Daily edition · Thursday

UPSC Current Affairs, 15 October 2026

19 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.

EconomyGS3Prelims

IMF Fiscal Monitor urges better tax design as sovereign yields rise

The International Monetary Fund's October 2026 Fiscal Monitor, 'Taxing Better to Boost Growth', released on 14 October at the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, urges revenue-neutral tax reforms to lift growth. The IMF projects global public debt to exceed 100% of world GDP by 2030 and wants high-debt advanced economies to start fiscal consolidation now as sovereign yields climb.
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NationalGS2GS3

DoT orders Calling Name Presentation on 4G and above from 1 November

In a circular dated 13 October 2026, the Department of Telecommunications instructed all access-service providers to introduce Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) on 4G and higher-generation networks from 1 November 2026, for every user without a separate request. An unsaved domestic caller will appear under the name in their operator's subscriber records. 2G, 3G and landlines will be considered separately.
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World & IRPrelimsGS2

India asks OHCHR at UN Third Committee for PoK rights report

India on 14 October 2026 asked the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) when it would report on Pakistan's steps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), at the UN General Assembly's Third Committee. India cited the OHCHR's own calls for impartial probes into killings, fair trials for detained leaders and an end to internet curbs there.
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PolityGS2Prelims

Article 243E: Allahabad HC orders UP panchayat polls within three months

The Allahabad High Court on 14 October 2026 directed the Uttar Pradesh government and the State Election Commission to complete three-tier panchayat polls within three months. A division bench upheld outgoing gram pradhans serving as administrators meanwhile. The polls will follow existing rules with the 27 per cent reservation provision, without waiting for the State's OBC Commission.
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DefencePrelimsGS2

India leads IBSAMAR IX naval exercise with Brazil, South Africa

The ninth India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime Exercise (IBSAMAR IX) opened on 12 October 2026 at Naval Base Simon's Town, South Africa, with India as lead nation and South Africa as host. INS Tarkash, carrying a Chetak helicopter, joined Brazil's corvette BNS Barroso and four South African vessels, including the submarine SAS Manthatisi.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS2

Cholera spreads across 21 DR Congo provinces, WHO warns

The World Health Organization warned on 14 October 2026 that cholera is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with over 51,400 suspected cases and 1,487 deaths in 21 provinces this year. South Kivu, North Kivu and Haut-Katanga account for nearly 60% of cases. The DRC and the Republic of Congo are developing a cross-border oral vaccination plan.
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EconomyGS3

NITI Aayog paper proposes 9.5% social discount rate for public projects

A NITI Aayog working paper by Indian Statistical Institute researchers proposes raising the social discount rate for appraising public projects of up to 30 years to 9.5%, from the 8% recommended in 2018. For longer horizons it proposes a declining schedule, down to 3.5% for 75–100 years. NITI Aayog says the paper is not a statement of policy.
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PolityPrelimsGS2

Supreme Court: professional course fees fixed before admission, not midstream

The Supreme Court on 14 October 2026 ruled that authorities must notify the fee for a whole professional course before students take admission, allowing mid-course changes only in exceptional cases such as unforeseen rises in expenditure. The bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe held that fee fixation committees have a statutory basis and must be institutionalised.
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World & IRPrelimsGS3

UN Security Council renews Haiti sanctions regime for a year

The UN Security Council on 14 October 2026 adopted resolution 2831, renewing for one year the Haiti sanctions regime of a travel ban, an asset freeze and an arms embargo. The vote was 14 in favour and none against, with the Russian Federation abstaining. Nine individuals and two groups are currently on the sanctions list.
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PolityGS2Prelims

Privacy: Supreme Court quashes police notice to X for journalist's data

The Supreme Court on 14 October 2026 quashed a Ghaziabad police notice asking X for a journalist's social-media data from 1 June 2026 onwards, in a road-rage case registered on 18 August. It held that, even after an FIR, police may seek such data only when shown proportional and other means of investigation are inadequate.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS3

Draft rules propose BS-VII emission norms for new cars from April 2029

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed Bharat Stage VII (BS-VII) emission norms for M1 vehicles, mainly passenger cars, made from 1 April 2029, in a draft notification dated 12 October 2026. Further phases in 2031 and 2035 would add brake-particle and tyre-abrasion limits. Public comments are invited for 30 days.
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NationalGS2GS1

Keralam Bill proposes registering elder-care centres, recognising living wills

The Keralam government presented the Keralam Senior Citizens (Care and Protection of Rights) Bill, 2026, in the Legislative Assembly on 13 October. If passed, it would make registration compulsory for elder-care centres and caregivers, recognise living wills, and punish abuse, abandonment or seizure of a resident's property with up to three years in jail.
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EconomyGS2GS3

NITI Aayog framework ties State data-centre approvals to water, power

NITI Aayog's Frontier Tech Hub, with Deloitte India, on 14 October 2026 made public a Data Centre Evaluation Framework recommending that States approve data centres only after verifying electricity, water and land. Its five pillars cover power, water, siting, economic value and governance. It proposes a central audit mechanism with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology as nodal ministry.
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EconomyGS3Prelims

BIS launches Silver Refinery Scheme to hallmark silver bullion and coins

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on 14 October 2026 launched the Silver Refinery Scheme, under which it will license silver refineries and mints to hallmark bullion and coins. Amendment No. 1 to IS 2112:2025 has added three purity grades, 999.9, 999.5 and 999.0 parts per thousand, to the standard. The scheme is modelled on the Gold Refinery Scheme.
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Sci-TechGS3GS2

Chemicals and petrochemicals added to RDI Scheme's funding areas

The Department of Science and Technology has made Advanced Chemicals, Petrochemicals and Material Technologies an additional technology area eligible for funding under the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, with effect from 8 October 2026. It acted on a proposal from the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals. The scheme, launched in November 2025, has a Rs 1 lakh crore corpus.
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PolityGS2Prelims

Law Ministry enlists National Law Universities against pendency in 100 districts

The Ministry of Law and Justice has begun a research-based mission against case pendency in 100 hotspot judicial districts and has asked 19 National Law Universities from 16 States to diagnose each district's causes of delay and suggest remedies. Per the ministry, over 5.8 crore cases are pending nationwide, most of them in district and subordinate courts.
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EconomyGS3

Centre forms Ramesh Chand committee on sugarcane farmers' pricing concerns

The Union government has constituted a four-member committee under Prof. Ramesh Chand, former Member of NITI Aayog, to examine sugarcane farmers' concerns, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution announced on 14 October 2026. It will study farmers' returns, the ex-mill Minimum Selling Price of sugar, sugar recovery testing, weighment at mills and weight deductions on machine-harvested cane.
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DefencePrelimsGS2

India hosts first ASEAN-India Defence Think Tank Forum in New Delhi

The first ASEAN-India Defence Think Tank Forum opened in New Delhi on 14 October 2026, with participants from all eleven ASEAN member states. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India is ready to explore cooperation with ASEAN partners on patrol vessels, radars, air-defence systems, helicopters and drones, according to each country's needs.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3

Bundibugyo Ebola: WHO expects Ervebo trial in DR Congo this month

The World Health Organization's vaccine advisers said on 13 October 2026 that a large human trial of Ervebo, an Ebola vaccine approved only against the Ebola virus species, should begin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this month. It will test whether Ervebo also protects against the Bundibugyo virus, whose outbreak there has passed 9,000 cases and 4,000 deaths.
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