23 October 2026
India won 26 medals in a single day at the Asian Para Games at Aichi-Nagoya in Japan, made up of 7 gold, 4 silver and 15 bronze. That took the contingent's overall tally to 88 medals. The break-up of the overall tally is 21 gold, 26 silver and 41 bronze. India stands fourth in the medal table of the Games. Medals came from athletics, archery, table tennis, swimming and para-badminton.
Total medals:
88
Gold:
21
Silver:
26
Bronze:
41
Position:
Fourth
Host:
Aichi-Nagoya, Japan
Why it matters for exams: Medal tallies and host cities of multi-sport Games are routine general knowledge questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
23 October 2026
Dharmaraj Solairaj won gold in the men's long jump T44/T62/T64 event at the Asian Para Games at Aichi-Nagoya, defending the title he held. His winning jump of 7.15 metres is a new Asian record in the class. India also swept the men's high jump T63 podium on the same day, with Shailesh Kumar taking gold, Varun Bhati silver and Rahul bronze. Dilip Mahadu Gavit won the men's 400m T47 in 48.27 seconds.
Winning jump:
7.15 m
Event:
Men's long jump T44/T62/T64
400m T47 gold:
Dilip Mahadu Gavit, 48.27 s
Why it matters for exams: Record-setting Indian para athletes and their events are frequently asked in sports current affairs.
Kerala PSCSSC
23 October 2026
Sheetal Devi won gold in the women's compound individual archery event at the Asian Para Games at Aichi-Nagoya. She beat Alim Nur Syahidah of Singapore 142-139 in a rematch of the Hangzhou 2023 final. In the women's W1 individual event Swati Chaudhary won silver, India's first medal in that category at the Games. Chaudhary lost the final 4-6 to Cen Mengkan of China.
Compound individual final score:
142-139
W1 final score:
4-6
Why it matters for exams: Sheetal Devi's titles and India's firsts in para archery classes are standard sports questions.
Kerala PSCSSC
In plain words
W1 Wheelchair 1 archery class — A para archery class for archers with impairment in all four limbs and the trunk.
23 October 2026
Suvarna Raj won gold in the women's F54 discus event at the Asian Para Games at Aichi-Nagoya in Japan. Her best throw measured 15.66 metres. Six athletes took part in the event. It was India's first gold of that competition day. In the same session Manisha Ramadass and Pramod Bhagat won bronze in para-badminton mixed doubles after losing their semifinal to Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramadani of Indonesia.
Winning throw:
15.66 m
Event:
Women's F54 discus
Athletes in the field:
Six
Why it matters for exams: Gold medallists and winning marks at the Asian Para Games are commonly asked in sports sections.
Kerala PSCSSC
23 October 2026
Tejalben Damor won silver in the women's 400m T12 at the Asian Para Games at Aichi-Nagoya with a time of 57.60 seconds. It was her second medal of these Games. In the women's 400m T47 Anjanaben Bumbadiya won gold in 59.97 seconds, with Jayanti Behera second. In para table tennis, Bhavina Patel and Subham Wadhwa won bronze in the mixed doubles XD7 class. In swimming, Kapil Kumar took silver and Swatik Patil bronze.
Damor's time:
57.60 seconds
Event:
Women's 400m T12
Table tennis bronze:
Bhavina Patel and Subham Wadhwa, mixed doubles XD7
Why it matters for exams: Individual medal winners and their timings at the Asian Para Games are asked in sports current affairs.
Kerala PSCSSC
23 October 2026
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 30th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) in New Delhi on 23 October 2026.
The Council reviewed macro-financial stability amid geopolitical uncertainty, the AI boom and a steep rise in global bond yields.
It took note of the Financial Sector Cyber Security Strategy (FSCSS), formulated by an Inter-Ministerial Group of regulators and cybersecurity agencies.
It also discussed fintech innovation and the tokenisation of financial and other real-world assets.
The Finance Minister urged faster refund of unclaimed assets and noted the 'Your Money, Your Right' campaign.
She asked the Council to meet more frequently on a predefined schedule; RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra attended.
Meeting:
30th FSDC meeting
Chaired by:
Nirmala Sitharaman
Strategy noted:
Financial Sector Cyber Security Strategy (FSCSS)
Why it matters for exams: The FSDC, its chair and its sub-committee headed by the RBI Governor are standard banking and economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
FSDC Financial Stability and Development Council — A council of financial regulators chaired by the Union Finance Minister that watches over financial stability.
Tokenisation — Recording ownership of an asset as a digital token that can be held and traded.
23 October 2026
The Ministry of Defence said on 23 October 2026 that the bilateral naval exercise INDRA 2026 between the Indian Navy and the Russian Federation Navy had concluded.
Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri departed Vladivostok, Russian Federation, on 20 October 2026.
The exercise had two phases: a Harbour Phase and a Sea Phase.
The Harbour Phase covered leaders' interactions, cross-deck visits, subject matter expert exchanges, sports and cultural events.
The Sea Phase involved coordinated manoeuvring, integrated communications, helicopter operations and medical evacuation drills.
The ministry said the exercise reaffirmed the defence and maritime partnership between India and Russia.
Exercise:
INDRA 2026
Indian ship:
INS Sahyadri
Port:
Vladivostok
Why it matters for exams: Names of bilateral military exercises and their partner countries are among the most frequently asked defence questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
Cross-deck visit — Personnel of one navy visiting the ships of another during an exercise.
23 October 2026
The Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, announced on 23 October 2026 a committee to review the framework governing pharmaceutical marketing practices.
Dr. M. Srinivas, Member, NITI Aayog, chairs the committee; Smt. Preeti Sudan, former Union Health Secretary, and Dr. Naresh Trehan, CMD, Medanta, are members.
It must submit recommendations within two months of its first meeting.
The Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) was introduced in 2015 as a voluntary, industry-led self-regulatory mechanism.
UCPMP 2024 superseded the 2015 code and is now in operation.
The committee will examine monitoring, oversight and enforcement and may suggest regulatory or statutory measures.
Chairperson:
Dr. M. Srinivas, Member, NITI Aayog
Deadline:
2 months from first meeting
Code in force:
UCPMP 2024
Why it matters for exams: Committees, their chairs and the UCPMP code are typical governance and health-policy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
UCPMP Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices — A code governing how drug companies market to and deal with healthcare professionals.
Background
The President of India is elected by an electoral college made up of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all the States, together with the Legislative Assemblies of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Nominated members of Parliament or of State Legislative Assemblies, and members of Legislative Councils, are not electors. Article 55(3) of the Constitution provides that the election shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, and that the voting shall be by secret ballot. An elector marks preferences against the names of candidates in figures only; the first preference is compulsory for the ballot to be valid, while further preferences are optional. A candidate is declared elected on securing the quota, and political parties cannot issue a whip for this vote.
Constitutional provision:
Article 55(3)
Union Territories whose Assemblies vote:
National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puducherry
Why it matters for exams: Who is and is not in the presidential electoral college, and the exact voting system named in Article 55(3), are repeatedly tested.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Single transferable vote Single transferable vote — A system in which an elector ranks candidates in order of preference and surplus or lowest votes are transferred to later preferences.
Background
Chandrayaan-3 is the Indian Space Research Organisation's lunar mission flown on the LVM3 launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR at Sriharikota. It consists of three parts: a Propulsion Module that carries the lander to a 100 km lunar orbit, a Lander Module that carries the rover and makes a soft landing, and the Rover housed inside the lander. Its three mission objectives are to demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, to demonstrate rover roving on the Moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments. The prime landing site is an area of 4 km by 2.4 km centred at 69.37 degrees south latitude.
Launch vehicle:
LVM3
Modules:
Propulsion Module, Lander Module and Rover
Lunar orbit reached by the Propulsion Module:
100 km
Why it matters for exams: The three modules and the three stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are the facts most often set as objective questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
In-situ experiment In-situ experiment — An experiment carried out on the spot, on the surface being studied, rather than on a returned sample.