UPSC Current Affairs, 7 October 2026
23 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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NationalPrelimsGS2
NCAHP notifies autonomous boards, central assessment committee for allied health
The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) said on 7 October 2026 it had notified regulations setting up Autonomous Boards of 10 to 20 members under State Allied and Healthcare Councils. A Central Assessment Committee will do their work where no State Council functions. Registration rules gazetted on 15 September give professionals Unique Identification numbers.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS3
India, EU formally launch Green Shipping Corridor industry coalition
An industry coalition for the India-EU Green Shipping Corridor was formally launched at Sagarmanthan 2026 in New Delhi on October 7, 2026, with a Letter of Intent signed. V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority is part of it and RMI is the technical partner. It will assess green ammonia and green methanol supply, port infrastructure and European receiving ports.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3
First self-stabilising thorium-229 nuclear clock runs in Vienna
Physicists at TU Wien in Vienna and Germany's Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) reported in Nature on October 7, 2026 the first nuclear clock that stabilises itself. A 148-nanometre laser is locked to thorium-229 nuclei held in a calcium fluoride crystal. It ran over 24 hours unattended, at a precision near 10⁻¹⁵, below the best optical atomic clocks.
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DefencePrelimsGS3
Defence Ministry eases industry access to DRDO and military test ranges
The Defence Ministry on October 7 announced a revised Standard Operating Procedure, approved by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, for Indian defence industry to use its proof ranges, field firing ranges and test facilities. Testing charges are waived for iDEX, Technology Development Fund and Make projects. A three-day quarterly slot is reserved at proof ranges, and conciliation replaces arbitration for disputes.
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EnvironmentGS3Prelims
MoSPI releases 2026–2030 roadmap for environmental-economic accounting
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) announced its Strategy for Environmental Economic Accounts in India 2026–2030 on October 7, 2026. It extends a 2022–2026 strategy and plans new or wider accounts for forests, minerals, soil, land, water, carbon stock and biodiversity. It follows the UN's System of Environmental-Economic Accounting and serves as guidance for States and Union Territories.
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EconomyGS3GS1
Farm workers moving to cities land in low-productivity informal jobs: study
A study by economists Rajveer Jat and Bharat Ramaswami finds that most workers who left Indian farms for cities landed in informal jobs, such as transport and restaurants, that are no more productive than agriculture. Using RBI data for 1999–2024, it places 63–75% of non-farm workers in such industries and locates the real divide between formal and informal work.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3
India readies NSAM 2.0 after 3D-printing push trains 1.54 lakh people
MeitY's National Strategy for Additive Manufacturing (NSAM), released in February 2022, is moving to a second phase, NSAM 2.0. According to PIB, it has trained over 1.54 lakh people, supported 56 start-ups and developed 65 India-specific technologies. NSAM 2.0 plans faster IPR generation, cheaper machines and materials through clusters, and greater support for defence.
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DefencePrelimsGS3
Navy's first Fleet Support Ship, FSS-1, launched at Visakhapatnam
FSS-1, the first of the Indian Navy's Fleet Support Ships, was launched at Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam, on 6 October 2026, with Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh as chief guest. The keel of the fifth ship, FSS-5, was also laid. Designed and built in India with over 82% indigenous content, the ships will replenish warships at sea.
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World & IRPrelimsGS2
Projectile strikes ship in Strait of Hormuz, injuring 11 Indian crew
A projectile hit the Panama-flagged vessel MT On Peace in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman on October 6, 2026, injuring 12 of its 19 crew, including 11 Indians. The Ministry of External Affairs condemned the strike and a separate Black Sea attack, and called for an end to attacks on commercial shipping. Omani authorities helped evacuate the injured.
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World & IRPrelimsGS2
India, Switzerland sign mobility pacts, widen defence and nuclear cooperation
India and Switzerland signed a Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement and a Young Professionals Agreement as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met visiting Swiss President Guy Parmelin on Monday. The two sides agreed to strengthen defence and nuclear energy cooperation and signed a transport and infrastructure pact. The visit marked a year since the India-EFTA trade pact, TEPA, entered into force.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
MoSPI plans to widen monthly services index to 78.4% of services GVA
The statistics ministry (MoSPI) has released an approach paper proposing to add education, healthcare and residential care, and public administration and defence to its monthly Index of Services Production. The change would lift the index's coverage from about 60% to 78.4% of services-sector gross value added. It has invited public feedback before finalising the method.
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PolityGS2Prelims
Seven-judge SC bench closes legislative privilege case, keeps free-speech questions open
A seven-judge Supreme Court bench led by CJI Surya Kant on October 6 closed as infructuous the 2003 case on whether legislative privilege under Article 194(3) overrides free speech. The Tamil Nadu Assembly had withdrawn, in July 2004, its resolution sentencing five journalists of The Hindu and Murasoli's editor to 15 days' imprisonment. The questions of law remain open.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS3
India seeks equal focus on adaptation at Pre-COP31 in Fiji
India's Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, addressing the UNFCCC Pre-COP31 meetings in Fiji, called for equal weight to adaptation, mitigation and means of implementation. He said equity and CBDR-RC must be upheld and no single climate pathway suits all nations. The talks, co-hosted by Australia, Fiji and Tuvalu, precede COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, on November 9–20.
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EconomyGS3
Punjab storage crunch deepens as new paddy meets old stocks
Punjab's grain storage crisis has returned as fresh paddy arrives. On September 29, nearly 6 lakh tonnes of 2025-26 Custom Milled Rice was undelivered and nearly 17 lakh tonnes of wheat lay in rice mills and mandi yards. With a 180-lakh-tonne paddy target, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has asked the Centre to move 21 lakh tonnes of grain in October.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3
IceCube pioneer Francis Halzen wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics
Belgian-born physicist Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin–Madison won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics on October 6. The award recognises his decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos from astrophysical sources, first reported in 2013.
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EconomyGS3GS2
World Bank raises India's FY27 growth forecast to 7.1%
The World Bank on October 6 raised India's FY27 GDP growth forecast to 7.1% from 6.6%, citing resilient domestic demand, stronger industry and robust exports. Its India Development Update flagged risks from high oil prices, a possible El Niño rainfall deficit and volatile capital flows, and focused on artificial intelligence as a productivity lever.
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World & IRPrelimsGS2
Bangladesh expert calls Ganga Water Treaty flawed ahead of December expiry
The 1996 India-Bangladesh Ganga Water Treaty, which expires in December, is flawed and should be replaced by a three-year interim pact, former Bangladesh river commission chairman Manjur A. Chowdhury said on October 6. He wants a later trilateral treaty including Nepal, with guarantee, ecological-flow and climate change provisions.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3
Optogenetics pioneers win 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on October 5 for discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. Their work lets scientists switch specific nerve cells on or off with light, revealing circuits behind memory, fear and behaviour. The trio will share 12 million Swedish kronor equally.
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EconomyGS3GS2
Cabinet approves ₹10,000-crore SME Growth Fund and transport authority
The Union Cabinet on October 6 approved ₹10,000 crore of central funding for an SME Growth Fund announced in Budget 2026, mainly for manufacturing-focused small and medium enterprises. It also cleared an Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority to plan, appraise and monitor road, rail, port and aviation projects as one network.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS3
First captive-bred great Indian bustards released into the wild
Two captive-bred male great Indian bustards were released into the wild for the first time on October 4 in Rajasthan's Desert National Park near Jaisalmer. The pilot, run by the Environment Ministry, the Rajasthan Forest Department and the Wildlife Institute of India, begins rewilding a species whose wild population has fallen to about 150.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS2
Supreme Court refuses to stay High Court case on Great Nicobar project
The Supreme Court on October 5 refused the Centre's plea to stay Calcutta High Court proceedings on a challenge to the over ₹72,000-crore Great Nicobar Island Project. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant asked the High Court to decide quickly, observing that preservation of culture is a constitutionally protected fundamental right.
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PolityPrelimsGS2
CJI says Supreme Court never approved changes to voter Form 6
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on October 5 that the Supreme Court had not approved any modification to Form 6, the voter enrolment form. A three-judge bench hearing petitions against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar issued notices to the Election Commission and the Centre, and will examine who altered the form once the records are produced.
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EconomyGS3GS2
RBI Governor sees no major impact on UPI volumes from MDR
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on October 7 that a small fee, the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), will not have a major impact on UPI volumes. A 0.4% MDR on specified UPI merchant payments above ₹2,000 applies from October 15. On September 28, the Supreme Court declined to stay it, seeking responses from the Centre, the RBI and NPCI.
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