8 October 2026 · Daily Current Affairs

Economy and Finance

57th GST Council scraps arrest powers; prosecution threshold Rs 5 crore

8 October 2026 | GST Council and Finance Ministry, via The Hindu (PTI)

The 57th GST Council, meeting on Thursday, 8 October 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, approved scrapping the arrest powers of GST officers and raised the threshold to launch prosecution to Rs 5 crore from Rs 1 crore. The minimum punishment is removed, and whether the punishment is a fine, imprisonment or both is left to judicial discretion. The general penalty falls from Rs 25,000 to Rs 10,000.

The Finance Ministry said the rate structure is settled and GST rate changes will now happen once a year. No rates were changed. On input tax credit, the Council set up a Committee of Officers to study protection for a genuine buyer who holds a proper invoice, received the goods and paid the supplier in full. The committee has three months, and its agenda goes to the next Council meeting.

Exam takeaway: No rate change: this meeting was about process and enforcement.

Quick revision: 57th GST Council: arrest power gone; prosecution Rs 5 cr; penalty Rs 10,000.

Economy and Finance

GST Council: faster refunds, easier registration, wider ITC

8 October 2026 | GST Council, via Economic Times

The Council approved a process overhaul: refund acknowledgement time falls from 15 days to 10 days, the system will sanction 90 per cent of a claim based on risk assessment with the order within three working days (against seven), and excess cash ledger balances will be refunded automatically. Routine registration amendments such as trade name, director or additional place of business will be accepted automatically.

Input tax credit is widened to health and life insurance for employees, telecom towers, pipelines outside factories, free samples and certain written-off stock. Taxpayers with turnover up to Rs 5 crore who supply only to consumers get an optional once-a-year return with quarterly tax payment. Vehicles can be stopped only on specific intelligence with authorisation from an officer not below Joint Commissioner, and only the source and destination States may inspect. Service exports get wider benefits.

Exam takeaway: Process reforms: refunds, registration, ITC, filing, transit checks, exports.

Quick revision: GST reforms: refund 10 days; 90% auto; annual return option up to Rs 5 cr.

Government Schemes

PM-DHARA: Rs 1.86 lakh crore scheme for transmission and 50 GWh of storage

8 October 2026 | Union Cabinet approval, via Construction World

Construction World reported that the Union Cabinet-approved PM-DHARA (PM-Developing Harmonized and Accelerated Renewable-energy Access) scheme has an outlay of Rs 1.86 trillion to strengthen intra-state transmission and evacuate up to 135 GW of renewable energy. It includes 50 GWh of battery energy storage systems and is targeted for implementation by FY 2032-33.

Rs 1.36 trillion is for intra-state transmission under Green Energy Corridor Phase-III and Rs 500 billion is for the 50 GWh BESS. Central financial support is Rs 540.82 billion. Greenfield projects use tariff-based competitive bidding and brownfield works use a cost-plus basis, with State Transmission Utilities as implementing agencies. The scheme supports the target of 900 GW non-fossil capacity by 2035.

Exam takeaway: PM-DHARA covers Green Energy Corridor III transmission plus battery storage.

Quick revision: PM-DHARA: Rs 1.86 tn; 135 GW; 50 GWh BESS; FY33.

Carried forward: the Green Energy Corridor III transmission plan was covered in the 3 October edition. This report names the scheme PM-DHARA.

Government Schemes

JOSH teams launched to find missing TB cases

8 October 2026 | Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda, via The Hindu

Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda launched JOSH (Joint Squad for Health) teams under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan on 8 October 2026. NCC cadets and MY Bharat volunteers will do household-level outreach in 55 districts across 11 States and Union Territories to find people with TB who may be missing from the health system.

Each team has five NCC cadets and five MY Bharat volunteers and works under a designated Class-I officer, at block and ward levels. The initiative is run jointly by the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Defence. The Hindu reports that 67,933 Panchayats across 697 districts were recognised as TB Mukt in 2026.

Exam takeaway: The emphasis is active case finding: reaching people missing from the health system.

Quick revision: JOSH teams: 55 districts; NCC and MY Bharat; TB case finding.

National and International Affairs

94th Air Force Day: parade at Hindan, flypast in Varanasi on 25 October

8 October 2026 | Indian Air Force, via The Hindu and Hindustan Times (PTI)

The Indian Air Force marked its 94th anniversary on 8 October 2026 with a parade at the Hindan air base in Ghaziabad. The IAF was founded on 8 October 1932. Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said the IAF has grown into a capable, network-centric, multi-domain force and that its operational capabilities are growing in the right direction. He said he retires on 31 October.

The ceremonial flypast for the anniversary will be held in Varanasi on 25 October, according to a person familiar with the matter quoted by PTI in Hindustan Times. The theme of the flying display is 'Infallible Impervious and Precise'. The 93rd anniversary display was held over the Brahmaputra in Guwahati in November 2025.

Exam takeaway: Air Force Day is 8 October every year; the IAF was raised in 1932.

Quick revision: 94th IAF Day; Hindan parade; Varanasi flypast on 25 Oct; theme.

Appointments, Awards and Important Days

Nobel Prize in Literature 2026: Anne Carson

8 October 2026 | Swedish Academy, via AP News

Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson won the Nobel Prize in Literature 2026, announced on Thursday, 8 October. The Swedish Academy cited 'her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature'.

Carson, 76, was born in Toronto. Her work draws on classical Greek and Roman literature and blurs the line between poetry and prose, and includes translations of ancient Greek poets and collaborations with artists such as Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed. The Academy's permanent secretary Ingrid Carlberg said she was in Iceland when notified.

Exam takeaway: Literature prize: the Swedish Academy; know the laureate's country and the citation.

Quick revision: Literature Nobel 2026: Anne Carson (Canada).

Appointments, Awards and Important Days

NPCI chief Dilip Asbe joins Swift's new supervisory board

8 October 2026 | Swift, via Mint

NPCI managing director and chief executive Dilip Asbe was appointed an independent director on Swift's new 15-member supervisory board, as the global financial messaging network moves to a two-tier governance structure. Swift also named senior executives from J.P. Morgan, HSBC, Bank of America, MUFG Bank and Standard Chartered.

Swift is the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a members-owned cooperative that provides the messaging network and standards for cross-border transactions. It does not hold funds or manage customer accounts, and connects more than 12,500 institutions in over 200 countries and territories.

Exam takeaway: Swift is a messaging network, not a bank: it does not hold funds.

Quick revision: Dilip Asbe (NPCI) on Swift's 15-member board.