Daily edition · Tuesday

UPSC Current Affairs, 20 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.

World & IRPrelimsGS3

China proposes export curbs on 40 AI, solar and biomedicine technologies

China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology on 16 October 2026 proposed adding 40 technologies to the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Export: 23 in artificial intelligence, five in biomedicine and 12 in solar photovoltaics. Comments close on 15 November. The solar items cover polysilicon, wafer and cell making, where India relies on imports.
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EconomyPrelimsGS3

Parallel distribution licence: HERC grants one for Gurugram and Nuh

The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) on 19 October 2026 granted Eleven Power Private Limited a 25-year parallel distribution licence for the Gurugram and Nuh revenue districts under the Electricity Act, 2003. The State-owned Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam continues to supply its consumers; they can switch only under a protocol HERC must approve.
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EconomyGS3Prelims

DGFT notifies tariff-rate quotas for New Zealand apples, kiwifruit, honey

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on 17 October 2026 notified how tariff-rate quotas for New Zealand apples, kiwifruit, albumins and Manuka honey will work under the India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement from 20 October. Apples within quota pay 25% duty against 50% outside it; quota kiwifruit enters duty-free. Both fruit quotas open in 2027.
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PolityGS2Prelims

Remand is judicial work, not a formality: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Judicial Training and Research Institute (JTRI), Lucknow, to prepare remand training modules for Magistrates, it was reported on 19 October 2026. Rejecting a Kushinagar Magistrate's plea of heavy workload, the Court held that remand directly concerns Articles 21 and 22, and ordered the release of an accused whose arrest memo was grossly deficient.
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PolityGS1GS2

Karnataka High Court upholds AMASR Act's prohibited and regulated zones

The Karnataka High Court on 9 October 2026 upheld sections 20A, 20B and 20C of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. They bar new construction within 100 metres of a centrally protected monument and regulate it in a further 200 metres. Restricting land use is not acquisition, the court held, so no compensation is due.
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PolityGS2Prelims

High Court allows Punjab's plea against MEA's political clearance refusal

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on 16 October 2026 allowed the Punjab government's writ petition against the Ministry of External Affairs' refusal of political clearance for a State delegation, led by the Chief Minister, to a Paris food trade fair. Punjab had argued that the refusal gave no reasons. The court's detailed order was awaited.
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PolityPrelimsGS2

IT Rules due diligence: MeitY advisory tells Meta to review recommendation systems

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in an advisory dated 10 October 2026 and seen by PTI, asked Meta to review the recommendation systems of Instagram and Facebook so that users are not disproportionately exposed to "a single or limited set of narratives". Citing intermediary due diligence under the IT Rules, 2021, it sought action with immediate effect.
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World & IRGS3GS2

China puts tunnel boring machines under dual-use export control

China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs on 19 October 2026 placed tunnel boring machines, their key parts and remanufacturing technology under dual-use export control from 18 November 2026. Exports to "sensitive countries and regions that have disputes with China" will need a licence. The announcement names no country; India relies heavily on imported tunnel boring machines.
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PolityPrelimsGS2

Who may practise law: Karnataka HC refuses to quash AIBE case

The Karnataka High Court on 17 October 2026 refused to quash a criminal case under the IPC and section 45 of the Advocates Act, 1961 against a man who practised a decade without clearing the All India Bar Examination (AIBE). Bar Council discipline does not bar criminal courts, it held, and ordered the State Bar Council to track such cases.
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PolityPrelimsGS2

CCPA uses Consumer Protection Act to curb online explosives sales

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) said on 19 October 2026 that 3,940 sellers and listings of explosives were removed from seven online platforms after its action under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. It has passed three final orders of Rs 10 lakh each. Ammonium nitrate, gunpowder, picric acid and PETN need a licence under the Explosives Act, 1884.
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PolityPrelimsGS2

Section 17A, Prevention of Corruption Act: bribe demand needs no approval

The Supreme Court ruled on 16 October 2026 that Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 does not shield a public servant accused of demanding a bribe. Prior approval to investigate is needed only where the offence relates to a decision or recommendation made in official duty. The Bench upheld a corruption charge against a Rajasthan police constable.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS3

Orangutan seized in Thane reported repatriated to Indonesia under CITES

A male orangutan seized from a Dombivli flat in Thane district in November 2024 reached Jakarta, Indonesia, on 19 October 2026, reports say, likely the first return of a wild animal rescued in India to its home country. Wildlife Crime Control Bureau officials supervised the flight from Ahmedabad. Orangutans are listed in CITES Appendix I.
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NationalPrelimsGS3

FSSAI directs cold-chain compliance for perishables under 2011 Licensing Regulations

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed food business operators to keep khoa, paneer, meat and fish at the prescribed temperature from sourcing to the end consumer. The advisory restates existing licence conditions and creates no new rule. It tells State food safety officers and Indian Railways to check consignments in transit.
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DefencePrelimsGS3

Navy commissions INS Samarthak, first major warship from a private shipyard

The Indian Navy commissioned INS Samarthak, the first of its Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs), at Naval Base Karwar in Karnataka on 16 October 2026. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) built it at Kattupalli near Chennai; the Ministry of Defence calls it the first major warship built by an Indian private shipyard. It is the first of two ordered.
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NationalPrelimsGS2

Supreme Court: digital safety and sex education must enter school curriculum

The Supreme Court on 15 October 2026 said digital safety and age-appropriate sex education must be taught together in the core school curriculum. Children are to learn about their bodies, safe and unsafe touch and consent from the primary stage. Teachers must be trained to spot grooming and to report abuse under the POCSO Act.
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NationalPrelimsGS2

CBI flags lapses in National Testing Agency's NEET-UG paper-setting process

The Central Bureau of Investigation has told the Union Ministry of Education that the National Testing Agency let subject experts work at several paper-setting stages for NEET-UG 2026 and see the final question sets, officers said on 19 October 2026. It also found short CCTV backups and no frisking, and suggests a different expert for each stage.
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PolityGS2Prelims

State is custodian, not owner, of temple property: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on 16 October 2026 held that the State is custodian and regulator of temple property, not its owner. It voided a 2017 gift of an Erode temple's inam land to the Tamil Nadu government under Section 41(1) of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959. The Taluk Office built there stays, as a tenant.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS3

CBD COP17 opens in Yerevan with first Kunming-Montreal framework review

The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity opened in Yerevan, Armenia, on 18 October 2026, with working sessions from 19 to 30 October. Parties will hold the first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022. Meetings of the Parties to the Cartagena and Nagoya protocols run alongside.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS3

IPCC's 65th session suspended without AR7 timeline or budget deal

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suspended its 65th Plenary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 16 October 2026 without fixing the timelines for the three Working Group reports of its Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) or its budget. Chair Jim Skea halted the overrunning meeting after many least developed and small island delegations had left.
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