Gujarat Current Affairs 2026

At a glance

the top events

The most important events of this page, and how many news items each topic holds.

Top events

1. 2 Aug — India finished fourth at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games with 39 medals (13 gold, 17 silver, 9 bronze). Australia topped the table, and the Games flag passed to India, host of the 2030 edition at Ahmedabad.
2. 22 Sept — Kannada actor Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2024 at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony at Kevadia, Gujarat; he is the second Kannada actor to win it after Dr Rajkumar (1995).
3. 27 Sept — Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off India's first LNG-powered train from Sabarmati station, Ahmedabad. The dual-fuel DEMU replaces up to about 40% of its diesel with liquefied natural gas.
4. 1 Oct — Gujarat published its Uniform Civil Code Act, 2026 in an extraordinary Gazette on 1 October 2026, after the President's assent on 17 September. It covers marriage, divorce, succession, adoption and live-in relationships, and starts on a date the state will notify.
5. 9 Oct — Gujarat announced a Comprehensive MSME Assistance Scheme under the Viksit Gujarat Industrial Policy-2026, valid from 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2031. It offers capital assistance up to 35% in Category-A talukas and a 7% interest subsidy for five years.
6. 14 Oct — Gujarat won three national urban housing awards, including the most reforms under PMAY-U 2.0 and the highest 96% completion of beneficiary-led houses, taking its total to 17 national urban housing awards.
7. 15 Oct — Asiatic lions have returned to Barda Wildlife Sanctuary after about 144 years, with an estimated 17 lions (six adults and 11 cubs). Barda lies in Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka districts, was notified in 1979, and covers 192.31 sq km.
8. 23 Oct — Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel inaugurated the 15th India Industrial Fair (Udyam 2026) in Gandhinagar; the four-day event runs from 23 to 26 October with over 500 exhibitors.
9. 23 Oct — The Gujarat government and the Scottish Government signed an agreement to cooperate in renewable energy, trade, investment, sports, education and research.
10. 24 Oct — Gujarat plans a Rs 16 crore Ekta Cruise service on the Narmada near the Statue of Unity to boost river tourism.

News by topic

Government & States

12 one-liners

International & Agreements

5 one-liners

Economy & Banking

10 one-liners

Science, Defence & Environment

11 one-liners

Sports, Days & Culture

16 one-liners

Awards, Appointments & Books

6 one-liners

Government & States

12 one-liners

Policy · laws · schemes · states.

National

• Gujarat introduced a time-bound Standard Operating Procedure for departments to act on High Court judgments. A department must implement the order, appeal it, or ask the court for more time by filing a Miscellaneous Civil Application within the original deadline.
• Gujarat continues 20% reservation for former Agniveers in the Gujarat Police, with direct recruitment without a written test for those who are natives or permanent residents of the state. The rules were first announced on 17 July.
• 1 Oct — Gujarat published its Uniform Civil Code Act, 2026 in an extraordinary Gazette on 1 October 2026, after the President's assent on 17 September. It covers marriage, divorce, succession, adoption and live-in relationships, and starts on a date the state will notify.
• 3 Oct — The Ministry of Education approved five Centres of Excellence for Classical Languages: Assamese (Tezpur University), Bengali (Visva-Bharati), Marathi (Deccan College), Pali (Central University of Odisha) and Prakrit (Central University of Gujarat).
• 16 Oct — Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated 101 new Shramik Annapurna centres across 28 districts on 16 October 2026. Under the Shramik Annapurna Yojana, eligible workers and their families get a meal for Rs 5.
• 21 Oct — Gujarat's General Administration Department ordered that digital certificates will carry the issuing authority's official round seal, so citizens need not visit offices for stamping, as part of Digital Gujarat 2.0.
• 21 Oct — The Gujarat Cabinet raised the monthly travel allowance of about 2,900 gram sevaks from Rs 1,850 to Rs 2,700, because each gram sevak covers four to five village panchayats.
• 22 Oct — At the October State SWAGAT grievance programme on 22 October, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel told collectors to issue farmer certificates as per rules, protect government land from encroachment, and act against non-performing sarpanches.
• 23 Oct — Gujarat reconstituted its Tribal Advisory Council, chaired by CM Bhupendra Patel, with Tribal Development Minister Naresh Patel as vice-chairperson.
• 25 Oct — Gujarat's Education Department ordered that visitors to government and grant-in-aid schools need the principal's prior approval and a gate-register entry, and banned unauthorised filming of students; Minister Pradyuman Vaja called it a privacy measure.

States & UTs

• 27 Sept — Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off India's first LNG-powered train from Sabarmati station, Ahmedabad. The dual-fuel DEMU replaces up to about 40% of its diesel with liquefied natural gas.
• 25 Oct — Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation plans an elevated corridor from Shahpur Darwaza to Dariapur Darwaza, later to Kalupur station, for about 7 lakh daily commuters; the route is being redrawn because it lies within 100 m of protected monuments.

International & Agreements

5 one-liners

World · summits · MoUs · exercises.

Summits, Agreements & Exercises

• 1 Oct — NPCIL and the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL) signed an MoU on 1 October 2026 to identify sites in Gujarat for new nuclear power projects of about 4,000 MW, with investment of nearly Rs 1 lakh crore.
• 9 Oct — Gujarat's Seva Setu 2.1 welfare-camp drive ended its second phase on 9 October 2026. The first phase identified eligible beneficiaries, and the second phase delivered services and benefits on the spot through cluster-level camps.
• 15 Oct — Under PM-SETU, the Skill Ministry signed an agreement with AM/NS India and the Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh governments to upgrade nine ITIs. The Surat cluster will upgrade five ITIs at Rs 240 crore.
• 22 Oct — India-Poland history includes the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar sheltering about 1,000 Polish children at Balachadi (Jamnagar) in World War II, and the Valivade camp (Kolhapur) hosting over 5,000 refugees. Poland also helped evacuate Indian students in Operation Ganga (2022).
• 23 Oct — The Gujarat government and the Scottish Government signed an agreement to cooperate in renewable energy, trade, investment, sports, education and research.

Economy & Banking

10 one-liners

RBI · markets · trade · reports.

Economy & Banking

• 27 Jul — The National Stock Exchange started trading in Indian Natural Gas Futures (symbol NATGASIND) on 27 July. It is the first exchange-traded energy derivative based on a domestic benchmark, settled in cash against the IGX Gujarat (Dahej) hub price.
• India's first port-based e-methanol plant was launched at Kandla (Deendayal Port, Gujarat). It will make 150 tonnes of green marine fuel a day and cost Rs 2,300 crore, with phases due in January and March 2027.
• Solex Energy signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 4,000 crore in a 5 GW solar cell plant, built in phases of 2 GW and 3 GW, along with a 10 GWh battery energy storage facility.
• 9 Oct — Gujarat announced a Comprehensive MSME Assistance Scheme under the Viksit Gujarat Industrial Policy-2026, valid from 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2031. It offers capital assistance up to 35% in Category-A talukas and a 7% interest subsidy for five years.
• 13 Oct — Gujarat and Maharashtra, with Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, got permanent seats on the new 12-state GST Standing Committee. The other seven seats rotate every two years.
• 21 Oct — Gujarat's Cabinet approved an extra state subsidy on rooftop solar under PM Surya Ghar: general consumers pay about 10% of the benchmark cost and SC/ST consumers 5%. It covers over 3 lakh families at about Rs 1,000 crore.
• 21 Oct — Gujarat's post-settlement GST revenue for September 2026 was Rs 8,167 crore, about 35% higher than a year earlier. The state earned Rs 49,858 crore in the first six months of the financial year.
• 23 Oct — Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel inaugurated the 15th India Industrial Fair (Udyam 2026) in Gandhinagar; the four-day event runs from 23 to 26 October with over 500 exhibitors.
• 23 Oct — A variable surcharge of 3.99% was reported to be added to Gujarat's power adjustment levy, which will raise electricity bills for households, businesses and industries.
• 23 Oct — A Gujarat delegation led by Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi held a textile roundtable in Daegu, South Korea, and invited investment into the PM MITRA Park.

Science, Defence & Environment

11 one-liners

Space · tech · forces · ecology.

Science & Technology

• 28 Sept — India demonstrated its first 5.56 km free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) link between BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar, with QNu Labs. Error rates stayed below 5%.
• 24 Oct — Gujarat launched healthcare projects worth about Rs 500 crore across the state, including a Rs 223 crore neuroscience centre in Ahmedabad.

Defence & Security

• 18 Aug — The 15th edition of the India-Thailand army exercise MAITREE began at Surat Thani, Thailand, and ran until 31 August. Each side sent 85 personnel, and India's group came mainly from the 9 Gorkha Rifles.
• The Navy commissioned INS Mangrol, the third of eight Mahe-class anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft, at Mumbai. It is named after Mangrol, a fishing harbour in Junagadh district, Gujarat, and has over 80% indigenous content.
• 24 Oct — DRDO's naval materials lab (NMRL) completed the Setting to Work Phase-2 of its Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) energy module at L&T, Hazira (Gujarat); it is to be fitted on a Kalvari-class submarine by MDL in early 2027.

Environment & Ecology

• Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary near Jamnagar, Gujarat (a Ramsar site since February 2022), was found to be an important breeding site of the Black-necked Stork; a study counted a peak seasonal population of 21 birds.
• 15 Oct — Asiatic lions have returned to Barda Wildlife Sanctuary after about 144 years, with an estimated 17 lions (six adults and 11 cubs). Barda lies in Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka districts, was notified in 1979, and covers 192.31 sq km.
• 20 Oct — The Green Diwali Campaign is linked to Mission LiFE, which was announced at COP26 Glasgow in 2021 and launched on 20 October 2022 at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat.
• 20 Oct — Gujarat approved a Centre of Excellence for Joint Forest Management at Balethi village in Surat district. It will train about 7,500 members of forest committees over five years using the village's community forest model.
• 23 Oct — Gujarat will install rooftop solar systems at 800 offices of its Agriculture and Animal Husbandry department, expected to generate about 31.94 lakh units a year and save around Rs 2.5 crore on power bills.
• 24 Oct — A Rs 12 crore, 12-acre rain forest project near the Statue of Unity in Gujarat is scheduled to be inaugurated by PM Modi on 31 October.

Sports, Days & Culture

16 one-liners

Results · important days · heritage.

Awards, Appointments & Books

6 one-liners

Honours · new posts · books · obituaries.

Awards & Honours

Appointments

Obituaries

• 31 Jul — General Vishwa Nath Sharma (retd), who was the 14th Chief of the Army Staff from 1988 to 1990, died in New Delhi. He was the younger brother of Major Somnath Sharma, the first Param Vir Chakra recipient.

Quick quiz

test yourself

Practice questions on this period. Tap an option to check your answer.

Fill in the blank: one-liner flashcards

India finished _____ at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games with 39 medals (13 gold, 17 silver, 9 bronze). Australia topped the table, and the Games flag passed to India, host of the 2030 edition at Ahmedabad.

fourth

Kannada actor _____ received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2024 at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony at Kevadia, Gujarat; he is the second Kannada actor to win it after Dr Rajkumar (1995).

Anant Nag

Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off India's _____ from Sabarmati station, Ahmedabad. The dual-fuel DEMU replaces up to about 40% of its diesel with liquefied natural gas.

first LNG-powered train

Gujarat announced a _____ under the Viksit Gujarat Industrial Policy-2026, valid from 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2031. It offers capital assistance up to 35% in Category-A talukas and a 7% interest subsidy for five years.

Comprehensive MSME Assistance Scheme

Gujarat won three national urban housing awards, including the _____ and the highest 96% completion of beneficiary-led houses, taking its total to 17 national urban housing awards.

most reforms under PMAY-U 2.0

Asiatic lions have returned to _____ after about 144 years, with an estimated 17 lions (six adults and 11 cubs). Barda lies in Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka districts, was notified in 1979, and covers 192.31 sq km.

Barda Wildlife Sanctuary

Gujarat CM _____ inaugurated the 15th India Industrial Fair (Udyam 2026) in Gandhinagar; the four-day event runs from 23 to 26 October with over 500 exhibitors.

Bhupendra Patel

The Gujarat government and the _____ signed an agreement to cooperate in renewable energy, trade, investment, sports, education and research.

Scottish Government

Gujarat plans a _____ service on the Narmada near the Statue of Unity to boost river tourism.

Rs 16 crore Ekta Cruise

The National Stock Exchange started trading in _____ (symbol NATGASIND) on 27 July. It is the first exchange-traded energy derivative based on a domestic benchmark, settled in cash against the IGX Gujarat (Dahej) hub price.

Indian Natural Gas Futures

MCQs

1. The inaugural Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship 2026 is being held in which city?

   1. Jaipur
   2. Ahmedabad
   3. Patna
   4. Pune
   Show answer

   Answer: Ahmedabad — It is held on 23-31 October at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, Ahmedabad.

2. The 15th India Industrial Fair (Udyam 2026) was inaugurated in which Gujarat city?

   1. Surat
   2. Vadodara
   3. Rajkot
   4. Gandhinagar
   Show answer

   Answer: Gandhinagar — CM Bhupendra Patel inaugurated the four-day fair in Gandhinagar on 23 October 2026.

3. The Gujarat government signed an agreement on renewable energy, trade and education with which government?

   1. Wales
   2. Ireland
   3. Scotland
   4. Norway
   Show answer

   Answer: Scotland — Gujarat and the Scottish Government signed an agreement on 23 October 2026.

4. Who presented copies of Mahatma Gandhi's 1930s letters to Lord Lothian to the Sabarmati Ashram archives in October 2026?

   1. John Swinney
   2. Humza Yousaf
   3. Nicola Sturgeon
   4. Alex Salmond
   Show answer

   Answer: John Swinney — John Swinney, First Minister of Scotland, presented four letters during his visit to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.

5. Within how many days of a marriage must couples submit the registration memorandum under Gujarat's Uniform Civil Code Act, 2026?

   1. 30 days
   2. 60 days
   3. 90 days
   4. 120 days
   Show answer

   Answer: 60 days — The Gujarat code requires a marriage registration memorandum within 60 days of the marriage.

6. What is the cash prize of the Vishisht Gujarat Garima Award to be given to Captain Smit Machchhar?

   1. Rs 5 lakh
   2. Rs 10 lakh
   3. Rs 25 lakh
   4. Rs 50 lakh
   Show answer

   Answer: Rs 25 lakh — The Gujarat government announced a Rs 25 lakh prize for the pilot who saved 174 passengers.

7. Asiatic lions have returned after about 144 years to which sanctuary of Gujarat?

   1. Barda Wildlife Sanctuary
   2. Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary
   3. Mitiyala Wildlife Sanctuary
   4. Paniya Wildlife Sanctuary
   Show answer

   Answer: Barda Wildlife Sanctuary — Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, in Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka districts, now has an estimated 17 lions.

8. On which date is the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas parade planned at the Statue of Unity in Kevadia, Gujarat?

   1. 2 October
   2. 15 October
   3. 31 October
   4. 14 November
   Show answer

   Answer: 31 October — The parade marks Sardar Patel's birth anniversary on 31 October.

9. How many medals did Gujarat athletes win at the 5th Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan?

   1. Six
   2. Seven
   3. Nine
   4. Eight
   Show answer

   Answer: Eight — Gujarat's haul was eight medals: one gold, two silver and five bronze.

10. Till which date is Gujarat's Comprehensive MSME Assistance Scheme under the Viksit Gujarat Industrial Policy-2026 valid?

    1. 31 March 2029
    2. 31 December 2030
    3. 31 March 2031
    4. 31 May 2031
    Show answer

    Answer: 31 May 2031 — The scheme runs from 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2031.

11. Which Gujarat body signed an MoU with NPCIL on 1 October 2026 to identify sites for new nuclear power projects?

    1. GSECL
    2. GUVNL
    3. GMDC
    4. GIDC
    Show answer

    Answer: GSECL — NPCIL and the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) signed the site-identification MoU.

12. To what amount did the Gujarat Cabinet raise the monthly travel allowance of gram sevaks from Rs 1,850?

    1. Rs 2,200
    2. Rs 2,500
    3. Rs 2,700
    4. Rs 3,000
    Show answer

    Answer: Rs 2,700 — The monthly travel allowance of about 2,900 gram sevaks was raised to Rs 2,700.