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UPSC Current Affairs, 24 October 2026

29 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

IAEA tells UN General Assembly nuclear power could triple by 2060

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi presented the agency's annual report to the UN General Assembly on 23 October 2026. He said nuclear power use could more than triple by 2060. The IAEA's 14 September projections start from 377.1 GW(e) at end-2025. For 2060, they give 696 GW(e) in a low case and 1,284 GW(e) in a high case.
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PolityGS2Prelims

Haryana directs HERC under Section 108 to halt parallel power licence

Haryana's Energy Department on 23 October 2026 used Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to direct the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC). It told HERC not to "create, operationalise or effectuate any parallel distribution licence" in the State. The target is HERC's 19 October licence to Eleven Power Pvt Ltd for Gurugram and Nuh. HERC has not responded.
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EconomyGS3Prelims

NSO proposes PLFS redesign from 2027 to count platform workers

The National Statistics Office (NSO) on 23 October 2026 proposed changes to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) from January 2027. Fresh samples for 2027-2028 would come from an updated sampling frame, and a new stratum would target digital platform workers. New questions would measure unpaid work such as caregiving and volunteering. Public comments are invited for 15 days.
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PolityGS2Prelims

Karnataka HC: six guidelines curb mechanical FIRs, arrests over social-media posts

The Karnataka High Court on 16 October 2026 issued six guidelines to the State's police against mechanical FIRs and arrests over social-media posts. It quashed an FIR under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Reposting an already reported incident, targeting no community, made out no such offence, it found. Arrest must follow Section 35 of the BNSS.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS1

IMD forecasts Bay of Bengal cyclone heading for north Andhra, south Odisha

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a low pressure area formed over the eastcentral and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal on 23 October 2026. It forecasts a depression on 24 October and a cyclonic storm by 26 October morning. The storm is then expected to move towards the north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha coasts.
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PolityPrelimsGS2

NMC withdraws 2023 medical education standards regulations, ends annual renewal

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has denotified the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023, by a notification published in the Gazette on 16 October 2026. Medical colleges no longer need the regulations' annual renewal, but must still file Annual Disclosure Reports. The NMC has stated that minimum standards and inspections remain in force.
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PolityGS2Prelims

Orissa High Court: road pandals may stand if movement stays open

The Orissa High Court on 16 October 2026 declined to stop temporary puja pandals on public roads. It held that freedom of religion under Article 25 is subject to public order and other Fundamental Rights. The State must keep passage for residents, ambulances and fire engines. It must enforce sound limits and deadlines and size pandals to spare road space.
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NationalGS2GS3

MHA tells Supreme Court of over 21,900 digital arrest complaints in 2026

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and its Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) filed a status report in the Supreme Court on 7 October 2026. It records more than 21,900 digital arrest complaints, involving over Rs 647 crore, from 1 January to 31 August 2026. Refunds through the Money Restoration Portal have reached Rs 332.7 crore.
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PolityGS2Prelims

Jharkhand HC quashes Sentence Review Board's 'preordained' refusal of premature release

The Jharkhand High Court has quashed the State Sentence Review Board's refusal to release a life convict prematurely, calling the order mechanical and its outcome 'preordained'. The convict has served 26 years. The Board must reconsider his case at its next meeting and pass a reasoned order. The Court did not order his release.
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PolityPrelimsGS2

Allahabad HC: POCSO compensation cannot be refused for lack of injury

The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow Bench held that a POCSO survivor cannot be denied State compensation for want of injury. A district committee held back the claim as the medical report showed none. The Bench's 5 October 2026 order set that aside and directed payment of Rs 3 lakh within 10 days. Penetrative sexual assault needs no injury, it ruled.
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NationalPrelimsGS3

MoRTH draft proposes mandatory emergency braking (AEBS) in cars from 2030

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways proposes making the Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) compulsory in cars. Its draft notification of 19 October 2026 would require it in new M1 models made from 1 October 2030 and in all M1 models from 1 October 2032. The draft, amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, invites objections for 30 days.
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EnvironmentGS2Prelims

Kerala HC: State liable for wild-animal attacks despite not owning animals

The Kerala High Court on 13 October 2026 dismissed the State's second appeal and left standing damages of Rs 5,37,030 to a Wayanad farmer trampled by elephants in 2017. The State's duty to manage wildlife makes it answerable though it does not own wild animals, it held. Ex gratia relief under Kerala's 1980 compensation rules is only a minimum.
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PolityPrelimsGS2

Supreme Court: public property may be re-auctioned before a contract binds

The Supreme Court has held that a public authority may cancel the highest bid and re-auction public property for a better price until an enforceable contract is concluded. It set aside a Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling. The Chandigarh Administration's 2023 cancellation of a Rs 12.58 crore bid stands. A fresh e-auction is due within three months.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3

CSIR-CCMB finds DZIP3, a protein that helps cells sense viral RNA

A team at Hyderabad's CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has found that the human protein DZIP3 detects viral RNA and sets off the cell's antiviral alarm. Working with the RIG-I sensor at the mitochondria, it triggers Type-I interferons. The team found the pathway restricts SARS-CoV-2, Chikungunya and Japanese Encephalitis viruses.
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PolityGS2Prelims

Parliamentary panel seeks gender-inclusive criteria for defining urban areas

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs has recommended a review of the Census criteria for defining urban areas. It called one test, 75% of male main workers in non-farm jobs, male-centric. Its report notes that over 3,000 of the 3,892 census towns of 2011 are still governed by rural local bodies.
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NationalPrelimsGS3

MHA and Army to train 600 Civil Defence Master Trainers

The Union Home Ministry and the Indian Army are starting a pilot to train Civil Defence Master Trainers. In the first phase, 600 trainers from 12 States and UTs are proposed for Army courses by the second week of November 2026. Each trained trainer is then to teach 100 Civil Defence Volunteers in their own State or UT.
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EnvironmentGS2Prelims

Supreme Court widens wetland ground-truthing to all water bodies

The Supreme Court, in an order dated 12 October 2026, extended the ground-truthing and demarcation required under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 to other water bodies as well. States must file affidavits on their progress within four weeks. The bench observed that water bodies supplying drinking water fall within the right to life under Article 21.
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EconomyGS3Prelims

Petroleum ministry issues operational guidelines for Samudra Manthan offshore scheme

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has issued operational guidelines for Samudra Manthan, the National Offshore Exploration Scheme. They were published on its website this week. They set how the scheme will fund 60 deepwater and ultra-deepwater wells. Support for most wells is capped at ₹675 crore. The money is recoverable when a well yields a commercial discovery.
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DefencePrelimsGS3

Defence Minister releases Indian Army's Land Warfare Doctrine at commanders' conference

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh released the Indian Army's Land Warfare Doctrine on 23 October 2026 at the Army Commanders' Conference in New Delhi. Its stated aim is to give the Army an overarching framework for the evolving character of warfare and future conflicts. He also felicitated three Army personnel for service in United Nations peacekeeping missions.
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EconomyGS3Prelims

RBI notifies Basel III leverage ratio rules effective April 2027

The Reserve Bank of India on 23 October 2026 issued Directions aligning the leverage ratio with the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision's Leverage Ratio 2017 Standard from 1 April 2027. The minimum stays 4 per cent for domestic systemically important banks and 3.5 per cent for others. Separate Directions specify when the Basel III Standardised Approach for operational-risk capital starts.
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PolityPrelimsGS2

Draft Central Motor Vehicles Rules amendment proposes new driving licence card

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued draft amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, dated 16 October 2026. Licences would be laminated or PVC cards in separate formats for Indian and foreign nationals. Forms would require a blood group, mobile number and emergency contact. The pass mark would rise from 60 to 75 per cent.
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NationalGS4GS2

Centre forms panel to review Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices

The Department of Pharmaceuticals on 23 October 2026 constituted a three-member committee to examine how pharmaceutical marketing is regulated and recommend stronger oversight, monitoring and enforcement against unethical practices. NITI Aayog Member Dr M. Srinivas chairs it. The committee must submit its recommendations within two months of its first meeting.
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PolityGS2Prelims

Kerala High Court sets aside 10 am-5 pm window for producing arrestees

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on 23 October 2026 set aside part of the Home Department's guideline on producing arrested persons before Magistrates. It sought production, as far as possible, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., and later only in exceptional circumstances. The court upheld prior intimation to the Magistrate after 5 p.m. and ordered fresh guidelines.
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NationalPrelimsGS3

MHA opens consultation on proposed broadband PPDR network for first responders

The Ministry of Home Affairs on 23 October 2026 sought public comments on the design of a proposed Broadband Public Protection and Disaster Relief (BB-PPDR) network. It would be pan-India. It would give State and UT police, Central Armed Police Forces, the NDRF, fire and medical services mission-critical voice, data and video. Comments are due by 5 November 2026.
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EnvironmentPrelimsGS3

IMD–IITM study in MAUSAM maps India's Köppen climate-zone shifts since 1951

Scientists of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), with a co-author from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, have mapped how India's Köppen–Geiger climate zones shifted from 1951–1980 to 1991–2020. The study was published on 1 October 2026 in IMD's journal MAUSAM. The hot semi-arid belt has spread east into East Uttar Pradesh, while peninsular India has turned wetter.
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World & IRGS3GS2

India, Azerbaijan agree to coordinate on INSTC, deepen energy ties

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held talks in Baku on 23 October 2026 with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. The two sides agreed to coordinate more closely on the International North-South Transport Corridor and deepen oil and energy investment. They also agreed to deepen political consultations and exchange trade delegations. Jaishankar invited Bayramov to visit India.
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NationalGS4GS2

Siwan blast: who licenses firecracker making under the Explosives Rules, 2008

A blast at a house storing firecrackers in Alampur, Siwan, Bihar, killed five on 23 October 2026, the Superintendent of Police said. Whether the house held a licence to make firecrackers under the Explosives Rules, 2008 is unconfirmed; villagers said several houses there had made them for about 20 years. The local station house officer and chowkidar were suspended.
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World & IRPrelimsGS2

India, Samoa sign disability MoU; MoS's Samoa-Naoero visit under FIPIC

India and Samoa signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Apia on 16 October 2026 for the SENESE Project, an Indian Grant-in-Aid project for children and persons with disabilities. Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita signed with Prime Minister La'auli Leuatea Schmidt. The MEA linked his 16-22 October Samoa-Naoero visit to the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation.
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Sci-TechPrelimsGS3

Ashoke Sen becomes first Indian to receive the Oskar Klein Medal

Bengaluru theoretical physicist Ashoke Sen has received the 2026 Oskar Klein Medal, the first Indian physicist to win it, the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) announced on 22 October 2026. According to ICTS, Stockholm University and the Nobel Committee for Physics award the medal every year. Sen gave the Oskar Klein Memorial Lecture in Stockholm the same day.
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Explainers added this day