UPSC Current Affairs Quiz, 4 November 2026: 25 Questions

The Hindu reported that Murasu crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast near Ongole in Prakasam district between 3:30 am and 8:30 am on 3 November 2026. The India Meteorological Department put the observed maximum sustained wind during landfall at 110 to 120 kmph. The storm then weakened after moving inland.

Prakhar Jain, managing director of the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, told The Hindu that preliminary losses were Rs 344 crore. The same account said standing crops were destroyed over 52,459 hectares and 312 houses were damaged. He also confirmed two deaths in Bapatla district, in Chinnaganjam and Karamchedu, after buildings collapsed.

The Hindu reported that Delhi's 24-hour average AQI was 324 at 4 pm on 2 November 2026, the very poor band, and that the Commission for Air Quality Management invoked Stage II of GRAP. Stage II applies when the index is in the 301 to 400 range. The stage was still the operative response on 3 November, when Delhi's air remained very poor.

In a letter dated 3 November 2026, the Election Commission told chief electoral officers that voters missing from draft rolls after the Special Intensive Revision may submit Form 6 for fresh inclusion. It said the form is not, by itself, a false declaration merely because the person was enrolled earlier. Electoral registration officers were told not to start action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, if the elector is not already on another constituency's roll and the declaration otherwise follows the law.

The Hindu reported on 3 November 2026 that Congress leader Jairam Ramesh asked the Home Minister to first secure the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and to suspend the SIR. Ramesh was replying to Amit Shah, who a day earlier had said the government was ready for a special session of Parliament on the revision and had challenged Rahul Gandhi to debate it in the House. Ramesh also said 82 days had passed since the Monsoon Session was adjourned sine die, and that it had still not been prorogued.

LiveLaw reported that a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued a contempt notice to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner over encroachments on land earmarked for a BEST bus stand in Borivali. The Court dismissed a request for more time, imposed Rs 5 lakh costs on the BMC, and restrained the corporation and the Maharashtra government from releasing the commissioner's salary and the salary of the commissioner's personal staff until its directions are obeyed. Those directions were dated 13 November 2025 and 28 July 2026.

On 3 November 2026 a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said no group can occupy a designated protest site indefinitely, because farmers, workers, journalists and others also have a right to protest. The remarks came while the Court heard Delhi petitions linked to demonstrations, traders' livelihood claims, and the shift of protest venues. The bench said permission should be for an identified period, and treated the right to protest and the right to livelihood as competing claims.

The Times of India's Vijayawada desk reported late on 3 November 2026 that the TDP-led NDA swept the urban local body polls and that Jana Sena won both mayoral seats it contested. The same report said YSRCP's Ramesh Goud had been declared mayor of Ananthapuram. These are the paper's counts that night, not a single State Election Commission certificate for the whole state.

SBI's exchange presentation for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 shows standalone net profit of Rs 23,038 crore, up 14.28 percent from Rs 20,160 crore a year earlier. Net interest income was Rs 49,143 crore. The same sheet records a one-time profit of Rs 7,288 crore on the sale of a stake in SBI Funds Management.

A Press Information Bureau note on the transaction says a combined 60.72 percent stake is being sold for Rs 52,878.08 crore, made up of 30.48 percent held by the Government of India and 30.24 percent held by LIC. The buyer approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 14 October 2026 is a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings. Officers and employees struck on 2 and 3 November against the sale, and The Economic Times reported that the strike ended on 3 November.

PIB said on 3 November 2026 that the Union Health Ministry has proposed amending Rule 43A of the Drugs Rules, 1945, which lists authorised entry points for imported drugs. The draft adds inland container depots, the Bommasandra special economic zone in Karnataka, and Noida International Airport for imports by air, and it covers drugs, medical devices and cosmetics. The text is a draft open to objections, so it is not yet the final rule.

On 2 November 2026, at a Financial Express event in Mumbai, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said differences between Tata Trusts and Tata Sons should be settled amicably within the group. Reuters and The Times of India reported that she called the Tata Group a critical part of the Indian economy and said the matter should not spill into public view. She described the issue as delicate and did not announce a government-brokered settlement.

On 3 November 2026 Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced Diwali support covering one LPG refill for about 1.89 crore Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala households in Uttar Pradesh. He put the cylinder price near Rs 983.45, the existing central subsidy near Rs 335.40, and the consumer share at Rs 648.55. State briefings put the allocation for the support at about Rs 1,500 crore.

The Indian Express reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated Pune Metro Line 3, the Pink Line, on 3 November 2026, with commercial passenger services from 6 am on 4 November. The elevated line runs 23.203 km from Maan-Hinjawadi to the District Court station at Shivajinagar, at a project cost of Rs 8,313 crore including land. Of 23 stations, 17 open on the first day and six stay closed at first.

The Economic Times reported on 3 November 2026 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 7.5 km elevated Kalena Agrahara to Tavarekere stretch of Bengaluru Metro's Pink Line on 13 November. The paper said the opening would take Namma Metro's operational network to 103.6 km. The Hindu noted that about 13.8 km of the line is still underground, so some journeys will need extra changes until that stretch opens.

The Economic Times, citing the National Capital Region Transport Corporation on 3 November 2026, said 20 additional Namo Bharat trips will run from 4 November on the full Delhi-Meerut corridor. The extra services operate between Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi and Modipuram in Meerut. The step was tied to very poor air and to shifting commuters toward public transport while GRAP Stage II is in force.

PIB and ISRO highlighted a study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, that used the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph on Aditya-L1. Indian Institute of Astrophysics scientists combined those spectra with NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory images and a three-dimensional model of a coronal mass ejection on 5 August 2024. A symmetric bubble did not match the data, while uneven sideways expansion did, which can change how the eruption feels solar-wind drag on its way toward Earth.

Dr Reddy's said on 2 November 2026 that the US Food and Drug Administration had granted tentative approval, under the PEPFAR pathway, for its long-acting injectable lenacapavir for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. The approval covers adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kg, at 40 US dollars a person a year in 120 countries under Gilead's voluntary licence. The company expects first supplies before the end of 2026, and tentative approval does not itself allow commercial sale inside the United States.

OpenAI India managing director Prabhjeet Singh told The Economic Times on 3 November 2026 that India is ChatGPT's largest market by weekly active users. He said the India user base had doubled since January. He did not give a new headcount in that interview, though in February 2026 the company had said India had more than 100 million weekly users, when it was still described as the second-largest market.

PIB said on 3 November 2026 that the Indian Navy had freed all 20 crew of the fishing vessel Azini from armed pirates off Somalia, with no casualties. The operation ran for more than 48 hours, and marine commandos were reinforced by a precision airdrop from an Indian Air Force C-17. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the rescue was completed on 2 November, more than 3,000 km from Mumbai.

Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority said Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty helicopters collided while landing at the Pheriche helipad in Solukhumbu district on the morning of 3 November 2026. Fishtail Air identified the passenger who died as Vasanth Kumar Balaramudu, an Indian tourist. A second passenger and crew members were injured, and the regulator opened an investigation.

Sportstar reported that Ravinder Singh, Saurabh Chaudhary and Amanpreet Singh scored 1659 to win the men's 50 metre pistol team gold at the ISSF World Championships in Doha. China scored 1648 for silver and South Korea 1643 for bronze. The 50 metre pistol event is not on the Olympic programme.

Sportstar and India Today reported that Rajkumari Lanchenbi Chanu, from Manipur, scored 18.039 in the women's Changquan combined final, with 8.723 in Gunshu and 9.316 in Changquan. Egypt's Sondos Sonbol won gold with 18.660 and Venezuela's Valeria Frannerys Dudamel Alvarado took silver with 18.199. The result was reported as India's first Youth Olympics wushu medal, in a sport making its medal debut at the Dakar Games, and as India's third medal in Dakar.

Sportstar reported that Ravinder Singh scored 559, with 11 inner tens, for individual silver in the men's 50 metre pistol. Anton Aristarkhov, competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, won gold with 561, and Romania's Luca Joldea took bronze with 558. Ravinder was also in the Indian team that won gold in the same event.

Akashvani reported that Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Shambhavi Kshirsagar won silver in the women's 10 metre air rifle team event at the ISSF World Championships in Doha. The result came on the same day as India's men's 50 metre pistol team gold. Akashvani placed India second on the medal table at that stage, with one gold and two silvers.