Kerala PSC Current Affairs — 28 April 2026

Daily current affairs for Kerala PSC aspirants. Today’s edition: a major social-justice mobilisation in Kerala, India’s defence diplomacy at SCO Bishkek, two ongoing PM tours, and a wage-hike for central government employees.

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Kerala News

1. Statewide Hartal — Nithin Raj Case

• Statewide hartal observed across Kerala from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM on 28 April 2026
• Called by the Justice for Nithin Raj Action Council representing 52 Dalit-Adivasi organisations
• Trigger: death of Nithin Raj, first-year BDS student at Anjarakkandy Dental College, Kannur, who died on 10 April 2026 after falling from the fifth floor of the college building
• Family alleges sustained caste- and colour-based harassment by faculty
• Council demands:
  • Arrest of all named college officials
  • Implementation of the Rohit Vemula Act (long-pending demand for legal protection of SC/ST students in higher education)
  • ₹10 crore compensation to the family
  • Cancellation of the college’s affiliation
  • Judicial probe
• Essential services (hospitals, milk, newspapers) exempted; private vehicles blocked across the state during hartal hours
• PSC relevance: Article 17 (abolition of untouchability), SC/ST Atrocities Act 1989, Higher Education Commission, Kerala social justice movements, Rohit Vemula case (HCU 2016)

2. Kerala Election — Counting in 6 Days

• Kerala Assembly election counting on 4 May 2026 at 140 ECI counting centres statewide.
• Polling completed 9 April 2026; LDF (CPI(M)-led) seeks third consecutive term.
• ECI strongroom protocols active; CAPF paramilitary deployed at counting halls.
• PSC relevance: Article 324, RPA 1951, ECI strongroom procedures

3. Kerala Weather — Pre-Monsoon Active

• IMD forecasts isolated thunderstorms in north Kerala districts on 28-29 April
• Pre-monsoon transition continues; SW monsoon normal onset over Kerala: 1 June
• PSC relevance: monsoon classification, IMD warning hierarchy

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National News

4. SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting — Bishkek

• Rajnath Singh leads the Indian delegation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on 28 April 2026
• Theme: “25 Years of the SCO — Place for Peace and Prosperity” (founded 15 June 2001 in Shanghai)
• Kyrgyzstan holds SCO chairmanship in 2026 (4th rotation)
• Agenda: counter-terrorism, regional security, defence cooperation, intelligence sharing
• India’s stand: zero tolerance against terrorism and extremism; expected bilateral sidelines with member counterparts
• SCO members: China, Russia, India (joined 2017), Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran (2023), Belarus (2024)
• Singh arrived in Bishkek on 27 April
• PSC relevance: Multilateral defence groupings, India’s Eurasia outreach, RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure)

5. PM Modi — Sikkim Day 2 Inaugurations

• Day 2 of PM Modi’s Sikkim visit (continuing from 27 April)
• Major inaugurations on 28 April:
  • Sikkim University permanent campus at Yangang
  • Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose University of Excellence Administrative Block at Chakung
  • Helen Lepcha Medical College at Socheygang, Gangtok
  • Dentam Professional College at Dentam, Gyalshing
  • Sikkim IFFCO Processing Plant — agro-processing
  • Foundation stones for two double-lane steel arch bridges over River Teesta at Sirwani and Lower Samdong
  • IT-enabled educational infrastructure across 160 schools
• Total project value during visit: over ₹4,000 crore
• Marks closing of Sikkim’s 50th year of statehood (Sikkim became 22nd state on 16 May 1975)
• PSC relevance: Northeast development, Sikkim accession, River Teesta geography, IFFCO

6. PM Modi — Uttar Pradesh Visit (28-29 April)

• Following Sikkim, PM Modi travels to Uttar Pradesh for a 2-day visit (28-29 April)
• Expected: project inaugurations + electoral outreach
• PSC relevance: PM’s official engagements

7. Cabinet — 2% DA Hike, Reaches 60%

• Union Cabinet approved a 2% Dearness Allowance (DA) increase effective January 2026
• DA for central government employees and pensioners reaches 60%
• CPI-IW (Industrial Workers) index basis used for calculation
• Beneficiaries: ~50 lakh central employees + ~65 lakh pensioners
• PSC relevance: 7th Pay Commission, DA formula, CPI-IW, Article 309 (services rules)

8. Supreme Court — NEET-PG 2025-26 Hearing

• Supreme Court scheduled to hear a batch of pleas challenging the reduction in NEET-PG 2025-26 cut-off percentile
• Bench: Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe
• Issue: whether the sharp reduction in qualifying percentile compromises postgraduate medical education standards
• PSC relevance: judicial review, medical education regulation, NMC (National Medical Commission)

9. RBI — Cybersecurity Measures Live

• Dynamic Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) mandate for ALL digital payments — at least one factor must be unique per transaction (counters credential-harvesting attacks)
• Domain migration: All banks moved to exclusive .bank.in domain; NBFCs to .fin.in — eliminates phishing impersonation
• New entity: Indian Digital Payment Intelligence Corporation (IDPIC) — a Section-8 (non-profit) company for AI/ML-driven real-time fraud detection across India’s digital payments ecosystem
• PSC relevance: RBI’s cyber-resilience mandate, payment system supervision, IT Act 2000

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International News

10. SCO at 25 — Bishkek Theme

• Shanghai Cooperation Organisation marks 25 years in 2026
• Founded 15 June 2001 in Shanghai as successor to Shanghai Five (1996)
• Original 6 members: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
• Now 10 full members; observers include Mongolia, Afghanistan
• Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is the SCO’s main institutional output
• 2026 chairmanship: Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek hosts)
• PSC relevance: Eurasian security architecture, multilateral defence, India’s SCO membership (2017)

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10 MCQs

Q1. Kerala’s statewide hartal on 28 April 2026 was called by an action council representing how many Dalit-Adivasi organisations?

Options: A. 25 B. 40 C. 52 D. 75

Answer: C

Explanation: The Justice for Nithin Raj Action Council representing 52 Dalit-Adivasi organisations called the dawn-to-dusk hartal demanding implementation of the Rohit Vemula Act and arrest of all named college officials.

Q2. Nithin Raj, whose death triggered the 28 April Kerala hartal, was a student at:

Options: A. Government Medical College, Kozhikode B. Anjarakkandy Dental College, Kannur C. Pariyaram Medical College D. Government Dental College, Thiruvananthapuram

Answer: B

Explanation: Nithin Raj was a first-year BDS student at Anjarakkandy Dental College, Kannur. He died on 10 April 2026 after falling from the 5th floor of the college building; family alleges caste-based harassment by faculty.

Q3. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting on 28 April 2026 in which capital?

Options: A. Astana, Kazakhstan B. Tashkent, Uzbekistan C. Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan D. Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Answer: C

Explanation: The SCO Defence Ministers’ Meeting was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, which holds the SCO chairmanship in 2026 (its 4th rotation).

Q4. The Union Cabinet’s recent DA hike of 2% takes total Dearness Allowance to what percentage?

Options: A. 50% B. 55% C. 58% D. 60%

Answer: D

Explanation: The 2% increase effective January 2026 raises DA for central government employees and pensioners to 60%, calculated using the CPI-IW (Industrial Workers) index.

Q5. The new RBI domain rule migrated banks to which top-level domain?

Options: A. .india.in B. .bank.in C. .secure.in D. .rbi.in

Answer: B

Explanation: RBI mandated all banks migrate to the exclusive .bank.in domain (and NBFCs to .fin.in) to eliminate phishing through impersonation domains.

Q6. The Indian Digital Payment Intelligence Corporation (IDPIC), recently set up under RBI’s cyber-resilience push, is structured as:

Options: A. Statutory body under RBI Act 1934 B. Public-sector undertaking under Companies Act 2013 C. Section 8 (non-profit) company D. Subsidiary of NPCI

Answer: C

Explanation: IDPIC is a Section 8 (non-profit) company under the Companies Act, established for AI/ML-driven real-time fraud detection across India’s digital payments ecosystem.

Q7. The two double-lane steel arch bridges PM Modi laid foundation stones for in Sikkim are over:

Options: A. River Brahmaputra B. River Teesta C. River Manas D. River Subansiri

Answer: B

Explanation: The two hinged double-lane steel arch bridges at Sirwani and Lower Samdong are over the River Teesta, connecting Namchi and Gangtok districts.

Q8. The Supreme Court bench hearing the NEET-PG 2025-26 cut-off percentile pleas comprises:

Options: A. CJI Surya Kant alone B. Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe C. Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul D. Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B.R. Gavai

Answer: B

Explanation: The bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe is examining whether the sharp reduction in NEET-PG 2025-26 qualifying percentile compromises postgraduate medical education standards.

Q9. The Rohit Vemula Act, demanded by the Kerala hartal protesters, is named after a student of which university?

Options: A. JNU B. University of Hyderabad (HCU) C. IIT Delhi D. Jadavpur University

Answer: B

Explanation: Rohit Vemula was a Dalit PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad (HCU) who died by suicide in January 2016. The proposed “Rohit Vemula Act” seeks legal protection for SC/ST/marginalised students in higher education institutions against caste-based discrimination.

Q10. Sikkim, currently being toured by PM Modi for its 50th statehood-year closing, became India’s 22nd state in which year?

Options: A. 1971 B. 1975 C. 1987 D. 1956

Answer: B

Explanation: Sikkim became India’s 22nd state on 16 May 1975 following the 36th Constitutional Amendment Act, ending its protectorate status. The 50th year of statehood is being commemorated through the Sikkim University inauguration and ₹4,000+ crore project rollout.

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Quick Recap

#	Topic	One-line
1	Kerala hartal	Statewide 6 AM-6 PM; Nithin Raj case; Rohit Vemula Act demand
2	Kerala polls	Counting on 4 May (in 6 days)
3	Weather	Pre-monsoon thunderstorms north Kerala
4	SCO Bishkek	Rajnath Singh leads delegation; counter-terror agenda
5	PM Sikkim Day 2	Sikkim University, Helen Lepcha Med College, Teesta bridges
6	PM UP visit	28-29 April 2-day tour
7	DA hike	2% rise → 60% total for central govt employees
8	SC NEET-PG	Hearing on cut-off percentile reduction
9	RBI cyber	.bank.in / .fin.in / dynamic 2FA / IDPIC live
10	SCO at 25	Founded 15 Jun 2001 Shanghai; Kyrgyzstan chairs 2026

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Sources: Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence, news outlets (Kerala Kaumudi, Manorama, OneIndia, LatestLY), Supreme Court of India, RBI press releases. Cross-checked at time of publication.