Polity and governanceThe Hindu, NationalGS2Must read
A Supreme Court Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu has held that any private person, including a voter, can file a criminal complaint before a magistrate under Section 125A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RPA). The judgment in Rajkumar Madki v. Dr. Shailendra Beldale was delivered on 16 October 2026. Section 125A punishes a candidate who, with intent to be elected, fails to furnish the information required under Section 33A(1), gives information he knows or has reason to believe is false, or conceals information in the nomination paper or in the affidavit filed with it. The punishment is imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine, or both.
Prelims facts
- Section 125A of the RPA punishes false information or concealment in a nomination paper or Section 33A affidavit with up to six months' imprisonment, a fine, or both.
- In Rajkumar Madki v. Dr. Shailendra Beldale (16 October 2026), Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu held that a private person can file a Section 125A complaint before a magistrate.
- Section 195(1)(a) CrPC, which requires a public servant's complaint for certain offences, does not list Section 125A; the Court read the omission as deliberate.
- An ECI press note of 16 June 2020 cannot limit who may complain, since interpreting statutes is the courts' task.
- The Court still upheld the quashing of this particular complaint because the address allegation was prima facie rebutted.
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Environment and geographyThe Hindu, InternationalGS3GS2Must read
The 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) began its formal sessions in Yerevan, Armenia, on 19 October 2026, a day after an opening ceremony addressed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The meeting, themed "Taking Action for Nature", runs to 30 October. Armenia's Environment Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan was elected COP17 President for a two-year term. The 12th meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the sixth meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing run alongside. COP17 is the first global review of collective progress under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), adopted in December 2022 with 23 targets for 2030 and four goals for 2050.
Prelims facts
- COP17 of the CBD is being held in Yerevan, Armenia, from 19 to 30 October 2026, with Hambardzum Matevosyan as President.
- It is the first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (December 2022), which has 23 targets for 2030.
- The State of Biodiversity Action report (15 October 2026) found fewer than half of assessed national targets on track, though nearly 90% of 196 Parties have set targets.
- Target 19 seeks $200 billion a year by 2030 from all sources; Target 18 seeks to cut harmful incentives by $500 billion a year by 2030.
- India released an updated NBSAP with 23 national targets at COP16 in Cali in 2024.
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Science and technologyThe Hindu, NationalGS3
At a curtain-raiser in New Delhi on 19 October 2026 for Swavlamban 2026, the Navy's innovation and indigenisation seminar, the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar, said 42 naval vessels are already on order. The Navy has also received Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), the first step in defence procurement, for 78 ships and submarines and 120 fast interceptor craft, worth about ₹2.41 lakh crore; these are at different stages of procurement. The request for proposal (RFP) for four landing platform docks (LPDs) went to shortlisted shipyards the previous week, and the RFP for the next-generation frigate a couple of weeks before that.
Prelims facts
- The Navy has AoN for 78 ships and submarines and 120 fast interceptor craft worth about ₹2.41 lakh crore; 42 vessels are already on order.
- RFPs have been issued for four landing platform docks and the next-generation frigate; integrated full electric propulsion for the LPDs will be developed with the UK.
- Swavlamban 2026, the fifth edition of the Navy's innovation and indigenisation seminar, is on 26 and 27 October 2026 at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi.
- Through iDEX the Navy has received over 4,000 proposals; AoN exceeds ₹3,500 crore and contracts exceed ₹1,900 crore.
- The Navy seeks quantum positioning, high-power microwave weapons, an extra-large AUV and indigenous ramjets.
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International relationsThe Hindu, BusinessGS2GS3
The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) entered into force on 20 October 2026, nearly six months after Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and New Zealand's Trade Minister Todd McClay signed it at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 27 April 2026. Talks were launched on 16 March 2025 and concluded on 22 December 2025 after five formal rounds. Both countries completed their domestic procedures in September 2026. What changes now: New Zealand gives duty-free access to 100% of India's exports, covering all tariff lines, ending peak tariffs of up to 10% on goods such as ceramics, carpets, automobiles and auto components. Indian industry also gets duty-free inputs such as wooden logs, coking coal and metal waste and scrap.
Prelims facts
- The India-New Zealand FTA, signed on 27 April 2026, entered into force on 20 October 2026.
- New Zealand removes duties on 100% of tariff lines for Indian exports; India liberalises 70.03% of its lines, covering 95% of bilateral trade value.
- India excludes 29.97% of tariff lines, mainly dairy, sugar, edible oils, onions, arms, gems and jewellery, copper and aluminium.
- Apples (32,500 to 45,000 tonnes at 25%) and kiwifruit (6,250 to 15,000 tonnes at 0%) enter India under tariff-rate quotas with minimum import prices.
- New Zealand will facilitate USD 20 billion of investment, with a rebalancing clause, and offers 5,000 Temporary Employment Entry visas at any time.
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