Current Affairs — 13 November 2026
01Economy & Markets
CPI inflation rises to 6.09% in October, above RBI’s upper band
- Retail inflation (CPI, base 2024=100) rose to 6.09% in October 2026 from 5.54% in September (provisional, released by MoSPI on 12 November).
- Rural inflation: 6.63%; urban: 5.41%.
- Food inflation (CFPI) jumped to 8.94% from 7.74%.
Exam point: RBI’s inflation target is 4% with a band of ±2% (2–6%), set under Section 45ZA of the RBI Act, 1934. If inflation stays above 6% for three straight quarters, RBI must write to the government explaining why. The next CPI release is due on 14 December 2026.
Revise: Inflation targeting
NCDEX launches India’s first steel scrap futures
- NCDEX launched India’s first steel scrap futures contract (grade HMS 80:20) on 11 November 2026.
- The contract is cash-settled; lot size 10 tonnes. Prices are benchmarked to BigMint, a price reporting agency, with Mandi Gobindgarh (Punjab) as the base centre.
Exam point: Commodity derivatives exchanges (NCDEX, MCX) have been regulated by SEBI since the Forward Markets Commission merged with SEBI in September 2015. NCDEX is headquartered in Mumbai. Steel scrap is key for electric arc furnace (low-carbon) steelmaking.
Revise: Capital market basics
45th India International Trade Fair at Bharat Mandapam
- The 45th IITF is being held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, till 27 November 2026; theme “Vikas aur Virasat”.
- Business days are 14–18 November; the general public can visit from 19 November.
- Partner States: Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Focus States: Assam, Delhi, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Exam point: IITF is organised by ITPO (India Trade Promotion Organisation), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Bharat Mandapam is ITPO’s convention centre at Pragati Maidan, which also hosted the G20 Leaders’ Summit (September 2023).
02Banking & Finance
Cabinet extends Stand-Up India till March 2031
- The Union Cabinet extended the Stand-Up India scheme for five more years, till 31 March 2031, with a credit guarantee corpus of ₹4,111 crore.
- Target: 2.5 lakh more entrepreneurs. Over 2.75 lakh SC, ST and women entrepreneurs have got loans since the scheme began (as reported).
- Bank loans of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore are given for greenfield enterprises in manufacturing, services, trading and allied agriculture.
Exam point: Stand-Up India was launched on 5 April 2016. Each bank branch is expected to give at least one loan to an SC/ST borrower and one to a woman borrower. SIDBI is the nodal agency (Stand-Up Mitra portal). Don’t mix it up with Startup India (16 January 2016) or CGFMU (MUDRA loans), extended a day earlier.
Revise: Financial inclusion schemes
03International
First BIMSTEC Health Ministers’ Meeting held in Colombo
- The first-ever BIMSTEC Health Ministers’ Meeting was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 11 November 2026. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda led India.
- Members adopted a Joint Ministerial Statement and the Revised BIMSTEC Plan of Action on Public Health (2026–2030).
- India will host the BIMSTEC Centre of Excellence in Traditional Medicine at ITRA, Jamnagar (Gujarat). India also signed an MoU to give Sri Lanka 100 more ambulances for its Suwa Seriya service.
Exam point: BIMSTEC was formed by the Bangkok Declaration of 6 June 1997. It has 7 members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Its secretariat is in Dhaka.
Revise: Organisations & HQs
PM to attend 23rd ASEAN-India Summit in Manila
- PM Modi will visit Manila, Philippines, on 16–17 November 2026 for the 23rd ASEAN-India Summit and the 21st East Asia Summit (both on 17 November).
- The Philippines is the ASEAN Chair for 2026; 2026 is the ASEAN-India Year of Maritime Cooperation.
Exam point: India became an ASEAN sectoral partner in 1992 and a full dialogue partner in 1995; ties were raised to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022. 2027 will mark 35 years of dialogue relations. The first East Asia Summit was held in Kuala Lumpur in 2005. India’s Act East Policy was announced in 2014.
04Appointments & Awards
Bahram Vakil succeeds Noel Tata as Tata Investment Corporation chairman
- Noel Tata retired as Chairman of Tata Investment Corporation after about 16 years; he has been named Chairman Emeritus.
- Bahram N. Vakil, Vice-Chairman and co-founder of the law firm AZB & Partners, took over as Chairman from 12 November 2026.
Exam point: Noel Tata has headed Tata Trusts since October 2024, after Ratan Tata’s death. N. Chandrasekaran is Chairman of Tata Sons, the group’s holding company.
M. John Harrison wins Booker Prize 2026
- British author M. John Harrison won the Booker Prize 2026 for his novel The End of Everything (announced 9 November in London).
- At 81, he is the oldest-ever winner (Margaret Atwood was 79 in 2019) and the first winner from the science-fiction world. Prize money: £50,000.
- The jury was chaired by historian Mary Beard.
Exam point: The Booker Prize was first awarded in 1969. Indian-origin winners include Salman Rushdie (1981), Arundhati Roy (1997), Kiran Desai (2006) and Aravind Adiga (2008). Banu Mushtaq won the separate International Booker in 2025 for Heart Lamp (translated from Kannada).
Revise: Books & authors
05Obituary
Barefoot College founder Sanjit ‘Bunker’ Roy passes away
- Social activist Sanjit ‘Bunker’ Roy, founder of the Barefoot College, died on 10 November 2026 in Tilonia (Ajmer district, Rajasthan), aged 81.
- Barefoot College trained rural people, including women with little schooling, as solar engineers, health workers and teachers.
Exam point: He set up the Social Work and Research Centre (SWRC) at Tilonia in 1972. Honours: Padma Shri (1986); named in TIME 100 (2010).
06Important Day
World Kindness Day — 13 November
- World Kindness Day is observed on 13 November to promote kindness in everyday life.
Exam point: It was started in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement. It is not a UN-designated day: a common trap in exams.
Revise: Important days
This day in history · 13 Nov
- 1780Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire, was born in Gujranwala
Sources: PIB/MoSPI (CPI October 2026), PMO/MEA (Manila visit), Cabinet decisions (Stand-Up India), ANI and Ada Derana (BIMSTEC), Booker Prize Foundation reports, NCDEX, company filings, news reports.
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