UPSC current affairs, 18 September 2026

• The Bill targets the top five largest importers of Russian-origin crude oil or natural gas and also targets Russia's 'shadow fleet' tankers.
• Countries significantly reducing Russian gas imports, or whose imports are less than 15% of Russia's total gas exports, are exempted, and the U.S. President can waive sanctions in the national interest.
• India's import of Russian oil reached an 11-month high in April 2026.

Energy security and strategic autonomy: secondary tariffs linked to Russian energy purchases test India's policy of diversified sourcing.

2026 · GS3 · 15 marks Explain the key challenges for India's energy security. What measures do you suggest for ensuring energy security along with economic growth and sustainability?

How to use it: Shows an external challenge to India's energy security: U.S. tariffs of up to 100% on buyers of Russian oil, met by India's stated policy of diversified sourcing.

• World Patient Safety Day is observed on September 17; WHO's 2026 theme is 'Safe care for non-communicable diseases'.
• The Swiss cheese model of risk management, with multiple defensive layers, was conceptualised by James Reason.

Health system governance: the article places responsibility for patient safety beyond medical professionals, on policymakers, accreditation agencies, patients and support staff.

• The U.S. widened its threat under 'Operation Economic Outcast' across five Iranian sectors.
• Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority listed 77 vessels, including Indian-chartered and Indian-flagged ships, as non-compliant.

Economic security and weaponised interdependence: the author argues that a single coordinating office is needed because sanctions responses cut across several ministries.

• The theme of India's BRICS chairship was 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.
• BRICS accounts for about 40% of world GDP and 49% of the global population.
• UN Security Council Resolution 2803 (November 2025) endorsed a Gaza peace plan and authorised an International Stabilization Force.

India and multilateral groupings: the declaration shows India using BRICS to push Global South priorities and UN reform while engaging Iran, Russia and China.

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: The New Delhi Declaration backed UN reform with more Global South voice, opposed unilateral sanctions and promoted local currency trade and BRICS Pay.

• Article 44, in the non-justiciable Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV), asks the State to endeavour to secure a UCC.
• Personal laws include the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the Anand Marriage Act (2012) and the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had suggested a voluntary application of the UCC in the Constituent Assembly.

Secularism and gender justice: the UCC debate weighs equal civil rights against freedom of religion and cultural protection; the Supreme Court has held that practices violating constitutional morality lack Article 29 protection.

• MDR revenue is shared among payer banks (40%), merchant banks (30%), UPI app providers (20%) and Payment Service Providers (10%).
• The NPCI was established in 2008.

Digital public infrastructure financing: the article says the MDR aims to create a sustainable commercial model for UPI, funding investment in payment infrastructure, cybersecurity and innovation.

• The second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM 2.0) was notified with an outlay of ₹1.27 lakh crore.
• Micron has commenced commercial production in Sanand, with capacity exceeding India's entire laptop memory requirement.
• The global semiconductor industry is projected to grow from $1.3 trillion to $2 trillion by 2030.

Industrial policy and supply chains: ISM 2.0 covers chip design, manufacturing, equipment, materials and testing, with plans to train over one lakh technicians within five years and support 200 chip design start-ups.

• The Supreme Court ruling came in Yash Charitable Trust and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors.
• An ICMR review found that evidence does not support stem cell therapy over behavioural and supportive therapies for ASD.
• States and UTs that have adopted the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 must disseminate the directions to regulators and clinical establishments.

Regulation of medical practice: the advisory shows courts and the Health Ministry acting against unproven therapies marketed to vulnerable families.

• Under the 1963 China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement, Pakistan ceded about 5,180 sq km of the Shaksgam Valley (Trans-Karakoram Tract) to China; India considers the agreement invalid.
• The 1963 agreement itself acknowledged that the boundary settlement was provisional, subject to final resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

India's border security: China-Pakistan coordination on territory claimed by India adds to challenges along both borders.

2024 · GS3 · 15 marks India has a long and troubled border with China and Pakistan fraught with contentious issues. Examine the conflicting issues and security challenges along the border. Also give out the development being undertaken in…

How to use it: Example of a contentious issue: India rejects the Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission and the 1963 cession of about 5,180 sq km of Shaksgam Valley to China.

• Leopardus tilcayo, known locally as Tilcayo, belongs to the tiger cat group and separated from other tiger cats about 1.4 million years ago.
• It weighs about 1.4 kg and is about 18 inches long, with a light brown coat and irregular rosettes.
• The Yungas forest is a mountainous region with frequent cloud cover and high humidity.

Biodiversity: the find shows how genetic tools can reveal undescribed species even among well-studied groups such as cats.

• Project Cheetah was launched on September 17, 2022 at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
• CCB4 arrived in India from Botswana in February 2026.
• Kuno was chosen for its dry deciduous forest and grassland ecosystems.

Species reintroduction: male coalitions bring advantages such as better hunting efficiency, protection against rivals and defence of larger territories, relevant to Project Cheetah's aim of a free-ranging cheetah population.

• The article says overall investment has recovered to 34% of GDP, below the 39% peak of the UPA era.
• Two-wheeler sales growth slowed to under 2% a year after 2014, from 11% earlier, the article says.

Quality of growth: the author argues that public capital expenditure is driving growth while private investment and FDI stay weak, citing Joseph Stiglitz on GDP's limits as a measure of well-being.

2019 · GS3 · 10 marks Do you agree with the view that steady GDP growth and low inflation have left the Indian economy in good shape? Give reasons in support of your arguments.

How to use it: Offers counterpoints to headline growth: household financial savings at 6.2% of GDP, profits up 22% against 1.5% employment growth, and weak real wages.

• In the Bangladesh case cited, one person managed 29 accounts that published 1,500 fabricated stories.
• The article refers to India's IT Rules, 2021 and to threats to privacy rights under Article 21.

Technology regulation: the author argues for hard laws on AI misuse, such as mandatory watermarking of AI-generated content and reporting misuse to CERT-In.

• MPD-2047 acknowledges that 85% of Delhi's population is low and mid-income and 32.3% are migrants who prefer rental housing.
• Current norms cited specify a maximum Floor Area Ratio of 300 and a minimum plot area of 2,000 sq m.

Urbanisation and housing: the author links unsafe rental housing to restrictive planning norms, noting that women often pay more for secure accommodation.

• The report is titled 'A resilient Himalaya: protecting a region at risk and securing future prosperity'.
• The Himalayas cover 18% of India's land but see about 35% of its disasters.
• Himalayan river basins are projected to reach 'Peak Water' around mid-century, after which meltwater flows will decline.

Climate change and the Himalayas: the report links glacier loss to economic risk and calls for cutting black carbon from kilns, cookstoves, transport and crop-residue burning.

2017 · GS3 · 15 marks 'Climate Change' is a global problem. How India will be affected by climate change? How Himalayan and coastal states of India will be affected by climate change?

How to use it: Shows Himalayan exposure: 21.5% of FY24 GDP depends on the Himalayas, glacier melt threatens the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra, and the region sees 35% of disasters.

• All three orangutan species are listed in CITES Appendix I, which allows trade only for non-commercial purposes such as research or conservation.
• India became a party to CITES in 1976, and the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 was amended in 2022 to add a schedule for CITES-listed species.
• The DGCA issued guidelines in July 2023 for the immediate return of animals seized at airports.

Wildlife trafficking: repatriation is hampered by verifying origin, legal complexity and animal health, so domestic enforcement of CITES matters.

• The zero-MDR policy began in January 2020 through amendments to Section 10A of the Payments and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 and Section 269SU of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
• Transactions above Rs 2,000 are 4% of transaction volume but 67% of merchant payment value.
• UPI processed 2,451 crore transactions worth Rs 29.9 lakh crore in August 2026.

Sustainability of digital public infrastructure: the levy shifts part of UPI's cost from government subsidy to high-value merchant transactions.

• India's CPI inflation rose to 4.82% in August 2026, above the 4% target for the third consecutive month, driven by food and transport prices.
• The RBI is mandated to keep CPI inflation within 2% to 6%, with a 4% target.
• All 12 FOMC members, including new Chair Kevin Warsh, voted for the Fed hike.

Monetary policy and global spillovers: rate hikes by the Fed and other central banks and crude oil price risks are pushing the RBI towards a hike, with economists predicting CPI inflation could cross 6.5% before moderating in early 2027.

2024 · GS3 · 10 marks What are the causes of persistent high food inflation in India? Comment on the effectiveness of the monetary policy of the RBI to control this type of inflation.

How to use it: August CPI inflation of 4.82%, driven by food and transport prices, has the RBI's MPC expected to raise the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.5%.

• The Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) is the highest statutory body under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
• The proposal was deliberated by the Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC) and recommended by DTAB.

Drug regulation: monitoring the sale of prescription-only drugs aims at transparency and accountability in the pharmaceutical supply chain.

• India's electronics production grew from ₹1.9 lakh crore in 2014-15 to ₹13.11 lakh crore in 2025-26.
• India targets $500 billion in domestic electronics manufacturing and $150 billion in electronics exports by 2030.

Manufacturing and import substitution: the scheme supports components, sub-assemblies and supply-chain products, with projects projected to create 74,628 direct and 2.5 lakh indirect jobs.

• The platform was developed with support from IISc Bengaluru, IIT Madras and IIT (BHU) Varanasi.
• It is aligned with the Waste to Wealth Mission and the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban.

Urban governance and climate: the GHG calculator helps Urban Local Bodies plan, compare and optimise solid waste management systems by quantifying emissions, supporting a move to low-emission systems.

• Outcomes included a G20 Statement on Advancing Clean Cooking Access, the G20 Water Reuse Initiative and a G20 Critical Minerals Meeting Communiqué.
• India showcased the National Single Window System, PARIVESH and PM Gati Shakti for faster infrastructure approvals.

Energy diplomacy: India frames energy security for developing economies around affordability, resilient critical mineral supply chains and a technology-neutral approach.

2018 · GS3 · 10 marks "Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy is the sine qua non to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)". Comment on the progress made in India in this regard.

How to use it: Shows progress on affordable, clean energy: 552 GW installed capacity with over 50% non-fossil, a Net Zero 2070 target and a G20 push on clean cooking access.

• DMFs were created by the 2015 amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
• Leaseholders contribute 10% of royalty for new leases and 30% for leases granted before January 12, 2015.
• At least 70% of funds go to high-priority sectors such as drinking water, health, education and skill development.

Resource federalism and tribal welfare: DMFs return part of mining revenue to affected districts, with safeguards for Scheduled and Tribal Areas under PESA and FRA.