Background
The district is in the news because the Kerala High Court has appointed a retired judge of the High Court as Observer to oversee the selection of Melsanthis at the Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha temple and the Malikappuram temple, which the Pathanamthitta district administration serves through its own Sabarimala orders and notifications. Pathanamthitta is the thirteenth revenue district of the State of Kerala. It was formed with effect from the 1st November, 1982, with headquarters at Pathanamthitta. It is bounded on the East by the State of Tamil Nadu, on the North by Changanassery and Kanjirappally Taluks of Kottayam District and Peerumade Taluk of Idukki District, on the South by Kunnathur, Pathanapuram and Kottarakkara Taluks of Kollam District and on the West by Chengannur, Mavelikkara and Kuttanad Taluks of Alappuzha District. The district nestles its head on the slopes of the Western Ghats and stretches to the low-lying rice fields bordering Alappuzha District.
Rank among revenue districts:
Thirteenth
Formed with effect from:
1st November, 1982
Headquarters:
Pathanamthitta
Eastern boundary:
the State of Tamil Nadu
Why it matters for exams: District formation dates and boundaries are asked directly in Kerala PSC papers, and Sabarimala's district is the commonest place question about Pathanamthitta.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Revenue district — The unit of State revenue administration headed by a District Collector.
Melsanthi — The chief priest of a temple under the Devaswom administration.
Background
India established diplomatic relations with Peru in March 1963. Until 1969 the Indian Ambassador in Chile was concurrently accredited to Peru. In September 1969 India opened its resident Mission in Lima, and the first resident Indian Ambassador in Lima took charge in November 1973. The 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Peru was celebrated on 25 March 2013, and during the ceremony a special postal stamp depicting Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu was issued. For the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, a special commemorative postal stamp was released by Peruvian Post on 14 March 2024. The first India-Peru Joint Commission Meeting was held on June 21, 2017. The bilateral cooperation spans areas that include energy, mines, textiles, agriculture, science, technology, defence and space.
Diplomatic relations established:
March 1963
Resident Indian Mission opened in Lima:
September 1969
First resident Indian Ambassador took charge:
November 1973
Fiftieth anniversary ceremony:
25 March 2013
Sixtieth anniversary stamp by Peruvian Post:
14 March 2024
Why it matters for exams: The year relations were established and the year a resident mission opened are the two facts most often asked about India's ties with a Latin American country, and in Peru's case they fall in different years.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
concurrent accreditation concurrent accreditation of an ambassador — The practice of one resident ambassador also representing their country to a second state where there is no mission.
resident Mission resident diplomatic mission — An embassy staffed and located in the host country, as against accreditation from a neighbouring capital.
Joint Commission Meeting India-Peru Joint Commission Meeting — The standing bilateral mechanism at which the two governments review the whole relationship.
Background
Canaima National Park, decorated with flat-topped mountains, steep cliffs, and dramatic waterfalls, is one of the most notable landscapes in Venezuela. It spans more than 30,000 square kilometers (12,000 square miles), making it one of the largest parks in Venezuela.
Most of the park is covered by steep, flat-topped mountains known as tepuis, a word meaning house of the gods in the language of the native Pemón. More than 100 tepuis stand in the park, ranging 1,000 to 3,000 meters in height, and they are among the oldest geologic formations in South America.
The best known of them is the heart-shaped Auyán Tepui, home to the tallest waterfall on land. Angel Falls drops nearly 1,000 meters (3,300 feet), which NASA describes as 19 times higher than Niagara Falls. Like many tepuis, Auyán holds extensive cave systems, among them the Imawarì Yeuta quartzite caves.
Venezuela accepted the World Heritage Convention on 30 October 1990 and has three properties on the World Heritage List: Coro and its Port, inscribed in 1993, Canaima National Park in 1994 and the Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas in 2000. Two are cultural and Canaima National Park is the only natural one. Its tentative list includes Ciudad Bolivar in the narrowness of the Orinoco River.
Venezuela ratified the intangible heritage convention on 12 April 2007 and has 11 elements inscribed. They include Joropo in Venezuela, Venezuela's Dancing Devils of Corpus Christi, the Carnival of El Callao and La Parranda de San Pedro de Guarenas y Guatire on the Representative List, and the Mapoyo oral tradition and the Colombian-Venezuelan llano work songs on the Urgent Safeguarding List.
Tallest waterfall on land:
Angel Falls
Height:
nearly 1,000 meters (3,300 feet)
Tepui it falls from:
Auyán Tepui
Area of Canaima National Park:
30,000 square kilometers (12,000 square miles)
Tepuis in the park:
More than 100 tepuis
World Heritage properties:
3
Acceptance of the World Heritage Convention:
30 October 1990
Intangible heritage elements:
11
Why it matters for exams: The world's tallest waterfall, the tepui landform and a country's World Heritage count are three separate question types that all sit on the same park, and the distinction between the Representative List and the Urgent Safeguarding List is regularly tested.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
tepui tepui — A steep, flat-topped table mountain of the region, a remnant of an ancient sandstone plateau.
World Heritage List UNESCO World Heritage List — The list of cultural and natural properties of outstanding universal value kept under the World Heritage Convention.
Urgent Safeguarding List List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding — The UNESCO list for living traditions whose survival is at risk, kept separate from the Representative List.
Background
The UNESCO record of Intangible Cultural Heritage for Cuba shows 8 elements inscribed. They are La Tumba Francesa; Rumba in Cuba, a festive combination of music and dances and all the practices associated; Punto; the Festivity of Las Parrandas in the centre of Cuba; Knowledge of the light rum masters; Bolero: identity, emotion and poetry turned into song; Traditional knowledge and practices for the making and consumption of cassava bread; and The practice of Cuban Son. All eight are on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, kept under the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted in 2003. Cuba's ratification of the Convention is dated 29 May 2007, and UNESCO lists Cuba twice as a Committee Member of the Intergovernmental Committee.
Elements inscribed:
8
Convention ratified:
29 May 2007
Earliest inscription:
La Tumba Francesa
Latest inscription:
The practice of Cuban Son
Why it matters for exams: Intangible heritage inscriptions are asked as match-the-pair questions, and Cuban music forms are among the most frequently listed of them.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Intangible Cultural Heritage Intangible Cultural Heritage — Living practices such as music, dance, craft knowledge and festivals, as distinct from monuments and sites.
Representative List Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — The main UNESCO list on which living heritage practices are inscribed.
Background
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre record for Cuba shows 9 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, 7 of them cultural and 2 natural. Cuba's ratification of the World Heritage Convention is dated 24 March 1981. The cultural properties are Old Havana and its Fortification System, Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios, San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Santiago de Cuba, the Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South-East of Cuba, Viñales Valley, the Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos and the Historic Centre of Camagüey. One of the two natural properties is Desembarco del Granma National Park; the other is Alejandro de Humboldt National Park. Cuba keeps 14 sites on its Tentative List and has held 4 mandates on the World Heritage Committee. It is counted in the Latin America and the Caribbean region of the Convention.
Properties inscribed:
9
Cultural properties:
7
Natural properties:
2
Convention ratified:
24 March 1981
Sites on the Tentative List:
14
Why it matters for exams: The number and the split of a country's World Heritage properties, and the names of the best known of them, are a standing favourite in both prelims papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Tentative List Tentative List — A country's own inventory of the properties it intends to consider for future nomination to the World Heritage List.
Ratification Ratification — The formal step by which a country becomes bound by a treaty it has signed.
4 October 2026
The 50th Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Literary Award has gone to R Rajasree for her novel Athreyakam.
The award carries Rs 1 lakh, a bronze sculpture by Kanayi Kunhiraman and a citation.
The jury was O V Usha, Subhash Chandran and V Vijayakumar.
From 301 nominations covering 258 works, five top-scoring works went to a 20-member evaluation and the top three to the jury.
The Chief Minister will present the award on 27 October 2026 at Nishagandhi Auditorium, Thiruvananthapuram.
The award is part of the Vayalar Year 2025-26 marking 50 years since Vayalar Ramavarma's death.
Winner:
R Rajasree
Work:
Athreyakam (novel)
Prize:
₹1 lakh, bronze sculpture by Kanayi Kunhiraman, citation
Presentation:
27 October 2026, Nishagandhi Auditorium
Why it matters for exams: Kerala PSC regularly asks who won the Vayalar Award and what it carries.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Kanayi Kunhiraman Kanayi Kunhiraman — The sculptor who made the bronze sculpture given with the award.
4 October 2026
Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan addressed the Mahaparva Kshamapana Ceremony - 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on 4 October 2026. It was organised by the Bhagwan Mahavir Memorial Committee and Jain Mahasabha Delhi.
He said forgiveness means choosing reform over revenge, dialogue over hatred and reconciliation over hostility, and that Ahimsa means the absence of violence in thought, word and deed.
He said Kshamapana is not merely a ritual but an opportunity for transformation of the human heart, and that the spirit of Pratikraman can help individuals and families acknowledge mistakes and resolve conflicts.
He linked the Jain teaching of friendship with all living beings and enmity towards none to the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, and recalled the contribution of Jain scholars and monks to classical Tamil literature.
On Viksit Bharat @ 2047 he said a truly developed India must have trust among citizens, values in families, character among youth and compassion in society, in keeping with 'Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi'.
He presented the Jain Samaj Ratna Award to K. C. Jain. Governor of Punjab Gulab Chand Kataria was among those present.
Venue:
Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi
Organisers:
Bhagwan Mahavir Memorial Committee and Jain Mahasabha Delhi
Jain Samaj Ratna Award presented to:
K. C. Jain
Why it matters for exams: Pairs the Jain concepts of Kshamapana, Pratikraman and Ahimsa with the Vice-President's current engagements.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Kshamapana — The Jain practice of asking for and granting forgiveness, observed as a festival of reconciliation.
Pratikraman — A Jain practice of reviewing one's conduct and repenting for faults.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — A Sanskrit maxim meaning the world is one family.
4 October 2026
The Central University of Kerala at Kasaragod is holding a two-day seminar marking 150 years of Vande Mataram on October 6 and 7.
The seminar is organised with the Sahitya Akademi and the Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad, in the university library hall.
The keynote address is listed for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak J. Nandakumar.
The student organisations SFI, NSUI and MSF submitted written objections to Vice-Chancellor Siddhi P. Alagoor.
The student leaders said they had no objection to marking the anniversary itself.
Governor Rajendra Arlekar is listed to visit the campus on October 7.
Seminar dates:
October 6 and 7, 2026
Anniversary:
150 years of Vande Mataram
Why it matters for exams: The 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram and the identity of the Central University of Kerala are both likely one-mark questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Sahitya Akademi Sahitya Akademi — India's national academy of letters, which promotes writing in the recognised Indian languages.
Background
In a ceremony held on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's 126th birth anniversary, observed as Parakram Divas, the 21 largest unnamed islands of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were named after recipients of the Param Vir Chakra.
The names run from Major Somnath Sharma to Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav.
The Prime Minister took part through video conference and unveiled the model of a National Memorial dedicated to Netaji to be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, also called Subhas Dweep.
The memorial complex was described as including a museum, a rope-way, a laser light and sound show, an amusement park and eateries.
The Param Vir Chakra is India's highest wartime gallantry decoration.
Islands named:
21 largest unnamed islands
Named after:
Param Vir Chakra awardees
Names run from:
Major Somnath Sharma to Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav
Memorial site:
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep (Subhas Dweep)
Why it matters for exams: Renamed places and the awards they commemorate are standard static-plus-current questions about the islands.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Parakram Divas Parakram Divas — The day observed on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary to mark his courage.
4 October 2026
An in-depth historical study commissioned by King Willem-Alexander was presented on Friday, 2 October, and looks at the House of Orange-Nassau's colonial role.
The project was led by historian Gert Oostindie, and it was a three-year study covering the period from 1600 to the present.
The study concluded that the House of Orange 'shares responsibility for the survival over the centuries of the Dutch slave trade and slavery'.
Al Jazeera reports the king called it 'a painful and confronting conclusion'.
Presented to the king:
2 October
Lead researcher:
Gert Oostindie
Study length:
three years
Period covered:
1600 to the present
Why it matters for exams: Colonial history, slavery and reparations debates are recurring themes in world-history and current-affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
House of Orange-Nassau — The Dutch royal family.
Reparations — Payments or other measures meant to make amends for historic harm.
Background
Background: the same Union Territory whose electoral roll and Administrator feature in today's news.
Chandigarh lies about 265 km north of New Delhi and is bounded by Haryana on the east and by Punjab on all other sides.
It is the capital of the Union Territory itself and of the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.
The city was designed by the Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier, with construction beginning in the early 1950s.
Its layout comprises over 50 rectangular sectors, and its name comes from the Chandi Mandir, a temple dedicated to the goddess Chandi.
Distance from New Delhi:
about 265 km north
Sectors:
over 50 rectangular sectors
Architect:
Le Corbusier
Why it matters for exams: Shared capitals and planned cities are favourite general-knowledge and polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Standing fact asked about Chile, today's focus country: the Nobel Foundation records two Chilean poets as Literature laureates.
Gabriela Mistral, born in Vicuña, Chile, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945 for her lyric poetry, which "has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world".
Pablo Neruda won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1971 "for a poetry that with the action of an elemental force brings alive a continent's destiny and dreams".
Mistral was the first Latin American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Gabriela Mistral:
Nobel Prize in Literature, 1945
Pablo Neruda:
Nobel Prize in Literature, 1971
Why it matters for exams: Nobel laureates by country, with the year and prize, are frequent award-and-persons questions; Mistral being the first Latin American laureate in Literature is a favourite.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
4 October 2026
On 1 October 2026 a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar, disposed of WP(C) 25645/2021, filed by devotee S J R Kumar against the Travancore Devaswom Board. The petition concerned jaggery bearing a Halal label that was procured for Aravana and Unniyappam. The court directed the Board to exercise due care and caution in future and to incorporate appropriate conditions in its e-tender documents so that materials meet quality standards and temple customs. It observed that the Board ought to have taken greater care to ensure the jaggery supplied did not bear markings that could raise apprehension of conflict with temple customs. The supplier, Vardhan Agro Processing Limited, said the certification was for Middle Eastern export. Food Safety Laboratory reports found the jaggery satisfactory, and the court did not hold it unfit.
Case:
WP(C) 25645/2021
Bench:
Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar
Offerings:
Aravana and Unniyappam
Why it matters for exams: Temple administration, the Devaswom Boards and e-tendering rules recur in Kerala PSC polity and current-affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Travancore Devaswom Board Travancore Devaswom Board — The statutory body that manages Sabarimala and many other temples in southern Kerala.
Writ petition WP(C) — A civil petition to a High Court seeking enforcement of a legal right.
4 October 2026
The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of concerns over the fate and relocation of the 135-year-old Central Secretariat Library (CSL) in New Delhi.
The library is housed in Shastri Bhawan, which is slated for demolition under the Central Vista redevelopment project.
The matter is listed for hearing on October 5, 2026 before a bench of Justices P. V. Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva.
CSL functions under the Union Ministry of Culture, was set up in 1891 as the Imperial Secretariat Library in Calcutta, and has been at Shastri Bhawan since 1969; it holds more than 8.5 lakh volumes.
The Directorate of Estates proposed about 300 square metres at Kartavya Bhawan-2, while the Culture Ministry had sought about 5,466 square metres.
Library age:
135 years
Collection:
more than 8.5 lakh volumes
Hearing date:
October 5, 2026
Why it matters for exams: Suo motu jurisdiction, the Central Vista project and heritage institutions combine polity and culture in one fact set.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Suo motu Suo motu — Latin for 'on its own motion'; a court acting without a petition being filed.
Central Vista Central Vista redevelopment — The project redeveloping the central government's administrative area in New Delhi.
Background
Alfred Nobel's will turned his remaining assets into a fund whose interest was to be distributed annually as prizes to those who, during the preceding year, 'have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind'.
The interest was to be divided into five equal parts: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace.
In the will's wording, the physics and chemistry prizes are awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences, physiological or medical achievements by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and literature by the Academy in Stockholm.
The peace prize goes to the champions of peace chosen by a committee of five persons selected by the Norwegian Storting.
The will asks that no consideration be given to nationality, so that the worthiest person gets the prize whether or not they are Scandinavian.
Equal parts of the interest:
5
Physiology or medicine:
Karolinska Institute
Peace:
Committee of five chosen by the Norwegian Storting
Why it matters for exams: The five original Nobel fields and who awards each are classic awards-and-persons questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Storting The Norwegian parliament — It selects the five-person committee that awards the Peace Prize.
Karolinska Institute A medical university in Stockholm — The will names it to award the physiology or medicine prize.
Background
Wayanad, whose name comes from Vayal Nadu, the land of paddy fields, covers 2,132 sq. km on a plateau of the Western Ghats.
The two Ampukuthimala caves between Sulthan Bathery and Ambalavayal, with wall pictures and pictorial writings, point to a New Stone Age civilisation.
When Kerala Varma Pazhassi Rajah of Kottayam was driven into the Wayanad forests, he organised the Kurichiya tribals into a people's militia and fought the British in guerrilla encounters.
The British then opened the plateau for tea and other cash crops and laid roads from Kozhikode and Thalassery.
Wayanad was carved out of the Kozhikode and Kannur districts and came into being on 1 November 1980 as the 12th district of Kerala.
Area:
2,132 sq. km
Rank among districts:
12th
Carved out of:
Kozhikode and Kannur
Why it matters for exams: Kerala PSC regularly asks how districts were formed and which leaders and tribes are tied to each district.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Keezhur is where the historic referendum on Puducherry's merger with India was held.
In the referendum held on October 18, 1954, 170 representatives voted in favour of joining India, while eight voted against.
The Government of Puducherry records that the French possessions in India were de facto transferred to the Indian Union on November 1, 1954, after French rule over all its regions lasting 138 years.
Following the completion of legal procedures, the merger received legal recognition on August 16, 1962.
Puducherry observes De Jure Transfer Day to mark this integration; in 2026 Home Minister A. Namassivayam hoisted the national flag at Keezhur.
Referendum held at:
Keezhur
Votes in favour:
170
Votes against:
eight
De facto transfer:
November 1, 1954
Legal recognition:
August 16, 1962
Why it matters for exams: The 1954 referendum and the de facto and de jure stages of Puducherry's merger are standard modern-history and polity material.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
De jure By law — A transfer recognised in law, as distinct from de facto, the transfer in actual practice.
Background
On 9 July 1816 representatives of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata met in the Congress of Tucumán and signed the Act of Independence.
The declaration formally broke the ties of dependence with the Spanish monarchy.
Ten days later the same Congress renounced all other foreign domination.
The act concluded the process that began with the May Week (Semana de Mayo) of 1810. 9 July is Argentina's Independence Day.
Independence declared:
9 July 1816
Body that declared it:
Congress of Tucumán
Earlier milestone:
Semana de Mayo, 1810
Why it matters for exams: Independence dates and the founding events of a nation are standard history and general-knowledge questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Semana de Mayo May Week — The May 1810 events that began Argentina's emancipation process.
Background
Puducherry is the place where the national poet Shri Subramania Bharathiar wrote several of his masterpieces that fanned the flames of freedom and enriched modern Tamil literature.
Bharathidasan, a staunch disciple of Bharathiar, whose poems stressed social revolution and emancipation of women, was an eminent son of Puducherry.
The French Institute caters to research needs in Science, Indology and Culture.
The Romain Rolland Library, more than 150 years old, preserves a rich collection of rare French and Tamil manuscripts.
The Puducherry Museum houses pottery from the Arikkamedu site.
Poet who wrote masterpieces in Puducherry:
Subramania Bharathiar
Disciple:
Bharathidasan
Library:
Romain Rolland Library, 150+ years old
Why it matters for exams: Where Bharathiar wrote, who Bharathidasan was, and which institutions hold rare manuscripts are classic culture and literature questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Arikamedu lies between Veerampattinam beach in the east and the Ariyankuppam river in the west, near Puducherry.
It is identified with the ancient port city of 'Podouke', mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
Mortimer Wheeler's 1945 excavation here was his first project in India after he became Director General of the ASI.
It yielded Arretine Ware, Amphorae and Rouletted Ware, which became the datum point for relative dating in southern India.
The Puducherry Museum houses pottery from the Arikkamedu site, where Roman ships once called in for trade.
Ancient name:
Podouke
Excavated by:
Mortimer Wheeler
Pottery types:
Arretine Ware, Amphorae, Rouletted Ware
Why it matters for exams: Arikamedu is a standard topic on Indo-Roman trade and archaeological dating in ancient Indian history.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ASI Archaeological Survey of India — The national body that protects and excavates monuments and sites.