5 November 2026
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India released its recommendations on a Satellite Communication Network framework on 5 November 2026. It wants a new authorisation created under Section 3(1)(b) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 for Satellite Communication Network providers. Such a provider would sell Satellite Communication Network as a Service to other licensed operators, and would not sell telecom services directly to users. The authorisation would cover the whole country for a maximum term of 20 years, renewable for up to 20 more. The authority also recommends allowing direct-to-device satellite service using L-band and S-band mobile satellite spectrum, and permitting IMT-based direct-to-device service on a non-interference basis. It sets the authorisation fee at 8 per cent of adjusted gross revenue and the entry fee at Rs 37,50,000. The Department of Telecommunications had asked TRAI for this framework in July 2025.
Authorisation fee:
8 per cent of adjusted gross revenue
Entry fee:
Rs 37,50,000
Maximum term:
20 years
Minimum spectrum charge:
Rs 3,500 per MHz per year
Why it matters for exams: TRAI is a statutory regulator and the new authorisation is proposed under Section 3(1)(b) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 — the Act that replaced the colonial telegraph law.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
TRAI Telecom Regulatory Authority of India — The statutory regulator for telecom tariffs, quality and licensing, set up in 1997.
D2D Direct-to-device — A satellite link that reaches an ordinary handset without a separate terminal.
5 November 2026
The Union Ministry of Mines launched the ninth tranche of auctions for critical and strategic mineral blocks on 5 November 2026 in Goa. Twenty blocks are on offer across Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and West Bengal. The minerals include graphite, vanadium, gallium, titanium, tungsten, potash and rare earth elements. Alongside it the Ministry opened the third tranche of exploration licence auctions, with eleven blocks in six States. An exploration licence lets a private party search for the 29 critical and deep-seated minerals listed in the Seventh Schedule of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. Mineral blocks go by two-stage ascending e-auction, where the highest revenue share wins, while exploration licences go by reverse auction, where the lowest revenue share wins. Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy launched the tranche and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant was the chief guest. Bids close on 7 January 2027.
Mineral blocks offered:
20, in eight States
Exploration licence blocks:
11, in six States
Blocks auctioned in earlier tranches:
64 of 100 offered
Last date for bids:
7 January 2027
Why it matters for exams: The exploration licence rests on the Seventh Schedule of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, which lists 29 critical and deep-seated minerals.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MMDR Act Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act — The central law governing mineral concessions and auctions in India.
5 November 2026
A team led by Gauhati University and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics has shown that UBC 63, long treated as one loose open star cluster, is in fact two separate clusters. They have been named UBC 63A and UBC 63B. The group was studying star formation in the cluster using data from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission when colour-magnitude diagrams showed two distinct stellar sequences. Machine learning and dynamical simulations confirmed two populations. UBC 63A is about 21 million years old while UBC 63B is about 562 million years old, and the cluster lies about 4,892 light years away. The two systems came within about 7 parsecs of each other roughly 6 million years ago and are now about 26 parsecs apart and drifting away. They are not bound to each other by gravity. The work appeared in The Astronomical Journal. The Indian Institute of Astrophysics is an autonomous institution of the Department of Science and Technology.
Distance:
About 4,892 light years
Age of UBC 63A:
About 21 million years
Age of UBC 63B:
About 562 million years
Journal:
The Astronomical Journal
Why it matters for exams: The finding rests on data from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics is an autonomous institution of the Department of Science and Technology.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Gaia European Space Agency astrometry mission — A space telescope that measures the positions, distances and motions of more than a billion stars.
IIA Indian Institute of Astrophysics — A Bengaluru-based autonomous research institution under the Department of Science and Technology.
5 November 2026
The Unique Identification Authority of India said on 5 November 2026 that it has brought 300 Offline Verification Seeking Entities on board since the rollout began in January. An Offline Verification Seeking Entity is an organisation allowed to verify a person's Aadhaar details offline, with that person's consent and without any paper copy changing hands. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said the entities now span hotels and hospitality, healthcare, education, events, the gig economy and other consumer-facing businesses. The authority described the method as secure, consent-based and paperless, and said it follows the data minimisation principle of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. Offline verification does not require the business to connect to the central Aadhaar database for each check.
Entities onboarded:
300
Ministry:
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
Why it matters for exams: UIDAI stands for the Unique Identification Authority of India and sits under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology; its offline route is tied to the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
UIDAI Unique Identification Authority of India — The statutory authority that issues Aadhaar numbers and runs its verification systems.
OVSE Offline Verification Seeking Entity — An organisation permitted to verify Aadhaar details offline with the holder's consent.
DPDP Act Digital Personal Data Protection Act — India's law on how personal digital data may be collected and used.
4 November 2026
INS Sahyadri, an indigenous guided missile stealth frigate of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet, arrived at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan on 4 November 2026 to take part in the multilateral naval exercise Malabar 2026. The exercise brings together the navies of India, Japan, the United States and Australia. It begins with a harbour phase of professional exchanges and joint planning and moves to a sea phase in which INS Sahyadri will operate with American, Australian and Japanese units. The aim is better operational coordination and interoperability between the four navies. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force welcomed the ship at a ceremony attended by Vice Admiral Yagi Koji, Commandant of the Yokosuka District, and R. Madhu Sudan, Deputy Chief of the Indian Mission. The Defence Ministry linked the deployment to India's MAHASAGAR vision, short for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.
Ship:
INS Sahyadri, guided missile stealth frigate
Host port:
Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan
Participating navies:
India, Japan, United States, Australia
Why it matters for exams: Malabar is the four-navy exercise of India, Japan, the United States and Australia, and MAHASAGAR stands for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
MAHASAGAR Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions — India's maritime outreach vision for the wider Indian Ocean and beyond.
5 November 2026
Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh said on 5 November 2026 that India aims for debris-free space by 2030. He was speaking at the opening of Base 1, a facility of the private firm Cosmoserve Space at VSD Tech Park in Gachibowli, Hyderabad. The 14,800 square foot site is built for active debris removal and in-orbit servicing, and holds orbital rendezvous and capture laboratories, space robotics laboratories, microgravity simulation platforms and satellite integration clean rooms. The company flew Mission EMBRACE in July 2026 to test soft robotic petals in space within a year of being founded. The Minister said India's space economy is worth nearly 9 billion dollars and could reach 40 to 45 billion dollars in the coming decade, and that the number of space start-ups has grown to nearly 450. Telangana Minister D. Sridhar Babu was guest of honour.
Target:
Debris-free space by 2030
Facility size:
About 14,800 square feet
Space economy:
Nearly USD 9 billion
Space start-ups:
Nearly 450
Why it matters for exams: The reforms the Minister credited created NewSpace India Limited and IN-SPACe, the two bodies that handle India's commercial and private space activity.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IN-SPACe Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre — The single-window body that authorises and promotes private space activity in India.
ADR Active debris removal — Capturing and removing dead satellites and fragments from orbit.
5 November 2026
The Supreme Court held on 5 November 2026 that the twenty-four hour period within which a person taken into custody must be produced before a magistrate begins from the moment of detention and not from the time the police record a formal arrest. The ruling came in Sujit Das v. Union of India. The Court's reasoning closes a gap that let the clock start late when a person was held for questioning first and arrested on paper afterwards. The constitutional protection involved is Article 22(2) of the Constitution, which requires an arrested person to be produced before the nearest magistrate within twenty-four hours, excluding travel time. The same safeguard appears in Section 58 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which bars unreasonable detention even within the twenty-four hours. The Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S. Chandurkar held that the Constitution does not recognise any detention divorced from arrest, and that a magistrate must record the actual date and time of detention. The judgment is reported as 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 1137.
Case:
Sujit Das v. Union of India
Time limit:
24 hours from detention
Report citation:
2026 LiveLaw (SC) 1137
Why it matters for exams: Article 22 of the Constitution is the provision that fixes the twenty-four hour limit for producing an arrested person before the nearest magistrate.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Article 22 Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases — It gives an arrested person the right to be told the grounds, to counsel, and to be produced before a magistrate within twenty-four hours.
5 November 2026
The Ministry of Railways was given the PM Surya Ghar Excellence Award on 5 November 2026 in the category for the maximum buildings solarised by Central Ministries and Departments. Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan presented the award at the Renewable Energy Summit and Expo 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The award sits under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, the central rooftop solar scheme. Railways had identified 15,868 buildings as suitable for rooftop solar and has fitted systems on 12,495 of them. It has commissioned 351 MW of rooftop solar capacity against a target of 424 MW. Across the country, 25,984 of 39,135 identified buildings in 77 Central Ministries and Departments have been solarised. The Ministry plans to cover all remaining feasible buildings by March 2027.
Award:
PM Surya Ghar Excellence Award
Railways buildings solarised:
12,495 of 15,868 identified
Capacity commissioned:
351 MW against a 424 MW target
Presented by:
Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan
Why it matters for exams: PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana is the central rooftop solar scheme, and the Ministry of Railways topped its award category for Central Ministries.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana Prime Minister's rooftop solar scheme for free electricity — A central scheme that subsidises rooftop solar systems for households and buildings.
4 November 2026
A two-day third national level consultation on the draft National Technical Guidelines for Improved Watershed Management was held at Nagpur on 4 and 5 November 2026. The Department of Land Resources of the Ministry of Rural Development organised it with the National Rainfed Area Authority and ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, which hosted it. The guidelines are being drafted for REWARD, a World Bank-assisted programme whose full name is Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development, and they will also feed into the next phase of the Watershed Development Component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana. Officials noted that project timelines were cut from seven years in the first phase to five years in the second. Odisha and Karnataka are the REWARD States, and participants included NABARD, the World Bank, ICRISAT and several ICAR institutes.
Venue:
ICAR-NBSS&LUP, Nagpur
Dates:
4 and 5 November 2026
REWARD States:
Odisha and Karnataka
Why it matters for exams: REWARD stands for Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development and is World Bank-assisted, with Odisha and Karnataka as its States.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
REWARD Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development — A World Bank-assisted watershed programme run with the Department of Land Resources.
WDC-PMKSY Watershed Development Component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana — The central watershed development programme for rainfed and degraded land.
5 November 2026
The Union Finance Ministry released a regular instalment of tax devolution to the States on 5 November 2026. The amount is Rs 1,09,019 crore and it went to 28 States. The instalment was due on 10 November, but the Ministry paid it five days early because of the festive season. The Ministry said the money should help States speed up capital spending and meet development and welfare costs. Uttar Pradesh received the largest share at Rs 19,208 crore, followed by Bihar with Rs 10,845 crore and Madhya Pradesh with Rs 8,010 crore. Sikkim received the smallest share, Rs 365 crore. Tax devolution is the States' share of the taxes the Union Government collects, and it is untied money the States may spend as they choose.
Amount released:
Rs 1,09,019 crore
States covered:
28
Largest share:
Uttar Pradesh, Rs 19,208 crore
Smallest share:
Sikkim, Rs 365 crore
Why it matters for exams: Tax devolution is the Finance Commission's core subject: the instalment of Rs 1,09,019 crore went to 28 States and the largest share went to Uttar Pradesh.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
Tax devolution Share of Union taxes transferred to States — The States' share of central taxes, transferred as untied funds on the Finance Commission's formula.