State Focus Current Affairs — 16 October 2026, Morning

In plain words

Ramsar site Wetland of international importance — A wetland listed under the Ramsar Convention, which a country then undertakes to conserve.

Central Asian Flyway Migratory bird route — The route along which birds move between northern Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

In plain words

SEC State Election Commission — Constitutional body that conducts panchayat and municipal elections; Article 243ZA covers municipalities.

RO Returning Officer — The officer who receives nominations, conducts the poll in a constituency and declares the result.

ERO Electoral Registration Officer — The officer responsible for preparing and revising the electoral roll.

DANICS Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service — A central civil service cadre whose officers serve in Delhi and the Union Territories.

In plain words

Akasa Air Akasa Air (airline code QP) — An Indian low-cost airline that began commercial flights in 2022.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport Chandigarh airport — The airport serving Chandigarh, named after the revolutionary Bhagat Singh.

In plain words

NOC No-objection certificate — A written statement from an authority that it has no objection to a proposed action.

CHB Chandigarh Housing Board — The public housing agency of the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

CREST Chandigarh Renewable Energy, Science and Technology Promotion Society — The UT agency that implements renewable energy projects in Chandigarh.

MWp Megawatt peak — The maximum output of a solar installation under standard test conditions.

PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana — Central scheme launched in February 2024 that subsidises household rooftop solar.

In plain words

Need-based changes Need-based changes — Alterations to allotted houses that the housing board permits to meet residents' growing needs.

FAR Floor area ratio — The ratio of a building's total floor area to the area of its plot.

Ground coverage Ground coverage — The share of a plot that a building's footprint is allowed to occupy.

Marla Marla — A traditional unit of land area used in Punjab and Chandigarh.

Form J Structural stability certificate (Form J) — The prescribed form under the Chandigarh Building Rules certifying a structure is safe.

In plain words

CAT Central Administrative Tribunal — Tribunal set up under the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, to decide service disputes of Union government employees.

EPFO Employees' Provident Fund Organisation — Statutory body under the Union Labour Ministry that runs the provident fund and pension schemes for workers.

CPFC Central Provident Fund Commissioner — The chief executive officer of the EPFO.

Mohinder Singh Gill v. Chief Election Commissioner Supreme Court, 1978 — Held that a statutory order must be judged by the reasons stated in it, not by reasons supplied later.

In plain words

Serial property Multi-site World Heritage listing — A single World Heritage listing made up of several separate component sites.

Modulor Le Corbusier's proportion system — A scale of proportions that Le Corbusier derived from the dimensions of the human body.

Athens Charter Modernist town planning charter — A set of town planning principles adopted by modern architects in the twentieth century.

In plain words

Ramsar Convention Convention on Wetlands — The environmental treaty under which countries list and undertake to conserve important wetlands.

Central Asian Flyway Migratory bird route — The route along which birds move between northern Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

In plain words

Union Territory Union Territory (UT) — A territory governed directly by the Centre through an Administrator appointed by the President.

Punjab Re-Organisation Act, 1966 Punjab Re-Organisation Act, 1966 — The Parliament law that divided Punjab and made Chandigarh a Union Territory under its Section 4.

Adviser to the Administrator Adviser to the Administrator, UT Chandigarh — The title given in 1984 to the post earlier called Chief Commissioner; in January 2025 the post was redesignated Chief Secretary.

Lok Bhavan Punjab Lok Bhavan Punjab — Official residence of the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh, in Sector 6.

In plain words

Nek Chand Nek Chand (1924-2015) — Road inspector turned self-taught artist who built the Rock Garden from urban waste.

Sukhna Lake Sukhna Lake — The lake in Chandigarh beside which the Rock Garden was built.

In plain words

PGIMER Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research — The postgraduate medical institute and hospital in Chandigarh under the Union Health Ministry.

Nehru Hospital Nehru Hospital, PGIMER — The PGIMER hospital inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1963.

Autonomous body Autonomous body — An institution that runs its own affairs under the law that creates it, while funded by the government.

In plain words

Affiliating university Teaching and affiliating university — A university that teaches on its own campus and also grants degrees to students of colleges attached to it.

Pierre Jeanneret Pierre Jeanneret — Swiss-French architect, Le Corbusier's cousin and partner, who designed many Chandigarh buildings.

INFLIBNET Information and Library Network Centre — A UGC inter-university centre at Gandhinagar that runs library networks for Indian universities.

In plain words

Zakir Hussain Dr. Zakir Hussain — Former President of India after whom the Chandigarh rose garden is named.

Bonsai Bonsai — The art of growing miniature trees in containers.