Six stories worth knowing before you close your current affairs notebook tonight – each one has a clean static-syllabus hook, so read the “Prelims angle” line on every item twice.
Supreme Court questions steep medicine markups, floats uniform 16% cap
Hearing a case on drug pricing, the Supreme Court questioned the Centre over the gap between essential and non-essential medicines under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, and asked why a uniform margin of 16% over the Price to Retailer (PTR) couldn’t apply to all medicines. Justice Sandeep Mehta cited a cancer drug priced at around Rs 27,000 MRP against a PTR of roughly Rs 3,000, and flagged corporate hospitals forcing patients to buy from in-house pharmacies. The Solicitor General sought two weeks to consult the government.
Source: Deccan Herald / Free Press Journal
Prelims angle: Revise the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO), National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) – the essential vs. non-essential drug distinction is a recurring static-current affairs bridge.
Congress demands CEC’s resignation and suspension of SIR; INDIA bloc meets on strategy
The Congress Working Committee passed resolutions on 29 September demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging it had removed 13.3 crore names from voter lists and calling the process constitutionally doubtful under Articles 14 and 326. The INDIA bloc met on 30 September to firm up a common strategy, including a possible motion for the CEC’s removal.
Source: ANI / The Tribune
Prelims angle: Revisit Article 324 (Election Commission’s powers), the process for removing the CEC under Article 324(5), and the Election Commissioners Act, 2023 – we’ve covered both the CEC removal process and the Supreme Court’s split verdict on the Election Commissioners Act in detail.
NCERT’s revised Class 9 textbook reframes medieval India around “Resistance and Resilience”
NCERT released the revised Class 9 Social Science textbook, Understanding Society: India and Beyond – Part 2, on 29 September, covering 1000-1700 CE through the theme of “Resistance and Resilience.” It foregrounds regional resistance to the Delhi Sultanate and Mughals – Mewar, the Marathas, and the Ahoms, including Lachit Borphukan’s 1671 victory at Saraighat – and includes lesser-known women rulers such as Naiki Devi and Rani Abbakka Chowta. Chapters on the French Revolution, European socialism, the Russian Revolution and Nazism have been dropped from this book.
Source: The Print / Newstrack
Prelims angle: Note names and events that are new additions to the syllabus conversation – the Battle of Saraighat (1671), Lachit Borphukan, and regional rulers like Naiki Devi of the Chaulukyas and Rani Abbakka Chowta of Ullal are now more likely to appear in medieval history questions.
CAQM tightens GRAP ahead of winter, expands Stage III curbs to more NCR districts
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) revised the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for Delhi-NCR on 28 September, shifting curbs on diesel generator sets and inter-city buses from Stage II to Stage I, and extending Stage III restrictions on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel vehicles to Sonipat, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar. The revised plan now has 55 provisions and expands citizen-charter actions from 22 to 34; construction restrictions run from 1 November 2026 to 31 January 2027, with a full halt between 10 December and 20 January.
Source: The Print / The Tribune
Prelims angle: GRAP and CAQM (a statutory body under the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021) are near-certain prelims fixtures – know the four GRAP stages and which pollution levels trigger each.
India hands over first PRAMAAN certificates under the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav handed over India’s first PRAMAAN certificates under the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme (IFWCS) on 29 September, to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation and an Odisha bamboo farmer. PRAMAAN – India’s own third-party-audited sustainable forestry certification – is operated by the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, and is meant to help Indian timber and bamboo producers meet deforestation-free sourcing rules in export markets.
Source: PIB / Social News XYZ
Prelims angle: Remember PRAMAAN as India’s indigenous alternative to international forest certification schemes like FSC, and IIFM Bhopal as the operating agency – a good static link to sustainable forestry and agroforestry policy.
India attends first SCO National Coordinators’ meeting under Pakistan’s chairmanship
An Indian delegation led by Alok Dimri, India’s National Coordinator for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), attended the Council of National Coordinators’ meeting in Islamabad from 28-30 September, held under Pakistan’s 2026-27 chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State. The meeting discussed preparations for the SCO Council of Heads of State summit that Pakistan is set to host in August 2027.
Source: Sunday Guardian Live / Pakistan Observer
Prelims angle: SCO membership, its rotating chairmanship and organisational structure (Council of Heads of State, Council of National Coordinators, RATS) are recurring IR-organisation questions – know India’s status as a full member since 2017.
Test yourself: attempt the UPSC Current Affairs Quiz: 1 October 2026 – 10 Prelims-style MCQs on these stories with instant answers and English/Hindi explanations.
If any of these stories connect to a static topic you haven’t revised yet, that’s worth flagging early rather than at revision time – book a free UPSC mentorship consultation on WhatsApp and we’ll map out a plan.