Defence Current Affairs Quiz: 20 October 2026

The correct answer is Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, where the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was held, with the Raksha Mantri speaking for India.

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said the country's atomic ambitions have to be read against its longer development goals and its clean energy commitments, and named this figure as the nuclear power capacity India is targeting by 2047.

Manish Narwal finished second in that event at the Asian Para Games 2026 on 20 October 2026, and the Prime Minister called it an impressive performance, adding that the shooter kept setting himself apart through his focus and his commitment.

Pranav Soorma won the Men’s Discus Throw F51/52/53 gold at the Asian Para Games 2026 on 20 October 2026, and the Prime Minister described the achievement as historic precisely because the winning throw went past the best mark previously recorded in the continent in that class.

Speaking to the Indian diaspora in Dushanbe on 20 October 2026, the Defence Minister said defence exports had touched that record level, and in the same breath he put defence production at Rs 1.80 lakh crore, so the two figures are best learnt as a pair because an examiner can…

Speaking at the meeting, the Raksha Mantri reaffirmed India's support for adopting an Action Plan for the Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation Programme for exactly that span, and the plan went on to form part of the Joint Communique that the heads of delegation adopted.

The correct answer is 2070, the year Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh named for India's Net Zero emissions commitment while explaining why nuclear power matters to the country's energy plans.

Shrishti Arora secured the bronze in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 event on 20 October 2026 while competing at the Games for the first time, and the Prime Minister described the medal as a wonderful beginning, saying he was confident she would continue to make the nation proud.

He took the silver in the Men’s Discus Throw F51/52/53 event at the Asian Para Games 2026 on 20 October 2026, with Pranav Soorma winning the gold in the same final, so India claimed both the top places in that class group.

Rajnath Singh said India has signed free trade agreements with that many countries, and he singled out the agreements with the United Kingdom and the European Union, which are expected to remove tariffs on 99 per cent of Indian exports to those two markets.

The Raksha Mantri welcomed the decisions taken at the SCO Summit at Bishkek to set up two permanent bodies of the organisation, and the Anti-Drug Centre is the one to be based at Dushanbe.

The correct answer is Dr. Homi Bhabha, whom Dr. Jitendra Singh recalled as the architect of India's nuclear programme, saying that his vision continues to guide a journey built around peaceful application and national development.

Manish Narwal took the silver in the men’s event and Shrishti Arora the bronze in the women’s event, so the distance, the weapon and the class code are identical and only the section and the colour of the medal differ.

Pranav Soorma won the gold there with a new Asian Record and Ram Ratan Singh finished second for the silver, both on 20 October 2026 at the Asian Para Games 2026.

The Defence Minister used this comparison in Dushanbe to show how far India has moved towards a less-paper and less-cash economy, and he described the country as a global hub for real-time digital payments.

Underlining that connectivity underpins shared prosperity, the Raksha Mantri said India supports initiatives that link markets, make trade easier and open fresh avenues for development, and he named these two as able to contribute significantly to connecting Central Asia with wider markets.

The correct answer is the Bloomberg Economy Forum 2026, on the sidelines of which the Union Minister spoke in an exclusive conversation about the peaceful character of India's nuclear programme and the power needs of an economy turning towards artificial intelligence.

He was honoured at the Dushanbe event for his contribution to Hindi literature and education, including a detailed study of philology, and he is described as the first recipient of the Padma Shri from Tajikistan, which is the detail most likely to be asked.