Monthly Current Affairs: September 2026 – UKPSC Upper PCS Notes

September 2026 at a Glance

September 2026 at a Glance Key dates, locator map, headline numbers and mind maps

Key dates of the month 29 Aug

Roger Federer inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (Newport, USA)

17 Sep

30 Aug

NIPL (NPCI) signs UPI agreement with Uzbekistan’s HUMO (NIPC)

19 Sep

31 Aug

Messi retires from international football; Gollala Gudi notified as a Monument of National Importance

21 Sep

Exercise Nomadic Elephant (18th edition) begins at Pithoragarh (to 3 Oct)

5 Sep

Joheirry Mola (Dominican Republic) crowned Miss World 2026 in Nha Trang, Vietnam

22 Sep

72nd National Film Awards at Ekta Nagar (Kevadia), Gujarat; Anant Nag: Phalke Award 2024

12–13 Sep

18th BRICS Summit, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi; New Delhi Declaration adopted

13 Sep

India win Women’s Asia Cup (8th title) and Junior Men’s Hockey Asia Cup (6th title)

15 Sep

Six states sign the Kishau Multipurpose Project MoA, in the presence of Amit Shah

16 Sep

World Ozone Day; BIMSTEC traditional medicine conference begins in Goa (16–17 Sep)

31st

WorldSkills Competition, Shanghai: India finish 10th

22–27 Sep

23 Sep

11th Ayurveda Day; main event at Nagpur

26 Sep

India’s big day at the Asian Games: both kabaddi golds, marathon silver

27 Sep

World Tourism Day; India’s first LNG-powered train flagged off from Sabarmati

10th

4th of 82

India’s rank, Global Gender Gap Index 2026

India in Travel and Tourism Development Index 2026

India at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026

India at Pickleball World Cup (41 medals)

232.6 m

13 × ₹51,000

100 routes

45 + 45

Bal Veerata Awards a year in Uttarakhand

Trek routes to be mapped with GPS-GIS

Indian and Mongolian soldiers in Nomadic Elephant

131 / 145

20th Asian Games open at Aichi-Nagoya, Japan (to 4 Oct)

Headline numbers

Seva Sankalp Campaign begins (to 17 Oct); Abhishek Sharma’s 30-ball T20I century

Height of proposed Kishau concrete gravity dam

Uttarakhand locator map Where did it happen? (Sept 2026 news)

Kishau Multipurpose Project: Tons River, Dehradun (Uttarakhand) and Sirmaur (HP)

Asan Wetland (Ramsar site): new lake at Rampur Mandi, Dehradun

Dehradun: Disaster Management and state-level decisions

Roorkee: RuTAG 2.0 third annual review at IIT Roorkee

Corbett landscape: Corbett Literature Festival (6–8 Oct)

Nainital: Nanda-Sunanda Mahotsav

Haldwani: Van Shaheed Smriti Sthal at UFTA

Udham Singh Nagar: Pantnagar (GB Pant University, Badri calf); Rudrapur (Punjabi Gaurav Sammelan)

Pithoragarh: Exercise Nomadic Elephant (Foreign Training Node)

Himalayan zone

Banbasa (Champawat): Agniveer recruitment activity

Schematic map – boundaries and positions approximate, not to scale

Mind map: Uttarakhand in September 2026

Van Shaheed Smriti Sthal, Haldwani Asan Wetland eco-tourism Corbett Literature Festival

Disaster and Water

UTTARAKHAND Sept 2026

Glacial lake monitoring, GLOF alerts Kishau project (232.6 m dam)

Environment and Forests

Governance and Society

Nanda-Sunanda Mahotsav, Nainital UCC (Jan 2025): 2nd state Sikh heritage: Hemkund, Reetha Sahib

Defence and Youth Nomadic Elephant, Pithoragarh Ex-Agniveers: 10% horizontal reservation

Science, Livestock, Tourism Badri calf by OPU-IVF RuTAG 2.0 review, IIT Roorkee 100 trek routes: GPS-GIS app

Seva Sankalp: 17 Sep–17 Oct Bal Veerata Award ₹51,000 Partition Horrors Memorial

Culture and Heritage

Uttarakhand: Environment, Wildlife and Disaster

Mind map: National and international Governance and Social

Awards and Culture

UNGA: 27 Nov child marriage day DURGA scheme (Delhi) Mizoram state song AI-FunZone (Sikkim)

Miss World 2026 National Film Awards, Ekta Nagar Anant Nag: Phalke Award Gollala Gudi: national monument

Economy and Infrastructure

Sports

Mega Ports: 4 notified LNG train; OneTag FASTag Veligonda phase 1

Asian Games 2026, Japan Hockey, cricket, tennis, football Pickleball World Cup F1 revival task force

NATIONAL Sept 2026

Environment, Science, Health

Reports and Indices

World Ozone Day theme DU Carbon Garden Sports genomics (Gujarat) Ayurveda Day, Nagpur

Gender Gap: India 131st IEMI 2025: Delhi 84 TTDI 2026: India 31st

International and Defence BRICS New Delhi Declaration SCO: Lahore capital 2026-27 Colombo Security Conclave UPI in Uzbekistan

Tourism

World Tourism Day, 27 Sep National Digital Tourism Stack Dekho Apna Desh 2.0

Uttarakhand: Environment, Wildlife and Disaster

Memorials, glacial lakes, wetlands, native breeds and festivals

Van Shaheed Smriti Sthal, Haldwani What is it?

• Personnel who served in Uttarakhand.

• Pre-2000 personnel of undivided Uttar Pradesh.

• UFTA-trained rangers serving in other states.

• Permanent, temporary, contractual, third-party and daily-wage staff who died in the line of duty.

• Citations already received from Tarai East, Kedarnath Wildlife and Kalagarh Tiger Reserve divisions: more than 30 personnel.

• A memorial to be built at the Uttarakhand Forestry Training Academy (UFTA), Haldwani to honour forest personnel who died protecting forests and wildlife.

• Expected to be inaugurated at the end of October 2026.

• Commemorates those lost while facing timber and wildlife smugglers, forest fires, armed groups and dangerous wild animals.

• Will display photographs and citations of the fallen; a permanent record for future forest officials and trainees.

Who is covered?

Historic sacrifice remembered

• In May 1992, Ram Avtar (Assistant Conservator of Forests) and Pan Singh (Deputy Ranger) of the Tarai West Forest Division were killed in an encounter with terrorists during heightened militant activity in the Tarai region.

Glacial lake monitoring and early warning 1. Watch

2. Track

3. Detect

4. Alert

5. Respond

Satellites, drones, remote sensing, sensors

Water level, lake area, storage capacity

Abnormal change = GLOF risk

District and village communication systems

NDRF, SDRF, police, health

What Uttarakhand plans

Preparedness measures

• Strengthen monitoring of high-risk glacial lakes using satellite imagery, remote sensing, drones and sensors.

• Parameters tracked: water levels, lake surface area, storage capacity and other abnormal changes in high-altitude water bodies.

• A sudden rise in water level or lake expansion may signal a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF).

• Early-warning systems in vulnerable areas to alert downstream communities.

• Focus on turning scientific observations into actionable alerts, with communication at district and village levels.

• The Disaster Management Department will work with scientific institutions and technical agencies to build a coordinated monitoring network.

• Stocks of foodgrains, medicines, fuel and essential supplies in remote and sensitive areas.

• Coordination among NDRF, SDRF, police, health and other departments.

• 24x7 control rooms monitor weather-related hazards and coordinate emergency response.

Static link: NDRF

• Established under Section 44 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005; raised on 19 January 2006; headquarters in New Delhi.

Asan Wetland and the new Rampur Mandi lake

444.4 ha

1967

Area of Asan Wetland

Asan River dammed (Asan Barrage)

2005

2020

Declared Conservation Reserve

Ramsar site: first in Uttarakhand

Birds and wetland facts

New lake and eco-tourism

• Migratory birds arrive from October and stay until the end of March; annual bird counting is done.

• Prominent visitors: Ruddy Shelduck (Surkhab) and a pair of the rare Pallas’s Fish Eagle each year.

• Located at the confluence of the Asan and Yamuna rivers; includes the Asan Barrage.

• Conservation Reserve (2005) under Section 36A, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

• A new lake is being developed at Rampur Mandi, Dehradun, inside the Forestry Training Centre campus.

• About one kilometre long; developed by the Chakrata Forest Division as a tourist attraction with a nature trail.

• Aim: promote eco-tourism, bird watching and awareness about the wetland ecosystem.

• Forest Department is also preparing a mud island at the Ramsar site ahead of the migratory season.

Asan = first Ramsar site of Uttarakhand (2020), a Conservation Reserve (not a National Park or Sanctuary), formed by damming the Asan River in 1967.

EXAM POINTER

Badri cattle: OPU-IVF calf 1. Donor

2. OPU

3. IVF

4. Culture

5. Transfer

Genetically valuable Badri cows

Ultrasound-guided ovum pick-up

Eggs matured, fertilised with elite Badri bull semen

Embryos grown in laboratory

Into synchronised Sahiwal cows (surrogates)

The breakthrough

Why it matters

• A healthy Badri female calf was produced with Ovum Pick-Up and In Vitro Fertilisation (OPU-IVF).

• Done by scientists of ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) and G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar.

• The programme began in 2023 under the then Vice-Chancellor Dr M.S. Chauhan.

• The embryo was developed in a laboratory and transferred into a Sahiwal cow for surrogacy.

• Badri is an indigenous breed of Uttarakhand’s hills, adapted to the mountainous agro-climatic conditions.

• Allows rapid multiplication of elite germplasm and faster genetic improvement.

• Supports breed conservation, livestock biodiversity and productivity.

• Preserves India’s indigenous animal genetic resources.

Uttarakhand: Governance, Society and Culture

Static link: ICAR

• Autonomous body under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

• Formerly the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research; established 16 July 1929 as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, after the Royal Commission on Agriculture; HQ New Delhi.

Corbett Literature Festival 2026

6–8 Oct

3 Days

20+

Inaugural festival dates

Theme: “3 Days in the Wild”

Sessions over three days

Core themes

Activities and legacy

• Three-day residential festival in the Corbett landscape; national-level literature festival on wildlife and natural landscapes.

• Four themes: Nature and Wildlife; the Himalayas; Uttarakhand; Culture and Heritage.

• Day 2: wildlife conservation and challenges in protecting habitats. Final day: Himalayan ecology, responsible tourism, human-wildlife coexistence.

• Wildlife photography and filmmaking masterclasses, guided nature walks, bird and wildlife observation, cultural evenings.

• Showcases Uttarakhand music, food and storytelling traditions.

• Jim Corbett National Park is India’s first national park and the landscape is associated with the launch of Project Tiger.

Format

Uttarakhand: Governance, Society and Culture

Campaigns, awards, UCC, defence exercise and heritage

17 Sep–17 Oct

Component Aashirwad Ka Diya

Modi’s birthday

Every district

Campaign begins on 17 September

With district in-charge ministers

Campaign period, statewide

Seva Sankalp Campaign 2026+

Mere Sapno Ka Bharat – Chitra Seva

What happens Collective lamp-lighting at government scheme centres, LPG distribution centres, ration shops, religious places, along the Ganga and other prominent locations Painting, essay and speech competitions in schools on Viksit Bharat 2047

Aangan Milan Seva

Children, parents, Anganwadi and ASHA workers; maternal and child health, nutrition, welfare

Seva Jyoti Kalash Yatra

A Kalash symbolising the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision installed at a city intersection, with cycle and motorcycle rallies

Seva: Mera Yogdan

Citizens take part in tree plantation, cleanliness drives, teaching and community work

Seva Setu

Camps under Jan-Jan Ki Sarkar, Jan-Jan Ke Dwar: information and access to Central and State schemes, health and multipurpose camps

Seva Ke Rang, Rashtra Ke Sang

Rangoli activities presenting the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision

Partition Horrors Memorial Sikh heritage and related points raised

• Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the state has started steps for a Partition Horrors Memorial to honour those who lost their lives and everything in the 1947 Partition.

• He spoke at the Punjabi Gaurav Sammelan, Rudrapur.

• Aim: a developed Uttarakhand where heritage is respected alongside development and progress goes with social harmony.

• Hemkund Sahib and Reetha Sahib highlighted as part of Uttarakhand’s spiritual heritage.

• Initiatives cited: Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, exemption of langar from taxes, approval of foreign contributions to the Golden Temple.

• Veer Bal Diwas honours the supreme sacrifice of the Sahibzadas.

• Steps for justice and respect to families affected by the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Agnipath Scheme and Uttarakhand’s ex-Agniveers

Uttarakhand provisions

Launched in 2022; youth join as Agniveers for four years Up to 25% of each batch may join the regular cadre (as per needs and selection criteria)

Employment provisions in CAPFs and Assam Rifles

Posts: police, fire services, prisons, forest, excise and Secretariat security Age-related concessions and exemption from the physical efficiency test where prescribed Many state candidates take part in Agniveer recruitment drives, including at Banbasa, Champawat

Bal Veerata Award

Under Horizontal Reservation Rules, 2025: 10% horizontal reservation in direct recruitment to specified uniformed Group C posts

Seva Nidhi package and a skill certificate after four years

Agnipath scheme (Centre)

The announcement

₹51,000

1 per district

Up to 18 yrs

Children honoured every year

Prize money per child

Chosen from each of 13 districts

Eligible age

Key provisions

• New state-level award for children who show exceptional courage.

• Each child gets ₹51,000, a certificate of appreciation and state-level recognition.

• Acts of courage: saving another person’s life, outstanding courage or achievement in sports and adventure sports.

Implementation

• Nodal department: Women Empowerment and Child Development Department.

• The department invites applications and runs the selection from all 13 districts.

• Awards expected to be presented by the Chief Minister.

• Objective: a state platform to recognise courage and encourage confidence and initiative.

Nanda-Sunanda Mahotsav and the Uniform Civil Code Uniform Civil Code (UCC)

• CM Dhami offered prayers to Goddess Nanda-Sunanda; the festival features folk songs, Jhora-Chanchari, Dhol-Damau and other art forms.

• Religious sites highlighted: Naina Devi Temple, Hanumangarhi, Kainchi Dham, Mukteshwar.

• Mansakhand Temple Mala Mission: major mythological and religious sites of the Kumaon region being developed with better facilities while keeping their traditional character.

• Women’s self-help groups supported through interest-free loans of up to ₹5 lakh.

• Uttarakhand implemented the UCC in January 2025.

• UCC is mentioned in Article 44, a Directive Principle of State Policy; not enforceable by law.

• Goa was the first state with a UCC (its Portuguese-era common civil code continued after joining India in 1961).

• Uttarakhand: second state in India and first in independent India.

• Proposes one set of personal laws on marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and succession for all citizens irrespective of religion.

Nanda-Sunanda Mahotsav, Nainital

GPS-GIS mapping of 100 trek routes The project

Do not confuse: Goa = first state with a UCC (colonial-era code, 1961). Uttarakhand = first state in independent India to implement a UCC (January 2025).

EXAM POINTER

Benefits and outputs

• Offline access to trail information without mobile network in remote Himalayan areas.

• Route data helps rescue teams locate trails and access points in emergencies.

• Sustainable tourism that protects sensitive Himalayan ecology.

• A Detailed Project Report (DPR) and a coffee table book will also be prepared.

• CM Dhami flagged off teams to map 100 prominent trek and hike routes with GPS and GIS.

• Implemented through the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Council.

• Teams will physically survey routes and build a detailed digital database.

• An online and offline GPS navigation app will cover all 100 routes.

About RuTAG

RuTAG 2.0: third annual review at IIT Roorkee

• Rural Technology Action Group: conceptualised 2003–04, formally established 2004 by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) to link scientific institutions with rural technology needs.

• RuTAG 2.0 (launched 2023): field engagement, technology validation, commercialisation, scale-up and wider application.

• Review meeting chaired by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.

• Emphasis on practical rural challenges and scalable, sustainable solutions.

Platform and centres

• RSVC-AMRIT platform, developed by NABARD with OPSA, supports technology discovery, validation, deployment and collaboration.

• Seven RuTAG centres: IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee, ICAR-NAARM Hyderabad, SKUAST Kashmir.

• A compendium of technologies developed by the SKUAST-Kashmir centre under RuTAG 2.0 (2023–2026) was released.

Exercise Nomadic Elephant (18th edition)

18th

21 Sep–3 Oct

45 + 45

Pithoragarh

Edition of India–Mongolia exercise

2026 schedule

Personnel from each army

Foreign Training Node, Uttarakhand

Kishau Multipurpose Project

Key facts

Training content

• Annual platoon-level joint military exercise, held alternately in India and Mongolia.

• Previous (17th) edition: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, May–June 2025.

• Objective: joint capability for counter-insurgency operations in semi-urban and mountainous terrain under a United Nations mandate.

• Cordon and search operations, room intervention drills, special heliborne operations.

• Cyber security training; use of drones and counter-drone systems.

• Focus on tactical-level interoperability and exchange of best practices; strengthens India–Mongolia defence cooperation.

Kishau Multipurpose Project

Six-state agreement on the Tons River: facts, funding and background

Project at a glance

232.6 m concrete gravity dam

232.6 m

Reservoir: about 1,562 million m3 live storage

Tons River (tributary of the Yamuna)

irrigation potential

1,476 MU clean hydropower

90 : 10 Centre : six states, water component

Downstream: Yamuna basin

97,000 ha

Detail

Agreement

Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed on 15 September 2026 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil

Signatories

Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana

River and location

Benefits

Tons River (major tributary of the Yamuna; flows along the Uttarakhand–Himachal border); Dehradun district (Uttarakhand) and Sirmaur district (Himachal Pradesh) 232.6 m high concrete gravity dam; live storage about 1,562 million cubic metres (MCM) Irrigation of about 97,000 hectares; about 1,476 million units of hydropower; better environmental flows in the Yamuna

Dam

Parameter

Implementing agency

Kishau Corporation Limited: joint venture of the governments of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand

Funding

Centre gives 90% of the cost of the water component; remaining 10% shared by the six states

Status

Declared a National Project

National: Polity, Governance and Social Sector

How the agreement came about 12 May 1994

MoU among upper Yamuna basin states on sharing utilisable surface water of the Yamuna up to the Okhla Barrage

1994

Basin states agree that separate agreements will be made for individual storage projects in the Upper Yamuna Basin

Earlier

Agreements for the Renuka Ji and Lakhwar multipurpose projects (issues resolved first)

16 Jun 2026

Six states reach consensus to move ahead with an MoU; Centre to give 90% of water-component cost

15 Sep 2026

Kishau MoA signed: the third project-specific agreement for a multipurpose storage project among the six states

Exam angle

• One of the major storage projects planned in the Upper Yamuna Basin, along with Lakhwar and Renukaji.

• Delhi is expected to gain the most in water availability and the effort to improve the Yamuna.

• According to the Union Home Minister, 25% of the water will become available through the project, benefiting Delhi and the Yamuna.

• Common MCQ: river (Tons), height (232.6 m), agency (Kishau Corporation Limited), funding ratio (90:10).

• Districts: Dehradun and Sirmaur.

• Mains: inter-state water sharing, cooperative federalism, trade-off between hydropower and Himalayan ecology.

Why it matters

National: Polity, Governance and Social Sector

Resolutions, commissions, state initiatives and welfare schemes

UNGA resolution: International Day against child marriage The resolution

• Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 prohibits child marriage and provides legal mechanisms for prevention and protection of affected individuals.

• Minimum age under Indian law: a female below 18 years and a male below 21 years is considered a child for this Act.

• India co-sponsored a UN General Assembly resolution proclaiming 27 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage; to be observed annually.

• Aim: raise awareness of the harms of child and forced marriage and promote protection, empowerment and well-being of children and girls.

• Child, early and forced marriage is linked to violations of fundamental human rights; it harms education, health, personal autonomy and socio-economic opportunities.

• The UN has repeatedly urged countries to enact and implement laws to prevent and eliminate it.

Indian law: PCMA, 2006

Mizoram: official state song Background and protocol

• Mizoram Assembly unanimously adopted ‘Ro Min Rel Sak Ang Che’ as the official state song; resolution moved by CM Lalduhoma.

• Composed by Mizo writer and composer Rokunga in 1947; the title means ‘Be Thou our Counsellor’.

• Theme: God as sovereign ruler, seeking divine guidance, protection and righteous rule.

• Mizoram Cabinet decided on 10 August to have an official state song and selected this one.

• Declared a Mizo anthem by the Mizo National Front (MNF) during the insurgency period; long regarded as the state anthem without official status.

• 2022: the then MNF government directed all schools to sing it before classes.

• When officially sung: stand, right hand over left side of the chest, sing in a prayerful, reverent spirit.

• The General Administration Department (GAD) will issue guidelines.

Facts

NCSC chairman honoured

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Jan Seva Award 2026

• Kishor Makwana, Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), honoured for the Commission’s service towards social justice and protection of the rights of Scheduled Castes.

• Presented at the 16th Sansad Ratna Awards 2026, New Delhi; the NCSC was nominated by the Prime Point Foundation and the Sansad Ratna Awards Committee.

• Static: NCSC is a constitutional body established under Article 338.

Delhi: DURGA scheme

1,170

Pink electric autos, first phase

Reserved for women

130

90 + 10

Reserved for transgender persons

Maximum autos per revenue district (women + transgender)

1,300

Key points

• Approved by the Delhi Cabinet under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

• Aim: safe, clean and dignified employment for women and transgender persons; they become owners and drivers of electric autos.

• Intended to make Delhi safer, greener and more inclusive.

Sikkim: AI-FunZone in government schools Programme

• AI-powered learning programme in 71 government schools in Khamdong, Nandok and Martam blocks of Gangtok district.

• Pilot to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy of Classes 3 to 5; about 2,100 students.

• Run by the Sikkim Education Department with the EkStep Foundation under an MoU signed in April 2026.

• Subjects: English, Nepali and Mathematics.

How it works

• A dedicated 60-minute AI-FunZone class inside the regular timetable.

• Short daily practice; adapts to each student’s level; can listen to children read and identify maths errors.

• AI is a support tool; teachers remain facilitators. Dashboard shows real-time progress.

• No exams, ranking or comparison. Needs computers or tablets, headsets and fast internet; some schools report shortages.

National: Economy, Infrastructure and Schemes

Andhra Pradesh Police: AI drone portal and SafeStay app Centralised Drone Monitoring Portal (CDMP)

SafeStay app

• AI-based portal for authorised police to watch live drone feeds from one dashboard, with analytics for quicker response.

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) gives secure access without public streaming platforms.

• Gives police real-time information on people staying in hotels and paying guest (PG) accommodations.

• Launched by AP DGP Harish Kumar Gupta at the Guntur SP office; aims at crime prevention, investigation, women’s safety and traffic management.

Fisheries, exports, highways, railways, ports and irrigation

The mission

Mission Rangeen Machhli 2031 (Lakshadweep)

National: Economy, Infrastructure and Schemes

Numbers to remember

• Fisheries potential: more than 1 lakh tonnes; about 94,000 tonnes is tuna and tuna-like species.

• India’s seafood exports crossed ₹73,000 crore last financial year, reaching 120+ countries.

• Emphasis on responsible fishing and action against IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) fishing; Blue Economy as a pillar of Viksit Bharat 2047.

• Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan released it at the Fisheries Outreach Programme, Agatti, Lakshadweep.

• A Strategic Action Plan for Ornamental Fisheries Development to promote sustainable ornamental fish production and strengthen the Blue Economy.

• Projects worth over ₹62 crore approved for Lakshadweep under PMMSY (Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana).

Tripura ethnic rice exported to Europe Export details

• 18 metric tonnes of NPOP-certified ethnic rice flagged off for Austria and the Netherlands, facilitated by APEDA.

• Rice aggregated from local Farmer Producer Companies supported by the Tripura State Organic Farming Development Agency (TSOFDA).

• Follows a Reverse Buyer-Seller Meet organised by APEDA in Tripura in August.

• Farmers expected to gain up to 40% higher price than domestic rates.

Four varieties

• Aromatic Kali Khasa rice

• Aromatic Harinarayan rice

• Biron rice (white sticky rice)

• Maimi Hanga rice (black rice)

• Austria and the Netherlands demand strict food safety, certification and traceability, so organic certification is crucial.

NHAI: Green Highways Excellence Awards 2026 Category

First prize

Avenue Plantations

Six-laning of Chilakaluripet Bypass on NH-16, Andhra Pradesh

Median Plantations

Four-laning of Hyderabad–Yadgiri section of NH-163

Plantation in Land Parcels (clover leaves, interchanges, toll plazas, service areas)

Jamtha Clover Leaf and Oxygen Bird Park, NH-44, under RO-Nagpur

About the awards

Judging criteria

• Instituted by NHAI in 2025, as mandated under the Green Highways Policy, 2015.

• Entries from NHAI field offices, concessionaires, contractors, government agencies, NGOs and private agencies.

• Plantation survival rate, site-specific plans, timing, pit size, quality of planting material, protection measures, species diversity and use of native species.

• Nominations backed by geo-tagged photos, drone videos and survival data.

OneTag: FASTag portability on Rajmargyatra 2. Eligibility

3. MVC

4. New issuer

5. Done

App checks if the tag can be ported

Existing issuer gives 6-digit Mobile Verification Code

Select issuer, complete KYC and wallet onboarding

Same physical tag and FASTag ID continue

1. Login Rajmargyatra app; enter vehicle number

Context

• Users can change the issuer bank without replacing the physical FASTag; the FASTag ID stays unchanged.

• The previous issuer closes the old wallet and refunds the balance after adjustments.

• An interoperable FASTag has a six-month cooling period before it can be ported again.

• Joint initiative of IHMCL and NPCI.

• FASTag penetration over 98%, about 13 crore users.

• Rajmargyatra also offers the FASTag Annual Pass, Local Pass and Emergency Helpline 1033.

Key facts

Veligonda Irrigation Project (Andhra Pradesh), phase 1

18.8 km

21.8 km

10.70 TMC

Cost of phase 1 (total est. ₹10,200 crore)

Twin tunnels in phase 1

Feeder canal works

Krishna water stored in Nallamala Sagar

Project

₹7,983 cr

• Inaugurated by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

• Diverts Krishna River water from the Srisailam Reservoir to Nallamala Sagar by gravity; canals then supply irrigation and drinking water.

• Second phase to be completed by 2028.

Rehabilitation

• Compensation of ₹768 crore paid to 6,206 displaced families within 48 days.

• Markapuram included in the proposed ₹1 lakh crore Global Horticulture Hub project.

Railways: 100% electrification and India’s first LNG-powered train First LNG-powered train

• All 5,068 route-km of broad gauge network electrified.

• Final section: 71 RKM between Pattukkottai and Karaikudi.

• Benefits: seamless electric operations without traction change, better locomotive utilisation, less fossil-fuel dependence.

• History: electric traction came to Southern Railway in May 1931; Madras was the second city after Bombay.

• Flagged off by Amit Shah from Sabarmati (Ahmedabad) on 27 September 2026; he also launched projects worth ₹1,472 crore.

• Dual-fuel (diesel + LNG) system in the Driving Power Cars: two 1,400 HP DPCs at Sabarmati depot converted.

• LNG replaces about 40% of diesel; lower CO2, NOx and particulates.

• Kavach on Sabarmati–Kalol–Sabarmati (₹48 crore); doubling of Sabarmati–Sarkhej line begun.

• Trial of India’s first long-haul double-stack container train between JNPA and Vadodara.

Southern Railway: 100% electrified

National: Environment, Science and Health

Mega Ports notified under the Indian Ports Act, 2025 Port

State

Note

Deendayal (Kandla)

Gujarat

Major port; gateway for Gujarat and northern-western hinterland

Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPA), Nhava Sheva

Maharashtra

Major port; important container port serving Mumbai region

Paradip

Odisha

Major east-coast port; bulk and industrial cargo

Mundra

Gujarat

Non-major port (unlike the other three); extensive cargo-handling and multimodal logistics

Port network

• Notified by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways under Section 73 of the Indian Ports Act, 2025; criteria for classification were earlier notified under Section 73(1).

• India has 12 major ports and more than 200 non-major ports.

• Aim: high-capacity, efficient, globally competitive ports and stronger logistics.

Legal basis

Himachal Pradesh: first ozone-based drinking water project Dehra (Kangra district)

National: Environment, Science and Health Ozone, urban green space, sports genomics and Ayush

• Announced by CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu; ₹46 crore allocated; to be extended to other parts of the state.

• Uses ozone gas (O3), a strong oxidising agent, to disinfect water and improve taste and odour; it destroys or inactivates bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms.

World Ozone Day 2026 (16 September)

Harmful UV-B from the Sun

1985

Antarctic ozone hole reported (Farman, Gardiner, Shanklin, British Antarctic Survey; Nature paper)

Stratosphere

OZONE LAYER (O3): about 15–35 km

Most UV-B absorbed here

1987

2016

Montreal Protocol adopted: controls on ozone-depleting substances

Kigali Amendment: phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

2040 / 2045 / 2066

Projected return to 1980 levels: most of world / Arctic / Antarctica

Earth’s surface

Treaties and recovery

• Observed on 16 September to mark the signing of the Montreal Protocol (1987). 2026 theme: “Global action for a cooler planet” (stress on the Kigali Amendment and sustainable cooling).

• Ozone layer: part of the stratosphere, roughly 15–35 km above the surface, with relatively high ozone (O3); absorbs most harmful UV-B.

• Ozone hole: severe seasonal depletion of stratospheric ozone, most prominent over Antarctica; not a literal hole.

• CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances release chlorine and bromine in the stratosphere, which destroy ozone molecules.

• Montreal Protocol (1987): global controls on ozone-depleting substances; resulted in phase-out of more than 99% of controlled substances (WMO).

• Kigali Amendment (2016): global phase-down of HFCs. HFCs do not deplete ozone but many have high global-warming potential, so the phase-down gives climate benefits.

• Expected recovery to about 1980 levels: 2040 (most of the world), 2045 (Arctic), 2066 (Antarctica).

Core facts

Delhi University’s Carbon Garden

Two faces of ozone: in the stratosphere it protects life by absorbing UV-B; used as a gas in water treatment (as in Himachal’s Dehra project, Chapter 6) it works as a strong oxidising disinfectant.

EXAM POINTER

Science behind it

Facts

• Plants absorb CO2 by photosynthesis and store carbon as biomass: carbon sequestration.

• Microorganisms associated with plants help break down certain pollutants and gases and improve soil quality.

• Shows small green spaces can work as urban ecological systems.

• Inaugurated by the University of Delhi at its Department of Botany; described as India’s first Carbon Garden.

• About 2,000 sq. ft. with nearly 50 plant species (herbs, shrubs, trees); a mini-biodiversity park including algae, fungi and bacteria.

• DU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Yogesh Singh called for sustainable, climate-sensitive urban planning.

Gujarat: India’s first state-level Sports Genomics Programme

Athlete samples a year

Programme

10,000

3 age groups

G-AGD

Samples over five years

Below 14, 14 to under 18, above

Gujarat Athlete Genome Database

2,000

• Run by the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) under the Department of Science and Technology.

• First batch of samples from tennis players of the Gujarat State Tennis Association; next phase: archery, fencing, judo and shooting athletes (Vijayi Bharat Foundation).

• Proposes whole-genome sequencing of talented athletes; aims to make Gujarat a Sports Biotechnology Innovation Hub.

Sports genomics

• Studies how genetic variations relate to muscle composition, endurance, metabolism, exercise response, recovery and injury susceptibility.

• No single sports gene: success depends on genetics, training, coaching, nutrition, infrastructure, lifestyle and environment.

International Relations and Defence

11th Ayurveda Day (23 September 2026) Launches

• Celebrated by the Ministry of Ayush on 23 September 2026, now observed on a fixed date; national event at Nagpur, Maharashtra.

• Theme: “Ayurveda for a Healthier Tomorrow”.

• Scientific sessions on Ayurveda’s road to 2047 and integrated therapies in reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases.

• First-ever Report on the Ayush Services Sector by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).

• Safety dossiers on Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris) and Chandrasura (Lepidium sativum).

• Standard Treatment Guidelines on Skin Disorders.

• Report “From Traditional Wisdom to Global Leadership: Ayush Vision 2030”.

International Relations and Defence BRICS, SCO, Colombo Security Conclave, UPI abroad and BIMSTEC

Event

18th BRICS Summit and the New Delhi Declaration 12–13 Sep 2026 New Delhi (Bharat Mandapam)

20th

2026

Anniversary of BRICS

India’s BRICS Chairship

18th BRICS Summit

Theme and declaration

Four pillars in the declaration

• Theme of India’s Chairship: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.

• Leaders adopted the BRICS New Delhi Declaration 2026 on global governance, economic development, technology and sustainability.

• Reflects India’s stress on Global South cooperation and strategic autonomy, giving developing countries a larger voice.

• Global governance: multilateralism and a more representative, inclusive international order with greater participation of developing countries.

• Economic cooperation: trade, investment, resilient supply chains.

• Innovation and technology: digital transformation, emerging technologies.

• Sustainable development: climate action, energy transition, resilient development.

SCO names Lahore Tourism and Cultural Capital for 2026-27 Year

Facts

2023-24

2024-25

2025-26

2026-27

Varanasi (India)

Almaty (Kazakhstan)

Qingdao (China)

Cholpon-Ata (Kyrgyzstan)

Lahore (Pakistan)

SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital

2022-23

Concept

• Lahore designated SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital 2026-27, coinciding with Pakistan’s SCO chairmanship for 2026-27 (theme: “Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation and Shared Prosperity”).

• The selection was taken in April 2026 at the meeting of Heads of Tourism Administrations of SCO states in Bishkek, and announced at the 26th SCO Council of Heads of State Summit, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

• The title rotates annually and highlights the cultural heritage of the country holding the SCO presidency.

• Aim: promote tourism, cultural exchange and people-to-people contacts.

• Lahore is known for the Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Colombo Security Conclave: Table Top Exercise Colombo Security Conclave (CSC)

India Founding

Seychelles

Sri Lanka

Latest (6th)

Founding

Regional maritime security framework; permanent secretariat at Colombo, Sri Lanka. Began as the Trilateral for Maritime Security Cooperation.

CSC

September 2026: three-day Table Top Exercise (72+ hours of simulated scenarios) at Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam.

est. 2020 Bangladesh

Maldives

Joined 2024

Founding

Theme: “Coordinated Response to Illicit Maritime Activities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)”.

Mauritius

Joined 2022

Link to MAHASAGAR

• Challenges: maritime terrorism, narcotics smuggling, human trafficking and IUU fishing.

• Participants reviewed Standard Operating Procedures and streamlined information sharing to strengthen Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA).

• Aligned with India’s vision of MAHASAGAR: Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.

• Reaffirms collective resolve for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

UPI expands to Uzbekistan International arm of NPCI

Signed 30 Aug 2026, during PM Modi’s Uzbekistan visit

NIPC / HUMO

UZQR

P2M payments

Operator of Uzbekistan’s national payment system

Indian users scan Uzbek QR with UPI apps

Directly from Indian bank accounts

Agreement

NIPL (NPCI)

Exercise focus

Key facts

• Enables UPI-based merchant (P2M) payments across Uzbekistan through the national QR code UZQR; benefits Indian tourists, business travellers and students.

• Follows approvals of the RBI and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU); CBU designated HUMO as NIPL’s authorised partner.

• Reduces dependence on cash and international cards; near-universal acceptance via the unified national QR infrastructure.

UPI abroad

• Before this agreement UPI was accepted in 10 countries, including Singapore, UAE, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar and Sri Lanka.

• Uzbekistan adds