UPSC Current Affairs Quiz: 31 October 2026

The Ministry of Home Affairs announces this medal on 31 October every year, and that date is observed as the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Social protection coverage in India has moved up from 19% in 2015 to 68.4% in 2026, and this widening has brought more than one billion people inside the social protection framework.

The Ministry of Rural Development has approved 45 road works for Mizoram in Batch-1 of the financial year 2026-27 under the fourth phase of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

The mission in the news was the successful flight of GSLV-F18, which carried the NVS-03 navigation satellite, and the Prime Minister congratulated the scientists and engineers of ISRO on it.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, called National Unity Day in English, is kept on this date every year to honour the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, whose birth anniversary falls on it, and in 2026 the observance coincided with his 151st birth anniversary.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj said at the workshop that the People's Plan Campaign has been run by the Ministry since 2018 under this theme, and that it has grown into a framework for preparing Gram, Block and District Panchayat Development Plans, localising the Sustainable Development Goals…

The Central Cottage Industries Corporation of India is taking part in Bharat Parv 2026 at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, and the Prime Minister visited its pavilion there on 30 October 2026.

The Ministry of Home Affairs conferred the Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak for the year 2026 on 490 personnel drawn from the police forces of various states and Union Territories, from the Central Armed Police Forces and from the Central Police Organisations.

The ceiling had last been revised in September 2014, when it was moved from Rs 6,500 to Rs 15,000 a month, and the approval granted in September 2026 took it to Rs 25,000.

That is the total estimated cost of the 45 road works, covering 509.54 km, cleared for Mizoram under PMGSY-IV in Batch-1 of the financial year 2026-27.

The mission was described as an important step towards strengthening NavIC, which is India's indigenous satellite navigation system, and NVS-03 was said to carry enhanced capabilities that will support navigation services for citizens.

The President paid floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 151st birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 31 October 2026, so that is the number attached to this year's observance.

The agreement allows electric vehicle charging and battery swapping stations to be set up on Panchayat land across states and Union Territories, including suitable sites along State and National Highways, serving two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers and medium and heavy vehicles.

CCIC is described as a Government of India enterprise under that ministry, and its work is to market the handloom and handicraft products of Indian artisans and weavers, giving them better access to buyers at home and abroad.

The medal was brought into existence by a notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, dated 1 February 2024, and the same ministry announces the recipients and publishes the list on its website.

It has been revised from the existing National Social Assistance Programme in October 2026 and will continue from 2026-27 to 2030-31.

The 45 road works approved for Mizoram, totalling 509.54 km, are intended to provide all-weather road connectivity to 48 habitations that have not had such a link before.

The congratulations were addressed to the scientists and engineers of ISRO, the organisation that carried out the launch of GSLV-F18 with NVS-03 and that builds and operates the satellites of the NavIC constellation.

J. P. Nadda, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, administered the pledge to officers and officials of both the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers at a ceremony held at Kartavya Bhawan-1 in New Delhi.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj told the workshop that the Sixteenth Finance Commission has recommended total grants of this amount for duly constituted Panchayati Raj Institutions and rural local bodies in all 28 states for the award period 2026-31, and that the size of the sum places…

The exhibition at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, in Gujarat stays open to visitors till that date, which means the display continues for more than a fortnight after the Prime Minister's visit to the pavilion on 30 October 2026.

The medal is given on five specified grounds: excellence in operations, outstanding service in investigation, exceptional performance, intelligence service marked by daring and determination, and meritorious work by serving government scientists in the field of forensic science.

PM-SYM is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme for unorganised workers aged between 18 and 40 years whose monthly income does not exceed Rs 15,000, and it assures a minimum pension of Rs 3,000 a month once the worker turns 60.

The correct answer is the Ministry of Rural Development, which administers the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and cleared the Mizoram proposal under its fourth phase.

The Union Minister described the Cabinet's approval of it as a landmark decision and a next-generation governance initiative aligned with the vision of a developed India, and the Secretary said the decision provides a strong foundation for decentralised, evidence-based planning.