19 October 2026
Dr Dhal Singh Bisen was sworn in as the Governor of Uttarakhand.
He is the ninth Governor of the State.
The ceremony was held at Lok Bhavan in Dehradun.
Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari administered the oath.
Dehradun is the seat of the Uttarakhand government, while the High Court of Uttarakhand sits at Nainital.
Office:
Ninth Governor of Uttarakhand
Venue of the oath:
Lok Bhavan, Dehradun
Oath administered by:
Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari
Why it matters for exams: Who administers a Governor's oath, and where a State's capital and High Court sit, are repeat questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
13 October 2026
The Uttarakhand Governor summoned the third session of 2026 of the Fifth Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.
The session begins at 11 a.m. and runs for two days.
It is to be held at the Vidhan Sabha Bhavan in Bhararisain, Gairsain, in Chamoli district.
The schedule was notified by the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly Secretariat through a press note.
Ritu Khanduri Bhushan is the Speaker of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.
The Business Advisory Committee met in Dehradun ahead of the session.
Assembly:
Fifth Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
Venue:
Vidhan Sabha Bhavan, Bhararisain, Gairsain
District:
Chamoli
Why it matters for exams: Who summons a State legislature, and which Assembly number is in office, are standard polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
28 September 2026
About 1,500 pilgrims stranded on the Kedarnath trek route were brought across a landslide-hit stretch at Chirbasa.
Chirbasa is about three kilometres from Gaurikund, on the pedestrian route to Kedarnath.
Debris had blocked the route near the Chirbasa helipad after a landslide at night.
The State Disaster Response Force, the National Disaster Response Force and district disaster response teams worked together.
The SDRF team from Sonprayag was led by Sub-Inspector Ashish Dimri.
The Char Dham Yatra was suspended for a second day because of heavy rain.
Pilgrims brought across:
About 1,500
Distance of Chirbasa from Gaurikund:
About 3 km
Forces involved:
SDRF, NDRF and district disaster response teams
Why it matters for exams: SDRF's full form and the Kedarnath route's own geography are the durable parts of every Char Dham disaster story.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Two national parks in Uttarakhand together form a single World Heritage property.
It is inscribed on the World Heritage List as Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks, with India as the State Party.
The property was inscribed in 1988, and its boundaries were modified in 2005.
It is listed under criteria (vii) and (x).
The core area is 71,210 ha and the buffer zone 514,857 ha.
UNESCO describes Nanda Devi, at 7,817 m, as India's second highest mountain, approached through the Rishi Ganga gorge.
Core area:
71,210 ha
Buffer zone:
514,857 ha
Nanda Devi height:
7,817 m
Criteria:
(vii) and (x)
Why it matters for exams: Nanda Devi's height and rank, and the name under which the property is inscribed, are standard World Heritage questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code came into force on 27 January 2025.
Uttarakhand thereby became the first State in the country to roll out a Uniform Civil Code.
Scroll notes that Goa has had a common civil code since the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, so Uttarakhand is the first State to do so since Independence.
The Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code Bill was passed by the State Legislative Assembly in 2024.
The Code lays down a common set of laws on matters such as marriage, divorce and succession.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami rolled out the Code along with a portal for applications under the new rules.
Scheduled Tribes are excluded from the Code's application.
Came into force:
27 January 2025
Bill passed by the Assembly:
2024
Excluded from application:
Scheduled Tribes
Why it matters for exams: The first State to enforce a Uniform Civil Code, and what Article 44 says about it, are standard polity and law questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code carries a set of common rules for all its residents.
The Code requires a live-in relationship to be registered before a Registrar within one month of entering it.
Failure to register can bring a jail term, a fine, or both.
The Code provides similar inheritance rights for men and women.
It also sets out the conditions for a contract of marriage.
The Code bans practices such as halala, iddat and polygamy.
Live-in registration window:
Within one month of entering the relationship
Registered before:
A Registrar
Inheritance:
Similar rights for men and women
Why it matters for exams: What a State law actually requires, as against what it is said to do, is the sort of detail exam papers test.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
The High Court of Uttarakhand has functioned from a hill town since the State was created.
The principal seat of the High Court has functioned at Nainital since 9 November 2000.
The Supreme Court has directed the Uttarakhand government to grant possession of land at Haldwani for a new High Court building and related infrastructure.
The State is to proceed with all clearances on an as is, where is basis within six weeks.
The Supreme Court set aside a 2024 High Court order that had asked the State to find the best suitable land outside Nainital.
The High Court Bar Association had moved the Supreme Court against that order, in High Court Bar Association vs State of Uttarakhand.
Principal seat:
Nainital
Functioning since:
9 November 2000
Site for the new building:
Haldwani
Why it matters for exams: The seat of each High Court, and which States a High Court serves, are repeatedly asked in polity papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
The walk to Hemkund Sahib is one of the high pilgrim routes of Uttarakhand.
Hemkund Sahib is a Sikh pilgrimage site in Chamoli district.
Pilgrims travel from Govindghat to Ghangaria, which is the base camp for Hemkund Sahib.
The last stretch is a pedestrian route, and the portals of the gurdwara open for a season each year.
The Guru Granth Sahib is placed in the Darbar Sahib there once the doors are opened.
Govindghat and Ghangaria were rebuilt after the 2013 disaster in the State.
District:
Chamoli
Base camp:
Ghangaria
Road head:
Govindghat
Why it matters for exams: Which district a famous shrine is in, and the base camp on its route, are standard map-based questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
The rivers that the pilgrim routes of Uttarakhand follow come together at a set of confluences called Prayags.
At Devprayag the Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi meet, and their confluence forms the Ganga.
The Bhagirathi descends from the Gangotri glaciers.
The Alaknanda originates from the Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak glaciers.
Devprayag sits at about 472 metres above sea level and is one of the five sacred Prayags of Uttarakhand.
Brahm Kund lies on the Bhagirathi and Vashisht Kund on the Alaknanda.
Rivers meeting at Devprayag:
Alaknanda and Bhagirathi
River formed:
The Ganga
Altitude of Devprayag:
About 472 m
Source of the Bhagirathi:
The Gangotri glaciers
Why it matters for exams: Which two rivers form the Ganga, and where, is one of the most frequently asked Indian geography questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
Uttarakhand, whose Legislative Assembly meets this week at its hill seat in Gairsain, is geographically divided into the Garhwal and Kumaon regions.
The State has five river confluences known together as the Panch Prayag.
They are Devprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandprayag, Rudraprayag and Vishnuprayag.
The Char Dham shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri lie in the same hills.
Nanda Devi National Park, Rajaji National Park, Jim Corbett National Park and the Valley of Flowers are among the State's protected areas.
Dehradun holds the Forest Research Institute, and the Tehri Dam ranks as India's tallest dam.
Regions:
Garhwal and Kumaon
Panch Prayag:
Devprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandprayag, Rudraprayag and Vishnuprayag
Char Dham:
Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri
Why it matters for exams: The two regions of Uttarakhand, the Panch Prayag and the Char Dham are standard State-geography questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC