2 November 2026
The Ministry of Defence has ordered eight Next Generation Corvettes for the Indian Navy at a contract value of Rs 53,866.50 crore. Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited, the Kolkata yard, will build five of the warships and Goa Shipyard Limited will build the other three. The papers were signed at Kartavya Bhawan-2 in New Delhi with Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh present. The ministry calls it the first project in which the Indian Navy itself designs the ships while defence public sector undertakings picked through competition build them. Each corvette is to carry missiles, weapons and sensor suites for work in the air, on the surface and under it, from anti-submarine duty to coastal defence and surveillance. The ministry expects the work to create about 72 lakh person-days of employment inside the shipyards and 460 lakh person-days in ancillary industry and MSMEs over the next ten years. Private shipyards and Indian industrial partners are to be drawn in alongside the two public yards.
Contract value:
Rs 53,866.50 crore
Corvettes ordered:
8
Built by GRSE:
5
Built by Goa Shipyard:
3
Why it matters for exams: GRSE at Kolkata and Goa Shipyard Limited are the two defence public sector shipyards building the Next Generation Corvettes, the Navy's first indigenously designed corvette class.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
GRSE Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited — A defence shipyard at Kolkata under the Ministry of Defence.
GSL Goa Shipyard Limited — A defence public sector shipyard on the Zuari river in Goa.
DPSU Defence Public Sector Undertaking — A government-owned company working under the Ministry of Defence.
2 November 2026
Dinesh Vitthalrao Ganvir has taken over as the 55th Director General of the Geological Survey of India, an attached office of the Ministry of Mines. He joined the GSI on 1 July 1994 after a Master's degree in Geology from RTMNU University, Nagpur, and has more than 32 years in geological investigation, mineral exploration and administration. He was earlier Additional Director General and Head of Department for the Central Region at Nagpur, and National Mission Head-II. His field work includes geological mapping in the Western Bastar Craton, gold and diamond exploration in the Sakoli Fold Belt of Maharashtra, and geoscientific studies for the conservation of the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters and the Ellora Caves, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. As National Mission Head-II he worked on critical and strategic mineral exploration, and the GSI release records 359 geological reports and 377 geological memorandums handed over. Of 202 critical mineral blocks, 40 have gone to auction, and 11 of the 56 blocks handed over under the Exploration Licence regime have been auctioned in the first two tranches. On taking charge he set out priorities in auction-ready mineral blocks, offshore exploration, landslide early warning and glacial studies.
Office:
55th Director General, GSI
Joined GSI:
1 July 1994
Critical mineral blocks:
202, of which 40 auctioned
Why it matters for exams: The Geological Survey of India is an attached office of the Ministry of Mines, and its Director General is a standing appointment question.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
GSI Geological Survey of India — An attached office of the Ministry of Mines that maps the country's geology and mineral resources.
Exploration Licence Exploration Licence regime — A mineral concession that allows prospecting and exploration for deep-seated and critical minerals.
2 November 2026
The number of Foreigners Regional Registration Offices in the country has gone up to twenty, the Ministry of Home Affairs says. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has directed that an FRRO be set up in every state capital by 2027. Five new offices have come up in state capitals since 2025, and three more have been newly notified at Kohima, Agartala and Bhubaneswar. The twenty offices are spread from Amritsar and Chandigarh in the north to Chennai, Cochin and Trivandrum in the south, with Aizawl, Agartala, Guwahati and Kohima covering the north-east. Work is under way for Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya. The e-FRRO platform carries 35 online services, among them registration, visa extension and visa conversion, so that a foreigner on a tourist, medical or study visa need not visit an office for routine work. The statutory basis is the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which merged four earlier laws into a single framework for the entry, stay, movement and exit of foreign nationals.
FRROs in the country:
20
Target:
An FRRO in every state capital by 2027
e-FRRO services:
35 online services
Why it matters for exams: The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 replaced four earlier immigration laws, and the FRRO is the Home Ministry office that registers foreigners.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
FRRO Foreigners Regional Registration Office — The Home Ministry office that registers foreign nationals and handles their visa matters.
2 November 2026
Soreng district in Sikkim has been notified as India's first organic fisheries cluster under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, released a Standard Operating Procedure for organic certification of fisheries in the north-east and inaugurated PMMSY projects worth Rs 375 lakh for Sikkim during a visit to Mangan district. The projects cover hatcheries, feed mills, cold storage and farming methods such as biofloc and the Recirculatory Aquaculture System. The cluster is built around Amur carp, Indian major carps and trout raised without harmful chemicals, antibiotics or pesticides. Thirty-four fisheries production and processing clusters now stand notified across the country, with organic clusters in Sikkim and Meghalaya. Sikkim's Minister for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, Puran Kumar Gurung, took part, along with Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary of the Department of Fisheries. Sikkim has also arranged with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police for institutional purchase of locally grown rainbow trout.
First organic fisheries cluster:
Soreng district, Sikkim
Projects inaugurated:
Rs 375 lakh
Clusters notified nationwide:
34
Why it matters for exams: Soreng in Sikkim is India's first notified organic fisheries cluster, and PMMSY is the Centre's flagship fisheries scheme.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
PMMSY Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana — The Centre's flagship scheme for fisheries development, run by the Department of Fisheries.
RAS Recirculatory Aquaculture System — A fish farming method in which water is filtered and reused in tanks.
2 November 2026
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship held a programme on skilling for international mobility and PM-SETU at Guwahati, with tourism and hospitality as the focus sector. PM-SETU stands for Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs, and the scheme is meant to turn Industrial Training Institutes into industry-led, demand-driven institutions. Two ITI clusters were declared under the scheme in Assam: Letters of Intent were signed for the Jorhat cluster, supported by Numaligarh Refinery Limited, and the Tinsukia cluster, supported by Oil India Limited. A memorandum of understanding was exchanged between the ministry and the Government of Assam for a Skill India International Centre in the state. Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State with independent charge for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, gave the keynote address and said ITIs must prepare young people for work inside the country and abroad. Biswajit Daimary, the Assam minister holding skills, employment and entrepreneurship, spoke of linking the state's youth to employment pathways in India and overseas. Officials from the Centre and the state, industry and the skilling ecosystem took part.
Clusters declared in Assam:
Jorhat (Numaligarh Refinery Limited) and Tinsukia (Oil India Limited)
Focus sector:
Tourism and hospitality
MoU for:
Skill India International Centre in Assam
Why it matters for exams: PM-SETU is the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs, run by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
PM-SETU Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs — A scheme to rebuild Industrial Training Institutes around industry demand.
SIIC Skill India International Centre — A state-level hub that trains candidates for overseas employment.
2 November 2026
A new seismological observatory has been opened at Kishtwar, which lies in a high seismic zone, by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State with independent charge for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, inaugurated it. The observatory has digital seismic equipment and will send its readings in real time to the round-the-clock Earthquake Monitoring Centre of the National Centre for Seismology in New Delhi. With this, Jammu and Kashmir has four seismological observatories, at Jammu, Srinagar, Udhampur and Kishtwar. The minister also set out how the India Meteorological Department has widened weather monitoring in the region: from no Doppler Weather Radar in 2014 to four installed over twelve years, with four more going up to make eight. Automatic Weather Stations in the area have grown from three to twelve, of which four are for Kishtwar and two each for Doda and Ramban, while rain gauge stations have gone from nine to fifteen. Four further Doppler Weather Radars are to be commissioned at Doda, Kishtwar, Anantnag and Baramulla. Srinivasa Kumar Tummala, Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, attended.
Seismological observatories in J&K:
4 - Jammu, Srinagar, Udhampur, Kishtwar
Doppler Weather Radars:
4 installed, 4 more being installed
Automatic Weather Stations:
From 3 to 12
Why it matters for exams: The National Centre for Seismology, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, runs India's round-the-clock Earthquake Monitoring Centre.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NCS National Centre for Seismology — The nodal agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences for monitoring earthquakes in India.
IMD India Meteorological Department — The national weather service, also under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
2 November 2026
Grievance redressal rules have been issued for the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), the VB-G RAM G Grievance Redressal Rules, 2026. Every State must build a three-tier machinery, at Gram Panchayat, Block and District level, each tier with its own Grievance Redressal Officer, and the District Programme Coordinator oversees the whole system in a district. A worker may complain in person, by speed post with proof of delivery, through the Digital Public Infrastructure the Centre notifies, or by telephone or helpline. A complaint on paper must be put on the digital platform that day, or the next working day at the latest, and the person gets a receipt showing the registration number, the date and the designation of the officer who took it. No complaint may be turned away over its format, its language, the way it was filed or any procedural slip. An enquiry has to close in seven working days and the grievance has to be settled in fifteen days; whatever is left unsettled rises to the next tier and stays tracked electronically. Appeals follow the route laid down in Schedule-I of the 2025 Act.
Enquiry timeline:
7 working days
Resolution timeline:
15 days
Tiers of redressal:
Gram Panchayat, Block, District
Why it matters for exams: The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 is the statute behind the rural employment guarantee, and its 2026 rules fix a seven-working-day enquiry and a fifteen-day resolution.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
VB-G RAM G Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) — The statutory rural employment and livelihood mission administered by the Ministry of Rural Development.
DPC District Programme Coordinator — The district-level officer who supervises grievance redressal under the scheme.
2 November 2026
Astronomers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and the Raman Research Institute, two bodies that work under the Department of Science and Technology, have accounted for the changing X-ray behaviour of NGC 4490 ULX-8. Ultraluminous X-ray sources, shortened to ULXs, shine brighter in X-rays than anything else in a nearby galaxy except the supermassive black hole at its centre, and each is thought to be a neutron star or a black hole feeding off a companion star. ULX-8 lies in the interacting galaxy pair NGC 4490/4485. The team read archival and recent data from the Chandra, XMM-Newton and Swift space telescopes stretching from 2000 to 2024, among the longest X-ray records assembled for such a source. Across those 24 years the object stayed remarkably bright and changed in brightness, yet it never made the abrupt jumps between accretion states that many black hole X-ray binaries show. That points to a stellar-mass black hole taking in matter at or past the classical Eddington limit, where outward radiation pressure should cancel inward gravity. Aru Beri of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics is among the authors.
Source studied:
NGC 4490 ULX-8
Observation span:
2000 to 2024
Telescopes used:
Chandra, XMM-Newton, Swift
Why it matters for exams: The Eddington limit is the standard ceiling on an accreting object's brightness, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics is an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
ULX Ultraluminous X-ray source — An extremely bright X-ray source in a nearby galaxy, outside its galactic centre.
IIA Indian Institute of Astrophysics — A Bengaluru-based autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology.
2 November 2026
A month-long training effort has begun in Fiji, run by Rashtriya Raksha University, an Institution of National Importance, together with Fiji's Ministry of Civil Service and with support from the High Commission of India there. It sits under MAHASAGAR, short for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions. Three courses opened at once: one on international law and security, one on psychological well-being, and one on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Around 180 officials from nine countries, Fiji included, are expected to pass through them. Luke Rokovada, who chairs Fiji's Public Service Commission, India's High Commissioner Suneet Mehta and Pita Tagicakirewa, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Service, were present at the Suva opening. Bimal N. Patel, who heads the university and sits as a judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, spoke on joining legal frameworks to practice. Fiji's Public Service Commission chairman called India the country's largest capacity-building partner.
Participants expected:
About 180 from nine countries
Programmes:
International law and security; psychological well-being; cybersecurity and AI
Venue:
Suva, Fiji
Why it matters for exams: MAHASAGAR stands for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions, and Suva is the capital of Fiji.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MAHASAGAR Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions — India's stated framework for maritime and regional cooperation with partner countries.
ITLOS International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea — The tribunal at Hamburg set up under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.