UPSC Current Affairs, 4 October 2026
9 stories from the news of the day, each in short with why it matters for Prelims and Mains. Practise their UPSC-style questions and take the daily quiz in CAShorts.
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NationalPrelimsGS3
PMAY-G 2.0: 3 lakh Andhra houses, 3D concrete-printed pilot in Guntur
The Union Ministry of Rural Development on 4 October 2026 handed Andhra Pradesh the first instalment for 3 lakh houses worth ₹3,600 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) 2.0. In Guntur district, it laid the foundation of a ₹14-crore pilot of 177 houses to be built by 3D concrete printing within six months.
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DefencePrelimsGS3
IAF needs 36-40 fighters a year, says Air Chief A P Singh
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh said on October3 that the IAF needs36–40 fighters annually to prevent squadron strength falling below30 and move towards the sanctioned42. He said the proposed114-Rafale MRFA acquisition was in price negotiations and could be finalised by the current financial year's end if the process progresses as planned. He also discussed indigenous aircraft and missile development.
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PolityPrelimsGS2
Uttarakhand publishes post-SIR voter roll, about 8 lakh fewer electors
Uttarakhand published its final electoral roll on October 3 with 71,58,949 electors, about 8.02 lakh fewer than when the Special Intensive Revision began in June. Booth Level Officers will now visit voters missing from the pre-SIR roll and help eligible ones enrol, under an Election Commission special drive across 20 states and Union Territories.
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NationalPrelimsGS2
India logs 3,832 child leprosy cases, far above 2025-26 target
India detected 3,832 new leprosy cases among children in 2025-26, 91.6% above the National Leprosy Eradication Programme's target of 2,000, its annual report shows. Thirty-seven children already had Grade-2 disability at diagnosis, signalling late detection. Overall, 91,783 new cases were found nationwide, complicating India's plan to interrupt district-level transmission by 2027.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS1
Sal borer outbreak prompts tree felling and trapping in Dindori
The Centre in September 2026 approved felling 1,46,784 sal trees hit by the sal heartwood borer in Madhya Pradesh's Dindori district; felling was expected to begin in October. Alongside trap trees that lure the beetles, the forest department had bought 19,25,118 of them from villagers by mid-September, at Rs 2 each.
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EconomyGS3GS2
India's food market pegged at $550-600 billion, says MoFPI official
India's food market is worth an estimated $550-600 billion and is growing 6-7% a year, Ministry of Food Processing Industries Joint Secretary Devesh Deval said at Anuga Select India and Anuga FoodTec India 2026. The government wants higher processing across 16 sub-sectors. An APEDA official put 2025-26 agricultural and processed food exports at $53 billion.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS3
Railways use AI alerts and Plan Bee to protect elephants
Northeast Frontier Railway is using AI-based intrusion alerts, speed restrictions, patrols and Plan Bee to prevent train-elephant collisions. An October report describes measures across Alipurduar, Rangiya, Lumding and Tinsukia divisions. Plan Bee broadcasts honeybee sounds to deter elephants, while wildlife underpasses and coordination with forest officials support safer crossings.
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NationalPrelimsGS3
Apple pulls Bitchat from India App Store after MeitY demand
Apple has removed Bitchat, Jack Dorsey's Bluetooth-based offline messaging app, from its India App Store at the demand of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Dorsey said on X on October 3, 2026. His post cites Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000. In July, the Home Ministry's I4C had ordered GitHub to remove the app.
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NationalGS1Prelims
Education Ministry approves five Centres of Excellence for classical languages
The Ministry of Education has announced approval for five Centres of Excellence for classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit. Tezpur University, Visva-Bharati University, Deccan College in Pune, Central University of Odisha and Central University of Gujarat will host them. The centres will support research, preservation, digitisation and wider access to linguistic heritage.
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