Top 9 news for SSC, Banking & Railway exams · 5-minute read · published
Top stories: Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit takes charge as 29th Chief of the Air Staff; Ashwini Vaishnaw flags off Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper Train; RBI data shows lending rate on fresh rupee loans fell to 8.51 per cent in September 2026.
A lighter news day: 9 points - only news confirmed by two independent sources makes the brief.
Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit takes charge as 29th Chief of the Air Staff
Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit took over as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff on Saturday, succeeding Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, who retired after 42 years of service. Commissioned into the IAF fighter stream in December 1986, he was earlier Vice Chief of the Air Staff and set out a four-pillar vision named VAYU.
Exam angle: The Indian Air Force was established on 8 October 1932 and is headquartered in New Delhi.
Sources: All India Radio official, The Tribune
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2National
Ashwini Vaishnaw flags off Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper Train
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged off the inaugural run of the Bengaluru-Mumbai Vande Bharat Sleeper Train from Bengaluru. Regular services start on November 2 from the Mumbai side and November 3 from the Bengaluru side, as per South Western Railway. The 16-coach train covers the route in around 16 hours, runs six days a week and halts at stations including Pune, Solapur and Kalaburagi.
Exam angle: India's first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off between New Delhi and Varanasi in February 2019.
Sources: All India Radio official, Hindu BusinessLine
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3Economy & Banking
RBI data shows lending rate on fresh rupee loans fell to 8.51 per cent in September 2026
Data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday showed that the average lending rate on new rupee loans from scheduled commercial banks fell to 8.51 per cent in September 2026, down from 8.61 per cent in August. The one-year median MCLR eased to 8.55 per cent in October 2026. The rate on fresh term deposits dropped to 5.61 per cent from 5.67 per cent.
Exam angle: RBI introduced the MCLR system on 1 April 2016, replacing the base rate system for bank lending.
Sources: Reserve Bank of India official, The Tribune
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4States
President Murmu attends Haryana Day event in Kurukshetra marking 60 years of the state
President Droupadi Murmu addressed the state-level Haryana Day celebrations in Kurukshetra, which marked the 60th anniversary of Haryana's formation in 1966. She said the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign, launched from Panipat in January 2015, helped raise the Child Sex Ratio at birth from 871 in 2014 to around 915.
Exam angle: Haryana was carved out of Punjab on 1 November 1966 under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966.
Sources: All India Radio official, The Tribune
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5Science & Defence
CISF shifts from territorial command model to functional sector architecture
On Sunday the Central Industrial Security Force restructured its supervisory set-up, with the concurrence of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Units are now grouped by the kind of asset they guard instead of by territory. The force will have 11 sectors, and its Western and Southern Sectors were renamed the West Coast Port Sector and the East Coast Port Sector.
Exam angle: CISF, raised in 1969, is a Central Armed Police Force under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Sources: Hindustan Times
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6Schemes & Policies
Mansukh Mandaviya launches EPFO services on WhatsApp on 74th Foundation Day
Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launched EPFO services on WhatsApp, letting subscribers check PF balance, recent transactions and passbook details. At EPFO's 74th Foundation Day event, he also started automatic settlement of Aadhaar-verified inoperative EPF accounts holding up to Rs 1,000. EPFO has a Rs 32 lakh crore corpus from more than 8 crore members.
Exam angle: EPFO works under the Ministry of Labour and Employment and administers the EPF and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
The Union Home Ministry announced the Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak for 2026, honouring 490 personnel from states, UTs, CAPFs and Central Police Organisations. The medal is announced each year on 31 October, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. NIA officer Sandeep Chaudhary was among 123 personnel recognised for investigative work.
Exam angle: The National Investigation Agency was set up in 2009 under the NIA Act, 2008, and is headquartered in New Delhi.
Sources: Mint, The Tribune
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8Environment
Cyclone Murasu, named by India, forms over Bay of Bengal days after Cyclone Arnab
Cyclone Murasu, a name given by India that means war drum, has formed over the Bay of Bengal. It comes days after Cyclone Arnab made landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast on October 28. The IMD expects Murasu to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Narsapur by the morning of November 3. Odisha has sounded a high alert in its southern region.
Exam angle: Cyclone names in the North Indian Ocean come from a list contributed by member countries of the WMO/ESCAP Panel, including India.
Sources: Hindustan Times, Mint
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9Sports
New Zealand beat India by 7 wickets in final T20I at Hamilton, India win series 3-2
New Zealand beat India by 7 wickets in the last match of the five-match T20 International series at Hamilton, chasing down 192 to finish on 195 for 3. India had made 191 for 8 after being put in to bat. India still took the series 3-2 because they won the first three games. New Zealand won the last two.
Every morning at 6:00 AM IST we publish the 10 news points from the previous two days that matter most for SSC, Banking, Railway and State PSC exams. Each fact is confirmed in at least two independent sources, with official sources such as All India Radio and the Reserve Bank of India preferred and marked; every number and name is matched against those sources, and each point is reviewed again before it is published. Points are written in our own words, and each one names the sources it was checked against. Spotted a problem? Use “Report an error” under the point.
