# UPSC current affairs, 22 October 2026 URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-22/ 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 ### Core sector grows 7.9% in September 2026, fastest since the new series began URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-22/core-industries-september-2026-record/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-22/core-industries-september-2026-record.md) Source: The Hindu, Page 1. UPSC papers: GS3 **In one line:** India's nine core industries grew 7.9% in September 2026, the fastest pace in the new 2022-23 base series, led by iron ore, electricity, coal and refinery products. Prelims facts: - The Index of Core Industries grew 7.9% in September 2026 (provisional), the fastest since April 2024 in the 2022-23 base series. - Iron ore (18.4%), electricity (11.4%), coal (10.7%) and refinery products (10.3%) led; fertilisers, natural gas and crude oil contracted. - The ICI is compiled by the Office of Economic Adviser, DPIIT, and released around the 20th of the following month. - Since 20 July 2026 the ICI has base year 2022-23 and nine industries, with iron ore added; electricity has the highest weight (30.93%). - Core industries are 32.88% of the IIP's weight in the new series, down from 40.27% in the 2011-12 series. ### Eight eMudhra certificate keys found trivially weak, and browsers pull their trust URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-22/emudhra-weak-keys-browser-distrust/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-22/emudhra-weak-keys-browser-distrust.md) Source: The Hindu, News. UPSC papers: GS3 **In one line:** Eight intermediate certificates of eMudhra, an Indian certifying authority, had private keys smaller than 256, so browsers blocked them and Mozilla moved to distrust one of its roots. Prelims facts: - Eight eMudhra intermediate certificates had P-384 private keys smaller than 256, recoverable by trying at most 256 values. - Six were website (TLS) intermediates trusted by Chrome, Mozilla, Microsoft and Apple; two were code-signing intermediates trusted by Microsoft. - Mozilla and Chrome blocked them on 17 October 2026; eMudhra revoked them on 18 October, and Mozilla moved to distrust the emSign ECC Root CA - G3. - In India, certifying authorities are licensed by the Controller of Certifying Authorities, appointed under Section 17 of the IT Act, 2000. ### Turkiye, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia sign the 'Badr' defence industry pact in Doha URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-22/badr-defence-pact-doha-four/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-22/badr-defence-pact-doha-four.md) Source: The Hindu, News. UPSC papers: GS2, GS3 **In one line:** On 21 October 2026 Turkiye, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia signed the Badr memorandum in Doha to cooperate on arms production, research and training, two and a half months after the Mecca defence pact. Prelims facts: - The Badr memorandum on defence industry cooperation was signed in Doha on 21 October 2026 by Turkiye, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia. - Its focus is military production, research and development, technical training, technology transfer and supply-chain integration; no mutual defence clause has been reported. - The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement of 7 August 2026 (Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Pakistan) treats an armed attack on one as an attack on all. - Pakistan and Turkiye are parties to both the Mecca agreement and the Badr memorandum. ### How exposed is India to foreign technology, from satellites and cloud to arms? URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-22/india-foreign-tech-exposure-explainer/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-22/india-foreign-tech-exposure-explainer.md) Source: The Hindu, Page 10. UPSC papers: GS3, GS2 **In one line:** Ukraine's loss of Starshield access prompted a Hindu explainer mapping India's dependence on foreign-controlled technology in satellites, navigation, cloud, payments and defence. Prelims facts: - Only three NavIC satellites (IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I, NVS-01) were providing signals in July 2026; at least four are needed for standalone positioning. - India's licensed satellite broadband providers are Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb's Indian arm and Jio Satellite Communications, all using foreign-controlled constellations. - SIPRI (March 2026): India was the second-largest arms importer in 2021-25 with 8.2% of global imports; Russia supplied 40% of India's imports, down from 70% in 2011-15. - UPI is run by NPCI, but leading UPI apps such as PhonePe (Walmart majority-owned) and Google Pay are foreign-controlled. ### SBI finds 3,897 customer records on the dark web; DPDP breach duties start only in 2027 URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-22/sbi-dark-web-leak-dpdp-gap/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-10-22/sbi-dark-web-leak-dpdp-gap.md) Source: The Hindu, Page 1. UPSC papers: GS3, GS2 **In one line:** SBI disclosed that 3,897 customer records with personal data surfaced in a dark-web leak, at a time when the DPDP Act's duty to inform affected people has not yet come into force. Prelims facts: - SBI disclosed on 21 October 2026 that 3,897 customer records with personal data were found among about 3.75 lakh records leaked on the dark web. - The alerts came on 16 October 2026 from SBI's threat intelligence provider, the Defence Cyber Agency and CERT-In. - Under the DPDP Act, 2023 a data fiduciary must intimate a breach to the Data Protection Board and each affected person; the Rules require a detailed Board report within 72 hours. - The DPDP Act's core duties apply only from 13 May 2027, 18 months after the Rules were notified in November 2025. - CERT-In's directions of 28 April 2022 require cyber incidents to be reported within six hours.