UPSC Current Affairs, 8 October 2026
33 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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EconomyGS3Prelims
CBAM: US invites comments as EU weighs widening carbon border levy
The Office of the United States Trade Representative on 8 October 2026 invited comments, due by 9 November, on how the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) affects US trade. CBAM's definitive phase began on 1 January 2026 for steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. The EU is weighing extending it to downstream steel and aluminium goods.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS1
Glacial lake outburst flood exposure: Himalayan flood-zone building up 46%
A Scientific Reports study published on 8 October 2026 found building area within 50 vertical metres of rivers below 1,361 glacial lakes in Nepal and adjoining parts of India and China grew about 46% in 2016–2023, and about 78% inside modelled glacial lake outburst flood extents. An estimated 293,800 people across the study area live in that band.
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World & IRGS1Prelims
Nobel Prize in Literature 2026: Swedish Academy honours Canada's Anne Carson
The Swedish Academy on 8 October 2026 awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature to Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson, 76, “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature”. The undivided prize, worth SEK 12 million, is due to be presented in Stockholm on 10 December.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3
World Development Report 2026 on AI gets its India launch
The World Bank Group's World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence, released on August 4, 2026, had its India launch in New Delhi on October 8. Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw presented it. It gives developing economies a three-step path: adopt AI tools, adapt them to local conditions, then advance. MeitY's IndiaAI Mission co-hosted it.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS3
Nameri Tiger Reserve in Assam gets CA|TS Approved status
Nameri Tiger Reserve in Assam's Sonitpur district has received CA|TS Approved status under the Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards framework. The status was accorded on September 10, 2026 after assessment and approval by the CA|TS International Executive Committee, the reserve's field director said on October 8. All four tiger reserves of Assam, Kaziranga, Manas, Orang and Nameri, now hold it.
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EconomyGS3GS2
GST Council recommends scrapping arrest powers, ₹5 crore prosecution threshold
The GST Council, at its 57th meeting in New Delhi on October 8, 2026, recommended withdrawing the arrest powers of GST officers and raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore. It also recommended cutting the maximum general penalty from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000 and acknowledging refund claims within 10 days instead of 15.
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EconomyPrelimsGS3
India joins 14 economies in joint statement on industrial overcapacity
India joined the US and 13 other economies in a joint statement released on 7 October after G20 trade talks in Milwaukee. Signatories plan sectoral platforms covering autos and electric vehicles, batteries, chemicals, foundational semiconductors and solar panels. Technical discussions before December 2026 will prepare terms of reference and share non-confidential data.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS1
WMO forecasts December El Niño peak, drier conditions over India
The World Meteorological Organization forecasts El Niño to peak in December, with a near-certain chance of continuing through February 2027. Its October–December outlook indicates drier-than-normal conditions over the Indian subcontinent and above-average temperatures across much of the globe. These are seasonal probabilities, so national and local forecasts remain essential.
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PolityGS2Prelims
Chhattisgarh High Court seeks State reply on anti-conversion law challenge
The Chhattisgarh High Court gave the State three weeks to reply to an interim-relief plea challenging its 2026 anti-conversion law and Rules, an October 8 report said. Petitioners argue that the provisions burden conscience, religious freedom, privacy and personal liberty, and seek a stay on public-notice and objection requirements for proposed conversions.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3
Centre to release AI regulation consultation paper within a month
IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on 8 October that the government will issue a consultation paper on regulating artificial intelligence within a month. It will focus on AI safety, harms such as deepfakes, a human-first approach and skilling, and form the base for regulation. He favoured a techno-legal approach, with industry bearing primary responsibility.
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NationalPrelimsGS4
Supreme Court orders expert panel on statutory curbs for pharma marketing
The Supreme Court on October 8 directed the Centre to set up an expert committee to examine whether drug companies should face a legally enforceable code against unethical marketing. Ruling on a petition by medical representatives' federation FMRAI, a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta will check compliance on January 29, 2027.
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EconomyPrelimsGS3
Saudi investment treaty to allow arbitration after two years, officials say
India and Saudi Arabia have concluded negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty that, officials say, lets investors seek international arbitration after two years of local remedies, down from three in the 2024 UAE pact. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Cabinet would approve a revised model treaty shortly and agreements with at least three more countries could follow by December.
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NationalGS4GS2
NMC bars fake reviews, referral fees and AI testimonials for doctors
The National Medical Commission has brought doctors' and hospitals' online promotion under medical ethics through guidelines issued on October 6 and effective immediately. They ban fake reviews and engagement, paid rankings, referral and lead-generation fees, unverifiable claims such as "best" or "No. 1", and AI-made patient testimonials. Repeat violators risk suspension or removal from the medical register.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
RBI drops Paytm Payments Bank from Second Schedule of RBI Act
The Reserve Bank of India has removed Paytm Payments Bank from the Second Schedule of the RBI Act, 1934, so it is no longer a scheduled bank, the central bank said on October 7, 2026. The move follows the RBI's cancellation of the bank's licence in April and a Delhi High Court order to wind it up.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3
WHO prequalifies Serum Institute's CERVAVAC, first Indian-made HPV vaccine on list
The World Health Organization has prequalified CERVAVAC, Serum Institute of India's quadrivalent HPV vaccine, effective September 25, 2026, making it eligible for procurement by UN agencies. It is the first Indian-made HPV vaccine on WHO's prequalified list. Licensed in India for girls and boys aged 9 to 26, it targets HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18.
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PolityGS2Prelims
Supreme Court to test State DGP appointment rules against Prakash Singh ruling
The Supreme Court on October 8 asked amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran to examine whether States' rules for appointing police chiefs breach its 2006 Prakash Singh judgment. On the Centre's complaint that Jharkhand DGP Tadasha Mishra's appointment failed that test, the court issued her notice. Jharkhand argued West Bengal and Bihar also flouted the ruling. The next hearing is November 3.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3
NASA, US Energy Department sign space nuclear pact; Moon reactor by 2030
NASA and the US Department of Energy signed a memorandum of understanding on space nuclear power and propulsion on October 8, 2026. It covers Lunar Reactor-1, a fission reactor for NASA's Moon Base near the lunar South Pole, and Space Reactor-1 Freedom, a Mars-bound spacecraft planned for 2028. A December 2025 executive order wants the lunar reactor launch-ready by 2030.
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World & IRPrelimsGS2
Jaishankar opens Africa tour in Ghana; two MoUs exchanged
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar began a three-nation Africa tour in Ghana on October 6, 2026, meeting President John Dramani Mahama and his counterpart Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa. The talks covered multilateral cooperation and India's deeper engagement with the African Union and ECOWAS. Two MoUs, on scientific and agricultural research, were exchanged. Côte d'Ivoire and Ethiopia are next.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
RBI allows account aggregator interoperability; deposits to join CAS
The Reserve Bank of India on October 7 permitted interoperability among NBFC account aggregators, letting any one aggregator gather financial information through all the others. Governor Sanjay Malhotra said SEBI-regulated depositories will also be enabled to include deposit-account data in their consolidated account statement. Both steps, due by December 31, 2026, point to one statement covering deposits and investments.
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EconomyGS3GS2
Bankers' committees told to report SC beneficiaries' share in credit schemes
The Finance Ministry's Department of Financial Services has directed State and UT-level Bankers' Committees to report, scheme-wise and bank-wise, the share of Scheduled Caste beneficiaries in schemes such as Mudra, Stand-Up India and PMEGP. The October 5 letter follows the National Commission for Scheduled Castes flagging the missing data. Action-taken reports are due by October 9.
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PolityPrelimsGS2
Centre reconstitutes Press Council, nominating 13 journalists as members
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on October 7, 2026 notified 13 working journalists, six editors and seven others, as members of the Press Council of India, taking it to 27 of 28 members. A statutory body under the Press Council Act, 1978, it can censure newspapers and news agencies; television and digital media lie outside its jurisdiction.
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EconomyGS3GS2
RBI clarifies personal forex transactions are outside new FEMA reporting
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra clarified on October 7 that individuals' personal foreign exchange transactions, of any amount, fall outside the new FEMA trade-reporting rules. Small exporters with bills up to ₹10 lakh can file a self-declaration and invoice instead of detailed reports. The rules took effect on October 1; the RBI will issue FAQs soon.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS1
Living Planet Index: monitored wildlife populations shrank 73% on average, 1970–2022
Monitored populations of vertebrate wildlife shrank by an average of 73% between 1970 and 2022, WWF's biennial Living Planet Report 2026 finds. Freshwater populations fell hardest, by 85%, ahead of terrestrial (69%) and marine (59%). The report names food production and consumption as the biggest driver of biodiversity loss, yet half the tracked populations are stable or rising.
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NationalPrelimsGS1
National Household Travel Survey: most women commuters walk or use public transport
Women are twice as likely as men to walk or take a bus or train to work, the National Statistics Office's first National Household Travel Survey shows: 66.9% of women commuters against 31.7% of men. In rural Madhya Pradesh, 88.7% of women commuters walk; in rural Keralam, 48.6% take a bus, the highest among States.
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World & IRPrelimsGS2
WHO's first child-obesity guidelines advise against drugs, surgery for under-10s
The World Health Organization on October 7, 2026 issued its first guidelines on obesity in children and adolescents, advising against medicines, bariatric surgery and weight-loss devices for ages 0-9. It strongly recommends structured diets, physical activity and behaviour change instead. Adolescents aged 10-19 may get approved drugs only if a supervised lifestyle programme fails; surgery is reserved for severe cases.
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PolityGS2Prelims
Odisha sets up commission to study backward classes' political representation
The Odisha government on Wednesday constituted a commission, headed by retired High Court judge Pramath Patnaik, to study the political representation of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs). It will assess their share in rural and urban populations and in local bodies. The move precedes panchayat and urban local body polls due early next year.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
RBI Governor warns stalled India-US trade deal may hurt economy
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Wednesday that failure to conclude an India-US trade deal could hurt the economy, though recent trade pacts and export diversification would soften any fresh US tariffs. His remarks follow Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's comment that talks have hit a plateau, while a new US law permits tariffs of up to 100%.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS3
Madhya Pradesh releases two cheetahs into Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav released two cheetahs, Vyom and Neera, into the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve in Sagar district on October 7, 2026. The reserve becomes the state's third cheetah habitat, after Kuno National Park and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary. Two more cheetahs will be brought there next month, the Chief Minister announced.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
RBI hikes repo rate to 5.5%, shifts stance to calibrated tightening
The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee on October 7, 2026 unanimously raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50%, its first hike since February 2023. It also changed its stance from neutral to calibrated tightening, ruling out near-term cuts. The FY27 inflation forecast rose to 5.2% and the growth forecast to 7.1%.
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EconomyPrelimsGS3
Illegal GM hybrids cover up to 30% of cotton area: study
A field study commissioned by seed-industry bodies FSII and NSAI estimates that 24-30% of India's 114.8 lakh hectares under cotton in 2025-26 carried unapproved genetically modified traits. Samples showed widespread herbicide-tolerant and next-generation Bt genes. Labour shortages and costly hand-weeding are pushing farmers towards glyphosate-tolerant seeds, bypassing the biosafety approval system.
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World & IRPrelimsGS2
WHO Pandemic Agreement: India ties pathogen sharing to equitable access
India's Health Secretary told the UN High-Level Meeting on pandemics in New York on 25 September 2026 that countries sharing pathogens must get timely access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, with national sovereignty respected. The meeting's Political Declaration was not adopted by consensus after the United States objected, partly over references to unfinished pathogen benefit-sharing talks.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3
Kagan and Soai win 2026 Chemistry Nobel for mirror-molecule work
French chemist Henri Kagan and Japanese chemist Kenso Soai have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. The two will share the prize equally. Their research shows how chemical reactions can magnify a tiny imbalance between mirror-image molecules into an overwhelming one.
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NationalGS1Prelims
Supreme Court raps MCD, ASI over encroached Delhi heritage monuments
The Supreme Court on October 7 rebuked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Archaeological Survey of India for a lackadaisical approach to encroached heritage monuments. It summoned eight senior officials, including the ASI chief, to appear in person on October 15 and proposed a senior Central officer to coordinate action, granting authorities a last chance.
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