UPSC current affairs, 13 September 2026

• Xi Jinping proposed four points for stable India-China relations, including rational strategic understanding and mutual benefit.
• Xi described BRICS as the "most influential cooperation platform for emerging markets and developing countries".

India-China relations: the meeting shows a dual-track approach of normalising wider ties while seeking a mutually acceptable boundary settlement, with border peace as the precondition India stresses.

• The UAE's International Holding Company announced an $11.5 billion investment in an integrated greenfield aluminium project in Odisha.
• Malaysia agreed to the establishment of a Consulate General of India in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
• India and Vietnam have an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and Vietnam is central to India's Act East Policy.

Summit diplomacy: India used its BRICS chairship for bilateral gains, from Gulf investment and IMEC with the UAE to Act East links with Vietnam and Malaysia.

• The New Delhi Declaration supported Palestinian statehood within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
• The declaration opposed attacks on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which have escalated since October 2023.
• The declaration urged Israel to respect agreements on Lebanon and withdraw its forces.

India as a bridge in West Asia: facilitating consensus between Iran and the UAE inside BRICS shows India's ability to engage rival Gulf actors at once.

• The theme of India's 2026 BRICS presidency is "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability".
• India-Brazil cooperation areas named include pharmaceuticals, agriculture, critical minerals, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

India-Brazil ties and BRICS institutions: the interview gives an example of the New Development Bank being presented as a faster, more agile alternative to the Bretton Woods institutions.

2014 · GS2 · 12.5 marks India has recently signed to become a founding member of New Development Bank (NDB) and also the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). How will the role of the two Banks be different? Discuss the strategic…

How to use it: Brazil's Foreign Minister presents the New Development Bank as a faster, more agile alternative to the Bretton Woods institutions, useful for discussing the NDB's distinct role.

• BRICS backed the WTO accession of Ethiopia and Iran.
• The declaration welcomed the Jaipur Consensus to study an Invoice Discounting Mechanism for BRICS members.
• The inaugural BRICS SME Forum was held in Agra.

Protectionism and the multilateral trading system: BRICS frames unilateral tariffs and sanctions as WTO-inconsistent and pairs this with MSME finance as a development priority.

2025 · GS3 · 10 marks What are the challenges before the Indian economy when the world is moving away from free trade and multilateralism to protectionism and bilateralism? How can these challenges be met?

How to use it: BRICS voiced serious concern that unilateral trade measures are inconsistent with WTO rules and sought WTO reform, an example of answering protectionism through multilateral coalitions.

• The proposed BRICS Continuity and Implementation Mechanism would use the BRICS Troika and a secure digital repository to keep momentum despite annual presidency changes.
• Modi also proposed a Seafarers' Emergency Support Network for distress alerts, medical aid and evacuation of maritime workers.

Reform of global governance: India's push for a BRICS Reform Roadmap gives a concrete example of the Global South seeking a voice in rule-making rather than only representation.

2026 · GS2 · 10 marks "BRICS acts as a powerful counterweight in global governance, actively amplifying the voice and influence of the Global South." Explain the role of BRICS in projecting itself as an alternative to other groupings.

How to use it: Modi's call for 10 BRICS governance reform proposals and a shift from rule-takers to rule-shapers illustrates BRICS amplifying the Global South's voice in global governance.

• The ASER 2024 survey found 82.2% of Indian children aged 14 to 16 know how to operate a smartphone.
• Under New York's policy, middle school students face a recommended 45-minute daily screen time cap, and one-to-one devices are removed for pre-K to Grade 2.

Technology in education: the article offers a model of age-tiered rules on AI and screens in schools for an Indian policy on children's digital use.

• Unions demand an option for employees under the National Pension System (NPS) to switch to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
• The PLI scheme was suspended after a Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh-led delegation met the Finance Minister.
• The UFBU has threatened a strike from September 28 to 30 and an indefinite strike from October 26.

Public sector bank HR reform: the dispute shows the tension between performance-linked pay for senior officers and unions' demand for uniform incentives, working hours and pension choices.

• The Manipur Legislative Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution in August 2022 seeking a State Population Commission and an NRC.
• Census operations were earlier withheld in Assam in 1981 and in Jammu and Kashmir in 1991.
• The national Census due in 2021 was postponed to 2026-27 because of COVID-19.

Ethnic conflict and governance in the Northeast: demands for an NRC with a 1951 base year show how identity politics in Manipur can stall routine administrative exercises like the Census.

• The declaration cited UN Security Council Resolution 2803 in its critique of the Israel-Gaza conflict.
• It referred to South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
• It acknowledged China's zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries.

Consensus-building in an expanded BRICS: the text avoided divisive issues such as Ukraine while keeping common positions on sanctions, terrorism and UN Security Council reform.

• The Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025 killed 26 people.
• India later launched Operation Sindoor, with precision strikes on terror infrastructure.

Counter-terrorism diplomacy: securing China's signature on a text naming Pahalgam and rejecting double standards is an example of India building multilateral consensus on cross-border terrorism.

• India is the world's second-largest supplier of seafarers, with 12.16% of the global maritime workforce (311,936 professionals).
• India's share of the global seafaring workforce rose from 5.2% in 2015 to 12.16% in 2026.
• India is chairing BRICS for the fourth time in 2026.

Maritime security and diaspora welfare: the proposal links freedom of navigation to the safety of India's large seafaring workforce caught in conflicts at sea.

• The 16th BRICS Agriculture Ministers' Meeting was held in Indore on June 12 and 13, 2026.
• The BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture will cover agroforestry, fisheries and aquaculture.

Climate-resilient agriculture: the initiatives give examples of South-South cooperation on seed rights, agroecology and digital farming.

• The declaration endorsed the BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle and a Roadmap for the Joint Initiative on Healthy Lifestyle Promotion (2026-29).
• A BRICS Expert Working Group on TCIM was proposed to coordinate research on medicinal plants and ensure their quality, safety and efficacy.

Health cooperation: integrating mental health into primary healthcare through a BRICS network gives India a leadership role through NIMHANS.

• The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a European Union measure that BRICS called discriminatory and protectionist.
• The declaration aligned just energy transitions with Sustainable Development Goal 7 and recognised the importance of minerals for low-emission technologies.

Climate justice and trade: BRICS treats CBAM as a trade barrier and defends developing countries' energy security during the transition.

• BRICS-TCA stands for the BRICS Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Cooperation Alliance.
• The BRICS Network University was encouraged to consider traditional knowledge as an International Thematic Group.

Education and skills: BRICS cooperation on ECCE, FLN and vocational training aligned with market demand is an example of South-South cooperation on human capital.

• The BRICS RSSC is a virtual network of existing satellites, including India's Resourcesat-2 and 2A, China's Gaofen-6 and Ziyuan III 02, and Russia's Kanopus-V type.
• RSSC data are used for natural resource management, disaster management, climate monitoring and environmental protection.

Space diplomacy: pooling existing satellites through the RSSC shows low-cost South-South cooperation for disaster and resource management.

• India recorded the largest trade deficit among BRICS members, at $236 billion in 2025.
• The proposals emerged from the 16th BRICS Trade Ministers' Meeting in Jaipur in August.

India's trade strategy within BRICS: a large deficit and China-centred trade flows explain India's interest in diversified value chains and MSME access to finance.

• The Colombo Security Conclave table-top exercise was hosted at the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam.
• IUU fishing refers to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
• The initiative aligns with India's MAHASAGAR vision for regional security and growth.

Regional maritime security: the exercise is an example of India building cooperative responses to non-traditional threats in the Indian Ocean Region.

• Engineered bamboo has been used to build 576 school rooms in Chhattisgarh.
• NECTAR (North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach) has supported bamboo technologies generating 30 million man-days of employment a year.
• The Gadchiroli Agarbatti Project in Maharashtra employs nearly 1,100 people, 90% of them women.

Green livelihoods: deregulating bamboo and backing it through the National Bamboo Mission shows how regulatory reform can create rural and women's employment.