3 November 2026
The Union Health Secretary, Punya Salila Srivastava, took part in a draw of lots to select part-time members of the National Dental Commission and of its three autonomous boards. The selection was made under the National Dental Commission Act, 2023 and the rules framed under it. Ten part-time members represent State and Union Territory governments, among them Kerala, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, and nine represent State Dental Councils. All of them hold office for a term of two years. Each of the three autonomous boards also received a second part-time member drawn from the nine dental council representatives, as Section 17(5) of the Act requires. The three boards are the Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate Dental Education Board, the Dental Assessment and Rating Board, and the Ethics and Dental Registration Board. Dr Kannan Vadakkepurayil was drawn as the member representing Kerala.
Members from State and UT governments:
10
Members from State Dental Councils:
9
Term:
Two years
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the National Dental Commission Act, 2023, Section 17(5) of that Act, the two-year term of part-time members, and the names of the Commission's three autonomous boards.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NDC National Dental Commission — The regulator for dental education and practice, set up by its own Act of 2023.
3 November 2026
The Indian Navy's apex-level international strategic dialogue, IPRD-2026, began a three-day run in New Delhi. It is organised with the National Maritime Foundation as the Navy's knowledge partner, and this edition carries the theme 'Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific'. The inaugural address came from Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi (Retd), Chairman of the National Maritime Foundation and a former Chief of the Naval Staff. Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (Retd), the National Maritime Security Coordinator, gave the special address. The first session, on academic networks, research and human capital development, heard speakers offering perspectives from France, Indonesia, Japan and the Maldives, and a monograph titled 'Sea Blindness and Maritime Heritage in India' was released. The second session took up maritime situational awareness, the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness and the protection of critical maritime infrastructure, with views from the Indian Ocean Commission. An ambassadorial interaction called 'Sahyog Ka Samvaad' brought in the envoys of Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Norway.
Theme:
Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific
Knowledge partner:
National Maritime Foundation
Duration:
Three days
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that IPRD is the Indian Navy's apex international strategic dialogue held with the National Maritime Foundation, this edition's theme, the office of National Maritime Security Coordinator, and what IPMDA stands for.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IPMDA Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness — A partnership for sharing maritime surveillance information across the Indo-Pacific.
NMF National Maritime Foundation — A maritime think tank at New Delhi that is the Navy's knowledge partner for IPRD.
3 November 2026
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the third edition of the Delhi Defence Dialogue, held at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses on 3 and 4 November. Its theme was 'Defence Reforms, Aatmanirbharta, Collaborations and Exports'. He said military preparedness in this century is tied to technological and industrial capability, and that real self-reliance needs the knowledge to design a platform, the technology to make it, the intellectual property to improve it and the ability to sustain it through its life. He listed Defence Industrial Corridors and the corporatisation of the former Ordnance Factory Board into seven Defence Public Sector Undertakings as steps already taken. Defence production in 2025-26 touched about Rs 1.78 lakh crore and exports Rs 38,424 crore, with Indian defence products reaching more than 80 countries. The targets set for 2029 are Rs 3 lakh crore of production and Rs 50,000 crore of exports. MP-IDSA Director General Sujan R Chinoy noted two preparatory roundtables and the first ASEAN-India Defence Think Tank Forum.
Defence production 2025-26:
About Rs 1.78 lakh crore
Defence exports 2025-26:
Rs 38,424 crore
Production target for 2029:
Rs 3 lakh crore
Export target for 2029:
Rs 50,000 crore
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the Delhi Defence Dialogue is hosted by MP-IDSA, this edition's theme, the 2025-26 defence production and export figures, the 2029 targets, and the seven Defence Public Sector Undertakings created from the Ordnance Factory Board.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MP-IDSA Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses — A defence think tank at New Delhi funded by the Ministry of Defence.
DPSU Defence Public Sector Undertaking — A government-owned defence manufacturing company.
3 November 2026
A two-day seminar on cyber-enabled cognitive warfare ended in New Delhi. It was organised by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies under the aegis of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, and drew people from the armed forces, government, academia, the technology industry and the media. Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, the Chief of the Air Staff, gave a special address in which he pressed for coordinated working among all the stakeholders involved. General Anil Chauhan (Retd), a former Chief of Defence Staff who now directs the Vivekananda International Foundation, also spoke. The discussion covered the way cyber capability, artificial intelligence, the manipulation of information and psychological influence are converging, and the problems of attribution and strategic signalling that follow. The second day turned to deterrence in this domain, taking in the credibility of a response, training and simulation, capacity building, digital governance, ethics and legal frameworks. The stated aim was to build a shared, inter-agency understanding and strengthen national preparedness.
Organiser:
Centre for Joint Warfare Studies
Under the aegis of:
Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff
Duration:
Two days
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies as the organising think tank, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff as the parent military body, and the office held by Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CENJOWS Centre for Joint Warfare Studies — A New Delhi think tank that studies joint and integrated military operations.
HQ IDS Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff — The tri-service headquarters that works under the Chief of Defence Staff.
3 November 2026
Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya released the Extramural Research Grant Policy of the National Dope Testing Laboratory in New Delhi. The policy is meant to pay for research and development on better ways of detecting and preventing doping, carried out outside the laboratory itself. The launch took place at the 10th Quality Assurance Managers' Meeting of the World Association of Anti-Doping Scientists, a two-day gathering of international sporting and scientific bodies that the laboratory organised and that opened on 2 November. The Minister also released the laboratory's newsletter. He said India keeps a zero tolerance line on doping and stressed athlete education, awareness and testing infrastructure as the country prepares to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030 and hopes to host the Olympic Games of 2036. He recalled that India finished fourth in the final medal tally of the 2026 Asian Games and won a record 114 medals at the 2026 Asian Para Games, and referred to Khelo India, Fit India and the Target Olympic Podium Scheme. Those present included Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao, WAADS President Dorota Kwiatkowska and laboratory Director P L Sahu.
Meeting:
10th WAADS Quality Assurance Managers' Meeting
India at the 2026 Asian Games:
Fourth in the final medal tally
India at the 2026 Asian Para Games:
114 medals
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the National Dope Testing Laboratory and its new Extramural Research Grant Policy, the full form of WAADS, the ministry the laboratory comes under, and India's medal placings cited at the meeting.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NDTL National Dope Testing Laboratory — India's anti-doping testing laboratory under the sports ministry.
WAADS World Association of Anti-Doping Scientists — An international association of scientists working in anti-doping laboratories.
3 November 2026
Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh opened a microbiology laboratory of the Sikkim Milk Union at Gangtok and launched a traceability initiative for Churpi, the traditional hard cheese of the eastern Himalaya. The laboratory has come up under the National Programme for Dairy Development to strengthen microbiological testing, quality assurance and food safety, and a second laboratory at Karfectar was opened at the same event by video link. Products under a Fodder Plus line, made by farmer producer organisations, were also released, and registration certificates were handed to five new dairy cooperative societies. Milk production in Sikkim has risen by 79 per cent, from 1.37 lakh litres a day to 2.45 lakh litres, while the number of dairy cooperative societies has grown from 389 in 2014-15 to 733 in 2025-26 and daily supply to consumers has doubled to 56,000 litres. The Minister said the Centre will sanction funds for a Centre of Excellence for the indigenous Siri cattle of the region, including work on advanced breeding, once the state sends a formal proposal. He also said the National Dairy Development Board will finance and modernise the dairy plant at Mangan.
Rise in milk production:
79 per cent
Dairy cooperative societies:
733 in 2025-26, from 389 in 2014-15
Daily supply to consumers:
56,000 litres
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are Churpi as the traditional dairy product given a traceability initiative, the National Programme for Dairy Development as the scheme behind the laboratory, the Siri cattle breed of Sikkim, and the role of the National Dairy Development Board.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NPDD National Programme for Dairy Development — A central scheme that builds dairy infrastructure such as testing laboratories and chilling units.
NDDB National Dairy Development Board — A statutory body at Anand that supports dairy cooperatives across the country.
3 November 2026
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has set out how its National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste Students works, through the story of a doctoral scholar it funded. The fellowship pays Rs 31,000 a month along with a contingency grant, so that a research student can complete doctoral work without carrying a heavy financial load. The ministry's account follows a scholar from Sambalpur district in Odisha whose fellowship began in December 2019 and who now teaches sociology as an Assistant Professor at a model degree college in the Nuapada area of the state, on a basic pay of Rs 63,000. The release presents the scheme as a route from financial assistance to academic work and then to regular employment in higher education. The fellowship is one of the ministry's main instruments for taking Scheduled Caste students into research and university teaching.
Monthly fellowship:
Rs 31,000
Additional support:
Contingency grant
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the full form of NFSC, the Rs 31,000 monthly fellowship with a contingency grant, and that the scheme belongs to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NFSC National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste Students — A central fellowship for Scheduled Caste students doing doctoral research.
3 November 2026
The Reserve Bank of India has launched the November round of its Inflation Expectations Survey of Households. The survey asks households what they expect prices to do, judged against their own consumption basket, and its results feed into monetary policy. It is run in 19 cities. Thiruvananthapuram is one of them, and the list also takes in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Jammu. Respondents give qualitative answers on expected price changes over the next three months and the next one year, and quantitative answers on the current inflation rate and the rates they expect three months and one year ahead. Hansa Research Group Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, is carrying out this round on the central bank's behalf and will approach selected households directly. Others may fill in the survey schedule put up on the Reserve Bank's website and send it by email. The work is handled by the Division of Household Surveys in the Department of Statistics and Information Management.
Cities covered:
19
Kerala city in the sample:
Thiruvananthapuram
Survey agency:
Hansa Research Group Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the Reserve Bank runs an Inflation Expectations Survey of Households across 19 cities including Thiruvananthapuram, that it asks about three-month and one-year horizons, and that it sits with the Department of Statistics and Information Management.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
DSIM Department of Statistics and Information Management — The Reserve Bank department that runs its statistical surveys and data systems.
3 November 2026
The National Land Monetization Corporation has held a pre-bid meeting in New Delhi for the e-auction of a land parcel owned by HIL (India) Limited. The Corporation is a wholly owned Government of India company under the administrative control of the Department of Public Enterprises in the Ministry of Finance, and it exists to turn unused land and buildings held by central public sector firms and other government bodies into money for the exchequer. The parcel measures about 5.119 acres in the Najafgarh Industrial Area on Rohtak Road in New Delhi, has roughly 140 metres of road frontage and is connected to the Green Line of the Delhi Metro. Its reserve price is Rs 829.69 crore, and the permitted development is an FSI of 400 with additional floor space available under Transit-Oriented Development provisions, subject to the Master Plan for Delhi and statutory approvals. The sale is an outright one on a highest-bid basis through an online auction, with bids in multiples of Rs 1 crore an acre and consortiums of up to three members allowed. CBRE India is the transaction advisor, and the Corporation's Chief Executive Officer, Rohan Chand Thakur, and the Chairman and Managing Director of HIL (India) Limited, Kuldeep Singh, took part. This is the third e-auction the Corporation has advertised publicly in two months.
Area of the parcel:
About 5.119 acres
Reserve price:
Rs 829.69 crore
Permitted FSI:
400
Transaction advisor:
CBRE India
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the National Land Monetization Corporation is a wholly government-owned company under the Department of Public Enterprises in the Ministry of Finance, that it exists to monetise surplus land and buildings of Central Public Sector Enterprises, and that HIL (India) Limited is the public enterprise whose Delhi land is being sold.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
NLMC National Land Monetization Corporation — A government company that sells surplus land and buildings of central public enterprises.
DPE Department of Public Enterprises — The department in the Ministry of Finance that oversees central public sector enterprises.
FSI Floor Space Index — The ratio of permitted built-up floor area to the area of the plot.
Background
Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, or LPSC, is the ISRO centre that designs, develops and realises the liquid propulsion stages of Indian launch vehicles. It also makes valves, transducers and the propellant management devices that work in vacuum, besides other key parts of a liquid propulsion system. Its work is split over two campuses, one at Valiamala and one at Bengaluru in Karnataka. The Valiamala campus carries research and development, system design and engineering, and project management, and houses the Fluid Control Components Entity, the Materials and Manufacturing Entities and the Earth Storable and Cryogenic Propulsion Entities. The Bengaluru campus designs and realises propulsion systems for remote sensing and communication satellites and for scientific missions. Transducers and sensors are also developed and produced at Bengaluru. Shri R. Hutton is the Director at Valiamala.
Campuses:
Valiamala and Bengaluru
Role:
Liquid propulsion stages for launch vehicles
Why it matters for exams: Questions on which ISRO centre makes liquid and cryogenic stages, and where it works from, come up in science and general awareness papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
LPSC Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre — The ISRO centre that builds liquid propulsion stages for launch vehicles.
Transducer Transducer — A device that turns a physical quantity such as pressure into an electrical signal.
Earth storable propellant Earth storable propellant — A propellant that can be stored at ordinary temperatures without refrigeration.
Background
Space Applications Centre, or SAC, is at Jodhpur Tekra in Ahmedabad and is spread over two campuses. Its core strength is building space borne and air borne instruments and payloads, and putting them to use for the country's communication, navigation and remote sensing needs. The centre also worked on ISRO's scientific and planetary missions, Chandrayaan-1 among them. Communication transponders made here for the INSAT and GSAT satellite series are used for VSAT, DTH, internet, broadcasting and telephones. SAC designs optical and microwave sensors for satellites, and writes the signal and image processing software and the geographic information software that go with them. Its facilities include payload integration laboratories, electronic and mechanical fabrication shops, environmental test facilities and image processing and analysis setups. The centre runs a nine-month post graduate diploma for students from the Asia Pacific region under CSSTE-AP, in satellite meteorology and in communication.
Location:
Jodhpur Tekra, Ahmedabad
Core work:
Space borne and air borne payloads
Why it matters for exams: Examiners ask which ISRO centre makes payloads and transponders, and which city it is in; SAC is the answer.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
SAC Space Applications Centre — The ISRO centre at Ahmedabad that builds payloads and satellite instruments.
Transponder Transponder — The device on a satellite that receives a signal from the ground and sends it back.
CSSTE-AP Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific — The programme under which SAC teaches post graduate diploma students from the region.
Background
U R Rao Satellite Centre, or URSC, stands at Vimanapura in Bengaluru and carried the short name ISAC in its earlier years. It is the lead centre for building satellites and for developing the technologies that go into them. The spacecraft it builds serve communication, navigation, meteorology, remote sensing, space science and interplanetary exploration. The ISRO Satellite Integration and Test Establishment, known as ISITE, holds clean rooms along with a 6.5 Metre thermo vacuum chamber, a 29 Ton vibration facility, a Compact Antenna Test Facility and an acoustic test facility, all under a single roof. Every communication and navigation spacecraft is assembled, integrated and tested at ISITE, which also has a dedicated setup for turning out standardised subsystems. The Laboratory for Electro Optics System at Peenya in Bengaluru is a unit of URSC and is mainly responsible for sensors for ISRO programmes. Since it began, the centre has built more than 100 satellites, with private and public sector industries supplying standard satellite hardware.
Location:
Vimanapura, Bengaluru
Satellites built:
More than 100
Unit:
Laboratory for Electro Optics System, Peenya
Why it matters for exams: Which ISRO centre actually builds the satellites, where it is, and what ISITE does are standard general science questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
URSC U R Rao Satellite Centre — ISRO's lead centre for building satellites, at Bengaluru.
ISITE ISRO Satellite Integration and Test Establishment — The URSC facility where communication and navigation spacecraft are assembled and tested.
Thermo vacuum chamber Thermo vacuum chamber — A sealed chamber that reproduces the heat, cold and vacuum of space for testing.