1. India New Zealand Free Trade Agreement
It was signed on 27 April 2026 and it came into force on 20 October 2026. This agreement will create opportunities for exports from India, mainly for labour-intensive industries like footwear, textiles, leather etc.
About this Free Trade Agreement:
- It will support the India New Zealand Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2030.
- It sets the target of doubling the trade in goods and services.
- It will provide zero-duty access to Indian exports to New Zealand.
Key Provisions:
- New Zealand has eliminated the import duties on all Indian exports across all sectors.
- India reduced the tariffs on approximately 95% of imports from New Zealand.
- New Zealand will invest 20 Billion USD in India over 15 years.
- The Indian Government excluded sectors mainly agriculture and dairy products from tariff relaxations to protect the domestic market.
- This agreement has established mechanisms like Tariff Rate Quotas for some selected products.
- It introduced the Temporary Employment Entry visa category for Indians.
- Created dedicated student and post-study work mechanisms.
2. WWF-India Launches Nationwide Green Diwali Campaign
WWF-India and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, along with the Environmental Information, Awareness, Capacity Building and Livelihood Programme (EIACP) Centre, launched the Nationwide Green Diwali Campaign.
The objective of this campaign is to urge citizens to avoid firecrackers, reduce festive waste, eliminate single-use plastics and adopt sustainable options like traditional clay diyas and energy-efficient lighting.
The campaign will focus on 130 non-attainment cities under the National Clean Air Programme to combat and curb winter smog and particulate matter, mainly PM10 and PM2.5 spikes.
About WWF-India: It was formed in 1969 as a charitable public trust and functions autonomously to work alongside WWF networks globally.
3. National Commission for Women (NCW) Takes Suo Motu Cognizance of Alleged Defamatory Content Against Folk Singer Neha Singh Rathore
About National Commission for Women:
It is a statutory body formed under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, on 31 January 1992. It functions under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
It is a multi-member body consisting of:
- 1 Chairperson
- 5 members from fields of law, management, women’s organisations and trade unions, etc.
- 1 member secretary, who can be a civil servant or a management or sociological expert.
Note: At least one member each must belong to the SC and ST communities.
The tenure of members is 3 years or as specified by the Central Government.
Functions and Powers:
- It has the powers of a civil court while investigating complaints and demanding public records.
- It can take suo motu notice of cases involving the non-enforcement of women’s rights and laws.
- It advises the government and gives recommendations about constitutional and legislative amendments.
- The Central Government must consult the NCW while making policies and laws that affect women.
- It submits the annual report to the Central Government and lays it before Parliament, along with a report on actions taken by the government on the recommendations.
4. Three New Centipede Species Discovered in Western Ghats
Researchers from the Zoological Survey of India’s Western Ghats Regional Centre and Malabar Christian College discovered the species in the forests of Kerala and Karnataka in the Western Ghats.
The three species belong to the genus Rhysida. This discovery has raised the total number of Rhysida species to 23 in India.
New Species:
- Rhysida quadrispinosa: Named for the four distinctive spines on its hind legs.
- Rhysida coorgensis: Named after the Coorg region in Karnataka.
- Rhysida neyyarensis: Named after the Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala.
These centipedes act as key predators by feeding on small insects and invertebrates, playing a vital role in maintaining food chains and soil ecosystems.
5. Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal AP Singh Took His Final Sortie on HJT-16 Kiran Mk-1 Trainer Aircraft
About HJT-16 Kiran Mk-1 Trainer Aircraft:
It is a two-seat, single-engine, jet-powered trainer and light attack aircraft. It was designed and built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
It was the first military jet aircraft designed and built indigenously in India and performed its first flight in September 1964.
It is used by the IAF and Indian Navy for intermediate flight training and weapons training. It also served the IAF’s Surya Kiran and Indian Navy’s Sagar Pawan teams, performing aerobatic displays.
It has 3 variants:
- Mk-1: Basic trainer.
- Mk-1A: Fitted with underwing hard-points mainly for weapons training.
- Mk-II: An upgraded version with a Rolls-Royce Orpheus engine and nose-mounted machine guns.
[Insert Image: HJT-16 Kiran Mk-1 trainer aircraft]
6. Heat Storms: Giant Heat Waves
These are large-scale, prolonged periods of extreme high temperatures caused by atmospheric blocking by heat domes due to the trapping of hot air masses. They are intensified by human activities.
IMD’s criteria for declaring heat waves: When the temperature reaches above 40°C in plains or above 30°C in hills.
They can cause severe public health risks, reduced agricultural yields, stress on power grids and increased urban heat island effects.
7. Islamic State-Linked Militants Killed 48 Civilians in Mali
About Mali:
It is a landlocked country situated in West Africa.
- Capital: Bamako, situated on the banks of the Niger River.
- Bordering countries: Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and Mauritania.
Geographical Features:
- Sahel region: The transition zone spans the northern part, while the south has savanna.
- Mount Hombori Tondo: The highest peak of Mali.
- Bandiagara Escarpment: A UNESCO World Heritage Site is also located here.
- Niger River: The primary lifeline of the country, forming the Inland Niger Delta.
- Senegal River: Flows through the western part and is formed by the confluence of the Bafing and Bakoye rivers.
8. Attack on a Market in Disputed Abyei Region in Africa Kills at Least 15
About Abyei Region:
It is a disputed border region situated between Sudan and South Sudan in Africa. It is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan.
It is governed under Special Administrative Status by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, also known as the Khartoum Agreement.
It has fertile agricultural lands and is situated near the Bahr al-Ghazal River. It has large oil reserves. It is inhabited by the Ngok Dinka community and nomadic herders known as Misseriya pastoralists.
This region is policed by the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), formed in 2011 to maintain peace. India has contributed a large force to UNISFA.
9. Aditya-L1 Mission Offers New Insights into the Direction of Solar Eruptions
It has provided new Doppler velocity images and joint data to decode Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) from the Sun’s surface.
About Coronal Mass Ejections:
They include hot plasma, or electrically charged gases, from the corona, the Sun’s outer layer, ejected during powerful solar eruptions. They can travel in any direction and can disrupt Earth’s space environment.
About Aditya-L1 Mission:
It is ISRO’s space-based observatory to study the Sun’s activities. It is positioned at Lagrange Point 1 (L1) of the Earth–Sun system.
Its objective is to study the photosphere, corona, chromosphere and solar winds. It was launched in September 2023.
