Weekly Current Affairs

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Weekly Current Affairs – Top 20 (27 Oct – 2 Nov 2026)

27 October 2026 – 2 November 2026 · The 20 most exam-worthy current affairs of the week for TNPSC and UPSC, picked from our daily current affairs – one crisp pointer each, with a link to the full day's notes, followed by a 10-question self-test.

Top 20 of the week

  1. Economy · EnergyMoRTH amended Rule 115 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 (G.S.R. 911(E), Gazette 26 Oct 2026) to add E100 (100% ethanol) alongside E85 as fuel for flex-fuel vehicles; the power comes from Section 110 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
    27 October 2026 · full news
  2. Polity · StatesThe Kerala Assembly unanimously passed the Keralam Senior Citizens (Care and Protection of Rights) Bill, 2026 ('Vayojana Bill') on 26 Oct 2026 – up to 3 years' jail and a ₹50,000 fine for abandoning or ill-treating elders or misappropriating their property; it also recognises the 'living will'.
    27 October 2026 · full news
  3. Schemes · Panchayati RajThe Union Cabinet (28 Oct 2026) approved the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana (PM-VGSY), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for 2026–27 to 2030–31 with an outlay of ₹7,395.55 crore (Centre ₹4,869.48 crore); about 32 lakh panchayat representatives and functionaries will benefit.
    28 October 2026 · full news
  4. Economy · IndustryThe Union Cabinet approved the ₹10,000 crore Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme (CMPS), valid till 2039–40, to raise India's shipping-container capacity about tenfold to 7.5 lakh TEU a year (1 TEU = one 20-ft container).
    28 October 2026 · full news
  5. EnvironmentIUCN's first global Red List of Ecosystems assessment of coral reefs (22 Oct 2026, at CBD COP17, Yerevan) found 96% of warm-water reef ecosystems (122 of 127 ecoregions) Critically Endangered, with an extremely high risk of collapse by 2075.
    28 October 2026 · full news
  6. International RelationsThe 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum was held on 26–27 Oct 2026 at Samvidhan Sadan, New Delhi, under India's BRICS chairship and chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla; it adopted the 'New Delhi Declaration' (UN/Security Council reform, zero tolerance for terrorism, fair access to AI).
    28 October 2026 · full news
  7. Awards · EnvironmentThe Earthshot Prize – the environment prize founded by Prince William in 2020 – holds its Awards Night in India for the first time, in Mumbai on 17 Nov 2026; five winners will get £1 million each.
    28 October 2026 · full news
  8. Tamil Nadu · RecruitmentTamil Nadu raised the upper age limit for direct recruitment to State Government posts by 5 years, for five years from 30 Oct 2026 – e.g. Group-I general 32 → 37; Group-II/IIA and Group-IV general 30 → 35.
    30 October 2026 · full news
  9. Tamil Nadu · Important DaysPasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar's 119th Jayanti and 64th Guru Puja were held as a State function on 30 Oct 2026 at Pasumpon (Ramanathapuram district); he was both born (1908) and died (1963) on 30 October and was Tamil Nadu president of the All India Forward Bloc.
    30 October 2026 · full news
  10. Polity · Reports & IndicesThe World Justice Project released its Rule of Law Index 2026 (21 Oct), covering 143 countries; Denmark was ranked first and Venezuela last.
    30 October 2026 · full news
  11. Economy · GSTOn the 57th GST Council's recommendation, GST on delivery services supplied through e-commerce operators (other than courier and postal) was cut from 18% to 5% without input tax credit, effective 1 Nov 2026; where the delivery person is not liable to register, the platform pays the tax under Section 9(5) of the CGST Act.
    30 October 2026 · full news
  12. Art & Culture · HeritageThe Sirpur Cultural and Archaeological Landscape (Mahasamund district, Chhattisgarh, on the Mahanadi) was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List; with two Andaman sites also added, India's Tentative List now has 81 properties.
    30 October 2026 · full news
  13. Environment · BiodiversityThe UN named India's Ganges River Dolphin Recovery Programme a 'World Restoration Flagship' under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration; the Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is India's National Aquatic Animal (2009) and 'Endangered' on the IUCN list.
    30 October 2026 · full news
  14. Economy · PovertyThe World Bank's Poverty and Equity Brief (Oct 2026) says India's extreme poverty fell from 27.1% (2011) to 2.6% (2023), with about 496 million people moving out of poverty; the international extreme-poverty line is $3.00 a day (2021 PPP).
    30 October 2026 · full news
  15. Defence · AppointmentsAir Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit took charge as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff on 31 Oct 2026, succeeding Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh; Air Marshal Inderpal Singh Walia was named the new Vice Chief of the Air Staff (taking over on 1 Nov).
    1 November 2026 · full news
  16. Science & Technology · SpaceISRO's GSLV-F18 (20th GSLV flight) launched NVS-03 – the third next-generation NVS navigation satellite – from Sriharikota on 30 Oct 2026 into GTO; it adds the L1 signal and helps restore NavIC services.
    1 November 2026 · full news
  17. International Relations · WaterThe 30-year India–Bangladesh Ganga Waters Treaty (signed 12 Dec 1996 by H.D. Deve Gowda and Sheikh Hasina; water-sharing at Farakka Barrage) expires on 12 Dec 2026; Bangladesh wants a new pact with a 'guarantee clause', while India says river talks go through the Joint Rivers Commission.
    1 November 2026 · full news
  18. SportsManisha Bhanwala (Haryana) won women's freestyle 59 kg gold at the World Wrestling Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan (30 Oct 2026) – the first Indian woman senior world wrestling champion; India's only earlier world champion was Sushil Kumar (2010).
    1 November 2026 · full news
  19. Tamil Nadu · Important DaysTamil Nadu Day was celebrated on 1 Nov 2026 – on 1 Nov 1956 the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 reorganised Madras State on linguistic lines; the State now celebrates both 18 July (1967 Assembly resolution for the name 'Tamil Nadu') and 1 November.
    1 November 2026 · full news
  20. SportsAt the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games (Senegal – the first Olympic event held in Africa), 16-year-old Dhinidhi Desinghu won bronze in the girls' 100m freestyle on 2 Nov – India's first-ever swimming medal at the Youth Olympics.
    2 November 2026 · full news

Quiz – 10 questions

1In October 2026 the Central Motor Vehicles Rules were amended to add which fuel alongside E85 for flex-fuel vehicles?
Answer: B) E100
Rule 115 now reads 'E85 or E100' – E100 is 100% ethanol fuel (G.S.R. 911(E)).
2Which Ministry implements the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana (PM-VGSY) approved on 28 Oct 2026?
Answer: D) Ministry of Panchayati Raj
PM-VGSY is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (2026–27 to 2030–31; ₹7,395.55 crore).
3Including projected warming, what share of the world's warm-water coral reef ecosystems did IUCN's Red List of Ecosystems (Oct 2026) assess as Critically Endangered?
Answer: A) 96%
122 of 127 ecoregions (96%) face an extremely high risk of collapse by 2075.
4After the Tamil Nadu order of 30 Oct 2026, what is the upper age limit for direct recruitment to Group-I posts for the general category?
Answer: C) 37 years
Raised by 5 years from 32 to 37 (Group-II/IIA and Group-IV general: 30 to 35).
5Which country was ranked first in the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index 2026?
Answer: B) Denmark
Denmark was first among 143 countries (released 21 Oct 2026); Venezuela was last.
6From 1 Nov 2026, GST on delivery services supplied through e-commerce operators (other than courier and postal) is
Answer: A) 5% without input tax credit
Cut from 18% to 5% (without ITC) on the 57th GST Council's recommendation.
7Who became the first Indian woman senior world wrestling champion at the 2026 World Championships in Astana?
Answer: D) Manisha Bhanwala
Manisha Bhanwala (Haryana) won women's freestyle 59 kg gold on 30 Oct 2026.
8The India–Bangladesh Ganga Waters Treaty that expires on 12 Dec 2026 was signed in which year?
Answer: C) 1996
Signed on 12 Dec 1996 for 30 years to share the Ganga's dry-season flow at Farakka.
9Which launch vehicle placed the navigation satellite NVS-03 in orbit on 30 Oct 2026?
Answer: A) GSLV-F18
GSLV-F18 – the 20th GSLV flight – launched NVS-03 from Sriharikota, boosting NavIC.
10Where are the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games – where Dhinidhi Desinghu won India's first Youth Olympic swimming medal – being held?
Answer: D) Dakar, Senegal
Dakar 2026 is the first Olympic event held in Africa; Dhinidhi won 100m freestyle bronze on 2 Nov.
Score: 0 / 10
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What is the weekly Top 20?

Every week we pick the 20 most exam-worthy news items from our daily current affairs and give each as a short exam pointer, with a 10-question quiz and a free PDF.

Which exams is it useful for?

TNPSC Group 1, 2, 2A and 4, UPSC Prelims, SSC, bank and police exams – Tamil Nadu news is included.

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Each Monday, covering Monday to Sunday of the previous week.

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