EconomyThe Hindu, NewsGS3GS2Must read
On 8 November 2016, the government withdrew the legal tender status of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes, known officially as specified bank notes (SBNs). These notes made up about 86% of the currency in circulation by value. The stated aims were to fight black money, counterfeit currency and terror financing. On the tenth anniversary, The Hindu reviewed RBI data and reported that detections of counterfeit ₹500 notes have risen, although counterfeits across all denominations per crore notes have fallen. The RBI's Annual Report for 2017-18 had already shown that ₹15.31 lakh crore of the ₹15.42 lakh crore withdrawn, or 99.3%, came back to the banking system, even though officials had expected ₹3 lakh crore to ₹5 lakh crore not to return.
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.
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Polity and governancePIB, Government releaseGS3GS2Must read
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent Diwali, 8 November 2026, with security forces in the forests of Bastar, Chhattisgarh. According to the text of his speech released by PIB, he said this was the first Diwali when every district in the country is free of Naxalism. He recalled that at one time more than 230 districts in about 20 States were in its grip, and that 76 CRPF personnel were killed in an encounter with Naxalites in Dantewada in 2010. He said that in the past year, for the first time in 47 years, not a single CRPF jawan lost his life on duty.
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.
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Polity and governanceThe Hindu, NewsGS2Must read
Retired Calcutta High Court judge Biswajit Basu has resigned from the appellate tribunals hearing appeals against deletions in West Bengal's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, citing personal reasons. He wrote to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on Friday, 6 November 2026, and the resignation was reported on 7 November. He is the fourth of the 19 retired judges heading the tribunals to step down, after former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and retired judges Ranjit Kumar Bag and Indrajit Chatterjee. Chatterjee had cited the strain of a daily commute of about 22 km and said he had expected the job to last two to three months.
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.
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Environment and geographyIndian Express, EditorialGS3GS4
The Indian Express editorial of 8 November 2026, 'The bird that follows the Sun, and steps out of time', draws on a new study of the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), a seabird closely related to the albatross that nests on islands off the western coasts of Britain and Ireland. University of Oxford researchers, including behavioural ecologist Patrick Lewin, analysed about two decades of GPS tracking data, covering 1,045 birds and 3,688 foraging trips over the Atlantic. The work, published in the journal Science in late October 2026, found that long flights across time zones can throw the birds' internal clocks out of step with local solar time, much like human 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.
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International relationsThe Hindu, NewsGS3GS2
An Indian Air Force IL-76MD heavy transport aircraft landed at the Nyoma air base in eastern Ladakh on Saturday, 7 November 2026, at an altitude of 13,629 feet. The IAF said on X that it was the 'highest-altitude landing ever achieved by the aircraft anywhere in the world', calling it 'a milestone that reinforces India's strategic airlift capability' and crediting the crew's skill and precision. Nyoma is about 25 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The IL-76MD, known in the IAF as 'Gajraj', is a Russian-origin, four-engine military transport inducted on 16 June 1985. It carries troops, vehicles and heavy equipment such as T-72 tanks over long distances.
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.
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