Himachal Pradesh has named Pankaj Rai, an IAS officer, to head its electricity regulator as Chairperson of the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC). The Department of MPP and Power notified the appointment on November 10, the last day allowed by the High Court. In its order, a division bench had told the state to fill the post in line with what the Selection Committee had recommended. That committee had suggested Rai for Chairperson and Rajiv Sood for Member, but the Chief Minister turned the panel down. The bench called the rejection arbitrary and said arbitrariness runs against the equality clause of Article 14 of the Constitution. Rai, who belongs to the 2014 batch, had moved the court asking for a fair selection completed on time. With this notification, the long uncertainty over who would chair the regulator has come to an end.
New HPERC Chairperson:Pankaj RaiNotified on:November 10Provision cited by the court:Article 14
Why it matters for exams: State Electricity Regulatory Commissions and the Article 14 bar on arbitrary state action are standard Polity and Economy topics.
HPERCHimachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission — The state body that regulates the power sector and fixes electricity tariffs in Himachal Pradesh.
Article 14Equality before law — The constitutional guarantee of equality before law and equal protection of the laws.
The Commission for Reorganisation of Administrative Units in Himachal Pradesh sat for the first time in Shimla. It is chaired by Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary, a former judge of the High Court. The General Administration Department set up the panel in October to study the creation, merger and bifurcation of districts, sub-divisions, tehsils and other units. Advocate Vishal Panwar and retired IFS officer Rajesh Sharma are members, with the Director of Land Records as Member Secretary. At the opening sitting, the members reviewed the current layout of districts, sub-divisions, tehsils, sub-tehsils and development blocks. Population, geography, accessibility, administrative efficiency and public convenience are expected to be the main yardsticks. The panel will collect data from departments and Deputy Commissioners, hear public representatives and try not to add to the burden on the state exchequer.
Chairperson:Justice Dharam Chand ChaudharyMembers:Vishal Panwar, Rajesh SharmaNotified by:General Administration Department
Why it matters for exams: Creation and reorganisation of districts and tehsils is a state executive function, and Himachal's administrative structure is a common State GK topic.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said Himachal Pradesh will roll out the Mukhyamantri Ka Apna Parivar Sukhi Parivar Yojana next month. Eligible women from poor families will get Rs 1,500 each month under it. Women between 21 and 59 years qualify, and a household with three eligible women will see all three paid. Sukhu said the families would also have 300 units of free electricity and free medical treatment. He spoke during the Sarkar Gaon Ke Dwaar outreach in Chamba district, where he spent nights in remote villages to hear local grievances. In Mehla gram panchayat alone, 172 families have already been identified as beneficiaries. He also pointed to the Rs 680-crore Rajiv Gandhi Swarozgar Start-up Scheme, which gives interest subsidy for solar panels set up on private land.
Monthly aid:Rs 1,500Eligible age:21 to 59 yearsFree electricity:300 units
Why it matters for exams: State welfare schemes, their benefit and eligibility, are a routine State GK question; this is Himachal's flagship cash-transfer scheme for women.
Himachal Pradesh will hire 3,100 teachers before its new CBSE-affiliated government schools open in the 2027-28 academic session. Education Minister Rohit Thakur announced this after chairing a meeting of the Education Department in Shimla. The state will also fill 374 posts of Assistant Professors and 19 posts of instructors. The Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Ayog has been told to speed up the selection. About 9,287 meritorious students have been given tablets, and applications under the Dr YS Parmar Vidyarthi Rin Yojana have risen sharply. Bhoti language teachers will be posted in areas where that language is widely spoken, and tribal areas will see regular teacher recruitment. The state has also proposed seven Kendriya Vidyalayas and asked Deputy Commissioners to speed up land transfer for them.
Teachers to be hired:3,100Assistant Professor posts:374Recruiting body:Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Ayog
Why it matters for exams: State recruitment bodies, education-loan schemes and the Bhoti language of Himachal's tribal belt are useful State GK facts.
The Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) has entered the QS Asia University Rankings-2027 for the first time. It sits in the 791-800 band in Asia and at 239th place in the Southern Asia sub-regional table. That makes it the highest-ranked government university in Himachal Pradesh in this listing. Among Central universities founded in 2009, CUHP is second, behind the Central University of Rajasthan in the 711-720 band, and level with the Central University of Haryana. It is placed above the Central University of Jammu, Kurukshetra University and Himachal Pradesh University. Its best showings came in the Citations per Paper and Staff with PhD indicators. Vice-Chancellor Prof Sat Prakash Bansal called the entry a milestone for the young university.
Asia band:791-800Southern Asia rank:239thVice-Chancellor:Prof Sat Prakash Bansal
Why it matters for exams: University rankings and who publishes them (QS, Times Higher Education, NIRF) are frequent Reports and Indices questions.
Abhishek Awasthi, who hails from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, has been elected Mayor of Greater Bendigo, a city in Australia's Victoria state, for the 2026-2027 term. He is the first person of Indian origin to hold the post in the city. Greater Bendigo City Council chose Andrea Metcalf as Deputy Mayor at a meeting held at the Capital Theatre. Awasthi moved to Australia in 2008 to study at La Trobe University. He won a council seat from Kennington Ward in November 2024 and then became the city's first Deputy Mayor of Indian origin. He takes over from the outgoing Mayor, Thomas Prince. Greater Bendigo has nine wards.
Term:2026-2027Council ward:Kennington WardDeputy:Cr Andrea Metcalf
Why it matters for exams: Firsts by people of Indian origin abroad, and the state or country they serve in, are regular persons-in-news questions.
The Himachal Pradesh government has cleared the purchase of milk and milk products by its own departments and institutions from cooperatives. Hospitals, schools, hostels, canteens, boards, corporations and public sector undertakings can now buy, as required, from the Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation (Milkfed) and local dairy cooperative societies. Four more societies besides Milkfed gain, among them Kamdhenu Hitkari Manch at Namhol in Bilaspur district and Amrit Dhara Dairy Cooperative Society at Darlaghat in Solan district. The idea is to give dairy farmers a steady institutional buyer and lift their earnings. Milkfed runs dairy work in 11 districts and buys through 799 primary milk producers' cooperative societies that serve 55,300 producers. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said dairying could raise rural household incomes, especially for small and marginal farmers, women and jobless youth.
Primary societies under Milkfed:799Milk producers served:55,300Districts covered by Milkfed:11
Why it matters for exams: State milk federations such as Milkfed, and the three-tier dairy cooperative model, are regular questions in agriculture and rural economy sections.
Himachal Pradesh Governor Kavinder Gupta inaugurated the International Lavi Fair at Rampur in Shimla district. The fair is nearly 400 years old and has served for centuries as a meeting point for trade and cultural exchange. The Governor said traditional Himachali goods such as Kinnauri caps, woollens, handicrafts and farm produce should reach buyers across India and abroad through digital platforms. He appealed to every visitor to buy at least one locally made product, linking this to the 'Vocal for Local' call. He also asked residents and tourists to protect the hill state's fragile environment and use less plastic. Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap heads the International Lavi Fair Organising Committee. This year, for the first time, schoolchildren took part in an essay competition on the history of the fair.
Age of the fair:nearly 400 yearsVenue:Rampur, Shimla districtOrganising committee chair:Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap
Why it matters for exams: The International Lavi Fair of Rampur is Himachal Pradesh's best-known trade fair and a regular question on the state's fairs and festivals.
Municipal Council Theog in Shimla district has been placed among the top 20 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the country in the Swachh Survekshan. Urban Development Minister Vikramaditya Singh accepted the award from President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony in New Delhi. The national awards for 2025-26 were given at Vigyan Bhawan in a function convened by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). In this 10th edition, ULBs were judged on 43 indicators grouped into 10 domains, ranging from waste segregation to the welfare of sanitation workers. Swachh Survekshan began in 2016 as a yearly cleanliness ranking meant to make towns compete on sanitation and waste handling. This round also gave a Clean Himalayan City award for the first time, a category aimed at hill towns. The state government said this was the first time its recognition had been conferred in the presence of the President.
Himachal Pradesh has begun reviewing its districts and tehsils through a new Commission for Reorganisation of Administrative Units, which held its first meeting this week. The present map has a long history behind it. After Independence, 30 princely states of the hills were merged and Himachal Pradesh came into being on 15th April, 1948. Some areas of Punjab were added when that state was reorganised on 1st November, 1966. Himachal Pradesh became a full-fledged State on 25th January, 1971. The state portal lists 12 districts, 117 tehsils, 77 sub-tehsils, 3 divisions, 83 sub-divisions and 91 blocks. Shimla is the capital, and the state has 68 Assembly constituencies, 4 Lok Sabha seats and 3 Rajya Sabha seats.
Why it matters for exams: Statehood dates, number of districts and parliamentary seats of each state are staple State GK questions in Kerala PSC and SSC papers.
The International Lavi Fair, opened at Rampur this week by Governor Kavinder Gupta, is nearly 400 years old and ranks among the most historic fairs of Himachal Pradesh. It is held every year at Rampur Bushahr in Shimla district, on the banks of the Sutlej River. Its origins are traced to the 17th century, when the erstwhile Bushahr State struck a trade agreement with Tibet. Rampur, well placed on the old Indo-Tibetan trade routes, grew into a key centre for trade between the Himalayan regions. The kind of goods traded has changed over time, but the gathering has survived. Today it is a cultural, commercial and tourism festival with woollens, dry fruits, handicrafts and folk performances. The main fair usually runs from 11 to 14 November at the Lavi Mela Ground.
Venue:Rampur Bushahr, on the SutlejOrigin:17th century trade agreementUsual dates:11 to 14 November
Why it matters for exams: Questions on Himachal's fairs often ask where the Lavi Fair is held, its river setting and its link with the Bushahr-Tibet trade.
The Ministry of Railways plans to run a hydrogen-powered toy train on the Kalka-Shimla line under its 'Hydrogen for Heritage' programme, and a site at Barog railway station has been picked for a hydrogen fuel plant. The plan still needs Railway Ministry approval and must clear technical feasibility checks before a trial run. The line is among India's most celebrated heritage routes. It was built between 1898 and 1903 during British rule and climbs 96 km through the Shivalik hills on narrow gauge track. On the way it passes through 103 tunnels and crosses more than 900 bridges. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2008, the first such status for a monument in Himachal Pradesh. Hydrogen trains make electricity in fuel cells and leave water as the main by-product.
Length:96 kmTunnels:103Built:1898 to 1903
Why it matters for exams: The Kalka-Shimla Railway is one of India's UNESCO-listed mountain railways and a staple of heritage and geography questions.