7 November 2026
BJP MLA Sankalp Amonkar was sworn in as a cabinet minister in Goa's Pramod Sawant government on November 7. Governor P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju administered the oath of office and secrecy at the ceremony in Dona Paula, with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant present. The berth had been vacant since the death of former Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik last year, leaving the 12-member Council of Ministers one short. Amonkar represents Mormugao. He won the seat in 2022 on a Congress ticket and joined the BJP with seven other Congress MLAs in September 2022. Goa's Assembly election is due in early 2027.
Constituency:
Mormugao
Size of Council of Ministers:
12
Oath administered by:
Governor P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju
Why it matters for exams: Tests who administers the oath to a state minister, the minimum size of a state council of ministers under the 91st Amendment, and Goa's basic political facts.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
91st Amendment Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2003 — It caps a council of ministers at 15 per cent of the House and sets a floor of 12 for small states.
8 November 2026
Andhra Pradesh's State Election Commission announced results of the rural local body polls on Sunday night. The TDP-led alliance of TDP, Jana Sena Party and BJP won 499 of the 582 Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies where polls were held: the TDP took 406, Jana Sena 73 and the BJP 20. The YSRCP won 76. In the 7,768 Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies, the TDP won 4,806 and the alliance 5,861 in all, while the YSRCP got 1,711. The Commission has also set Gram Panchayat elections in three phases on November 26, November 29 and December 2.
ZPTC seats won by alliance:
499 of 582
MPTC seats won by alliance:
5,861 of 7,768
Next polls:
Gram Panchayats, 3 phases
Why it matters for exams: Tests the three-tier Panchayati Raj structure, the State Election Commission under Article 243K, and the 73rd Amendment.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ZPTC Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency — A district-level seat in the Panchayati Raj system.
7 November 2026
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has ordered the sanction of ₹2,000 crore to carry out the Vetri Laptop Scheme, announced in the 2026-27 Budget. First- and second-year undergraduate and diploma students in government and government-aided colleges in 2026-27 are eligible, across arts and science, engineering, polytechnic, ITI, medicine, agriculture, law and other courses. Third- and fourth-year professional students who missed out in 2025-26 are also covered. Engineering students will get laptops with Intel Core i5 processors or equivalent. A High-Level Steering Committee headed by the Chief Minister will monitor the scheme, and ELCOT will buy the laptops.
Outlay:
₹2,000 crore
Procurement agency:
ELCOT
Steering committee headed by:
Chief Minister
Why it matters for exams: State welfare schemes, their outlay and the implementing agency (ELCOT) are routine state-level questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ELCOT Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu — The state agency that buys the laptops.
7 November 2026
A study by the ICMR National Institute of Epidemiology and the Tamil Nadu State TB Cell reports at least a 38 per cent fall in the TB death rate between July 2024 and December 2025 under the Tamil Nadu Kasanoi Erappila Thittam (TNKET). The programme, run from April 2022 to December 2025, is described as India's first statewide differentiated TB care programme. At diagnosis, adults aged 15 and above with drug-sensitive TB are checked on five clinical signs: body mass index, pedal oedema, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation and ability to stand without support. Severely ill patients are sent first for hospital care. The monitoring framework was published as a practice paper in BMJ Global Health on November 7.
Fall in TB death rate:
At least 38%
Period of fall:
July 2024 to December 2025
Adults diagnosed a year:
About 60,000
Journal:
BMJ Global Health
Why it matters for exams: TB programmes, ICMR institutes and the national elimination goal are standard health-section questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ICMR Indian Council of Medical Research — India's apex body for biomedical research.
8 November 2026
The Election Commission of India (ECI) holds the contribution reports that parties file for donations above ₹20,000. An analysis of the Congress's filings shows such donations came to ₹130.69 crore in 2025-26, nearly 75 per cent less than the ₹517.39 crore of 2024-25, the year of the Lok Sabha elections. This is the steepest annual fall in a decade; the last steeper one was about 86 per cent in 2015-16. These figures leave out electoral bonds, which were reported separately. Donations through the Prudent Electoral Trust fell from ₹216.34 crore to ₹25 crore. The BJP's filing for 2024-25 showed ₹6,074.02 crore, but its 2025-26 report has not yet been made public by the Commission.
Congress donations 2025-26:
₹130.69 crore
Congress donations 2024-25:
₹517.39 crore
BJP donations 2024-25:
₹6,074.02 crore
Disclosure threshold:
Above ₹20,000
Why it matters for exams: Political funding transparency: who files contribution reports, the ₹20,000 disclosure threshold, and electoral trusts versus the struck-down electoral bonds.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Electoral trust A non-profit set up to receive voluntary contributions and pass them to parties — Prudent was the only electoral trust listed in Congress's latest report.
8 November 2026
Shourya Ambure, 17, from Thane, won bronze in the women's 100m hurdles at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. She is the first Indian woman to win a track medal at the Youth Olympics, and it is India's first athletics medal at the Dakar edition. It came in her first international race after surgery for an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury in her left leg. China's Keyi Zhang took gold and France's Anna Peeters silver. Her coach Ajit Kulkarni said she did well in both the semi-final and the final.
Event:
Women's 100m hurdles
Medal:
Bronze
Host city:
Dakar, Senegal
Why it matters for exams: Youth Olympic Games, their host cities and first-time Indian medals are common sports questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ACL Anterior Cruciate Ligament — A knee ligament often injured in sport.
9 November 2026
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned indefinitely on August 13, and neither the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha has been prorogued since. That has now run to 88 days, past the earlier record of 87 days set in 2008. Keeping the session alive leaves room for a sitting at short notice, which needs only two days' notice, while a fresh session needs at least 14 days. There is talk of a Constitution Amendment Bill tied to the Women's Reservation Bill that would raise the Lok Sabha from 543 to a maximum of 850 seats through delimitation. An amendment of the same kind had already come up once: when the Lok Sabha sat specially during the Budget session on April 17, it fell short of the votes such a Bill needs. The Constitution sets no time limit for proroguing a House after it is adjourned sine die, so the long gap is not in itself improper.
Days unprorogued:
88
Previous record:
87 days (2008)
Lok Sabha maximum proposed:
850
Notice for fresh session:
14 days
Why it matters for exams: Tests the difference between adjournment sine die and prorogation, the President's power to prorogue under Article 85, and the Women's Reservation delimitation link.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Prorogation Formal ending of a session of a House by the President — Prorogation ends a session without dissolving the House.
9 November 2026
Arpita Singh, a leading modernist painter, died in New Delhi at the age of 89. Her husband, the artist Paramjit Singh, said she had suffered heart and lung problems for some years but was still working. She was known for detailed figurative paintings, usually built around a female figure, that reflected social upheaval and humanitarian crises of her time. The country honoured her twice over: the Padma Bhushan came to her in 2011, and three years later the Lalit Kala Akademi made her a Fellow. The couple's only daughter, the artist Anjum Singh, died in 2020.
Age:
89
Padma Bhushan:
2011
Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship:
2014
Why it matters for exams: Padma Bhushan (2011) and Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship (2014) are standard award facts, and Lalit Kala Akademi is the national academy for the visual arts.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Lalit Kala Akademi India's National Academy of Fine Arts — The Akademi promotes visual arts and gives national fellowships.
8 November 2026
The Embassy of India in Yemen has evacuated 19 Indian seafarers who were stranded in Hodeidah and Sana'a for about two weeks. The mission said all of them are safe and in good health and are on their way back to India. It thanked all concerned for helping with the operation. The evacuation comes days after India said 14 Indians on a yacht involved in an incident off the Yemeni coast were safe. It also comes as fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis has flared, raising fears for the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key shipping route.
Seafarers evacuated:
19
Stranded for:
about two weeks
Ports:
Hodeidah and Sana'a
Why it matters for exams: India-and-another-country story: tests Yemen geography, the Bab al-Mandab strait, and Operation Raahat, India's 2015 Yemen evacuation.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Bab al-Mandab Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden — It is a key route for world shipping.
8 November 2026
Niveditha Veloor Nair has taken bronze for India in Doha. She finished third on 567-13x in the women's 25-metre standard pistol event at the ISSF World Championship, held in the Qatari capital. Gold went to Xiao Jiaruixuan of China and silver to Veronika Major of Hungary. Manvi Jain came eighth and Simranpreet Kaur Brar tenth. The three Indians together scored 1,682-33x to take silver in the team event. India now has seven medals at this championship: one gold, five silver and one bronze.
Individual score:
567-13x
Team silver score:
1,682-33x
India's tally:
7 (1 gold, 5 silver, 1 bronze)
Venue:
Doha, Qatar
Why it matters for exams: Sports bodies, host cities and shooting events are routine exam facts; ISSF is the world governing body for shooting sports.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ISSF International Shooting Sport Federation — The world governing body for Olympic shooting sports.
8 November 2026
Anuj Shrivatri, 22, became India's 100th chess Grandmaster by winning the 7th ASEAN+ Individual Open in Ozamiz City, the Philippines. He scored seven points from nine rounds despite losing his first game, and the result earned him the title. He is also the first Grandmaster from Madhya Pradesh. Viswanathan Anand had become India's first Grandmaster in 1988, and S. Aswath and V. S. Rathanvel recently became the 98th and 99th. Around 80 of India's 100 Grandmasters have emerged since 2010, and Tamil Nadu alone has nearly 40.
India's Grandmaster count:
100
Score:
7 from 9 rounds
First Indian GM:
Viswanathan Anand (1988)
Why it matters for exams: Sports firsts and milestones recur in exams: who was India's first Grandmaster, which body awards the title, and which state has the most.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
FIDE Fédération Internationale des Échecs (World Chess Federation) — FIDE awards the Grandmaster title.
Background
Reserve Bank answers on the Real Time Gross Settlement system were revised afresh in 2026 and they set out how large value money actually moves between banks. Real time means an instruction is processed the moment it is received, and gross settlement means each transfer is settled on its own, one transaction at a time, with no netting against others. A payment once made is final and irrevocable, since the funds are settled in the books of the Reserve Bank. The system is meant for large value transfers, so the least that can be sent is 2,00,000 rupees, and above that floor there is no upper ceiling of any kind. It runs on a 24x7x365 basis, which it has done since the closing weeks of 2020. The remitter has to give the bank the amount, the account to be debited, the name of the person to be paid, the beneficiary bank and its branch, the IFSC code of that branch and the account number to be credited. Credit is given on the strength of that account number alone, because names in the Indian setting are spelt in too many ways to be matched in real time. National Electronic Funds Transfer works differently, gathering the instructions it receives up to a point in time and processing them in batches.
Least amount:
2,00,000 rupees
Upper ceiling:
none, no maximum ceiling
Availability:
available on a 24x7x365 basis
Why it matters for exams: Bank papers set the 2,00,000 rupee floor, the absence of a ceiling and the batch-versus-real-time contrast with the other transfer system almost every year.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank