# UPSC current affairs, 15 October 2026 URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-15/ Publisher: upsc.help (Pratidin), free and open-source UPSC Civil Services current affairs. Not affiliated with UPSC. Every fact was checked against the source reports by a separate review before publishing. ## Stories ### Wholesale inflation rises to 11.39% in September, led by fuel and power at 25.85% URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-15/wpi-september-2026-11-39/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-15/wpi-september-2026-11-39.md) Source: The Hindu, Page 1. UPSC papers: GS3 **In one line:** Wholesale prices rose 11.39% in September 2026, driven by fuel, metals, chemicals and food, while retail inflation stayed at 5.54%. Prelims facts: - WPI inflation was 11.39% in September 2026, up from 9.92% in August; the July final figure stayed at 9.78%. - Fuel and power inflation was 25.85%, with crude petroleum and natural gas up 57.32% and mineral oils up 40.02%. - The WPI is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT, and released on the 14th of each month. - The new WPI series (base 2022-23, from 15 June 2026) has 957 items, uses gross value of output weights and basic prices. - CPI inflation was 5.54% in September 2026, so WPI inflation was more than double retail inflation. ### Cabinet renames NSAP, extends it to 2030-31 and eases disability pension rules URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-15/nsap-renamed-pm-samajik-sahayata/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-15/nsap-renamed-pm-samajik-sahayata.md) Source: PIB, Government release. UPSC papers: GS2, GS1 **In one line:** NSAP, now the Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana, is extended to 2030-31 with ₹53,428 crore, and its disability pension now follows the 2016 disability law. Prelims facts: - The Cabinet on 14 October 2026 extended NSAP for 2026-27 to 2030-31 with ₹53,428 crore and renamed it the Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana. - The disability pension now needs 40% benchmark disability instead of 80%, and applies from birth. - Disability pension rates rise to ₹375 a month up to age 79 and ₹625 from age 80. - NSAP was launched on 15 August 1995, draws on Article 41 and is fully funded by the Centre. - About 3.20 crore beneficiaries in all 36 States and UTs are covered; old-age, widow and family benefit schemes are unchanged. ### Cabinet clears sale of 60.72% of IDBI Bank to Fairfax for ₹52,877 crore URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-15/idbi-bank-fairfax-strategic-sale/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-15/idbi-bank-fairfax-strategic-sale.md) Source: Indian Express, Page 7. UPSC papers: GS3 **In one line:** The government and LIC are selling control of IDBI Bank to a Fairfax subsidiary for ₹52,877.07 crore, the largest FDI in India's financial sector if completed. Prelims facts: - The CCEA on 14 October 2026 approved selling 60.72% of IDBI Bank to a Fairfax Financial Holdings subsidiary for ₹52,877.07 crore. - The government sells 30.48% and LIC 30.24%; afterwards the government holds 15% and LIC 19%. - The government calls it the largest FDI in India's financial sector so far, and it is the biggest strategic disinvestment since Air India. - Fairfax must make an open offer and must merge or exit CSB Bank within two years. - FDI in private sector banks is capped at 74% (49% automatic); in public sector banks the cap is 20%. ### Supreme Court orders insurance cover for all counter-bought train tickets from 27 October URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-15/sc-rail-counter-ticket-insurance/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-15/sc-rail-counter-ticket-insurance.md) Source: Indian Express, Page 22. UPSC papers: GS2, GS3 **In one line:** From 27 October 2026, every train ticket sold at a counter must carry the insurance that online buyers could choose, on the Supreme Court's order. Prelims facts: - The Supreme Court has ordered insurance on all counter-sold train tickets from 27 October 2026, on the same terms as online tickets. - The bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan made the Railway Board directly responsible for compliance. - Optional IRCTC e-ticket insurance costs 45 paise per passenger and covers up to ₹10 lakh for accidental death. - Section 124A of the Railways Act, 1989 provides no-fault compensation for untoward incidents; ₹8 lakh for death. - Kavach, adopted as the national automatic train protection system in July 2020, is certified to Safety Integrity Level 4. ### Explained: The Kigali Amendment turns 10 as India's demand for cooling surges URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-15/kigali-amendment-ten-years-cooling/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-15/kigali-amendment-ten-years-cooling.md) Source: Indian Express, Explained. UPSC papers: GS3, GS2 **In one line:** Ten years after it was adopted, the Kigali Amendment commits India to cut HFCs 85% by 2047, while its cooling needs keep growing. Prelims facts: - The Kigali Amendment was adopted on 15 October 2016 and entered into force on 1 January 2019; it brings HFCs under the Montreal Protocol. - HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer but are potent greenhouse gases. - India ratified on 27 September 2021: baseline 2024 to 2026, freeze in 2028, 85% cut by 2047. - The India Cooling Action Plan (March 2019) projects cooling demand to grow about eight times by 2037-38 from 2017-18. - The Montreal Protocol has 198 parties and is the first UN treaty to be universally ratified. ## Other articles in brief ### BHAVYA scheme to build 100 plug-and-play industrial parks PIB (Government release). A PIB backgrounder sets out the Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojna (BHAVYA), a ₹33,660 crore scheme approved in March 2026 to build 100 plug-and-play industrial parks over six years, from 2026-27 to 2031-32, to draw investment and support MSMEs. It funds up to ₹1 crore per acre for internal infrastructure, and up to 25% of approved funding can go to external connectivity. Up to 50 parks will be chosen in the first phase through a challenge mode, each run by an SPV. Prelims facts: - Manufacturing contributes 16 to 17% of India's GDP; the National Manufacturing Mission targets 25% by 2035. - The BHAVYA Portal, launched in June 2026, handles project submission, appraisal and monitoring. - The BHAVYA-Rasayan Scheme extends the plug-and-play model to chemical parks. Mains angle: GS3 industrial policy: a shift from industrial estates and SEZs to ready infrastructure and faster approvals that cut setup time and cost. ### India to join the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement PIB (Government release). The Centre approved India's accession to the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA), moving India from Cooperating Non-Contracting Party to Contracting Party with full say in its decision-making bodies. Indian-flagged vessels can now fish squids, toothfish and other non-migratory stocks in SIOFA waters, in line with the High Sea Fisheries Guidelines of December 2025. Prelims facts: - SIOFA excludes highly migratory species listed in Annex I of UNCLOS and sedentary species under coastal state jurisdiction under Article 77(4). - India has been a Contracting Party to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, which regulates tuna and tuna-like species, since 1996. - Indian fishing vessels now operate largely within 60 to 80 nautical miles, and accession aims to extend fishing beyond the EEZ. Mains angle: GS3 Blue Economy: takes the fishing fleet beyond the EEZ while committing India to curb IUU fishing and join the High Seas Boarding and Inspection Scheme. ### Law Ministry engages National Law Universities to cut criminal case backlog in 100 districts PIB (Government release). The Ministry of Law and Justice has launched a mission against criminal case pendency in 100 hotspot districts, which account for over half of the pendency in district courts; more than 5.8 crore cases are pending nationwide. Vice Chancellors of 19 NLUs from 16 states met to plan district-level diagnosis using pro bono clubs, researchers and students, covering infructuous cases, case profiling and ADR. Prelims facts: - More than 5.8 crore cases are pending in courts across India. - The 100 hotspot districts account for over half of the pendency in district courts. - Alternative Dispute Resolution covers mediation, arbitration and conciliation. Mains angle: GS2 judiciary: an evidence-based, district-level approach to pendency in the subordinate courts, where most litigants meet the justice system. ### Home Ministry portal seeks public input on demographic changes since 2011 The Hindu, Page 1 (News). The Ministry of Home Affairs has opened a portal inviting inputs from government bodies, NGOs, international organisations and citizens on demographic changes since 2011. It is run by the High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes, set up on 26 May 2026 and chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar, which is examining causes such as illegal immigration and has sent states a 35-point questionnaire. Prelims facts: - The committee followed the 'High-powered Demography Mission' announced by the Prime Minister on 15 August 2025. - Its 35-point questionnaire seeks district-wise and religion-wise data for the past 15 years. - The inputs are to inform a permanent system for the legal identification, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants. Mains angle: GS3 internal security and GS2 governance: how the state links demographic change in border areas to security and service delivery, and what data it gathers to do so. ### India's exports to China grow 40% but the trade deficit crosses $100 billion The Hindu, Page 1 (News). In January to September 2026, India's exports to China grew 40.7% to $19.26 billion, but imports rose 23.3% to $125.19 billion, taking the trade deficit to $105.93 billion. Prime Minister Modi and President Xi discussed the imbalance at the BRICS summit, and India is concerned about China's export controls on fertilisers and rare earths. Prelims facts: - Total India-China trade rose 25.4% to $144.45 billion in January to September 2026. - India's record trade deficit with China, set last year, was $116.12 billion. - India's main exports to China are seafood products, naphtha and printed circuit boards. Mains angle: GS2 and GS3: heavy reliance on Chinese finished goods and intermediates, with limited market access for Indian firms, makes the deficit a strategic as well as a trade concern. ### Tamil Nadu and Karnataka show how states shape India's China+1 manufacturing push The Hindu, Page 6 (Opinion). The article argues that India's China+1 strategy depends on state capabilities, citing Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where Foxconn and Tata Electronics have invested. It notes electronics exports of about $48 billion against imports of about $116 billion in 2025-26, showing low domestic value addition, and says states must prepare land, train workers, streamline approvals and build local suppliers. Prelims facts: - In January the Centre approved 22 ECMS proposals worth ₹41,863 crore, expected to create 33,791 direct jobs in eight states. - Restrictions under Press Note 3 on investment from countries sharing a land border with India were eased in March 2026. - DPIIT records FDI by the location of a company's head office, not where the money is spent. Mains angle: GS3 industrial policy: the article argues that national incentives such as PLI and ECMS work only through state-level delivery, and notes that industrial growth is concentrated in southern and western states. ### Supreme Court split verdict on the 2023 law for appointing Election Commissioners The Hindu, Page 6 (Opinion). On 23 September 2026 the Supreme Court gave a split verdict in Dr. Jaya Thakur vs Union of India, which challenges the 2023 Act on appointing the CEC and Election Commissioners. Justice Dipankar Datta held the law must be tested against Anoop Baranwal (2023), while Justice Satish Chandra Sharma referred it to a larger Constitution Bench, so the Act continues to operate. The article argues the law gives the executive predominance in selection. Prelims facts: - Anoop Baranwal (2023) had mandated a selection committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India. - The 2023 Act replaced the Chief Justice of India on the selection committee with a Union Minister. - A Constitution Bench has five or more judges and hears substantial questions of constitutional interpretation. Mains angle: GS2 constitutional bodies: the independence of the Election Commission turns on how its members are chosen; the article also raises judicial recusal under the Bangalore Principles. ### How Supreme Court rulings have strengthened safeguards on arrest The Hindu, Page 8 (Text & Context). In Jaskaran Jeet Singh Deol v. State of Punjab (September 2026), the Supreme Court held that a magistrate's permission is needed to re-arrest a person whose earlier arrest was illegal because written grounds were not supplied. It builds on rulings that grounds be given in writing, in the arrestee's language, two hours before remand proceedings; failure makes the arrest and remand illegal. Prelims facts: - Section 47 of the BNSS, which replaced Section 50 of the CrPC, requires police to communicate the grounds of arrest. - Article 22(2) requires an arrested person to be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours, excluding travel time. - Pankaj Bansal (2023) required written grounds of arrest under the PMLA, and Prabir Purkayastha (2024) applied this to UAPA cases. Mains angle: GS2 fundamental rights: procedural safeguards under Articles 21 and 22 and police accountability, with departmental action recommended against negligent officers. ### Activists ask Supreme Court panel to assess all damage in the Aravallis The Hindu, Page 10 (News). The Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan has asked the Supreme Court-appointed High-Powered Committee to assess all destruction in the Aravallis and hold public hearings in the remaining districts before its next report. The panel, headed by the ICFRE Director General, is reviewing the Environment Ministry's report on defining the range; the Court has told it to report by 30 November 2026. Prelims facts: - The Aravalli Range runs about 700 km across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi and is one of the world's oldest mountain systems. - The Environment Ministry's October 2025 report proposed defining Aravalli hills as landforms above 100 metres. - The Supreme Court accepted that definition in November 2025 but put it in abeyance in December 2025 after protests. Mains angle: GS3 conservation: a legal definition decides what is protected in a range that checks desertification and recharges groundwater; campaigners seek Critical Ecological Zone status. ### Rajnath Singh calls for deeper India-ASEAN defence cooperation The Hindu, Page 10 (News). At the first ASEAN-India Defence Think Tank Forum, hosted at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh proposed joint research, co-production of military equipment and stronger maritime security. He said India's Act East policy, SAGAR and MAHASAGAR align with ASEAN-led mechanisms. Prelims facts: - 2026 is the ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation. - SAGAR stands for Security and Growth for All in the Region; MAHASAGAR, unveiled in 2025, stands for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions. - The Act East Policy was launched in 2014 with ASEAN at its core. Mains angle: GS2 India and its extended neighbourhood: defence industrial ties and maritime domain awareness as the next layer of Act East in the Indo-Pacific. ### Bauxite mine proposal in Odisha's Balda hills threatens the Jeypore ground gecko The Hindu, Page 12 (News). A proposed 147-hectare opencast bauxite mine by Kalinga Alumina Ltd. in Odisha's Balda hills, part of the Nageswari reserve forest, threatens the endangered Jeypore ground gecko; four individuals were documented at the site in the past year. Bondo and Porja Adivasi communities have protested the project for two years, asserting ancestral land rights. Prelims facts: - The Jeypore ground gecko (Cyrtodactylus jeyporensis) is endemic to Eastern Ghats forests of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh at 900 to 1,400 metres. - It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and in Appendix II of CITES. - It was rediscovered in 2010 after 130 years; its earlier habitat at Potangi was lost to NALCO bauxite mining. Mains angle: GS3 mining versus biodiversity and GS2 tribal rights: endemic species loss and contested Forest Rights Act claims in the mineral-rich Eastern Ghats. ### No order yet on extra 50 days of work for Forest Rights Act title holders The Hindu, Page 12 (News). The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, which replaced MGNREGA on 1 July 2026 and guarantees 125 days of wage work per rural household, does not explicitly give FRA title holders the extra 50 days they had under MGNREGA. The Rural Development Ministry said in an RTI reply that no order has been issued; ministry sources expect a notification shortly. Prelims facts: - Under MGNREGA, FRA title holders were entitled to 150 days of work a year, a provision introduced in January 2014. - Section 5(4) of the VB-G RAM G Act allows work beyond the guaranteed days, but it is discretionary and names no beneficiary group. - Only 15% of eligible households used the extra 50 days in 2025-26. Mains angle: GS2 welfare of Scheduled Tribes: shows how an entitlement can lapse in a statutory overhaul unless it is carried over explicitly. ### Government to cap trade margins on 110 expensive cancer medicines Indian Express, Page 6 (Explained). The Centre plans to cap trade margins on 110 expensive cancer medicines, about 35 of them patented, which could cut marked prices by up to 70% and save about ₹2,500 crore a year. Trade Margin Rationalisation caps the markup between stockist and customer rather than each drug's price; a 2019 pilot on 42 cancer drugs cut prices by up to 91%. Experts say it may not fully solve affordability for patented drugs. Prelims facts: - The NPPA found average markups of about 170% on non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, with some up to 700%. - India's annual cancer drug turnover is about ₹12,500 crore, of which price-regulated scheduled drugs account for about ₹2,250 crore. - Scheduled drugs are price-controlled under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order. Mains angle: GS2 health: margin caps as a tool to make costly treatment affordable, with limits where patents restrict competition. ### India-US interim trade deal faces hurdles over tariffs, overcapacity and Russian oil Indian Express, Page 6 (Explained). India and the US are still negotiating an interim trade framework after nearly a year of talks; US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said a deal is not imminent. India joined a joint statement on structural excess capacity, which could exempt it from US Section 301 tariffs, and proposed US tariffs on India fell from 12.5% to 10% after India banned imports of goods made with forced labour. Prelims facts: - Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974 lets the President act against foreign trade practices seen as unfair or discriminatory. - The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning, Russia and Iran Act of 2026 threatens tariffs of up to 100% on buyers of Russian oil and gas. - India's goods exports to the US rose 21% in August, while imports from the US rose 65%. Mains angle: GS2 and GS3: unilateral US trade tools and sanctions on energy purchases constrain India's trade and energy choices. ### DRDO warns on chip dependence as C-DOT builds a central air raid warning system Indian Express, Page 7 (News). DRDO experts warned that without semiconductor self-reliance by 2047 India could struggle in future conflicts, noting it imports about 90% of its chips despite a large chip design workforce. Separately, C-DOT, with the Director General, Civil Defence, is building a centralised air raid warning system using cell broadcast technology, with trials in states such as Rajasthan and Maharashtra after Operation Sindoor. Prelims facts: - C-DOT works under the Department of Telecommunications. - Cell broadcast lets sirens be activated remotely from a central system and targets only defined geographic areas. - Cell broadcast technology was launched nationwide in May 2026 for disaster management alerts. Mains angle: GS3 security and technology: chip import dependence as a strategic vulnerability, and uniform civil defence warning as a lesson from Operation Sindoor. ### India and Canada aim to conclude a trade pact by year-end as ties recover Indian Express, Page 7 (News). On a visit to India, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said trade, energy, security and technology are key areas, and both sides aim to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement by the end of the year. Prime Minister Modi is expected to visit Canada in December. Canada has listed the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity, and NSA-level dialogue on security cooperation continues. Prelims facts: - India and Canada have made progress on a uranium supply deal and on critical minerals cooperation. - Canada plans to double its non-US trade over the next decade and sees India as a key partner. Mains angle: GS2 bilateral relations: rebuilding ties through trade and energy alongside a security dialogue that addresses India's concerns about pro-Khalistan elements. ### End of the urban livelihoods mission leaves women's self-help groups without support Indian Express, Page 16 (Opinion). The article argues that the end of DAY-NULM on 30 September 2024 has left a funding gap for over one crore urban poor women in self-help groups. A pilot, DJAY-S, launched on 1 October 2024 to inform a new mission, is reportedly no longer under consideration. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura have asked the Centre to release pending funds. Prelims facts: - DAY-NULM was launched in September 2013 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and renamed in 2016. - By its end, DAY-NULM had helped form over 10 lakh SHGs. - Bihar's JEEVIKA and Kerala's Kudumbashree are cited as models of SHG-led women's empowerment. Mains angle: GS2 schemes for vulnerable sections: a gap between schemes puts SHG bank linkages and credit access at risk, a lesson for women-led development. ### Nobel Peace Prize 2026 to Navi Pillay draws condemnation from Israel and the US Indian Express, Page 17 (Opinion). The article argues that the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to Navi Pillay, a former International Criminal Court judge, is a challenge to impunity. Pillay chaired the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which concluded in September 2025 that Israeli authorities had committed genocide in Gaza. Israel and the US condemned the award, and the US imposed new sanctions on the ICC. Prelims facts: - Pillay worked at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. - She is an ad hoc judge at the ICJ in the case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar over the Rohingya genocide. - The Nobel Peace Prize is administered by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Mains angle: GS2 international institutions: political pressure on accountability mechanisms such as the ICC, and the rule of law as a basis for peace. ### Turning EU carbon border rules into an export opportunity for India Indian Express, Page 17 (Opinion). The article argues that India, after opposing rules such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism as protectionist, should use them to fund green industrialisation. It points to export openings in green ammonia, sustainable aviation fuel, cleaner steel, aluminium and electrical equipment, and calls for DPI-based carbon accounting and a carbon market with higher prices and sector-level targets. Prelims facts: - India's net-zero target year is 2070. - The EU's ReFuelEU Aviation regulation requires a 2% sustainable aviation fuel blend by 2025. - The article says India's carbon price needs to reach $30 to 50 per tonne to change investment decisions in key sectors. Mains angle: GS3 climate and trade: links decarbonisation to export competitiveness, while India continues to contest protectionism and seek finance and technology. ### Oman overtakes the US as India's top LNG supplier in September Indian Express, Page 23 (News). Oman became India's largest LNG supplier in September, shipping 0.59 million tonnes against 0.34 million tonnes from the US, as European buyers drew away US cargoes. India's LNG imports rose 7% year-on-year to 2.24 million tonnes. With the West Asia conflict disrupting the Strait of Hormuz, India is diversifying sources and putting supply security ahead of price. Prelims facts: - LNG meets roughly half of India's natural gas requirement. - About 60% of India's traditional LNG imports passed through the Strait of Hormuz; Oman's exports do not depend on it. - Before the West Asia conflict, Qatar was India's main LNG source. Mains angle: GS3 energy security: diversifying suppliers and routes away from a chokepoint, at the cost of buying on the spot market.