Current affairs relevant to GS1.
Sirpur, an archaeological site in Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund district with Hindu, Buddhist and Jain remains from the 5th to the 12th century CE, has been added to UNESCO’s Tentative List. The ASI now has about a year to prepare a nomination dossier proving its Outstanding Universal Value. Sirpur was once the capital of Dakshina Kosala.
20 Oct 2026
On 13 October 2026 HAL, the National Culture Fund and ASI signed an MoA for conservation and visitor works at Hampi, the Taj Mahal and Bekal Fort. HAL has approved about ₹23.60 crore in CSR support over three years; NCF facilitates the projects and ASI supervises them technically.
14 Oct 2026
11 October is the birth anniversary of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan and Nanaji Deshmukh, both Bharat Ratna awardees. The Prime Minister recalled JP's voice during the Emergency and his concern for good governance, and Nanaji's work in rural development and community participation. Treat this as a personality note for Prelims.
11 Oct 2026
On 3 October 2026 the Ministry of Education approved five Centres of Excellence for Classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit, hosted by Tezpur University, Visva-Bharati, Deccan College Pune, Central University of Odisha and Central University of Gujarat. These five got classical status in October 2024, taking India's total to 11 classical languages.
3 Oct 2026
On 2 October 2026 the Government, in consultation with the UT of Ladakh, identified 28 places and features in Ladakh by standard names on the official Survey of India map. They include peaks such as Atisha Giri, Kanishka Peak and Zorawar Peak, the Chapchingal and Shachmirk passes, Skamri Glacier, Guru Rinpoche Lake and Yangpa River.
2 Oct 2026
On 1 October 2026 the Ministry of Mines launched the auction of two offshore mineral blocks in the Andaman Sea, Sewell Rise-01 and West Sewell Ridge-01 off Great Nicobar, for Composite Licence. Together they cover over 1,632 sq km and hold polymetallic nodules and crusts with cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper and rare earth elements.
1 Oct 2026
On 22 September 2026 President Droupadi Murmu presented the 72nd National Film Awards at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat, near the Statue of Unity. She conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 on veteran actor Anant Nag for his contribution to Indian cinema. She asked that women be part of every regional jury.
22 Sep 2026
A study by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, reported by DST on 10 September 2026, measured magnetic minerals in sediments of Bakhira Lake in Sant Kabir Nagar, UP, to track 25,000 years of Indian Summer Monsoon change. Bakhira is an oxbow wetland of the Rapti and a Ramsar site since 2022. The record can improve monsoon models.
10 Sep 2026
A PIB note of 7 September 2026 says India made 76 lakh bales of raw jute and 12.80 lakh MT of jute goods in FY 2025-26, the largest raw jute output in the world. The MSP for raw jute in 2026-27 is ₹5,925 a quintal, and all food grains must be packed in jute.
7 Sep 2026
A PIB backgrounder of 4 September 2026 explains India's push into geothermal energy. The National Policy on Geothermal Energy was notified in September 2025, and in July 2026 ONGC Energy Centre commissioned India's first two geothermal wells in Puga Valley, Ladakh. GSI has mapped 381 hot springs in 10 geothermal provinces, with a theoretical potential of about 10.6 GW.
4 Sep 2026