Current Affairs Today 17 October 2026: UPSC News Roundup

🗞️ Why in News Beyond the deep dives on the Supreme Court verdict against Yes Bank’s AT-1 bond write-down, the first joint study of solar eruptions by Aditya-L1 and ESA’s Proba-3 and ISRO’s Crew Module-Service Module separation tests for Gaganyaan, the 17 October 2026 roundup covers SEBI’s circular on the Closing Auction Session and expiry-day settlement, MoSPI’s quarterly update of the PAIMANA Performance Dashboard, the Finance Ministry’s clarification on the legislative history of its IDBI stake, the Press Council of India’s guidelines for journalists at protests, a Supreme Court bail order on prolonged pre-trial detention, the amended rule on who may be a Census enumerator, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the Ladakh groups’ rejection of the Home Ministry’s draft and the Centre’s word to the Supreme Court on airfare rules. Also in the news: the new Karnataka Governor, a PAC hearing on SC scholarships, China’s draft technology export curbs, CERT-In on AI agents, the REC-PFC merger, the fuel export levy and next week’s diplomatic calendar.

SEBI Sets a New Closing Auction Window and Expiry-Day Settlement Rules

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 15 October 2026 issued a circular reviewing the Closing Auction Session (CAS), market timings and the settlement methodology for derivatives contracts. It follows a consultation paper and the recommendations of SEBI’s Secondary Market Advisory Committee, and it changes both when the closing auction is held and how expiry-day settlement prices are computed.

• New CAS window: CAS will run as a separate session of 10 minutes, from 3:30 pm to 3:40 pm, and order entry will close randomly at any time between 3:38 pm and 3:40 pm.
• Derivatives trading hours: index derivatives will trade till 3:45 pm, except that expiring index derivatives will stop at 3:30 pm on expiry day; stock derivatives will trade till 3:45 pm, expiry days included.
• Expiry-day settlement price: for index derivatives, the value of the index computed from the volume-weighted average prices (VWAP) of its constituents over the last 30 minutes of the Continuous Trading Session; for stock derivatives, the VWAP of the underlying across all exchanges over the same last 30 minutes.
• No stop-loss orders will be allowed during CAS.
• When: the changes will come into effect from 7 December 2026; the provision on unexecuted limit and iceberg orders of the Continuous Trading Session (para 4.8) from 8 February 2027. Exchanges and clearing corporations are to amend their procedures within 7 days of the circular.
• Legal basis: Section 11(1) of the SEBI Act, 1992, read with Regulation 51 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations) Regulations, 2018.
• Background: SEBI introduced CAS in the equity cash segment by a circular of 16 January 2026. A consultation paper of 12 September 2026 (covered in our 12 September roundup) and the recommendations of SEBI’s Secondary Market Advisory Committee (SMAC) led to this circular.

Why it matters. The settlement price on expiry day fixes the final payout on every expiring contract, so the method used to compute it matters to every trader; the circular now ties it to prices across the last 30 minutes of continuous trading. The circular cites SEBI’s statutory duty “to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market”.

📌 Facts Corner

• SEBI circular, 15 October 2026: CAS of 10 minutes (3:30 to 3:40 pm), in force from 7 December 2026.
• Expiry-day settlement price: VWAP over the last 30 minutes of the Continuous Trading Session.
• No stop-loss orders in CAS; expiring index derivatives stop trading at 3:30 pm on expiry day.

MoSPI’s PAIMANA Performance Dashboard Grows to 184 Indicators

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on 16 October 2026 released the quarterly update of the PAIMANA Performance Dashboard (PAIMANA: Project Assessment, Infrastructure Monitoring & Analytics for Nation-building), which presents the performance of key infrastructure sectors through a set of standardised indicators.

• Part of the PAIMANA platform: the Performance Dashboard is part of the PAIMANA platform, alongside its project-monitoring vertical (Central Sector projects of Rs 150 crore and above, noted in our 31 January 2026 roundup). The dashboard tracks sector indicators; the project vertical tracks individual projects.
• Launched on 16 April 2026; now expanded to 184 indicators, including 21 new ones; quarterly data updated for 41 indicators.
• Five dimensions: Access, Quality, Fiscal Cost & Revenue, Utilization and Affordability.
• Next update: MoSPI says it will come on 15 January 2027.

Why it matters. Infrastructure is usually reported as money spent or kilometres built. The dashboard’s five dimensions also ask whether an asset is used and whether it is affordable, which is the outcome-based view of infrastructure that a good GS3 answer takes. Note the different periods: the power figures are for the year ending March 2026, the others for the current year.

📌 Facts Corner

• PAIMANA = Project Assessment, Infrastructure Monitoring & Analytics for Nation-building (MoSPI).
• Performance Dashboard: 184 indicators, six sub-sectors, five dimensions; launched 16 April 2026.
• PAIMANA has two parts: the project-monitoring portal (Central Sector projects of Rs 150 crore and above) and the Performance Dashboard (sector indicators).

Finance Ministry Clarifies the Legislative History of Its IDBI Stake

The Ministry of Finance on 17 October 2026 issued a clarification on the legislative developments concerning the Government’s shareholding in IDBI, after, it said, sections of the press carried comments on “the legislative developments in 2003”. The clarification announces no new step in the sale.

• 2003: the Ministry said an amendment seeking to restrict the dilution of the Government’s stake “was moved but was ultimately rejected and did not form part of the enacted legislation”. The release names the law the IDBI (Repeal) Act, 2003.
• Delhi High Court, 17 December 2018: in All India IDBI Officers’ Association v. Union of India & Others, the Court dismissed the writ petition. The Ministry quotes paragraph 41: “The principles of promissory estoppel are wholly inapplicable in the aforesaid context.”
• Also quoted from paragraph 41: “The statements made before the House cannot substitute or override the statue so enacted by the Parliament.” (the release’s spelling).
• The Ministry’s summary of the ruling: promissory estoppel “could not be invoked to prevent the Government from reducing or divesting its stake”.
• Policy continuity, as the Ministry sets it out: in the Budget speech for 2016-17 (para 93), the Government said it would “also consider the option of reducing its stake to below 50%”; in the Budget speech for 2021-22 (para 84): “Other than IDBI Bank, we propose to take up the privatization of two Public Sector Banks and one General Insurance company”.
• The sale itself: the CCEA on 14 October 2026 approved 10955230 Canada Inc. (parent: Fairfax Financial Holdings) as the Strategic Buyer of 60.72% of IDBI Bank for about Rs 52,878 crore; RBI checks remain (our 14 October deep dive).

Why it matters. The clarification turns on a point that GS2 answers on Parliament use often: what binds the Government is the law Parliament enacts, not statements made during the debate on it. The Delhi High Court case concerned the power to dilute the stake; it was not an approval of the present sale.

📌 Facts Corner

• Promissory estoppel: held “wholly inapplicable” to the Government’s power to cut its IDBI stake (Delhi HC, as quoted by the Finance Ministry).
• The 2003 amendment to restrict dilution was moved and rejected, the Ministry says.
• CCEA approval of the strategic sale: 14 October 2026; the sale is not complete.

Press Council of India Issues Guidelines for Journalists Covering Protests

The Press Council of India (PCI) has issued guidelines for journalists covering protests and demonstrations, The Hindu reported on 16 October 2026. The Hindu says they aim to facilitate “orderly and effective coverage of protests and demonstrations” while promoting the safety of media personnel, responsible reporting and better coordination among journalists, media organisations and law enforcement authorities.

• Adopted: at a meeting of the Council on 14 October 2026, PTI reported.
• Identity: display a valid press identity card issued by the media organisation, or a Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation card, or a State government Directorate of Information and Publicity accreditation card.
• Conduct: “Maintain neutrality and professionalism. Do not participate in demonstrations, take sides, provoke confrontations, or interfere with protesters, counter-protesters, or police”.
• Police instructions: follow police orders, avoid arguments in tense situations and comply with lawful instructions, particularly those issued for immediate safety, while calmly asserting press status when necessary.
• Safety: keep a safe distance from confrontations, carry an emergency kit, and use protective headgear and body armour according to the assessed threat.
• Newsrooms: designate a point of contact to monitor journalists’ locations and respond to emergencies, and coordinate with police press liaisons for planned demonstrations.
• Reporting standards: verify through multiple sources; treat the statements of protesters, organisers, police and government with equal scrutiny; do not publish real-time police positions when that could compromise safety or operational security; take care with minors and vulnerable people.

Why it matters. The guidelines address both duties of a reporter at a protest site: staying safe and reporting without taking part. For GS2, they show a statutory body using its standard-setting role, whose stated object is “to preserve the freedom of the Press and to maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies”.

📌 Facts Corner

• PCI: statutory, quasi-judicial, autonomous authority, re-established in 1979 under the Press Council Act, 1978.
• First set up in 1966 under the Indian Press Council Act, 1965.
• Composition: a Chairman and 28 members.
• After an inquiry, the PCI may warn, admonish or censure.

Supreme Court: Pre-Trial Detention Must Not Become Punishment Without Trial

The Supreme Court on 16 October 2026 granted bail to former Rajasthan Minister Mahesh Joshi and co-accused Mukesh Pathak in the alleged Jal Jeevan Mission tender case, The Hindu reported. A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu held that prolonged pre-trial detention cannot be allowed to “degenerate into punishment without trial”.

• Gravity is not decisive: “the gravity of the allegations, however serious, cannot by itself eclipse all other considerations governing the grant of bail or justify indefinite pre-trial detention”.
• Reasons, as reported: the investigation is complete and chargesheets are filed; the evidence is “overwhelmingly” documentary and electronic, so the scope for tampering is “substantially obviated”; no custodial interrogation is needed.
• Size of the trial: “22 accused, three chargesheets, 124 prosecution witnesses, and 20,000 pages of documents”; charges have not yet been framed.
• The allegations (prosecution’s case): two firms took part in 237 tenders of Rajasthan’s Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) between 2021 and 2023 using forged certificates purportedly issued by IRCON International Limited, and secured 104 tenders worth Rs 979.45 crore.
• Order set aside: the Rajasthan High Court’s order of 13 August denying them regular bail.
• Conditions: release on bail bonds and sureties; no inducement, threat or promise to witnesses and no tampering; the trial court may cancel bail on breach.

Why it matters. The order sets out how bail is weighed once an investigation is over: the seriousness of a charge counts, but alongside the length of custody, the state of the trial and the real risk of tampering. The Court still called the allegations “grave”; bail is not a finding on guilt. For more on personal liberty at the arrest stage, see our editorial on arrest safeguards.

📌 Facts Corner

• Bench: Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu; bail order of 16 October 2026.
• Key phrase: pre-trial detention must not “degenerate into punishment without trial”.
• Bail is not acquittal: charges are yet to be framed.

Census Rules Amended to Widen Who May Be an Enumerator

A notification of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI) in the official gazette on 16 October 2026 amended Rule 3 of the Census Rules, 1990 to widen the categories of persons who may be engaged as enumerators, The Hindu reported.

• The new entry (Rule 3, Table, serial number 5, Enumerator, column 2):
  • “Teachers of any educational institution of the Government, local authority, aided or unaided private bodies, societies or trusts”;
  • “Clerks or any official of the Central Government, State Government, local authority or establishment (including public sector undertakings, statutory bodies, banks, companies, institutions, societies and trusts)”;
  • “Any person, as the State Government or the Union territory Administration may consider suitable, to perform the duties as an Enumerator”.
• The old entry read: “Teachers, Clerks or any official or any person”. In practice, The Hindu says, mostly government school teachers and revenue and other State government officials were engaged.
• Who appoints: State Governments and Union territory Administrations may appoint census officers from these categories.
• Why: around 34 lakh enumerators are required for the Population Enumeration, an official said, and the work cannot be finished in time with government school teachers alone.
• In the courts: on 16 October the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed two Haryana government communications seeking details of teachers for the Census, giving interim relief to private unaided schools; in May the Bombay High Court had given interim protection to associations of over 500 private unaided and minority schools in Maharashtra.
• What comes next: door-to-door Population Enumeration will be held in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Punjab from 1 December 2026 to 4 January 2027, and in February 2027 in the rest of the country. See also our deep dive on Population Enumeration in Ladakh and the snow-bound areas.

Why it matters. Population Enumeration needs a very large field force in a short window. The amendment names teachers and staff of private institutions explicitly, while the power to appoint stays with the States and UTs; the High Court cases show private schools contesting State requests for their teachers.

📌 Facts Corner

• Census Rules, 1990 were made under Section 18(1) of the Census Act, 1948.
• Appointing authority for enumerators: State Governments and UT Administrations.
• The amendment covers more than private teachers: clerks and officials of PSUs, banks, companies, societies and trusts, and “any person” a State considers suitable.

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: “Safe Homes for All”

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed every year on 17 October. Under the 2026-2028 theme “United for Peace and Human Rights”, the 2026 observance focuses on “Safe Homes for All”. The UN says that “More than 2.8 billion people worldwide face some form of housing inadequacy”.

• Three areas of action: make safe housing a human-rights priority; design policies with people experiencing poverty; mobilise resources for safe homes for all.
• Builds on the Doha Political Declaration (A/RES/80/5), adopted by the UN General Assembly after the Second World Summit for Social Development in November 2025.
• Origin: on 17 October 1987, over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger.
• Declared by the UN General Assembly through resolution 47/196, adopted on 22 December 1992.
• Linked to the Third UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2018-2027), proclaimed by resolution 72/233, and to SDG 1.

Why it matters. The UN frames the Day on the idea that “ending poverty is inseparable from protecting human rights, human dignity and peace”. The 2026 focus on housing gives a ready example for GS1 and Essay answers on poverty as more than low income.

📌 Facts Corner

• 17 October: declared by UNGA resolution 47/196 (22 December 1992).
• “Safe Homes for All” is the 2026 focus; the 2026-2028 theme is “United for Peace and Human Rights”.
• Third UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty: 2018-2027.

Ladakh Groups Reject the Home Ministry’s Draft Proposal

The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) on 16 October 2026 rejected a fresh draft proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), The Hindu reported. Members of the Ministry’s High-Powered Sub-Committee had met the groups and local leaders in Leh on 15 October 2026 and shared a 15-page draft roadmap.

• The groups’ statement: they “categorically reject the draft proposal in principle, as it represents a significant departure from the assurances and commitments made during previous meetings of the sub-committee”. They urged the Ministry to accept the draft MoU they had submitted.
• Their reading of the draft: it proposes a “North-East Frontier Agency-type arrangement” and “appears closer to a Territorial Council model, with substantial powers concentrated in the Lieutenant Governor’s administration”. These are the groups’ descriptions.
• What they seek: a legislative assembly and constitutional safeguards under Article 371; they call a “UT with a legislature” the “minimum guarantee from which a sui generis model could be developed”, as agreed at a meeting on 22 May 2026 whose minutes were signed on 3 July.
• The Government’s earlier signal: in July it had hinted at a “customised sui generis model, which is most suitable for Ladakh”, to be adopted under Article 371.
• What comes next: LAB and KDA will submit a detailed response to the Ministry on 18 October, and another round of talks is likely in New Delhi on 22 October.
• Background: since Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019, there have been frequent protests over demands for Statehood and Sixth Schedule status. For recent context, see our roundups on China’s objection to the UT of Ladakh and the Ladakh projects inaugurated by the PM.

Why it matters. The dispute is over the form of self-government for the region: the groups read the draft as a council model with powers concentrated in the Lieutenant Governor’s administration, while they seek a legislature with Article 371 safeguards. For GS2, this is a live case of the choice between Article 371-type special provisions, the Sixth Schedule and a legislature for a UT.

📌 Facts Corner

• LAB (Leh Apex Body) and KDA (Kargil Democratic Alliance) are in talks with the MHA’s High-Powered Sub-Committee.
• The groups’ demand: a legislature and safeguards under Article 371.
• Ladakh has been a Union Territory since 2019.

Centre Tells Supreme Court the New Airfare Rules Will Be Published Within Two Weeks

The Centre on 16 October 2026 told the Supreme Court that administrative approval had been granted for new aviation rules framed under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 to regulate volatile airfares and predatory pricing, The Hindu reported. “The rules have been finalised and administrative approval has been granted. The same would be published within two weeks,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Bench.

• Bench: Justices Vikram Nath, R. Mahadevan and Aparesh Kumar Singh; the Solicitor General appeared for the Union and the DGCA.
• The case: a PIL by social activist S. Laxminarayan “seeking binding regulatory norms to curb arbitrary airfare pricing and ancillary charges levied by private airlines during festive periods, holidays and emergencies”. The petition says “there is currently no regulatory authority vested with the power to review or cap airfares”.
• The Court’s earlier remark: on the same day and route, one airline charged Rs 8,000 and another Rs 18,000 for economy class.
• The Government’s earlier stand: in an affidavit, it said the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA were at an “advanced stage” of finalising rules under the 2024 Act “to replace the Aircraft Rules, 1937”.
• Next hearing: the Bench asked the Solicitor General to place the rules before it before the next hearing, which will be on 16 November.

Why it matters. The petition argues that no authority can review or cap fares today. The rules, once published, will show how the Government plans to deal with fare volatility under the 2024 Act; their content is not yet public.

📌 Facts Corner

• Rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 are to replace the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
• Status on 16 October 2026: administrative approval granted, rules not yet published.
• Next Supreme Court hearing: 16 November.

Also in the News

New Karnataka Governor. Sudha Yadav was sworn in as Governor of Karnataka at Lok Bhavan, Bengaluru, on 16 October 2026; Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru administered the oath (her appointment was in an earlier roundup).

PAC on SC scholarships. The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, chaired by K.C. Venugopal, on 15 October 2026 questioned the Union and several State governments over their responses to gaps flagged by the CAG in pre- and post-matric scholarships for Scheduled Caste students, The Hindu reported. The committee gave the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment one month to submit a detailed action-taken report on each issue flagged by the CAG.

China’s draft export curbs. China on 16 October 2026 published a draft plan, issued by its Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology as “Announcement No. 48”, that proposes curbs on 40 key technologies in AI, biomedicine and photovoltaics: 14 proposed for a complete export ban and 26 for restricted exports, The Hindu reported. The draft does not restrict most solar exports, but its proposed controls on next-generation solar manufacturing technologies could affect efforts by countries including India to reduce dependence on China.

CERT-In on AI agents. The Computer Emergency Response Team, India (CERT-In), which operates under MeitY, said on 15 October 2026 that it had received “multiple voluntary disclosures from AI model providers stating that their models, during research and evaluation activity on the internet, had reached the live systems of Indian organisations”; it named neither the organisations nor the providers (The Hindu).

REC-PFC merger. The scheme of merger of REC Limited with and into Power Finance Corporation (PFC) under Sections 230-232 of the Companies Act, 2013 received a no-objection certificate from the RBI on 15 October 2026, according to PFC’s filing with the stock exchanges. The approvals of shareholders and creditors, and other statutory approvals, remain.

Fuel export levy. From 16 October 2026, for a fifteen-day period, the export levy on petrol rose to Rs 2.5 a litre from Rs 0.5, the levy on diesel fell to Rs 8.5 from Rs 16, and the levy on ATF stayed at Rs 10.5, The Hindu reported. Duties on fuels for domestic consumption are unchanged.

Next week’s diplomatic calendar. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will host UAE Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Mumbai on 19 October and his U.S. counterpart Rubio there on 20 October; Rubio will not visit New Delhi during this trip. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will represent India at the SCO Council of Heads of Government in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 19 and 20 October, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to participate virtually.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• Governor’s oath: Sudha Yadav was sworn in by the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Vibhu Bakhru.
• China’s curbs are a draft: “Announcement No. 48”, 14 technologies proposed for a ban, 26 for restriction.
• Export levy: reviewed every fortnight since 27 March, against the backdrop of the conflict in West Asia (The Hindu).
• REC into PFC: RBI no-objection certificate received; the merger is not complete.

UPSC Relevance

GS Paper 1. Population and the Census; poverty and housing. GS Paper 2. Statutory and quasi-judicial bodies (Press Council of India); bail and personal liberty; parliamentary committees (PAC) and the CAG; Union Territory governance, Article 371 and the Sixth Schedule (Ladakh); India’s diplomacy with the UAE, the U.S. and the SCO. GS Paper 3. Capital market regulation (SEBI); infrastructure monitoring (PAIMANA); disinvestment (IDBI); civil aviation regulation; cybersecurity and AI; technology export controls. Prelims. SEBI’s CAS timings, PAIMANA, the PCI, the Census Rules, the Poverty Day theme.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

Prelims, statement-ready facts:

• SEBI circular (15 October 2026): CAS of 10 minutes, 3:30 to 3:40 pm; in force from 7 December 2026; no stop-loss orders in CAS.
• PAIMANA Performance Dashboard (MoSPI): 184 indicators, 21 new, five dimensions; launched 16 April 2026.
• PCI: re-established in 1979 under the Press Council Act, 1978; Chairman + 28 members; may warn, admonish or censure.
• Census Rules, 1990: made under Section 18(1), Census Act, 1948; enumerators appointed by States and UTs.
• Poverty Day: 17 October; UNGA resolution 47/196 (1992); 2026 focus “Safe Homes for All”.
• Airfare rules: under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, to replace the Aircraft Rules, 1937.

Prelims, the traps:

• The new CAS window (3:30 to 3:40 pm) applies from 7 December 2026, not from the date of the circular.
• Both are part of PAIMANA: the Performance Dashboard tracks sector indicators; the project vertical tracks individual Central Sector projects of Rs 150 crore and above.
• The airfare rules have administrative approval but are not yet published, so their content, including any fare cap, is not public.
• “Safe Homes for All” is the 2026 focus, not the theme for all of 2026-2028 (“United for Peace and Human Rights”).
• China’s technology export curbs are a draft, not rules in force.

Mains, arguments and keywords:

• Markets and the state: settlement-price integrity; outcome-based infrastructure monitoring; disinvestment and parliamentary assurances; promissory estoppel.
• Rights and institutions: bail as the rule for undertrials; press freedom and journalist safety; federal appointment powers in the Census; self-government for Ladakh.

Interview, be ready for:

• Should a body like the Press Council of India have the power to enforce its guidelines, or is moral authority enough?
• When an investigation is over and the trial will take years, what should decide whether an accused stays in jail?

Sources: SEBI, Review of certain aspects of the Closing Auction Session, market timings and settlement methodology for derivatives contracts, 15 October 2026, PIB, Quarterly release of Performance Monitoring Dashboard of Infrastructure Sector in India, 16 October 2026, PIB, Clarification on Legislative Developments concerning Government’s shareholding in IDBI, 17 October 2026, The Hindu, Press Council of India issues guidelines for journalists covering protests and demonstrations, 16 October 2026, PTI in OrissaPOST, 16 October 2026, Press Council of India, Introduction (presscouncil.nic.in), The Hindu, Supreme Court grants bail to former Rajasthan Minister in Jal Jeevan Mission case, 16 October 2026, The Hindu, Census 2027: Govt. opens enumerator roles to private teachers, institutions, trust and society members, 16 October 2026, Census Rules, 1990, United Nations, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, The Hindu, Ladakh groups reject government proposal, call it ‘significant departure’ from assurances, 16 October 2026, The Hindu, New rules to regulate volatile airfares to be published in two weeks, Centre tells SC, 17 October 2026, The Hindu, report on Sudha Yadav’s swearing-in as Karnataka Governor, 16 October 2026, The Hindu (print), House panel questions Centre, States on issues in SC scholarship schemes, 16 October 2026, The Hindu, China considers new export curbs on solar, AI, biotech, 16 October 2026, The Hindu, AI agents gained unauthorised access to Indian organisations, says CERT-In, 16 October 2026, PFC disclosure to NSE and BSE, 15 October 2026, The Hindu, Export levy on petrol hiked, diesel lowered, 16 October 2026, The Hindu (print), Jaishankar to meet Rubio, UAE FM in back-to-back visits, 17 October 2026, The Hindu, Rajnath Singh to represent India at SCO PMs summit, 16 October 2026

Source: Current Affairs Today 17 October 2026: UPSC News Roundup — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs