Current Affairs October 2026 - Part 3 - Topic Guide and MCQs

1. Who was appointed the 29th Chief of the Air Staff from 31 October 2026?

   1. Air Marshal Premkumar K.
   2. Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit
   3. Air Marshal A.P. Singh
   4. Air Marshal S.P. Dharkar
   Show answer

   Answer: (B) Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit

   Explanation: Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit took charge as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff on 31 October 2026.

2. Exercise SIMBEX is a bilateral maritime exercise between India and:

   1. South Africa
   2. Sri Lanka
   3. Saudi Arabia
   4. Singapore
   Show answer

   Answer: (D) Singapore

   Explanation: The 33rd SIMBEX was held off Visakhapatnam from 21–26 October 2026. It began in 1994 as Exercise Lion King.

3. India–UAE joint military exercise MOUNTAIN GUARDIAN 2026 was held at:

   1. Umroi, Meghalaya
   2. Chaubatia, Uttarakhand
   3. Mahajan, Rajasthan
   4. Pune, Maharashtra
   Show answer

   Answer: (B) Chaubatia, Uttarakhand

   Explanation: MOUNTAIN GUARDIAN 2026 began at the Foreign Training Node, Chaubatia (Uttarakhand), focusing on mountain warfare.

4. The second ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME-2026) was held at:

   1. Subic Bay
   2. Port Blair
   3. Changi
   4. Cam Ranh Bay
   Show answer

   Answer: (A) Subic Bay

   Explanation: AIME-2026 began at Subic Bay, Philippines with the theme 'Anchored in Trust, United at Sea'.

5. IBSAMAR is a naval exercise among India and which two countries?

   1. Brazil and South Africa
   2. Israel and Saudi Arabia
   3. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
   4. Indonesia and Singapore
   Show answer

   Answer: (A) Brazil and South Africa

   Explanation: IBSAMAR is the India-Brazil-South Africa maritime exercise; INS Tarkash took part in IBSAMAR IX in South Africa.

6. Exercise KONKAN-26 between India and the UK was conducted off the coast of:

   1. Portsmouth
   2. Goa
   3. Plymouth
   4. Mumbai
   Show answer

   Answer: (C) Plymouth

   Explanation: The Indian Navy and Royal Navy held KONKAN-26 off Plymouth, United Kingdom.

7. DRDO's Kaveri Dry Engine, successfully tested in Russia, is intended for which platform?

   1. Tejas Mk2
   2. AMCA
   3. Ghatak UCAV
   4. LCH Prachand
   Show answer

   Answer: (C) Ghatak UCAV

   Explanation: The Kaveri Dry (Derivative) Engine is a non-afterburning version of Kaveri meant for the Ghatak Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle.

8. DRDO tested its Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system on the live network of PXE located at:

   1. Chandipur
   2. Sriharikota
   3. Pokhran
   4. Balasore
   Show answer

   Answer: (A) Chandipur

   Explanation: The QKD test was done on 14 October 2026 at the Proof & Experimental Establishment, Chandipur (Odisha), with a QBER of 6%.

9. Varunastra, for which the MoD signed a contract with BDL in October 2026, is a:

   1. Naval gun
   2. Surface-to-air missile
   3. Heavy-weight torpedo
   4. Anti-tank missile
   Show answer

   Answer: (C) Heavy-weight torpedo

   Explanation: Varunastra heavy-weight torpedoes (Rs 1,543 crore) were contracted with Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Hyderabad, along with the GSAT-7C satellite.

10. Fleet Support Ship-1 (FSS-1) was launched in October 2026 at which shipyard?

    1. Mazagon Dock, Mumbai
    2. GRSE, Kolkata
    3. Hindustan Shipyard, Visakhapatnam
    4. Cochin Shipyard
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Hindustan Shipyard, Visakhapatnam

    Explanation: Rajnath Singh launched the 43,500-tonne FSS-1 at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd, Visakhapatnam on 6 October 2026.

11. India's defence exports reached a record of how much in FY 2025–26?

    1. Rs 38,424 crore
    2. Rs 50,000 crore
    3. Rs 21,083 crore
    4. Rs 23,622 crore
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Rs 38,424 crore

    Explanation: Rajnath Singh said defence exports hit a record Rs 38,424 crore in FY 2025–26, over 60% growth.

12. In India's maritime vision MAHASAGAR, the letters 'MAHA' stand for:

    1. Marine and Harbour Authority
    2. Mutual and Holistic Advancement
    3. Multilateral Asian Harbour Alliance
    4. Maritime Alliance for Holistic Action
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Mutual and Holistic Advancement

    Explanation: MAHASAGAR = Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions; it expands SAGAR (2015).

13. A 17-member Indian Coast Guard team scaled which peak (7,045 m) on 7 October 2026?

    1. Mount Satopanth
    2. Mount Mukut
    3. Mount Kamet
    4. Mount Trishul
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Mount Mukut

    Explanation: The ICG team scaled Mount Mukut (7,045 m) – the first ICG flag expedition to a peak above 7,000 m.

14. The Gaganyaan-1 (G1) uncrewed mission will carry which half-humanoid robot?

    1. Pragyan
    2. Vyommitra
    3. Vikram
    4. Shakti
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Vyommitra

    Explanation: G1, the first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission, will carry the half-humanoid Vyommitra; separation tests were done at VSSC.

15. CERVAVAC, which received WHO prequalification, is a vaccine against:

    1. Malaria
    2. Tuberculosis
    3. Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
    4. Dengue
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

    Explanation: CERVAVAC is India's first indigenous quadrivalent HPV vaccine, made by Serum Institute of India, for ages 9–26.

16. TAPAS-1, India's first commercial CubeSat thermal payload, was developed by which start-up?

    1. SatLeo Labs
    2. Agnikul Cosmos
    3. Pixxel
    4. Skyroot Aerospace
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) SatLeo Labs

    Explanation: Ahmedabad-based SatLeo Labs developed TAPAS-1, launched on 2 October 2026 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9.

17. India's first offshore wind farm prototype is planned off the coast of:

    1. Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu
    2. Ratnagiri, Maharashtra
    3. Kutch, Gujarat
    4. Paradip, Odisha
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu

    Explanation: The Rs 77 crore prototype off Thoothukudi is being tendered by Indian Port Rail & Ropeway Corporation Ltd.

18. The Kigali Amendment (2016) to the Montreal Protocol aims to phase down:

    1. Carbon dioxide
    2. Methane
    3. Sulphur dioxide
    4. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

    Explanation: The Kigali Amendment targets HFCs; the Montreal Protocol (1987) originally targeted CFCs and ozone-depleting substances.

19. The three new centipede species (Rhysida quadrispinosa, R. coorgensis, R. neyyarensis) were discovered in which States?

    1. Assam and Meghalaya
    2. Odisha and Andhra Pradesh
    3. Goa and Maharashtra
    4. Kerala and Karnataka
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) Kerala and Karnataka

    Explanation: ZSI and Malabar Christian College, Kozhikode found them in Kerala and Karnataka; India now has 23 Rhysida species.

20. Northeast Frontier Railway used 'Plan Bee' and AI-based intrusion detection to protect which animal?

    1. Elephant
    2. Wild buffalo
    3. Tiger
    4. Rhinoceros
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Elephant

    Explanation: NFR saved 255 elephants from train collisions between October 2024 and September 2026.

21. The National Quantum Mission, approved in 2023, has an outlay of about:

    1. Rs 10,000 crore
    2. Rs 1,000 crore
    3. Rs 6,003.65 crore
    4. Rs 3,500 crore
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Rs 6,003.65 crore

    Explanation: NQM has an outlay of Rs 6,003.65 crore for 2023–24 to 2030–31. Samsung and IISc opened a Quantum Research Lab in Bengaluru.

22. 'CAG-BHASHINI Anuvaad', launched in October 2026, is meant for:

    1. Railway announcements
    2. Parliament debates
    3. Translating court judgments
    4. AI-powered translation of audit documents
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) AI-powered translation of audit documents

    Explanation: BHASHINI and the CAG launched 'CAG-BHASHINI Anuvaad' for AI-powered audit document translation on the 74th Hindi Diwas.

23. Which institute launched 'AVNI – Grow with Nature', an AI-based agricultural learning platform?

    1. IIT Kanpur
    2. PAU Ludhiana
    3. IISc Bengaluru
    4. IIT Ropar
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) IIT Ropar

    Explanation: IIT Ropar (Punjab) launched AVNI under its global initiative ANNAM.AI to build agri-awareness among children.

24. Which area is the Gujarat Government developing as the 'second home' of Asiatic lions after Gir?

    1. Jessore Sanctuary
    2. Barda Wildlife Sanctuary
    3. Marine National Park
    4. Velavadar
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Barda Wildlife Sanctuary

    Explanation: Gujarat restructured the Porbandar Forest Division to help rehabilitate Asiatic lions in the Barda area.

25. Which organisation discovered natural gas in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin off the Odisha coast?

    1. Reliance Industries
    2. Oil India Ltd
    3. GAIL
    4. ONGC
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) ONGC

    Explanation: ONGC found gas in a deepwater exploratory well in the Mahanadi Offshore Basin, off the Konark coast of Odisha.

Current Affairs October 2026 - Part 3 is factual rather than analytical: you either recall it in seconds or you lose the mark to somebody who did. That makes it one of the cheapest sections to convert - a handful of short sittings usually settles the whole cluster.

Expect one-line recall questions - definitions, stand-for expansions, identifiers and the ordering of things. Practise the wording as well as the concept: these papers test terminology, and the set above uses the same four-option shape they do.

Past papers reuse clusters like this almost verbatim across years and posts. Run the same set until every distractor is familiar - previous-year style questions stop being recall and start being free marks.