Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit assumes charge as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff
defence · nda, cds, afcat, ssc-cgl
Why this mattersThe Chief of the Air Staff is numbered in sequence, so the ordinal is the fact most often asked and the one most often got wrong. Note he is the 29th CAS, not the 29th officer to hold air rank.
Linked static GK: The Chief of the Air Staff holds the rank of Air Chief Marshal, and the three service chiefs report to the Chief of Defence Staff created in 2019 for tri service matters.
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GSLV-F18 launches NVS-03 to strengthen the NavIC navigation system
science-and-technology · ssc-cgl, upsc-prelims, rrb-ntpc, nda
Why this mattersNavIC is the operational name and IRNSS is the system's formal name, and the NVS series are its second generation satellites. GSLV is the launch vehicle here rather than PSLV, which is the pairing a question tests.
Linked static GK: NavIC, formally the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, covers India and a region about 1,500 km around it, and is one of only a few independent regional navigation systems in the world.
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Inaugural BIMSTEC Maritime Security Exercise begins in the Bay of Bengal
international · upsc-prelims, nda, cds, ssc-cgl
Why this mattersBIMSTEC has seven members and this is its first maritime security exercise, so both the count and the word inaugural are what a question turns on. Bhutan and Nepal are landlocked members and still part of the grouping, which is the detail that catches candidates.
Linked static GK: BIMSTEC was formed in 1997 and its secretariat is at Dhaka, and it links five South Asian with two Southeast Asian countries around the Bay of Bengal.
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Centre releases Rs 1,09,019 crore to states as an advance instalment of tax devolution
economy · ibps-po, rbi-grade-b, ssc-cgl, upsc-prelims
Why this mattersTax devolution is the states' constitutional share of central taxes under the Finance Commission formula, not a grant, so an advance instalment changes the timing and not the entitlement. Bihar received the largest share of this release.
Linked static GK: The share of central taxes going to states is recommended by the Finance Commission under Article 280, and the Sixteenth Finance Commission covers 2026-27 onwards.
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Delhi records its lowest October average AQI in eight years at 166
environment · upsc-prelims, ssc-cgl, rrb-ntpc
Why this mattersAn AQI of 166 falls in the Moderate band, so the figure is a record low for the month and not clean air. Read the two numbers separately: 166 is the October monthly average and 167 is the ten month average, which is the pair a question swaps.
Linked static GK: The National Air Quality Index was launched in 2014 and reports six bands from Good to Severe, with PM2.5 and PM10 among the eight pollutants it covers.
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Customs duty exemption on cotton imports extended up to 31 December 2026
economy · ssc-cgl, ibps-po, upsc-prelims, nabard
Why this mattersNote which ministry does what: the Ministry of Textiles announced it, but customs duty is notified by the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance, and the question usually offers Textiles as the wrong answer. It is an extension of an existing exemption, not a new one.
Linked static GK: India is among the world's largest cotton producers, and customs duty on imports is levied under the Customs Act of 1962 with exemptions issued by notification.
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MeitY launches the DEPA for AI Training Handbook at a roundtable in Bengaluru
science-and-technology · upsc-prelims, ssc-cgl, ugc-net
Why this mattersDEPA is better known as the consent layer behind account aggregators in finance, so the testable point is that the same architecture is now extended to AI training data. Expand DEPA correctly as Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture, and note the launch was in Bengaluru, not Delhi.
Linked static GK: DEPA stands for Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture, and it underpins the account aggregator framework that the Reserve Bank of India regulates in the financial sector.
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Panchayati Raj Ministry signs an MoU for EV charging stations on panchayat land
schemes · upsc-prelims, ssc-cgl, mpsc-group-c, talathi
CESL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited under the Ministry of Power, and the MoU is for establishing electric vehicle charging and battery swapping stations on panchayat land throughout the country.
Sources: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2330751
Why this mattersTwo scheme names to keep apart: the People's Plan Campaign is the annual planning exercise, and PM VGSY is the newly approved programme. CESL sits under the Ministry of Power, not Panchayati Raj, which is the cross-ministry pairing a question tests.
Linked static GK: Panchayati Raj was given constitutional status by the 73rd Amendment of 1992, and the Gram Panchayat Development Plan is the village level plan the People's Plan Campaign is run to prepare.
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NMMSS application deadline extended to November 15, 2026
education · ctet, maha-tet, ssc-cgl, nmms-maharashtra
Why this mattersThree dates run in sequence and a question will offer the wrong one: the student deadline, then L1 institute verification, then L2 district verification. NMMSS is a central scheme and is separate from Maharashtra's own state scholarship examinations.
Linked static GK: The National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme supports Class 9 to Class 12 students from economically weaker sections who clear a state conducted selection test, and the National Scholarship Portal is the single window for central scholarships.
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Mizoram gets 45 new road works approved under PMGSY-IV
infrastructure · upsc-prelims, ssc-cgl, rrb-ntpc
Why this mattersKeep the two sets of numbers apart: 45 works and 509.54 km are this approval, while 367 works and 4,935 km are the cumulative total for Mizoram under PMGSY. PMGSY-IV is the current phase, and the 48 habitations are getting connectivity for the first time.
Linked static GK: The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was launched in 2000 as a centrally sponsored scheme for all-weather rural road connectivity, and it is run by the Ministry of Rural Development.
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Rashtriya Ekta Diwas marked on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth anniversary
governance · ssc-cgl, upsc-prelims, rrb-ntpc, mpsc-group-c
Why this mattersRashtriya Ekta Diwas is observed on Sardar Patel's birth anniversary, which is the link a question tests rather than the date alone. He was independent India's first Deputy Prime Minister and first Home Minister, and the Statue of Unity commemorates him.
Linked static GK: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was born in 1875 and integrated the princely states into the Indian Union as Home Minister, and the Statue of Unity at Kevadia in Gujarat is the world's tallest statue.
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President graces the Dhwajarohan ceremony of the Simhastha Maha Kumbh at Nashik
art-and-culture · upsc-prelims, ssc-cgl, mpsc-group-c, talathi
Why this mattersThe river for each Kumbh site is the pairing most often asked and most often confused: Godavari at Nashik, Shipra at Ujjain, Ganga at Haridwar and the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj. Note the ceremony is the flag hoisting ahead of the Kumbh itself, which the President placed in 2027.
Linked static GK: The Simhastha Kumbh at Nashik takes its name from Jupiter's transit into the Simha or Leo sign, and the Kumbh Mela is inscribed on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
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