Current affairs compilation: October 2026
Pick a date on the calendar to read that day's current affairs. Full month list below for revision.
Monday, 19 October 2026
8 items- Swavlamban 2026: Navy’s fifth innovation and indigenisation seminar on 26–27 OctoberGS3 · Defence · Indigenisation
- Supreme Court: no prior approval under Section 17A needed to probe a bribe demandGS2 · Polity · Probity
- Pumped storage hydropower: India’s roadmap for 100 GW of ‘water batteries’ by 2035-36GS3 · Energy · Infrastructure
- NMC withdraws MSMER-2023: medical colleges lose the fixed penalty rulebook, annual disclosure staysGS2 · Health · Education
- India to host 61st CIML meeting on legal metrology in New Delhi, 26–28 OctoberGS2/GS3 · Consumer protection · Trade
- India rejects OIC’s Baghdad resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir as ‘malicious, biased and false’GS2 · International relations
- China to impose export controls on tunnel boring machines from 18 November: what it means for IndiaGS2/GS3 · IR · Infrastructure
- CCPA acts against online sale of explosives: 3,940 sellers delisted from seven platformsGS2/GS3 · Consumer protection · Internal security
Full October list
1 October
- ₹1,423 crore over three years for implementing PCR and SC/ST Atrocities Acts; 217 exclusive special courts
- Auction launched for two offshore polymetallic nodule blocks in the Andaman Sea
- GOBARdhan Central Sector Scheme (₹23,731 crore) launched for compressed biogas
- Sugar stock limits cut to 1,000 quintals and 15 days ahead of festivals
2 October
- 28 places in Ladakh given standard names on the Survey of India map
- G20 trade ministers: India rejects “excess capacity” tag, calls for WTO-consistent remedies
- J&K’s first mineral block auctions: two limestone blocks in Anantnag
- Mumbai Port’s Jawahar Dweep declared India’s first plastic-free oil terminal
- Tiger reintroduction begins in Buxa: tigress from Valmiki released
3 October
- Centres of Excellence approved for five newer classical languages
- India’s first 5.56 km free-space quantum key distribution link demonstrated
- NABKISAN lists India’s first WASH-focused social bond, raises ₹180 crore
- PM-SETU at one year: 850 ITIs identified, 14 clusters approved
4 October
- CAQM flying squads find 17 road-dust violations along Delhi’s Ring Road
- Cotton Corporation of India showcases procurement reforms: digital slot booking, traceability, Kasturi Cotton
- National Supercomputing Mission: 40 supercomputers, 68 petaflops
- Two captive-bred Great Indian Bustards released into the wild at Desert National Park
5 October
- First international cargo from upper Assam since Independence: Bogibeel to Dhaka via NW-2
- India–Japan Joint Crediting Mechanism gets an operational manual under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement
- Project Cheetah: Indian-born cheetah gives birth to five cubs at Kuno; population reaches 60
- Sanchar Saathi crosses 30 crore visits; 14 lakh lost or stolen phones recovered
- Three High Court Chief Justices appointed as Supreme Court judges
- Swiss President’s State Visit: migration pact, young professionals
6 October
- ARIES-led decade-long study of blazar OJ 287, a binary supermassive black hole
- Cabinet approves Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority to plan across all modes
- Cabinet commits ₹10,000 crore to an SME Growth Fund for equity in growth-stage firms
- DRDO flight-tests indigenous stratospheric High-Altitude Platform to 21 km
- VB–G RAM G: 375 permissible rural works notified, 41% more than the previous scheme
7 October
- ICAR signs agricultural research MoU with Ghana’s Crops Research Institute
- Metal-free porous catalyst could cut cost of zinc–air batteries and fuel cells
- MoSPI releases Strategy for Environmental-Economic Accounts 2026-2030
- NCAHP notifies autonomous boards and digital registration for allied and healthcare professionals
- Sagarmanthan 2026: India pitches a “rules-based maritime order” and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047
- Attacks on ships with Indian crews: July to October 2026
8 October
- 57th GST Council: arrest provisions to go, prosecution threshold raised to ₹5 crore
- Government says satellite communication licensing is fair; three NGSO-based GMPCS licensees at same stage
- NHAI documents 2,150+ wildlife mitigation structures on national highways
- Pre-COP31 in Fiji: India seeks “flexibility, pragmatism and mutual respect” and scaled-up climate finance
- Trade-margin cap of 30% extended to non-scheduled cancer medicines
- India condemns attacks on Saudi airports
9 October
- ASEAN–India Trade in Goods Agreement review: 15th Joint Committee meets in Jakarta
- Draft rule to stop drug retailers and wholesalers from advertising prescription-only medicines
- India backs ITU joint trials against cross-border telecom fraud; ASTR has cut 82 lakh fake connections
- MoSPI drafts first guideline for States to estimate GSDP by the expenditure approach (base 2022-23)
- Navy to commission “Mangrol”, third anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft from Cochin Shipyard
10 October
- CAQM reviews stubble-burning hotspots in Amritsar and Tarn Taran
- Forest Rights Act: second regional review conference for eight eastern and central States
- National Biodiversity Authority shares ₹2.02 crore Access and Benefit-Sharing money from seed companies
- Navy launches Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel “Shreyas” at GRSE Kolkata
- PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana completes one year: 100 aspirational agricultural districts
- RBI tightens forex derivative rules and opens a dollar window for oil companies
11 October
- Birth anniversaries: Jayaprakash Narayan and Nanaji Deshmukh
- EAM in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Ethiopia
- India rejects OHCHR remarks on Delhi events
- PM in Chennai: ₹13,000-crore projects, metro now in 25 cities
- Pulses Mission at one year: output 274 lakh tonnes, imports down 31%
12 October
- India condemns attacks on ships near Hormuz and on Riyadh airport
- Navy exercises: INDRA 2026 with Russia, KONKAN-26 with the UK
- Hospitals must display rates: Centre writes to States and UTs
- ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine at Keylong: foundation stone laid
- India-UK JETCO: first review of the trade deal (CETA) since it came into force
13 October
- IMD launches a map-based Decision Support System for cyclone and marine warnings
- PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana at one year: Gaya, Nagaur and Umaria top the ranking
- PM GatiShakti at five years: 58 Ministries, all 36 States and UTs on one map
- 21st Maritime State Development Council: first MSDC under the Indian Ports Act, 2025
- EPFO Amnesty Scheme 2026: deadline 28 December for PF Trust regularisation
- First BIMSTEC Home Ministers Meeting adopts Delhi Declaration on security
- NLMC’s first end-to-end e-auction of RINL land: ₹366.33 crore on Day 1
- TB Mukt Bharat: JOSH campaign and India’s TB decline vs the world
14 October
- First ASEAN-India Defence Think Tank Forum opens at MP-IDSA
- HAL, NCF and ASI sign MoA for Hampi, Taj Mahal and Bekal Fort
- PM addresses Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi
- Cabinet extends NSAP to 2030-31 and renames it Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana
- IDBI Bank strategic sale: Fairfax arm wins 60.72% stake for ₹52,878 crore
- India to accede to the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA)
- Ramesh Chand committee to examine sugarcane farmers’ and sugar sector issues
- WPI inflation rises to 11.39% in September 2026, led by fuel and food
15 October
- PM inaugurates five Ladakh projects: Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road, Leh terminal, Hanu hydro
- September 2026 trade data: merchandise exports up 23% to US$ 44.40 billion
16 October
- First Kanda Express to Agartala: 440 MT buffer onions for Tripura
- INS Samarthak commissioned: Navy’s first indigenous multi-purpose vessel at Karwar
- PM-SETU: NSC clears ₹1,194.92 crore for five ITI clusters in J&K, Maharashtra, Odisha
17 October
- FSSAI draft: no added sucrose or fructose in foods for infants up to six months
- FSSAI proposes residue limits for acetamiprid and imidacloprid in tea
- Khet Bachao Abhiyan: Centre reviews 22 October to 30 November farm campaign with States
18 October
- NBA shares Rs 1.19 crore with 29 State Biodiversity Boards from use of crop genetic resources
- NPPA caps trade margins on 137 anti-cancer drugs: prices to fall up to 70% from 9 November
- SCO Heads of Government meet in Dushanbe on 19–20 October: Rajnath Singh to represent India
- CJI Surya Kant inaugurates the first permanent High Court bench in Leh
- India’s space economy to grow from about $9 billion to $40-45 billion in 7-8 years
- Kufri Jamunia: ICAR-CPRI’s purple potato to fight hidden hunger
- Oil companies bar sugar-based ethanol for 2026-27; maize incentive cut to ₹2.79 a litre
- Supreme Court: children have a right to the internet, and platforms must block child abuse material
19 October
- CCPA acts against online sale of explosives: 3,940 sellers delisted from seven platforms
- China to impose export controls on tunnel boring machines from 18 November: what it means for India
- India rejects OIC’s Baghdad resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir as ‘malicious, biased and false’
- India to host 61st CIML meeting on legal metrology in New Delhi, 26–28 October
- NMC withdraws MSMER-2023: medical colleges lose the fixed penalty rulebook, annual disclosure stays
- Pumped storage hydropower: India’s roadmap for 100 GW of ‘water batteries’ by 2035-36
- Supreme Court: no prior approval under Section 17A needed to probe a bribe demand
- Swavlamban 2026: Navy’s fifth innovation and indigenisation seminar on 26–27 October