27 October 2026
The National Human Rights Commission has sent an advisory on the safety of women at workplaces and in public spaces to the secretaries of ten Union ministries, the Chairperson of the Railway Board, and the chief secretaries and administrators of all states and union territories. The advisory is organised under eight heads: awareness on sexual harassment, infrastructure, bystander intervention, the role of the police, support for survivors, cybercrime against women, long-term reforms, and other measures. Every recipient has been asked to act on it and send an Action Taken Report within two months. The Commission framed the advisory against two figures: women's labour force participation of 34.6 per cent in September 2026, and about 4.4 lakh crimes against women in the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau. The ministries addressed include Women and Child Development, Home Affairs, Labour and Employment, Road Transport and Highways, and Health and Family Welfare.
Areas covered:
8
Deadline for Action Taken Report:
Two months
Women's labour force participation:
34.6%
Why it matters for exams: The National Human Rights Commission's eight-head advisory on women's safety, its two-month Action Taken Report deadline, and the 34.6 per cent women's labour force participation figure it cites.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NHRC National Human Rights Commission — The statutory human rights body set up under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
NCRB National Crime Records Bureau — The agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs that compiles India's crime statistics.
27 October 2026
The Railway Recruitment Boards have opened online applications for 1,265 Station Master posts under Centralised Employment Notice number 08/2026. Applications opened on 27 October 2026 and close on 25 November 2026, and any graduate may apply. Of the vacancies listed, RRB Mumbai has the largest share at 177, followed by Jammu-Srinagar with 122 and Chennai with 119. The Railway Board has decided that from 2026 Station Master recruitment will be notified on its own rather than bundled with other non-technical popular categories. Applications are filed on the common portal rrbapply.gov.in, while the notice, syllabus and board-wise vacancy table are on the Railway Recruitment Board site. The post is the officer in charge of train movement at a station.
Vacancies:
1,265
Notice:
CEN No. 08/2026
Last date:
25 November 2026
Why it matters for exams: Centralised Employment Notice 08/2026 for 1,265 Station Master posts, the Railway Recruitment Boards as the recruiting agency, and the new rule that Station Master posts are notified separately from 2026.
Kerala PSCSSCBank
In plain words
CEN Centralised Employment Notice — The numbered notification through which Railway Recruitment Boards advertise posts.
27 October 2026
The Central Adoption Resource Authority held its fifth regional consultative workshop, for the Eastern Zone, at Ranchi with the Jharkhand government and the State Adoption Resource Agency. The theme was non-institutionalised rehabilitation of children with special needs. About 175 stakeholders from roughly 115 districts took part; the Eastern Zone covers Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Sikkim. CARA chief executive officer Bhavna Saxena spoke on removing the delays that hold up adoption and on support for prospective adoptive parents. Sessions covered medical assessment, legal and procedural steps, costs, grievance redressal and coordination between departments, and group work produced region-specific recommendations. The earlier four workshops in the series were held in Rajasthan, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. CARA functions under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Participants:
About 175
Districts represented:
Around 115
Workshop in series:
Fifth
Why it matters for exams: CARA as the Central Adoption Resource Authority under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, its chief executive officer Bhavna Saxena, and the five states that make up its Eastern Zone.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CARA Central Adoption Resource Authority — The central body that regulates adoption of Indian children and is the nodal agency for inter-country adoption.
SARA State Adoption Resource Agency — The state-level body that handles adoption work within a state.
27 October 2026
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will hold Shilp Samagam Mela 2026 at Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi from 1 to 15 November. For the first time the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities will run the Shilp Utsav jointly. About 150 stalls will operate under Bharat TULIP, a programme that sells products of aspirational groups through e-commerce in India and abroad, and under Purple Fest, which marks disability, creativity and equal participation. The fair is laid out in seven themed zones covering live craft demonstrations, lamps and lights, devotional products, home decor, textiles and fashion, food, and a stage for cultural programmes. The ministry says the Melas have benefited more than 1,000 artisans since 2022. The theme this year is built around light and tradition.
Dates:
1 to 15 November 2026
Stalls:
About 150
Themed zones:
Seven
Why it matters for exams: Bharat TULIP as the e-commerce programme for products of aspirational groups and Purple Fest, both run by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment at the Dilli Haat craft fair.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Bharat TULIP Bharat TULIP — A programme that sells products made by aspirational groups through e-commerce in India and abroad.
DEPwD Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities — The department of the Social Justice Ministry that works on disability.
Background
The National Commission for Women was set up as a statutory body under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 (Act No. 20 of 1990), to review the constitutional and legal safeguards for women, recommend remedial legislative measures, facilitate redressal of grievances and advise the government on all policy matters affecting women. The Act's Statement of Objects and Reasons records that successive Commissions on Women had noted in their reports the unequal status of women obtaining in every sphere of life and had suggested the setting up of an agency to fulfil the surveillance functions as well as to facilitate redressal of grievances of women. The Act is dated 30th August, 1990, it was brought into force on 31.1.1992, and the Commission was founded in January 1992.
Section 3 of the Act sets out the composition. The Central Government constitutes the Commission, which consists of a Chairperson committed to the cause of women, nominated by the Central Government; five Members nominated by the Central Government from among persons of ability, integrity and standing who have had experience in law or legislation, trade unionism, management of an industry or organisation committed to increasing the employment potential of women, women's voluntary organisations (including women activists), administration, economic development, health, education or social welfare, provided that at least one Member each shall be from among persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively; and a Member-Secretary nominated by the Central Government who shall be either an expert in the field of management, organisational structure or sociological movement, or an officer of a civil service of the Union or of an all-India service or holding a civil post under the Union with appropriate experience.
The Commission's listed functions include investigating and examining all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women under the Constitution and other laws; reporting annually and at such other times as it thinks fit on the working of those safeguards; reviewing existing provisions and recommending amendments; taking up cases of violation with the appropriate authorities; looking into complaints and taking suo motu notice; calling for special studies or investigations; funding litigation involving issues affecting a large body of women; inspecting jails, remand homes, women's institutions and other places of custody where women are kept; and any other matter referred to it by the Central Government. While investigating such matters the Commission has all the powers of a civil court trying a suit, including summoning and enforcing attendance, requiring discovery and production of documents, receiving evidence on affidavits and requisitioning public records. The Central Government must cause the Commission's reports to be laid before each House of Parliament along with a memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed, and the reasons for non-acceptance of any recommendation.
Statute:
National Commission for Women Act, 1990 (Act No.20 of 1990)
Composition:
A Chairperson, Five Members and a Member-Secretary
Founded:
January 1992
Powers while investigating:
All the powers of a civil court trying a suit
Why it matters for exams: The statutory basis of the women's commission, its exact composition under Section 3 and its civil-court powers are standard polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NCW National Commission for Women — A statutory body that reviews safeguards for women and looks into complaints of violation.
Background
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India was established on 12 October 1993. The statute under which it is established is the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993, as amended by Act No. 19 of 2019. Section 2(1)(d) of the Act defines human rights as the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India. The Commission is in conformity with the Paris Principles, adopted at the first International workshop on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights held in Paris in October 1991 and endorsed by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
As per Section 3 of the Act the Commission consists of a Chairperson who has been a Chief Justice of India or a Judge of the Supreme Court; one Member who is, or has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court; one Member who is, or has been, the Chief Justice of a High Court; and three Members, out of which at least one shall be a woman, to be appointed from amongst persons having knowledge of, or practical experience in, matters relating to human rights. In addition, the Chairpersons of the National Commission for Backward Classes, the National Commission for Minorities, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes, the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes, the National Commission for Women and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities are deemed to be Members of the Commission for the discharge of the functions specified in clauses (b) to (j) of Section 12. There is a Secretary-General who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Commission and who, subject to the control of the Chairperson, exercises all administrative and financial powers, except judicial functions and the power to make regulations.
The Commission's mandate is to protect and promote human rights in India. Its work includes investigating human rights violations and negligence in preventing such violations by public servants, either on its own initiative or upon a petition; intervening in court proceedings involving human rights violations with the approval of the court; visiting jails and other institutions under government control to monitor conditions; promoting human rights awareness through educational programmes, seminars and other outreach; studying international human rights treaties and recommending their effective implementation; undertaking and promoting research; recommending compensation or prosecution against guilty public servants and approaching the Supreme Court or a High Court for directions; requisitioning public records; and submitting annual reports to the Central and State governments.
Statute:
Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993
Established:
12 October, 1993
Chief Executive Officer:
Secretary-General
International benchmark:
Paris Principles
Why it matters for exams: The statute behind the rights commission, the judicial qualification of its Chairperson, the Paris Principles link and the deemed members are frequently asked.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NHRC National Human Rights Commission — The statutory national institution that investigates human rights violations in India.
PHRA Protection of Human Rights Act — The Act under which the rights commission and the State commissions are set up.
Background
The India State of Forest Report is published by the Forest Survey of India, which works under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change. The report is a biennial publication of the Forest Survey of India, that is, it appears once in two years rather than every year. Its chapters cover a fixed set of datasets: Forest Cover, Tree Cover, Mangrove Cover, Growing Stock and Carbon Stock, and the report is issued in two volumes. Because the publisher, the parent ministry and the two-year cycle stay the same from edition to edition, these are the parts of the report an exam can ask about without reference to any one year's figures.
Publisher:
Forest Survey of India
Parent ministry:
Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change
Frequency:
biennial
Why it matters for exams: Matching a report to its publisher and its parent ministry is the commonest form of the reports and indices question, and the Forest Survey of India is the answer for the India State of Forest Report.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ISFR India State of Forest Report — The two-yearly national assessment of India's forest and tree cover.
Growing stock Growing stock — The total volume of wood standing in a forest area.
Background
The GSLV-F17 mission was the 19th flight of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, flown with a 4 m diameter composite ogive payload fairing. It carried EOS-05, an Earth observation spacecraft that the Indian Space Research Organisation describes as India's first ever imaging satellite from Geosynchronous orbit. The vehicle lifted off from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, and placed EOS-05 into a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. The durable facts here are the name of the launch vehicle family, the launch site and the pad it flew from, the application of the satellite, which is Earth Observation, and the idea of a transfer orbit as a staging orbit rather than a final one.
Flight of the GSLV:
19th
Launch site:
Second Launch Pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR
Payload fairing:
4 m diameter composite ogive
Why it matters for exams: GSLV as against PSLV, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre as the launch site, and what a transfer orbit is, are among the most repeated Science and Technology questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
GSLV Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle — India's launch vehicle built to place heavier satellites towards geosynchronous orbit.
SHAR Sriharikota Range — The range at Sriharikota that gives the Satish Dhawan Space Centre its SHAR suffix.
Background
SPADEX stands for Space Docking Experiment. It was launched aboard the PSLV-C60 launch vehicle with two satellites, SPADEX-A and SPADEX-B, into a 470 km circular orbit. The mission demonstrated critical autonomous rendezvous and low-impact docking technologies. Both spacecraft completed their core objectives, which included vertical and radial docking, composite control, power transfer, undocking and payload operations, and circumnavigation was also demonstrated. The two satellites later re-entered the atmosphere after their fuel was exhausted, with orbital decay accelerated by two moderate geomagnetic storms; SPADEX-A came down over the South Pacific Ocean and SPADEX-B over the North Atlantic Ocean.
Satellites:
SPADEX-A and SPADEX-B
Launch vehicle:
PSLV-C60
Orbit:
470 km circular orbit
Why it matters for exams: What SPADEX stands for, that it flew on a PSLV and not a GSLV, and what autonomous rendezvous and docking mean are the exact points asked about India's docking capability.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
SPADEX Space Docking Experiment — The Indian mission that demonstrated two spacecraft joining in orbit.
Rendezvous Rendezvous — Bringing two spacecraft to the same orbit and position before they join.
Background
A LOX-Methane engine is a liquid propulsion system that uses a liquid oxygen and liquid methane propellant combination. ISRO's stated reasons for moving to it are clean combustion and low maintenance, which is useful for reusability, and the fact that methane can be synthesized on Mars from carbon dioxide and water ice, which matters for future Mars missions. ISRO has named LOX-Methane engines as the main propulsion for its Next Generation Launch Vehicle and for a future heavy-lift vehicle for a crewed lunar landing. The work is spread across centres: most of the testing is done at IPRC, LPSC works on turbopumps and igniters, and VSSC and IIST are involved in igniter development. The engines under development include the LM20-TD technology demonstrator of 20-ton thrust, the 1100kN LOX-Methane engine LME1100, and a completed design for a 2400kN engine based on a Full Flow Staged Combustion Cycle.
Technology demonstrator thrust:
20-ton
Engine under development:
1100kN LOX-Methane engine (LME1100)
Why it matters for exams: The names of ISRO's propulsion centres, IPRC and LPSC, the Next Generation Launch Vehicle and the reason methane suits a Mars mission are all exam-standard Science and Technology points.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
LPSC Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre — The ISRO centre responsible for liquid propulsion stages and engines.
IPRC ISRO Propulsion Complex — The ISRO facility where propulsion systems are assembled and tested.