6 Nov 2026

Appointments & Persons in News

National & International Appointments

• Iliana Iotova Elected President of Bulgaria: Iliana Iotova officially won the Bulgarian presidential election runoff with 57.6% of the votes, making international history by becoming the first female president of Bulgaria.
• Chairman, DRDO & Defence R&D Review: Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO Dr. Samir V. Kamat reviewed critical propulsion and guidance systems following the milestone flight test of the Pralay surface-to-surface quasi-ballistic missile.

Persons in News & Notable Demises 

• Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan: The Vice-President addressed the grand Valedictory Session of the 4-day Bharat Renewable Energy Summit & Expo (Bharat RE 2026) at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, stating that environmental commitments act as catalysts for India’s national growth rather than barriers.
• G. Kishan Reddy (Union Coal & Mines Minister): Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy inaugurated the 4th Conference of State Mining Ministers in Goa and officially launched the 9th Tranche of Critical Mineral Block Auctions alongside the 3rd Tranche of Exploration Licences.

Government Schemes, Policies & Welfare Initiatives

Central Government Schemes & National Policies

• Advance Tax Devolution of ₹1,09,019 Crore to States: In view of the upcoming festive season and to boost capital expenditure across states, the Union Ministry of Finance advanced and released ₹1,09,019 crore to State Governments on 5th November 2026 (normally scheduled for 10th November), with Uttar Pradesh (₹19,208 cr) and Bihar (₹10,845 cr) receiving the largest allocations under Article 280 devolution norms.
• Ninth Tranche of Critical Mineral Block Auctions: The Ministry of Mines launched the 9th tranche of auction for commercial critical mineral blocks and the 3rd tranche of Exploration Licences (EL), introducing landmark regulatory reforms to incentivize deep-seated critical mineral exploration.
• TRAI Recommendations on Satellite Communication Networks (SCN): The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued comprehensive recommendations for SCN Provider Authorisations and Spectrum Assignment, fixing the authorisation fee at 8% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) with no minimum entry fee and setting the floor spectrum charge at ₹3,500 per MHz per year.
• Railway Celebrations Marking 150 Years of Vande Mataram: The Ministry of Railways formally concluded year-long nationwide cultural celebrations commemorating 150 years of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s ‘Vande Mataram’ across all 17 railway zones and production units with national essay, quiz, and tiranga events.
• UIDAI Onboards 300 Offline Verification Entities (OVSEs): The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) achieved a major milestone by onboarding 300 Offline Verification Seeking Entities (OVSEs) onto the Aadhaar App platform, facilitating paperless, privacy-compliant user verification in alignment with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act.

State Government Welfare Initiatives

• Assam ₹600 Crore Proton Beam Therapy Facility: The Government of Assam finalized operational blueprints to establish the country’s first state-run ₹600 crore advanced Proton Beam Therapy facility in Guwahati, bringing cutting-edge cancer radiation technology to Northeast India.
• Kolkata International Prosthetics & Orthotics Day: National Institute for Locomotor Disabilities (NILD), Kolkata, under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, observed International Prosthetics & Orthotics Day, distributing advanced myoelectric mobility aids to Divyangjan beneficiaries.

Sports & Games

Formula 1, Shooting & Multi-Sport Events

• Asian Champions Trophy Hockey Title: The Indian Men’s Hockey team clinched the Asian Champions Trophy title, defeating Japan 4–1 in the grand final held in Mohali, marking India’s 6th overall and 3rd consecutive Asian Champions Trophy triumph.
• 46th Tammer International Boxing Tournament (Finland): Indian boxers topped the overall medal tally at the 46th International Tammer Boxing Tournament in Tampere, Finland, securing an impressive 14 medals (4 Gold, 2 Silver, 8 Bronze), led by gold-medal triumphs from Commonwealth Games champion Arundhati Chaudhary (70 kg) and Pawan Bartwal (55 kg).

Science, Space & Technology

Defense Technology, Biotechnology & Health Innovations & Exercise

• DRDO Flight-Tests Quasi-Ballistic Missile ‘Pralay’: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully carried out the flight-test of the indigenous surface-to-surface quasi-ballistic missile ‘Pralay’ from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha. Developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, and produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), the missile features a 350–500 km range and low-altitude maneuverable trajectory, paving the way for its imminent induction into the Armed Forces.
• Fifth ASW-SWC Warship ‘Amini’ Delivered to Indian Navy: Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, formally delivered the 5th Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) named ‘INS Amini’ to the Indian Navy, built with over 80% indigenous content for shallow-water coastal subsurface surveillance.
• Exercise Malabar 2026 (Yokosuka, Japan): Indian Naval Ship INS Sahyadri arrived at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan to participate in Exercise Malabar 2026 alongside navies of the Quad nations (India, US, Japan, Australia) .
• INS Tarkash Port Call at Port Louis, Mauritius: Indian Naval Ship INS Tarkash concluded its scheduled operational port call at Port Louis, Mauritius, reinforcing bilateral Indian Ocean regional maritime security and joint EEZ surveillance.

Summits, Bills & International Affairs

International Affairs & Bilateral Agreements

• Conclusion of Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD-2026): The Indian Navy’s apex international strategic conference, IPRD-2026, concluded in New Delhi with a consensus focus on cooperative ocean governance, regional scientific advancements, and responsible maritime domain technologies. 
• Valedictory Session of Bharat RE Summit 2026: The 4-day Bharat Renewable Energy Summit & Expo (BRE 2026), held alongside the 9th International Solar Alliance (ISA) Assembly and 4th International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH), formally concluded at Bharat Mandapam, recording over $400 billion in clean-energy investment commitments.
• India Extends $500 Million Line of Credit to Guyana: The Government of India approved and extended a $500 million Line of Credit (LoC) to Guyana to fund key public infrastructure projects spanning road networks, healthcare institutions, and defense surveillance systems.

Books, Authors & Important Days

Important Days & Themes

• World Tsunami Awareness Day – November 5: Observed globally under the auspices of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and UNESCO to highlight early warning systems, coastal disaster planning, and the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme.
• Official Theme for World Tsunami Awareness Day 2026: “Be Tsunami Ready: Resilience Starts With You”, emphasizing community-level evacuation drills and traditional warning awareness derived from the historic Japanese ‘Inamura-no-hi’ (burning of rice sheaves) lore of 1854.

ENVIRONMENT

• Guidelines for India’s Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (I-OECMs) 2026: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change officially released the I-OECMs 2026 guidelines at CBD COP-17, establishing a formal framework to recognise community reserves, sacred groves, and private forests contributing to the global 30×30 biodiversity conservation target.
• Amazon Rainforest Shifts from Carbon Sink to Emitter (Climate Digest): Global climate monitoring institutes and The Hindu science edition reported that sustained deforestation and historic Amazonian droughts have caused parts of the Amazon basin to emit more carbon dioxide than they sequester, intensifying global tropical forest conservation urgency.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• India Finished Steel Consumption Hits 99.3 Million Tonnes: The Ministry of Steel released its April–October 2026 operational digest, reporting that India’s finished steel consumption reached a record 99.3 million tonnes (up 7.5% year-on-year), reflecting intense domestic infrastructure and construction demand.
• BIS Gold & Silver Hallmarking Coverage Report: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Ministry of Consumer Affairs published the 2026 Hallmarking Progress Report, confirming that mandatory gold hallmarking now covers 392 districts across India, with over 65 crore gold articles receiving unique 6-digit Hallmarking Unique Identification (HUID) numbers.

Practice Questions

Q1. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully carried out the user flight-test of which indigenous quasi-ballistic missile from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island on 5th November 2026?

(A) Agni-Prime

(B) Pralay

(C) Shaurya

(D) BrahMos-ER

Answer: (B) Pralay

Q2. How much amount was released by the Union Government on 5th November 2026 as an advance instalment of tax devolution to State Governments to boost festive capital spending?

(A) ₹82,450 crore

(B) ₹95,120 crore

(C) ₹1,09,019 crore

(D) ₹1,40,000 crore

Answer: (C) ₹1,09,019 crore

Q3. What is the official global theme for ‘World Tsunami Awareness Day’, observed worldwide on 5th November 2026?

(A) Fighting Inequality for a Resilient Future

(B) Be Tsunami Ready: Resilience Starts With You

(C) Early Warnings for All by 2030

(D) Coastal Protection and Safe Havens

Answer: (B) Be Tsunami Ready: Resilience Starts With You

Q4. The Indian Men’s Hockey team clinched the Asian Champions Trophy title on 5th November 2026 by defeating which country in the final?

(A) South Korea

(B) Malaysia

(C) Japan

(D) China

Answer: (C) Japan

Q5. Who made political history by becoming the first woman ever to be elected as the President of Bulgaria in the presidential election results declared on 5th November 2026?

(A) Iliana Iotova

(B) Maia Sandu

(C) Kaja Kallas

(D) Gordana Siljanovska

Answer: (A) Iliana Iotova

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