Thursday, 17 September 2026 · IST · Madhya Pradesh + National · 11 items · 2 MCQs
On 17 September 2026, Madhya Pradesh marked four years of Project Cheetah with 52 cheetahs (32 India-born) across Kuno and Gandhi Sagar, as the state Cabinet cleared a ₹42,490-crore package and readied the Sugam Parivahan bus service. Nationally, the Union raised the EPFO wage ceiling to ₹25,000, the Supreme Court affirmed RBI's authority over multi-state cooperative bank boards, and Q1 FY27 GDP growth came in at 7.8%.
Today at a glance — things to remember
Project Cheetah completes 4 years; India's cheetah count at 52.
MP Cabinet approves ₹42,490 crore welfare & infra package.
'Sugam Parivahan' public bus service to launch 25 September.
7,500+ meritorious students get e-scooties in Bhopal.
MP now holds six wildlife 'state' titles, incl. Cheetah State.
EPFO wage ceiling raised to ₹25,000; 51 lakh+ more covered.
Supreme Court upholds RBI power over multi-state co-op banks.
India's GDP grows 7.8% in Q1 FY27 — fastest big economy.
17 September 2026 marks four years of Project Cheetah, the world's first inter-continental large-carnivore translocation, launched at Kuno National Park (Sheopur) on the same date in 2022.
Key facts
India's cheetah population is now 52 — 49 at Kuno and 3 at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
32 are India-born cubs; founding stock: 8 (Namibia, 2022), 12 (South Africa, 2023), 9 (Botswana, 2026).
The cheetah went extinct in India in 1952; the project aims to restore grassland & open-forest ecosystems.
MP is the only state hosting cheetahs, adding 'Cheetah State' to its wildlife titles.
Way forward
Sustain a self-breeding wild population and develop Gandhi Sagar and Veerangana Durgavati/Nauradehi as second homes to ease crowding at Kuno.
Concept
Kuno NP lies in the Chambal region; cheetah is the only large mammal hunted to extinction in modern India; IUCN status Vulnerable.
Stat tiles showing 52 total cheetahs, 32 India-born, 49 at Kuno, 3 at Gandhi Sagar, and import sources Namibia 8, South Africa 12, Botswana 9. — StudyForGS
The state Cabinet (15 Sep 2026) approved proposals worth over ₹42,490 crore across school education, irrigation, transport, horticulture and cooperative credit.
Key facts
₹36,006 crore to continue Samagra Shiksha (2026-27 to 2030-31), pre-primary to Class 12.
₹2,607 crore for three irrigation projects — Chitawad (Ujjain), Gaund (Singrauli), Chanderi Micro (Ashoknagar), ~1.27 lakh ha.
₹2,220.62 crore interest-free loan to MARKFED; ₹1,166.6 crore for 11 transport schemes.
₹491 crore for eight horticulture & food-processing schemes to raise farmer income.
Way forward
Timely fund release and last-mile delivery will decide whether outlays translate into learning outcomes and assured irrigation.
Concept
Samagra Shiksha is a centrally-sponsored integrated school-education scheme (shared Centre-State funding); MARKFED is the MP State Cooperative Marketing Federation.
The CM announced (14 Sep 2026) a state-wide public bus network to fill the gap left by declining private/nationalised services, starting 25 September 2026.
Key facts
~1,000+ routes across all 55 districts: ~150 city, ~450 intercity, ~436 interstate.
Electric/CNG buses with CCTV, GPS, panic buttons; run on PPP via MPYPIL with an Intelligent Transport Management System.
Target: connect 75% of villages by 2030; MoU with a ride-hailing firm for first/last-mile in Bhopal & Indore.
An electric-bus plant at Pithampur (5,000/year capacity) to support the fleet.
Way forward
Financial viability of thin rural routes and clear PPP risk-sharing will be key to keeping service affordable.
Concept
Public transport is a State subject; 'safe, affordable, tech-enabled mobility' aligns with SDG-11 (sustainable cities).
Pillar diagram of route counts (450 intercity, 436 interstate, 150 city) and the target to connect 75% of villages by 2030. — StudyForGS
4. 7,500+ Meritorious Students Get E-Scooties Under Mukhyamantri Scooty Yojana
Prelims: MP welfare/education schemes. Mains GS-II education & social empowerment.
Context
On 16 Sep 2026 in Bhopal, the CM distributed e-scooties to over 7,500 meritorious Class-12 students of 2025-26 to support higher education and mobility.
Key facts
Beneficiaries: top-scoring Class 12 students of the 2025-26 board exams.
Aim: cut transport barriers to college, reward merit and promote electric mobility.
Adds to MP's student-support ecosystem (scholarships, laptop assistance).
Way forward
Transparent merit criteria and adequate coverage of girl and rural students strengthen equity outcomes.
Concept
Merit-linked conditional benefits are a demand-side education intervention improving enrolment and retention.
5. Beyond the Tiger: MP Cements Status as India's Multi-Species 'Wildlife State'
Alongside Project Cheetah, MP now holds a cluster of wildlife 'titles' backed by fresh biodiversity and water-conservation data.
Key facts
MP is Tiger, Leopard, Cheetah, Vulture, Gharial and Wolf State.
Biodiversity: 5,000+ plant, 500+ bird, 180 fish species; 53 gharials & 33 turtles released in the Kuno river.
Key tiger reserves: Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna, Satpura; MP has India's largest forest cover.
Water drive restored/created 56,000 water sources, 827 stepwells and cleaned 212 rivers.
Way forward
Habitat corridors and human-wildlife conflict management are essential as animal populations grow.
Concept
MP has India's largest forest cover (area) and highest tiger numbers; Project Tiger began 1973; PESA, 1996 governs tribal forest areas.
Central Madhya Pradesh hub linked to six wildlife-state titles (Tiger, Leopard, Cheetah, Vulture, Gharial, Wolf) with biodiversity tiles. — StudyForGS
📜 Asked before in the exam — previous-year question on this topic
BPSC Prelims 2022 (67th CCE)Consider the following statements: 1. In India, Project Tiger was launched in 1973. 2. The theme for National Biodiversity in 2022 is 'Building a shared future for all life'. 3. The Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme. Which of the above statements is/ are correct?
Prelims: EPFO, EPS, EDLI. Mains GS-II social security; GS-III labour & economy.
Context
The Union Cabinet (16 Sep 2026) raised the mandatory EPF wage ceiling from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000/month, effective 17 Sep 2026 (Vishwakarma Jayanti) — the first revision since 2014.
Key facts
Expected to bring 51 lakh+ additional employees under mandatory EPFO cover.
Extends access to provident fund, EPS pension and EDLI insurance.
Annual government outgo rises to about ₹11,339 crore (from ~₹10,250 crore).
Average private-sector salary (~₹23,000) had outgrown the old ₹15,000 threshold.
Way forward
Deepens formal social security but raises employer PF liability; indexation of the ceiling could avoid future lags.
Concept
EPFO runs EPF, EPS-1995 and EDLI; governed by the EPF & MP Act, 1952; a statutory body under the Ministry of Labour & Employment.
Comparison tiles: ceiling raised ₹15,000 to ₹25,000, 51 lakh+ new employees, ₹11,339 crore annual government outgo. — StudyForGS
7. Supreme Court Upholds RBI's Power to Supersede Multi-State Co-op Bank Boards
In *Sandeep S. Ghandat v. RBI* (Sept 2026), the Supreme Court held that the RBI can supersede a multi-state cooperative bank's board beyond the six-month limit, up to five years.
Key facts
Reads the third proviso to Article 243ZL as incorporating the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (Sec 36AAA).
Cooperatives were added to the Constitution by the 97th Amendment (2011), Part IX-B.
Depositor protection justifies banking regulation overriding general cooperative safeguards.
Distinguishes state vs multi-state cooperative banks on consultation.
Way forward
Balances the electoral autonomy of cooperatives with financial-sector stability and depositor safety.
Concept
Cooperative societies are a State subject (Entry 32, State List); multi-state co-ops fall under the Union; RBI regulates their banking functions.
8. Indian Economy Grows 7.8% in Q1 FY27, Fastest Among Major Economies
ISRO successfully placed EOS-05, an indigenous Earth-observation ('eye in the sky') satellite, in orbit (Sept 2026), amid a push to hand launch-vehicle manufacturing to private industry.
Key facts
EOS-05 supports development planning, agriculture, disaster and security monitoring.
ISRO to focus on R&D and transfer launch-vehicle production to the private sector.
Enabled by the IN-SPACe / NSIL ecosystem promoting private space activity.
Way forward
Private participation can scale launches, but ISRO's core R&D role and technology-transfer safeguards remain vital.
Concept
IN-SPACe regulates/promotes private space activity; NSIL is ISRO's commercial arm; EOS = Earth Observation Satellite series.
11. Pakistani Corvette PNS Hunain Collides With Indian Navy Ship in Arabian Sea
On 16 Sep 2026, Pakistan's corvette PNS Hunain collided with an Indian Navy warship in the North Arabian Sea during a routine surveillance mission; India lodged a protest.
Key facts
India cited violation of the 1991 Agreement on advance notice of naval movements; Pakistan claimed its EEZ.
Minor damage reported; the episode recalls the 2011 PNS Babur-INS Godavari incident.
Underlines the need for maritime confidence-building measures (CBMs).
Way forward
Reactivating naval CBMs and hotlines can prevent inadvertent escalation at sea.
Concept
EEZ extends 200 nautical miles (UNCLOS, 1982); high seas lie beyond; freedom of navigation applies with due regard.
📜 Asked before in the exam — previous-year question on this topic
BPSC Prelims 2023 (68th CCE)India's territorial limit extends towards the sea up to how many nautical miles/km from the coast?
Linked because this news is about the same topic. The answer is as per the official key of that year.
Data point of the day
₹30.77 lakh crore
MP investment intent — Global Investors Summit 2025 Record investment MoUs/intentions attracted at the Bhopal Global Investors Summit (Feb 2025); MP's task now is to convert these into ground-level industrial projects and jobs.
Prelims rapid-fire
Kuno National Park (Sheopur, MP) hosted India's first wild cheetahs, reintroduced on 17 Sep 2022.
MP's Sharbati wheat and Chinnor rice carry GI tags; MP is India's top soybean producer.
The EPFO wage ceiling was revised to ₹25,000/month, effective 17 Sep 2026.
Article 243ZL is in Part IX-B (Cooperative Societies), added by the 97th Amendment, 2011.
India's Q1 FY27 GDP grew 7.8%; the RBI's inflation tolerance band is 2-6%.
The SCO secretariat is in Beijing; India became a full member in 2017.
Practice MCQs — MPPSC Prelims pattern
Q1. Consider the following about Project Cheetah: 1) It is the world's first inter-continental translocation of a large carnivore. 2) The cheetahs were first released at Kanha National Park. 3) The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. Which of the above are correct?
1 and 3 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 2 only
1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: A Cheetahs were first released at Kuno National Park, not Kanha, so statement 2 is wrong. Statements 1 and 3 are correct.
Q2. With reference to the EPFO, consider: 1) It administers the Employees' Pension Scheme. 2) Its wage ceiling was raised to ₹25,000 per month in September 2026. 3) It functions under the Ministry of Finance. Which are correct?
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: A EPFO works under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, not Finance, so statement 3 is wrong. Statements 1 and 2 are correct.
Mains practice question
Q. Project Cheetah has been described as both an ecological experiment and a governance challenge. In the light of four years of implementation in Madhya Pradesh, examine its achievements and the challenges of sustaining a wild cheetah population. (250 words)
Hint / approach
Cover translocation success (52 cheetahs, 32 India-born), the second-home strategy (Gandhi Sagar, Veerangana Durgavati/Nauradehi), mortality and carrying-capacity concerns, and community livelihoods/eco-tourism.
📌 One-line revision: 17 Sep 2026: Project Cheetah turns 4 (52 cheetahs) • MP Cabinet clears ₹42,490 cr • EPFO ceiling ₹15k→₹25k • India GDP 7.8% (Q1 FY27) • SC backs RBI over co-op bank boards.
