TODAY NEWS ON October 08, 2026

News Headlines for CAT, CLAT and IPM aspirants
Source: The Hindu , Indian Exp and others

‘We Will Do It’: PM Modi pitches new slogan for India on completing 25 years in public office

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (October 7, 2026) marked 25 years of his holding of public office by urging Indians to adopt a “We Will Do It” attitude with regard to hitting development goals by 2047. He was addressing the “Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha” on his completion of 25 years in public office, first as Chief Minister of Gujarat (on October 7th, 2001) and later as Prime Minister of India in an unbroken sequence. “There is no reason for India to stop. A hundred years ago, there were less than 40 crore of us; today, we are more than 140 crore. The 140 crore citizens together will build a developed India by 2047, and we certainly will. We Will Do It’,” he said.

Chemistry Nobel 2026 awarded to French-Japanese duo Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for solving molecular ‘mystery’

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for the discovery of “non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis”, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday (October 7, 2026). The statement by the Academy said that the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 recognises discoveries that have enabled chemists to drive chemical reactions that lead to homochirality.

“Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai have provided a solution to a chemical mystery that is over a century old: how homochirality can emerge spontaneously. The chemical reactions they have developed are spectacular,” says Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. Mr. Kagan was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, and is associated with the Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France. Mr. Soai is from Hiroshima, Japan, and is affiliated with the Tokyo University of Science.

RBI raises repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50%, shifts stance to ‘calibrated tightening’

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday (October 7, 2026) raised the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 5.50% and shifted its stance to calibrated tightening from neutral, signalling that rate cuts are off the table in the near term.

Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate stands adjusted to 5.25%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate to 5.75%. The policy repo rate, which was cut to 5.25% in December 2025, had been kept on hold at the next four MPC meetings. In the easing cycle, the MPC had cut the rate by 125 basis points in phases, from 6.50% to 5.25%, before increasing it on Wednesday (October 7). The previous, longer hold lasted 11 meetings, with the rate kept at 6.50% from April 2023 to December 2024.

WHO says no obesity drugs, surgery for under-10s

Medicine and surgery are not the answer for overweight children, the World Health Organization said. Releasing its first guidelines addressing the sharp rise in obesity among children and adolescents, the WHO instead strongly recommended structured diets, physical activity and behaviour changes.

Messi retires from international football as Argentina defeats Benin in friendly match

Lionel Messi retired from international football, scoring a goal and providing two assists as Argentina defeated Benin 3-0 in a friendly international. Messi, playing in his record-extending 208th international, provided the assist for the opening goal scored by veteran Nicolas Otamendi, with Nico Paz also scoring. Messi’s 71st minute penalty was his record-extending 126th international goal.

Two children among three killed as four-storey building collapses in Delhi’s Seemapuri

At least three people, including two children, were killed after a four-storey building collapsed in North East Delhi’s New Seemapuri. Eleven people have been pulled out from the debris so far even as operations are on to rescue a few people trapped in the rubble, said police. The victims included a woman who was four months’ pregnant; police identified her as Gulafsa. The two children, one of whom was 12 years old, are yet to be identified.

SpaceX exec renews Starlink pitch as approvals lay pending

Years into SpaceX’s efforts to get permission to operate its satellite broadband service in India, a senior executive of the firm once again pitched Starlink as a last-mile internet access solution in the country. “We can’t talk about building the future at scale without talking about closing the digital divide, because otherwise we’d just be building a future that leaves a substantial portion of the population behind,” Lauren Dreyer, Vice President of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX said at the India Mobile Congress (IMC).

Elon Musk alleges ‘oligarch’ interference in Starlink’s India launch

Years into SpaceX’s efforts to get permissions to operate its satellite broadband service in India, the firm’s founder and CEO Elon Musk has accused “certain oligarchs” in India of stimying the service’s launch in India. Mr. Musk made the accusation on X, formerly Twitter, hours after one of his firm’s executives said she hoped that the service would be live in India by 2027.

INDIA bloc yet to get President’s appointment on ECI concerns

The INDIA bloc’s request for an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu to apprise her of its concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) has so far drawn a blank. Opposition leaders had suggested that only a select delegation would meet the President, keeping in mind the protocol associated with the country’s highest constitutional office, and had conveyed multiple dates for the meeting. However, according to sources, they are yet to receive any response from the President’s office.
 

Must seek Jantar Mantar protest permission 10 days before event: Delhi Police

With INDIA bloc leaders marching to Jantar Mantar seeking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s removal, the Delhi Police reiterated that permission to protest at the site has to be sought 10 days in advance and gatherings not exceeding 1,000 people. The clarification comes amid heightened security in central Delhi, with the INDIA bloc holding a protest demanding the removal of CEC Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) planning a protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10.

GST Council meets today, tax experts say reforms must move beyond rates to processes, compliance

With the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system having settled down, revenues remaining steady, and rates having been rationalised, tax experts across the board say the priority for the GST Council in its 57th meeting on October 8 should be on decisively easing the compliance burden for taxpayers. The GST Council will meet in New Delhi on October 8 for the first time after its meeting on September 3-4, 2025, when it had introduced wide-ranging rate and slab changes.

Modi, High Commissioner to Dhaka discuss bilateral ties amid talks for Bangladesh PM’s delayed India visit

As India and Bangladesh negotiate about Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to India, High Commissioner to Dhaka Dinesh Trivedi held a “very good” and “long” meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a source in the PMO. Mr. Trivedi, who took charge at his current post in June, is on a three-day visit to Delhi for consultations. The source did not share any details of his conversation with Mr. Modi. The meeting took place even as the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated that India wants to build a “constructive and forward looking” relationship with Bangladesh.

West Bengal CEO says eligible deleted voters can apply through Form 6 to restore name in rolls

The West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) issued a statement saying any eligible voter whose name has been deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls can apply for his/her name to be restored through Form 6. The list of deleted names is available online for people to check.  According to the first draft roll published in December 2025, West Bengal had over 58 lakh ASDD voters

Bombay High Court asks Maharashtra to restore trust of MPSC aspirants, students to return to classes

The Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra government to take steps to restore the trust of students protesting over the recruitment process managed by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), and requested them to return to their studies. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna, hearing a petition about inconvenience caused to citizens in Pune, said the matter was before the court and the State must respond in writing.

MDR a small fee, will not have major impact on UPI volumes: RBI Governor Malhotra

Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said levying a “small fee” in the form of merchant discount rate (MDR) will not have a “major impact” on UPI transaction volumes. It can be noted that last month, the government allowed charging of the MDR under which transactions above ₹2,000 will attract a fee of 0.4%.

Reopening Brexit debate a ‘terrible idea’: Conservative leader Badenoch

Leader of the U.K. Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch has opposed British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s stated plan to reopen the question of Brexit (Britain’s departure from the European Union), calling it a “terrible idea”. Last week the Prime Minister had said that Britain would need to consider what its ties with the EU should look like over the long term, suggesting that one option would be to return to the bloc.

Kashmir-born filmmaker held in U.S. likely to be freed soon, says family

Kashmir-born filmmaker Arfat Sheikh, 42, detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is likely to be set free soon, according to his family. “The family is pursuing the case and cooperating with the authorities. We expect him to be free soon,” said a family member. According to an online advocacy group, Free Arfat Sheikh, the U.S. ICE on September 24, 2026, “unlawfully detained Sheikh when he was coming off a plane at Dulles Airport (IAD)” and detained at the Caroline Detention Centre in Bowling Green, Virginia, for 11 days.

Sri Lanka arrests ex-First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa over graft allegations

Sri Lanka’s anti-corruption body arrested former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, over alleged financial irregularities. She has been remanded until October 13. The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) said it was arresting Ms. Rajapaksa in connection with an investigation into the alleged misuse of funds at her charity Siriliya Saviya Foundation.

Pakistan security forces kill 18 terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan

Pakistani security forces have killed 18 terrorists in separate operations in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, state media reported on Wednesday (October 7, 2026). According to Radio Pakistan, the security forces “killed 13 Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists” during an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The federal government uses the term ‘Fitna al-Khawarij’ for terrorists belonging to the banned terror outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Separately, five terrorists were killed in Balochistan’s Mastung district, according to state-run Pakistan Television. Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists, while clearance and search operations were under way in the area, the report said.

Bombay HC questions ECI over deletion of voter names during SIR; points to rule on roll

The Bombay High Court at Goa questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the deletion of names during Special Intensive Revision (SIR). It said the electoral roll currently in force continues to remain valid until the draft roll is finalised under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar was hearing a petition filed by the Salgaonkar family, which said its names were dropped from the draft electoral roll despite having submitted Form 8 to change their address. The Bench told the ECI that the Supreme Court has held that the Commission has an obligation to ensure that citizens of India are included in the voter list.

All 23 Indians aboard Liberian-flagged oil tanker rescued after attack off Russia’s Black Sea coast

A Liberia-flagged vessel carrying oil, with a crew of 23 Indian nationals, came under attack by drone boats off Russia’s Black Sea coast, Russian authorities said. “The crew has been saved and evacuated to shore,” a spokesman for the Russian Transport Ministry told the state-run TASS news agency. The Aframax Rio tanker came under attack on Tuesday (October 6, 2026) by unmanned surface vessels (USVs), and open fire is raging in the Black Sea waters, the Russian Transport Ministry said.

The Ministry said the vessel’s all Indian crew of 23 was saved and none was hurt according to preliminary data. The incident took place near Sochi, Russia’s popular resort city on the Black Sea coast. Russia’s Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin held a headquarters meeting on eliminating the consequences of the attack on the tanker Aframax Rio off the Black Sea coast. According to the report, the fire was so intense that firefighting could not begin initially.