16 October 2026
The Social Justice Department invited nominations for the State Disability Award 2026, and the Information and Public Relations Department published the notice on 16 October 2026.
Individuals, institutions and local self-government bodies that have shown proven skill in various fields related to disability can be nominated.
The last date for submitting nominations is 25 October.
Further details are available from the District Social Justice Offices or on 0471 2306040.
Award:
State Disability Award 2026
Department:
Social Justice Department
Last date:
25 October
Why it matters for exams: Which Kerala department runs disability welfare, and the fact that local self-government bodies are themselves eligible for the award, are both askable points.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
Social Justice Department Social Justice Department, Government of Kerala — The Kerala department responsible for welfare of persons with disabilities, the elderly, women and children.
16 October 2026
Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will present the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the years 2024 and 2025 on 19 October 2026 at 10 a.m. at the Meghdoot Complex, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi. The award goes to 106 young artists in the fields of music, dance and drama, selected unanimously by the General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi at its meeting held from 22 to 26 March 2026. Each award carries a cash prize of Rs. 25,000, a Tamrapatra and an Angavastram. Shri Vivek Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, will be the Guest of Honour, and Dr. Sandhya Purecha, Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, will preside. The Akademi instituted the award in 2006 for artists up to the age of 40 and has presented it annually since.
Number of awardees:
106
Years covered:
2024 and 2025
Cash prize:
Rs. 25,000, with a Tamrapatra and an Angavastram
Ceremony:
19 October 2026, Meghdoot Complex, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi
Instituted:
2006, for artists up to the age of 40
Why it matters for exams: Sangeet Natak Akademi awards and their cash components are standard art and culture questions, and this one has an age ceiling that is often tested.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi — India's national academy for music, dance and drama, which confers the Akademi Awards and the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar.
16 October 2026
Margaret Hamilton, the computer scientist who pioneered software engineering and helped put humans on the Moon, has died aged 90.
She was born in 1936 in Paoli, Indiana, and earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics with a minor in philosophy from Earlham College in 1958.
She helped develop weather-prediction software in the meteorology department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Edward Lorenz, despite having no prior programming experience.
In 1961 she moved to the Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to code the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment air-defence system.
She became the first programmer hired for the Apollo project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later led the team that wrote and tested the software for the Apollo Guidance Computer.
She is often credited with coining the term software engineering, and later founded software companies serving the space, defence, energy and communications sectors.
Age at death:
90
Year of birth:
1936
Term she is credited with coining:
software engineering
Why it matters for exams: Obituaries of figures who coined a discipline's name are asked directly, and the Apollo Guidance Computer links space history with computer science.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Apollo Guidance Computer Apollo Guidance Computer — The onboard computer that navigated and controlled the Apollo spacecraft during the Moon missions.
Background
The joint statement issued on the official visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kuwait on 21-22 December 2024 records that it was his first visit to that country.
He attended the opening ceremony of the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup in Kuwait on 21 December 2024 as the Guest of Honour of Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
The Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah received the Prime Minister at Bayan Palace on 22 December 2024, where he was accorded a ceremonial welcome.
The Prime Minister expressed his deep appreciation to the Amir for conferring on him the highest award of the State of Kuwait, the Order of Mubarak Al Kabeer.
The two leaders agreed to elevate relations between India and Kuwait to a Strategic Partnership, which the statement says will further broad-base and deepen long-standing historical ties.
The Kuwaiti leadership expressed deep appreciation for the contribution of the Indian community in Kuwait, and both sides agreed to hold regular meetings of the Consular Dialogue and of labour mechanisms.
Honour:
The Order of Mubarak Al Kabeer
Level of ties:
Strategic Partnership
Sporting event attended:
26th Arabian Gulf Cup
Venue of the ceremonial welcome:
Bayan Palace
Why it matters for exams: Foreign honours conferred on India's Prime Minister and the list of India's strategic partners are standard award and diplomacy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Order of Mubarak Al Kabeer Kuwait's highest national award — Named after the ruler Mubarak Al-Sabah, known as Mubarak the Great.
Background
As the islands return to the news over the Great Nicobar project, their recent map changes are worth recalling.
Twenty-one of the largest unnamed islands of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were named after twenty-one Param Vir Chakra awardees.
The largest of them was named after the first Param Vir Chakra awardee, Major Somnath Sharma, with each subsequent island named in order of size.
The ceremony was held on Parakram Diwas, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
A model of a National Memorial dedicated to Netaji, to be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, was unveiled at the same event.
Ross Island had earlier been renamed Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep, Neil Island became Shaheed Dweep and Havelock Island became Swaraj Dweep.
Islands named:
21
Largest island named after:
Major Somnath Sharma
Ross Island is now:
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep
Why it matters for exams: The island renamings and the first Param Vir Chakra awardee are among the most asked static facts about these islands.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Param Vir Chakra India's highest wartime gallantry award — Awarded for the most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy.
Parakram Diwas Day of valour — The day observed on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary.
15 October 2026
UNESCO has reported that the winners of the international youth festival The Planet of Art 2026 were honoured at the Almaty Museum of Arts in Kazakhstan on 12 October 2026.
The festival is organised by the Kazakhstan National Federation of Clubs for UNESCO and the World Federation of Clubs and Associations for UNESCO, and its theme this year was the role of women in safeguarding and promoting UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage.
Children and young artists aged 3 to 18 from 54 countries took part in the competition, and about 400 international participants reached the final.
The final programme brought together finalists aged 12 to 18 from 20 countries, including India, China, Kenya, Mexico, France and Brunei Darussalam, joined by 13 young artists from 13 regions of Kazakhstan.
The edition marks the 80th anniversary of UNESCO and the 45th anniversary of the World Federation, and the finalists' works will be exhibited at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 10 to 17 November 2026.
Award ceremony:
12 October 2026, Almaty Museum of Arts
Countries competing:
54
Finalists:
About 400 international participants
Paris exhibition:
10 to 17 November 2026
Why it matters for exams: The festival ties UNESCO's intangible heritage work to a dated event with clear country and participant counts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
WFUCA World Federation of Clubs and Associations for UNESCO — The global network of voluntary UNESCO clubs, marking its 45th anniversary this year.
Intangible cultural heritage Intangible cultural heritage — Living traditions such as music, ritual, craft and oral expression, as against monuments and sites.
14 October 2026
Cheruvayal Raman, the Padma Shri awardee and tribal farmer known for preserving Kerala's traditional paddy varieties, died on 14 October 2026 at the age of 75. He was undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode. Of the more than 100 traditional varieties that existed in Wayanad a century ago, he cultivated and conserved 30, helping safeguard the region's agricultural biodiversity. A native of Edavaka Kammana near Mananthavady in Wayanad district, he was widely known as 'Nellachan', the 'Father of Rice in Wayanad'. He took up farming at the age of 17 without any formal training in agriculture. He was conferred the Padma Shri in 2023.
Age at death:
75
Traditional paddy varieties conserved:
30
District:
Wayanad
Padma Shri:
2023
Why it matters for exams: Padma awardees from Kerala and in-situ conservation of indigenous crop varieties are recurring Kerala PSC and UPSC agriculture and awards questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
In-situ conservation Conservation in the natural habitat — Protecting crop varieties by continuing to grow them on farms rather than storing them only in gene banks.
14 October 2026
The Kerala Puraskarams, the State's highest honours, will be presented at Lok Bhavan at 11 a.m. on 22 October by the Governor, with the Chief Minister presiding.
These are the 2025 awards, whose recipients were announced on 31 October 2025.
The State Government instituted the awards to honour lifetime contributions of distinguished persons in various fields.
Dr. M.R. Raghava Warrier (education) receives the Kerala Jyothi.
Aneesh P.B. (agriculture) and Rajasree Warrier (art) receive the Kerala Prabha.
Sasikumar (journalism), Shahal Hasan Musliyar (education), Vimal Govind M.K. (start-up), Jilumol Mariet Thomas (various fields) and Abhilash Tomy (sports) receive the Kerala Sree.
Presentation:
22 October, Lok Bhavan
Kerala Jyothi:
Dr. M.R. Raghava Warrier
Kerala Prabha:
2 recipients
Kerala Sree:
5 recipients
Why it matters for exams: The three tiers of the Kerala Puraskaram and their recipients are standard Kerala PSC award questions.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
Kerala Puraskaram Kerala Puraskaram — Kerala's highest civilian honours, given in three tiers: Kerala Jyothi, Kerala Prabha and Kerala Sree.
Lok Bhavan Lok Bhavan — The official residence of the Governor in Thiruvananthapuram.
14 October 2026
Cheruvayal Raman, the Wayanad farmer known as the guardian of native paddy, has died at the age of 74.
He belonged to the tribal community in Wayanad and conserved traditional and indigenous rice varieties on his own land.
He received the Padma Shri in 2023 for his contribution to sustainable agriculture and the preservation of biodiversity.
He was also the first recipient of the Oommen Chandy memorial award for outstanding contribution to Kerala's farm sector.
Agriculture Minister T. Siddique had announced his selection for the 2025 Kerala State Farm Awards, which carried a cash prize of ₹5 lakh.
Age at death:
74
Padma Shri:
2023
District:
Wayanad
Farm award prize:
₹5 lakh
Known as:
Guardian of native paddy
Why it matters for exams: Padma awardees from Kerala and the people behind the State's agro-biodiversity work are standard one-mark questions in Kerala PSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Agro-biodiversity Diversity of crops and crop varieties — The range of crop species and local varieties kept alive in farming.
14 October 2026
The Kerala High Court has designated advocate P.B. Menon as a Senior Advocate with effect from 12.10.2026.
The notification records that the Chief Justice and Judges resolved to designate him under Section 16(2) of the Advocates Act, 1961, read with Rule 2 of the High Court of Kerala (Designation of Senior Advocates) Rules, 2026.
Menon, who hails from Palakkad district and practises on the civil side in his hometown, began litigation in the early 1950s after graduating from Madras Law College, a career spanning about 76 years.
In 2023, at the age of 97, he entered the Guinness World Records as the longest-serving lawyer in the world.
Bar and Bench reports that the designation came on the initiative of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and was timed to his 100th birthday on 15 October, and that it may be the first time the Kerala High Court has designated a lawyer practising before mofussil courts as a Senior Advocate.
Effective from:
12.10.2026
Legal provision:
Section 16(2), Advocates Act, 1961
Guinness record year:
2023
Home district:
Palakkad
Why it matters for exams: Senior Advocate designation under Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961 is a standard polity and judiciary question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Mofussil court Mofussil court — A court outside the main metropolitan or High Court centre, usually a district or taluk court.
13 October 2026
Pope Leo XIV underwent a 90-minute operation on Tuesday at Rome's Gemelli Hospital to remove a lung nodule.
The Vatican said in a medical bulletin that the whole lower lobe of the right lung was removed and the operation was successful with no complications.
Tests confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, which had been suspected before surgery.
The Pope announced the operation himself from the balcony of St Peter's Square after the Angelus on Sunday, saying the nodule was found at a very early stage.
He is expected to remain in hospital for about a week.
Hospital:
Gemelli Hospital, Rome
Surgery:
Lower lobe of the right lung removed
Diagnosis:
Lung adenocarcinoma
Expected stay:
About a week
Why it matters for exams: The head of the Catholic Church and the Vatican as a sovereign city-state are routine general-awareness material.
UPSC
In plain words
Adenocarcinoma A cancer that begins in gland cells — A type of lung cancer that begins in the cells that line the airways and make mucus.
13 October 2026
Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, founder of the TIPRA Motha Party, announced on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, that he was stepping away from active politics and would no longer hold political office.
He set out the decision in a two-page letter addressed to the people of Tripura, in which the Tiprasa Accord was the core theme.
He wrote that the decision was not a temporary withdrawal and that he had reached a point where he had to choose his health, his family and his own peace of mind.
The announcement came a day after his party's victory in the Village Committee elections of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
TIPRA is short for Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance.
He founded the party in 2019, soon after resigning as the Tripura president of the Congress.
The party won 18 of the 28 TTAADC seats in the 2021 council elections.
It joined the BJP-led coalition government headed by Manik Saha in 2024, a year after winning 13 of the 60 Assembly seats to become the second-largest party in the State.
The tripartite Tiprasa Accord among the Centre, the Tripura government and the party was reached in March 2024.
Date of announcement:
7 October 2026
Party founded:
2019
TTAADC seats won in 2021:
18 of 28
Assembly seats:
13 of 60
Why it matters for exams: Party founders, accords and council seat tallies in the North East are frequently asked in polity and current affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
TIPRA Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance — The full form of the name carried by the Tipra Motha Party.
Tiprasa Accord Tripartite accord of March 2024 — An accord among the Centre, the Tripura government and the Tipra Motha Party on the issues of the State's indigenous people.
13 October 2026
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2026 to Robert E. Hall of Stanford University and Michael Woodford of Columbia University.
The citation reads “for microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation”.
The Academy said the two built macroeconomic models on a microeconomic foundation instead of on statistical links between macroeconomic variables such as inflation, production and consumption.
A central component of these models is that households and businesses are forward looking when they decide on savings or on product prices.
John Hassler, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, said the models are now used by central banks and governments around the world.
The prize amount is 12 million Swedish kronor, to be shared equally between the laureates.
Hall was born in 1943 in Palo Alto and Woodford in 1955 in Chicopee; both took their doctorates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Citation:
for microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation
Prize amount:
12 million Swedish kronor
Institutions:
Stanford University and Columbia University
Why it matters for exams: The economics prize is the last of the year's Nobel announcements, and its citation, laureates and awarding body are standard one-mark questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
Background
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest humanitarian agency saving lives in emergencies and using assistance to help communities become self-sufficient and resilient to shocks.
WFP was established in 1961.
Its first development programme was launched in Sudan in 1963.
In 1963 the Aswan High Dam on the Nile in southern Egypt led to the resettlement of 50,000 Nubian people, and WFP provided food while developing their new lands.
The UN asked WFP to lead emergency logistics for all UN agencies and NGOs, and WFP operates the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS).
WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020, recognising its role in preventing the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.
Established:
1961
First development programme:
Sudan, 1963
Nubians resettled after Aswan High Dam:
50,000
Nobel Peace Prize:
2020
Why it matters for exams: WFP's founding, first programme and Nobel Peace Prize are standard UPSC and Kerala PSC questions on UN agencies and awards.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNHAS UN Humanitarian Air Service — A service operated by WFP that flies humanitarian workers and cargo to hard-to-reach places.
Humanitarian logistics Emergency supply coordination — WFP leads emergency logistics for UN agencies and NGOs.
13 October 2026
President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has ordered Al Ain International Airport renamed Tahnoun International Airport, effective immediately on 11 October.
The name honours the late Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative of Abu Dhabi's Eastern Region from the country's founding until his death in 2024.
It is the second international airport of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, about 18 km from Al Ain, and serves more than 100,000 passengers a year, according to Abu Dhabi Airports.
Two airlines fly scheduled services from it: Pakistan International Airlines from Islamabad and Air India Express from Kozhikode.
The change follows the renaming of Abu Dhabi's main airport as Zayed International Airport, after the UAE Founding Father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
New name:
Tahnoun International Airport
Distance from Al Ain:
about 18 km
Passengers a year:
more than 100,000
Why it matters for exams: Renamings of airports and honours to founding-generation leaders are common in current-affairs papers, and the Kozhikode flight gives it a direct Kerala link.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Ruler's Representative Abu Dhabi Ruler's Representative in a region — An office through which the Ruler of Abu Dhabi is represented in a region such as Al Ain.
13 October 2026
Ülle Madise took the oath of office as President of the Republic before the Riigikogu, Estonia's parliament, on 12 October 2026.
Her oath includes the pledge to steadfastly defend the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Estonia.
Outgoing President Alar Karis placed the presidential chain of office, featuring the national coat of arms, around her neck.
Afterwards the two presidents signed the Riigikogu guestbook in the White Hall of Toompea Castle.
The Riigikogu had elected Madise on 2 September 2026 in the first round of voting, with 71 votes in favour.
Oath taken:
12 October 2026
Elected on:
2 September 2026
Votes in favour (first round):
71
Predecessor:
Alar Karis
Why it matters for exams: Changes of head of state and how presidents are chosen and sworn in are routine world-affairs questions; Estonia is an EU and NATO member.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Riigikogu Parliament of Estonia — The Estonian parliament, which elected Madise and received her oath.
Toompea Castle Seat of the Riigikogu in Tallinn — The castle where the presidents signed the Riigikogu guestbook after the ceremony.
13 October 2026
As part of phasing out outdated Kerala Police vehicles, 164 new vehicles bought for various police units will be flagged off on 14 October 2026.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala will perform the ceremony at 5 pm at the Thaikkad Police Training College in Thiruvananthapuram.
Four Kerala Police athletes who represented India will be felicitated: Manu T. S., Sajan Prakash, Ansa Babu and Erin Varghese.
Manu T. S. played a key role in the relay silver and bronze medals at this year's Asian Games.
Ansa Babu performed well in relay events at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.
Erin Varghese won bronze for India at this year's Asian Volleyball Championship and took part in the Asian Games.
New vehicles:
164
Flag-off date:
14 October 2026
Time:
5 pm
Athletes felicitated:
4
Why it matters for exams: Kerala Police fleet renewal and the state's athletes at the Asian Games are typical Kerala PSC current-affairs material.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
Relay Team track event run in legs — Manu T. S. and Ansa Babu were honoured for relay performances.
13 October 2026
The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the 2026 Peace Prize on 9 October 2026, awarding Navanethem "Navi" Pillay "for her efforts to promote peace and international law".
Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin in Durban under apartheid, she defended Nelson Mandela and others before becoming a judge.
She has served on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court, and was UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Committee says her influence was a significant factor when the Rwanda tribunal established that rape and sexual violence could be a crime against humanity and genocide.
It also calls her instrumental in a separate breakthrough in the same case: for the first time, a defendant faced charges of incitement to commit genocide purely on the basis of spreading propaganda.
She is now a judge on the International Court of Justice in the genocide case against Myanmar.
The Committee notes that judges are being sanctioned and institutions of international law attacked.
Laureate:
Navanethem "Navi" Pillay
Announced:
9 October 2026
Awarded by:
Norwegian Nobel Committee
Why it matters for exams: Peace Prize laureates and the legal landmarks behind them (ICTR, ICC, ICJ) are core international-affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ICTR International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda — The UN tribunal that tried people for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
ICJ International Court of Justice — The principal judicial organ of the United Nations, at The Hague.
13 October 2026
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel on 12 October 2026.
It goes to Robert E. Hall of Stanford University and Michael Woodford of Columbia University, "for microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation".
Their models are built on how households and businesses, looking ahead, decide on saving and prices.
The Academy says such models let governments and central banks time fiscal and monetary measures to reduce the economy's peaks and troughs.
The work answered doubts raised in the 1970s oil crises, when Keynesian models seemed to fail.
The prize amount is 12 million Swedish kronor, shared equally.
Laureates:
Robert E. Hall (Stanford), Michael Woodford (Columbia)
Announced:
12 October 2026
Prize amount:
12 million Swedish kronor, shared equally
Why it matters for exams: The economics prize and the ideas behind stabilisation policy are frequent questions in economy and current affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Stabilisation policy Fiscal and monetary policy used to smooth economic cycles — Government and central-bank measures that cut rates or raise spending in a slump and do the opposite in a boom.
Sveriges Riksbank Central bank of Sweden — The bank that funds this prize, which is not one of the original five Nobel prizes.
13 October 2026
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on 7 October 2026.
It goes to Henri B. Kagan of France and Kenso Soai of Japan, "for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis".
Some molecules, such as amino acids, exist as two variants that are mirror images of each other, yet living organisms contain only one of them.
Kagan took the first decisive step in 1986; Soai published a key paper in 1995 and in 2003 produced a reaction in which only one mirror image formed.
Their work is decisive for chemists who design reactions for making pharmaceuticals.
The prize amount is 12 million Swedish kronor, shared equally.
Laureates:
Henri B. Kagan (France), Kenso Soai (Japan)
Announced:
7 October 2026
Prize amount:
12 million Swedish kronor, shared equally
Why it matters for exams: Nobel laureates, the awarding bodies and the work cited are standard questions in UPSC and Kerala PSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Homochirality Same handedness — All amino acids in living cells share one mirror-image form.
Autocatalysis Self-catalysis — A reaction whose product speeds up its own formation.