27 October 2026
Sukhna Wetland in Chandigarh has been added to the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance as Ramsar Site No. 2602, the Union Territory's first. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced the designation along with that of Sauj Jheel in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh, which is part of the Saman wetland complex, taking India's Ramsar network to 103 sites, up from 26 in 2014. Glaw Lake in Arunachal Pradesh had become the country's 101st site earlier in 2026. Sukhna sits at the foothills of the Outer Himalayas and holds habitats ranging from open water to forest. Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria welcomed the designation.
Ramsar Site number:
2602
India's Ramsar sites:
103
Designated alongside:
Sauj Jheel, Mainpuri district, Uttar Pradesh
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Sukhna is Chandigarh's first Ramsar site and carries Ramsar Site No. 2602, that India's Ramsar count stands at 103, and that Sauj Jheel in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh was designated along with it.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Ramsar site Wetland of international importance — A wetland listed under the Ramsar Convention, the treaty on wetland conservation and wise use.
27 October 2026
Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya of the Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh has issued notice to Google India and the Union of India in Ashish Ranjan Mishra v. Union of India, CWP-34397-2026, filed by a nineteen-year-old engineering student who lost access to three Google accounts after his phone was stolen. An earlier petition had been disposed of with a direction to the appellate authority under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 to decide his appeal in thirty days, and the Grievance Appellate Committee then directed Google to give him guidance and support to recover his data. The present petition seeks enforcement of that order and relies on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, under which Google is described as a Data Fiduciary and the petitioner as a Data Principal, along with Article 21 of the Constitution. The matter is listed for 20 November.
Case:
CWP-34397-2026
Statute relied on:
Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
Next listing:
20 November
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the Grievance Appellate Committee is set up under the IT Rules, 2021 to hear appeals against intermediaries' grievance decisions, and that the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 calls the data handler a Data Fiduciary and the individual a Data Principal.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GAC Grievance Appellate Committee — A body under the IT Rules, 2021 that hears a user's appeal against an intermediary's grievance officer.
Data Fiduciary Data Fiduciary — Under the DPDP Act, 2023, the person or body that decides how personal data is processed.
27 October 2026
Fresh seasonal fruit is to be provided to students of Chandigarh government schools as part of the mid-day meal. The mid-day meal in government and government-aided schools is served under the centrally sponsored PM POSHAN scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme of the Ministry of Education, which covers children in classes I to VIII and is implemented in Chandigarh by the Union Territory's Department of Education.
Scheme:
PM POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman)
Classes covered:
I to VIII
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that PM POSHAN stands for Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman, that it is a scheme of the Ministry of Education, and that it covers school children from classes I to VIII.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
PM POSHAN Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman — The centrally sponsored school meal scheme that replaced the Mid Day Meal Scheme.
27 October 2026
President Droupadi Murmu has approved the award of the President's Police Colour to Chandigarh Police, the highest national recognition a police force can receive. The approval was conveyed by the Police-I Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs in a letter to the Chief Secretary, Chandigarh, which refers to the Union Territory Administration's communications of 14 July and 28 September 2026. The Colour is a ceremonial standard that recognises a force's collective record rather than individual gallantry or service, and Chandigarh Police, reorganised on 1 November 1966, completes sixty years on 1 November 2026. The proposal placed before the Centre cited one gallantry medal, 20 President's Police Medals for Distinguished Service, 108 Meritorious Service medals and 52 United Nations medals, an average 112 emergency response time of 4 minutes 33 seconds, and 2,085 CCTV cameras linked to the force's Command and Control Centre. Gulab Chand Kataria is the Punjab Governor and Administrator of Chandigarh, and Dr Sagar Preet Hooda is the Director General of Police.
Award:
President's Police Colour
Conveyed by:
Police-I Division, Ministry of Home Affairs
Average 112 response time:
4 minutes 33 seconds
CCTV cameras on the Command and Control Centre:
2,085
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the President's Police Colour is the highest national recognition for a police force as a whole, that it is approved by the President and conveyed through the Ministry of Home Affairs, and that Chandigarh Police was reorganised on 1 November 1966.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Police Colour President's Police Colour — A ceremonial standard awarded to a police force as a whole for its collective record.
27 October 2026
In Haryana 24 News Network Private Limited v. Union of India, CWP No. 30190 of 2026, Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya of the Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh has held that an intimation by the police to an intermediary under Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 must come from a specially authorised officer not below the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police, and that the power cannot be delegated to a lower rank. Every such intimation must also be reviewed every month by an officer not below the rank of Secretary. The company's verified Facebook page had been blocked in India after an intimation from a Superintendent of Police; the Court held the intimation was without jurisdiction and set it aside. It further read into Rule 3(2), on the basis of natural justice, a requirement that the affected user be given a copy of the intimation when it is sent to the intermediary, since a grievance officer complaint would otherwise be futile.
Minimum rank for an intimation:
Deputy Inspector General of Police
Review requirement:
Monthly, by an officer not below Secretary rank
Case:
CWP No. 30190 of 2026
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules, 2021 governs how an intermediary gets actual knowledge of unlawful content, that a police intimation under it needs an officer of at least Deputy Inspector General rank, and that a monthly review by an officer of at least Secretary rank is mandatory.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Intermediary Intermediary under the IT Act — A platform that stores or transmits content on behalf of others, such as a social media service.