UPSC daily current affairs

UPSC daily news summary — 18 October 2026

Key developments include negotiations on extending Article 371 provisions to Ladakh, legal challenges to personal law sections in the Supreme Court, judicial contempt proceedings, and NASA's PUFFINS astrophysics mission.

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1 polity Article 371 Safeguards for Ladakh Union Ministry of Home Affairs is examining constitutional safeguards for Ladakh through potential inclusion under Article 371 provisions. GS2

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2 polity Muslim Personal Law Shariat Application Act 1937… Supreme Court sought Centre's response on a petition challenging Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 regarding forms of divorce like Talaq-e-Hasan. GS1 GS2

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3 science_technology NASA PUFFINS Space Telescope Mission Interstellar Dust NASA has selected the PUFFINS space telescope mission to study cosmic dust particles in the interstellar medium. GS3

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4 polity Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Regulation The Centre amended the legal framework governing Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDCs) to align it with the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. GS2

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5 schemes Industrial Training Institutes Modernisation Scheme Government approved Rs 1,195 crore for ITI cluster modernisation, taking cumulative sanctioned investment to Rs 3,687 crore. GS2 GS3

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6 economy Tamil Nadu State Semiconductor Policy Reforms Tamil Nadu announced a semiconductor subsidy policy that delinks state sops from central government approvals. GS2 GS3

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