The Assam Rifles Commanders' Conference 2026 was held in Shillong to deliberate on operational preparedness, border management, and modernisation. Led by Director General Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera, the two-day meeting focused on strengthening security along the Indo-Myanmar border.
Held from 12 to 13 November 2026 at Headquarters Directorate General Assam Rifles, Laitkor, Shillong.
Chaired by Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera, Director General Assam Rifles.
Focused on border management along the Indo-Myanmar Border and counter-insurgency capabilities.
Deliberated on modernisation, induction of advanced weapons, and integration of emerging technologies.
📚 Background · static GK
Assam Rifles is often referred to as the Sentinels of the Northeast.
It is India's oldest paramilitary force, with origins dating back to 1835 as Cachar Levy.
The force is administratively under the Ministry of Home Affairs and operationally under the Indian Army.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: internal security and border management in Northeast IndiaOfficial source ↗
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inspected the ongoing work at Shaheed Kanaklata Barua State University in Gohpur, where progress has reached up to thirty percent. He instructed officials to scale up the student intake and improve regional connectivity with a four-lane highway link and railway overbridge.
4,000revised student capacity
Shaheed Kanaklata Barua State University is situated at Bholaguri Tea Estate in Gohpur.
Current construction progress stands between twenty-five and thirty percent.
Student capacity has been increased from 2,000 to 4,000.
Authorities plan a four-lane road from National Highway 15 and a railway overbridge.
📚 Background · static GK
The Foreigners Act was enacted in 1946 to regulate the entry and departure of foreigners in India.
The Gauhati High Court has principal jurisdiction over the states of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: higher education infrastructure and regional development in AssamSources: The Assam Tribune · The Sentinel
President Droupadi Murmu presented the prestigious national sports honor to Olympian hockey player Lalremsiami Hmar in New Delhi. This marks a historic milestone as she is the very first athlete from Mizoram to receive the accolade.
17Arjuna Award recipients chosen for 2025
26Age of the awardee
Lalremsiami Hmar received the Arjuna Award 2025 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
She is the inaugural sportsperson from Mizoram to claim this national honor.
The selection committee finalized 17 recipients from an initial list of 24 names.
She began her training at the Thenzawl state-run hockey academy in 2011.
📚 Background · static GK
The Arjuna Award is India's second-highest sporting honor, recognizing outstanding achievement in national sports.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports administers national sports awards annually.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to permanently lift Protected Area Permit requirements for foreign nationals. He stated that the current ten-day relaxation during the Hornbill Festival is inadequate for boosting tourism, trade, and sporting events.
10-daycurrent relaxation window during Hornbill Festival
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah requesting a year-round PAP exemption.
The current relaxation applies only from December 1 to 10 for the Hornbill Festival.
Rio sought a temporary extension from November 15 to December 15 specifically for the 2026 festival edition.
Exemptions were also sought for foreign investors, sportspersons, diplomats, and business delegates.
📚 Background · static GK
The Ministry of Home Affairs administers the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order 1958.
A Protected Area Permit is required for foreign nationals to visit certain restricted parts of India, particularly in the Northeast.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: internal security and regional tourism — Protected Area Permit regime in Northeast IndiaSources: India Today NE
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India's first LED dome planetarium, the COSMOS-Mysuru Planetarium in Karnataka. The facility aims to spark scientific curiosity among young minds and strengthen the country's growing research ecosystem.
10,000Atal Tinkering Labs nationwide
Inaugurated the COSMOS-Mysuru Planetarium as India's first LED dome planetarium in Karnataka.
Highlighted contributions of ancient Indian astronomers like Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Bhaskaracharya, and Nilakantha Somayaji.
Noted that five students represented India at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics in Vietnam, winning four gold and one silver medal.
Mentioned milestones such as Chandrayaan-3 landing near the Moon's South Pole and the launch of Aditya-L1.
📚 Background · static GK
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru.
Chandrayaan-3 was successfully launched by ISRO in July 2023.
Aditya-L1 is India's first solar observatory mission launched to study the sun.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: space technology and scientific advancementsOfficial source ↗
The President of India presented national sports and adventure honors at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The event recognized recipients across categories including Dronacharya, Arjuna, and Tenzing Norgay awards.
Awards presented by President Smt Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan
Ceremony held on November 13, 2026
Honors included Dronacharya Awards 2025, Arjuna Awards 2025, and Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards 2024
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2025 was also presented
📚 Background · static GK
The Arjuna Award was instituted in 1961 by the Government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in sports.
The Dronacharya Award was instituted in 1985 to honor eminent coaches in sports and games.
Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi is the official residence of the President of India.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: national sports awards and recognitionsOfficial source ↗
India's total cumulative exports for April-October 2026-27 reached US$ 568.84 billion, marking an estimated growth of 16.66% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, total imports for the same period rose by 16.00% to US$ 662.19 billion.
Cumulative exports during April-October 2026-27 are estimated at US$ 568.84 billion with a 16.66% growth.
Total merchandise exports for October 2026 stood at US$ 49.47 billion, up from US$ 34.11 billion in October 2025.
Major drivers of merchandise export growth in October 2026 include petroleum products, electronic goods, and engineering goods.
Services trade surplus for April-October 2026-27 is estimated at US$ 124.80 billion.
📚 Background · static GK
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry formulates and implements foreign trade policy and handles matters related to multilateral and bilateral commercial relations in India.
Merchandise trade covers tangible goods, while services trade covers intangible economic outputs such as IT, travel, and financial services.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper III: Indian Economy and issues relating to growth, development and international trade.Official source ↗
The Central Consumer Protection Authority has penalised ANI Technologies Private Limited, operating as Ola, with a ₹10 lakh fine for soliciting pre-ride tips. The authority ruled that such prompts constitute an unfair trade practice and deceptive dark patterns.
₹10 lakhpenalty imposed on Ola
1915national consumer helpline number
CCPA imposed a ₹10 lakh penalty on ANI Technologies Private Limited for Ola's pre-ride tip feature.
Ola's booking data for June 2026 showed ride requests with add-ons had lower acceptance rates.
The practice violated the Motor Vehicles Aggregators Guidelines, 2025, which allows tipping only after journey completion.
Consumers can register complaints regarding unfair practices through the National Consumer Helpline at 1915.
📚 Background · static GK
The Central Consumer Protection Authority was established under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to regulate matters relating to violation of consumer rights.
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 replaced the older Consumer Protection Act of 1986 in India.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: consumer rights, regulatory bodies and unfair trade practicesOfficial source ↗
The Ministry of Home Affairs has extended the ban on the Islamic Research Foundation as an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Led by Dr. Zakir Naik, the group was found involved in promoting terrorism, inciting communal hatred, and fostering separatism.
The Ministry of Home Affairs extended the ban on the Islamic Research Foundation under the UAPA.
The organisation is led by fugitive terror preacher Dr. Zakir Naik.
The group was found involved in inciting communal hatred and promoting terrorism.
The organisation propagated an ideology of terrorism and separatism and fomented communal discord.
📚 Background · static GK
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was enacted in 1967 to provide for the more effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of individuals and associations.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal ministry responsible for internal security, border management, and administering the UAPA in India.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: internal security — unlawful associations and anti-terror lawsOfficial source ↗
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express and a new 7.5-km elevated section of the Bengaluru Metro, pushing its total operational length beyond 100 km. These additions aim to boost regional tourism, improve public transport, and enhance connectivity across Karnataka and neighbouring Goa.
7.5-kmelevated Pink Line metro section
₹ 3,470 crorecost of the Pink Line section
₹ 15,600 croretotal value of announced projects
The new Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Madgaon Vande Bharat Express will begin regular commercial services on November 15, 2026.
Four railway stations in Karnataka were modernised and redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
The 55-km Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road Ghat section was electrified, fully completing the Bengaluru-Mangaluru rail route electrification.
📚 Background · static GK
The Vande Bharat Express is an indigenous semi-high-speed train set introduced by Indian Railways.
The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme was launched by the Ministry of Railways for the long-term redevelopment of railway stations across India.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: infrastructure — transport connectivity and urban mass transit systems in IndiaSources: The Indian Express · Hindustan Times
The Infosys Science Foundation revealed six recipients of the Infosys Prize 2026 for notable academic achievements. The accolades honour exceptional scholars working in diverse domains such as constitutional law, quantum physics and economics.
Gautam Bhatia received the Humanities and Social Sciences prize for legal scholarship.
Karthik Sastry won the Economics prize for studying climate change and technological innovation.
Swarun Kumar secured the Engineering and Computer Science award.
Manoj Kumar Joshi won in Physical Sciences for programmable quantum machines research.
📚 Background · static GK
The Infosys Science Foundation was established in 2009 to promote scientific research and education in India.
The Infosys Prize carries a medal, a citation, and a purse awarded annually across multiple categories.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: national awards and scientific achievementsSources: The Indian Express
India's combined merchandise and service exports rose significantly to $89.99 billion in October, compared to the previous year. Concurrently, the trade deficit contracted to $20.09 billion due to figures released by the government.
$89.99 billionOctober exports value
$20.09 billionOctober trade deficit
$110.07 billionOctober imports value
October exports increased by 29.9 per cent to $89.99 billion
Trade deficit narrowed to $20.09 billion for October
Total imports climbed to $110.07 billion during the month
Previous year October exports stood at $69.27 billion
📚 Background · static GK
India's merchandise and services trade data is compiled and released periodically by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Trade deficit is the difference in value between a country's imports and exports over a given period
🎯 For exams: GS Paper III: Indian Economy and foreign trade trendsSources: Hindustan Times
The consumer rights regulator penalised the ride-hailing firm for soliciting extra money prior to trip finalisation. Officials determined that such prompts constitute deceptive design patterns and violate established regulations.
₹ 10 lakhpenalty imposed on Ola operator
38%Delhi acceptance rate with add-on
62%Delhi acceptance rate without add-on
CCPA levied a ₹ 10 lakh penalty on ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd.
The watchdog directed the company to halt all pre-journey payment suggestions.
Data indicated ride acceptance rates were lower for requests containing add-on amounts.
📚 Background · static GK
The Central Consumer Protection Authority is a regulatory body established under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The CCPA is empowered to protect consumers' rights, investigate unfair trade practices, and penalize misleading advertisements.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: consumer rights, regulatory bodies, and unfair trade practicesSources: Hindustan Times
A massive worldwide disruption halted access to Microsoft email and productivity tools for nearly eighteen hours. The corporation clarified that malicious cyber activity did not trigger the technical failure.
1,30,000peak outage reports on Downdetector
48 hoursextended email timeout window
Microsoft 365, Outlook, Teams, and Copilot faced connectivity problems globally.
Downdetector tracked over 100,000 complaints from users experiencing email issues.
The corporation extended the email timeout window to 48 hours to safeguard delayed messages.
Authorities confirmed the technical disruption was not caused by malicious or cyber activity.
📚 Background · static GK
Microsoft Corporation is a multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington, founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
Microsoft 365 is a subscription service offering productivity software suites including Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: science and technology — critical information infrastructure and tech dependenciesSources: The Hindu · BBC News · Al Jazeera
Indian Navy's indigenous Guided Missile Stealth Frigate INS Sahyadri left the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan after participating in Exercise MALABAR 2026. The engagement featured harbour activities and sea operations to enhance interoperability among India, Japan, the United States and Australia.
INS Sahyadri departed Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on 12 Nov 2026.
Exercise MALABAR 2026 included navies from India, Japan, the United States and Australia.
Sea Phase featured Anti-Submarine Warfare, VBSS drills, gunnery exercises and cross-deck landings.
Harbour Phase involved operational synchronisation, cross-deck visits, sports and cultural activities.
📚 Background · static GK
Exercise MALABAR began in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the navies of India and the United States.
Japan and Australia later joined Exercise MALABAR, making it a multilateral naval exercise involving the Quad nations.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving IndiaOfficial source ↗
A 170-member Indian Defence Forces contingent has departed for Sri Lanka to participate in the 12th edition of the joint military exercise Mitra Shakti 2026. The 14-day exercise aims to enhance joint military capabilities for counter-terrorism operations under a United Nations mandate.
Jensen Huang departed from his role as chief executive of Nvidia following revelations of personal misconduct involving an alleged Chinese intelligence asset and a corporate colleague. The tech giant experienced a severe drop in market valuation, prompting congressional inquiries into technology exports and national security.
$550bnmarket value loss in days
£415bnmarket loss in pounds
Jensen Huang stepped down from his position on Thursday after revelations of personal misconduct.
Colette Kress took over as interim chief executive while keeping her finance duties.
Lawmakers summoned Huang to testify before congressional committees in December.
The company lost $550bn in market value over a span of five days.
📚 Background · static GK
Nvidia was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
The company specializes in graphics processing units for gaming and artificial intelligence data centers.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: international relations and corporate governance issuesSources: The Hindu · BBC News · Al Jazeera
American envoys meeting with Russian and Ukrainian leaders have promised to include European Union representatives in upcoming peace talks. However, European nations face internal debates over who should represent them while navigating Moscow's demands and avoiding strategic pitfalls.
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held discussions with Vladimir Putin in Moscow before briefing Volodymyr Zelensky in Dublin.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned European nations against walking into Russian traps regarding broader security negotiations.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to a major prisoner exchange described as the largest swap since the 2022 invasion.
EU leaders gathered in Dublin to discuss how the bloc should be represented in the diplomatic process.
📚 Background · static GK
The European Union is an economic and political union of member states located primarily in Europe, with its political center in Brussels.
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine escalated significantly in February 2022.
🎯 For exams: GS Paper: international relations — global diplomacy and conflict resolutionSources: The Hindu · BBC News · Al Jazeera
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Today's current affairs quiz
36 questions from the stories above. Pick your answers, then check your score.
Every story is written in our own words from official Government of India releases (Press Information Bureau, including its Guwahati, Shillong, Imphal, Aizawl, Agartala, Kohima, Itanagar and Gangtok offices) and from reports in leading newspapers of Assam, the Northeast, India and the world. Each story is checked before it is published and links to its official source or to the newspapers it draws on.