Abbreviations & Glossary of Key Terms

A note before you start: Current affairs is the one section of General Awareness that has an expiry date. This chapter locks in everything of lasting exam value from the period running into 2026, but SSC keeps adding fresh questions from the three or four months right before your exam date. Treat this chapter as your base layer. In the final six to eight weeks before your CGL exam, add a monthly current affairs digest on top of it. Nobody who relies only on a book printed months earlier walks into this section fully prepared, and nobody who ignores the book and reads only scattered news does either. You need both.

Why This Chapter Matters

SSC CGL Tier-I usually carries 4 to 6 questions directly from current affairs, and several more General Awareness questions that lean on a recent appointment, scheme, or sporting result dressed up as a "static" question. That is close to 10% of your GA marks sitting in a section most aspirants revise last and worst. The commission loves questions built around who is currently holding which post, which country hosted which summit, and which Indian scheme crossed which milestone, because these are objectively verifiable and hard to guess.

The single biggest mistake aspirants make here is memorising a name without memorising the context. You cannot afford to know "Justice X is CJI" without also knowing which CJI he succeeded and roughly when he took charge, because SSC often frames the question as "who succeeded whom" rather than a flat "who is." This chapter groups facts with their context deliberately. Read the surrounding sentence, not just the bolded fact.

1. National Appointments and Institutional Events

India's top constitutional posts change more often than aspirants expect, and SSC tracks them closely because they are unambiguous, single-answer facts.

The Chief Justice of India rotates by seniority convention roughly every one to two years; always check who holds the post as of your exam month rather than trusting a fixed name, since this office has changed hands multiple times across 2024-2026. The same caution applies to the Chief Election Commissioner, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the Attorney General for India, and the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) — all are frequently tested and all rotate on fixed or discretionary terms.

Exam trap: Students confuse the President's constitutional term (5 years, fixed) with these appointed offices, which have varying or discretionary tenures. A CJI's term is capped by the retirement age of 65, not a fixed number of years, so two different CJIs can serve wildly different lengths of time.

Key institutional developments worth locking in from this period:

• The Election Commission of India conducted general elections to several state assemblies through 2025-2026, alongside continuing preparations tied to the "One Nation, One Election" debate, which remains under Parliamentary and Law Commission examination rather than implemented.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor and the Finance Secretary are posts SSC likes to test alongside monetary policy questions. Track the current Governor and the current repo rate together, since one question often tests both in the same sitting.
• The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), a post created in 2019 and currently the senior-most tri-services coordinating role, has seen leadership transitions; always verify the incumbent close to your exam.
• Several Governors and Lieutenant Governors across states and Union Territories rotated during 2025, a favourite low-hanging-fruit question because state-wise Governor lists are easy to build and easy to test.

Memory hook: "CJI-CEC-CAG-CDS" — the four fixed-tenure-by-age-not-by-years posts. Say it as one string ("see-jay-eye, see-ee-see, kag, see-dee-ess") to remind yourself these four rotate on retirement age or fixed short terms, not on a neat 5-year cycle like the President.

Padma Awards and National Honours

The Padma Awards (Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri) are announced every year on the eve of Republic Day, January 25-26. This is one of the most predictable current-affairs windows in the calendar — expect SSC to ask about a notable Padma Shri or Padma Vibhushan recipient from the most recent announcement relevant to your exam cycle. The awards recognise achievement across art, social work, public affairs, science, sports, and trade, and are given without regard to profession, position, or gender.

Exam trap: The three Padma awards are ranked Vibhushan > Bhushan > Shri, but questions often ask you to identify the "highest" among a mixed list including a Bharat Ratna. Remember the actual top of the entire civilian honour system is the Bharat Ratna, awarded far more rarely than any Padma category, followed by Vibhushan, then Bhushan, then Shri.

Bharat Ratna conferrals are rare — often zero or one or two names in a given year — which makes any recent recipient an easy, high-value fact to remember by name.

2. Major International Events

Summits and Multilateral Diplomacy

India's diplomatic calendar through 2025-2026 continued to revolve around a handful of recurring platforms you should know cold: the G20, the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation), the BRICS grouping, the G7 outreach sessions, and SAARC (largely dormant but still occasionally tested). India held the G20 presidency in 2023, handing over to Brazil in 2024 and then South Africa taking the chair for 2025, with the United States hosting in 2026. This sequence — India, Brazil, South Africa, USA — is a clean, testable chain.

Memory hook: "I Bring South Africa's Umbrella" — India, Brazil, South Africa, USA — for the G20 presidency handover sequence starting from India's 2023 term.

BRICS expanded its membership in 2024 to include new partner countries from West Asia and Africa, making "which countries are BRICS members" a moving target you must verify close to exam time rather than assume from an older list. The bloc's expanded composition is now a frequent GA question precisely because it changed recently.

Conflicts, Treaties, and Global Shifts

Ongoing global tensions through this period, including conflict zones in Eastern Europe and West Asia, occasionally surface in SSC GA not as opinion questions but as fact questions: which countries are involved, which international body issued a statement, which ceasefire or summit was brokered where. SSC does not test your opinion on these events; it tests names, dates, and venues. Keep a mental note of any India-relevant diplomatic response — evacuation operations, humanitarian aid missions, or bilateral statements — since these are the angle SSC actually uses.

Exam trap: Do not confuse the United Nations Security Council's permanent members (USA, UK, France, Russia, China — five, unchanged since 1945) with the rotating non-permanent members (ten seats, two-year terms). India has served multiple terms as a non-permanent member but has never held a permanent seat, a fact frequently tested alongside India's ongoing push for UNSC reform.

Olympic and Global Sporting Diplomacy

Beyond sport itself, host-city announcements carry current-affairs weight. The 2028 Summer Olympics are set for Los Angeles, USA, and the 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled for Milan-Cortina, Italy — the first Winter Games hosted by Italy since Turin 2006. India continues to bid for future Olympic hosting rights, with Ahmedabad's interest in the 2036 Olympics frequently appearing in current-affairs discussion, though no host has been formally confirmed for that edition as of this writing.

3. Government Schemes Launched or Expanded

Government schemes are SSC's favourite current-affairs category because each scheme has a clean, memorisable trio: name, launch year, and core objective. Treat every scheme like a three-legged stool — if you know only the name, you have one leg and you will fall over on the question.

Major schemes and initiatives active or expanded through 2025-2026:

• PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana — launched February 2024, aims to provide rooftop solar power to one crore households with free electricity up to 300 units a month. This scheme saw continued rollout and subsidy disbursement through 2025.
• Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY — the world's largest government-funded health assurance scheme, extended in 2024 to cover all citizens aged 70 and above regardless of income, a notable expansion of its original poorer-household focus.
• PM Vishwakarma Yojana — launched September 2023 for traditional artisans and craftspeople across 18 trades, offering skill training, toolkits, and collateral-free credit; implementation continued through 2025.
• Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) — India's global environmental behaviour-change initiative launched at COP26 and formally rolled out from 2023, continues as a flagship sustainability message at international forums including G20 and COP summits.
• National Green Hydrogen Mission — approved January 2023, targeting 5 million tonnes annual green hydrogen production capacity by 2030, with continued policy incentives and pilot projects through 2025.
• PM Gati Shakti — the National Master Plan for multi-modal infrastructure connectivity, launched October 2021, continued integrating more ministries and states into its digital planning platform.
• Skill India Digital and PM Internship Scheme — the PM Internship Scheme, announced in the 2024-25 Budget, aims to offer internships to youth in top companies with a monthly assistance component, and began phased rollout through 2025.

Memory hook: "Surya gives light, Vishwakarma gives tools, Ayushman gives health, Gati Shakti gives roads." Four schemes, four verbs, four sectors — solar, artisan credit, health cover, infrastructure.

Exam trap: Do not mix up PM-KISAN (direct income support of ₹6,000 per year to farmer families, launched 2019) with PM Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme, launched 2016). One is a cash transfer; the other is insurance against crop loss. SSC loves testing this exact pair because the names both start with "PM" and both target farmers.

Union Budget Highlights

Each Union Budget, presented on February 1, generates a fresh batch of current-affairs questions on fiscal numbers: the fiscal deficit target, the income tax slab changes, and any newly announced flagship scheme. India's Finance Minister presents the Budget in Parliament, and the numbers change every year, so this book will not lock in a specific year's figures — treat the most recent Budget before your exam as compulsory reading. What stays stable and testable is the process: the Budget is preceded by the Economic Survey, tabled a day or two earlier, authored under the Chief Economic Adviser, and it gives you the government's own diagnosis of the economy before the Budget delivers the prescription.

4. Sports and Awards Highlights

Major Tournaments

Cricket, hockey, and badminton dominate SSC's sports current affairs. The ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, and Asia Cup cycles continued through 2024-2026, with India's men's and women's teams both featuring prominently in results worth tracking — host nations, winning captains, and Player-of-the-Tournament honours are the exact granularity SSC tests. The Olympic Games (Paris 2024 already concluded, with India's contingent delivering its medal tally worth remembering by sport) and upcoming editions remain a recurring theme.

Exam trap: Students confuse the Khel Ratna award (India's highest sporting honour, renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021 after hockey legend Dhyan Chand) with the Arjuna Award (for consistent excellence over four years, a tier below Khel Ratna). Remember the order: Khel Ratna sits at the top, Arjuna Award below it, followed by the Dronacharya Award for coaches and the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime contribution.

National Sports Awards

These are announced annually around National Sports Day, August 29 (Dhyan Chand's birthday) and presented by the President. Track the most recent Khel Ratna recipients by sport — SSC frequently asks "which sport does the latest Khel Ratna awardee represent" rather than just the name, so pair the name with the sport in your memory.

5. Science and Space Developments

India's space programme delivered a string of testable milestones through this period, and ISRO remains one of SSC's most reliable current-affairs sources because every mission has a clean name, date, and objective.

• Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft-landed near the lunar south pole on August 23, 2023, making India the fourth country to achieve a soft lunar landing and the first to land near the south pole. This date is now commemorated as National Space Day.
• Aditya-L1, India's first dedicated solar observation mission, was inserted into its halo orbit around the Lagrange Point 1 (L1) in January 2024, positioned to study the Sun continuously without eclipse interruption.
• Gaganyaan, India's first crewed spaceflight programme, continued its uncrewed test flights and astronaut training through 2025, with the crewed mission targeted for a later launch window; SSC tests the mission's goal and the fact that it will use the indigenous Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HLVM3).
• India signed the Artemis Accords in 2023, aligning itself with a US-led framework for peaceful lunar exploration cooperation, a diplomatic-scientific crossover fact SSC likes because it bridges two GA categories at once.
• The Bharatiya Antariksh Station (India's own space station) remains a stated ISRO goal targeted for the 2030s, with early module development continuing through this period.

Memory hook: "Chandrayaan looked down at the Moon, Aditya looked up at the Sun, Gaganyaan will look back at Earth." Three missions, three directions, three easy triggers for what each one actually does.

Exam trap: Do not confuse Chandrayaan-3's landing site (near the lunar south pole) with earlier missions. Chandrayaan-2's lander, Vikram, failed its 2019 landing attempt; Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander succeeded in 2023. SSC sometimes tests this year-and-outcome pairing directly.

Other science highlights: India continued expanding its semiconductor manufacturing ambitions under the India Semiconductor Mission, with new fabrication plant approvals through 2025, and the Deep Ocean Mission (Samudrayaan), aimed at crewed deep-sea exploration and mineral survey, progressed its indigenous submersible Matsya 6000 testing.

6. Economic Policy Updates

India retained its position as the fastest-growing major economy through 2024-2025 by most multilateral estimates, with GDP growth rate figures released quarterly by the National Statistical Office (NSO) — always check the latest quarter's figure rather than relying on an older number, since SSC tests the most recent released data.

Key monetary and fiscal themes to track:

• The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets bi-monthly to set the repo rate, the rate at which RBI lends short-term funds to commercial banks. A change in this rate is one of the most commonly tested "recent" economic facts because it happens on a predictable schedule.
• Retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and wholesale inflation, measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), are both released monthly. SSC likes to test which index is "used by RBI for inflation targeting" — the answer is CPI, not WPI, a frequently confused pair.
• India's foreign exchange reserves crossed and fluctuated around record levels through 2024-2025, a figure worth checking close to your exam since it moves with global currency conditions.
• The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) continued setting monthly transaction volume records through 2025, reinforcing India's position as a global leader in real-time digital payments, and UPI's international expansion continued into more countries during this period.
• Direct Tax and GST collections posted record monthly and annual figures through 2024-2025, with Goods and Services Tax (GST), now in its ninth year since the July 1, 2017 rollout, undergoing rate rationalisation discussions at the GST Council.

Exam trap: CPI measures inflation from the consumer's end (retail prices paid by households); WPI measures it from the producer/wholesaler's end. RBI's inflation target under the flexible inflation targeting framework is anchored to CPI, set at 4% with a tolerance band of plus or minus 2%.

7. Index and Report Rankings

Global indices are a compact, high-yield current-affairs category because each one gives you a single number: India's rank, out of how many countries, and which organisation published it. Learn the trend direction (improving, stable, declining) rather than memorising an exact rank that will shift by the time you read this.

Index/Report	Publishing Body	India's Recent Trend
Global Innovation Index	WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)	Steadily improving over the past several years
Ease of Doing Business	Formerly World Bank (discontinued as a ranking since 2021)	Replaced by the Business Ready (B-READY) framework
Human Development Index (HDI)	UNDP	India in the "medium" to "high" human development band, gradually improving
Global Hunger Index	Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe	India's government disputes the methodology; rank often cited as concerning
World Press Freedom Index	Reporters Without Borders (RSF)	India's rank remains a debated, closely watched figure
Global Peace Index	Institute for Economics and Peace	South Asia region generally ranks lower on this index
Global Gender Gap Report	World Economic Forum (WEF)	India shows gradual improvement, particularly in political empowerment sub-index
Corruption Perceptions Index	Transparency International	Released annually; India's score is tracked year on year
Global Competitiveness considerations	World Economic Forum	Subsumed into other WEF competitiveness-linked reports
Environmental Performance Index	Yale and Columbia Universities	India's rank frequently among the lower-ranked large economies

Exam trap: The World Bank discontinued its Ease of Doing Business rankings in 2021 after data irregularities were found. SSC has occasionally tested this discontinuation itself as a fact — do not assume the ranking still exists in its old form.

Memory hook: "WIPO Innovates, UNDP Develops, WEF Competes, Transparency Perceives." Four organisations, four verbs, matched to four flagship indices — Global Innovation Index, Human Development Index, Global Gender Gap Report, Corruption Perceptions Index.

India's own domestic index efforts also matter: NITI Aayog releases the SDG India Index, tracking states and Union Territories against the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), both useful for GA questions that test intra-India rather than global comparisons.

8. How to Keep This Chapter Alive

A printed chapter cannot chase a moving news cycle, so build a simple habit instead of trying to memorise everything at once. Read one reliable monthly current-affairs digest, keep a one-page running list of new appointments and scheme launches as you encounter them, and revisit that page every weekend. Cross out anything that gets superseded — a new CJI, a new scheme extension, a new index ranking — rather than keeping stale notes. This chapter gives you the skeleton; your weekly habit puts flesh on it right up to exam day.

Quick Revision — One-Line Facts

• India held the G20 presidency in 2023; the 2026 G20 is hosted by the United States.
• Chandrayaan-3 landed near the lunar south pole on August 23, 2023, now marked as National Space Day.
• Aditya-L1 studies the Sun from the L1 Lagrange Point, reached in January 2024.
• PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana targets rooftop solar for one crore households, launched February 2024.
• Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY was extended to cover all citizens aged 70 and above regardless of income.
• PM Vishwakarma Yojana, launched September 2023, supports artisans across 18 traditional trades.
• The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee sets the repo rate at bi-monthly meetings.
• RBI's inflation targeting anchors to CPI, not WPI, with a 4% target and 2% tolerance band.
• GST completed its rollout anniversary from July 1, 2017, and remains under periodic rate rationalisation review.
• The World Bank discontinued Ease of Doing Business rankings in 2021.
• Global Innovation Index is published by WIPO; India's rank has been improving steadily.
• Human Development Index is published by the UNDP.
• The Khel Ratna award was renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021.
• National Sports Day falls on August 29, Dhyan Chand's birthday.
• Padma Awards are announced annually around Republic Day, January 25-26.
• Bharat Ratna ranks above all three Padma categories in India's civilian honours system.
• The UN Security Council has 5 permanent members and 10 rotating non-permanent members with two-year terms.
• India has never held a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
• BRICS expanded its membership from 2024 onward to include new partner nations.
• The 2026 Winter Olympics are hosted by Milan-Cortina, Italy.
• The 2028 Summer Olympics are hosted by Los Angeles, USA.
• India's Gaganyaan crewed mission will use the indigenous HLVM3 launch vehicle.
• India signed the Artemis Accords in 2023 for lunar exploration cooperation.
• The Economic Survey is tabled in Parliament a day or two before the Union Budget, presented on February 1.
• PM-KISAN gives ₹6,000 annual direct income support; do not confuse it with crop insurance schemes.
• UPI continues to post record monthly transaction volumes and is expanding internationally.
• The Deep Ocean Mission's submersible for crewed deep-sea exploration is named Matsya 6000.
• NITI Aayog publishes the SDG India Index tracking states against UN sustainability goals.
• The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) post was created in 2019 as the senior tri-services coordinating role.
• Mission LiFE promotes individual behaviour change for environmental sustainability, rolled out from 2023.
• Always verify the current CJI, CEC, RBI Governor, and CAG close to your exam date, since these rotate.

Memory Tables

Table 1: Flagship Schemes at a Glance

Scheme	Launch Year	Core Focus
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana	2024	Rooftop solar, free electricity up to 300 units/month
PM Vishwakarma Yojana	2023	Artisan skilling, toolkits, credit across 18 trades
Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY	2018 (expanded 2024 for 70+)	Health insurance cover
National Green Hydrogen Mission	2023	Green hydrogen production capacity
PM Gati Shakti	2021	Multi-modal infrastructure planning
PM Internship Scheme	2024	Youth internships with top companies
PM-KISAN	2019	Direct income support to farmer families

Table 2: Space Missions and Their Purpose

Mission	Key Date	Purpose
Chandrayaan-3	Landed August 23, 2023	Soft landing near lunar south pole
Aditya-L1	Reached L1 orbit January 2024	Continuous solar observation
Gaganyaan	Ongoing test phase	India's first crewed spaceflight
Deep Ocean Mission (Samudrayaan)	Ongoing	Crewed deep-sea exploration via Matsya 6000

Table 3: Global Indices Quick Match

Index	Publisher
Global Innovation Index	WIPO
Human Development Index	UNDP
Global Gender Gap Report	World Economic Forum
Corruption Perceptions Index	Transparency International
Global Hunger Index	Concern Worldwide / Welthungerhilfe
World Press Freedom Index	Reporters Without Borders
Environmental Performance Index	Yale and Columbia Universities

Practice MCQs

Q1. Chandrayaan-3 achieved a historic soft landing near which region of the Moon? (a) North Pole (b) Equator (c) South Pole (d) Far side, near-equatorial

Q2. Which day is observed as National Space Day, commemorating Chandrayaan-3's landing? (a) July 23 (b) August 23 (c) September 23 (d) October 23

Q3. Aditya-L1, India's solar observation mission, orbits around which point in space? (a) Geostationary orbit (b) Lagrange Point 1 (L1) (c) Lagrange Point 4 (L4) (d) Lunar orbit

Q4. Which organisation publishes the Global Innovation Index? (a) World Bank (b) IMF (c) WIPO (d) WEF

Q5. PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana primarily promotes which of the following? (a) Wind energy for industries (b) Rooftop solar power for households (c) Electric vehicle subsidies (d) Coal-based power expansion

Q6. The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee primarily targets inflation using which index? (a) WPI (b) CPI (c) GDP deflator (d) Sensex

Q7. Which of the following pairs is correctly matched (scheme and its focus)? (a) PM-KISAN — Crop insurance (b) PM Vishwakarma Yojana — Artisan support (c) Ayushman Bharat — Rural roads (d) PM Gati Shakti — Farmer income support

Q8. India held the G20 presidency in which year, immediately before Brazil? (a) 2021 (b) 2022 (c) 2023 (d) 2024

Q9. Which country is hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics? (a) France (b) Italy (c) Japan (d) Canada

Q10. The Ease of Doing Business rankings, formerly published by the World Bank, were discontinued in which year? (a) 2019 (b) 2020 (c) 2021 (d) 2022

Q11. Which of the following is India's highest sporting honour, renamed in 2021 after a hockey legend? (a) Arjuna Award (b) Dronacharya Award (c) Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna (d) Padma Shri

Q12. Which body released the Economic Survey ahead of the Union Budget presentation? (a) RBI (b) NITI Aayog (c) Ministry of Finance, under the Chief Economic Adviser (d) SEBI

Q13. The UN Security Council's non-permanent members serve terms of how many years? (a) One (b) Two (c) Three (d) Five

Q14. Gaganyaan, India's crewed spaceflight programme, will use which indigenous launch vehicle? (a) PSLV (b) GSLV Mk II (c) HLVM3 (d) SSLV

Q15. Which government scheme was expanded in 2024 to cover all citizens aged 70 and above regardless of income? (a) PM-KISAN (b) Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY (c) PM Vishwakarma Yojana (d) National Health Mission

Answer Key

Q	Answer	Reason
1	c	Chandrayaan-3 made India the first country to land near the lunar south pole.
2	b	August 23, 2023 marks the landing date, now observed as National Space Day.
3	b	Aditya-L1 sits in a halo orbit around L1, allowing uninterrupted solar observation.
4	c	WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization, publishes the Global Innovation Index annually.
5	b	The scheme funds rooftop solar installation for households, offering free electricity up to 300 units monthly.
6	b	RBI's flexible inflation targeting framework is anchored to CPI, not WPI.
7	b	PM Vishwakarma Yojana supports traditional artisans; PM-KISAN is income support, not insurance.
8	c	India held the G20 presidency in 2023, handing over to Brazil for 2024.
9	b	Milan-Cortina, Italy hosts the 2026 Winter Olympics.
10	c	The World Bank discontinued the ranking in 2021 after data irregularity findings.
11	c	The Khel Ratna was renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021.
12	c	The Economic Survey is prepared under the Chief Economic Adviser and tabled just before the Budget.
13	b	Non-permanent UNSC members serve two-year terms; only five members hold permanent seats.
14	c	HLVM3 (Human Rated Launch Vehicle) is being developed for Gaganyaan's crewed missions.
15	b	Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY's 2024 expansion covers all citizens 70 and above irrespective of income.