EconomyThe Hindu, Page 1GS3GS2Must read
GST Council recommends ending arrest powers and raising prosecution threshold to ₹5 crore
GST officers have had the power to arrest since 2017. Why is the Council now asking for it to go?
UPSC current affairs today
Friday, 9 October 2026. The Hindu, The Indian Express and PIB, cut down to what UPSC can ask, mapped to the syllabus and to every previous-year question. Free and open source.
Today's 5 stories
Polity and governanceThe Hindu, Page 12GS2GS3Must read
Supreme Court says Jharkhand's DGP rule prima facie defies Prakash Singh, widens scrutiny
Police is a State subject. So why must States follow a 2006 court order on choosing their police chief?
Society, justice and ethicsIndian Express, Page 1GS2GS3Must read
Centre to cap trade margins on 110 non-scheduled cancer drugs at 30%
Trade mark-ups on some cancer drugs reach 700%. Can a 30% margin cap close that gap?
Environment and geographyIndian Express, Page 6GS1GS3
WMO says El Niño will peak in December, with record Pacific warming forecast
The tropical Pacific may be headed for its warmest El Niño reading on record. What does that mean for India's winter?
Environment and geographyThe Hindu, Page 10GS3GS1
Explained: Why stubble fires in Punjab and Haryana keep coming back
A groundwater law, a long-duration rice variety and a satellite's timetable: how they keep north India's fields burning.
Also in today's papers
- CAPF (General Administration) Act, 2026 comes into force while challenge is pending in Supreme Court The Hindu · GS2 · GS3 · Prelims
- PM calls for global cooperation against cyber fraud at India Mobile Congress The Hindu · GS3 · Prelims
- Supreme Court orders more patrolling and driver verification to prevent crimes against women in Delhi Indian Express · GS1 · GS2
- Plea in Supreme Court challenges appointment of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and two Election Commissioners Indian Express · GS2 · Prelims
- Canadian poet Anne Carson wins the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature The Hindu · Prelims
- Explained: Why edible oils are hit hardest by food inflation Indian Express · GS3 · Prelims
- Women make up 43% of the Ayush services workforce, says sector report PIB · GS2 · GS3 · Prelims
- Coast Guard holds 12th National Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise off Paradip PIB · GS3 · Prelims
- Education Ministry screens inclusive education module for schools through PRASHAST PIB · GS2 · Prelims
- National SC-ST Hub: support for SC and ST entrepreneurs PIB · GS2 · GS3 · Prelims
This week
8 October 2026 Thursday
- RBI raises repo rate to 5.5%, first hike since 2023, shifts to 'calibrated tightening'
- Living Planet Report 2026: monitored wildlife populations fell 73% from 1970 to 2022
- Explained: detention vs arrest, and the limits the law places on police powers
- Chemistry Nobel 2026 to Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai for amplifying molecular 'handedness'
- Op-ed: India's stakes in the WHO Pandemic Agreement as pathogen-sharing talks drag on
7 October 2026 Wednesday
- Physics Nobel 2026 goes to Francis Halzen for the IceCube neutrino observatory
- Cabinet approves ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund to put equity into growing small firms
- Editorial: India's leprosy numbers overshoot targets, two decades after 'elimination'
- Sukma gram sabha denies burial land to tribal Christians, citing PESA
- At pre-COP31 talks in Fiji, India says climate action has no 'one-size-fits-all' path
6 October 2026 Tuesday
- Nobel Prize in Medicine 2026 goes to the pioneers of optogenetics
- Supreme Court says it never approved the modified Form 6, issues notice to the EC
- India and Switzerland sign five pacts, including a five-year visa and mobility deal
- Why Buxa is bringing tigers back: a tigress from Bihar starts West Bengal's reintroduction
- Op-ed: Make cancer a notifiable disease so that every diagnosis is counted
5 October 2026 Monday
- Does a valid visa guarantee entry into India? The Delhi High Court says no
- Official rabies death count is under 1% of ICMR's estimate, clouding the 2030 goal
- One year of two-slab GST: Finance Minister cites a wider base and higher collections
- Op-ed: Over-regulation is stifling India's universities; one regulator may not fix it
- Op-ed: In a trade deal with the US, India should value terms that are hard to reverse
4 October 2026 Sunday
- Education Ministry approves five Centres of Excellence for newer classical languages
- Andhra Pradesh moves Supreme Court to restore 34% BC quota in local bodies
- Karnataka seeks ₹7,142.64 crore in Central drought aid for 177 taluks
- No timeline for Sheikh Hasina's extradition, says India's envoy in Dhaka
- India demonstrates a 5.56 km free-space quantum key distribution link in Gandhinagar
3 October 2026 Saturday
- Captive-bred Great Indian Bustards to be released into the wild for the first time
- Centre resumes appraising pending post facto green clearances after Supreme Court ruling
- Centre issues rules creating a National Tribunals Commission to select tribunal members
- Op-ed: Split verdict on the Election Commissioners Act exposes how the Supreme Court sits
- Explained: First official Indian visit to Pakistan since Operation Sindoor
Prepare by topic
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Questions about upsc.help
What is upsc.help?
upsc.help (Pratidin) is a free, open-source site for UPSC Civil Services current affairs. Every day it picks the stories from The Hindu, The Indian Express and PIB that the exam can ask about, and gives each one a neutral summary, Prelims facts, a Prelims question, a Mains question with a model answer, background concepts explained from zero, and the previous-year questions it helps answer.
Which sources does it cover?
The Hindu, The Indian Express and the Press Information Bureau (PIB), plus primary documents such as court judgments, bills and government releases where they exist. Every page links to the reports it was written from.
How are the facts checked?
Each day's stories are checked claim by claim by a separate review that did not write them, against the original reports and primary sources. Anything that cannot be confirmed is removed before publishing. Previous-year questions are checked against published copies of each year's paper.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no paywall. Your study progress, flashcard schedule and practice answers are saved in your own browser.
Is upsc.help affiliated with UPSC?
No. It is an independent, open-source project and is not affiliated with the Union Public Service Commission or any coaching institute.
How do I use it for Prelims and Mains?
For Prelims, use the Prelims facts on every story, the daily Prelims facts page and the quizzes. For Mains, each story shows the previous-year questions it helps answer, with notes on where it fits in your answer, and a timed answer-writing practice in the app.