UPSC Daily Current Affairs for 21 October 2026

Adultery and Military Discipline in the Indian Army

Context

An Armoured Corps officer was issued a show-cause notice under the Army Rules, 1954, proposing administrative termination of service over allegations of adultery.

What is Adultery?

Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), recognised the crime of adultery and provided the accompanying punishment.

It defined adultery as “whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent of that man, such sexual intercourse is guilty of the offence of adultery”.

2 Years of PM Internship Scheme

Context

The PM Internship Scheme has completed 2 years of its implementation.

PM Internship Scheme

Announced in: Union Budget 2024-25.

Aim: To provide real-life work experience to job seekers in top companies.

India’s Nuclear Programme

Context

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has said that India’s nuclear programme is dedicated to peaceful purposes and not warfare, reaffirming the vision that has guided the country’s nuclear journey since its inception.

Status of Nuclear Power in India

Installed Capacity: India has 25 active nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 8.7 gigawatt-electric (GWe). Nuclear power reactors in the country generated 56,681 million units of energy in 2024-25.

Consistent Contribution: Nuclear power has always contributed about 3% of India’s overall electricity production.

10 Years of UDAN Scheme

In News

The UDAN Scheme completed ten years and considerably expanded the regional aviation network of India by linking unserved and underserved areas.

UDAN Scheme

The Prime Minister of India launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN (“Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik”) in 2016.

It was conceptualised under the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) 2016 with a 10 year vision to connect Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities through a market driven and financially supported approach.

Disaster Resilience of Telecom Infrastructure

Context

A study by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has identified multi-hazard vulnerabilities in telecom towers across five high-risk states of India-Assam, Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand.

Key Findings of the Report

The study mapped 48,416 telecom towers across Tamil Nadu and found 57% face high or very high cyclonic wind risk.

In Gujarat and Uttarakhand, 28% and 25% of telecom towers are exposed to very high cyclonic winds, respectively.

News In Brief 21-10-2026

Context

India and Saudi Arabia reviewed progress on their proposed electrical interconnection initiative and discussed opportunities to expand power-sector cooperation during a virtual bilateral meeting.

About

The India-Saudi Arabia electrical interconnection is a proposed bilateral project to link the power grids of both nations via a long-distance undersea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable.

Initial Agreement: A formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in 2023 in Riyadh, covering electrical interconnections, green hydrogen, and supply chains.