UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 11 October 2026

Background. The Cash Reserve Ratio is the share of a bank's deposits that it must maintain as a cash balance with the RBI, on which it earns no interest; separately, the RBI prescribes a minimum share of this requirement that banks must maintain on each individual day of a reporting fortnight, not only on the fortnightly average.

For Prelims, remember

• The RBI raised the minimum daily CRR maintenance requirement for banks from 90 percent to 99 percent, effective from the fortnight beginning 16 October 2026.
• This followed the RBI raising the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 percent earlier in the same week, its first rate increase in two and a half years.
• The RBI also announced an open market operation sale of government securities worth Rs 25,000 crore on 13 October 2026 to absorb surplus banking system liquidity.

Background. Oil marketing companies are typically among the largest sources of dollar demand in India because crude oil is priced and paid for internationally in US dollars, and the RBI routinely uses such targeted interventions, alongside its regular foreign exchange operations, to manage episodes of rupee volatility.

For Prelims, remember

• The RBI's special dollar window, effective from 12 October 2026, covers only three public sector oil marketing companies: Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation.
• Under the facility, the RBI sells US dollars to these three companies through designated banks rather than the open foreign exchange market.
• Market analysts estimate that these three companies together account for around 90 percent of India's petroleum product sales, with Indian Oil Corporation alone holding roughly 40 percent.

Background. Form 7, under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, is the form used to object to the inclusion of a name, or to seek deletion of a name, from the electoral roll of a constituency, and such objections can be filed by any elector already registered in that roll.

For Prelims, remember

• The Election Commission has capped Form 7 applications by an individual elector at 10 during the entire period of claims and objections of a special or summary revision of electoral rolls.
• During the continuous updation of electoral rolls, an individual elector can now file a maximum of five Form 7 applications per month.
• Before this order, there was no prescribed limit on the number of physical Form 7 applications an individual elector could submit in bulk.

Background. Anti-dumping duties are a trade remedy measure permitted under World Trade Organization rules to offset injury to a domestic industry caused by goods exported to a country below their normal value, and such investigations in India are conducted by the DGTR.

For Prelims, remember

• The DGTR has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of Penicillin G and its salts from China, following a complaint by Lyfius Pharma, a subsidiary of Aurobindo Pharma.
• Lyfius Pharma's Penicillin G manufacturing facility, in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, was set up under the Centre's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the pharmaceutical sector.
• Penicillin G is used as a key starting material and active pharmaceutical ingredient in medicines that treat bacterial infections such as pneumonia and meningitis.

Background. The First Committee of the UN General Assembly deals with disarmament and international security issues, and the Right of Reply is a procedural mechanism that allows a UN member state to respond on record to remarks made against it during a session.

For Prelims, remember

• India exercised its Right of Reply at the UN General Assembly's First Committee, which deals with disarmament and international security issues, on 9 October 2026.
• India's statement was made in response to remarks by Pakistan on Jammu and Kashmir.
• India's representative said the country's nuclear capabilities are defensive in nature and not directed against any state.

Background. Atmanirbharta in defence refers to India's push to design, develop, manufacture, maintain and upgrade critical defence technologies domestically rather than depend on imports, while still pursuing partnerships with trusted countries.

For Prelims, remember

• Rajnath Singh made these remarks at the multinational air exercise Tarang Shakti 2026, hosted by the Indian Air Force at the Jodhpur Air Force Station.
• Tarang Shakti 2026, the second edition of the exercise, ran from 26 September to 12 October 2026 and included the air forces of Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Sri Lanka, the UAE and the United States, along with 32 observer nations.
• Rajnath Singh cited the Tejas fighter aircraft and the Akash air defence system as examples of India's indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem.

Background. India's Ministry of External Affairs periodically convenes regional Heads of Mission conferences, bringing together its ambassadors and high commissioners from a region, to review and coordinate India's diplomatic engagement with that region.

For Prelims, remember

• The conference of India's Heads of Mission in Africa was chaired by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Addis Ababa on 10 October 2026.
• Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital where the conference was held, also hosts the headquarters of the African Union.
• Jaishankar called for a reformed UN Security Council with fair representation for Africa, speaking at the Adwa Memorial Museum in Addis Ababa a day before the conference.