6 October 2026 · Daily Current Affairs

Economy and Finance

World Bank raises India's FY27 growth forecast to 7.1%

6 October 2026 | World Bank, via Economic Times

The World Bank raised its forecast for India's economic growth in fiscal 2026-27 to 7.1 per cent from 6.6 per cent, saying resilient domestic consumption helped the economy absorb higher energy prices even as inflationary pressures persisted. It lifted its 2026 growth forecast for South Asia to 6.9 per cent, 60 basis points above its earlier estimate.

Growth is set to slow from 8.6 per cent in 2025-26. The upgrade followed stronger-than-expected domestic activity, with the economy growing 7.8 per cent in April-June. The World Bank warned that elevated oil prices, a severe weather shock and a correction in global financial markets could weigh on the outlook.

Exam takeaway: Forecast changes: old figure, new figure and the reason (consumption).

Quick revision: World Bank: India FY27 7.1% (from 6.6%); South Asia 6.9%.

Government Schemes

Cabinet approves Rs 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund

6 October 2026 | Union Cabinet, via Economic Times (ANI)

The Union Cabinet approved a Rs 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund (SGF) on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, to provide long-term equity capital to small and medium enterprises. The fund was announced in Budget 2026-27 and aims to help growth-oriented SMEs become champion Indian enterprises across manufacturing, services, technology and strategic value chains.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, briefing the media, said the fund will help SMEs tap opportunities created by recent free trade agreements. It will enable SMEs to scale operations, invest in technology and manufacturing capacity, expand into international markets and join global value chains.

Exam takeaway: SGF gives equity capital, not loans.

Quick revision: SME Growth Fund: Rs 10,000 crore equity capital; Budget 2026-27.

Government Schemes

Cabinet sets up Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority

6 October 2026 | Union Cabinet, via Hindustan Times and Economic Times

The Union Cabinet approved an Integrated Transport and Logistics Authority (ITLA) to prepare long-term transport plans, appraise major projects and integrate data across roads, railways, ports, aviation, waterways and urban mobility. ET reports it will be a special purpose vehicle under the administrative control of DPIIT.

ITLA will prepare a National Transport Master Plan with a horizon of 10 years or more, evaluate five-year sectoral plans and annual plans, technically appraise projects costing Rs 500 crore or more, monitor them and assess their impact after completion. A National Transport Data Repository will combine data such as GSTN e-way bills, FASTag and Vahan. Vaishnaw said that if GDP grows 7 per cent, logistics requirement grows 10 per cent.

Exam takeaway: Technical appraisal moves to ITLA; financial appraisal stays with existing mechanisms.

Quick revision: ITLA: master plan 10+ yrs; appraises Rs 500 crore+ projects; DPIIT SPV.

Government Schemes

375 permissible works notified under VB-G RAM G

6 October 2026 | Ministry of Rural Development, via CNBC-TV18

The Centre notified 375 types of works under the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB-G RAM G) Gramin Act, 2025, 41 per cent more than the earlier scheme's list. The works fall in four categories: water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and works related to extreme weather events and disaster preparedness.

Of the 375 works, 128 are under water security and 111 under core rural infrastructure. Livelihood-related infrastructure is 26 per cent of the list, against 1.1 per cent under the earlier framework, and includes market yards, dairy infrastructure and aquaculture structures. The list also covers drip and sprinkler irrigation, artificial glaciers, solar street lights and repair of Jal Jeevan Mission water-supply assets.

Exam takeaway: Remember the four categories and the livelihood share jump from 1.1% to 26%.

Quick revision: VB-G RAM G: 375 works; 4 categories; livelihood 26%.

National and International Affairs

First indigenous Fleet Support Ship 'Surya' launched

6 October 2026 | Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, via DD India

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the first indigenously designed and built Fleet Support Ship, 'Surya' (FSS-1), at Hindustan Shipyard Limited in Visakhapatnam on 6 October 2026. He also laid the keel of the fifth Fleet Support Ship, FSS-5, and inaugurated an upgraded Slipway-4 and a 300-tonne Goliath Crane.

Fleet Support Ships provide at-sea replenishment and sustained support to naval operations, with larger cargo and fluid capacity, onboard first-line maintenance workshops and a helicopter deck. The upgraded Slipway-4 lets HSL build and launch ships of up to 45,000 deadweight tonnes. Singh called for a maritime industrial hub at Visakhapatnam.

Exam takeaway: Fleet support ships are the Navy's floating supply and repair base.

Quick revision: FSS 'Surya' launched at HSL; FSS-5 keel laid.

Appointments, Awards and Important Days

Nobel Prize in Physics 2026: Francis Halzen

6 October 2026 | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, via NobelPrize.org

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 to Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, 'for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin'. The announcement was on 6 October 2026.

Halzen realised that ice at the South Pole could be used to track neutrinos. IceCube is a cubic kilometre of ice equipped with light sensors, which can capture neutrinos from highly energetic processes in the distant universe. He first presented the vision in 1988.

Exam takeaway: Awards questions: laureate, field, the work cited and the announcing body.

Quick revision: Physics Nobel 2026: Francis Halzen; IceCube; astrophysical neutrinos.

Appointments, Awards and Important Days

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026: optogenetics

6 October 2026 (announced 5 October 2026) | Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, via Karolinska Institutet news

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel and Karl Deisseroth for optogenetics, a method that makes it possible to switch nerve cells on or off in the living brain. The prize was announced on 5 October 2026.

Hegemann and Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin, an algal protein that opens a channel when lit with blue light. Deisseroth introduced the gene for channelrhodopsin into rat nerve cells, published the breakthrough in 2005 and made the light-controlled switch work in the brains of living mice two years later.

Exam takeaway: Optogenetics: controlling nerve cells with light via channelrhodopsin.

Quick revision: Medicine Nobel 2026: optogenetics; Hegemann, Nagel, Deisseroth.

Carried forward: announced on 5 October 2026.

Reports, Indices, Science and Technology

DRDO flight-tests high-altitude platform at 21 km

6 October 2026 | Defence Ministry and DRDO, via The Hindu

DRDO carried out a flight trial of an indigenously developed High-Altitude Platform (HAPS). The experimental platform reached 21 km above mean sea level and stayed at 20 km for more than 30 minutes. The Defence Ministry said it was developed by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), Agra.

HAPS is a lighter-than-air system designed as a long-endurance stratospheric aerial surveillance platform. After holding the altitude it was commanded to descend and was recovered, and real-time video and vehicle data were sent to the Ground Control Station throughout.

Exam takeaway: HAPS is a lighter-than-air airship-type platform for surveillance from the stratosphere.

Quick revision: DRDO HAPS: 21 km peak, 20 km for 30+ min; ADRDE Agra.

Reports, Indices, Science and Technology

World Bank report: India among top 10 emerging markets in AI readiness

6 October 2026 | World Bank, via The Hindu BusinessLine

The World Bank said on 6 October 2026 that India is one of the top 10 leading emerging-market performers on AI readiness, helped by its large technical workforce, globally integrated IT sector and digital public infrastructure. The statement came from Paul Procee, World Bank Acting Country Director for India, on the report 'India and Artificial Intelligence: Seizing the Development Opportunity'.

The report says private investment in AI in India more than tripled to 4.1 billion US dollars in 2025 from 1.2 billion in 2024, and employment in Global Capability Centres rose to 2.36 million from 1.9 million. It recommends stronger workforce skills, a more business-enabling environment and better physical and digital infrastructure.

Exam takeaway: Report questions: publisher, title, the headline ranking and the two numbers.

Quick revision: World Bank AI report: top 10 emerging markets; AI investment USD 4.1 bn.