UPSC current affairs, 25 October 2026

• The conflict began on 28 February 2026 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
• At least seven major undersea data cables run through or near the Strait of Hormuz.

Relevant to India's energy security and the risk to Gulf shipping and undersea data cables from conflict in West Asia.

• The IMD forecast landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam.
• The Bay of Bengal is prone to cyclones in the post-monsoon season (October to December) because of warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear.

Useful for disaster preparedness: early warning, red alerts and the zero casualty approach stressed by Odisha's Chief Minister.

2014 · GS1 · 10 marks Tropical cyclones are largely confined to the South China Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Mexico. Why?

How to use it: The article explains that warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear make the Bay of Bengal cyclone-prone in the post-monsoon season.

• The Niño 3.4 region lies between 5°N and 5°S, and 170°W and 120°W.
• A very strong El Niño has a 90-day Niño 3.4 anomaly above 2°C; past examples are 1982-83, 1997-98 and 2015-16.

Useful for questions on El Niño's global effects, ocean heat and India's monsoon and reservoir storage.

2014 · GS1 · 10 marks Most of the unusual climatic happenings are explained as an outcome of the El-Nino effect. Do you agree?

How to use it: A likely strong to very strong El Niño in 2026-27, yet a 13% monsoon shortfall without severe drought, shows the El Niño-monsoon link is complex.

• The study introduced the Urban Homogeneous Scale (UHS) to measure the size of clusters of similar buildings.
• Each 100-metre rise in UHS was linked to a 4.5% fall in urban heat island intensity.

Gives an urban design tool to combine with green infrastructure and cool surfaces against urban heat.

• Coral bleaching occurs when stressed corals expel their symbiotic algae, called zooxanthellae.
• Indian corals, especially around Lakshadweep, were affected by the 2023 to 2025 heat stress.

Useful for reef conservation: lab advances offer hope but cannot replace cutting the warming that causes bleaching.

• Section 8(6) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and Rule 7 of the DPDP Rules, 2025 are slated to take effect on 13 May 2027.
• Customers can complain to their bank, the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal or the RBI Integrated Ombudsman.

Shows gaps in breach notification while key DPDP provisions are not yet in force, and the cyber risks facing banks.

2024 · GS3 · 10 marks Describe the context and salient features of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

How to use it: The SBI exposure of 3,897 customer records gives context for the DPDP Act's Section 8(6), which with Rule 7 of the DPDP Rules, 2025 is slated to take effect only on 13 May 2027.

• Ladakh became a Union Territory without a legislature in 2019, separate from Jammu and Kashmir.
• In 2023 the MHA set up a High-Powered Committee under Nityanand Rai on Ladakh's culture, language, land and employment.

Feeds debates on asymmetric federalism, Sixth Schedule and Article 371 demands, and democratic representation in Union Territories.

2026 · GS2 · 15 marks How far has the Indian federal framework been successful in accommodating regional and cultural diversities? Highlight the role of asymmetric federalism and suggest measures to make dispute resolution mechanisms more…

How to use it: Ladakh's demands for a legislature and Article 371 safeguards, and the Centre's draft response, are a live case of accommodating regional diversity through asymmetric arrangements.

• India hosts the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in the Central Hall of Parliament on 26 and 27 October 2026.
• The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly 20 to 25% of the world's seaborne oil.

Shows how West Asian instability touches India's diplomacy as BRICS chair and its interest in secure Gulf shipping lanes.

• The Oskar Klein Medal is awarded annually by Stockholm University and the Nobel Committee for Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
• Ashoke Sen's earlier honours include the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2012), the Padma Bhushan (2013) and the Dirac Medal (2014).

An example of Indian achievement in fundamental science and the role of research institutions such as ICTS.

• Bihar's Prohibition and State Narcotics Control Bureau was set up in September 2025 by merging the Anti Narcotics Task Force with the police prohibition wing.
• Bihar has had a prohibition policy in force since 2016.

An example for the debate on prohibition's unintended effects and the balance between supply control and demand reduction in drug policy.

• Small exporters can use a self-declaration for transactions up to Rs 10 lakh per bill instead of uploading an invoice.
• The period for realising service export proceeds was cut to nine months, or 12 months if invoiced or settled in Indian rupees.

Shows the trade-off between foreign exchange oversight and ease of doing business for small digital service exporters.

• The PMRC Scheme 2026 aims to bring at least 120 internationally recognised researchers to IITs over five years.
• VAIBHAV stands for Vaishvik Bharatiya Vaigyanik Fellowship.

Relevant to AI's impact on jobs and policy for skills that rely on human creativity and cultural knowledge.

• The AIP system was developed by DRDO's Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL).
• Kalvari-class submarines are diesel-electric attack submarines based on the French Scorpène design.

An example of indigenisation in defence technology that improves the stealth and endurance of conventional submarines.

• AATAL was set up under Mission Mausam at the Delhi branch of IITM.
• AIRWISE provides air quality forecasts at 400-metre resolution for the next 72 hours.

Shows science-based source apportionment and forecasting supporting preventive air pollution action in Delhi-NCR.

• VB-G RAM G guarantees 125 days of wage employment a year to every rural household volunteering for unskilled manual work.
• Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, prepared with Gram Sabha participation, are central to planning under the Act.

Useful for questions on rural employment guarantees, decentralised planning and transparency tools such as e-KYC, geo-tagging and DBT.

• India's ABS framework aligns with the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol and Target 13 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
• India's ABS experience is to be highlighted at a side event of CBD COP 17 in Yerevan, Armenia, in October 2026.

An example of benefit-sharing that returns value from commercial use of biological resources to conservation.