1) National
139th Episode of 'Mann Ki Baat' Completes 12 Years: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 139th episode of his monthly radio broadcast 'Mann Ki Baat' on 25 October 2026, marking 12 years since the programme's inception on Vijayadashami (3 October 2014), and highlighted that the national telemedicine platform e-Sanjeevani has crossed nearly 50 crore teleconsultations, alongside praising Punjab's 'Nav-Trinjan' organic cotton initiative, community revival of Uttarakhand's Heval River, and tributes to Maharishi Valmiki and Bhai Parmanand.
India Achieves 11 Crore Farmer ID Target Ahead of Schedule: The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare achieved its target of generating 11 crore Farmer IDs (Kisan Pehchaan Patra) under the Agri-Stack component of the Digital Agriculture Mission—five months ahead of the 31 March 2027 deadline.
12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum Opens in New Delhi: Hosted by the Parliament of India and chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum is being held at the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan, New Delhi on 26–27 October 2026, with parliamentary delegations from BRICS nations as well as Cuba, Egypt, and Belarus participating.
Vice-President Attends Ruby Jubilee of Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences: Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan is visiting Andhra Pradesh on 26–27 October 2026 as the Chief Guest at the 40th (Ruby Jubilee) Anniversary Celebrations of Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences in Vijayawada.
Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh Gets One-Year Extension: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved a one-year extension in service for 40th Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh (a 1989-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer who assumed charge in November 2024) until 31 October 2027.
Dr. Sajjan Singh Yadav Appointed Chief Secretary of Jammu & Kashmir: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) appointed 1995-batch AGMUT-cadre IAS officer Dr. Sajjan Singh Yadav as the new Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, effective 1 November 2026, succeeding Atal Dulloo upon his superannuation on 31 October 2026.
VB-G RAM G Progress Reviewed: The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-G RAM G] (implemented from 1 July 2026 under the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 with an interim FY 2026–27 allocation of Rs 93,841 crore and daily wages of Rs 300 to Rs 450) recorded 10.88 crore active workers, 15.17 crore Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Cards, 61.65% women's participation, and 31.69+ crore person-days generated through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans (VGPPs).
World's First Integrated AATAL Facility Inaugurated in Delhi: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the Integrated Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosol Toxicity Analysis Laboratory (AATAL)—set up at a cost of Rs 80 crore under Mission Mausam (Ministry of Earth Sciences) at the Delhi branch of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in collaboration with IIT Madras—to monitor real-time air-pollution toxicity across Delhi-NCR.
NCERT Releases 20-Hour AI & Computational Thinking Module: Aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) released a 20-hour activity-based module on Computational Thinking and Artificial Intelligence for Classes 9 to 12, developed jointly with faculty from IIT Madras and IIT Jodhpur.
Centre Approves Rail Connectivity for 9 Seaports in Andhra Pradesh: Following discussions between Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Central Government approved railway connectivity for nine seaports in Andhra Pradesh, backed the state's semiconductor manufacturing hub, and cleared a Vande Bharat Sleeper Train between Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru via Tirupati.
Two New Rail Sections Inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh: The Satna–Devendra Nagar (53 km) and Rewa–Churhat (65 km) rail sections under the Lalitpur–Singrauli new rail line project were inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh, strengthening rail connectivity across the Vindhya and Bundelkhand regions.
Indian Army to Train 600 Civil Defence Master Trainers: Under the nationwide Civil Defence Network initiative, the Indian Army will train 600 Civil Defence Master Trainers (50 each from 12 States and Union Territories) in disaster response and emergency preparedness by the second week of November 2026.
FSSAI Revised Licensing Turnover Thresholds in News: Under the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Amendment Regulations, 2026, the revised annual turnover thresholds on the Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) portal stand at up to Rs 1.5 crore for basic Registration, above Rs 1.5 crore up to Rs 50 crore for a State Licence, and above Rs 50 crore for a Central Licence.
2) International
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal Visits the Netherlands: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal commenced an official visit to the Netherlands on 25 October 2026 to strengthen bilateral trade and logistics ties in the context of the India–European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), touring Europe's largest seaport, the Port of Rotterdam, alongside its CEO Boudewijn Siemons and interacting with the Indian diaspora in Amsterdam.
61st CIML Meeting Opens in New Delhi: Hosted for the first time by India (Department of Consumer Affairs) in collaboration with the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML, established 1955), the 61st Meeting of the International Committee of Legal Metrology (CIML) commences in New Delhi from 26 to 28 October 2026.
33rd SIMBEX-2026 Sea Phase Concludes in Bay of Bengal: The Sea Phase (24–26 October 2026) of the 33rd Singapore–India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX-2026) concludes today in the Bay of Bengal off Visakhapatnam, featuring Indian Navy ships INS Nilgiri and INS Kamorta alongside the Republic of Singapore Navy's Formidable-class stealth frigate RSS Supreme.
Russian Pacific Fleet Naval Detachment Visits Kochi: A naval detachment of the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet—comprising the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov, large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs, and fleet tanker Pechenga—conducted an official port call at Kochi, Kerala, to bolster bilateral maritime interoperability with the Indian Navy's Southern Naval Command.
3) Economy
KPMG Report Estimates India's Sports Economy at Rs 1.99 Lakh Crore: According to a new report titled 'Strengthening India's Sports Ecosystem: Status Assessment and Strategic Improvement Plan' released by KPMG India, India's sports economy is valued at Rs 1.99 lakh crore (USD 21 billion) in FY26 and is growing at 12–14% annually, with sports sponsorship and marketing crossing USD 1.95 billion (Rs 18,525 crore).
BIMCGL Launched at Bodh Gaya with Rs 4,092 Crore MoUs: Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary launched Bihar Integrated Manufacturing City Gaya Limited (BIMCGL) at Bodh Gaya to develop a 1,670-acre Integrated Manufacturing Cluster at Dobhi block in Gaya district under the Amritsar–Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC), signing 12 industrial MoUs worth Rs 4,092 crore.
Kotak Mahindra Bank Q2 FY27 Net Profit Rises 29%: Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank reported a 29% year-on-year jump in standalone net profit to Rs 4,212 crore (and a 26% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 5,645 crore) for the July–September quarter (Q2 FY27), with Net Interest Income (NII) growing 16% to Rs 8,459 crore.
IDFC First Bank Tops Bihar 100-Point Bank Ranking Index: In the Bihar Government's 100-point Bank Ranking Index evaluating credit-deposit ratio, priority sector lending, and government scheme execution, IDFC First Bank secured the 1st rank with 74 points, while the State Bank of India (SBI) scored 32 points.
4) Date’s Importance (26 October)
Jammu and Kashmir Accession Day (26 October): Observed annually as an official public holiday in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on 26 October to commemorate 26 October 1947, when Maharaja Hari Singh signed the historic Instrument of Accession in Jammu (formally accepted by Governor-General Lord Mountbatten on 27 October 1947), legally integrating the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir into the Dominion of India following the Pakistan-backed tribal invasion.
Vigilance Awareness Week 2026 Begins (26 October – 1 November 2026): Organised annually by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) (established in February 1964 on the recommendations of the K. Santhanam Committee and granted statutory status via the CVC Act, 2003) during the week in which the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (31 October) falls, commencing today with the administration of the Integrity Pledge across public sector institutions.
Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti / Pargat Diwas (26 October 2026): Celebrated across India on Ashwin Purnima (26 October 2026) to mark the birth anniversary of Maharishi Valmiki, revered as the 'Adi Kavi' (First Poet of Sanskrit Literature) and author of the epic Valmiki Ramayana (comprising 24,000 shlokas across 7 Kandas).
Intersex Awareness Day (26 October): Observed internationally on 26 October (since 1996) to highlight the human rights and bodily autonomy of intersex persons around the world.
Key Historical Milestones on 26 October: The First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia on 26 October 1774; the Football Association (FA) was founded in London on 26 October 1863, codifying the modern rules of football; Norway gained full independence following the dissolution of its union with Sweden on 26 October 1905; Austria enacted its constitutional declaration of Permanent Neutrality on 26 October 1955 (Austrian National Day); President Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan proclaimed India's first National Emergency under Article 352 on 26 October 1962 during the 1962 Sino-Indian War; the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the last naturally occurring case of Smallpox (contracted by Ali Maow Maalin in Mercia, Somalia) on 26 October 1977; birth anniversary of freedom fighter and Pratap newspaper founder Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi (26 October 1890), spiritual author Eknath Easwaran (1910), former UP Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta (1923), and music composer Hridaynath Mangeshkar (1937); death anniversary of Hindustani classical vocalist Pandit D. V. Paluskar (1955), Jnanpith Award-winning Kannada poet Dattatreya Ramachandra (D. R.) Bendre (1981), and Kakori revolutionary Manmath Nath Gupta (2000).
5) Person of the Day
Prof. Ashoke Sen (First Indian Physicist to Win the Oskar Klein Medal 2026): Eminent 70-year-old Indian theoretical physicist (born on 15 July 1956 in Kolkata, West Bengal), currently serving as the ICTS–Infosys Madhava Chair Professor at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS–TIFR), Bengaluru, who has been conferred the 2026 Oskar Klein Medal, becoming the first Indian physicist in history to receive this prestigious international honour.
About the Oskar Klein Medal: Instituted in 1988 in memory of Swedish theoretical physicist Oskar Klein (co-developer of the Kaluza–Klein theory), the medal is awarded jointly every year by Stockholm University and the Nobel Committee for Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; Prof. Sen delivered the 2026 Oskar Klein Memorial Lecture titled "Gravity from strings and strings from gravity" at the AlbaNova University Centre in Stockholm, Sweden.
Pioneering Scientific Contributions: Globally acclaimed as one of the foremost architects of modern String Theory, his landmark contributions include proving Strong-Weak Coupling Duality (S-Duality), formulating the Sen Conjecture on open-string tachyon condensation around unstable D-branes, developing the Quantum Entropy Function for exact microscopic counting of extremal black hole entropy, and advancing String Field Theory.
Academic Lineage and Major Honours: An alumnus of Presidency College, Kolkata (B.Sc., 1975), IIT Kanpur (M.Sc., 1978), and Stony Brook University, USA (Ph.D., 1982) (and former professor at TIFR Mumbai and the Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Prayagraj), he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1998 and won the ICTP Prize (1989), Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (1994), Padma Shri (2001), the inaugural USD 3 million Fundamental Physics Breakthrough Prize (2012), Padma Bhushan (2013), and the ICTP Dirac Medal (2014).
6) Sports
P. V. Sindhu Finishes Runner-Up at French Open 2026: Two-time Olympic medallist P. V. Sindhu won the Silver Medal (Runner-up) in Women's Singles at the BWF Super 750 French Open 2026 on 25 October 2026—recording her career-best finish at the French Open after defeating Japan's Hina Akechi (21-10, 20-22, 21-16) in the semi-finals—before going down fighting 21-16, 11-21, 12-21 to South Korea's World No. 1 An Se-young in the final (marking An Se-young's 50th consecutive match win, 10th title of 2026, and 4th French Open crown).
Harmeet Desai & Yashaswini Ghorpade End 72-Year Wait in Asian TT: The Indian table tennis pair of Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade won the Bronze Medal in Mixed Doubles at the Asian Table Tennis Championships, clinching India's first-ever Mixed Doubles medal at the continental championship in 72 years.
India Beats Cameroon at Inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival: The Indian Under-15 Men's Football Team defeated Cameroon 2–1 at the Hovsan Competition Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan, registering two consecutive wins in Group K at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026.
Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026: Both the Indian Men's and Women's Kabaddi Teams registered dominant opening victories at the Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026.
Kieron Pollard Appointed Mumbai Indians Head Coach for IPL 2027: Former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard was appointed Head Coach (alongside Steffan Jones as Bowling Consultant) of five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians from the 2027 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
7) Awards
Usha Mangeshkar Selected for 1st National Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Award: The Assam Cabinet instituted a new national Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Award for lifetime contributions to music and culture, naming veteran playback singer Usha Mangeshkar as its first recipient (to be conferred by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on 29 November 2026 at the closing ceremony of Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhupen Hazarika's birth centenary celebrations).
Prof. Ashoke Sen Honoured with 2026 Oskar Klein Medal: String theorist Prof. Ashoke Sen received the 2026 Oskar Klein Medal in Stockholm, Sweden, joining past laureates such as Stephen Hawking, Peter Higgs, Chen-Ning Yang, and Steven Weinberg.
Mirabai Chanu & B. K. Singh Recognised in October 2026 Honours: Tokyo Olympic Silver medallist weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu was honoured as Sports Person of the Year at the Power Creator Awards 2026 in Mumbai, while retired Karnataka-cadre IFS officer B. K. Singh received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th Eco Warrior Awards 2026 (MoEFCC).
Tom Cruise to Receive AFI Life Achievement Award: Hollywood actor Tom Cruise was announced as the recipient of the American Film Institute (AFI) Life Achievement Award.
8) Other Important Significance
Cyclonic Storm 'Arnab' Forms Over Bay of Bengal: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued alerts as the deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensifies into Cyclonic Storm 'Arnab' on 26 October 2026—making it India's first cyclone of 2026—with the name 'Arnab' (meaning 'Ocean' or 'Sea' in Bengali) proposed by Bangladesh under the 13-nation WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones list (169 names); it is forecast to cross the Andhra Pradesh and adjoining South Odisha coasts (between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam) as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (115–125 kmph winds gusting to 140 kmph) on 28 October 2026.
DRDO's Indigenous Submarine AIP Module Begins Phase-2 Trials: The indigenous Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) Energy Module, developed by DRDO's Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL), Ambernath to multiply the submerged endurance of Indian Navy diesel-electric submarines, commenced its 'Setting to Work Phase-2' integration at Larsen & Toubro's (L&T) Hazira complex in Gujarat.
Indian Navy's 5th 'Swavlamban 2026' Seminar Opens in New Delhi: The Indian Navy's Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) is hosting the 5th edition of its flagship naval innovation and self-reliance seminar 'Swavlamban 2026' in New Delhi on 26–27 October 2026.
ISRO Confirms Chandrayaan-4 Timeline for 2028: Department of Space Secretary and ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan clarified that ISRO will not be privatised while encouraging private space participation under the Indian Space Policy 2023, and reaffirmed that the lunar sample-return mission Chandrayaan-4 is scheduled for launch in 2028.
Telangana Announces Aerospace and Defence Policy 2.0: At the curtain-raiser of Raksha Expo 2026 in Hyderabad, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy announced that the state will unveil Aerospace and Defence Policy 2.0 during the Invest Telangana Global Summit at Bharat Future City on 7–9 December 2026 to make Telangana India's aerospace and defence hub by 2030.