Pratidin

UPSC Prelims facts, September 2026

Every exam-ready fact from September 2026's current affairs, grouped by subject: names, numbers, provisions, places and bodies.

Polity and governance

Supreme Court: a police-custody confession alone cannot justify NSA detention
  • On 29 September 2026, the Supreme Court (Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu) held that a confessional statement cannot be the sole ground for an NSA detention order.
  • The Court quashed Mulla Afroz's detention over the November 2024 Sambhal violence and imposed ₹10 lakh costs on Uttar Pradesh.
  • The detention order of 13 October 2025 came after the Allahabad High Court had granted him bail in one case.
  • Under the NSA, the maximum period of detention is 12 months; Article 22(4) requires an Advisory Board's opinion for detention beyond three months.
  • A confession to a police officer cannot be proved against an accused under Section 23 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
Supreme Court asks Centre to frame rules to stop social media firms signing up minors
  • On 28 September 2026 the Supreme Court, in Just Rights for Children Alliance v Union of India, asked the Centre to frame statutory rules barring social media firms from enrolling minors.
  • The reasoning: under Section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 a minor cannot contract, and the Majority Act, 1875 fixes majority at 18.
  • Mohori Bibee v Dharmodas Ghose (Privy Council, 1903) held a minor's contract void ab initio.
  • The court warned it could act through Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000, the safe harbour for intermediaries.
  • The DPDP Act, 2023 defines a child as a person below 18 and requires verifiable parental consent to process a child's data.
J&K Assembly passes resolution seeking restoration of statehood as BJP walks out
  • The J&K Assembly passed a resolution by voice vote on 28 September 2026 seeking immediate restoration of statehood; BJP members walked out.
  • The J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 took effect on 31 October 2019 and created two UTs: J&K with a legislature on the Article 239A model, and Ladakh without one.
  • The J&K legislature cannot make laws on public order and police.
  • In In Re: Article 370 (11 December 2023) a five-judge bench upheld the abrogation, directed restoration of statehood at the earliest and elections by 30 September 2024.
  • Only Parliament can restore statehood, by law under Articles 3 and 4; an Assembly resolution is not binding.
Should the right to vote become a fundamental right?
  • Article 326 provides that elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies shall be on the basis of adult suffrage; the 61st Amendment (1988) lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
  • Article 324 vests the superintendence, direction and control of elections, including preparation of electoral rolls, in the Election Commission of India.
  • The Representation of the People Act, 1950 governs electoral rolls, while the Representation of the People Act, 1951 governs the conduct of elections, disqualifications and election disputes.
Tamil Nadu withdraws order that kept its law and order department out of RTI
  • Section 24 of the RTI Act, 2005 excludes intelligence and security organisations; central bodies are listed in the Second Schedule and States may notify their own bodies under Section 24(4).
  • Even exempted bodies must disclose information on allegations of corruption and human rights violations; information on human rights violations is given only with the approval of the Information Commission.
  • The RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019 allowed the Central Government to prescribe the tenure and salaries of the Central and State Information Commissioners.
Justice Nagarathna: family disputes need mediation and adjudication working together
  • The Family Courts Act, 1984 provides for family courts and, under Section 9, requires them to first make efforts to bring about a settlement between the parties.
  • The Mediation Act, 2023 gives mediation a statutory framework and provides for pre-litigation mediation under Section 5.
  • Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 allows a court to refer a dispute to arbitration, conciliation, judicial settlement including a Lok Adalat, or mediation.
AFSPA extended in parts of Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal for six more months
  • AFSPA was enacted in 1958; under Section 3, the Governor of a State, the Administrator of a Union Territory or the Central Government can declare an area 'disturbed'.
  • In Naga People's Movement of Human Rights v. Union of India (1997), the Supreme Court upheld AFSPA but required disturbed-area declarations to be reviewed periodically, before six months expire.
  • The Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy Committee (set up in 2004, report in 2005) recommended repealing AFSPA and moving the necessary powers into the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
Opposition demands the Chief Election Commissioner's exit
  • Under Article 324(5), the Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only in the same manner and on the same grounds as a Supreme Court judge.
  • Other Election Commissioners can be removed only on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
  • The CEC and Other ECs Act, 2023 set up a selection committee of the PM, the Leader of Opposition and a Union Cabinet Minister, replacing the CJI who had been added by the Anoop Baranwal judgment (2023).
Chhattisgarh's anti-conversion law takes effect
  • Article 25 guarantees freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practise and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality and health.
  • In Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1977), the Supreme Court held that the right to propagate does not include a right to convert another person.
  • Odisha (1967) and Madhya Pradesh (1968) passed the earliest State anti-conversion laws.
A Supreme Court judge defends the Collegium and hits back at the Centre
  • The Collegium emerged from the Second Judges Case (1993) and the Third Judges Case (1998).
  • The 99th Amendment (2014) created the National Judicial Appointments Commission, which the Supreme Court struck down in 2015.
  • Articles 124 and 217 govern the appointment of Supreme Court and High Court judges.
Supreme Court: refusing to sing the National Song cannot be punished
  • In Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala (1986), the Supreme Court held that three Jehovah's Witness students who stood respectfully but did not sing the National Anthem could not be expelled.
  • Article 51A(a) makes respecting the National Flag and National Anthem a fundamental duty; the National Song is not named in it.
  • A 2026 amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 extended its penal provision, which already protected the National Anthem, to intentionally preventing the singing of Vande Mataram.
Supreme Court: an accused must be released if not told the grounds of arrest
  • Article 22(1) requires that an arrested person be informed of the grounds of arrest as soon as may be and be allowed to consult a lawyer.
  • Article 22(2) requires production before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest.
  • In Pankaj Bansal (2023) and Prabir Purkayastha (2024), the Supreme Court required grounds of arrest to be given in writing under PMLA and UAPA.
Article 371 A to J, and what a new 371K could do for Ladakh
  • Article 371 contains special provisions for Maharashtra and Gujarat; Articles 371A to 371J cover Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka.
  • Article 371J, added by the 98th Amendment (2012), provides for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.
  • The Sixth Schedule (Articles 244(2) and 275(1)) provides autonomous district councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
India's NGOs at a new funding crossroads
  • The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 regulates foreign funding of NGOs and bars it for political activities.
  • The 2020 amendment banned transfer of foreign funds to other NGOs, cut the administrative expense cap from 50% to 20%, and required a designated account at SBI's New Delhi Main Branch.
  • FCRA registrations must be renewed every five years.
Supreme Court strikes down Maharashtra's methanol rules, calls prohibition no solution
  • The Supreme Court struck down Rules 18A and 18B of the Maharashtra Poisons Rules, 1972 for violating Articles 14 and 19(1)(g).
  • Rule 18A required a colourant (methylene carmine) and a bitterant (denatonium saccharide) to be mixed into methanol sold to buyers other than drug manufacturers.
  • The Court observed that 'forced temperance is not a solution to alcoholism', citing more than 600 deaths in over 10 major hooch tragedies in dry Gujarat since 1960.
  • Article 47, a Directive Principle, asks the State to endeavour to bring about prohibition of intoxicating drinks except for medicinal purposes; it is not enforceable in court.
  • Intoxicating liquor falls in Entry 8 of the State List, which is why prohibition differs from State to State.
Op-ed: Section 9D of mining law curbs States' mineral taxes, undercutting a 2024 verdict
  • The MMDR Amendment Bill, 2026 inserts Section 9D, barring State taxes on mineral rights and mineral bearing lands except under conditions or restrictions prescribed by the Centre.
  • Section 9D(2) invalidates unpaid past State levies but bars refunds of amounts already collected.
  • In Mineral Area Development Authority v. Steel Authority of India (25 July 2024), a nine-judge Bench held that royalty is not a tax and upheld States' power to tax mineral rights and mineral-bearing land.
  • Entry 50 of the State List covers taxes on mineral rights subject to limits imposed by Parliament; Entry 49 covers taxes on lands and buildings.
  • PRS has flagged questions of legislative competence, retrospective invalidation of a judgment, Article 14 and excessive delegation.
Hindi Diwas: how the Constituent Assembly settled India's language question
  • The Constituent Assembly adopted the Munshi-Ayyangar formula on 14 September 1949, the date now observed as Hindi Diwas.
  • Article 343(1): the official language of the Union is Hindi in Devanagari script, and the international form of Indian numerals is used for official purposes.
  • Article 343(2) allowed English for the Union's official purposes for 15 years; the Official Languages Act, 1963 and its 1967 amendment continued it without an end date.
  • Article 344 provides for an Official Language Commission and a 30-member committee of Parliament (20 Lok Sabha, 10 Rajya Sabha); the first Commission was chaired by B.G. Kher (1955).
  • The Eighth Schedule began with 14 languages and now has 22, after the 21st (1967), 71st (1992) and 92nd (2003) Amendments.
Op-ed: After the SIR, use Aadhaar to keep voter rolls clean
  • Article 324 vests superintendence, direction and control of electoral rolls in the Election Commission; Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 allows a special revision.
  • Article 326: every citizen aged 18 or above who is not disqualified by law can vote; the 61st Amendment (1988) lowered the age from 21.
  • The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 lets electoral registration officers seek Aadhaar for identity, but no one can be excluded for inability to furnish it for sufficient cause.
  • Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016: an Aadhaar number is not proof of citizenship or domicile.
  • The Supreme Court upheld the Special Intensive Revision on 27 May 2026 as within the Election Commission's mandate.
Why the NCPCR has summoned Meta over ads linked to child sexual abuse material
  • The NCPCR is a statutory body set up in March 2007 under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005.
  • The NCPCR has a chairperson and six members, of whom at least two must be women, and it monitors implementation of the POCSO Act, 2012 and the RTE Act, 2009.
  • Section 19 of the POCSO Act makes it mandatory for any person, including a company, who knows of a sexual offence against a child to report it.
  • Section 67B of the IT Act, 2000 punishes publishing or transmitting sexually explicit material involving children; Section 79 gives platforms safe harbour only if they follow due diligence.
  • The NCPCR can summon and inquire like a civil court but can only recommend action; it cannot punish.
Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 2026 to replace the 1891 law from 1 October 2026
  • The Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 2026 comes into force on 1 October 2026 and replaces the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891.
  • The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 3 August 2026, passed by both Houses by 10 August and received assent on 13 August 2026.
  • The Act recognises bank records in physical, electronic, digital, virtual and cloud-based forms and allows manual, digital or electronic signatures for certification.
  • Bank officers cannot be compelled to produce books or testify where the bank is not a party, except when a court orders it for special cause recorded in writing.
  • The Centre can extend the Act by notification to any entity or class of entities in the financial sector.
How should registered unrecognised political parties be regulated?
  • Political parties register with the Election Commission under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951; recognition as a national or State party depends on the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
  • In Indian National Congress v. Institute of Social Welfare (2002), the Supreme Court held that the Election Commission has no general power to de-register a registered party.
  • The Law Commission's 255th Report recommended de-registering a party that does not contest elections for ten consecutive years.
  • A registered unrecognised party can name up to 20 star campaigners; a recognised party can name up to 40.
  • An ADR report of July 2025 found 2022-23 annual reports publicly available for only 26% of registered unrecognised parties.
Centre launches DILRMP 3.0 guidelines for a GIS-based land records system, 2026-31
  • DILRMP 3.0 (2026-2031) guidelines were launched on 11 September 2026 by Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
  • The nodal body is the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development; DILRMP is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% central funding.
  • Bhu-Aadhaar, the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN), is a 14-digit ID for each geo-referenced land parcel.
  • 75 Sub-Registrar Offices are to become Registration Seva Kendras at a cost of ₹37.5 crore.
  • NAKSHA (National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations) is DoLR's urban land survey pilot.
Editorial: The push to dilute gram sabha consent for forest diversion
  • The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has told the Ministry of Power that the Forest Rights Act, 2006 has no provision for gram sabha consent for Stage-II forest clearance.
  • Parliament's Committee on Public Undertakings recommended exploring a 70 to 75% consent threshold among affected gram sabhas for large hydropower projects of national importance, in place of 100%.
  • Forest diversion under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 is approved in two stages: Stage-I (in-principle) and Stage-II (final).
  • Section 5 of the FRA empowers gram sabhas to protect wildlife, forest, biodiversity and community forest resources; Section 6 makes the gram sabha the authority that starts the process of recognising forest rights.
  • The Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022 removed the requirement of gram sabha consent before Stage-I approval, drawing objections from the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
Manipur to press the Centre for an NRC update with 1951 as the base year
  • Manipur's Home Minister told the Assembly that the State will pursue with the Centre an NRC update using 1951 as the base year.
  • Section 14A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, inserted by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003, empowers the Centre to compulsorily register citizens and maintain a National Register of Indian Citizens.
  • Citizenship is Entry 17 of the Union List; Articles 5 to 11 of the Constitution deal with citizenship.
  • Assam's NRC used 24 March 1971 as its cut-off; the final list of 31 August 2019 excluded about 19.06 lakh people.
  • The first NRC was prepared in Assam in 1951 on the basis of the 1951 Census.
Punjab asks Centre to hold High Court Chief Justice appointment, citing MoP breach
  • Article 217(1) requires the President to consult the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the State before appointing a High Court judge, and also the High Court's Chief Justice for judges other than the Chief Justice.
  • For a common High Court, Article 231 makes the reference to the Governor in Article 217 mean the Governors of all the States over which the court has jurisdiction.
  • Under the collegium system, a High Court Chief Justice is recommended by the CJI and the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, and the MoP's policy is to appoint Chief Justices from outside the State.
  • Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra, Acting Chief Justice since June 2026, was recommended on 6 August and notified as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 5 September 2026.
  • Article 223 lets the President appoint an Acting Chief Justice when the office of Chief Justice of a High Court is vacant.
Bihar makes prior State consent mandatory for CBI probes into its employees
  • Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 requires the consent of a State government before the CBI can exercise its powers in that State.
  • Bihar's memorandum No. 10770 of 3 September 2026 keeps standing consent for probes into Central employees and private persons but makes prior State consent mandatory for cases involving Bihar government employees and State-controlled or State-aided bodies.
  • Consent can be general (a standing permission for a class of cases) or specific (given for one case at a time).
  • A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held in 2010 that the Supreme Court and High Courts can direct a CBI probe without the State's consent in exceptional cases.
  • The CBI grew out of the Special Police Establishment of 1941, got its statutory base in the DSPE Act, 1946 and its present name through a government resolution in 1963.
Supreme Court asks States to raise district judges' retirement age from 60 to 62
  • The Supreme Court's order of 1 September 2026 directs seven States to raise the retirement age of district judicial officers from 60 to 62, subject to a High Court suitability assessment at 60.
  • The seven States are Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal; the rest got two weeks to reconsider.
  • The Court cited 5.18 crore cases pending in district courts and persistent vacancies.
  • In the All India Judges Association case of 1993 the Court held that judges are not employees, which is why their service terms need not match those of other State staff.
  • High Court judges retire at 62 (Article 217) and Supreme Court judges at 65 (Article 124).
Supreme Court: Bar Councils have no power to discipline law students
  • On 3 September 2026, a Bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana held that the BCI and State Bar Councils cannot discipline law students.
  • The Court held that the Advocates Act, 1961 confers no express or implied power on Bar Councils to take disciplinary action against students; that power lies with the university or institution.
  • A Bar Council's disciplinary control begins only after a law graduate is enrolled as an advocate on a State roll.
  • The BCI's 13 August 2026 communications barring enrolment of NALSAR's 2026 batch were declared to be without any authority of law.
  • Under Section 7 of the Act, the BCI promotes legal education, lays down its standards and recognises universities whose law degree qualifies for enrolment.
Ladakh notifies autonomous hill development councils for all seven districts
  • On 3 September 2026, Ladakh's Lieutenant Governor approved notification of hill development councils for all seven districts under the LAHDC Act, 1997.
  • The five new councils are for Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass; earlier only Leh and Kargil had elected councils.
  • Elections to the councils will follow a separate notification under Section 8 of the Act.
  • Ladakh has been a Union Territory without a legislature since 31 October 2019.
  • The Leh council has 30 members: 26 elected and 4 nominated.
Supreme Court ties Bar Council of India's policy decisions to the AG and SG
  • The Bar Council of India is constituted under Section 4 of the Advocates Act, 1961; the Attorney General and Solicitor General are its ex officio members, and each State Bar Council elects one member.
  • On 2 September 2026, a Bench led by CJI Surya Kant said the AG and SG must be actively associated with every BCI policy decision until the council is reconstituted.
  • BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra continues only pro tem; petitions challenge a five-year tenure against the two-year term in Rule 12(2) of the BCI Rules.
  • The Supreme Court's order of 8 December 2025 requires 30% of State Bar Council seats to be held by women (20% elected, 10% co-opted in this round).
  • The next hearing is on 17 September 2026.
Supreme Court uses Article 142 to quash FIRs against NEET-UG protesters
  • On 1 September 2026, a Bench led by CJI Surya Kant invoked Article 142 to quash FIRs against students who protested over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak between 20 and 25 July 2026.
  • The relief covers every State and Union Territory and bars fresh FIRs over those protests; the Delhi Police may still proceed against 2,873 persons, only for bodily harm or destruction of property.
  • The Centre must frame, within three months, a policy to compensate families of students who died by suicide after the paper leak.
  • The Court said its directions arose from peculiar facts and are not a binding precedent.
  • Article 142 power belongs only to the Supreme Court, and orders under it are enforceable throughout the territory of India.
Why no 'distinguished jurist' has ever been appointed to the Supreme Court
  • Article 124(3) allows three routes to the Supreme Court: five years as a High Court judge, ten years as a High Court advocate, or being a distinguished jurist in the President's opinion.
  • No distinguished jurist has ever been appointed; Justice Ujjal Bhuyan raised this at NLU Delhi's 13th convocation on 30 August 2026.
  • The Constituent Assembly debated the route on 24 May 1949; H.V. Kamath pressed for going beyond judges and practising advocates.
  • The 42nd Amendment (1976) added a distinguished jurist route for High Court judges under Article 217; the 44th Amendment (1978) removed it.
  • Under the Third Judges case (1998), the Supreme Court collegium is the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges.
Op-ed: Is the right to work fading under the new rural jobs law?
  • The right to work is a Directive Principle under Article 41, not a fundamental right; Article 37 makes Directive Principles non-justiciable.
  • The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 replaced MGNREGA on 1 July 2026 and promises 125 days of wage employment a year.
  • Costs are shared 60:40 between the Centre and most States (90:10 for north-eastern and Himalayan States), with normative allocations replacing demand-driven funding.
  • States may pause work for up to 60 days a year in peak sowing and harvesting seasons.
  • On 21 August 2026 the Supreme Court said the right to work is not a fundamental right and asked petitioners to challenge the new Act afresh.

International relations

Why Japan wants the UN Charter's 'enemy state' clauses deleted
  • Articles 53, 77 and 107 of the UN Charter refer to 'enemy states', meaning countries that were enemies of Charter signatories in World War II.
  • Under Article 108, a Charter amendment needs adoption by two-thirds of the General Assembly and ratification by two-thirds of UN members, including all five permanent members of the Security Council.
  • UN General Assembly resolution 50/52 (1995) declared the enemy state clauses obsolete, but they remain in the Charter text.
Should India review its nuclear doctrine without changing its core?
  • The Nuclear Command Authority, set up on 4 January 2003, has a Political Council chaired by the Prime Minister, the only body that can authorise nuclear use, and an Executive Council chaired by the National Security Adviser.
  • India conducted nuclear tests at Pokhran in May 1998 (Pokhran-II); the National Security Advisory Board released the Draft Nuclear Doctrine on 17 August 1999.
  • The 2003 doctrine replaced the 1999 draft's 'punitive' retaliation with 'massive' retaliation designed to inflict unacceptable damage.
Should the UN Security Council's permanent seats and veto go?
  • Under Article 27(3) of the UN Charter, substantive UNSC decisions need nine votes including the concurring votes of the five permanent members.
  • UNGA resolution 76/262 (2022) requires the General Assembly to meet within 10 working days after a veto is cast.
  • India is part of the G4 (with Brazil, Germany and Japan), which seeks permanent seats; reform talks run through the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN).
India and the EU to sign their trade deal on 16 December
  • India-EU trade talks began in 2007, stalled in 2013 and restarted in June 2022.
  • The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which prices embedded carbon in imports such as steel and aluminium, is a key concern for Indian exporters.
  • An FTA with the EU needs approval by the European Parliament after signing.
India rejects the OIC contact group's remarks on Kashmir
  • The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has 57 member states and is headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  • India is not a member; it was invited as guest of honour to the OIC foreign ministers' meeting in Abu Dhabi in 2019.
  • India maintains strong bilateral ties with Gulf states such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia despite OIC statements.
India-New Zealand trade deal to take effect on 20 October
  • New Zealand gives duty-free access to 100% of India's exports; India offers concessions on about 70% of its tariff lines, covering about 95% of New Zealand's exports by value.
  • India excluded dairy completely, a sensitive sector for its small farmers and New Zealand's largest export.
  • The agreement was signed on 27 April 2026 and enters into force on 20 October 2026.
Trump signs Russia sanctions law that allows up to 100% tariffs on buyers like India
  • The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 was signed by President Trump on 18 September 2026.
  • It raises U.S. tariffs on goods from Russia to up to 500% and lets the President impose up to 100% tariffs on the top five importers of Russian crude oil or natural gas.
  • The third-country tariffs apply to new purchases made on or after 30 days from enactment; eligibility is reassessed every 180 days.
  • The President can waive the measures by certifying to Congress that a waiver is in the U.S. national interest; the powers sunset after five years.
  • The law also extends the U.S. Iran Sanctions Act by five years, to 2031.
Trump extends the $100,000 H-1B fee by a year and orders tighter vetting of employers
  • A U.S. proclamation of 18 September 2026 extends the $100,000 H-1B payment requirement of Proclamation 10973 (19 September 2025) until 21 September 2027.
  • A companion executive order directs agencies to weigh an employer's layoffs in the previous year, or planned layoffs, when handling H-1B cases.
  • The largest IT staffing and outsourcing firms cut combined H-1B registrations from 24,946 to 2,055, a 92% fall, according to the proclamation.
  • The H-1B annual cap is 65,000, plus 20,000 for holders of U.S. Master's or higher degrees.
  • Indians are the largest group of H-1B beneficiaries.
India's Russian oil purchases fall after new U.S. curbs
  • Primary sanctions restrict a country's own firms; secondary sanctions penalise third countries that deal with the sanctioned state.
  • The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, signed on 18 September 2026, lets the U.S. impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries linked to buying Russian energy.
  • CAATSA (2017) is an earlier U.S. law allowing sanctions on countries making significant defence purchases from Russia.
Pakistani corvette collides with Indian warship; India cites the 1991 military pact
  • PNS Hunain, a Pakistan Navy corvette, collided with an Indian Navy warship in the North Arabian Sea; India called the manoeuvre "unsafe and unprofessional".
  • Article 10 of the India-Pakistan agreement of 6 April 1991 requires warships and submarines of both sides to stay at least three nautical miles apart in international waters.
  • The 1991 Agreement on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troop Movements is a confidence-building measure that followed Exercise Brasstacks (1986-87).
  • Pakistan claims the collision took place in its EEZ; under UNCLOS an EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles and other states keep freedom of navigation there.
  • A similar incident occurred in June 2011 between PNS Babur and INS Godavari.
U.S. says it has 'space control' weapons in orbit, exposing gaps in space law
  • On 14 September 2026 the U.S. publicly said it has 'on-orbit space control weapons', the first such admission by any country.
  • Article IV of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in orbit but not conventional weapons.
  • The U.S., Russia, China and India have destroyed satellites with missiles; India's Mission Shakti was on 27 March 2019.
  • PAROS has been on the UN General Assembly agenda since 1981 without producing a binding treaty.
  • India ratified the Outer Space Treaty in 1982.
India and Vietnam agree to co-produce Indian defence equipment at 19th Joint Commission
  • The 19th India-Vietnam Joint Commission, co-chaired by S. Jaishankar and Le Hoai Trung in New Delhi, agreed on co-production of Indian defence items.
  • 2027 will be the Year of India-Vietnam Friendship, marking 55 years of diplomatic ties established on 7 January 1972.
  • India-Vietnam ties: Strategic Partnership (2007), Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2016), Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (May 2026).
  • India handed over INS Kirpan, a Khukri-class missile corvette, to the Vietnam People's Navy on 22 July 2023.
  • Larsen & Toubro built 12 high-speed guard boats for Vietnam under a $100 million Indian defence line of credit (2014).
Op-ed: India should make the New Development Bank the core of its BRICS finance agenda
  • The New Development Bank was agreed at the BRICS summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, in July 2014 and is headquartered in Shanghai; its five founders hold equal shares.
  • In September 2026 the NDB listed 139 approved projects worth about $42.9 billion.
  • The NDB has ten members: the five BRICS founders plus Bangladesh, the UAE, Egypt, Algeria and Uzbekistan.
  • A Panda bond is a yuan-denominated bond issued in mainland China by a non-Chinese issuer; the NDB priced a 7 billion yuan Panda bond on 8 September 2026.
  • New NDB transactions with Russia have been on hold since March 2022.
BRICS adopts a 140-paragraph New Delhi Declaration at its 18th summit
  • The 18th BRICS summit was held in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September 2026 under the theme 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.
  • The New Delhi Declaration has 140 paragraphs and was adopted by consensus on 12 September 2026.
  • In para 13, China and Russia, as UNSC permanent members, backed Brazil's and India's aspirations to a greater role in the UN, including the Security Council.
  • The declaration condemned the 22 April 2025 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed, and opposed carbon border adjustment mechanisms as unilateral measures.
  • China will hold the BRICS chairship in 2027.
U.S. proposes ending the 60-day grace period for H-1B and other laid-off visa workers
  • DHS published the proposed rule 'Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period' in the Federal Register on 11 September 2026; comments close on 10 November 2026.
  • The rule would end the up-to-60-day grace period for E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN workers after their jobs end.
  • The 60-day grace period came from the 2016 AC21 final rule, effective 17 January 2017; DHS says it is not mandated by statute.
  • The H-1B cap is 65,000 a year plus 20,000 for U.S. master's degree holders; status is for three years at a time, up to six.
  • A September 2025 proclamation imposed a one-time $100,000 fee on H-1B applications filed between 21 September 2025 and 21 September 2026.
Editorial: What the U.S.-Canada trade rupture teaches India
  • The Canada-U.S. Automotive Products Agreement (Auto Pact) was signed in January 1965 by Lester B. Pearson and Lyndon B. Johnson.
  • The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement came into force on 1 January 1989 and was superseded by NAFTA, in force from 1 January 1994.
  • The USMCA replaced NAFTA on 1 July 2020; it has a 16-year term with a joint review every six years, and runs to 1 July 2036.
  • On 1 July 2026 the U.S. announced it would not renew the USMCA, leaving it subject to annual reviews.
  • The editorial notes India accepted an 18% tariff arrangement with the U.S. in February 2026.
Houthis seize Yemen's Red Sea port of Mokha, close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait
  • The Houthis captured Mokha, a Red Sea port in Yemen's Taiz Governorate, on 10 September 2026; government-aligned forces had held it since February 2017.
  • Mokha is the first port north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is about 26 km wide at its narrowest.
  • The strait separates Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula from Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa; Perim island splits it into two channels.
  • Houthi attacks on shipping began on 19 November 2023 with the seizure of Galaxy Leader; the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian began on 18 December 2023.
  • Mokha dominated the world coffee trade from the 16th to the 19th century and gave its name to 'mocha' coffee.
India-U.S. Army exercise Yudh Abhyas opens its 22nd edition with a counter-drone focus
  • Yudh Abhyas is an annual India-U.S. Army exercise that began in 2004; the 2026 edition is the 22nd.
  • The 2026 edition focuses on high-altitude warfare, long-range precision fires, counter-drone capabilities and multi-domain operations.
  • The U.S. Army deployed its Mobile Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (MLIDS) in India for the first time.
  • U.S. participants include the 11th Airborne Division (Fort Wainwright, Alaska) and the 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force.
  • India and the U.S. signed GSOMIA (2002), LEMOA (29 August 2016), COMCASA (September 2018) and BECA (2020).
IAEA Board reports Iran to the UN Security Council, first time in 20 years
  • The IAEA Board of Governors reported Iran to the UN Security Council in September 2026 by 23 votes to 3, with 8 abstentions; Russia and China voted against.
  • It is Iran's first referral to the Council in 20 years and follows the Board's finding of non-compliance on 12 June 2025.
  • The IAEA, set up on 29 July 1957 in Vienna, reports to both the UN General Assembly and the Security Council; its policy bodies are the General Conference and the 35-member Board of Governors.
  • Article III of the NPT requires non-nuclear-weapon states to accept IAEA safeguards; India, Pakistan, Israel and South Sudan never joined the treaty.
  • Under Article 27 of the UN Charter, substantive Council decisions need nine votes including the concurring votes of all five permanent members.
India and Sri Lanka sign three defence MoUs during Rajnath Singh's visit
  • India and Sri Lanka signed three defence MoUs in September 2026: upgrading six L70 anti-aircraft guns under an Indian grant, and cooperation between their National Defence Colleges and National Cadet Corps.
  • Rajnath Singh's trip was reported as the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister to Sri Lanka in 38 years.
  • President Anura Kumara Dissanayake assured that Sri Lankan territory would not be used against India's security interests.
  • Operation Sagar Bandhu, India's response to Cyclone Ditwah, includes a US$450 million reconstruction package; three Indian-built Bailey bridges were opened during the visit.
  • The first overarching India-Sri Lanka defence cooperation MoU was signed during PM Modi's visit in April 2025.
Op-ed: India-Japan defence ties move from dialogue to shipbuilding and joint drills
  • Exercise Veer Guardian-2026 between the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force is being held at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 9 to 22 September 2026; the first edition was held in Japan in 2023.
  • India fields Tejas, Su-30 MKI and Rafale aircraft in the exercise, and Japan fields F-2A fighters.
  • India-Japan exercises: Dharma Guardian (armies), JAIMEX (navies) and Veer Guardian (air forces).
  • UNICORN (Unified Complex Radio Antenna) is a stealthy integrated mast that houses several communication antennas in one structure; India and Japan are pursuing it with Bharat Electronics Limited.
  • India and Japan upgraded ties to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014 and have an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement between their forces.
Op-ed: India's BRICS chairship is a chance to put a divided group back together
  • India chairs BRICS in 2026 for the fourth time, after 2012, 2016 and 2021, and hosts the 18th summit in New Delhi.
  • BRICS now counts eleven members and ten partner countries; Indonesia joined as a full member in January 2025.
  • The first BRIC summit was held at Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009; South Africa joined in December 2010.
  • The New Development Bank, headquartered in Shanghai, was agreed at the Fortaleza summit in 2014; its first president was K.V. Kamath of India.
  • BRICS works by consensus and has no founding charter or permanent secretariat.
UN General Assembly backs the Equal Earth map to show Africa's true size
  • The UN General Assembly adopted the 'Correct the map' resolution (A/80/L.104) on 4 September 2026 by 164 votes to 1, with 6 abstentions; the United States cast the only vote against.
  • The resolution was introduced by Togo on behalf of the African Group and backed by the African Union; it encourages equal-area maps but does not ban Mercator.
  • The Mercator projection (1569) preserves local shape and direction, which suits navigation, but exaggerates the size of areas far from the Equator.
  • Equal Earth (2018), by Bojan Šavrič, Bernhard Jenny and Tom Patterson, is an equal-area pseudocylindrical projection.
  • Africa, about 30.4 million square kilometres, is roughly 14 times the size of Greenland.
Mecca defence pact prompts a call for India to add a security role in the Gulf
  • The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan was signed on 7 August 2026 in Mecca.
  • It treats an armed attack on any one of the three as an attack on all, similar to NATO's Article 5.
  • It expands the Saudi Arabia-Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement of 17 September 2025.
  • The Hindu's lead article urges India to add maritime security partnerships in the Gulf through flexible minilateral arrangements, not alliances.
  • India's existing tools include Operation Sankalp (since 2019), I2U2 and IMEC (announced September 2023).
India and Belgium sign a defence letter of intent and aim to double trade in five years
  • Belgian PM Bart De Wever visited India from 2 to 4 September 2026, the first visit by a Belgian PM in two decades.
  • The two Defence Ministries signed a Letter of Intent; India will appoint a resident Defence Attaché in Brussels and Belgium has appointed one in New Delhi.
  • The leaders aim to double bilateral trade in five years; trade was $13.01 billion in 2025-26.
  • An MoU between the CBI and the Federal Police of Belgium covers transnational organised crime and cybercrime.
  • The joint statement hailed the conclusion of India-EU FTA negotiations at the India-EU Summit on 27 January 2026.
At the SCO summit in Bishkek, Modi calls for dismantling the terror ecosystem
  • The 26th SCO summit was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 31 August and 1 September 2026, marking the SCO's 25th anniversary.
  • Modi called for dismantling the ecosystem of terrorist financing, recruitment, radicalisation and safe havens, with no double standards.
  • The summit adopted the Bishkek Declaration, four MoUs and more than 20 decisions; India says its proposals, including English as an official SCO language and a Civilisational Dialogue Forum, are in the outcomes.
  • Eight members reaffirmed support for China's Belt and Road Initiative; India did not.
  • Pakistan chairs the SCO for 2026-27 and will host the 2027 summit.
Hague court says the Indus Waters Treaty is fully in force; India rejects the award
  • On 31 August 2026 the Court of Arbitration held unanimously that the Indus Waters Treaty remains fully in force and India's April 2025 abeyance was not justified.
  • The interim order bars India from concreting Ratle's dam wall and power intake above set levels until 90 days after the Neutral Expert's decision, expected around July 2027.
  • Ratle is an 850 MW run-of-the-river plant on the Chenab in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir.
  • India called the court 'illegally constituted', has never taken part in it, and says the abeyance remains in force.
  • The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague acts as secretariat for the court; it is not itself the tribunal.

Indian economy

Why the Centre cut import duty on crude edible oils ahead of the festival season
  • From 24 September 2026, basic customs duty on crude soybean and palm oil fell from 10% to 5%, and on crude sunflower oil from 10% to nil (Notification No. 31/2026-Customs).
  • Refined soybean and palm oil duty fell from 32.5% to 27.5%, refined sunflower from 32.5% to 22.5%; the effective crude to refined gap stays at 19.25 percentage points.
  • India imports about 57% of its edible oil needs and is the world's largest importer of edible oils.
  • NMEO-Oilseeds (October 2024, ₹10,103 crore, 2024-25 to 2030-31) targets 69.7 million tonnes of primary oilseeds by 2030-31.
  • Basic duty on crude edible oils was raised from nil to 20% in September 2024 and cut to 10% in May 2025.
Industrial output grows 8% in August 2026, but consumer non-durables lag at 2.1%
  • The IIP grew 8% year-on-year in August 2026; July was revised to 7.4% from 6.7%.
  • Manufacturing grew 9%, electricity and gas 12.3%, water supply and waste management 6.3%, while mining contracted 5.6%.
  • Capital goods grew 16.9% but consumer non-durables only 2.1%.
  • The new IIP series has base year 2022-23 and uses the Output Producer Price Index instead of the WPI as its deflator.
  • The IIP is compiled and released by the National Statistics Office under MoSPI.
Op-ed: Cutting food loss and waste offers India a triple win
  • The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is observed on 29 September; the UN General Assembly designated it by resolution 74/209 in 2019.
  • FAO estimates about 13% of food is lost between harvest and retail; UNEP says 19% of food available to consumers is wasted.
  • SDG target 12.3 aims to halve per capita food waste at retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along supply chains by 2030.
  • India has run three national post-harvest loss surveys: 2005-07 and 2012-14 by ICAR-CIPHET (the second sponsored by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries) and 2020-22 by NABCONS for the Ministry.
  • The op-ed calls food loss reduction a triple win for food security, climate and incomes.
RBI's listing rule for large NBFCs and the Tata Sons debate
  • The RBI regulates NBFCs under Chapter III-B of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
  • The RBI's Scale-Based Regulation framework (October 2021) classifies NBFCs into Base, Middle, Upper and Top layers; Upper Layer NBFCs must list within three years of identification.
  • A Core Investment Company is an NBFC that holds at least 90% of its net assets as investments in its group companies.
Centre orders 112 captive coal plants to run at full capacity till December
  • Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 allows the appropriate Government to direct a generating company, in extraordinary circumstances, to operate and maintain a generating station in accordance with its directions.
  • Under the Electricity Act, 2003, a person may construct, maintain or operate a captive generating plant without a licence.
  • The Central Electricity Authority is a statutory body under the Electricity Act, 2003 that advises the government on power policy and collects and publishes sector data.
Centre and banks to settle UPI subsidy once merchant charges begin
  • The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which runs UPI, RuPay and BHIM, was set up in 2008 by the RBI and the Indian Banks' Association under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
  • The merchant discount rate is the fee a merchant pays its bank for accepting digital payments; it has been zero for UPI and RuPay debit cards since January 2020.
  • The 2024-25 incentive scheme for low-value BHIM-UPI payments had an outlay of ₹1,500 crore and paid 0.15% on small-merchant payments up to ₹2,000.
Make in India turns 12 with a patchy scorecard
  • Make in India was launched on 25 September 2014 to make India a global manufacturing hub.
  • Supporting measures include PLI schemes, PM GatiShakti, the National Single Window System and FDI liberalisation.
  • The original target was a 25% share of manufacturing in GDP; the share has stayed close to its 2014 level.
What are the alternatives to the SWIFT payment system?
  • SWIFT is a Belgium-based cooperative founded in 1973 that sends payment messages; it does not move money itself.
  • China launched CIPS in 2015 and Russia launched SPFS in 2014 after Western sanctions over Crimea.
  • The RBI allowed Special Rupee Vostro Accounts in 2022 to settle trade in rupees.
Quality control orders and India's manufacturing growth
  • Quality Control Orders are issued under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016.
  • They make BIS certification mandatory before a product can be made, imported or sold.
  • QCOs on inputs such as chemicals, polymers and fibres affect downstream users, many of them MSMEs.
Nearly 40% of coal power plants are critically low on fuel
  • The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) sets coal stock norms for thermal plants and publishes daily stock data.
  • A plant is classified as 'critical' when its coal stock is below 25% of the normative requirement.
  • Shortages usually come from logistics, rain-hit mining and demand spikes rather than a lack of coal reserves.
The missing measure in India's rare-earth magnet mission
  • Rare-earth permanent magnets (mainly neodymium-iron-boron) are used in EV motors, wind turbines, electronics and defence systems.
  • China dominates rare-earth processing and magnet production and restricted exports of some rare-earth materials in 2025.
  • India's rare earths occur mainly in beach sand monazite; IREL (India) Limited is the main public sector producer.
RBI may raise rates twice by the end of 2026, analysts say
  • The Monetary Policy Committee has six members, three from the RBI and three appointed by the government; the Governor has a casting vote.
  • The inflation target is 4% CPI with a tolerance band of 2-6%, under the RBI Act as amended in 2016.
  • The real interest rate is the nominal rate minus inflation; hikes aim to keep real rates positive.
EPFO wage ceiling raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month
  • The ceiling was ₹6,500 from 2004 and was raised to ₹15,000 on 1 September 2014.
  • EPFO runs three schemes: EPF (provident fund), EPS-95 (pension) and EDLI (life insurance).
  • The EPFO administers the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, which applies to establishments with 20 or more workers.
Unemployment steady at 5% in August 2026 as rural rate falls to 4.1%, says PLFS
  • The unemployment rate (15+, Current Weekly Status) was 5.0% in August 2026, down from 5.1% in July.
  • Rural unemployment fell to 4.1%, the lowest since January 2026; urban unemployment was 6.8%.
  • LFPR rose to 55.6% and WPR to 52.8%, the highest WPR since March 2026.
  • Female LFPR was 34.8% in August 2026, up from 33.7% a year earlier.
  • The PLFS was revamped from January 2025 to give monthly estimates; the first monthly bulletin covered April 2025.
Op-ed: What India's smallholder farming model can teach other developing nations
  • The op-ed says small farms become viable through organisation, market access and resilience built by an ecosystem of SHGs, FPOs, NABARD, NGOs, firms and digital tools.
  • IFAD, a UN specialised agency set up in 1977 after the 1974 World Food Conference, is headquartered in Rome and has 180 member states.
  • IFAD's current India country strategy covers 2026 to 2033.
  • NABARD was established on 12 July 1982 under the NABARD Act, 1981, on the recommendation of CRAFICARD.
  • On 15 September 2026 the Department of Rural Development and PFRDA announced 'Pension Sakhis' drawn from SHG networks to extend the National Pension System in rural areas.
After a 99.97% haircut order, IBBI proposes safeguards in personal guarantor insolvency
  • The IBBI's discussion paper (comments until 3 October 2026) proposes four safeguards in the insolvency resolution process for personal guarantors to corporate debtors.
  • Creditors who are related parties of the guarantor, as defined in Section 5(24A) of the IBC, would have a nil voting share on the repayment plan.
  • In Lalit Kumar Jain v. Union of India (2021), the Supreme Court held that approval of a company's resolution plan does not by itself discharge a personal guarantor.
  • On 25 August 2026 the NCLT approved Subhash Chandra's plan to pay ₹6.5 crore against admitted claims of about ₹22,006.57 crore, a 99.97% haircut.
  • The IBBI was established on 1 October 2016 under the IBC and regulates insolvency professionals, their agencies and information utilities as well as the processes.
India-EU trade deal: a 1.64 million tonne steel quota for India, a car quota for the EU
  • India-EU FTA negotiations were relaunched on 17 June 2022 and concluded on 27 January 2026; the Commission presented the deal to the EU Council on 11 September 2026.
  • Under the deal India gets an annual EU steel quota of 1.64 million tonnes (0.69 mt FTA-specific and 0.95 mt MFN), against exports of about 4 million tonnes.
  • India's tariff of up to 110% on EU cars falls to 10% within a quota of 2,50,000 vehicles; the first-year quota is 1,00,000, only for cars above €15,000.
  • The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism entered its definitive phase on 1 January 2026 and covers iron and steel, cement, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen.
  • A tariff-rate quota allows a set volume of imports at a lower tariff; imports beyond it pay the higher rate.
Saudi Arabia shuts its East-West oil pipeline after attacks: why it matters for India
  • Saudi Arabia's East-West Crude Oil Pipeline (Petroline) runs about 1,200 km from Abqaiq in the Eastern Province to Yanbu on the Red Sea and can carry up to 7 million barrels per day.
  • It was built in the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War, to let Saudi oil exports bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Saudi Arabia shut the entire pipeline as a precaution on 11 September 2026 after a drone attack on a pumping station.
  • Crude from Yanbu reaches Asia through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another chokepoint exposed to attack.
  • India imports over 88% of the crude oil it uses, so supply shocks in West Asia hit its import bill, inflation and current account.
Centre tightens e-commerce rules: prior price, origin labels and a 48-hour grievance clock
  • The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026 amend the 2020 E-Commerce Rules and take effect from 1 January 2027.
  • On a price cut, platforms must show the 'prior price', meaning the lowest price in the preceding 30 days, alongside the reduced price.
  • Grievance officers must acknowledge complaints within 48 hours and resolve them within one month; platforms must integrate with the National Consumer Helpline.
  • Platforms must follow the Dark Patterns Guidelines, 2023, conduct an annual self-audit and display a compliance certificate.
  • The parent law, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, replaced the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and set up the Central Consumer Protection Authority under Section 10(1).
NSO releases first district-level estimates of the unincorporated non-farm sector
  • The NSO's ASUSE 2025 release is the first set of district-level estimates from a national survey, covering 757 districts.
  • All-India GVA per worker in the unincorporated non-agricultural sector is ₹1,56,539, and 280 districts exceed it.
  • Women's share of the sector's workers is 29% nationally, highest in Nirmal, Telangana (78%) and lowest in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand (6.7%).
  • The top 50 districts account for nearly one-third of unincorporated establishments, workers and GVA.
  • ASUSE covers proprietorships, partnerships (excluding LLPs), cooperatives and societies or trusts in manufacturing, trade and other services.
Op-ed: Fast growth, weak jobs and India's risk of a middle-income trap
  • The term 'middle-income trap' was coined by World Bank economists Indermit Gill and Homi Kharas in 2007.
  • World Development Report 2024 counted 108 middle-income countries and found only 34 middle-income economies have become high-income since 1990.
  • The WDR 2024 '3i' strategy is investment, then investment plus infusion of foreign technology, then investment, infusion and innovation.
  • WDR 2024 estimated India would need 75 years to reach a quarter of U.S. per capita income.
  • Manufacturing has stayed at about 14% to 17% of GVA for over two decades, and India's GERD is about 0.64% of GDP.
Producer prices and double deflation: what changed in India's new GDP series
  • India's new GDP series has 2022-23 as its base year, replacing 2011-12, and was released on 27 February 2026.
  • The new series uses double deflation for manufacturing GVA: output and intermediate consumption are deflated separately using Producer Price Indices.
  • The PPI measures prices received by producers at the first point of sale, excluding taxes and trade and transport margins, and can cover services, unlike the WPI.
  • Under double deflation, real GVA can grow faster than nominal GVA if input prices rise faster than output prices, giving a negative implied deflator.
  • In April to June 2026 real GDP grew 7.8% and nominal GDP 10.3%, implying a GDP deflator rise of about 2.3%.
PAC flags ₹9,222 crore of cess collections not moved to their reserve funds in 2024-25
  • The PAC flagged ₹9,222 crore of cess and levy collections in 2024-25 that were not transferred to their designated reserve funds, based on CAG Report No. 6 of 2026.
  • Cess proceeds are first credited to the Consolidated Fund of India (Article 266(1)) and are meant to be moved to reserve funds, generally in the Public Account of India (Article 266(2)).
  • Under Article 270, cesses levied for specific purposes are excluded from the divisible pool shared with the States.
  • The PAC has up to 22 members, 15 from the Lok Sabha and up to 7 from the Rajya Sabha; since 1967 its chairperson has come from the Opposition, and no minister can be a member.
  • The CAG is established by Article 148 and audits receipts and expenditure of the Union and the States; its reports on the Union's accounts are laid before Parliament.
UK recognises India's carbon credit trading scheme under its carbon border tax
  • The UK has recognised India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme as an overseas carbon pricing scheme eligible for relief under the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
  • The UK CBAM starts on 1 January 2027 and covers aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, and iron and steel.
  • India's CCTS was notified on 28 June 2023 under the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2022 and is administered by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
  • One Carbon Credit Certificate under the CCTS equals one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent.
  • The EU's CBAM moved from a reporting-only transitional phase, begun on 1 October 2023, to its definitive phase on 1 January 2026.
FATF warns that hawala networks are going digital, using stablecoins and AI
  • A FATF report says nearly 70% of surveyed jurisdictions have detected new technologies being used in underground banking networks, which it calls digital hawala.
  • Stablecoins are increasingly used to settle balances between hawala operators, while cash still dominates at collection and payout.
  • HOSSPs stands for hawala and other similar service providers; FATF Recommendation 14 requires money or value transfer services to be licensed or registered.
  • The FATF was set up in 1989 on the initiative of the G7; India became a member in 2010 and was placed in regular follow-up after its mutual evaluation in June 2024.
  • Virtual digital asset service providers have been reporting entities under the PMLA, 2002 since March 2023.
Ten years of inflation targeting: does the RBI's framework work in India?
  • Section 45ZA of the RBI Act, 1934 empowers the Centre, in consultation with the RBI, to set the inflation target once every five years; it is 4% CPI inflation with a band of 2% to 6%, retained for April 2026 to March 2031.
  • The Monetary Policy Committee has six members: three from the RBI including the Governor, who chairs it with a casting vote, and three external members appointed by the Centre for four years.
  • The RBI is deemed to have failed if average inflation stays above the upper band or below the lower band for three consecutive quarters; it then reports to the Centre, as it did in November 2022.
  • The Hindu analysis argues India's Phillips curve is almost flat because around 92% of workers lack bargaining power, weakening the link between output and inflation.
  • In the CPI series with base year 2024, food and beverages carry a weight of 36.75%, down from 45.86% in the 2012 series.
Why is BRICS exploring its own cross-border payment links?
  • The 18th BRICS Summit is being held in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September 2026 under India's chairship.
  • The Kazan Declaration (October 2024) agreed to study the feasibility of BRICS Clear, an independent cross-border settlement and depository system.
  • Project mBridge is a multi-CBDC platform whose founding members are the central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the UAE; the BIS handed it to the partners in October 2024.
  • SWIFT, founded in 1973 and headquartered in Belgium, is a secure messaging network linking over 11,000 financial institutions; it does not itself hold or move money.
  • In 2025 the central banks of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand set up Nexus Global Payments to take Project Nexus live.
As India revises its Model BIT, an op-ed seeks consultation and Parliament's scrutiny
  • India is revising its 2015 Model BIT; the Budget speech of 1 February 2025 promised to make it "more investor-friendly".
  • The 2015 model requires foreign investors to pursue local remedies for five years before international arbitration, excludes MFN and carves out taxation.
  • India had BITs with 83 countries by 2015 and terminated 77 of them, according to Parliament's External Affairs committee in 2021.
  • India's BITs with the UAE (2024) and Israel (2026) shortened the local-remedies requirement to three years.
  • Treaty-making in India is an executive function; Parliament has no formal approval role, and the op-ed wants the revised model placed before Parliament and its committees.
RBI's special forex swap window draws $136.38 billion, led by FCNR(B) deposits
  • The RBI's special USD-INR swap facility, opened on 8 June 2026, drew $136.38 billion by 31 August 2026 (provisional).
  • FCNR(B) deposits brought $127.23 billion, overseas foreign currency borrowings of banks $5.26 billion and ECBs $3.89 billion.
  • The FCNR(B) window closed on 31 August 2026, a month early; the ECB and OFCB windows stay open till 31 December 2026.
  • In 2013, a similar window raised about $34 billion, about $26 billion of it via FCNR(B), at a concessional swap rate of 3.5% a year.
  • In an FCNR(B) deposit, the account is held in foreign currency and the bank, not the depositor, bears the exchange-rate risk.
India's current account deficit widens to $4.2 billion in April-June 2026
  • India's CAD widened to $4.2 billion (0.5% of GDP) in April-June 2026, from $3.4 billion (0.4% of GDP) a year earlier, as per RBI data released on 1 September 2026.
  • The merchandise trade deficit rose to $86.1 billion, while net services receipts were $51.6 billion and private transfer receipts $42.9 billion.
  • Foreign portfolio investors took out a net $9.6 billion, turning the capital account to a $3.9 billion net outflow despite net FDI of $6.1 billion.
  • The overall balance of payments showed an $8.1 billion deficit; reserves fell $22.5 billion including valuation losses.
  • India's CAD peaked at 4.8% of GDP in 2012-13.
GDP grows 7.8% in April-June 2026, beating the RBI's 7% projection
  • Real GDP grew 7.8% in April to June 2026 (Q1 2026-27), against 6.9% in the same quarter of 2025-26 on the new 2022-23 base.
  • Nominal GDP grew 10.3% to ₹88.27 lakh crore, and real GVA grew 8.2%.
  • Manufacturing grew 9.2% and the tertiary sector 10%, while agriculture and allied activities slowed to 3.6%.
  • Real Gross Fixed Capital Formation grew 11.9%, and its share in nominal GDP rose to 34.3% from 31.4%.
  • Growth beat the RBI's 7% projection for the quarter; growth for 2025-26 was revised to 7.8%.

Environment and geography

Op-ed: To protect tigers, track wildlife crime beyond reserve boundaries
  • TRAFFIC recorded 2,551 tiger seizures involving at least 3,808 tigers from January 2000 to June 2025.
  • India had the most seizures among tiger range countries: 880 incidents involving 981 tigers.
  • Whole tigers rose from about 10% of seizures in the 2000s to about 40% from 2020.
  • The 2006 amendment to the Wild Life (Protection) Act created the NTCA and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.
  • The op-ed calls for intelligence-led, landscape-scale enforcement that targets trafficking networks and finance, not just poachers.
UN adopts a declaration that rising seas will not erase island states
  • UNCLOS was adopted in 1982; the territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles and the exclusive economic zone up to 200 nautical miles from the baselines.
  • The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is the negotiating bloc of small island and low-lying coastal developing countries in climate and ocean talks.
  • The UN General Assembly's Declaration on Sea Level Rise, adopted by consensus on 24 September 2026, affirms continuity of statehood and of maritime zones despite sea-level rise.
Vedanta seeks a return to Niyamgiri, 13 years after gram sabhas said no
  • The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 makes the Gram Sabha the authority to initiate the process of determining individual and community forest rights.
  • The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) extends Part IX of the Constitution to Fifth Schedule areas and empowers gram sabhas in those areas.
  • In Orissa Mining Corporation v. Ministry of Environment and Forests (2013), the Supreme Court left the decision on Niyamgiri mining to the gram sabhas of affected villages.
Expert panel backs green clearance for the Subansiri Upper hydro project
  • Environmental clearance is granted under the EIA Notification, 2006, issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Category A projects are appraised by sectoral Expert Appraisal Committees of the Union Environment Ministry.
  • Diversion of forest land for non-forest use needs separate approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, renamed the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 in 2023.
  • Money collected for compensatory afforestation is managed under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016, through CAMPA.
El Niño, heat deaths and why parched Maharashtra cannot declare drought yet
  • El Niño is the warming of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific; it usually weakens the Indian monsoon.
  • A positive Indian Ocean Dipole can partly offset El Niño's effect on the monsoon.
  • Under the Manual for Drought Management (2016, updated 2020), States declare drought using rainfall, vegetation, soil moisture, water and crop-sowing indicators.
Karnataka's legislature asks the Centre to shrink the Western Ghats eco-sensitive area
  • The Gadgil panel (WGEEP, 2011) proposed treating about 64% of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive.
  • The Kasturirangan working group (2013) reduced this to about 37%, focusing on natural landscapes.
  • Eco-sensitive areas are notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; the Centre has issued several draft notifications without a final one.
Green clearances for ports now valid for 20 years
  • The EIA Notification, 2006 is issued under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
  • Port and harbour clearances were valid for 10 years plus a one-year extension; they are now valid for 20 years with two further five-year extensions.
  • Coastal projects also need clearance under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification (currently 2019).
The persistent decline in India's groundwater
  • The Central Ground Water Board and the States jointly publish the annual Dynamic Ground Water Resources assessment.
  • Assessment units are safe up to 70% extraction, semi-critical up to 90%, critical up to 100% and over-exploited above 100%.
  • Punjab (156.36%), Rajasthan (147.11%) and Haryana (136.75%) had the highest stage of extraction in 2025.
At NGT's climate conference, Modi says developing nations are wrongly blamed for emissions
  • PM Modi told an NGT-organised conference on 19 September 2026 that responsibility for carbon emissions has been wrongly placed on developing countries.
  • He said India's per capita carbon emissions are less than half the global average and that developed countries' per capita emissions are six times India's.
  • India's solar capacity has risen from about 2 GW to more than 160 GW in twelve years, according to the PM.
  • Common but differentiated responsibilities is a principle of the UNFCCC, 1992; the Paris Agreement (2015) works through Nationally Determined Contributions.
  • The NGT was set up under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 and has its principal bench in New Delhi.
Monsoon begins withdrawing from west Rajasthan with 43% of India's area rain-deficient
  • The southwest monsoon began withdrawing from parts of West Rajasthan on 19 September 2026; the normal date is 17 September.
  • All-India rainfall up to 19 September 2026 was 695.6 mm, 15% below normal, with nearly 43% of the country's area deficient.
  • IMD's normal dates (revised in 2020): onset over Kerala 1 June, whole country by 8 July, withdrawal from 17 September, complete withdrawal by 15 October.
  • A low-pressure area over the north Andaman Sea was forecast to become a deep depression and approach the south Odisha-north Andhra Pradesh coasts around 23 September.
  • The northeast monsoon (October to December) is the main rainy season for Tamil Nadu.
Stiff 'red entry' rules in land records to curb farm fires
  • The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas was set up under the CAQM Act, 2021.
  • Paddy stubble is burnt because the gap between rice harvest and wheat sowing is short.
  • Alternatives include in-situ management with Happy Seeders and bio-decomposers, and ex-situ use in biomass power and ethanol.
India's first payments to farmers for soil carbon
  • Soil carbon credits reward farmers for storing carbon in soil and reducing emissions through changed farm practices.
  • Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) saves water and labour compared with transplanted paddy.
  • India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, 2023 provides a framework for a domestic carbon market.
Op-ed: E20 petrol's mileage loss may have cost consumers ₹88,234 crore in three years
  • E20 is 80% petrol and 20% anhydrous ethanol; public sector oil marketing companies began selling it on 6 February 2023.
  • On 18 May 2022 the Cabinet amended the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 to advance the 20% blending target to ESY 2025-26 from 2030.
  • An op-ed citing ARAI, SIAM and IOCL testing says E20 lowers fuel economy by 2% to 6%, and estimates an extra consumer spend of ₹88,234 crore over three years.
  • The op-ed argues emissions per kilometre could rise if the mileage loss is 4% to 6%, and links feedstock diversion to curbs on sugar exports and maize imports.
  • It recommends a consumer choice between E10 and E20 and more investment in public transport.
Six States sign the Kishau dam pact on the Tons; Centre to bear about 90% of the cost
  • Six States (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana) signed the Kishau Multipurpose Project agreement on 15 September 2026.
  • Kishau is a 232.6-metre concrete gravity dam on the Tons, a tributary of the Yamuna, on the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border.
  • It will store 1,562 million cubic metres, irrigate about 97,000 hectares and generate 1,476 million units of power, per the Home Ministry.
  • Kishau is a National Project; the Centre bears about 90% of the financial burden.
  • A 12 May 1994 agreement on the Upper Yamuna requires a separate agreement for each storage project; Lakhwar and Renukaji came before Kishau.
Environment Minister opens a soft release centre for Great Indian Bustards in Kutch
  • The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) has been Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2011; about 150 birds were estimated in 2018.
  • On 14 September 2026 a Soft Release Centre for GIBs was inaugurated in Kutch, Gujarat, during the Environment Minister's visit to the GIB habitat at Naliya.
  • Under the 'jump-start' approach in Kutch, infertile eggs laid in the wild are replaced with viable eggs.
  • The Supreme Court's judgment of 19 December 2025 in M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India fixed GIB priority areas of 14,013 sq km in Rajasthan and 740 sq km in Gujarat.
  • The same judgment ordered critical power lines in priority areas to be buried or rerouted within two years.
Study finds rapid Himalayan erosion releases CO2 through pyrite oxidation
  • A study in Chemical Geology by IISER Pune, the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology and IIT Roorkee focused on the upper Indus basin.
  • Oxidation of pyrite exposed by erosion forms sulphuric acid, which dissolves carbonate rocks and releases CO2.
  • In the study area, CO2 released by this route was about three times the CO2 taken up by silicate weathering.
  • Sulphur and oxygen isotope ratios of river sulphate were used to tell pyrite-derived sulphate from other sources.
  • Steep, fast-eroding mountain stretches acted as net CO2 sources, while downstream floodplains acted as sinks.
Indonesia prepares to take back five baby orangutans rescued in Odisha's Balasore
  • Five baby orangutans were rescued from a forest in Balasore district, Odisha; Indonesia suspects they came from Sumatra and is preparing to repatriate them.
  • There are three orangutan species: Bornean (Borneo), Sumatran (northern Sumatra) and Tapanuli (Batang Toru forest, Sumatra, described in 2017); all are critically endangered.
  • Orangutans are listed in Appendix I of CITES, which covers species threatened with extinction; commercial trade in them is prohibited.
  • CITES was agreed in Washington, D.C. on 3 March 1973, entered into force on 1 July 1975, and its secretariat in Geneva is administered by UNEP.
  • The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment of 2022 added a schedule for CITES specimens and requires anyone holding live specimens of scheduled animals to register with the Management Authority.
Bihar floods despite a 27% rain deficit, and the Ganga, not Nepal, is behind it
  • By 9 September 2026, floods had affected about 40.51 lakh people in 2,157 villages across 14 Bihar districts despite a 27% rain deficit from 1 June to 8 September.
  • In 2026 the Ganga rose before the Nepal-fed rivers (Bagmati, Kamla, Kosi, Gandak), causing a backwater effect on tributaries such as the Gandak and the Punpun.
  • The Farakka Barrage, on the Ganga in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, became operational in 1975 to divert water to the Hooghly for Kolkata port.
  • The India-Bangladesh Ganga water treaty was signed on 12 December 1996 by H.D. Deve Gowda and Sheikh Hasina for 30 years and expires in December 2026.
Open waste burning in Indian cities triples in winter, finds WRI India study
  • A WRI India study of 11 polluted cities (2019 to 2026) found open waste burning triples in winter compared with summer.
  • Open waste burning contributes less than 1% of citywide PM2.5 and PM10 emissions but raises short-term exposure near homes and dumps.
  • Poorer areas in Tier 2 cities recorded the highest incidence, nearly 84 incidents per square kilometre per day; Tier 3 cities averaged 49.6 in winter.
  • Burning waste releases dioxins, furans, heavy metals and volatile organic compounds.
  • Winter burning is worsened by falling temperatures and stagnant air that hinder the dispersion of pollutants.
After a deadly glacier collapse, Nepal seeks climate compensation, not aid
  • A glacier collapse near Langtang Lirung on 26 August 2026 caused a flood down the Trishuli river in Nepal, destroying the Gyirong border crossing with China.
  • Nepal has said it will seek compensation, not aid, from major emitters, and has written to the UN's Loss and Damage Fund.
  • The Loss and Damage Fund was agreed at the 2022 UN climate conference (COP27) and relies on voluntary pledges, reported at about $822 million.
  • Chinese scientists report that glacier area on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has shrunk from about 51,000 sq km to 39,000 sq km in six decades, with over 14,000 glacial lakes now mapped.
  • The COP decision adopting the Paris Agreement states that its loss and damage article does not provide a basis for liability or compensation.
Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026: Lucknow tops million-plus cities on clean air action
  • In Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2026, Lucknow, Indore and Jabalpur were the top three cities with a population above 10 lakh; Delhi was 30th.
  • Rourkela (3 to 10 lakh population) and Kalinga Nagar (below 3 lakh), both in Odisha, topped the two smaller categories, and municipal wards were recognised for the first time.
  • The National Clean Air Programme, launched in January 2019, covers 130 cities and targets a 40% cut in PM10 levels, or meeting the national standard, by 2025-26.
  • In 2025-26, 108 of the 130 NCAP cities had lower PM10 levels than in 2017-18, and 14 met the national standard.
  • India's annual NAAQS limit is 60 µg/m³ for PM10 and 40 µg/m³ for PM2.5.
Tribal Affairs Ministry says Forest Rights Act has no provision for gram sabha consent
  • The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, nodal ministry for the Forest Rights Act, 2006, says the Act and its rules contain no provision for gram sabha consent for Stage-II forest clearance.
  • Parliament's Committee on Public Undertakings recommended 'qualified super-majority consent' of 70 to 75% of affected gram sabhas for large hydropower projects of national importance.
  • Under Section 6 of the FRA, the gram sabha is the authority to initiate the process of determining individual and community forest rights.
  • Section 4(5) of the FRA bars eviction of forest dwellers until the recognition and verification of their rights is complete.
  • In the Niyamgiri case (2013), the Supreme Court left it to gram sabhas to decide whether mining would affect their rights.
Centre asks Himalayan States to step up monitoring of glacial lakes and avalanche zones
  • On 3 September 2026, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan reviewed GLOF and avalanche preparedness of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
  • States were asked to shift to risk-informed planning, preventive mitigation and community-level preparedness, and to speed up GLOF mitigation projects sanctioned in 2024.
  • The National GLOF Risk Mitigation Project (₹150 crore, approved August 2024) covers Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand and targets 189 high-risk lakes.
  • The Central Water Commission monitors 902 glacial lakes and water bodies; NDMA issued GLOF guidelines in October 2020.
  • The October 2023 South Lhonak GLOF in Sikkim breached the Chungthang dam on the Teesta.
UNEP says 1.5°C will be crossed and maps an 'overshoot, peak and decline' path
  • UNEP's report Limiting Overshoot (2 September 2026) says exceeding 1.5°C is now widely assessed as unavoidable, likely within the next few years.
  • In UNEP's best case, warming peaks at about 1.8°C; most scenarios peak above 2°C.
  • UNEP proposes an 'overshoot, peak and decline' pathway: a small, short overshoot followed by a return below 1.5°C.
  • Returning below 1.5°C needs sustained net-negative CO2 emissions and carbon dioxide removal, which cannot replace rapid emission cuts.
  • Article 2 of the Paris Agreement aims to hold warming well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
India records its hottest August since 1901; IMD forecasts below-normal September rain
  • August 2026 was India's warmest August since 1901, with a mean temperature of 28.01°C against a normal of 27.34°C.
  • August rainfall was 213.3 mm, 16.3% below normal; the season deficit to end-August was about 14%.
  • IMD forecasts September 2026 rainfall below 91% of the LPA of 167.9 mm (1971-2020 base).
  • Strong El Niño conditions prevail and are expected to strengthen; the Indian Ocean Dipole is neutral.
  • Maximum and minimum temperatures in September are likely to be above normal over most parts of India.

Science and technology

₹1 lakh crore RDI Fund for deep tech pauses new applications as funds run short
  • The RDI scheme, approved by the Cabinet on 1 July 2025 with a ₹1 lakh crore corpus, was launched by the PM on 3 November 2025 at ESTIC.
  • It has two tiers: a Special Purpose Fund in the ANRF and Second Level Fund Managers such as TDB and BIRAC.
  • It gives long-term low or nil interest loans, equity and fund-of-funds contributions, not grants.
  • In September 2026 the TDB paused new applications citing 'administrative reasons' after its ₹2,000 crore was used up in the first round.
  • An August 2026 report found 15 of 22 first-round beneficiaries had investment links with selection committee members.
India's first port-based e-methanol plant to come up at Kandla
  • E-methanol is produced by reacting green hydrogen with captured carbon dioxide; green hydrogen is made by electrolysis of water using renewable electricity.
  • Kandla port was renamed Deendayal Port; it is a major port on the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, now run by the Deendayal Port Authority.
  • The International Maritime Organization, headquartered in London, is the UN specialised agency that regulates international shipping, including emissions.
How Gaganyaan's crew module will deploy its parachutes
  • Gaganyaan is India's programme to send a three-member crew to low Earth orbit for up to three days and return them safely.
  • The crew module's descent uses 10 parachutes of four types: apex cover separation, drogue, pilot and main parachutes, ending in a splashdown at sea.
  • Two of the three main parachutes are enough for a safe landing, giving the system redundancy.
How the EU plans to keep children under 15 off social media
  • Australia's law barring under-16s from major social media platforms took effect in December 2025.
  • India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 requires verifiable parental consent to process the data of anyone under 18.
  • Age verification raises privacy concerns because it may require collecting identity data from all users.
Deep-sea discovery and environmental responsibility
  • The International Seabed Authority, set up under UNCLOS and based in Kingston, Jamaica, regulates mineral activity on the seabed beyond national jurisdiction.
  • India holds three ISA exploration contracts: polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin, and areas on the Central Indian Ridge and the Carlsberg Ridge, about 95,000 sq km in all.
  • The Deep Ocean Mission (2021) includes Samudrayaan, with the crewed submersible MATSYA-6000.
SEMICON India 2026 opens with a push from design to systems
  • The India Semiconductor Mission was set up in December 2021 with an outlay of ₹76,000 crore.
  • SEMICON India is organised by the ISM under MeitY together with SEMI, a global industry association.
  • The chip value chain includes design, fabrication (fabs), assembly, testing and packaging (ATMP/OSAT).
Op-ed: China's cheap open-weight AI models may not stay open for long
  • An open-weight AI model releases its trained weights for download; its training data and code may still be withheld.
  • The op-ed says Chinese models such as Qwen, DeepSeek and Kimi trail U.S. frontier models by about six months and projects restrictions around late 2028.
  • Knowledge distillation trains a smaller model on a larger model's outputs, cutting cost.
  • DeepSeek-R1 was released on 20 January 2025 under the MIT licence.
  • The IndiaAI Mission, approved in 2024, has over ₹10,300 crore over five years and its first compute round in 2025 approved 10 providers to supply 18,693 GPUs.
RRI scientists show a well-timed single operation can delay quantum decoherence
  • RRI Bengaluru's QuIC laboratory, led by Urbasi Sinha, showed that a single, well-timed flip operation can delay decoherence and in some cases avoid entanglement sudden death; the work was published in Physical Review A.
  • Decoherence is the loss of a system's quantum behaviour through interaction with its environment.
  • Entanglement sudden death is the abrupt disappearance of entanglement before normal decay would remove it.
  • National Quantum Mission: approved 19 April 2023, ₹6,003.65 crore for 2023-24 to 2030-31, targeting quantum computers with 50 to 1,000 physical qubits in eight years.
  • RRI was founded by C.V. Raman in 1948 and is an autonomous institute funded by the Department of Science and Technology.
Defence Ministry: S-400 downed a Pakistani aircraft 314 km away in Operation Sindoor
  • The Defence Ministry's Annual Report 2025-26 says an IAF S-400 unit destroyed a Pakistani special-mission aircraft 314 km away during Operation Sindoor (7 to 10 May 2025).
  • India signed the S-400 contract with Russia on 5 October 2018 for five squadrons worth about $5.43 billion; the first squadron arrived in December 2021.
  • In Indian service the S-400 is called 'Sudarshan Chakra'; it was designed by Russia's Almaz-Antey.
  • IACCS is the IAF's automated air defence command and control network; it links military radars, civil radars and the Army's Akashteer system.
  • Operation Sindoor followed the Pahalgam terrorist attack of 22 April 2025, in which 26 people were killed.
First Badri calf born through OPU-IVF, a boost for Uttarakhand's hill cattle
  • The first Badri calf produced through OPU-IVF, a female, was born on 11 September 2026.
  • The work was done by ICAR-NDRI, Karnal, with G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, funded by the Uttarakhand Biotechnology Council.
  • The Badri embryo was carried by a Sahiwal recipient cow; semen came from genetically superior Badri bulls.
  • In ovum pick-up, eggs are collected from a live donor cow with an ultrasound-guided needle; they are then fertilised in the laboratory and the embryos transferred to recipient cows.
  • Badri is an indigenous hill cattle breed of Uttarakhand, hardy and disease-resilient, whose milk is rich in A2 beta-casein.
Mercury may have shrunk by up to 23 km in diameter, about 30% more than thought
  • A study in Geophysical Research Letters using MESSENGER data estimates Mercury's diameter has shrunk by up to 23 km, about 30% more than earlier estimates.
  • Mercury's core occupies about 57% of its volume, compared with 17% for Earth; cooling of this large core drives global contraction.
  • Lobate scarps are long cliff-like thrust faults formed as Mercury's crust is squeezed by contraction.
  • BepiColombo, an ESA-JAXA mission launched on 20 October 2018, is expected to enter Mercury's orbit in November 2026.
  • MESSENGER orbited Mercury from 18 March 2011 until it crashed onto the surface on 30 April 2015.
CosmoCube: a satellite to listen for the universe's Dark Ages from the Moon's far side
  • CosmoCube is a proposed compact satellite, described in Nature Astronomy on 14 August 2026, that would orbit the Moon for two years to detect the 21-cm hydrogen signal from the Cosmic Dark Ages.
  • It will orbit the Moon every two hours, spend about 40 minutes over the far side on each orbit, and observe at 10 to 100 MHz.
  • The 21-cm line (about 1,420 MHz) comes from the spin-flip transition of neutral hydrogen; Hendrik van de Hulst predicted it in 1944 and Ewen and Purcell detected it in 1951.
  • The Moon's far side is shielded from Earth's radio interference, making it ideal for low-frequency radio astronomy.
  • India's PRATUSH, by the Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru with ISRO, is a proposed lunar-orbit radio telescope with the same scientific goal.
ISRO staff bodies question the plan to hand rocket making to industry
  • IN-SPACe, approved on 24 June 2020 and headquartered in Ahmedabad, is a single-window autonomous agency under the Department of Space that promotes, authorises and supervises space activities of non-governmental entities.
  • NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) is the public sector company that commercialises mature ISRO capabilities.
  • Nine ISRO employee associations wrote to the ISRO Chairman on 4 September 2026 questioning the transfer of launch vehicle production and other functions to industry.
  • The stated targets are 50 launches a year by 2030 and a $44 billion space economy by 2033, up from about $8.4 billion now.
  • ISRO's long-term goals include the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035 and an Indian crewed Moon mission by 2040.
GSLV-F17 launches EOS-05, India's first imaging satellite for geosynchronous orbit
  • GSLV-F17 launched EOS-05 on 4 September 2026 from Sriharikota's Second Launch Pad; it was the 19th GSLV flight.
  • EOS-05 (2,367 kg) is India's first imaging satellite for geosynchronous orbit, about 36,000 km above the Equator.
  • Its multispectral camera has 42-metre resolution; it can image selected areas every 5 minutes and all of India every 30 minutes.
  • It carries two hyperspectral imagers: 158 channels in VNIR and 256 channels in SWIR.
  • GISAT-1 (EOS-03), the earlier attempt at a geo-imaging satellite, was lost when GSLV-F10's cryogenic stage failed in August 2021.

Society, social justice and ethics

Policing report: one in eight faced cybercrime, poor victims paid more bribes for redress
  • SPIR 2026, by Common Cause and Lokniti-CSDS, surveyed 8,306 people in 16 States and focused on cybercrime victims.
  • 13% of respondents had faced cybercrime in the past two to three years; 54% of these victims suffered financial fraud.
  • 27% of victims who complained to police paid a bribe; 51% of poor victims did so against 12% of affluent victims.
  • NCRB's Crime in India 2024 recorded 1,01,928 cybercrime cases, a 17.9% rise over 2023, with fraud as the motive in 72.6%.
  • Police and public order are State subjects; the Centre supports States through I4C, the cybercrime.gov.in portal and the 1930 helpline.
Supreme Court orders Delhi-NCR safety audit in four weeks after a string of rapes
  • A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran took suo motu cognisance of Delhi-NCR rape cases on 28 September 2026 and relied on Article 21.
  • Delhi Police must map vulnerable spots district-wise and audit lighting and CCTV within four weeks.
  • The Delhi High Court must report on Fast Track Special Courts and POCSO courts; such trials should preferably finish within one year.
  • Authorities must report the working status of 112, 181, One Stop Centres, Women Help Desks, the Safe City Project and the sexual offender database.
  • Section 72 of the BNS and Section 23 of the POCSO Act bar disclosure of a victim's identity.
Census 2027 first phase nears completion, PM calls it a national responsibility
  • The Census is conducted under the Census Act, 1948, and 'Census' is a subject in the Union List (Entry 69) of the Seventh Schedule.
  • The Census is carried out by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
  • Census 2027 is India's first digital Census and includes caste enumeration, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on 30 April 2025.
Census 2027: no decision yet on how open-field caste entries will be sorted
  • The Census is conducted under the Census Act, 1948, and 'Census' is a Union subject (Entry 69 of the Union List).
  • Every Census since 1951 has enumerated Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; the 1931 Census was the last to count all castes.
  • The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India functions under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Towards recognising women as farmers
  • Women operate only about 14% of operational holdings, according to the Agriculture Census 2015-16.
  • The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 gave daughters equal coparcenary rights in joint family property.
  • The Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (2011), under DAY-NRLM, supports women in agriculture.
Drug trade to be uprooted by the end of 2029, says Home Minister
  • The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 is India's main anti-drug law; the Narcotics Control Bureau was set up in 1986.
  • The MANAS helpline 1933 lets citizens report drug-related information.
  • India lies between the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan) and the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand).
What does Tulu's new official language status mean?
  • Karnataka made Tulu a 'second additional administrative language' for Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts on 18 September 2026.
  • Article 345 lets a State legislature adopt one or more languages for the State's official purposes; Karnataka's law is the Official Language Act, 1963.
  • The Eighth Schedule lists 22 languages; the 92nd Amendment (2003) added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santali. Tulu is not included.
New film certification guidelines notified for the CBFC
  • The CBFC certifies films under the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
  • The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023 introduced age-based categories UA 7+, UA 13+ and UA 16+, and made certificates valid permanently.
  • Reasonable restrictions on free speech under Article 19(2) form the constitutional basis for certification.
Supreme Court asks the Centre to defer the three-language rule for Class 6
  • The three-language formula dates back to the National Policy on Education, 1968, following the Kothari Commission.
  • NEP 2020 keeps the formula with more flexibility and says no language will be imposed on any State.
  • Article 350A directs States to provide instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage for linguistic minority children.
PM Vishwakarma completes three years
  • PM Vishwakarma covers 18 traditional trades and has an outlay of ₹13,000 crore for 2023-24 to 2027-28.
  • It offers collateral-free loans of up to ₹1 lakh and then ₹2 lakh at 5% interest, plus toolkits and skill training with a stipend.
  • Beneficiaries are brought into the formal MSME ecosystem through the Udyam Assist Platform.
Global Gender Gap Index 2026: India stays 131st of 145 with 64.5% of its gap closed
  • The Global Gender Gap Index is published by the World Economic Forum; the 2026 edition covers 145 economies.
  • India is 131st, the same as last year, with 64.5% of its gender gap closed; the global figure is 69.2%.
  • India's subindex scores: Educational Attainment 96.6%, Health and Survival 95.6%, Economic Participation and Opportunity 41.2%, Political Empowerment 24.5% (ranked 67th).
  • At the current pace, global parity will take 120 years; Southern Asia will take 149 years.
  • Iceland tops the index with 93%; Chad is last at 145th.
Urban Ministry tells House panel the 'census town' definition is outdated; RGI keeps it
  • A census town must have a population of at least 5,000, at least 75% of the main male working population in non-agricultural work, and a density of at least 400 persons per sq km.
  • MoHUA told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs that the definition is outdated; the RGI will retain it for Census 2027.
  • Census 2011 recorded 31.2% of India's population as urban; an EAC-PM estimate cited in the debate puts urbanisation at up to 63% in 2015.
  • Census towns rose from 1,362 in 2001 to 3,894 in 2011.
  • Article 243Q provides a Nagar Panchayat for a 'transitional area', an area in transition from rural to urban.
Op-ed: Anganwadis shape India's future, and communities must share responsibility for them
  • The 9th Rashtriya Poshan Maah began on 9 September 2026 in Varanasi with the theme 'Hamari Anganwadi, Hamari Jimmedari'.
  • The Integrated Child Development Services scheme, under which anganwadis run, was launched on 2 October 1975.
  • Mission Poshan 2.0 (2021-22), under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, integrates POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anganwadi Services and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls.
  • POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched in March 2018; the Poshan Tracker app was launched on 1 March 2021.
  • PMMVY, the maternity benefit scheme, is the successor of the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana of 2010 and implements the NFSA's cash maternity benefit of ₹6,000.
Editorial: India's road deaths need a Safe System approach, not just fines
  • India accounts for about 11% of global road traffic deaths with only about 1% of the world's vehicles.
  • In 2024, two-wheeler riders were 46.2% and pedestrians 20.6% of India's road deaths.
  • The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 raised penalties and came into effect, through 63 notified clauses, from 1 September 2019.
  • The Safe System approach covers safe roads, safe speeds, safe vehicles, protection of vulnerable users and post-crash care.
  • The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021 to 2030 targets a 50% cut in road deaths and injuries by 2030.
Op-ed: Warning labels alone will not fix India's sugar problem
  • The World Obesity Atlas 2026, cited in the op-ed, estimates about 41 million Indian children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 are overweight or obese.
  • FSSAI has proposed bold red front-of-pack warning labels for packaged foods high in fat, salt or sugar; the op-ed criticises its initial 'double trigger' design.
  • FSSAI was set up under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and works under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  • Since September 2025, India's GST applies a flat 40% rate to sweetened beverages, which the op-ed says gives no incentive to cut sugar.
  • The UK's Soft Drinks Industry Levy (from 6 April 2018) charges 18p per litre above 5 g sugar per 100 ml and 24p above 8 g.
Bhutan first in WHO's South-East Asia Region to eliminate dog-mediated rabies
  • WHO validated on 4 September 2026 that Bhutan has eliminated dog-transmitted rabies as a public health problem, the first country in WHO's South-East Asia Region to do so.
  • Bhutan's last human rabies death was recorded in June 2023; its strategy followed a One Health approach with mass dog vaccination and dog population management.
  • Rabies kills an estimated 59,000 people a year worldwide, and India accounts for about 36% of these deaths.
  • The 'Zero by 30' plan (2018) aims to end human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030; India's NAPRE, launched on 28 September 2021, has the same goal.
  • Rabies is caused by a virus of the genus Lyssavirus and is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, but is preventable with prompt post-exposure prophylaxis.
Rajghat finds from decades-old digs shed new light on ancient Kashi
  • Rajghat, at the confluence of the Ganga and the Varuna in Varanasi, is identified as the site of the capital of the ancient Kashi Janapada.
  • BHU excavated Rajghat between 1957 and 1969; re-excavations in the early 2000s dated its oldest layers to about 800 BCE, before Northern Black Polished Ware.
  • Kashi was one of the 16 Mahajanapadas listed in Buddhist texts such as the Anguttara Nikaya; it was later absorbed by Kosala and then Magadha.
  • Northern Black Polished Ware (c. 700 to 200 BCE) is the pottery associated with the second urbanisation of the Ganga plain.
  • Punch-marked coins, mostly silver and known as karshapanas, are India's earliest coins, issued from around the 6th century BCE.
Census count advanced in four poll-bound States, formally deferred in Manipur
  • In Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and non-snow-bound Uttarakhand, the Census 2027 reference date is 00:00 hours on 5 January 2027.
  • For most of India the reference date remains 1 March 2027; for Ladakh and the snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand it is 1 October 2026.
  • In the four States, self-enumeration runs from 16 to 30 November 2026 and house-to-house enumeration from 1 December 2026 to 4 January 2027.
  • House listing in Manipur has been deferred 'till further declaration' by an amendment to the notification of 7 January 2026.
  • The Census is conducted under the Census Act, 1948 by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Newborn deaths in hospital fires and the case for 'hospital plus home' care
  • Three newborns died in a fire at the government women's hospital in Amravati on 24 August 2026.
  • Institutional deliveries rose from 39% in 2005-06 to around 90% in 2023-24, as cited in the article.
  • Admissions of sick newborns to public SNCUs rose 28% in two years, from 11.3 lakh in 2021-22 to 14.45 lakh in 2023-24.
  • About 8 lakh ASHAs have been trained in Home-Based Newborn Care, according to the article.
  • The Gadchiroli trial (The Lancet, 1999) showed that trained community health workers cut neonatal mortality by 62.2%.
Is 'purifying' a venue after a Dalit leader's rally untouchability under Article 17?
  • Article 17 abolishes untouchability, forbids its practice in any form and makes enforcing any disability arising from it an offence; the word is not defined.
  • The Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 was renamed the Protection of Civil Rights Act in 1976; its Section 7(1)(d) punishes insulting an SC member on the ground of untouchability.
  • Section 3(1)(r) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 punishes intentional insult in public view; Hitesh Verma (2020) requires a caste link.
  • In Sukanya Shantha (3 October 2024) the Supreme Court struck down caste-based work rules in prison manuals and read Article 17 to cover notions of purity and pollution.
  • The Haldwani ritual took place on 10 August 2026, two days after Mallikarjun Kharge's rally at the Ramlila ground.
Delhi HC: return from maternity leave must restore role, not just pay and title
  • On 31 August 2026, the Delhi High Court (Justice Sachin Datta) held that a woman returning from maternity leave is entitled to her previous post or an equivalent one in role, authority and prospects, not merely the same pay and title.
  • The Court awarded ₹10 lakh compensation and ₹1.5 lakh costs, and directed the Union to frame rules within six months on role protection, lactation support, crèches and grievances.
  • Section 12 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 bars an employer from varying a woman's service conditions to her disadvantage during maternity absence.
  • The 2017 amendment raised paid maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks and required crèches in establishments with 50 or more employees.
  • Article 42 (a Directive Principle) directs the State to secure just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
Op-ed: Falling fertility, delimitation and the politics of population
  • India's total fertility rate was 2.0 in NFHS-5 (2019-21), below the replacement level of about 2.1.
  • Fertility has fallen in all major communities: Muslim TFR from 4.41 (1992-93) to 2.36, Hindu TFR from 3.3 to 1.94.
  • The 42nd Amendment (1976) froze inter-State seat allocation on the 1971 census; the 84th Amendment (2001) extended it until the first census after 2026.
  • Article 81 seeks the same ratio of Lok Sabha seats to population for all States, as far as practicable.
  • The op-ed argues pronatalist incentives abroad have not restored fertility and urges focus on ageing, migration and jobs.