DAILY PRELIMS CA 8 OCT 2026 ENG

𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Subject: Science

• 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Chemistry Nobel to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai.
• 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆: 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆 of Sciences | For discoveries of non-linear effects and asymmetric autocatalysis.
• 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀: 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗶 𝗕. 𝗞𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻 (France) and 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼 𝗦𝗼𝗮𝗶 (Japan).
• 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀: Lack internal plane of symmetry | Exist as non-superimposable mirror images called 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀.
• 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Enantiomers share identical physical properties | Interact differently with 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 and biological receptors.
• 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Proteins use only left-handed 𝗟-𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗱𝘀 | DNA and RNA backbones use right-handed 𝗗-𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗿𝘀.
• 𝗔𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀: Reaction where chiral product acts as its own 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁 | Amplifies initial enantiomeric excess.
• 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸'𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹: 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟯 theoretical framework | Explains how autocatalysis and suppression of minority enantiomers produce spontaneous homochirality.
• 𝗞𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻'𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲: Partially pure chiral catalysts produce highly pure products via 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀.
• 𝗛𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗿𝘀: Mixed-handed catalyst complexes remain inactive | Traps minority forms, allowing dominant 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 to drive synthesis.
• 𝗦𝗼𝗮𝗶 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Developed in 𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟱 using pyrimidine aldehydes | Amplifies small initial imbalances to near-perfect purity.
• 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀: Tiny asymmetries from circularly polarised light or 𝗶𝘀𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 can trigger molecular amplification.
• 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Pure 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲-𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 pharmaceuticals | Green chemistry using cheaper catalysts | Probing origins of life.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀

Subject: Environment

• 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵: Palaeontologists discovered fossils of Herugavialis cairensis, an extinct prehistoric crocodilian, in Egypt.
• 𝗧𝗮𝘅𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆: Extinct semi-aquatic crocodilian belonging to the gharial superfamily 𝗚𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮.
• 𝗘𝗽𝗼𝗰𝗵: Lived during the 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲 Epoch, approximately 45 million years ago.
• 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁: Inhabited the warm, shallow marine waters of the ancient 𝗡𝗲𝗼-𝗧𝗲𝘁𝗵𝘆𝘀 Sea.
• 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Possessed high 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 tolerance, unlike modern gharials which are restricted to freshwater.
• 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀: Had an elongated snout specialized for catching fish + raised 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 eye sockets for scanning above water.
• 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Challenges the notion that gharial ancestors were historically restricted to 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 freshwater systems.

𝗡𝗧𝗣𝗖'𝘀 𝗡𝘂𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻

Subject: Science

• 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵: NTPC Limited identified sites in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha to establish commercial nuclear power plants.
• 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁: Deploy 𝟯𝟬 𝗚𝗪 of operational nuclear capacity across 14 states by 𝟮𝟬𝟰𝟳.
• 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆: Uses 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 奠定 Reactor (PWR) technology | Targets 2 to 4 GW capacity per site.
• 𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗜 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: A 𝟰𝟵:𝟱𝟭 JV between NTPC and NPCIL + Developing Mahi Banswara project in 𝗥𝗮𝗷𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻.
• 𝗡𝗣𝗨𝗡𝗟: NTPC Parmanu Urja Nigam Ltd is a 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱 subsidiary of NTPC for nuclear projects.
• 𝗡𝗧𝗣𝗖 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀: Elite 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗻𝗮 PSU functioning under the administrative control of the 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿.
• 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Incorporated in November 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟱 to accelerate national power development.
• 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁: NTPC targets achieving 𝟲𝟬 𝗚𝗪 of renewable energy capacity by 𝟮𝟬𝟯𝟮.

𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗸𝗲

Subject: Economy

• 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵: The Monetary Policy Committee raised the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 𝟱.𝟱𝟬% under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility.
• 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲: Benchmark interest rate for short-term lending by 𝗥𝗕𝗜 to commercial banks against government securities collateral.
• 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗼𝗿: Repo rate acts as the target policy rate | 𝗠𝗦𝗙 and Bank Rate serve as the ceiling at 𝟱.𝟳𝟱%.
• 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Acts as the floor of the policy corridor | Requires 𝗻𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 to be parked by RBI.
• 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: Higher repo rate increases borrowing costs for banks + forces upward revision of 𝗠𝗖𝗟𝗥 and EBLR.
• 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: Costlier credit reduces discretionary spending and capital expenditure + curbs 𝗖𝗣𝗜 inflation.
• 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀: Higher domestic interest rates attract 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 + support the Indian Rupee against depreciation.
• 𝘗𝘠𝘘 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬: Monetary Policy Tools (2015, 2020)

𝗦𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗫-𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Subject: Misc

• 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵: Inaugurated off the coast of Paradip, Odisha, alongside the 24th National Maritime Search and Rescue Board meeting.
• 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: A 𝗯𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 multinational maritime search and rescue exercise simulating complex sea-and-air emergencies.
• 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Conducted by the 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱, the central coordinating authority for maritime search and rescue in India.
• 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆: Integrates ISRO's Medium Earth Orbit Local User Terminal (𝗠𝗘𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧) | Upgrades satellite-aided SAR from legacy systems.
• 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲: Tests responses within the 𝟰.𝟲 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗾 𝗸𝗺 Indian Search and Rescue Region (ISRR).
• 𝗡𝗠𝗦𝗔𝗥 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱: Chaired by the 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 of the Indian Coast Guard + oversees national distress-alert policy.

𝗚𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗮

Subject: Geography

• 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵: Ghana's Cabinet approved a decision to seek membership in the BRICS grouping to expand its partnerships.
• 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: West African nation on the 𝗚𝘂𝗹𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮 coastline | Bisected longitudinally by the 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻.
• 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀: Shared land borders with 𝗖𝗼̂𝘁𝗲 𝗱’𝗜𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗼, and 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗼.
• 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹: Accra | Hosts the official headquarters of the 𝗔𝗳𝗖𝗙𝗧𝗔 Secretariat.
• 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘁𝗮: One of the world's largest 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗿𝘀 | Created by the 𝗔𝗸𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗼 𝗗𝗮𝗺.
• 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀: Home to 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗺𝘁𝘄𝗶, an ancient meteorite impact crater lake | Highest point is Mount Afadjato.
• 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: Historically called the 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁 | First sub-Saharan colony to achieve independence in 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟳.
• 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲: Affected by seasonal 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗻 winds from the Sahara and southwesterly Atlantic monsoons.