27 October 2026
The Reserve Bank of India has issued Directions to Puducherry Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd. under Section 35A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Depositors may withdraw up to Rs 5,000 from savings, current or other accounts. Without the prior approval of the RBI the bank cannot grant or renew loans and advances, make investments, incur liabilities including borrowing funds, or accept fresh deposits. The Directions took effect from the close of business on October 21, 2026 and remain in force for six months, subject to review. The RBI said the Directions should not be construed as cancellation of the bank's banking licence, and that eligible depositors can claim deposit insurance of up to Rs 5,00,000 from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation. The bank has been told to display an advisory notice at all branches and extension counters stating the maximum DICGC cover and the withdrawal limit, and to open help desks for grievance redressal.
Withdrawal cap:
Rs 5,000
Deposit insurance cover:
Rs 5,00,000
Duration of Directions:
six months from close of business on October 21, 2026
Why it matters for exams: Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and the Rs 5,00,000 DICGC deposit insurance cover are standard Banking and Economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
DICGC Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation — A wholly owned subsidiary of the RBI that insures bank deposits up to Rs 5,00,000 per depositor per bank.
27 October 2026
More than five months after the National Democratic Alliance government headed by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy came to power in Puducherry, the Speaker's post in the Legislative Assembly remains vacant, and the Pro-tem Speaker continues to officiate. After Mr. Rangasamy was sworn in along with two other Ministers on May 13, Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan appointed AIADMK MLA A. Anbalagan as Pro-tem Speaker to administer the oath of office to newly elected legislators. In the absence of an election to the Speaker's post, he chaired the entire Budget session held in August, and on Wednesday he administered the oath to the newly elected AINRC MLA Ashok Anand, who won the Thattanchavady by-election. Article 178 of the Constitution says that every Legislative Assembly of a State shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the Assembly to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and shall choose another member whenever either office falls vacant. Chapter III of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of the Business of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly also prescribes the election of a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker.
Constitutional provision:
Article 178
Pro-tem Speaker:
A. Anbalagan
Constituency of the by-election:
Thattanchavady
Why it matters for exams: Article 178 and the role of a Pro-tem Speaker are frequently asked Polity facts.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Pro-tem Speaker Temporary Speaker — A member appointed to preside over a new House until a Speaker is elected, mainly to administer the oath to members.
Background
The bird survey just completed in the Puducherry-Villupuram-Auroville-Cuddalore bioregion takes its third name from Auroville. Auroville is an international township and study centre established in 1968, lying just north of the city of Puducherry in the Union Territory of Puducherry. Because Auroville sits across the administrative boundary between the Union Territory and Tamil Nadu, surveys of connected habitats in this landscape, such as the wetlands around Oussudu and Bahour lakes, are organised by bioregion rather than by district.
Established:
1968
Description:
international township and study centre
Location:
just north of the city of Puducherry
Why it matters for exams: Auroville's founding year, its description as an international township and its link to Sri Aurobindo are standard Puducherry questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Puducherry's ration card holders are in the news again this week over the Union Territory's grocery measures, and the Union Territory is also where the Government of India runs its Central Bank Digital Currency based Food Subsidy Distribution Pilot under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. The digital rupee, or e-rupee, is a tokenised digital version of the Indian rupee issued by the Reserve Bank of India as a Central Bank Digital Currency. Under the pilot, food subsidy is credited to identified beneficiaries as programmable CBDC tokens in their CBDC wallets, redeemable only for entitled foodgrains at authorised merchants and Fair Price Shops, so the subsidy can be used for nothing else. The pilot is run with the Government of Puducherry, the Reserve Bank of India, the Public Financial Management System and Canara Bank as the designated banking partner. It was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi.
Issuing authority of the digital rupee:
Reserve Bank of India
Banking partner:
Canara Bank
Why it matters for exams: CBDC, the e-rupee and PMGKAY are standing Economy and Schemes questions, and the RBI is the issuing authority for the digital rupee.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
CBDC Central Bank Digital Currency — A digital form of a country's currency issued by its central bank.
PMGKAY Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana — The central food security scheme that gives free foodgrains to eligible ration card holders.
PFMS Public Financial Management System — The central platform that tracks government fund flows to beneficiaries.
Background
The Puducherry Legislative Assembly, whose Speaker's post is vacant and where a pro-tem Speaker has been administering the oath, works on the National e-Vidhan Application. NeVA is a platform for paperless legislative functioning, funded through 100 per cent central assistance by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, and it allows legislative proceedings to be accessed in real time and live-streamed. Puducherry was the 19th legislature in the country to adopt it. The platform is described as carrying the principle of One Nation, One Application.
Funding:
100% Central Assistance by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
Puducherry's place among adopters:
19th legislature in the country
Why it matters for exams: NeVA and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs that funds it are standing Polity and e-governance questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NeVA National e-Vidhan Application — A central platform that lets a legislature run its business without paper.
Background
Auroville, the township at the centre of the bioregion just surveyed for the fourth Puducherry Bird Atlas, is reached through the Union Territory's national highway network. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has taken up three National Highway projects in Puducherry worth over ₹2,000 crore: a 4 km elevated corridor between Indira Gandhi Square and Rajiv Gandhi Square on NH-32, improvements to the 14 km ECR Road on NH-332A, and the 38 km four-lane Puducherry–Poondiyankuppam section of NH-32. The works are intended to cut travel time on the urban stretch from 35 minutes to 10 minutes and to let motorists travelling from Viluppuram towards Cuddalore, Chidambaram and Nagapattinam bypass Puducherry town.
Value of the three projects:
over ₹2,000 crore
Four-lane section:
38 km Puducherry–Poondiyankuppam on NH-32
Why it matters for exams: National highway numbers and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways are standard Infrastructure and geography questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ECR East Coast Road — The coastal road along the Bay of Bengal, carried here by NH-332A.
Background
The Union Territory whose co-operative urban bank has just been placed under Reserve Bank directions also hosts a Technology Centre of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The centre at Puducherry was set up with an investment of about Rs. 122 crore and is spread across 10 acres. It is meant to train 20,000 youth, support 2000 MSMEs and incubate 200 start-ups. Technology Centres across the country are developed under the Technology Centre Systems Program and support existing and prospective MSMEs by developing production facilities and manpower and by providing consultancy.
Investment:
about Rs. 122 crore
Area:
10 acres
Why it matters for exams: MSME, the Technology Centre Systems Program and the ministry behind them are standing Economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises — The category of smaller businesses with its own Union Ministry.
Background
The capital city of the Union Territory now revising its photo electoral roll is also where the countdown events to the International Day of Yoga are held. The Yoga Mahotsav in Puducherry is held at Gandhi Thidal on Goubert Avenue, Beach Road, and is organised by the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, an institute of the Ministry of Ayush. The participants perform a mass demonstration of the Common Yoga Protocol, the standard sequence used for the International Day of Yoga.
Organiser:
Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, Ministry of Ayush
Venue in Puducherry:
Gandhi Thidal, Goubert Avenue, Beach Road
Why it matters for exams: The Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, the Ministry of Ayush and the Common Yoga Protocol are standing questions on institutions and schemes.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
MDNIY Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga — The Ministry of Ayush institute for yoga education and research.
CYP Common Yoga Protocol — The standard sequence of asanas performed on the International Day of Yoga.