Oct 26 – Nov 01
Only a Quarter of Global Ecosystem Restoration Pledges Are on the Ground: What the New UN Report Says
A new United Nations report, Nature's Comeback: Scaling Ecosystem Restoration for People and Planet, was released on 29 October 2026. It is ...
National Social Security Board Notified: Gig and Platform Workers Get a Formal Voice in Welfare Policy
The Ministry of Labour and Employment notified the National Social Security Board for unorganised workers and for gig and platform workers u...
GSLV-F18 Countdown for NVS-03: ISRO's Bid to Bring NavIC Back to Full Strength
The countdown for the GSLV-F18 rocket was progressing ahead of a planned lift-off at 11:51 p.m. IST on 30 October 2026. The launch is from t...
ISRO's NVS-03 Launch: Why It Matters for Restoring NavIC, India's Own Navigation System
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scheduled the launch of the NVS-03 navigation satellite on the GSLV-F18 rocket for 30 October ...
India-EU Free Trade Agreement: Signing Expected in December 2026, Entry into Force by Mid-2027
The chair of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee said the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to be formally sig...
World Bank: Extreme Poverty in India Falls Sharply, but the Earnings Gap Stays Wide
The World Bank's latest Poverty and Equity Brief for India shows a steep fall in poverty over a little more than a decade. Extreme poverty, ...
PM-KISAN 24th Instalment Released: Income Support, Direct Benefit Transfer and Farm Infrastructure
The Centre released the 24th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) at an event in Banaskantha, Gujarat. About ₹18,6...
India-US Trade Deal: Government Says Farmers' Interests Are Protected as Farm Groups Raise Concerns
The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that India has not compromised farmers' interests in the first phase of the India-US Bilate...
India-US Interim Trade Pact Still Pending as Foreign Ministers Meet at the G20 in Atlanta
India's External Affairs Minister is likely to meet the US Secretary of State on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atla...
Super El Niño Could Cause 55,000 Extra Heat Deaths in India by March 2027: What the New Projection Means
The Climate Impact Lab at the University of Chicago estimates that the 2026 super El Niño could cause about 55,000 additional heat-related d...
India Offers Counter-Terrorism Expertise to ASEAN Partners at the 13th ADMM-Plus in Cebu
India's Defence Minister spoke at the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), held on 29 October 2026 in Cebu, the Philippin...
India-US Trade Deal: Protecting Sensitive Sectors, and Why India Stayed Out of RCEP
The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry said the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) will protect all of India's sensitive interest...
Supreme Court Rules Out a Total Firecracker Ban in Delhi-NCR but Warns Authorities to Enforce Its Orders
A Supreme Court bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale said it is not inclined to impose a complete ban on firecrackers in D...
Supreme Court Issues Notice on a PIL Challenging India's Gender Identity Framework Built on the NALSA Judgment
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL: a case filed in court for the public good, not just for the person filing it) has been filed in the Supre...
India Rejects Patent Application for the BPaL Drug-Resistant TB Regimen
The Indian Patent Office rejected a patent application for the BPaL treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), in an order dated 27 Oct...
Textile PLI Scheme Reopens for a Fourth Round with a Lower Turnover Bar for Mid-sized Firms
The Ministry of Textiles will reopen the application portal of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Textiles for a fourth round,...
India at the 13th ADMM-Plus: Counter-Terror Cooperation and India's Role as Net Security Provider
India took part in the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), held on 28 and 29 October 2026 in Cebu, the Philippines. The ...
India-US Trade Deal: Why India Wants a Tariff Edge Over Rival Exporters
The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry said India will gain a strong comparative advantage (an edge over rival exporting countries) onc...
Oil Palm Mission: 47% of This Year's Area Target Covered, Bihar Joins
India has brought about 55,614 hectares of new land under oil palm in the current financial year (2026-27). This is about 47% of the year's ...
ISRO to Launch NVS-03 Navigation Satellite on GSLV: Why It Matters for NavIC
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch the navigation satellite NVS-03 on Friday, 30 October 2026, from the Satish D...
ISRO to Launch NVS-03: Why India's NavIC Navigation System Needs It
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch the navigation satellite NVS-03 on 30 October 2026 from the Satish Dhawan Spac...
India Backs ASEAN Centrality at the 13th ADMM-Plus in Cebu
India's Defence Minister led the Indian delegation at the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cebu, Philippines, held ...
DPDP Act and Press Freedom: The Debate Over a Journalism Exemption
The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said on 28 October 2026 that the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP...
PM-KISAN 24th Instalment: ₹18,680 Crore for 9.34 Crore Farmer Families
The 24th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme is to be released on 30 October 2026 at a national event in Gujarat (Bhildi, Banaskantha district...
Green Finance in India Reaches $82 Billion, but Money Still Flows Mostly to Established Sectors
A new report, The Landscape of Green Finance in India (fourth edition), was released by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), a global climate fi...
Supreme Court Panel (CEC) Recommends Steps to Protect Himachal Pradesh's Fragile Himalayan Ecosystem
The Supreme Court's Central Empowered Committee (CEC) released a report on the ecology and environment of Himachal Pradesh. The report is da...
PMEGP: ₹1,000 Crore Subsidy Released to Help Start 11,333 New Micro Enterprises
The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) released ₹1,000 crore as margin money subsidy (a one-time government grant that p...
PLI Scheme for Textiles Extended to 2033-34: Lower Entry Bar to Bring In More MSMEs
The Ministry of Textiles has opened a fourth round (Round 4) of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Textiles. Companies approve...
Cabinet Approves Rs 10,000 Crore Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme: Why India Wants to Make Its Own Shipping Boxes
The Union Cabinet approved the Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme (CMPS) with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore. It was first announced in ...
Cabinet Approves ₹10,000 Crore Container Manufacturing Scheme and ₹1,857 Crore Sports Goods Scheme
On 28 October 2026, the Union Cabinet approved the Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme (CMPS) with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore, to be ru...
UK Carbon Border Tax Starts on 1 January 2027: India Seeks More Talks to Protect Exporters
The United Kingdom's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (UK CBAM), a charge on the carbon emitted while making certain imported goods, start...
Delhi Voter List Revision: Demand for Rollback Over Large-Scale Exclusions, and the Legal Safeguards on Deleting Voters
A group of opposition parties has demanded that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Delhi's voter list be rolled back. They allege that ...
Delhi SIR: Supreme Court Asks Whether Voters Can Lose the Right to Vote for Missing an Enumeration Form
On 28 October 2026, a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana heard a petition about ...
PM Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana: ₹7,395 Crore Plan to Strengthen Panchayats Till 2030-31
The Union Cabinet approved the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana (PM-VGSY) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (a scheme in which the Cen...
Supreme Court: Legality of the "Logical Discrepancy" Check in Voter List Revision Is Still Undecided
On 28 October 2026, a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said it has not yet...
Khelo India Sports Goods Manufacturing Scheme: ₹1,856 Crore to Make India a Hub for Sports Equipment
The Union Cabinet approved the Khelo India Sports Goods Manufacturing Scheme with an outlay of about ₹1,856.67 crore for eight years, 2026-2...
Cabinet Approves PM Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana: Rs 7,395 Crore to Strengthen Gram Panchayats Till 2030-31
On 28 October 2026, the Union Cabinet approved the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana (PM VGSY) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (a sch...
PM-KUSUM 2.0: Experts Seek Focus on Farmer Benefits, Timely DISCOM Payments and Agrivoltaics
The first phase of PM-KUSUM (the central scheme for solar power in farming, launched in 2019) ended in March 2026. The government is now pre...
Greenhouse Gases Hit Record Highs in 2025: What the WMO Bulletin Says
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. It shows that the amounts of the three main long-li...
PM Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana: ₹7,395 Crore to Help Panchayats Plan, Audit and Raise Their Own Money
The Union Cabinet approved the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana (PM VGSY) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (a scheme carried out by s...
Centre Open to Changing the Data Protection Law to Protect Press Freedom
The Union government, through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said it is open to making changes in the Digit...
India and Mexico Begin Talks on a Preferential Trade Agreement to Boost Trade and Investment
India and Mexico have started negotiations for a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), a limited trade deal in which each side cuts import dut...
India and US Defence Ministers Review the 10-Year Defence Framework at ADMM-Plus
India's Defence Minister and the US Secretary of War (the head of the US defence department) met and reviewed how far the two countries have...
India-China Border Face-Offs in Arunachal Pradesh: What the ITBP Chief's Remarks Mean
The Director General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) said at an event in Rajasthan (around 22 October 2026) that face-offs between ...
US Loosens Methane Rules for the Oil and Gas Industry: What It Means for Climate Goals
The United States government announced a major rollback of rules that limit methane emissions from oil and gas producers. These rules were a...
India and Mexico Launch Talks for a Preferential Trade Agreement
India and Mexico signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) to formally start negotiations on a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). A ToR is the ag...
India at the UN: The Veto Cannot Stay Limited to the P5 in a Reformed Security Council
India told the United Nations that in a reformed Security Council, the veto cannot remain limited to the five current permanent members (the...
SEBI Considers Easing Extra Ownership Disclosure Rules for Foreign Portfolio Investors
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is reviewing its additional disclosure rules for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs). These...
12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in New Delhi Adopts Joint Declaration on Terrorism and UN Reform
The 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum was held in New Delhi on 26–27 October 2026, at Samvidhan Sadan in the Parliament House complex. It was c...
UN's 2026 NDC Synthesis Report: Climate Pledges Cut Emissions Only 6% by 2035
The secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) released its 2026 NDC Synthesis Report on 27 October 2...
Form 6 and the SIR Declaration: Why the Election Commission Says the Extra Page Is Not Part of the Voter Form
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has taken the stand that the additional declaration it attached to Form 6 during the Special Intensiv...
Supreme Court Hears Pleas Against the CEC Over SIR Decisions: Election Commission Says Decisions Were Unanimous
On 27 October 2026, the Supreme Court took up petitions against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and decisions taken during t...
Government Reviews Capital Gains Tax and STT as Foreign Investors Pull Money Out of Indian Shares
The Union government has started reviewing two taxes on the share market: the long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax and the securities transact...
China Calls Its Arunachal Patrols "Normal": What the LAC Face-Offs Mean and How Border Peace Is Kept
On 26 October 2026, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its troops are only doing 'normal' border patrols in the eastern sector of the ...
Protests Against the Siang Mega-Dam Turn Violent in Arunachal Pradesh
Protests against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), a planned 11,200 MW hydropower and water-storage dam on the Siang riv...
India at the UN: Veto for All Permanent Members of a Reformed Security Council
On 26 October 2026, India spoke at a United Nations General Assembly meeting on the veto, held as part of the Intergovernmental Negotiations...