UPSC current affairs, 12–18 October 2026

A PIB backgrounder on 15 October put India's female labour force participation rate (ages 15+) at 40.0% in 2025, up from 23.3% in 2017-18, with the female worker population ratio at 38.8%. Women-owned MSMEs have also risen sharply.

For Prelims (PLFS · FLFPR):

The labour force participation rate is the share of people working or seeking work. The PLFS behind it is run by the National Statistics Office (MoSPI) and began in 2017-18.

For Mains:

Use in GS1 (role of women, empowerment) and GS3 (employment, inclusive growth) answers on women's economic agency. Note that the PLFS design changed in 2025, so long-run comparisons need care.

Full story: Daily Brief, 17 Oct →

A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran held that children have a fundamental right to access and use the internet under Article 21 read with Article 19(1)(a). Blanket age-based bans were rejected; proportionate safeguards such as parental controls remain allowed.

For Prelims (Art 21 + Art 19(1)(a)):

Article 21 has been read to include the right to privacy (Puttaswamy, 2017). This ruling reads it with Article 19(1)(a) for children's internet access.

For Mains:

Use in GS2 (fundamental rights, vulnerable sections, role of the judiciary) and GS3 (cyber security) answers on children's online safety: protection through proportionate safeguards, not blanket exclusion.

Full story: Daily Brief, 18 Oct →

Tajikistan is already in the race for the Asia-Pacific non-permanent seat for 2028–29, so India faces a contested UN Security Council election — its first since it lost to Japan in 1996. The General Assembly votes in June 2027.

For Prelims (Art 23 · Art 18(2)):

The UNSC has 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms and not eligible for immediate re-election (Art 23). Election needs two-thirds of members present and voting (Art 18).

For Mains:

Use in GS2 (important international institutions, India and the Global South) answers on UN reform: non-permanent terms are India's main Council platform while permanent membership remains elusive.

Full story: Daily Brief, 16 Oct →

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority capped trade margins at 30% of MRP (excluding GST) on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, effective 9 November. Retail prices of some could fall by up to 70%.

For Prelims (NPPA · DPCO 2013):

The NPPA (set up in 1997) enforces the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013. This cap on drugs outside the price-control list uses Paragraph 19 of the Order.

For Mains:

Use in GS2 (health, affordable medicines) and GS3 (pharma sector, regulation) answers: capping mark-ups between factory and pharmacy, rather than manufacturers' prices, to cut out-of-pocket spending.

Full story: Daily Brief, 18 Oct →

Retail (CPI) inflation rose to 5.54% in September, driven mainly by food prices. The same week, Robert Hall and Michael Woodford won the economics Nobel for the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation.

For Prelims (CPI · RBI Act S.45ZA):

The Centre sets the CPI inflation target (4%, band 2–6%) in consultation with the RBI under Section 45ZA of the RBI Act. The Monetary Policy Committee then sets the policy repo rate.

For Mains:

Use in GS3 (monetary policy, inflation and growth) answers: the Nobel work explains why expectations and central-bank credibility matter as much as the rate itself.

Full story: Daily Brief, 13 Oct →

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the sale of a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank (Government 30.48%, LIC 30.24%) to Fairfax Financial for ₹52,878 crore — the first strategic sale of a government-controlled bank. The deal is yet to close.

For Prelims (Strategic disinvestment):

Disinvestment proceeds are non-debt capital receipts. Strategic sales follow the New Public Sector Enterprise Policy, 2021.

For Mains:

Use in GS3 (banking reform, disinvestment, FDI in finance) answers: turning a bank around before selling it is what gets the government value.

Full story: Daily Brief, 15 Oct →

WWF's Living Planet Report 2026 shows an average 73% fall in monitored vertebrate populations between 1970 and 2022, with freshwater populations falling most steeply.

For Prelims (WWF · ZSL · 1970–2022):

The Living Planet Index (compiled by the Zoological Society of London with WWF) measures the average change in monitored wildlife populations — not the number of species lost.

For Mains:

Use in GS3 (biodiversity, conservation) answers. The 'average decline vs extinction' distinction shows data literacy; India's recoveries are positive evidence.

Full story: Daily Brief, 13 Oct →

Scientists led by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics combined coronagraph data from India's Aditya-L1 and Europe's Proba-3 to study two coronal mass ejections (14 and 16 September 2025) close to the Sun. CMEs drive the solar storms that disrupt satellites and power grids.

For Prelims (L1 point · coronagraph):

Aditya-L1 watches the Sun from a halo orbit around the Sun–Earth L1 point, about 1.5 million km away. Proba-3 makes an artificial eclipse with two craft flying about 150 m apart.

For Mains:

Use in GS3 (space technology, international cooperation, disaster preparedness) answers on space weather and why early warning of solar storms protects satellites and power grids.

Full story: Daily Brief, 18 Oct →