Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit appointed the 29th Chief of the Air Staff
Why in news
The Government announced on 6 October 2026 that Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, now Vice Chief of the Air Staff, will head the Indian Air Force from the afternoon of 31 October 2026.
Key points
He will be the 29th Chief of the Air Staff, in the rank of Air Chief Marshal.
He succeeds Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who retires on 31 October 2026.
Commissioned into the IAF's fighter stream on 6 December 1986; more than 3,500 flying hours.
Earlier posts: Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) and AOC-in-C, Central Air Command; Vice Chief since 1 July 2026.
Static GK: The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the armed forces. The first Indian Chief of the Air Staff was Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee (1954). Arjan Singh is the only Marshal of the Indian Air Force (five-star rank). The IAF motto is 'नभः स्पृशं दीप्तम्' (Touch the sky with glory), from the Bhagavad Gita.
Chief Justices of three High Courts appointed judges of the Supreme Court
Why in news
President Droupadi Murmu appointed three High Court Chief Justices as Supreme Court judges; Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced it on 5 October 2026, and they joined the court on 6 October.
Key points
Justice Sunita Agarwal — Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court.
Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya — Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.
Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh — Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.
The names were recommended by the Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
Static GK: Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President under Article 124(2) of the Constitution and retire at 65; High Court judges retire at 62. Justice Surya Kant is the 53rd Chief Justice of India.
Nobel Prizes 2026 in science: optogenetics, IceCube neutrinos and mirror-image molecules
Why in news
The three science Nobel Prizes for 2026 were announced from 5 to 7 October. Laureates, their countries and their discoveries are asked often in competitive exams.
Key points
Physiology or Medicine: Karl Deisseroth (Stanford University, USA), Peter Hegemann (Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany) and Georg Nagel (University of Würzburg, Germany), for discovering light-gated ion channels and developing optogenetics, a way to switch nerve cells on or off with light.
Physics: Francis Halzen (University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA), for his key role in the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos from space. IceCube is a cubic kilometre of ice at the South Pole fitted with light sensors.
Chemistry: Henri B. Kagan (Université Paris-Sud, France) and Kenso Soai (Tokyo University of Science, Japan), for discovering non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis, which helps chemists make only one mirror-image form of a molecule.
Static GK: The Nobel Prizes were set up by the will of Alfred Nobel and first given in 1901. Physics and Chemistry are awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and Physiology or Medicine by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet. The prizes are presented on 10 December, Nobel's death anniversary.
Canadian author Anne Carson wins the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature
Why in news
The Swedish Academy announced the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature on 8 October. Literature laureates are a common question in GK sections.
Key points
Winner: Anne Carson, a Canadian poet, essayist and classics scholar.
She was honoured for bold, inventive work that draws on the classical (ancient Greek and Latin) tradition to create new forms for today's literature.
One of her best-known books is the verse novel 'Autobiography of Red' (1998).
Static GK: The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded by the Swedish Academy. The first winner was Sully Prudhomme of France (1901). Rabindranath Tagore is the only Indian winner (1913), for 'Gitanjali'.
94th Indian Air Force Day marked with the theme 'Infallible, Impervious and Precise'
Why in news
The Indian Air Force celebrated its 94th anniversary on 8 October 2026 with a parade at Hindan Air Force Station near Ghaziabad. Themes of national days are frequent one-line questions.
Key points
Theme: 'Indian Air Force – Infallible, Impervious and Precise'.
Main parade and display of aircraft at Hindan Air Force Station.
In his message on Akashvani, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said Operation Sindoor reaffirmed the value of integrated air operations.
He listed this year's milestones, including Exercise Vayushakti, Dronathon and the multilateral exercise Tarang Shakti.
Static GK: The Indian Air Force was set up on 8 October 1932 under the Indian Air Force Act, 1932. It received the prefix 'Royal' in 1945 and dropped it in 1950, when India became a republic.
RBI raises the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50%
Why in news
On 7 October 2026 the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised the policy repo rate after four meetings without a change, and changed its stance to 'calibrated tightening' because inflation risks have grown. Loans linked to the repo rate become costlier.
Key points
Repo rate: 5.25% → 5.50%, a unanimous decision of the MPC (7 October 2026).
Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate: 5.25%. Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and Bank Rate: 5.75%.
Stance: calibrated tightening. Governor Sanjay Malhotra said rate cuts are off the table in the near term.
Projections for 2026-27: real GDP growth 7.1% and CPI inflation 5.2%.
Static GK: Repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends short-term money to banks. The MPC has six members: three from the RBI (the Governor chairs it) and three named by the Government; it was set up under the RBI Act, 1934, as amended in 2016. The RBI was established on 1 April 1935; its headquarters is in Mumbai.
PM inaugurates the 10th India Mobile Congress; 5G now reaches every district
Why in news
Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened IMC 2026 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi on 8 October 2026. Telecom figures such as 5G coverage are used in exam questions on digital India.
Key points
Edition: 10th India Mobile Congress (IMC), 7–10 October 2026, at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi.
Theme: 'Scale Without Boundaries'.
The PM said 5G has reached every district, with more than 5.5 lakh 5G base stations working across India.
Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said mobile data cost about ₹268 per GB in 2014 and about ₹8 today.
Static GK: IMC is organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). India's 5G services were launched by the Prime Minister on 1 October 2022, at IMC 2022.
Smriti Mandhana appointed captain of the Indian women's cricket team
Why in news
The BCCI named Smriti Mandhana the full-time white-ball (ODI and T20I) captain on 6 October 2026, after Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down as captain.
Key points
Mandhana, a left-handed opening batter from Maharashtra, succeeds Harmanpreet Kaur.
Before this she had led India in 18 T20Is and 4 ODIs as a stand-in captain.
She captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the Women's Premier League (WPL) title in 2024.
Static GK: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was founded in 1928 and is based in Mumbai. India won its first Women's ODI World Cup in 2025 under Harmanpreet Kaur.
