The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying says the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep now sit at the centre of India's Blue Economy plans. The two island groups together account for nearly 40% of India's Exclusive Economic Zone. A dedicated Tuna Cluster has been set up in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. Lakshadweep has been notified as a Seaweed Cluster, and its five-year plan aims to double tuna production to 50,000 tonnes using deep-sea vessels and pole and line fishing. Lakshadweep also hosts over 300 reef-associated ornamental species. The Marine Products Export Development Authority is expected to help island exports reach buyers. Public investment in the sector has touched ₹39,272 crore since 2015, and seafood exports were about ₹73,890 crore in FY 2025-26.
Why it matters for exams: PMMSY is run by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; the Tuna Cluster in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Lakshadweep Seaweed Cluster, MPEDA and India's EEZ of nearly 24 lakh sq. km are standard Economy and Geography facts.
PMMSYPradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana — The Centre's flagship fisheries development scheme, run by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
MPEDAMarine Products Export Development Authority — A statutory body with headquarters at Kochi that promotes India's marine product exports.
EEZExclusive Economic Zone — The sea belt up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline where a coastal state has rights over resources.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is starting Delhi's first recreational river cruise service on the Yamuna. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will inaugurate the service at Sonia Vihar, on the Sonia Vihar-Jagatpur stretch, with Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta present. The Yamuna is declared National Waterway No. 110 under the National Waterways Act, 2016. The Inland Waterways Authority of India is leading the project. It is supported by the Delhi Development Authority, the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, the Delhi Jal Board and the Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Department. The cruise vessels are electric-powered, and trial runs were completed last month with senior IWAI and Delhi government officials on board.
Why it matters for exams: The Yamuna is National Waterway No. 110 under the National Waterways Act, 2016, and the Inland Waterways Authority of India works under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Waterway numbers are asked often.
India and the European Union held the seventh India-EU Strategic Partnership Review Meeting in New Delhi. It was co-chaired by Sibi George, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, and Matti Maasikas, Deputy Secretary-General for Geoeconomics and Interinstitutional Issues on the EU side. The two sides reviewed progress on the Joint Comprehensive Strategic Agenda and welcomed the momentum in ties. They discussed trade and investment, supply chains and economic security, and the timely signing and implementation of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement. Connectivity talks covered the EU's Global Gateway strategy and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, with trilateral projects in clean energy, climate resilience, green mobility and digitalisation. Talent mobility, education and skills were also taken up, and both sides looked ahead to the next India-EU Human Rights Dialogue.
Why it matters for exams: The Joint Comprehensive Strategic Agenda is the framework of India-EU ties, Global Gateway is the EU's connectivity strategy and IMEC is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. Secretary (West) handles Europe in the Ministry of External Affairs.
India and Lebanon held their first Foreign Office Consultations in New Delhi. The talks were co-chaired by Sripriya Ranganathan, Secretary (Consular, Passport, Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs) in the Ministry of External Affairs, and Abdel Sattar Issa, Secretary-General of Lebanon's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants. The two sides reviewed the full range of bilateral relations across political and security, economic and socio-cultural areas. They identified three priorities: trade and investment, digital public infrastructure, and pharmaceuticals. Regional and international questions of mutual interest were also discussed. The Ministry of External Affairs said the talks will help strengthen the bilateral partnership. Foreign Office Consultations are a standing mechanism through which India reviews ties with a partner country at the level of senior officials.
Round:First India-Lebanon Foreign Office ConsultationsPriority areas:Trade and investment, digital public infrastructure, pharmaceuticals
Why it matters for exams: Foreign Office Consultations are India's official-level review mechanism with a partner country; the first round with Lebanon, whose capital is Beirut, was co-chaired by the MEA's Secretary (CPV and OIA).
On National Entrepreneurship Day the Government said India is now the world's third-largest startup ecosystem. More than 2.62 lakh startups have been recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. Over 55,200 startups were recognised in 2025-26, the highest in a single year since 2016. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said recognised startups have created more than 23 lakh jobs. More than one lakh recognised startups have at least one woman director or partner. The day also marks the founding of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in 2014. Support comes through Startup India, the Atal Innovation Mission, the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, the MeitY Startup Hub, TIDE 2.0, NIDHI, the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme and the Swavalambini scheme.
Recognised startups:over 2.62 lakhRecognised in 2025-26:55,200+Jobs created:more than 23 lakh
Why it matters for exams: DPIIT, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is the body that recognises startups; the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was created in 2014 and National Entrepreneurship Day marks that founding.
The BCCI Women's Selection Committee has named India's squads for the tour of South Africa in December. Smriti Mandhana will lead the side in all three formats. Deepti Sharma is vice-captain for the Test and one-day squads, while Shafali Verma is vice-captain for the Twenty20 squad. The tour has one Test, three One-Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals. The Test begins at Gqeberha on 9 December. The one-day matches are at Paarl, Cape Town and Bloemfontein, and the Twenty20 matches at Benoni and Potchefstroom. The Test and one-day squads have 15 players each and the Twenty20 squad has 17.
Captain:Smriti Mandhana (all three formats)Tour:1 Test, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is in South Africa
Why it matters for exams: Captaincy and vice-captaincy of the Indian women's team are standard current affairs facts: Smriti Mandhana captains all three formats, with Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma as vice-captains.
India won three of the five titles at the Telangana India International Challenge 2026. Tushar Suveer, seeded sixth, won the men's singles by beating Bharat Raghav 15-21, 21-18, 21-19. Top seed Rakshitha Ramraj took the women's singles, beating ninth seed Rujula Ramu 16-21, 21-15, 21-14. Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy, the top seeds, won the men's doubles 21-12, 21-18. The women's doubles went to Mei Sudo and Mai Tanabe of Japan. In the mixed doubles, Rodion Alimov and Alina Davletova of Russia beat the Indian pair of Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Ashwini Ponnappa.
Men's singles:Tushar SuveerWomen's singles:Rakshitha RamrajTitles won by India:3 of 5
Why it matters for exams: Winners of international badminton events held in India are asked in the sports section: Tushar Suveer and Rakshitha Ramraj took the singles titles at the Telangana India International Challenge.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment says the four corporations taking part in the Shilp Samagam Mela 2026 recorded sales of about ₹55.46 lakh between 1 and 8 November. The fifteen-day craft fair is on at Dilli Haat, INA, in New Delhi and runs until 15 November, with the theme Prakash aur Parampara: Jyoti se Jyoti Jalayen. The participating corporations are the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation, the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation, the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation and the National Divyangjan Finance and Development Corporation. The fair has more than 130 stalls in seven thematic zones, including Kala Aangan, Prakash Chowk, Puja Path and Swad Chowk. Artisans get free stalls, travel expenses, a daily allowance and transport of goods. The ministry has held these melas since 2022, and more than 1,000 artisans from Scheduled Caste, Other Backward Class and sanitation worker communities have benefited. The ministry also runs Bharat TULIP, which links artisans to e-commerce platforms.
Sales 1-8 November:about ₹55.46 lakhVenue:Dilli Haat, INA, New DelhiStalls:more than 130 in seven zones
Why it matters for exams: NSFDC, NBCFDC, NSKFDC and NDFDC are the four financing corporations under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and Shilp Samagam Mela is that ministry's craft fair.
A welfare fund stamp worth Rs 250 on every vakalatnama filed in Telangana's courts has survived a constitutional challenge. Sections 12 and 12A of the Telangana Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 1987, which impose it, were upheld and the writ petition dismissed. Advocate Vijay Gopal argued his own case, calling the levy an enforced donation that breached Articles 14, 19(1)(c) and 19(1)(g), and saying that who may practise before a High Court is a Union subject under Entry 78 of List I. The stamp, he pointed out, began at Rs 8 in 1992, went to Rs 100 and reached Rs 250 in 2025. The State's answer was that the law is social welfare legislation, which Entries 23 and 26 of the Concurrent List leave to it. The Court agreed that the State legislature was competent, holding that Entry 78 is touched only incidentally because nothing in the Act decides who may enrol or appear. On that reasoning, no assent of the President under Article 254(2) was called for, there being no real conflict with the Advocates Act, 1961 or the central Advocates' Welfare Fund Act, 2001. Refusing an unstamped vakalatnama, it added, is a filing requirement and nothing more.
Stamp value:₹250Provisions upheld:Sections 12 and 12A, Telangana Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 1987
Why it matters for exams: The ruling turns on Entry 78 of the Union List, Entries 23 and 26 of the Concurrent List and Article 254(2) assent, read with the Advocates Act, 1961 and the Advocates' Welfare Fund Act, 2001.
The 1958 law on ancient monuments, as amended in the year 2010, bars any permission for new construction inside the prohibited area of a centrally protected monument or site. The Union Cabinet took the view that this was holding up the central government's own public works and developmental projects. It therefore approved the introduction in Parliament of an amendment Bill of 2017, carrying three changes. The first inserts a new definition of public works into section 2 of the Act. The second amends section 20A, so that a Department or Office of the Central Government may do public works inside the prohibited area once the Central Government has permitted it. The third inserts a new clause (ea) into section 20-I of the principal Act. Together they would open a narrow door inside the prohibited area, for construction limited strictly to public works and to projects that are essential to the public.
Act amended:Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites Remains Act, 1958Section that allows public works after permission:section 20AYear of the earlier amendment:2010
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the three limbs of the amendment: a definition of public works in section 2, the change to section 20A letting a Department or Office of the Central Government build in a prohibited area with the Central Government's permission, and a new clause in section 20-I.
A Monsoon session kept open for a record stretch without being prorogued draws attention to how Parliament is called to meet at all. The power to convene a session rests with the government, and the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs decides when it will sit. The President then issues the summons, and members are called to meet in the President's name. Article 85 carries the summoning provision, and it goes back to a clause of the Government of India Act, 1935, under which the legislature had to be called at least annually, with no more than 12 months falling between two sittings. The drafting that was finally adopted cut the gap to six months and asked that Parliament meet at least twice a year. India has no fixed parliamentary calendar, and by convention the two Houses meet in three sessions a year. The longest is the Budget Session, which starts towards the end of January and has a recess so that committees can go through the budget proposals. Then come the three-week Monsoon Session, usually from July into August, and the Winter Session, held from November into December. Sitting days have fallen: the Lok Sabha averaged a shade over 120 days a year in its first two decades and about 70 days in the last decade.
Article on summoning Parliament:Article 85Maximum gap between two sessions:Six monthsBody that fixes session dates:Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary AffairsSessions a year by convention:three
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are Article 85, the six-month maximum gap between sessions, the body that fixes session dates, the three sessions by convention and the fall in sitting days.
ProrogationProrogation of a House — An order of the President that brings a session to an end; the House stands but is not in session.
Adjournment sine dieAdjournment without a day being named — The presiding officer closes a sitting without fixing the next one; the session is still open until prorogation.
DissolutionDissolution of the House of the People — It ends the life of the lower House, which then has to be elected afresh; the Council of States is never dissolved.