Today's 5 stories
Polity and governanceThe Hindu, Page 1GS3GS2Must read
On 29 October 2026, a three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana, hearing the Supreme Court's suo motu case on "digital arrest" scams, said it was proposing to direct that banks and other financial institutions compensate victims, and face prosecution, wherever a failure of due diligence on their part is proven. In a digital arrest, fraudsters pose as police or investigating officers on phone or video calls, tell victims they are under investigation and frighten them into transferring money. The idea has no legal basis: no law enforcement agency arrests anyone over a video call. The CJI asked why banks could not flag transactions that depart sharply from a customer's usual pattern and hold them until verified, remarking that a report filed after the fraud "will only be post-mortem". Amicus curiae N.S. Nappinai cited a recent case in which one woman lost ₹2.5 crore, and about ₹800 crore was cited as lost to such scams this year.
Prelims facts
- On 29 October 2026, a Bench led by CJI Surya Kant proposed that banks compensate digital arrest victims and face prosecution where their failure of due diligence is proven.
- The Attorney General said the RBI (Know Your Customer) Amendment Directions, 2026 should be notified by 30 November and operational by 31 December 2026.
- The case is a suo motu writ, In Re: Victims of Digital Arrest Related to Forged Documents (SMW (Crl.) 3/2025).
- The RBI's circular of 6 July 2017 gives customers zero liability for unauthorised electronic transactions caused by the bank's fraud, negligence or deficiency.
- In August 2026 the Court gave the RBI four weeks to adopt an SOP for temporary debit holds on accounts linked to cyber fraud.
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Polity and governanceIndian Express, Page 7GS2GS3
On 29 October 2026, a Supreme Court Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana criticised the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) over the staffing of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), saying the system had been "completely hijacked" by the ministry. In the case, Ziyaul Haq and others v Union of India (WP(c) No. 1385/2026), Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora told the Court that recruitment of NCLT staff, including those attached to judicial members, had been outsourced to a private entity, and that employees who had worked there for nearly eight years could be removed as early as 1 or 2 November. She argued this threatened judicial independence and raised concerns under Articles 14 and 16 (equality before law and equality of opportunity in public employment). The CJI said: "The Ministry wants to have complete grip over the institution" and "The entire power of appointment must be with [NCLT] President only."
Prelims facts
- On 29 October 2026 the Supreme Court said NCLT staffing had been "completely hijacked" by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and that appointment power should lie with the NCLT President.
- The NCLT and NCLAT Presidents must submit proposals on staffing and infrastructure within four weeks.
- The MCA says it has only an administrative role in appointing the NCLT's 63 judicial and technical members, and that staff management was delegated to the NCLT on 14 October 2019.
- The NCLT and NCLAT were constituted on 1 June 2016 under the Companies Act, 2013; the NCLAT under Section 410.
- On 19 November 2025 the Supreme Court struck down the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 and ordered a National Tribunal Commission.
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Science and technologyIndian Express, ExplainedGS3Must read
ISRO scheduled the launch of the NVS-03 navigation satellite on the GSLV-F18 mission for 11:51 pm on 30 October 2026, from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. It is the 20th flight of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), a three-stage rocket about 50 m tall with a lift-off mass of about 420 tonnes, whose third stage is an indigenous cryogenic stage burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The rocket is to place the satellite, of about 2,250 kg, in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) of 170 km by 37,023 km at an inclination of 20.75 degrees; the satellite then raises itself to its final orbit using its own thrusters. NVS-03 is the third satellite of ISRO's second-generation NVS series, meant to keep the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) running. It carries an indigenous atomic clock along with procured atomic clocks and adds an L1 signal to the existing L5 and S band signals.
Prelims facts
- NVS-03 was scheduled for launch on GSLV-F18, the 20th GSLV flight, at 11:51 pm on 30 October 2026 from Sriharikota's Second Launch Pad.
- NVS-03 carries an indigenous atomic clock with procured clocks and adds an L1 signal to NavIC's existing L5 and S signals.
- Only three NavIC satellites (IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I and NVS-01) are working; at least four are needed for standalone positioning.
- NVS-02, launched on 29 January 2025 as Sriharikota's 100th launch, was stranded because the oxidiser valves for its thrusters did not open.
- NavIC covers India and about 1,500 km beyond it, with position accuracy better than 20 m under its Standard Positioning Service.
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Environment and geographyIndian Express, Page 2GS1GS3
A study published online on 28 October 2026 in the journal Landslides (Springer) has modelled what would happen if ice broke off three hanging glaciers above Badrinath township in Uttarakhand's Central Himalaya. The authors, including Abhilash Gogineni, Anil V. Kulkarni and H.S. Negi, are from the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, the Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment of the DRDO in Chandigarh, and the University of Cambridge. A hanging glacier is a mass of ice clinging to a steep slope or cliff above a valley, often ending abruptly at a drop, so pieces can break away and fall as ice avalanches. The team used satellite imagery to identify the three unstable glaciers and computer models to simulate the avalanches. It found that the avalanches could reach about 398 buildings and a helipad in the town, and it calls for hazard mapping and tighter rules on construction.
Prelims facts
- A study in the journal Landslides (online 28 October 2026) found that ice avalanches from three hanging glaciers could reach about 398 buildings in Badrinath.
- The study was by researchers from IISc's Divecha Centre for Climate Change, DRDO's Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment and the University of Cambridge.
- An April 2026 inventory found 219 hanging glaciers in the Alaknanda basin, holding about 0.74 cubic km of hanging ice.
- The 7 February 2021 Chamoli disaster was a rock and ice collapse from Ronti Peak, not a glacial lake outburst flood.
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EconomyPIB, Government releaseGS3Must read
On 30 October 2026, the Ministry of Finance announced the constitution of the High-Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat, with a tenure of six months. It is chaired by Suresh N. Patel, former Central Vigilance Commissioner. Its members are Shirish Chandra Murmu, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI); Padmaja Chundru, former Managing Director and CEO of Indian Bank; and N.S. Vishwanathan, former Deputy Governor of the RBI. The Joint Secretary (Banking) in the Department of Financial Services is Member Secretary. The committee fulfils an announcement in the Union Budget 2026-27, presented on 1 February 2026, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said: "I propose setting up a High-Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat to comprehensively review the sector." She described it as a way to align the sector with India's next phase of growth while safeguarding financial stability, inclusion and consumer protection.
Prelims facts
- The High-Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat, constituted on 30 October 2026, is chaired by former Central Vigilance Commissioner Suresh N. Patel and has a six-month tenure.
- Its members include RBI Deputy Governor Shirish Chandra Murmu, former RBI Deputy Governor N.S. Vishwanathan and former Indian Bank MD and CEO Padmaja Chundru.
- The committee was announced in the Union Budget 2026-27 on 1 February 2026.
- Its terms of reference include reviewing the Priority Sector Lending framework and the Lead Bank Scheme, and a roadmap for AI in banking.
- Domestic commercial banks must lend 40% of adjusted net bank credit to priority sectors, including 18% to agriculture.
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