Economy Current Affairs for UPSC
Every Economy story from the daily editions, newest first, each in short with why it matters for Prelims and Mains. Page 5 of 6.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
Samudra Manthan: offshore oil and gas exploration, HELP and OALP
Samudra Manthan, the National Offshore Exploration Scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, aims to unlock India's offshore oil and gas. It funds seismic surveys, shares the cost of deepwater drilling, builds common offshore infrastructure and sets up a manufacturing zone. It was approved on 31 July 2026 with a ₹84,084-crore first phase running to 2030-31.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
Draft National Steel Policy: 604 MT capacity, cleaner steel by 2047
The Ministry of Steel has posted a draft National Steel Policy – Vision 2047 to replace the 2017 policy. It targets 604 million tonnes of crude steel capacity by 2047, against 220 million tonnes in 2025-26, and a cut in emission intensity from 2.54 to about 1.54 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of crude steel.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
DGTR opens anti-dumping probe into Penicillin G imports from China
The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into Penicillin G (Pen-G) and its salts imported from China. The applicant, a domestic producer that revived Pen-G manufacture under the PLI scheme after about three decades, alleges material retardation to the domestic industry. The DGTR found sufficient prima facie evidence of dumping.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana: all 100 districts have action plans
All 100 districts under the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana have prepared District Action Plans, official figures released on 10 October 2026 show, a day before the scheme's first anniversary. The six-year scheme pools 36 Central schemes of 11 Ministries and Departments. Districts are tracked on 121 indicators and ranked every month on a dashboard.
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EconomyGS3GS2
MoSPI proposes expenditure-side Gross State Domestic Product estimates for all States
The National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on October 9, 2026 released a draft guideline for compiling Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) by the expenditure approach, with base year 2022-23. No State or Union Territory currently estimates Private Final Consumption Expenditure. Stakeholders can send feedback until October 28, 2026.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
RBI raises daily CRR maintenance floor to 99%, plans OMO sale
The Reserve Bank of India on October 9, 2026 raised the minimum daily maintenance of the Cash Reserve Ratio from 90% to 99% of the requirement, effective from the fortnight beginning October 16. It will also sell government securities worth ₹25,000 crore through an open market operation on October 13 to absorb surplus liquidity.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
SEBI notifies Settlement Regulations, 2026 with a fast-track route
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has notified the SEBI (Settlement of Administrative and Civil Proceedings) Regulations, 2026, replacing its 2018 rules. They take effect on the day after the 30th day from Gazette publication on October 7, 2026. Settlement amounts follow a new formula, and cases of up to Rs 10 lakh get a fast-track route.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
RBI tightens rupee derivative rules, opens dollar window for oil companies
The Reserve Bank of India on October 10, 2026 tightened the rules for rupee foreign exchange derivatives. It cut the limit for hedging without proof of underlying exposure from USD 100 million to USD 5 million and barred rebooking of cancelled contracts. From October 12, it will sell dollars to three public sector oil marketing companies through designated banks.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
UNCTAD projects 7.3% India growth; greenfield investment share over twice China's
India is the fastest-growing major economy, with GDP projected to grow 7.3% in 2026 and 6.8% in 2027, says the Trade and Development Report 2026 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), released on October 9, 2026. It puts India's share of global greenfield investment in 2020-25 at 5.7%, more than double China's 2.8%.
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EconomyPrelimsGS3
Indian Railways electrifies 99.7% of broad gauge; 191 route km remain
Indian Railways had electrified 70,311 of its 70,502 broad gauge route kilometres, or 99.7%, by September 30, 2026, the Ministry of Railways said. The remaining 191 route km lie in Karnataka (120), Assam (55) and Goa (16). Twenty-seven States and Union Territories have their entire broad gauge network electrified, and Southern Railway finished electrifying its 5,068 route km in September.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
Gold imports by banks lose GST exemption, attract 3% IGST
Gold, silver and platinum imported by banks and nominated agencies have attracted 3% Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) since April 1, 2026, Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava said on October 8. The Government informed the GST Council that the exemption list was not extended beyond March 31. Import duty on gold and silver rose from 6% to 15% in May.
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EconomyGS2GS3
Coal stock at domestic-coal power plants falls 66% in six months
Coal stock at India's power plants that run on domestic coal fell 66% in six months, from 54.98 million tonnes on April 1, 2026 to 18.69 million tonnes on September 30, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) daily reports show. That is 34% of the normative stock. Plants with critical stock rose from 14 to 75.
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EconomyPrelimsGS2
Mines Ministry launches auction of two Andaman Sea offshore mineral blocks
The Ministry of Mines on October 1, 2026 launched the auction of two offshore mineral blocks in the Andaman Sea, Sewell Rise-01 and West Sewell Ridge-01, for composite licences. Together they cover over 1,632 sq km and hold polymetallic nodules and crusts bearing cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper and rare earth elements. Bids close on December 28, 2026.
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EconomyPrelimsGS3
Centre launches ₹23,731-crore GOBARdhan scheme for compressed biogas
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched GOBARdhan, a Central Sector Scheme for compressed biogas (CBG), on October 1, 2026. With ₹23,731 crore for FY 2026-27 to FY 2035-36, it aims to raise CBG output nearly ten-fold. City Gas Distribution entities carry a CBG procurement obligation of 3% in FY 2026-27, rising to 5% from FY 2028-29.
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EconomyPrelimsGS3
US suspends TCS, Infosys, Wipro and others from Green Card labour certification
US Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling on 8 October 2026 suspended six IT outsourcing firms, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini, from the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM), as the administration alleged visa fraud. Microsoft and Adobe were also suspended over active federal investigations. PERM is the step through which US employers sponsor foreign workers for Green Cards.
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EconomyGS3Prelims
India, UK agree to back GIFT IFSC, welcome wider rupee use
India and the UK held their fourth Financial Markets Dialogue in London on September 29, 2026. In a joint statement on October 7, they agreed to keep cooperating on developing GIFT IFSC and discussed cross-border equity and bond listings there. Both sides welcomed wider use of the rupee and recognised London as the leading offshore rupee trading hub.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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