on the applicability of Section 72 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 to the recovery of excess payments. The Court said the reasoning in Chandi Prasad Uniyal appears to draw on that provision without citing it, and that the line of cases following Sahib Ram and Shyam Babu Verma, decided under Article 142, does not have the force of binding precedent. On the facts, Academic Grade Pay granted around October 2009 was withdrawn in January 2010, the teachers had signed undertakings agreeing to recovery if pay fixation was erroneous, and the appeals were dismissed. The judgment is reported as 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 1019.
Bench:
Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu
Citation:
2026 LiveLaw (SC) 1019
Why it matters for exams: Service-law recovery cases and the Sahib Ram-Rafiq Masih line are repeatedly examined in polity and law papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Article 142 Constitution of India — It lets the Supreme Court pass any order needed for complete justice in a case before it.
Background
The Union Cabinet approved the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff in the rank of a four-star General, with salary and perquisites equivalent to a Service Chief.
The Chief of Defence Staff heads the Department of Military Affairs, created within the Ministry of Defence, and functions as its Secretary.
That Department deals with the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, with the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, with the Territorial Army, and with procurement exclusive to the Services except capital acquisitions.
Its mandate also covers jointness in procurement, training and staffing, the restructuring of Military Commands including joint or theatre commands, and the promotion of indigenous equipment.
The Chief of Defence Staff is additionally the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Principal Military Adviser to the Raksha Mantri on all tri-Services matters, while the three Service Chiefs continue to advise the Minister on matters concerning their own Service alone.
The Chief of Defence Staff exercises no military command, including over the three Service Chiefs, so as to be able to provide impartial advice to the political leadership; the one command the decision does give the post is over the tri-service agencies, organisations and commands related to Cyber and Space.
The proposal is traced to the Kargil Review Committee headed by K Subrahmanyam, which in 1999 recommended a review of the National Security Framework, and to a Group of Ministers that recommended the post in 2001; the Prime Minister announced the Government's intention to create it in an address to the nation on 15th August 2019.
For a smooth transition, 159 personnel were moved from the Department of Defence to the newly created Department.
Rank of the post:
four-star General
Permanent Chairman of:
Chiefs of Staff Committee
Personnel moved to the new Department:
159
Committee traced as the origin of the proposal:
Kargil Review Committee
Why it matters for exams: The powers of the Chief of Defence Staff, and the exact line between advice and command, are a standing question in defence and polity sections.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
CDS Chief of Defence Staff — The four-star officer who heads the Department of Military Affairs and chairs the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
DMA Department of Military Affairs — A department inside the Ministry of Defence whose Secretary is the Chief of Defence Staff.
Raksha Mantri Union Minister of Defence — The Union Minister in charge of defence, advised by the Chief of Defence Staff on tri-Services matters.
Background
Article 280 of the Constitution requires the President to constitute a Finance Commission within two years from the commencement of the Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year, or at such earlier time as the President considers necessary.
The Commission consists of a Chairman and four other members, all appointed by the President, and Parliament may by law determine the qualifications required for appointment and the manner of selection.
Its duty is to recommend the distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of divisible taxes and the allocation of the respective shares between the States; the principles governing grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India; the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats and of the Municipalities on the basis of the recommendations of the State Finance Commission; and any other matter referred to it by the President in the interests of sound finance.
The Commission determines its own procedure and has such powers as Parliament may by law confer on it.
Under Article 281 the President must cause every recommendation of the Commission, together with an explanatory memorandum on the action taken, to be laid before each House of Parliament.
The Commission normally takes about two years to make its recommendations; the Advance Cell of the Sixteenth Finance Commission was formed in the Ministry of Finance on 21.11.2022 to oversee preliminary work before the Commission was formally constituted.
Constitutional article creating the Commission:
280
Members besides the Chairman:
four
Article under which recommendations are laid before Parliament:
281
Advance Cell of the Sixteenth Commission formed on:
21.11.2022
Why it matters for exams: The composition, the five-year cycle and the exact heads of reference under Article 280 are asked almost every year in polity and economy papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Grants-in-aid Grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States — Sums paid to States out of the Consolidated Fund of India on principles the Finance Commission recommends.
Explanatory memorandum Explanatory memorandum as to the action taken — The note on action taken that must accompany a Finance Commission recommendation laid before Parliament.
Background
The Survey of India is the principal mapping agency of the country and the oldest scientific department in India, and is among the oldest survey establishments in the world.
Its origin is traced to the year 1767, when Major James Rennell was appointed Surveyor General of Bengal.
The foundation for the scientific survey and mapping of the country was laid in the nineteenth century by surveyors including Col. Lambton and Sir George Everest.
Those maps underpinned almost all the major developmental activity of modern India and the department's work has been tied to the country's growth and defence priorities.
The department marked its 250th anniversary with a year-long series of events, presented by the Government as an occasion to recognise the institution's history and to set out a new era of geospatial work for India.
Year the department's origin is traced to:
1767
Surveyor General of Bengal appointed in 1767:
Major James Rennell
Anniversary marked by the department:
250th
Why it matters for exams: The year 1767, the Surveyor General of Bengal whose appointment is traced as the origin, and the nineteenth-century surveyors are standard one-mark questions, and the department's status as India's oldest scientific department is frequently tested.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Survey of India Survey of India — The country's principal mapping agency and its oldest scientific department.
Geospatial Geospatial data — Data tied to locations on the earth's surface, the raw material of mapping.
Background
The National Legal Services Authority was constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free legal services to the weaker sections of society and to organise Lok Adalats for the amicable settlement of disputes.
The Chief Justice of India is its Patron-in-Chief and a Judge of the Supreme Court of India is its Executive Chairman.
It is housed at the Supreme Court of India, Tilak Marg, New Delhi, and its Centre for Citizen Services is at Jaisalmer House, 26 Man Singh Road, New Delhi; the national legal aid helpline number is 15100.
In every State a State Legal Services Authority gives effect to the policies of the Authority; it is headed by the Chief Justice of that High Court as Patron-in-Chief, with the seniormost Judge of the High Court nominated as Executive Chairman.
In every district a District Legal Services Authority sits in the District Courts complex, chaired by the District Judge, with a judicial officer of the Civil Judge cadre appointed as full-time Secretary.
The constitutional basis is Article 39A, which directs the State to provide free legal aid so that opportunities for securing justice are not denied by reason of economic or other disabilities, read with Articles 14 and 22(1).
Act under which the Authority is constituted:
Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
Constitutional article on free legal aid:
39A
National legal aid helpline:
15100
Chair of a District Legal Services Authority:
District Judge
Why it matters for exams: The Act of 1987, Article 39A and the three-tier structure of legal services authorities are repeat questions, and the office-holders at each tier are a favourite matching item.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Lok Adalat Lok Adalat — A forum organised under the 1987 Act where disputes are settled amicably rather than tried.
Patron-in-Chief Patron-in-Chief — The ceremonial head of a legal services authority, the Chief Justice at the national and State levels.
Article 39A Article 39A of the Constitution — A Directive Principle requiring the State to provide free legal aid so that economic disability does not deny justice.