Current Affairs 20 October 2026: Today's Top Facts with Exam Tags

Two numbers set the tone for today's paper. India's para-athletes picked up 11 medals on the opening day of the Asian Para Games in Nagoya, and the NPPA capped trade margins on 137 anti-cancer drugs at 30% of MRP, with new prices from 9 November. Both are the kind of fact a question paper lifts straight off the page.

Below are 22 verified facts from the last 24 hours, grouped the way exam syllabi group them, each carrying an exam tag. Where a figure is still moving, you will see a (verify) tag next to it. Treat those as read-but-confirm, not as answer-key material.

National

• The CISF will run on a restructured command system from 1 November 2026, with units realigned into sector-specific commands for power, coal, steel, petroleum and gas, ports, and government buildings, museums and metro networks. Exam tag: SSC / Railway / All exams
• CISF has also been designated a Recognised Security Organisation under the ISPS Code, and given a nodal role for aerial security of critical infrastructure plus security duties at high-security jails in Jammu and Kashmir. Exam tag: SSC / BPSC
• The NPPA capped trade margins on 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs at 30% of MRP. Revised retail prices take effect from 9 November 2026, and some prices are expected to drop by up to 70%. Exam tag: All exams
• A Supreme Court bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe held that students must be told the full course fee at the time of admission. Mid-course fee hikes are barred except for unforeseeable, extraordinary or statutory reasons. Exam tag: BPSC / All exams
• Oil marketing companies dropped sugarcane juice, sugar syrup and B-heavy molasses from the 2026-27 ethanol tender, which seeks roughly 11 billion litres for E20 blending. The procurement price for maize-based ethanol was cut from ₹71.86 to ₹68.86 per litre. Exam tag: SSC / Banking
• FSSAI directed food business operators to maintain unbroken cold chains and handle perishable items only under controlled temperature conditions. Exam tag: All exams

Appointments at a glance

International

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh represented India at the 25th SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 19 and 20 October 2026. Trade, investment, connectivity and the grouping's financial functioning were on the agenda. Exam tag: All exams
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a three-day India visit on 20 October 2026. The trade deal, Russian oil purchases and defence cooperation are the main items. Exam tag: SSC / Banking / BPSC
• Iran's Parliament confirmed Mehrdad Akhlaghi as Defence Minister with 237 of 277 votes. He has led the Iranian Defence Industries Organisation since 2013. Exam tag: SSC / Banking
• UAE Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan was on a two-day India visit covering 19 and 20 October. Exam tag: All exams

Economy and Banking

• The RBI Monetary Policy Committee raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% in its October review, with the policy statement released on 7 October 2026. The SDF moved to 5.25% and the MSF and Bank Rate to 5.75%. Exam tag: Banking / SSC
• The MPC shifted its stance from neutral to "calibrated tightening". The rate hike was unanimous, while Dr. Nagesh Kumar and Prof. Ram Singh preferred keeping the stance neutral. The minutes are due on 21 October 2026 and the next meeting runs 2 to 4 December 2026. Exam tag: Banking
• CPI retail inflation for September 2026 came in at 5.54% (provisional), up from 4.83% in August. Food inflation stood at 7.74%, with rural CPI at 6.08% against urban 4.88%. Released by MoSPI on 12 October. Exam tag: Banking / SSC
• WPI inflation for September 2026 climbed to 11.39% from 9.92% in August, pushed mainly by fuel and power at 25.85%. Released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Exam tag: Banking / SSC
• India placed 100th among 122 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2026 with a score of 24.1, a level the report calls serious. Child wasting is near 19% and child stunting 29.3%. Exam tag: All exams

Index and rankings table

The GHI is published by Welthungerhilfe, the IFHV at Ruhr University Bochum and Helvetas. A lower score is better, and the scale runs 0 to 100. Examiners love that direction-of-scale detail, so do not read 24.1 as a percentage.

Sports

• The 2026 Asian Para Games are being held in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan from 18 to 24 October 2026. India sent 168 athletes (112 men, 56 women) across 11 sports. Exam tag: All exams
• India finished Day 1 in fourth place with 11 medals: 4 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze. China led with 62 medals, followed by Japan (27) and Uzbekistan (23). Exam tag: All exams
• Soumya won the women's 1500m T12/13 gold with a personal best of 5:12.39, with Radha Venkatesh taking silver in 5:30.90. Exam tag: SSC / Railway
• In ISL 2026-27, Punjab FC drew 1-1 with Mumbai City FC on 19 October, Gurkirat Singh scoring the equaliser in the 90th minute. Exam tag: All exams
• The WPL 2027 auction is scheduled for Kochi on 28 October 2026. Exam tag: All exams

Asian Para Games 2026, Day 1 Indian medallists

Awards

• The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize went to Navi Pillay, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Exam tag: All exams
• The 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature went to Canadian poet Anne Carson, cited for her bold and inventive body of work. Exam tag: All exams
• Francis Halzen won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin. Exam tag: SSC / Railway
• Karl Deisseroth, Georg Nagel and Peter Hegemann shared the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries on light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. Exam tag: All exams
• Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. Exam tag: SSC / Banking

Science and Defence

• DRDO tested a fibre-based Quantum Key Distribution platform on the live network of its weapon test ranges at the Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE), Chandipur, Odisha on 14 October 2026. It secures real-time telemetry from artillery and armoured weapon trials. Exam tag: SSC / Railway / All exams
• The QKD platform was developed under DRDO's MCC cluster (Microelectronic Devices, Computational Systems and Cyber Security), with Bengaluru-based Taqbit Labs as production partner. An earlier July 2026 trial covered a 100 km fibre link between Prayagraj and Vindhyachal. Exam tag: SSC / Banking
• Exercise Konkan-26, the India and UK bilateral maritime exercise, concluded off Plymouth, UK. It ran from 8 to 15 October 2026 with the sea phase on 12 to 15 October. INS Trishul represented India and the Royal Navy fielded HMS Sutherland, a Duke-class anti-submarine frigate. Exam tag: All exams
• Lokayan 26, the Indian Navy's long-haul sail training voyage aboard INS Sudarshini, covers over 22,000 nautical miles, 18 foreign ports in 13 countries across 10 months, under the MAHASAGAR vision. Exam tag: SSC / Railway
• A PIB release put India's space economy on track to reach USD 40 to 45 billion over the next seven to eight years, with over 400 space startups in the mix. Exam tag: All exams
• HAL expects to deliver its first Limited Series Production batch of 12 Light Utility Helicopters in FY 2027-28, six each for the Army and the Air Force. The 3-tonne class LUH is meant to replace the Cheetah and Chetak fleets. Exam tag: SSC / Railway

Bihar and Jharkhand Special

This is the section that separates a BPSC or JSSC aspirant from someone revising only national GK. State papers reward it heavily.

• BPSC TRE 4.0 vacancies rose to 33,320 from the original 32,388 after 932 posts were added. The online application window closes on 26 October 2026 at bpsc.bihar.gov.in. Exam tag: BPSC / BTET
• For JTET 2026, the Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) has ordered a control room in every district, with Deputy Commissioners serving as district exam controllers responsible for law and order and discipline at centres. Exam tag: JTET / JSSC
• JTET confidential material will be stored in a treasury or sub-treasury under round-the-clock CCTV, with static and patrolling magistrates deployed and a cyber cell watching for exam-related digital leaks. Exam tag: JTET / JPSC
• Bihar's Directorate of Economics and Statistics began fieldwork for the regional round of the 81st National Sample Survey in October 2026, running until June 2027. It covers the Agricultural Household Situation Assessment Survey and the All-India Debt and Investment Survey. Exam tag: BPSC / BSSC
• The Planning and Development Department clarified that NSS responses stay confidential and are used only for statistical analysis, not for tax assessment or legal action. Enumerators must show identity cards. Exam tag: BPSC / BSSC
• Registration for Bihar's agriculture input subsidy for flood and crop-loss affected farmers is open until 25 October 2026. Exam tag: BPSC / Bihar Police
• Bihar is opening new sand mining ghats across six districts to ease the sand shortage and cool construction costs. (verify) Exam tag: BSSC / Bihar Police
• Static anchor worth memorising: Samrat Choudhary has been Chief Minister of Bihar since 15 April 2026, the first BJP leader in the post, representing Tarapur. He was Deputy CM from January 2024 and Home Minister until April 2026. Exam tag: BPSC / BSSC / Bihar Police

Important Days

Two notes on dates. World Osteoporosis Day is led by the International Osteoporosis Foundation, not the WHO, and that distinction has been asked before. National Solidarity Day is a 20 October observance in India, separate from National Unity Day on 31 October, which marks Sardar Patel's birth anniversary. Papers mix those two deliberately.

Final Word

An honest caveat on one item. The BPSC TRE 4.0 vacancy count is being reported as 32,388, 33,320, 44,000 and 46,595 by different portals. The 33,320 figure traces back to the commission's own revision, so that is what is used above, but check the latest corrigendum on bpsc.bihar.gov.in before you quote it in an interview.

One more thing worth building into your routine. Fuel and power at 25.85% on the WPI side against 5.54% retail inflation is a gap wide enough to carry a two-mark question on the difference between wholesale and retail baskets. Write that contrast in your notebook rather than just the two numbers. ExamAtlas has free daily CA quizzes with topic-wise accuracy tracking, so you can see which of these eight sections keeps costing you marks.

Aaj ka full CA quiz: ExamAtlas.com