October 2026 Current Affairs: Important Events & MCQs

The correct answer is 'Ek Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath', which translates as one day, one hour, together. This is the theme under which the Swachhata Hi Seva 2026 campaign is being run across the country, and the spirit of joint action it stands for was what the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare echoed when its officers and staff joined a shramdaan in New Delhi on 1 October 2026. The theme puts a simple demand before every citizen: set aside one hour on a single day and work alongside others on cleanliness.

Option A, 'Swachhata Se Samriddhi', is not the theme of this campaign. Option C, 'Mera Shahar, Meri Zimmedari', is a plausible-sounding civic slogan but does not belong to Swachhata Hi Seva 2026 either. Option D, 'Ek Bharat, Swachh Bharat', mixes up the name of the wider Swachh Bharat effort, whose objectives the Ministry reaffirmed on the occasion, with the campaign theme, and so it is wrong as well.

The correct answer is Dr. Rajiv Bahl. He is Secretary of the Department of Health Research and also holds charge as Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research, and he led the voluntary cleanliness drive held near Gate No. 3 of Kartavya Bhavan-1 on Dr. Rajendra Prasad Marg in New Delhi. Speaking to the media there, he said cleanliness must become a sustained collective effort and asked officials and citizens alike to contribute.

Option A, Dr. Rakesh Gupta, is Additional Secretary and Director General of the National AIDS Control Organisation; he took part in the drive but did not lead it. Option B, Smt. Aradhana Patnaik, is Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the National Health Mission, and she spoke on Jan Bhagidari and individual responsibility, again as a participant. Option D, Dr. Loveneesh G. Krishna, is the Director General of Health Services and was also among the participants.

The correct answer is the National AIDS Control Organisation, abbreviated NACO. Dr. Rakesh Gupta serves as Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and as Director General of NACO, and in that capacity he was among the senior officers who joined the shramdaan in New Delhi.

Option A is wrong because the National Health Mission is headed, as Mission Director, by Smt. Aradhana Patnaik, who is also an Additional Secretary and who spoke at the event on the importance of people taking part. Option B is wrong because the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research is Dr. Rajiv Bahl, who is Secretary of the Department of Health Research as well and who led the drive. Option D is wrong because Dr. Loveneesh G. Krishna is the Director General of Health Services. All four officials attended, but only one of them heads NACO.

The correct answer is Kartavya Bhavan-1 on Dr. Rajendra Prasad Marg in New Delhi, and more precisely the area near its Gate No. 3, where the voluntary cleanliness drive was carried out. The Ministry chose a working government precinct rather than a ceremonial venue, which fits the point it was making: that clean surroundings are the everyday responsibility of the people who use a place.

Option A, Nirman Bhavan, is a familiar seat of central ministries in the capital and therefore a tempting answer, but it was not the site of this drive. Option C, Vigyan Bhavan, is a conference venue in New Delhi and was not involved. Option D, Bharat Mandapam, hosts large national and international events in the capital and had no part in this shramdaan. Only Kartavya Bhavan-1 matches.