Current Affairs Quiz - October 2026

Notes:
Recently, the Government extended the operational timeline of Component II of RELIEF to support Indian exporters amid continued West Asia logistics disruptions. RELIEF stands for Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation. It was launched on 19 March 2026 under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM). The intervention helps exporters facing higher freight costs, increased insurance premiums and war-related export risks. Under Component II, exporters are encouraged to obtain ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation) cover with 95% risk coverage for eligible shipments. It covers FCL (Full Container Load), LCL (Less than Container Load) and Reefer containers.
Energy shipments are excluded from this component.

Notes:
Recently, Hebbal Lake has been in the news over the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA)’s proposed 2.28-km short tunnel and elevated corridor project. Hebbal Lake is a historic, man-made urban lake in northern Bengaluru. It was created by Kempe Gowda in 1537 and is one of the lakes traditionally associated with Bengaluru’s early lake system. The lake is ecologically important for groundwater recharge, flood management and biodiversity, particularly as a habitat for resident and migratory birds. The proposed project is intended to ease traffic congestion in the Hebbal area.

Notes:
World Habitat Day 2026 is observed on 5 October 2026, as it falls on the first Monday of October every year. The day encourages governments, organisations and communities to reflect on the condition of human settlements and reaffirm adequate shelter as a fundamental human right. The 2026 theme is “Adequate Housing for All”, focusing on housing insecurity, informal settlements and the growing gap between housing demand and affordability. The global observance is held in Muscat, Oman, from 5–8 October 2026. The campaign aims to promote solutions that make safe, affordable and dignified housing accessible to everyone.

Notes:
Recently, Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel were awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. Karl Deisseroth is an American scientist, while Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel are German scientists. Their work on optogenetics has made it possible to switch the activity of individual nerve cells on or off using light in a living brain. The technique is widely used to study the brain and nervous system and understand how nerve cells function. The prize carries 12 million Swedish kronor, shared among the laureates. The Medicine prize traditionally opens the annual Nobel Prize announcements.

Notes:
Recently, two male Great Indian Bustards (GIBs) were released into the wild at Desert National Park, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The release marks an important shift from conservation breeding to rewilding and population augmentation in the natural habitat. The Great Indian Bustard is a critically endangered bird and one of India’s most threatened grassland species. Desert National Park is located in Jaisalmer and Barmer districts, Rajasthan. It represents the Thar Desert ecosystem and consists mainly of sand dunes, rocky terrain, saline depressions and grasslands.

Notes:
Recently, Sanchar Saathi crossed 30 crore visits since its launch in May 2023, showing increased citizen participation in fighting telecom fraud. The portal was developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to protect mobile users from fraud and misuse. It allows users to report suspicious calls and messages, check mobile connections issued in their name, block lost or stolen handsets, and verify mobile devices. Its Chakshu facility enables reporting of fraudulent calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages. So far, 12.80 lakh fraud inputs have been received through Chakshu. More than 60.96 lakh lost or stolen handsets have been blocked and more than 14 lakh recovered.

Notes:
Recently, a rare colour variant of the Coppersmith Barbet was spotted on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana. Unlike the species’ usual green plumage, the bird had uniform cream-yellow plumage. The unusual colouring is linked to leucism resulting in xanthochroism, making yellow pigmentation more prominent. It is not considered albino because its eyes remained dark and its red and yellow facial patches were retained. Similar yellowish or whitish Coppersmith Barbets had earlier been documented in West Bengal, Assam and Bangladesh. The Hyderabad sighting is believed to be the first documented record of this unusual colour form in Telangana.

Notes:
Andhra Pradesh has initiated India’s first pilot project for constructing rural houses using 3D concrete printing technology under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) 2.0. The project is being executed in the Guntur district of the state, covering 177 houses. This innovative technology utilizes additive manufacturing to deposit concrete layer-by-layer based on a digital model. This process significantly reduces construction time, minimizes material waste, and enhances structural durability in rural housing.

Notes:
Recently, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) used Earth’s gravity for a major gravity-assist manoeuvre on 28 September 2026. The spacecraft passed about 8,640 km above the Indian Ocean. Earth’s gravity changed JUICE’s direction by about 20° and increased its speed by 3.5 km/s, without a major engine burn. This technique is called a gravity assist or gravity slingshot. JUICE uses the gravity of Earth, Moon and Venus to save fuel and gain the energy needed to reach Jupiter. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is an interplanetary spacecraft mission developed and launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in April 2023. The mission’s primary objective is to study Jupiter and its three large icy moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa.

Notes:
Recently, India won 4 Gold and 1 Silver medal at the 19th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2026 held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 25 September to 5 October 2026. All 5 Indian participants won medals. Pranjal Dixit, Sumant Gupta, Akshat Srivastava and Arnav Sehrawat won gold medals and Harshil Amitkumar Patel won silver medal. India jointly secured 3rd position with Vietnam (guest team), behind Iran and South Korea, which won five Gold medals each.