Tata Communications to build USD 450 million AI Super Highway.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Tata Communications announced on October 26, 2026 that it will invest USD 450 million in an AI Super Highway connecting major Indian data centres over three to five years.
Key Highlights:
1. The project will create a 10,000-km AI-ready fibre network.
2. Phase one connects Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai.
3. Later phases extend to Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Gujarat, GIFT City and Jamnagar.
4. The network is designed to deliver 7.2 petabytes of capacity.
5. Mumbai-Chennai round-trip latency is targeted at 15-16 milliseconds.
Additional Information:
1. Tata Communications was formerly Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited.
2. The Mumbai-headquartered company operates more than 500,000 km of subsea fibre.
India wins record 114 medals at Nagoya Asian Para Games.
Dated: 29 October 2026
India finished fourth at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games with a record 114 medals on October 24, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. India won 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze medals.
2. The tally surpassed the previous best of 108 at the 2022 Hangzhou Games.
3. Nishad Kumar and Mona Agarwal were closing-ceremony flag-bearers.
4. Para athletics contributed 65 medals, including 22 gold.
5. Para badminton added 16 medals, including three gold.
Additional Information:
1. The first Asian Para Games were held in Guangzhou in 2010.
2. Doha, Qatar will host the sixth edition in 2030.
Commerce Ministry extends RELIEF initiative under EPM until March 2027.
Dated: 29 October 2026
The Commerce Department extended the RELIEF export-support initiative under the Export Promotion Mission until March 31, 2027 on October 26, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. RELIEF means Resilience and Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation.
2. Its second component provides 95% risk coverage for ECGC insurance.
3. Benefits apply to eligible policies obtained on or after March 16, 2026.
4. Covered cargo includes full and less-than-container loads plus refrigerated containers.
5. Energy shipments are excluded.
Additional Information:
1. The initiative began on March 19, 2026 to offset extraordinary freight and insurance costs.
2. ECGC was established in 1957 and is headquartered in Mumbai.
Painter and former Rajya Sabha MP Jogen Chowdhury passes away.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Eminent Indian painter and former Rajya Sabha member Jogen Chowdhury passed away aged 87 in Kolkata on October 25, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. He represented the Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha.
2. He served as curator of the Rashtrapati Bhavan art gallery.
3. Several of his important works are displayed permanently at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
4. Chowdhury was a major figure in modern Indian art.
5. He was born on February 16, 1939 in Faridpur, now in Bangladesh.
Additional Information:
1. He migrated to Kolkata during the Partition of India.
2. His distinctive drawing style made a major contribution to West Bengal’s cultural landscape.
Uttar Pradesh targets 500 Global Capability Centres by 2031.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath set a target of 500 Global Capability Centres by 2031 at the UP GCC Innovation Summit 2026 on October 26.
Key Highlights:
1. UP currently hosts about 250-270 GCCs employing 80,000-90,000 professionals.
2. Eligible investors can receive capital subsidy up to 25%.
3. Land subsidy up to 50% is available for new centres.
4. Noida, Greater Noida, Lucknow and Kanpur are identified as technology hubs.
5. The state has 6.7 lakh professionals and produces 2 lakh STEM graduates annually.
Additional Information:
1. Fifteen MoUs were signed at the summit.
2. Invest UP co-organised the event with IIT Kanpur Alumni Association and HCLTech.
Sitaram Raul wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 category.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Indian photographer Sitaram Raul won the Behaviour: Invertebrates category of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 on October 24.
Key Highlights:
1. His winning photograph was titled Shifting Sand.
2. It shows an Indian Buthacus scorpion burrowing to escape desert heat.
3. The image was captured near Sam village in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert.
4. The Natural History Museum, London organises the competition.
5. The 2026 edition received more than 65,000 entries.
Additional Information:
1. Raul used a Nikon D750, 105mm macro lens and Godox flash.
2. The competition was established in 1964 and is called the Oscars of wildlife photography.
India’s first cooperative-sector airline to launch in Kerala.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Kerala permitted the Kerala Civil Aviation Development Cooperative Society to launch India’s first cooperative-sector airline on October 26, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. C.N. Vijayakrishnan, Chairman of MVR Cancer Centre, leads the project.
2. The airline aims to compete with commercial carriers such as Air India and IndiGo.
3. The announcement came during the Calicut City Service Cooperative Society’s silver jubilee.
4. Kerala will provide a sovereign guarantee for cooperative deposits.
5. The guarantee seeks parity with nationalised and scheduled banks.
Additional Information:
1. The 97th Constitutional Amendment added cooperatives to the Constitution.
2. Article 19(1)(c) protects the right to form cooperative societies.
DAC clears Rs.2.12 lakh crore defence procurement proposals.
Dated: 29 October 2026
The Defence Acquisition Council approved Acceptance of Necessity for capital procurement proposals worth Rs.2.12 lakh crore on October 26, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. About 82% of the approved value is reserved for Indian industry.
2. Army proposals include high-mobility vehicles and self-propelled tracked guns.
3. VSHORADS, counter-drone and long-range kamikaze-drone systems were included.
4. The Navy will develop an active offboard decoy and indigenous platforms.
5. The Army and Air Force will procure light multi-role helicopters.
Additional Information:
1. DAC is the Defence Ministry’s highest capital-acquisition decision body.
2. Acceptance of Necessity is the first formal step under the Defence Acquisition Procedure.
NIFTEM-K hosts India’s first AI Food Tech Hackathon.
Dated: 29 October 2026
NIFTEM-K hosted Hack the Fork, India’s first AI x Food Tech Hackathon, at Kundli on October 24-25, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. The institute partnered with France-based non-profit Hack the Fork.
2. The event used AI to address alternative-protein and sustainable-food challenges.
3. Themes covered plant foods, fermentation, nutrition, food safety and waste reduction.
4. Twenty-five teams were shortlisted from more than 85 applicants.
5. Twenty-two teams from 10 states competed in the 24-hour final.
Additional Information:
1. The prize pool was worth Rs.1.5 lakh and winners entered NIFTEM-K’s incubator.
2. NIFTEM-K is an Institute of National Importance under the Food Processing Industries Ministry.
Yuki Bhambri wins Almaty Open 2026 doubles title.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri won the Almaty Open doubles title with Ryan Seggerman on October 25, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. The ATP 250 tournament was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
2. The fourth-seeded pair defeated Lucas Miedler and Neil Oberleitner in the final.
3. The score was 7-6(3), 6-7(1), 10-2.
4. It was Bhambri’s first ATP Tour title of the 2026 season.
5. The victory was his fifth career ATP doubles title.
Additional Information:
1. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of 18 in February 2026.
2. Bhambri became the first Indian to win the Junior Australian Open in 2009.
Maharashtra’s Shabari Naturals wins Global Design Award.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Maharashtra Government social enterprise Shabari Naturals won the G-Mark Global Design Award for tribal-inspired packaging on October 25, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. The Japan Institute of Design Promotion conferred the award.
2. The presentation was scheduled in Tokyo on November 4, 2026.
3. Packaging uses Warli, Gond and Chitrakathi art.
4. Designs depict tribal life, nature and cultural legends.
5. The Shabari Tribal Finance and Development Corporation manages the brand.
Additional Information:
1. The G-Mark logo serves as an international quality trust seal.
2. The enterprise markets wild honey, unpolished rice, millets and handmade artefacts.
Lula da Silva wins unprecedented fourth term as Brazil’s President.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won an unprecedented fourth term as Brazil’s President after the runoff election on October 25, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. Lula received 51.7% of valid votes.
2. Flavio Bolsonaro received 48.2%.
3. Lula became the first candidate since 1989 to win after losing the first round.
4. He will serve as President until 2030.
5. Geraldo Alckmin continues as Vice-President.
Additional Information:
1. Lula co-founded the Workers’ Party and first became President in 2003.
2. Brazil’s capital is Brasilia and its currency is the Brazilian Real.
World’s first AATAL air-pollution analysis facility launched in Delhi.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Union Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated the world’s first Integrated Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosol Toxicity Analysis Laboratory in Delhi on October 24, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. AATAL is located at the Delhi branch of IITM.
2. It is a Ministry of Earth Sciences facility under Mission Mausam.
3. The laboratory links with AIRWISE for decision support.
4. It identifies real-time sources such as vehicles, stubble burning and road dust.
5. It analyses metals and toxic elements in PM2.5.
Additional Information:
1. Forecasts are available at 400-metre resolution for 72 hours.
2. IITM was established in 1962 and is headquartered in Pune.
Anil K Antony authors book Advantage India.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan released Anil K Antony’s book Advantage India: Reshaping the Future for an Equitable World on October 23, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. Rupa Publications published the book.
2. Part one covers silicon sovereignty, AI, space and Digital India.
3. Part two presents a roadmap for Viksit Bharat 2047.
4. It notes that more than 25 crore Indians left absolute poverty.
5. It highlights more than 3 crore Lakhpati Didis.
Additional Information:
1. The book mentions commissioning of indigenous multipurpose vessel INS Samarthak.
2. Its philosophy stresses Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Rashtra-Pratham.
Assam Cabinet approves Welspun manufacturing unit in Rangia.
Dated: 29 October 2026
The Assam Cabinet approved Welspun Group’s Rs.303.69 crore manufacturing unit at Rangia on October 24, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. Weetek Plastic Private Limited will establish the unit in Kamrup district.
2. The Cabinet created the Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika Award.
3. The triennial honour carries Rs.10 lakh and a citation.
4. Singer Usha Mangeshkar is the first recipient.
5. New mineral rules classify limestone into high, medium and base cement grades.
Additional Information:
1. An Employee Transfer Randomisation System will manage Forest Department transfers.
2. Assam’s capital is Dispur and its state animal is the one-horned rhinoceros.
Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav Global Sammelan inaugurated in New Delhi.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chinmaya Amrit Mahotsav Global Sammelan at Bharat Mandapam on October 23, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. The event commemorated Chinmaya Mission’s legacy and spiritual contribution.
2. Sessions discussed spirituality and cultural heritage.
3. The modern relevance of Swami Chinmayananda’s teachings was examined.
4. The gathering linked traditional values with global community development.
5. Spiritual leaders and devotees from different countries participated.
Additional Information:
1. Swami Chinmayananda founded Chinmaya Mission to spread Advaita Vedanta and Bhagavad Gita knowledge.
2. Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan hosted the 18th G20 Summit in 2023.
Ahmedabad to host 2029 Senior World Weightlifting Championships.
Dated: 29 October 2026
The International Weightlifting Federation selected Ahmedabad to host the 2029 Senior World Weightlifting Championships on October 27, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. India will host the senior world championships for the first time.
2. Gandhinagar will host the 2026 Asian Weightlifting Championships.
3. Ahmedabad is scheduled to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
4. Yerevan, Armenia will hold the 2027 senior worlds.
5. Moscow, Russia will host the 2030 senior worlds.
Additional Information:
1. The first men’s world championship was held in 1891.
2. The first women’s edition occurred in 1987 and the first joint edition in 1991.
Sajjan Singh Yadav appointed Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary.
Dated: 29 October 2026
The Home Ministry appointed Dr Sajjan Singh Yadav as Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir on October 24, 2026.
Key Highlights:
1. He is a 1995-batch Indian Administrative Service officer.
2. Yadav belongs to the AGMUT cadre.
3. His appointment takes effect on November 1, 2026 or when he assumes charge.
4. He was transferred from Delhi to head the Union Territory administration.
5. AGMUT covers Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories.
Additional Information:
1. The Chief Secretary is the highest-ranking civil servant in a state or Union Territory.
2. Jammu and Kashmir became a Union Territory on October 31, 2019.
Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas win 2026 Ballon d’Or.
Dated: 29 October 2026
Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas won the men’s and women’s 2026 Ballon d’Or awards at a London ceremony on October 26.
Key Highlights:
1. Kane won for the first time and became the first English winner since 2001.
2. He beat finalists Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.
3. Putellas won her third women’s Ballon d’Or after 2021 and 2022.
4. She tied Aitana Bonmati’s record of three titles.
5. Kane recorded 73 goals and eight assists in 2025-26.
Additional Information:
1. The ceremony marked the award’s 70th anniversary.
2. France Football has presented the men’s Ballon d’Or annually since 1956.
United Nations observes Disarmament Week from October 24 to 30.
Dated: 29 October 2026
The United Nations observed Disarmament Week from October 24 to 30, 2026 to promote awareness of disarmament’s role in peace and security.
Key Highlights:
1. The observance begins on the anniversary of the United Nations’ founding.
2. It was established after the 1978 UN General Assembly special session on disarmament.
3. UN Resolution A/RES/S-10/2 first called for the week.
4. Resolution 50/72 B encouraged governments and NGOs to participate.
5. The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs organises the week.
Additional Information:
1. The UN was established on October 24, 1945 and is headquartered in New York.
2. UNODA was established in January 1998 and addresses nuclear and conventional weapons.