Uttarakhand Cabinet notifies UCC (Amendment) Rules 2026 and clears 25 proposals; Char Dham Yatra crosses a record 60 lakh pilgrims; India–Poland set to double trade by 2030
Friday, 23 October 2026 · IST · Uttarakhand + National · 11 items · 2 MCQs
The Dhami Cabinet cleared 25 proposals on 22 Oct, notifying the UCC (Amendment) Rules, 2026, raising the SC/ST free-coaching income cap to ₹8 lakh and approving an Adventure Tourism Corporation, ahead of the Gairsain session from 27 Oct; the CM said the Char Dham Yatra has crossed a record 60 lakh pilgrims. Nationally, Polish PM Donald Tusk's visit set a goal to double India–Poland trade by 2030, ISRO readied NVS-03 for 30 Oct to restore NavIC, and CDSCO flagged 330 substandard drug samples.
Polity & governance of Uttarakhand — UCC, Article 44 (DPSP), state legislature, delegated legislation. Prelims pointer: UCC in force since 27 Jan 2025; Bhararisain (Gairsain) is the summer capital.
Context
On 22 Oct 2026 the Cabinet chaired by CM Pushkar Singh Dhami cleared 25 proposals, including the Civil Code (Amendment) Rules, Uttarakhand, 2026 to operationalise the UCC (Uttarakhand) (Amendment) Act, 2026, ahead of a two-day Assembly session at Bhararisain from 27 Oct.
Key facts
New rules remove implementation difficulties and clerical errors in registration of marriage, divorce, live-in relationships and succession.
Earlier amendment (Ordinance, Jan 2026, Article 213): identity misrepresentation = ground for annulment; Registrar issues a termination certificate for live-ins; delays auto-escalate to Registrar / Registrar General.
Uttarakhand GST (Amendment) Bill approved for introduction, in line with central GST changes.
One-time settlement scheme for about 3,600 pending stamp-duty cases.
Business Advisory Committee meets 24 Oct; Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan.
Way forward
Publish simple UCC FAQs in Hindi, Garhwali and Kumaoni, keep the online portal grievance-friendly, and hold longer sittings at Gairsain to give the summer capital real substance.
Concept
UCC = one set of personal laws (marriage, divorce, succession, live-in) for all citizens; Article 44 (DPSP) asks the State to 'endeavour to secure' it. Uttarakhand = first state after Independence to enforce a UCC (Goa's code is pre-1961). Scheduled Tribes are exempt. Rules framed by the executive under an Act = delegated legislation.
Flowchart of UCC registration under the 2026 amendment: applicant applies online to Sub-Registrar; if the deadline is missed the case auto-escalates to Registrar and then Registrar General; outcomes include registration certificate, live-in termination certificate and penalty recovery as land-revenue arrears. — StudyForGS
2. Char Dham Yatra 2026 crosses a record 60 lakh pilgrims; portals to close from 10 November
Religious tourism, culture and geography of Uttarakhand; crowd and disaster management. Prelims pointer: rivers and districts of the four dhams, their winter seats.
Context
On 23 Oct 2026 CM Dhami said more than 60 lakh devotees have visited the Char Dham this season — a new record — across pre-monsoon and post-monsoon phases; work on the Badrinath master plan and Haridwar Kumbh 2027 is under way.
Use registration data for real-time carrying-capacity caps, extend landslide early-warning and health posts along routes, and promote the winter (shitkaleen) yatra to spread footfall.
Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections (SC/ST, women, PwD); education and human-rights institutions. Prelims pointer: state scheme names; State Human Rights Commission data.
Context
The same 22 Oct Cabinet widened welfare coverage: more SC/ST students now qualify for free competitive-exam coaching, a grant for single women was rebranded, and Board-exam norms were eased for students with disabilities.
Key facts
Free coaching for SC/ST students: family income limit raised from ₹2 lakh to ₹8 lakh.
Maintenance grant renamed Mukhyamantri Ekal Nari Samman Yojana (single women).
5% relaxation in pass marks for divyang students in Uttarakhand Board exams — 28% is now a pass.
All 13 DIETs restructured; sanctioned posts per DIET cut from 48 to 44.
State Human Rights Commission report (2019–22) approved: 16,388 cases, 15,075 disposed (~92%).
Way forward
Track coaching outcomes (selections), and deliver Ekal Nari benefits by DBT so that widows and deserted women in remote hill districts are not left out.
Concept
DIET (District Institute of Education & Training) = teacher-training body under the National Policy on Education, 1986; RPwD Act, 2016 — benchmark disability ≥40%; State Human Rights Commissions are set up under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
Stat-tile row of the 22 October 2026 Uttarakhand Cabinet decisions: 25 proposals cleared, free-coaching income cap 8 lakh rupees, about 3,600 stamp-duty cases for one-time settlement, 14 head coaches at 1.45 lakh rupees a month, 28 percent pass mark for divyang students, and 13 DIETs restructured. — StudyForGS
4. Uttarakhand Adventure Tourism Corporation approved; 'One District, One Sport' gets 14 head coaches
Tourism-led economy of Uttarakhand, hill infrastructure, sports development, migration (palayan). Prelims pointer: adventure hubs — Rishikesh, Auli, Tehri Lake.
Context
The Cabinet approved a dedicated Uttarakhand Adventure Tourism Corporation Limited, sped up hill-road approvals and strengthened the sports ecosystem with contracted coaches and free bus travel for award-winning athletes.
Key facts
New state PSU: Uttarakhand Adventure Tourism Corporation Ltd to plan, regulate and market adventure tourism.
One District, One Sport: 14 head coaches on 3-year contracts at a fixed ₹1.45 lakh/month.
Free travel in Uttarakhand Transport Corporation buses for athletes with state/national awards.
PWD: second-phase works (slope cutting, retaining walls, culverts, drains) approved in a single stage.
PM POSHAN: land for centralised kitchens in Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar.
Way forward
Pair promotion with strict safety SOPs, carrying-capacity limits and certification of local youth as guides, so that adventure tourism also helps reverse palayan.
Concept
Adventure assets: Ganga at Rishikesh (rafting), Auli, Chamoli (skiing), Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi (est. 1965), Tehri Lake (water sports). Palayan = out-migration from hill villages; studied by the Rural Development & Migration Commission (set up 2017).
5. 'Drug-Free Uttarakhand' walkathon flagged off in Dehradun — 'Nashe ko Na, Zindagi ko Haan'
Social issues — substance abuse among youth, role of civil society; drug trafficking as an internal-security threat. Prelims pointer: NDPS Act, 1985; Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (2020).
Context
On 23 Oct 2026 CM Dhami flagged off the walkathon at Dr B.R. Ambedkar Ground, ONGC, Dehradun, administered an anti-drug pledge and outlined a multi-track strategy to make the state drug-free.
Key facts
Organised by the ONGC Officers Association; Cabinet Minister Khajan Das attended.
Slogan: 'Nashe ko Na, Zindagi ko Haan' (No to drugs, yes to life).
Promote sports, yoga and exercise; involve parents, teachers, workplaces and NGOs.
Way forward
Map hotspots along the plains corridor (Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar), expand district de-addiction centres and run peer-led school programmes.
Concept
NDPS Act, 1985 regulates narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances; Narcotics Control Bureau (est. 1986) is the nodal agency; Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan launched 15 Aug 2020; 26 June = International Day against Drug Abuse.
Mind-map of the Drug-Free Uttarakhand strategy with six branches: enforcement against peddlers, awareness campaigns, de-addiction and treatment, rehabilitation, sports-yoga-fitness, and community participation of parents, teachers and NGOs. — StudyForGS
6. Police Commemoration Day: 1,600 posts to be filled; police-station budget doubled to ₹8 crore
Police administration, cyber crime, internal security. Prelims pointer: 21 October = Police Commemoration Day (Hot Springs, Ladakh, 1959).
Context
At Police Lines, Dehradun on 21 Oct, CM Dhami paid tribute to personnel who died on duty and announced recruitment, funding and welfare steps for Uttarakhand Police.
Key facts
About 1,600 vacant posts across police units to be filled soon.
Annual police-station operational budget raised from ₹4 crore to ₹8 crore.
State Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under construction (~₹32 crore).
206 Uttarakhand Police personnel have died on duty since statehood (DGP Deepam Seth); 154 nationwide in the past year.
24x7 police help desk at AIIMS Rishikesh; quick response teams for women's safety at every police station.
Way forward
Implement Prakash Singh-style reforms, raise women's share in the force and integrate the cyber centre with the national 1930 cyber helpline.
Concept
Police and public order are in the State List (Entries 1–2, Seventh Schedule). Prakash Singh case (2006): SC ordered reforms — State Security Commission, fixed DGP tenure, Police Establishment Board. The Day honours 10 CRPF men killed at Hot Springs on 21 Oct 1959.
7. India–Poland: Tusk visit sets goal to double trade by 2030; Defence Industry Dialogue launched
IRUKPSC: Prelims + Mains (International Relations)
Syllabus linkage
India and Europe; bilateral ties; groupings (CDRI, ISA, IPOI). Prelims pointer: India–Poland Strategic Partnership (Aug 2024).
Context
Polish PM Donald Tusk visited India (21–23 Oct 2026) with about 100 CEOs; talks with PM Narendra Modi on 22 Oct widened cooperation in defence, space, nuclear energy, critical minerals and coal gasification.
Key facts
Bilateral trade ~US$6 billion; target: double by 2030.
New Defence Industry Dialogue and counter-terrorism dialogue; mid-term review of Action Plan 2024–28 endorsed.
Poland to join CDRI; invited to ISA, Global Biofuels Alliance and IPOI.
Use Poland as a Central European hub for defence co-production and manufacturing, and as a gateway to the EU market once the India–EU FTA is in force.
Concept
CDRI — launched by India at the UN Climate Action Summit, 2019; secretariat New Delhi. History: Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar ('Good Maharaja') sheltered over 600 Polish children in WWII; PM Modi's Aug 2024 visit was the first by an Indian PM in 45 years.
Mind-map of India–Poland outcomes of 22 October 2026: trade of 6 billion dollars to double by 2030; Defence Industry Dialogue and counter-terrorism dialogue; space and nuclear energy; critical minerals and coal gasification; Poland joining CDRI; support for India's UNSC seat 2028-29. — StudyForGS
8. AgriVoltaics World Conference 2026 in New Delhi — 'One land, two harvests'
The 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference (21–23 Oct 2026, Bharat Mandapam) — the first held in the Global South — was hosted by MNRE with Germany's environment ministry; an agrivoltaic programme is planned under the next phase of PM-KUSUM.
Key facts
Theme: 'Powering the Global South'; 1,200+ delegates.
Agrivoltaics = solar PV + crops on the same land (elevated, inter-row, greenhouse, aquavoltaic).
~47.5 Mha cropland technically suitable (~30% of cropland); elevated systems cost 25–30% more.
Reported (site-specific) gains: yield +10–20%, water use ~30% lower.
Way forward
Aggregate small holdings via FPOs/cooperatives and set crop-yield safeguards (like Germany's DIN SPEC 91434) so that it stays 'farming first, solar second'.
Concept
PM-KUSUM (2019): A = up to 2 MW grid-connected plants on farmland; B = standalone solar pumps; C = solarisation of grid pumps (incl. feeder-level). Central aid 30% (50% for NE, hill States like Uttarakhand, islands). Panchamrit (COP26): 500 GW non-fossil by 2030; net zero 2070.
Donut chart of India's installed power capacity of about 560 GW: non-fossil 308.03 GW (over 55 percent) versus fossil about 252 GW, with a note that the 2030 NDC target of 50 percent non-fossil capacity has been crossed. — StudyForGS
9. ISRO to launch NVS-03 on GSLV Mk II on 30 October to restore NavIC
Space technology, satellite navigation, strategic self-reliance. Prelims pointer: NavIC bands L1, L5, S; coverage India + 1,500 km.
Context
ISRO will launch NVS-03 — third of five second-generation NavIC satellites — on GSLV Mk II from Sriharikota on 30 Oct 2026, restoring the minimum four working satellites needed for standalone positioning.
Key facts
Only 3 NavIC satellites working now: IRNSS-1B, IRNSS-1I, NVS-01.
NVS-02 (Jan 2025) failed to reach orbit — a pyro valve did not fire.
Health governance, drug regulation, consumer safety. Prelims pointer: CDSCO under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
Context
In its September 2026 monthly surveillance the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation flagged 330 NSQ samples and 1 spurious sample (from Delhi) — up from 220 NSQ in August.
Key facts
Split: 42 from Central Drugs Laboratories + 288 from State Drugs Testing Laboratories.
August: 220 NSQ (29 central + 191 state) → September up 50%.
Spurious drug made by unauthorised makers using another firm's brand name; under investigation.
NSQ applies only to the tested batch; lists are published monthly.
Way forward
Strengthen state drug labs — vital for Uttarakhand's pharma clusters at Haridwar and Selaqui — and enforce revised Schedule M GMP with QR-code track-and-trace.
Concept
NSQ = fails one or more quality tests; spurious = fake/imitation; adulterated = contaminated. CDSCO is headed by the DCGI under the Union Health Ministry.
Grouped bar chart of NSQ drug samples flagged by CDSCO: August 2026 — 29 central labs and 191 state labs (total 220); September 2026 — 42 central labs and 288 state labs (total 330). — StudyForGS
11. Navy in two oceans: SIMBEX-2026 at Visakhapatnam, IBSAMAR IX off South Africa
DEFENCEUKPSC: Prelims + Mains (Security & International Relations)
Syllabus linkage
Defence exercises, maritime security, Act East and Africa outreach. Prelims pointer: match exercise ↔ partner.
Context
The 33rd SIMBEX (India–Singapore) is under way at Visakhapatnam (21–26 Oct), while IBSAMAR IX (India–Brazil–South Africa) ended at Simon's Town on 20 Oct.
Key facts
SIMBEX began in 1994 as 'Exercise Lion King'; India: INS Nilgiri (Project 17A), INS Kamorta (Project 28); Singapore: RSS Supreme.
Sea phase in the Bay of Bengal (24–26 Oct): anti-submarine, anti-surface and anti-air drills.
IBSAMAR IX: India fielded INS Tarkash (Talwar-class frigate); series began 2008.
IBSA formed by the Brasilia Declaration, 6 June 2003; IBSA Fund (2004).
Way forward
Keep a regular cadence and add underwater domain awareness, vital as extra-regional survey vessels increase in the Indian Ocean.
Concept
MAHASAGAR (2025) succeeded SAGAR (2015) as India's maritime vision; Eastern Naval Command HQ = Visakhapatnam; Cape Agulhas marks the Atlantic–Indian Ocean boundary (IHO).
Data point of the day
308.03 GW (>55%)
India's non-fossil power capacity Out of about 560 GW installed — the 2030 NDC goal of 50% non-fossil capacity is already crossed; next target 500 GW by 2030 (Panchamrit). Hill States like Uttarakhand get 50% central aid under PM-KUSUM.
Prelims rapid-fire
UNESCO Tentative List (20 Oct): Baratang karst–mud-volcano complex, Andaman Subduction Volcanoes (Barren & Narcondam) and Sirpur (Chhattisgarh) added.
Rupee fell 44 paise to 94.82/US$ on 22 Oct; Brent near US$112 on West Asia tensions.
Uttarakhand Assembly session at Bhararisain (Gairsain) from 27 Oct; Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan.
12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum at Samvidhan Sadan, New Delhi on 26–27 Oct.
Sheetal Devi won two golds in compound archery at the Asian Para Games, Aichi-Nagoya.
Practice MCQs — UKPSC Prelims pattern
Q1. With reference to the Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand, consider the following statements: 1. It came into force on 27 January 2025. 2. Scheduled Tribes of the State are exempt from its application. 3. Registration of live-in relationships under it is optional. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
1 only
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: B The UCC took effect on 27 Jan 2025 and exempts Scheduled Tribes; registration of live-in relationships is mandatory, with penalties for non-registration, so statement 3 is wrong.
Q2. Which one of the following pairs of a Char Dham shrine and its winter seat is NOT correctly matched?
Kedarnath — Ukhimath
Badrinath — Joshimath (Pandukeshwar)
Gangotri — Mukhba
Yamunotri — Guptkashi
Show answer
Answer: D Yamunotri's deity moves to Kharsali in winter; Guptkashi is in Rudraprayag on the Kedarnath route. Kedarnath → Ukhimath (Omkareshwar temple), Gangotri → Mukhba.
Mains practice question
Q. Record pilgrim footfall in the Char Dham Yatra is both an economic opportunity and an ecological risk for Uttarakhand. Discuss measures for sustainable pilgrimage management in the Himalayan State. (UKPSC Mains, 200 words)
Hint / approach
Intro: 60 lakh+ pilgrims in 2026. Body: gains (livelihoods, homestays, reverse palayan) vs risks (fragile slopes, waste, 2013 Kedarnath disaster, Joshimath subsidence). Measures: carrying capacity caps via registration, slot booking, landslide early warning, waste & sanitation, winter yatra, green transport. Conclude with 'eco-sensitive pilgrimage'.
📌 One-line revision: UCC Rules 2026 + 25 Cabinet decisions | Coaching cap ₹8 lakh | Char Dham 60 lakh+ | NVS-03 on 30 Oct | India–Poland trade ×2 by 2030 | 330 NSQ drugs
