2 November 2026
The Union Public Service Commission has released the final result of the Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2026.
In all 243 candidates have been recommended, in three separate merit lists of 155, 63 and 25 names.
The written test was held in April 2026, after which the Services Selection Board of the Ministry of Defence interviewed the qualified candidates.
The recommended candidates will join the 162nd Direct Entry Course at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, the Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala in Kerala, and the Air Force Academy at Hyderabad.
The notified vacancies were 100 for the Military Academy, 26 for the Naval Academy and 32 for the Air Force Academy.
A share of these seats is kept for holders of the NCC 'C' Certificate of the Army, Naval and Air Wings.
Every selection stays provisional until age and educational certificates are checked, and marks will be put out only after the Officers' Training Academy result.
Candidates recommended:
243
Military Academy vacancies:
100
Naval Academy vacancies:
26
Air Force Academy vacancies:
32
Why it matters for exams: The Combined Defence Services Examination is conducted by the UPSC and feeds the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun, the Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala and the Air Force Academy at Hyderabad.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CDS Combined Defence Services Examination — The UPSC examination through which officers are recruited to the three service academies and the Officers' Training Academy.
SSB Services Selection Board — The Ministry of Defence board that interviews and tests candidates after the written examination.
2 November 2026
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has notified the Telecom Consumers Complaint Redressal (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2026.
A subscriber who is unhappy with how a complaint was closed must now appeal within 15 days instead of 30, and the Appellate Authority must decide within 15 days of receiving the appeal.
Complaint Centres must work round the clock on all days, replacing the earlier sixteen-hour arrangement, with human help available for at least sixteen hours a day.
Complaints, service requests and appeals may now be filed through the service provider's mobile application as well as its website, web portal and Consumer Care Number.
Internet Service Providers with more than 10,000 subscribers are covered, and the earlier turnover test of five crore rupees has been dropped.
Providers must run dedicated desks or helplines for persons with disabilities and meet Government of India accessibility guidelines.
After a complaint is closed they must run an online feedback survey on a five-point scale and set up a Consumer Grievance Redressal Oversight Committee that includes consumer organisations.
The amendment follows a consultation paper of 7 May 2026 and an online Open House Discussion in July.
Appeal window:
15 days
Appellate decision:
Within 15 days
Applies to ISPs with:
More than 10,000 subscribers
Why it matters for exams: TRAI is the statutory telecom regulator, and this amendment fixes a 15-day appeal window and round-the-clock complaint centres for telecom subscribers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
TRAI Telecom Regulatory Authority of India — The statutory regulator for telecom services, set up under the TRAI Act, 1997.
TDSAT Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal — The tribunal that hears appeals against TRAI's decisions and telecom disputes.
2 November 2026
The Ministry of Coal has announced the results of its Star Rating Programme for coal and lignite mines for the financial year 2024-25.
Fifty mines were given Five-Star Ratings, and ten of them scored above 93 per cent to finish first, second or third in their categories.
Northern Coalfields Limited and NTPC shared the first prize in the opencast category, while Singareni Collieries Company Limited took the first prize in the underground category.
Western Coalfields Limited was singled out for having the largest number of Five-Star mines among the subsidiaries of Coal India Limited.
The rating recognises safety, environmental management, scientific mining, productivity and community welfare at each mine.
The awards ceremony was addressed by the Minister of State for Coal and Mines, Satish Chandra Dubey, and the Additional Secretary of the ministry gave the keynote.
Winners of the ministry's Hackathon on Research and Development 2026, held on the theme NextGen AI for Smart Mining, were also honoured.
Five-Star mines:
50
Top scorers:
10 mines above 93 per cent
Why it matters for exams: The Coal Ministry's Star Rating Programme grades mines on safety, environment and productivity, and fifty mines won Five-Star Ratings for 2024-25.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
SCCL Singareni Collieries Company Limited — A coal producer jointly owned by the Telangana government and the Government of India.
NCL Northern Coalfields Limited — A subsidiary of Coal India Limited that mines coal mainly in the Singrauli area.
2 November 2026
The Indian Navy's sail training ship INS Sudarshini has come back to Kochi after completing Lokayan 26, a ten-month transoceanic sailing expedition.
The ship was flagged off from Kochi in January 2026 and covered over 22,000 nautical miles before returning.
It made seventeen port calls in eleven countries across Asia, Europe, Africa and North America, and crossed the Atlantic twice.
Its longest single passage under sail alone ran to 2,200 nautical miles over nineteen days.
The ship took part in the Escale a Sete maritime heritage festival in France and in SAIL 250 and the International Naval Review in the United States.
Trainees also cross-trained with the Royal Moroccan, Portuguese, Italian, Egyptian and Spanish navies.
The voyage was built around sail training for young officer trainees in navigation, watchkeeping, sail handling, rigging and meteorology, and reflected the Navy's MAHASAGAR maritime vision.
The homecoming ceremony at Kochi was presided over by the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command.
Distance:
Over 22,000 nautical miles
Port calls:
17 in 11 countries
Duration:
Ten months
Why it matters for exams: INS Sudarshini is the Indian Navy's sail training ship based at Kochi, and Lokayan 26 took it over 22,000 nautical miles through seventeen ports in eleven countries.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MAHASAGAR Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions — India's maritime outreach vision for the Indian Ocean region, under which naval deployments build partnerships.
2 November 2026
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has empanelled nineteen institutions as Centres of Excellence-Skills.
Certificates of Recognition were handed over at Kaushal Bhawan in New Delhi by the ministry's Secretary.
The empanelment was done through the Green Channel, a faster route meant for institutions of established standing such as Institutes of National Importance, ITIs upgraded under PM-SETU and skilling centres run by central ministries and State governments.
A Centre of Excellence-Skills is described as a permanent, advanced and sector-focused training centre that also trains trainers and assessors, mentors learners and tracks what happens to them after training.
The empanelment is scheme-agnostic, so the same centre can be used by different ministries, State governments, industry and corporate social responsibility projects.
The list covers renewable energy, chemicals and petrochemicals, construction, iron and steel, marine engineering, tourism and hospitality, agriculture and multi-sectoral institutes.
Five CIPET centres are on the list, including the one at Kochi, along with the National Institute of Solar Energy at Gurugram and the National Institute of Wind Energy at Chennai.
The recognition runs for three years under guidelines released in July 2026.
Institutions empanelled:
19
Renewable energy centres:
5
CIPET centres:
5, including Kochi
Why it matters for exams: Centres of Excellence-Skills are permanent sector-focused training centres empanelled by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and nineteen were cleared through its Green Channel.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MSDE Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship — The Union ministry that runs India's skilling and apprenticeship programmes.
CIPET Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology — A national institute for training and research in plastics and petrochemicals engineering.
2 November 2026
The International Buddhist Confederation, which is based in New Delhi, organised a day-long international conference at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
The theme was Buddhism: Dissemination in the Himalayan Region and Beyond, and the venue was the Kalawangpo Convention Centre.
The Ministry of Culture and the Government of Arunachal Pradesh joined the confederation in holding it, alongside the Sacred Relics Exposition in the town.
Monks, scholars and delegates came from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Germany.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu was the chief guest and congratulated the confederation on its fourteenth founding day.
He traced the spread of Buddhism from India, including the work of King Ashoka in the third century before the Common Era, and its passage from the Himalayan region to Tibet from about the sixth and seventh centuries.
He also noted that Tawang is the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama.
The three sessions covered the Buddha's legacy after the Mahaparinirvana, doctrinal continuity, and Buddhism and right livelihood, and the confederation said it hoped to work with the newly formed Arunachal Buddhist Confederation.
Founding day marked:
Fourteenth
Countries represented:
India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Germany
Why it matters for exams: The International Buddhist Confederation is a New Delhi-based umbrella body of Buddhist organisations, and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh is the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IBC International Buddhist Confederation — A New Delhi-based body that brings together monastic and lay Buddhist organisations from many countries.
2 November 2026
In Aruna Roy versus Union of India the Supreme Court has set aside the Rajasthan State Election Commission's refusal to let a civil society group run voter awareness programmes before local body elections.
The Bench held that the Commission cannot stop other organisations from running such programmes merely because it runs similar programmes of its own.
It said the Commission may act against corrupt practices but cannot treat voter awareness as its own monopoly, and directed it to reconsider the request within forty-eight hours.
The petitioner's group has run voter awareness work since 2004, including on the None of the Above option and against taking money for votes.
Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita had been imposed across Jaipur during the election period and were used to reject the applications.
The Court noted that such orders do not bar meetings or processions taken out with prior permission, provided the place, date and time are specified.
Rajasthan is holding its Panchayati Raj elections in four phases, with Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polling on 14 November and Sarpanch and Panch polling on 16 November.
The polls cover 41 Zila Parishads, 457 Panchayat Samitis and 14,403 Gram Panchayats, with more than 4.03 crore eligible voters.
Reconsideration ordered within:
48 hours
Gram Panchayats going to poll:
14,403
Why it matters for exams: State Election Commissions conduct panchayat and municipal polls, and this ruling holds that voter awareness work by citizens' groups cannot be blocked merely because the Commission runs its own campaigns.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
SEC State Election Commission — The constitutional authority in each State that conducts panchayat and municipal elections.
BNSS Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita — The criminal procedure law that replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure; its Section 163 covers prohibitory orders.
2 November 2026
The non-governmental organisation Lok Prahari has moved the Supreme Court on how judges are appointed to the higher judiciary.
The petition asks that the Memorandum of Procedure be revised as the 2015 verdict on the National Judicial Appointments Commission required, and that the Law and Justice Ministry finalise it within a month after consulting the Chief Justice of India.
It also seeks that appointments rest on a unanimous view of the Collegium and that Collegium decisions be brought within the Right to Information Act.
The petition argues that the present memorandum lacks transparency and objectivity, which affects the quality of judges and a litigant's right to justice.
The Memorandum of Procedure lays down the steps for appointing judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court, and was first drawn up in 1999 following the Supreme Court's directions in the Second Judges Case.
Parliament had enacted the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act in 2015 to replace the Collegium with a commission of judges and government representatives, but a Constitution Bench struck it down as violating judicial independence.
In December 2015 the Court left the task of amending the memorandum to the Union government.
When the matter came up, one of the two judges on the Bench recused himself because he had appeared in a similar case as Additional Solicitor General.
Memorandum first drawn up:
1999
Relief sought:
Collegium decisions under the Right to Information Act
Why it matters for exams: The Memorandum of Procedure governs appointments to the High Courts and the Supreme Court, and the Collegium system survived because a Constitution Bench struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MoP Memorandum of Procedure — The document that lays down the steps for appointing judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court.
NJAC National Judicial Appointments Commission — A body created by a 2014 constitutional amendment and Act to appoint judges; it was struck down in 2015.
2 November 2026
The Union Health Minister has dedicated an advanced radiotherapy facility at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rajkot.
The facility was set up at a cost of about thirty-nine crore rupees under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana and serves Rajkot and the wider Saurashtra region.
It houses a high energy Linear Accelerator, a wide bore CT simulator for three dimensional treatment planning and a high dose rate brachytherapy unit for internal radiation.
The catchment population is about 1.54 crore people, and the centre is expected to handle around five hundred to seven hundred cases a year to begin with.
Head and neck, gynaecological, breast, bone and soft tissue cancers are the main focus, with chemotherapy and surgery available alongside.
Treatment is free for beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and subsidised for others.
The minister said eighteen of the twenty-two AIIMS institutions are now operational and that more than 1.8 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are running.
He also set out national screening figures, including about 37.7 crore people screened for oral cancer and about 9.8 crore women screened for cervical cancer.
Cost:
About Rs 39 crore
Catchment population:
About 1.54 crore
AIIMS operational:
18 of 22
Why it matters for exams: The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana is the Union scheme that builds AIIMS institutions and upgrades medical colleges, and it funded this radiotherapy facility.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
PMSSY Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana — The Union scheme under which new AIIMS are built and government medical colleges are upgraded.
AB PM-JAY Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana — The Union health assurance scheme that gives eligible families cashless hospital cover.
LINAC Linear Accelerator — A machine that delivers high energy radiation beams to treat tumours precisely.
2 November 2026
In Arjun Gopal versus Union of India the Supreme Court has opened a two-day window in Delhi and the National Capital Region for green firecrackers that carry certification.
They may be burst on 7 November between 6 a.m and 8 p.m and on 8 November between 7 a.m and 10 p.m, and the year-round ban returns on 9 November.
Only formulations certified as green by CSIR-NEERI and listed on its website may be made, and the maker must also hold a licence from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation.
Each box has to be sealed and to carry a QR code tied to that product and batch, showing the maker, the registration, the licence, the formulation and the test certificate.
Series crackers, garlands and anything containing barium stay banned, and a QR code may not be passed on or sold.
Nothing may be burst within 300 metres of hospitals, health centres, old age homes, notified silence zones or educational institutions, which are to be marked as no-cracker zones.
Selling is confined to spots fixed by District Collectors or Commissioners, and online selling is not allowed.
The Central Pollution Control Board and the State boards have to put out daily air quality readings in three phases, before, during and after the festival.
Bursting window:
7 November 6 a.m.-8 p.m.; 8 November 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
No-cracker zone radius:
300 metres
Why it matters for exams: Green firecrackers are certified by CSIR-NEERI and licensed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, and the Supreme Court order in Arjun Gopal versus Union of India turns on that certification.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CSIR-NEERI Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - National Environmental Engineering Research Institute — The research institute that develops and certifies green firecracker formulations.
PESO Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation — The central body that licenses the manufacture and storage of explosives, including firecrackers.
CPCB Central Pollution Control Board — The statutory body under the Environment Ministry that monitors air and water pollution.
Background
India observes the International Day for Biosphere Reserves on 3 November, and the Environment Ministry has set out where the country's network stands.
India has eighteen notified Biosphere Reserves, and thirteen of them are part of UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves, the highest number for any country in South Asia.
The thirteen on the UNESCO list are Nilgiri, Nanda Devi, Nokrek, Gulf of Mannar, Sundarbans, Great Nicobar, Similipal, Pachmarhi, Khangchendzonga, Agasthyamalai, Achanakmar-Amarkantak, Cold Desert and Panna.
Manas, Dibru-Saikhowa, Dehang-Dibang, Great Rann of Kutch and Seshachalam are notified within India but are not on the UNESCO list.
The world network has 797 biosphere reserves in 145 countries.
The Biosphere Reserve division of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change runs the Biodiversity Conservation scheme and gives grants to States, which work through their Forest Departments.
The Centre and the States share the cost in a 60:40 ratio, and 90:10 for the North Eastern and Himalayan States.
Cold Desert in Himachal Pradesh, notified within India in 2009, was added to the UNESCO network in 2025 and is the country's thirteenth internationally recognised reserve.
Notified in India:
18
On the UNESCO network:
13
Global network:
797 reserves in 145 countries
Cost sharing:
60:40, and 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan States
Why it matters for exams: India has eighteen notified biosphere reserves of which thirteen are in UNESCO's World Network, and the network is run by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
WNBR World Network of Biosphere Reserves — UNESCO's global network of sites that combine conservation with sustainable use by local people.
MoEFCC Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change — The Union ministry responsible for forests, wildlife and environmental regulation in India.