Current affairs
News for UPSC, SSC and defence exams, with the reason it matters.
Five Centres of Excellence approved for Classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit
- On 3 October 2026, the Education Ministry approved five Centres of Excellence for Classical Language studies.
- They cover Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit.
- Hosts: Tezpur University, Visva-Bharati, Deccan College Pune, Central University of Odisha and Central University of Gujarat.
Why it matters
[Policy] These five languages got classical status on 3 October 2024. That took India's total to 11 classical languages. The new centres give each of them a dedicated research home. Earlier centres for Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia run under the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru. (PIB, 2024)
Asked before: UPSC Prelims 2015 asked which language was given classical language status most recently.
Playback singer S. Janaki, ‘Nightingale of South India’, dies at 88
- Playback singer S. Janaki died in Mysuru on 11 July 2026, aged 88.
- She recorded about 48,000 songs in 17 languages over six decades.
- She won four National Film Awards and 33 State Film Awards.
Why it matters
[Culture] Janaki sang mostly in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam films. She was widely called the Nightingale of South India. Her career is a common source of Art and Culture questions.
Pandavani legend Teejan Bai dies at 70 in Raipur
- Pandavani singer Teejan Bai died on 5 July 2026 at AIIMS Raipur, aged 70.
- Pandavani is a folk art of Chhattisgarh that sings and acts out stories of the Mahabharata.
- She chose the standing 'Kapalik' style, which women rarely performed then.
Why it matters
[Culture] Pandavani is told by one lead singer with a tambura, backed by a small group. There are two styles: Vedamati, sung seated, and Kapalik, performed standing. Teejan Bai took this art to stages across the world.