EconomyThe Hindu, BusinessGS3GS2Must read
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its October 2026 World Economic Outlook (WEO) on 13 October, during the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok. It raised India's growth forecast for 2026-27 to 7%, from 6.4% in its July update, and projected 7% again for 2027-28, up from 6.7%. The IMF reports India's figures on a financial-year basis. It credited "resilient domestic demand and robust services activity" and said India "stands out with upward revisions, reflecting sustained momentum and growing evidence of stronger growth potential". The IMF's number is slightly below the RBI's own projection of 7.1% for 2026-27.
Prelims facts
- The IMF's October 2026 WEO raised India's 2026-27 growth forecast to 7% from 6.4% (July) and projects 7% for 2027-28, up from 6.7%.
- The IMF projects India's CPI inflation at 5% in 2026-27 and 4.4% in 2027-28, and the current account deficit at 1.5% of GDP in 2026-27.
- World growth is projected at 3.1% in 2026 and 3.4% in 2027; global inflation at 4.7% in 2026 and 4.1% in 2027.
- The WEO assumes oil at $95.74 a barrel in 2026, about 41% above 2025, easing to $87.39 in 2027.
- 32 economies now account for 95% of global growth, against 54 in the April 2026 WEO.
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International relationsThe Hindu, NationalGS2GS3Must read
The first meeting of BIMSTEC Home Ministers was held in New Delhi on 13 October 2026, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. All seven members took part: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The meeting adopted the Delhi Declaration, which calls the Bay of Bengal region a common security space and "strongly condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism". The idea of such a meeting dates to the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu in 2018, which decided to hold Home Ministers' meetings alongside meetings of national security chiefs. The Sixth Summit in Bangkok on 4 April 2025 welcomed the mechanism, and India offered to host the first meeting.
Prelims facts
- The first BIMSTEC Home Ministers' meeting was held in New Delhi on 13 October 2026 and adopted the Delhi Declaration.
- It approved five instruments: a convention against trafficking in persons, plans of action on drug control, illicit financial flows and natural disasters, and an MoU on money laundering and terror financing.
- The Home Ministers' mechanism was decided at the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit (Kathmandu, 2018) and welcomed at the Sixth Summit (Bangkok, 4 April 2025).
- The declaration seeks implementation of the 2022 BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and early conventions on extradition and transfer of sentenced persons.
- India leads BIMSTEC's Security pillar, covering counter-terrorism and transnational crime, disaster management and energy security.
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Polity and governanceThe Hindu, NationalGS2
On 13 October 2026, a Division Bench of the Madras High Court, Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan, upheld Tamil Nadu Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar's acceptance of the resignations of six MLAs elected on the AIADMK ticket who then joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The plea was filed by AIADMK whip Agri S.S. Krishnamurthy. The Court held that the resignations were genuine and voluntary and that the Speaker was not expected to conduct a detailed inquiry into the members' motives. It also held that resignation and disqualification are separate constitutional processes, so accepting the resignations did not make the pending disqualification proceedings academic. It directed the Speaker to decide those proceedings within two months.
Prelims facts
- On 13 October 2026, the Madras High Court upheld the Tamil Nadu Speaker's acceptance of six AIADMK MLAs' resignations and directed him to decide pending disqualification cases within two months.
- The Court held that resignation and disqualification are separate processes, and that the Speaker need not inquire into a member's motives for resigning.
- Under the proviso to Article 190(3), added by the 33rd Amendment (1974), the Speaker must not accept a resignation that is not voluntary or genuine.
- The Tenth Schedule was added by the 52nd Amendment (1985); Kihoto Hollohan (1992) made the Speaker's decisions under it subject to judicial review.
- In Shrimanth Balasaheb Patil (2019), the Supreme Court held that resignation does not wipe out the taint of disqualification but that the Speaker cannot bar a disqualified member from contesting.
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EconomyThe Hindu, BusinessGS3
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said on 13 October 2026 that the merchant discount rate (MDR) on select Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments, due to start on 15 October, will instead be "implemented post-Diwali immediately on a date to be notified separately". The decision was taken by the UPI and Services Steering Committee, with the festive season cited as the reason. MDR is the fee a merchant's bank and the payment system charge the merchant for accepting a digital payment. Customers are not charged directly, and person-to-person (P2P) transfers stay free whatever the amount. Traders' bodies had objected to the new costs.
Prelims facts
- On 13 October 2026, NPCI's UPI and Services Steering Committee deferred the UPI merchant discount rate, due from 15 October, to a date after Diwali.
- The framework sets a 0.4% MDR on eligible P2M UPI payments above ₹2,000, capped at ₹300; payments up to ₹2,000 and P2P transfers stay free.
- Small merchants receiving up to ₹1 lakh a month through UPI remain at zero MDR; specified essential-sector payments above ₹2,000 attract a flat ₹5.
- Zero MDR on UPI and RuPay debit cards has applied since 1 January 2020 under Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
- NPCI, which operates UPI, was incorporated in December 2008 as a not-for-profit company, a joint initiative of the RBI and the Indian Banks' Association.
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