8 October 2026
The Reserve Bank of India has extended the all-inclusive directions imposed on The Baghat Urban Co-operative Bank Limited, Solan, Himachal Pradesh.
The directions were first issued by an RBI directive dated 6 October 2025 for six months, from the close of business on 8 October 2025 to 8 April 2026.
They were last extended on 1 July 2026.
The fresh extension runs for three months, from the close of business on 8 October 2026 to the close of business on 8 January 2027, subject to review.
The RBI acted under sub-section (1) of Section 35A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
All other terms and conditions of the directive remain unchanged.
The RBI stated that the extension does not by itself mean that it is satisfied with the financial position of the bank.
Bank:
The Baghat Urban Co-operative Bank Limited, Solan
Extension period:
8 October 2026 to 8 January 2027
Legal provision:
Section 35A read with Section 56, Banking Regulation Act, 1949
Original directive:
6 October 2025
Why it matters for exams: Section 35A directions on urban co-operative banks are a recurring banking-awareness and polity question.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
All Inclusive Directions All Inclusive Directions — RBI curbs that restrict a bank's lending, investment and deposit withdrawals together.
UCB Urban Co-operative Bank — A co-operative bank in an urban or semi-urban area, regulated by the RBI and the registrar of co-operative societies.
8 October 2026
President Droupadi Murmu attended the first convocation of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bilaspur, in Himachal Pradesh.
She told the graduating doctors that she hoped they would voluntarily serve people residing in the remote and far-flung areas.
She said the first batch had to set an example for the batches that follow, and that being a doctor is a major responsibility.
She also said doctors are duty-bound to display compassion towards patients and that empathy is vital.
The Tribune reported that AIIMS Bilaspur has treated 12 lakh outpatients and one lakh inpatients over the past three years.
Governor Kavinder Gupta, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda were present.
Institution:
AIIMS Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh
Outpatients in three years:
12 lakh
Inpatients in three years:
one lakh
Governor of Himachal Pradesh:
Kavinder Gupta
Why it matters for exams: The new AIIMS institutions and their first convocations are standard current-affairs and health-policy material.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
AIIMS All India Institute of Medical Sciences — A group of autonomous public medical institutes of national importance set up by Act of Parliament.
Convocation Convocation — The formal ceremony at which a university or institute confers degrees on its graduates.
8 October 2026
A Division Bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Bhupesh Sharma has directed the Director General of Police, Himachal Pradesh, to circulate the provisions of Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, among all investigating officers in the State.
The order, in Kulwinder Singh v. State of H.P., carries the neutral citation 2026:HHC:39173.
The DGP was asked to issue the circulation with guidelines by 15 October 2026.
Section 94 lays down how the age of a child is to be determined and proved.
The Court said investigating officers must collect preferential age evidence such as the date-of-birth certificate from the school or the matriculation certificate, and the birth certificate from a municipal body or panchayat.
Where documents are absent or doubtful, an ossification test or other age-determination test may be sought with orders from the Committee, Board or Court.
The underlying conviction was under Sections 354A, 354D, 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4(2) of the POCSO Act.
Case:
Kulwinder Singh v. State of H.P., 2026:HHC:39173
Bench:
Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Bhupesh Sharma
Deadline for DGP:
15 October 2026
Key provision:
Section 94, Juvenile Justice Act, 2015
Why it matters for exams: Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice Act and the hierarchy of age proof are frequently asked in law and police-recruitment papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
POCSO Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 — The central law that defines sexual offences against children and the special courts that try them.
Ossification test Ossification test — A radiological examination of bone fusion used to estimate age when documents are unavailable.
8 October 2026
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that a female State government employee who becomes a commissioning mother or a surrogate mother is entitled to maternity leave on par with any other female government servant.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Ajay Mohan Goel in Dr. Juhi Manhas v. State of H.P. and others, CWP No. 14883 of 2025, with the neutral citation 2026:HHC:32083.
The petitioner had become a commissioning mother of two children through surrogacy and had been denied leave.
The Court quashed the departmental communications denying the leave and said the denial was completely unsustainable in law.
It directed that 180 days following the birth of each child be treated as maternity leave, that withheld salary be released, and that the exercise be completed within two months.
The State had argued that it had not adopted the Department of Personnel and Training notification dated 18 June 2024 that expressly covers surrogate and commissioning mothers.
The Court held that an earlier Division Bench ruling bound the State, so separate adoption of the 2024 notification was unnecessary.
Case:
Dr. Juhi Manhas v. State of H.P. & ors., CWP No. 14883 of 2025
Neutral citation:
2026:HHC:32083
Judge:
Justice Ajay Mohan Goel
Maternity leave directed:
180 days after the birth of each child
Why it matters for exams: Maternity leave for commissioning and surrogate mothers under the CCS (Leave) Rules is a live service-law and gender-rights question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Commissioning mother Commissioning mother — The woman who commissions a surrogacy arrangement and becomes the legal mother of the child.
DoPT Department of Personnel and Training — The central department that frames service rules, including the CCS (Leave) Rules, for government employees.
Background
The district of Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh was formed in 1960 by combining the formerly separate districts of Lahaul and Spiti.
Its administrative centre is Keylong, in Lahaul.
Before the merger, Kardang was the capital of Lahaul and Dhankar was the capital of Spiti.
Kunzum La, the pass at 4,551 m or 14,931 feet, is the entrance to the Spiti Valley from Lahaul and lies 21 km from Chandra Tal.
The district administration records that Lahaul and Spiti is the fourth least populous district in India out of 640 districts.
Formed:
1960, by merging Lahaul and Spiti districts
Headquarters:
Keylong, in Lahaul
Earlier capitals:
Kardang for Lahaul, Dhankar for Spiti
Kunzum La:
4,551 m (14,931 ft), 21 km from Chandra Tal
Why it matters for exams: Lahaul and Spiti's 1960 formation, Keylong headquarters and Kunzum La altitude are standard Himachal geography facts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
La La — The word for a mountain pass in Tibetan and in the Bhoti languages of the western Himalaya.
Chandra Tal Chandra Tal — A high-altitude lake in Lahaul, near the source of the Chandra river.
Background
The district administration records that the British founded the town of Shimla in 1819, after the Gorkha war.
In 1822 the Scottish civil servant Charles Pratt Kennedy built the first British summer home there.
Shimla became the summer capital of the British Raj in the latter half of the nineteenth century, as army personnel, merchants and civil servants came there to escape the heat of the plains.
It was made the capital of undivided Punjab in 1871.
The Kalka-Shimla railway opened in 1906.
Shimla became the capital of Himachal Pradesh when the State separated from Punjab in 1971.
The town stands at 2,202 metres above sea level.
Town founded:
1819, after the Gorkha war
First British summer home:
1822, by Charles Pratt Kennedy
Capital of undivided Punjab:
1871
Kalka-Shimla railway:
Opened 1906
Altitude:
2,202 metres above sea level
Why it matters for exams: The 1819 founding, 1871 Punjab capital, 1906 railway and 1971 statehood dates are a standard Shimla chronology.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Gorkha war Anglo-Nepalese War — The war of 1814 to 1816 after which the British took control of the hill tracts that include Shimla.
Summer capital Summer capital — A seat of government used during the hot months, as Shimla was for the British Raj.
Background
The e-Committee, Supreme Court of India records that Himachal Pradesh was formed by the integration of 26 Shimla and four Punjab hill States into a Centrally Administered Area in 1948, headed by a Chief Commissioner; parts of Bilaspur were merged into it on 1st April, 1954, with the headquarters at Shimla.
The Central Government promulgated the Himachal Pradesh (Courts) Order, 1948, and under Paragraph 3 of that Order the Court of Judicial Commissioner was established for Himachal Pradesh, vested with the powers of a High Court under the Judicial Commissioner's Court Act, 1950.
Alongside it two Courts of District and Sessions Judges and 27 subordinate Courts were set up, and the Punjab High Court rules and orders were applied to the courts of the territory with suitable amendments.
After the Delhi High Court Act was enacted by the Government of India, its operation was extended to the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh with effect from May 1, 1967, replacing the Court of Judicial Commissioner with the Himachal Bench of Delhi High Court at Shimla.
Himachal Pradesh attained statehood in 1971 and established its own High Court with headquarters at Shimla, with a Chief Justice and two judges; the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh was Justice M. H. Beg, who is recorded as having become one of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of India.
Seat:
Shimla
First court with High Court powers:
Court of Judicial Commissioner, under the Himachal Pradesh (Courts) Order, 1948
Delhi High Court bench at Shimla:
with effect from May 1, 1967
Own High Court:
on statehood in 1971, with a Chief Justice and two judges
First Chief Justice:
Justice M. H. Beg
Why it matters for exams: High Court questions ask for the seat, the year of establishment and the first Chief Justice, and Himachal Pradesh is the clearest example of a state whose court passed through a Judicial Commissioner stage and a Delhi High Court bench before it stood on its own.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Judicial Commissioner Court of the Judicial Commissioner — The highest court of a small centrally administered territory, exercising the powers of a High Court before a High Court was set up.
Centrally Administered Area Centrally Administered Area — A territory governed directly by the Union through a Chief Commissioner rather than by a state government.
Background
The district administration describes Kinnaur as lying in the northeast corner of Himachal Pradesh, with Tibet to the east, about 235 kms from Shimla.
The district has the three high mountains ranges Zanskar, Greater Himalayas and Dhauladhar, enclosing the valleys of Sutlej, Spiti, Baspa and their tributaries.
The old Hindustan-Tibet road passes through the Kinnaur valley along the bank of river Sutlej and finally enters Tibet at Shipki La Pass.
The administration records that a Shivlinga lies at the peak of the Kinner Kailash mountain, and that in ancient mythology the people of Kinnaur are known as Kinners, halfway between men and gods.
The administration records that the apples, chilgoza and other dry fruits grown here are world famous, and that the beautiful district was opened for the outsiders in 1989.
The Nako lake and three wild life sanctuaries lie within the district.
Distance from Shimla:
about 235 kms
Ranges:
Zanskar, Greater Himalayas and Dhauladhar
Valleys:
Sutlej, Spiti, Baspa and their tributaries
Pass into Tibet:
Shipki La Pass
Known produce:
apples, chilgoza and other dry fruits
Why it matters for exams: Kinnaur is the district through which the Sutlej enters India and the Shipki La Pass is asked almost as often as Rohtang, so the ranges, the rivers and the pass together answer a whole cluster of questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Chilgoza Chilgoza pine nut — An edible pine nut from the dry inner Himalayan slopes, a cash crop of Kinnaur.
Shipki La Shipki La Pass — The pass at which the old Hindustan-Tibet road leaves Kinnaur for Tibet.
Background
The World Heritage Centre's page for India lists the Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area among the country's Natural World Heritage properties.
The Press Information Bureau's state-wise table of India's World Heritage properties enters the Great Himalayan National Park against Himachal Pradesh, with 2014 as the year of inscription.
The same table groups it with the properties under the protection of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Its companions in that group include Kaziranga, Keoladeo, Manas, the Sunderbans National Park, Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks, and the Western Ghats.
The Western Ghats entry in the table is spread over Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which makes it the only natural property in the table entered against more than one state.
Property:
Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area
State:
Himachal Pradesh
Year of inscription:
2014
Category:
Natural
Protecting ministry:
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Why it matters for exams: India's World Heritage list is asked almost every year, and the one natural property in Himachal Pradesh with its inscription year and protecting ministry is the exact detail examiners pick.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
World Heritage property UNESCO World Heritage property — A site inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List under the 1972 Convention.
Natural property Natural World Heritage property — A World Heritage property listed for its physical or biological value rather than for human work.
Background
From 1823 onwards the Governors-General and later Viceroys of India moved between unsuitable summer residences at Shimla, until Lord Lytton chose Observatory Hill for what was to be the final Viceregal address in the town. The hill takes its name from Observatory House which was built in 1840 by Captain J. T. Boileau. The institute that occupies the building records that Observatory Hill is a watershed standing figuratively astride India: the waters from one side of the hill flow down to the Bay of Bengal, and the wash from the other heads towards the Arabian Sea. Lord Dufferin persuaded the Secretary of State for India, Lord Randolph Churchill, to sanction a project that was finally to cost thirty-eight lakh rupees, with the annual upkeep of the estate estimated at one and a half lakh rupees. Henry Irwin was appointed architect and chief superintendent of works, work on the site began in 1886, and Lord and Lady Dufferin moved into the building on 23 July 1888. The huge estate of 331 acres is somewhat smaller today, but the estate is still a princely 110 acres. The Simla Conference, called by the Viceroy Lord Wavell to propose the reconstitution of the Viceroy's Executive Council, was held at the Lodge from 25 June to 14 July 1945; after a Cabinet Mission was sent, a tripartite conference between the Congress, the Muslim League and the British took place at Viceregal Lodge from 5-12 May 1946. The estate passed to the President of India after Independence in 1947, the building was renamed Rashtrapati Nivas, and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study now works there.
Site:
Observatory Hill, Shimla
Architect and chief superintendent of works:
Henry Irwin
Final cost:
thirty-eight lakh rupees
Estate:
331 acres originally, 110 acres today
Simla Conference:
25 June to 14 July 1945
Cabinet Mission conference:
5-12 May 1946
Why it matters for exams: One Shimla building carries both the Simla Conference and the Cabinet Mission talks, so a freedom-struggle question and a Himachal Pradesh heritage question can land on the same answer.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Viceregal Lodge — The Viceroy of India's summer residence at Shimla, renamed Rashtrapati Nivas after Independence.
Watershed — A ridge that separates two drainage basins and sends rainfall to different rivers or seas.
Cabinet Mission — A British mission sent to work out the modalities by which power could be transferred to Indians.