# UPSC current affairs, 8 November 2026 URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-08/ 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 ### Ten years after demonetisation, cash is back at about 12% of GDP despite the UPI boom URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-08/demonetisation-decade-cash-data/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-08/demonetisation-decade-cash-data.md) Source: The Hindu, News. UPSC papers: GS3, GS2 **In one line:** A decade after ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes were withdrawn, almost all the money came back, cash is again about 12% of GDP, and the main lasting change is the rise of digital payments. Prelims facts: - Demonetisation was announced on 8 November 2016 and covered ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes, about 86% of currency in circulation by value. - RBI's Annual Report 2017-18: ₹15.31 lakh crore of ₹15.42 lakh crore in specified bank notes (99.3%) returned to banks. - Currency in circulation as a share of GDP fell from 12.1% (2015-16) to 8.7% (2016-17) and is back at about 12% in 2025-26. - UPI transactions rose from 1.78 crore in 2016-17 to about 24,162 crore in 2025-26, but UPI was only 9.5% of payment value in 2025. - The Supreme Court upheld demonetisation 4:1 on 2 January 2023 (Vivek Narayan Sharma v. Union of India); Justice B.V. Nagarathna dissented. ### In Bastar, PM calls this the first Diwali with every district free of Naxalism URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-08/pm-bastar-diwali-naxal-free/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-08/pm-bastar-diwali-naxal-free.md) Source: PIB, Government release. UPSC papers: GS3, GS2 **In one line:** On Diwali 2026, the PM told security forces in Bastar that every district is now free of Naxalism, after the Home Ministry ended the 'LWE-affected' category in April 2026. Prelims facts: - The PM addressed security forces in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, on Diwali, 8 November 2026, calling it the first Diwali with every district free of Naxalism. - He said over 230 districts in about 20 States were once affected, and that in the past year no CRPF jawan died on duty for the first time in 47 years. - On 8 April 2026, the Home Ministry told nine States that no district remains in the LWE-affected category, after the 31 March 2026 deadline. - The Home Ministry placed 37 districts in a 'Legacy and Thrust' category and West Singhbhum (Jharkhand) as a 'District of Concern'. - The 2015 National Policy and Action Plan to Address LWE combines security operations with development and rights. ### Fourth of 19 judges quits Bengal's SIR appeal tribunals as Murshidabad appeals stall URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-08/bengal-sir-tribunal-fourth-resignation/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-08/bengal-sir-tribunal-fourth-resignation.md) Source: The Hindu, News. UPSC papers: GS2 **In one line:** A fourth retired judge has quit the 19 appellate tribunals hearing appeals against West Bengal's SIR deletions, leaving Murshidabad's appeals stalled. Prelims facts: - Retired judge Biswajit Basu is the fourth of 19 retired judges to quit the West Bengal SIR appellate tribunals. - The West Bengal SIR deleted nearly 91 lakh voters from the electoral rolls. - On 10 March 2026, the Supreme Court ordered appellate tribunals of former High Court judges for SIR exclusions in West Bengal; the EC notified 19 tribunals in March. - Under Section 24 of the RPA, 1950, appeals against an Electoral Registration Officer's orders go to a district magistrate or equivalent, and then to the Chief Electoral Officer. - In West Bengal, SIR claims and objections were decided by judicial officers drawn from West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand. ### Editorial: A seabird's 'jet lag' shows how a sun compass can mislead a sure navigator URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-08/manx-shearwater-sun-compass-editorial/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-08/manx-shearwater-sun-compass-editorial.md) Source: Indian Express, Editorial. UPSC papers: GS3, GS4 **In one line:** Manx shearwaters steer by the Sun using their body clocks, and when long eastward flights leave those clocks behind local time, the birds drift slightly off course, a seabird version of jet lag. Prelims facts: - A University of Oxford study of Manx shearwaters, published in Science in October 2026, used about 20 years of GPS data on 1,045 birds and 3,688 foraging trips. - Shearwaters use a sun compass, which requires knowing the time of day; flying east can leave their internal clocks up to an hour behind local time. - Eastward-flying birds drifted clockwise, a pattern better explained by sun-compass error than by changes in the Earth's magnetic field. - The birds kept relying on the Sun even over visible coastlines, though the errors were small and correctable. - The Indian Express editorial uses the finding to argue that confidence in a destination does not guarantee the right route. ### IAF's IL-76 lands at Nyoma near the LAC at 13,629 feet, its highest landing anywhere URL: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-08/iaf-il76-nyoma-record-landing/ (Markdown: https://upsc.help/current-affairs/2026-11-08/iaf-il76-nyoma-record-landing.md) Source: The Hindu, News. UPSC papers: GS3, GS2 **In one line:** An IAF IL-76MD heavy transport landed at Nyoma in eastern Ladakh at 13,629 feet on 7 November 2026, showing that India's largest airlifters can now operate about 25 km from the LAC. Prelims facts: - On 7 November 2026, an IAF IL-76MD landed at Nyoma, eastern Ladakh, at 13,629 feet, the type's highest landing anywhere in the world, per the IAF. - Nyoma is about 25 km from the LAC; it was inaugurated on 12 November 2025 and has a 2.7 km runway built by the Border Roads Organisation. - Nyoma is Ladakh's fourth air force base after Leh, Kargil and Thoise. - Daulat Beg Oldi, an Advanced Landing Ground at 16,700 feet, is known as the world's highest airfield. - The IL-76MD 'Gajraj' is a Russian-origin, four-engine heavy-lift transport inducted into the IAF in 1985. ## Other articles in brief ### 31,000 visitors see sacred Buddha relics at Tawang Monastery; relics move to Bomdila and Namsai PIB (Government release). The Ministry of Culture, with the Arunachal Pradesh government and the International Buddhist Confederation, held a seven-day exposition of sacred relics of Shakyamuni Buddha at Tawang Monastery that ended on 7 November 2026, drawing 31,000 devotees and visitors. The relics, brought from the National Museum, New Delhi, will be shown at Bomdila from 8 to 13 November and at the Golden Pagoda in Namsai from 14 to 20 November. Prelims facts: - Tawang Monastery is also known as Gaden Namgyal Lhatse. - An IBC exhibition at Tawang told the story of the Piprahwa relics, discovered in 1898. - The relics return to the National Museum, New Delhi, on 21 November 2026. Mains angle: An example of cultural diplomacy and preservation of Buddhist heritage, which the release says strengthens India's ties with Buddhist communities worldwide. ### Labour Ministry holds 'Shram Samvad' awareness programme on Labour Codes in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh PIB (Government release). The Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Madhya Pradesh Labour Department held 'Shram Samvad', a district-level capacity-building and awareness programme on the Labour Codes, in Dewas on 5 November 2026. More than 100 participants were briefed on employer compliance under all four Labour Codes and the central rules notified under them, and given the Ministry's 'Compliance Handbook for Employers'. Prelims facts: - EPFO officials held a session on the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY). - DGLW officials held a session on the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) scheme. Mains angle: Shows the implementation stage of labour reforms: Centre-State coordination and employer awareness on compliance under the four Labour Codes. ### Defence Minister spends Diwali with Trishakti Corps troops at forward posts in Sikkim PIB (Government release). Defence Minister Rajnath Singh celebrated Diwali on 8 November 2026 with soldiers of the Trishakti Corps (33 Corps) in forward areas of Sikkim, with Army chief General Dheeraj Seth. At Sherathang he urged soldiers to strengthen trust with local communities, paid tribute at the Sherathang War Memorial and visited the Baba Harbhajan Singh Memorial. Prelims facts: - The Trishakti Corps is the Army's 33 Corps, deployed in Sikkim. - The Defence Minister said around 26,000 names of fallen soldiers are inscribed at the National War Memorial in New Delhi. Mains angle: Relevant to GS3 border management: the Minister stressed that soldiers' conduct shapes Army-civilian trust in border areas.