Prelims Current Affairs includes World Food Day, Mahila Kisan Diwas 2026, India Hosts First Bimstec Home Ministers’ Meeting- Delhi Declaration Adopted, Friendliest Cities In The World 2026, Trishna Satellite Mission 2027, Exercise Ibsamar Ix, Navy To Commission Indigenous Multipurpose Vessel Ins Samarthak  & Oscar Whitfield Wins Young Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2026

IMPORTANT DAYS

1. WORLD FOOD DAY

Current Context: World Food Day is observed annually on 16 October to raise awareness about hunger, food security and the need for sustainable agrifood systems.

ABOUT WORLD FOOD DAY

• It commemorates the establishment of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on 16 October 1945.
• The day was established in 1979 during the 20th session of the FAO Conference, and it was first observed in 1981.
• 2026 Theme: “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.”
• Purpose: To highlight the role of innovation in transforming how food is produced, stored, transported and marketed.

IMPORTANT DAYS

2. MAHILA KISAN DIWAS 2026

Current Context: Mahila Kisan Diwas 2026 is celebrated on 15 October 2026 to commemorate the contribution of women farmers to Indian agriculture and development.

ABOUT MAHILA KISAN DIWAS

• Organised by: Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• 2026 Theme: “Role of Women Farmers in Developing Agriculture and Developed India.”
• It coincides with the International Day of Rural Women.
• It is held as part of the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 (IYWF 2026) declared by the United Nations.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL DAY OF RURAL WOMEN

• Celebrated on 15 October every year.
• Declared by: UN General Assembly in 2007.
• Theme for the International Day of Rural Women 2026 is “Rural Women Farmers Caring for Mother Nature”.
• Purpose: To recognise the indispensable role of rural women, including Indigenous women, in agricultural and rural development, food security and poverty eradication.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

3.      INDIA HOSTS FIRST BIMSTEC HOME MINISTERS’ MEETING- DELHI DECLARATION ADOPTED

Current Context: India hosted the first BIMSTEC Home Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi, headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

DELHI DECLARATION 2026

• It reaffirms the commitment of all seven member countries to building a connected, secure, resilient, developed and prosperous BIMSTEC region.
• It recognises that the Bay of Bengal region faces shared security challenges that require coordinated regional responses.

KEY POINTS OF THE DELHI DECLARATION 2026

• Measures for counterterrorism and financing of terrorism.
• Cooperation against drug trafficking and human trafficking.
• Cooperation in cybercrime investigation.
• Mutual legal assistance and extradition.
• Repatriation of criminal fugitives and institutional building.
• India’s stance: Zero tolerance towards terrorism and joint action against organised crime.

ABOUT BIMSTEC

• BIMSTEC stands for Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
• Formed: 6 June 1997, by the Bangkok Declaration.
• Secretariat: Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• Member Countries: Seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
• Originally known as BIST-EC, including Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
• Myanmar joined in December 1997, Nepal and Bhutan joined in
• It links South Asia with Southeast Asia and facilitates cooperation in regional security, trade, transportation, energy and people-to-people linkages.

REPORTS / INDICES

4. FRIENDLIEST CITIES IN THE WORLD 2026

Current Context: The Mexican city of Mérida emerged as the winner of the Friendliest Cities Index 2026, while Delhi was among the ten least friendly cities.

ABOUT THE INDEX

• Research carried out by: Fernwayer, a travel platform.
• Methodology: Analysis of over 1.2 million comments on Reddit related to 200 cities.
• Purpose: To find out what travellers have said about the friendliness of residents.

TOP 3 FRIENDLIEST CITIES IN THE WORLD 2026

KEY FINDINGS

• Delhi scored 43.6, placing it among the top 10 lowest-scoring cities.
• Lowest scoring cities: Buenos Aires (42.0), Los Angeles (42.2), Madrid (42.5), Paris (42.9), Milan (43.0), Barcelona (43.4).
• The ranking is based on perceptions from online discussions, not scientific evaluation.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

5. TRISHNA SATELLITE MISSION 2027

Current Context: The ISRO-CNES TRISHNA mission will monitor water stress, crop health, evapotranspiration and urban heat using high-resolution thermal infrared observations.

ABOUT TRISHNA MISSION

• TRISHNA stands for Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment.
• Jointly developed by: India’s ISRO and CNES of France.
• Launch site: Sriharikota.
• It will study surface temperature, evapotranspiration, vegetation status and water stress with high spatial and temporal resolutions.

KEY SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES

• Monitoring of terrestrial water stress and water usage.
• Studying the quality and dynamics of inland and coastal waters.
• Detecting and quantifying the urban heat island effect.
• Determination of thermal anomalies of volcano and geothermal areas.
• Snow-melt runoff and glacier dynamics monitoring.
• Atmospheric parameters like aerosol optical depth, water vapour and cloud detection.

TWO INSTRUMENTS ON BOARD

• Thermal Infrared (TIR) Instrument: Provided by CNES with participation of Airbus Defence and Space; four thermal infrared channels.
• Visible-Near Infrared-SWIR Instrument: Developed by ISRO, seven spectral bands.
• ORBIT
• Orbit: Sun-synchronous orbit, 761 km above the Earth.
• Design life: Five years.

DEFENCE

6. EXERCISE IBSAMAR IX

Current Context: INS Tarkash has been deployed in South Africa to participate in the ninth edition of the India-Brazil-South Africa Maritime (IBSAMAR) Exercise 2026.

ABOUT EXERCISE IBSAMAR IX

• Joint multinational maritime exercise between the Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies.
• Conducted biennially since 2008 under the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) framework.
• Theme: “Stronger Together Towards a Shared Future in the Maritime Domain.”
• Aim: To promote collective maritime security and preparedness to address maritime challenges.
• Exercise covers: Surface warfare, anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, naval air operations, maritime interdiction, anti-piracy operations, search and rescue, damage control and firefighting.

DEFENCE

7. NAVY TO COMMISSION INDIGENOUS MULTIPURPOSE VESSEL INS SAMARTHAK

Current Context: The Indian Navy is scheduled to commission INS Samarthak at the Naval Base in Karwar, Karnataka.

ABOUT INS SAMARTHAK

• It is the first of four indigenously built Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) planned for induction into the Navy.
• Built by: Larsen & Toubro under the Make in India initiative, with more than 75% indigenous content.
• Roles: Surveillance and patrol, low-intensity maritime operations (LIMO), support for trials of naval systems, deployment of targets, mothership for unmanned and autonomous systems.
• Can undertake humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations.
• Can be converted into a limited-capacity hospital ship and support salvage operations.
• Motto: “Vijayartham Eknishthata” (Victory is Our Sole Aim).

AWARDS & HONOURS

8. OSCAR WHITFIELD WINS YOUNG WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2026

Current Context: On 14 October 2026, 14-year-old British photographer Oscar Whitfield was named Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026.

ABOUT THE ACHIEVEMENT

• He lives in Zimbabwe and won with a black-and-white photograph titled “Labour of Love”, capturing a dung beetle pushing a ball of dung.
• He made the photograph by lying on the ground to photograph the beetle at eye level.
• The 2026 edition marked the competition’s 62nd year.
• The competition received 65,403 entries from 121 countries and territories, a record total.
• Both overall winners in 2026 were recognised for black-and-white images for the first time in the competition’s history.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

• Organised by: Natural History Museum, London.
• It includes an overall young photographer award as well as an adult overall award.

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