30 October 2026
Cyclone Arnab crossed the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts and left telecom services badly hit. Heavy rain, flash floods, uprooted trees and damaged power lines cut optical fibre cables and knocked mobile sites off the air. The Department of Telecommunications, which comes under the Ministry of Communications, said on 30 October that it is working with telecom service providers to bring the networks back. Intra-Circle Roaming has been kept switched on in the affected districts, so a subscriber whose own operator is down can latch on to any network that is working. Eleven Cells on Wheels, which are mobile towers mounted on vehicles, have been moved into Andhra Pradesh. Network availability in that State stands at 99.18 per cent, with West Godavari at 98.5 per cent and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema at 91.96 per cent. In Odisha the worst affected districts are Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal, where service is improving as the rain eases and repair teams reach the remaining sites.
Network availability in Andhra Pradesh:
99.18%
Network availability in Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema:
91.96%
Cells on Wheels deployed in Andhra Pradesh:
11
Why it matters for exams: Cyclone names, the States a cyclone crossed and the emergency tools of the Department of Telecommunications such as Intra-Circle Roaming and Cells on Wheels are standard disaster-management and governance questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ICR Intra-Circle Roaming — An emergency arrangement that lets a subscriber use any working operator's network inside a telecom circle.
COW Cell on Wheels — A mobile phone tower mounted on a vehicle and driven to a place where the fixed towers have failed.
30 October 2026
Digital Bharat Nidhi, which works under the Department of Telecommunications, signed a use agreement on 30 October with the Government of Tamil Nadu and Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corporation (TANFINET). The agreement was signed at Sanchar Bhawan in New Delhi and lets Tamil Nadu run the BharatNet network in the State through a State-led model. Under it, subsidy support will be given for fibre connections to more than 5 lakh rural homes. On-demand connectivity will also be provided to 4,767 villages to strengthen last-mile access. The Union Cabinet had approved the Amended BharatNet Programme on 4 August 2023 to upgrade and widen the existing BharatNet so that every gram panchayat and village can get broadband on demand. Digital Bharat Nidhi is the new name of the Universal Service Obligation Fund, which became Digital Bharat Nidhi under the Telecommunications Act, 2023. The Department says the link will help rural households reach e-governance, online classes, telemedicine and digital payments.
Rural homes to get subsidy support for fibre:
more than 5 lakh
Villages to get on-demand connectivity:
4,767
Cabinet approval of the Amended BharatNet Programme:
4 August 2023
Why it matters for exams: Digital Bharat Nidhi replacing the Universal Service Obligation Fund under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, and the Amended BharatNet Programme are frequently asked governance and infrastructure facts.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
DBN Digital Bharat Nidhi — The fund for universal telecom service, renamed from the Universal Service Obligation Fund under the Telecommunications Act, 2023.
TANFINET Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corporation — The Tamil Nadu government company that runs the State's fibre network.
30 October 2026
The Department of Posts issued commemorative postage stamps and a set of picture postcards on breast cancer awareness to mark International Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is observed every October. Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava and Director General of Postal Services Manisha Sinha released them together. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare supplied the medical content, while the Department of Posts planned the campaign so that its nationwide network carries messages on early detection and preventive care. The release says breast cancer is the commonest cancer among Indian women and accounts for over 30 per cent of new cancer cases in women, with more than 2 lakh new cases recorded in 2024 and an estimated 1 in 29 women at risk. Under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, 86.97 crore screenings have been done for oral, breast and cervical cancer, of which 22.90 crore were for breast cancer. About 5.50 lakh people are on treatment, including 1.43 lakh breast cancer patients. More than 1.8 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs now offer screening for these three cancers along with primary care.
Screenings under NP-NCD for oral, breast and cervical cancer:
86.97 crore
Breast cancer screenings:
22.90 crore
New breast cancer cases in India in 2024:
over 2 lakh
Ayushman Arogya Mandirs offering screening:
over 1.8 lakh
Why it matters for exams: The National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and the ministry that the Department of Posts sits under are standard health and governance questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NP-NCD National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases — The Health Ministry programme under which oral, breast and cervical cancer screening is done at primary level.
30 October 2026
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal chaired a Chintan Shivir on the digitisation of trade at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi on 30 October. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and the Open Network for Digital Commerce held the roundtable with more than 40 leaders from fast-moving consumer goods companies, logistics firms and technology providers. The discussion was on ONDC DigiDukaan, which brings small kirana shops onto the open network as buyers so that they can order stock digitally, and which is meant to strengthen distributors rather than replace them. DigiDukaan has connected over 21,000 retailers with more than 450 brands in Hyderabad, Jaipur and Mumbai, up from over 12,000 retailers a quarter earlier. Hyderabad alone has over 16,000 retailers on board, with repeat ordering each month at 73 to 78 per cent. Forty per cent of retailers surveyed said they now hold less stock for goods bought through the platform. The meeting settled five priorities, among them a common digital identity for retailers, shared logistics and micro-warehousing, and formal credit linked to digital procurement. The release says the open network has crossed 500 million transactions.
Retailers connected through DigiDukaan:
over 21,000
Brands on the platform:
more than 450
Transactions enabled by ONDC:
over 500 million
Why it matters for exams: ONDC, the ministry DPIIT belongs to and the National Traders' Welfare Board are regular economy and governance questions, and DigiDukaan is the new name an examiner can ask for.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
ONDC Open Network for Digital Commerce — A government-backed open network that lets buyers and sellers on different apps trade with each other.
DPIIT Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade — The department of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that handles industrial policy and internal trade.
30 October 2026
The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, which is part of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, has published what it achieved in Special Campaign 6. The campaign ran from 2 to 31 October and is coordinated across the Union government by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. Its purpose is to clear pending files and references and to clean up government offices and their records. By 29 October the department had reviewed 9,650 e-files against a target of 6,443 and 8,452 physical files against a target of 7,724. It had cleaned 422 of the 371 sites it had set itself, closed 2,966 e-files and weeded out 1,980 physical files. Disposal of scrap earned Rs 78,45,064 in revenue and 1,441 square feet of office space was freed. Public grievances were 96.3 per cent cleared, while e-waste disposal stood at 45.8 per cent of target. Secretary Archana Varma reviewed the progress at a senior officers' meeting on 28 October and asked that the pending work be finished before the closing date.
E-files reviewed against a target of 6,443:
9,650
Revenue from scrap disposal:
Rs 78,45,064
Office space freed:
1,441 sq. ft.
Campaign period:
2 to 31 October 2026
Why it matters for exams: Special Campaign is run by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, and the department reporting here belongs to the Ministry of Jal Shakti - both are standard governance questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
DARPG Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances — The department that coordinates administrative reform and the Special Campaign across the Union government.
30 October 2026
ISRO flew GSLV-F18 from the Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota late on the night of 30 October, carrying the navigation satellite NVS-03. The flight was the twentieth of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, and the vehicle placed the satellite in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. NVS-03 is the third satellite of the next-generation NVS series, which is replacing the older IRNSS spacecraft in the NavIC constellation. It carries an atomic clock built in India along with procured clocks, so that India no longer depends only on imported timing hardware. NVS-03 also adds the L1 navigation signal to the L5 and S band signals that NavIC already broadcasts, which makes the system easier to use in ordinary civilian receivers. NavIC gives position, navigation and timing services over India and a region stretching about 1,500 km beyond the country's borders.
Flight number of the GSLV:
20th flight
Orbit the satellite was placed in:
Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit
NavIC service area beyond India's borders:
about 1,500 km
Why it matters for exams: The NVS series replacing IRNSS, the L1 signal, the indigenous atomic clock and NavIC's 1,500 km coverage beyond India's borders are the facts examiners ask about Indian satellite navigation.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NavIC Navigation with Indian Constellation — India's own regional satellite navigation system, run by ISRO.
GTO Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit — An elliptical orbit from which a satellite raises itself to a geosynchronous orbit.
30 October 2026
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has extended the last date for stakeholders to comment on its Draft Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services DRM Based Digital Addressable Systems Audit Manual, 2026. The draft was put out for comments on 9 October and the deadline was 30 October. It has now been moved to 13 November, and the Authority has said no further extension will be considered. The announcement came through a release of the Ministry of Communications on 30 October. Stakeholders had asked for more time because the subject carries technical, operational and regulatory questions that need close study. A digital addressable system is one in which every set-top box is individually identified, so that a distributor can switch a particular subscriber's channels on or off and the regulator can audit what was actually delivered. DRM, or digital rights management, is the technology that controls how that content may be copied or viewed. Comments are to be sent electronically to the Authority's broadcasting and cable services advisers.
Draft issued for comments:
9 October 2026
New last date for comments:
13 November 2026
Why it matters for exams: TRAI is a statutory regulator set up under the TRAI Act, 1997, and digital addressable systems are the frame in which cable and broadcasting are regulated in India.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
TRAI Telecom Regulatory Authority of India — The statutory regulator for telecom and broadcasting tariffs and quality of service, set up under the TRAI Act, 1997.
DAS Digital Addressable System — A cable system in which each set-top box is separately identified and billed.
30 October 2026
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated the 29th Kochi International Book Festival in Kerala, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in a release issued on 30 October. He said technology supplies information but knowledge and wisdom come from books and from lived experience, so there is no substitute for a book. He described India's many languages, faiths and traditions as a strength and said democracy holds the country together, adding that digital translation now carries literature across language barriers. He recalled that Kerala was India's first fully literate State and credited P. N. Panicker's library movement and the Kerala Granthasala movement for the reading habit there; Kerala observes 19 June as Vayana Dinam, or Reading Day, in Panicker's memory. The Speaker asked for a greater effort to carry Kerala's literary and cultural heritage to the rest of India and to the world through books and translation. Former ISRO Chairman S. Somanath, festival chairman Madhu S. Nair and Sahitya Akademi Secretary Varun Gulati were among those present.
Edition of the Kochi International Book Festival:
29th
Reading Day in Kerala:
19 June
Why it matters for exams: P. N. Panicker and Reading Day, Kerala as India's first fully literate State, and the office of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha are all standard examination facts.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Sahitya Akademi Sahitya Akademi — India's national academy of letters, which promotes literature in the recognised Indian languages.
30 October 2026
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has published an account of how the NAMASTE scheme reaches a single sanitation worker, in a release issued on 30 October. It follows a 37-year-old desludging assistant from a Scheduled Caste family whose work involved hazardous conditions, poor safety equipment and little access to welfare, alongside low wages and social stigma. In 2025-26 he received a Personal Protective Equipment kit, an Ayushman Bharat health card and training in skills and safety. The Ministry says he now works more safely, can reach health care more easily and has seen a moderate rise in income. NAMASTE, which stands for National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem, is the Ministry's scheme to end hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks by profiling the workers, giving them protective gear, health cover and training, and helping them set up sanitation enterprises. The scheme is run with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and the Ministry presents stories such as this one to show how the scheme's parts fit together for one household.
Support given in 2025-26:
PPE kit, Ayushman Bharat health card, skill and safety training
Why it matters for exams: NAMASTE's full name, the two ministries that run it and the components it gives a worker are the durable scheme facts an examiner asks for.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NAMASTE National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem — The scheme of the Social Justice Ministry to end hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
PPE Personal Protective Equipment — The gloves, masks, suits and safety gear a sanitation worker needs on the job.
30 October 2026
The 14th International Tourism Mart ended its official sessions at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh with a Regional Tourism Ministers' Meeting on 30 October. Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat chaired the meeting, which brought together ministers and senior officials of the eight North Eastern States. The Mart ran from 29 to 31 October and was the first to be held in Tawang since 2013. The Ministry of Tourism organised it with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh. Buyers came from abroad and from within India — 43 of the former, drawn from 22 countries, and 42 of the latter, from 16 States and Union Territories. They met 81 sellers, and 1,580 business meetings were held between them. The ministers were given presentations on Dekho Apna Desh 2.0, which seeks to spread tourist demand to lesser-known places, on a National Digital Tourism Stack for discovery and online booking, and on simplifying the Restricted Area Permit and Protected Area Permit. The Ministry said domestic tourist visits rose from 1.32 billion in 2014 to 4.34 billion in 2025, and that tourism supports 89 million jobs and contributes 5.22 per cent of national GDP.
International buyers and countries:
43 buyers from 22 countries
Business-to-business meetings held:
1,580
Tourism's share of national GDP:
5.22%
Why it matters for exams: The host of the International Tourism Mart, the eight North Eastern States, Dekho Apna Desh and the Protected Area Permit regime are repeatedly asked in geography, economy and governance papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ITM International Tourism Mart — A buyer-seller meet the Tourism Ministry holds in the North East to market the region's tourism.
PAP Protected Area Permit — A permit a foreign visitor needs to enter certain protected border areas of India.
Background
Article 143 gives the President power to consult the Supreme Court. Under clause (1) the President can refer a question of law or of fact which is of such a nature and such public importance that an opinion of the Court is worth having — and the question qualifies not only when it has arisen but also when it is likely to arise. This is the Court's advisory jurisdiction, and it is not an appeal. Under clause (1) the Court keeps a discretion to hold back its opinion, for instance where the question is political, vague, hypothetical or incapable of an answer. Clause (2) is stricter: for a dispute of the kind mentioned in the proviso to Article 131, the Court must take up the reference and report its opinion. Either way the President is not obliged to act on what the Court says. References so far have covered matters such as the validity of an existing law and of a Bill sent to the President for assent. The opinion is given by a Bench of the Court after such hearing as it thinks fit.
Article:
Article 143
Name of the power:
advisory jurisdiction
Test for a reference:
has arisen or is likely to arise
Position under clause (1):
the SC retains the discretion to decline to express any opinion
Position under clause (2):
it is obligatory for the SC to entertain a reference and deliver its opinion to the President
Effect on the President:
the President is not obligated to act upon the opinion delivered by the SC
Why it matters for exams: Article 143 is the Supreme Court's advisory jurisdiction, and the difference between clause (1), where the Court can stay silent, and clause (2), where it must answer, is the point papers test.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Presidential reference a question sent by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 — It asks for an opinion, not a judgment, and no party wins or loses a case.
Advisory jurisdiction the power to give an opinion without deciding a dispute — The Constitution gives the Supreme Court this consultative role in Article 143.
Background
Article 249 is one of the routes by which Parliament can make law on a subject in the State List, and the only one that turns on a resolution of the upper House. It works only if the Council of States — the Rajya Sabha — first passes a resolution that it is necessary or expedient in the national interest that Parliament should legislate on that matter. The resolution needs the support of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting, and it must specify the State List matter concerned. The Lok Sabha has no part in this step and cannot start the process. Since Article 246A was inserted, such a resolution can also cover goods and services tax. One resolution stays in force for a period not exceeding one year, and can be kept alive by a fresh resolution passed the same way for a further year at a time. A law made under the power then ceases to have effect, to the extent Parliament would otherwise have lacked competence, six months after the resolution stops being in force. Anything already done under that law before that is not disturbed. Article 249 stands in Part XI, on relations between the Union and the States.
Article:
Article 249
What it allows:
a matter in the State List in the national interest
House that must pass the resolution:
the Council of States or the Rajya Sabha
Support the resolution needs, of the members present and voting:
two-thirds
Part of the Constitution:
Part XI
Why it matters for exams: Article 249 is the standard question on Union power over the State List, and the two-thirds requirement, the one-year life of the resolution and the six-month tail of the law are the figures papers ask for.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Council of States the Rajya Sabha — The Constitution's own name for the upper House of Parliament.
State List List II of the Seventh Schedule — The subjects on which a State Legislature normally legislates alone.