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UPSC Weekly Current Affairs 21 Sep – 27 Sep 2026

5 daily editions · 53 topics · 11 MCQs · National & International · updates daily till Sunday

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2 Nov – 8 Nov 202626 Oct – 1 Nov 202619 Oct – 25 Oct 202612 Oct – 18 Oct 20265 Oct – 11 Oct 202628 Sep – 4 Oct 202621 Sep – 27 Sep 202614 Sep – 20 Sep 20267 Sep – 13 Sep 202631 Aug – 6 Sep 2026

Weekly at a glance

All topics — key facts for revision

21 September 2026

Full notes with diagrams →
ECONOMY FPIs pull ₹20,974 crore from equities in September; 2026 outflow crosses ₹2.45 lakh crore
  • Sept outflow ₹20,974 cr; July inflow ₹20,200 cr, Aug inflow ₹29,630 cr.
  • 2026 YTD equity outflow ₹2.45 lakh cr – already above full-year 2025 (₹1.66 lakh cr).
  • Debt also hit: FAR ₹10,296 cr, VRR ₹1,817 cr, general route ₹1,068 cr withdrawn.
  • Drivers: higher US rates/bond yields, Brent above $100/bbl (Hormuz tension), rupee at record lows.
SCI-TECH Rare-earth magnets: India's gap lies in the midstream, not in reserves
  • Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) magnets power EV motors, wind turbines, drones, electronics.
  • India has reserves in coastal monazite sands (Kerala, TN, Odisha, AP) – the weak link is separation, metallisation, alloying.
  • China dominates the midstream processing stage where global concentration is highest.
  • Proposal: an Integrated Techno-Economic Mapping (ITEM) framework linking engineering and economic data across the chain.
ECONOMY Tata Trusts call Chandrasekaran's reappointment 'void' – a corporate governance test
  • Trusts own about 66% of Tata Sons; Article 104B lets them nominate one-third of directors while holding ≥40%.
  • Article 121: key decisions need affirmative vote of a majority of Trust nominees.
  • Nominees split 1-1: Noel Tata against, Venu Srinivasan for; Trusts say a chairman's casting vote cannot fill this gap.
  • Linked row over a Tata Sons listing, which RBI's upper-layer NBFC rules for large CICs make mandatory.
ENVIRONMENT Five baby orangutans found in Odisha expose urban wildlife-trafficking networks
  • Probe by Odisha Forest Dept and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) into illegal import.
  • All 3 orangutan species are Critically Endangered (IUCN) and in CITES Appendix I.
  • Black-market price up to ₹20 lakh per animal; 2 baby orangutans were seized on the Assam-Mizoram border in 2022.
  • Studies show urban demand hubs, not only source forests, reshape trafficking routes; India's key route is the India-Myanmar border.
IR US Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act signed – up to 100% tariffs threaten India's oil diplomacy
  • Allows duties of up to 100% on goods from the top-5 buyers of Russian crude or gas; to be applied within 30 days.
  • Russia supplied ~2.1 mbpd to India in Aug 2026 (down from 2.6 mbpd in June-July) – still >40% of imports.
  • US takes about 20% of India's goods exports; MSME exporters most exposed.
  • India's stance: will keep importing from commercially viable sources.
POLITY SC: a court deposit is not payment – asks Law Commission to frame a uniform deposit law
  • Interest liability ceases only on payment per Order XXI Rule 1, CPC.
  • Found wide inconsistency across courts in deposit %, banks, instruments and interest accounting.
  • Recommended a statutory framework; copy sent to Law Commission, RBI Governor, Finance & Law Secretaries.
  • Model cited: US Court Registry Investment System – a pooled, unified investment platform.
POLITY SIR Phase-3: about 17% names dropped from draft rolls in 12 States and 2 UTs
  • Phase-3 covers 12 States + 2 UTs; earlier two phases removed about 13% of names.
  • Highest combined rates flagged in Delhi (53.73%), Chandigarh (52.58%), Telangana (48.90%), Jharkhand (39.57%).
  • Reasons cited by ECI: deaths, shifted, duplicate, untraceable electors.
  • Excluded persons can file Form 6 / claims before the ERO during the claims-and-objections window.
IR Nepal's Finance Minister in Delhi seeks help for post-flood reconstruction
  • Floods killed 1,388 people; property loss ~$4.75 bn across three districts.
  • Reconstruction estimated at $4.7-5 bn over 3-5 years.
  • After the 2015 earthquake, India gave a $250 mn grant + $750 mn LoC.
  • Pending: revision of the 2009 Trade Treaty, overflight/air-entry routes for Pokhara & Bhairahawa airports.
HEALTH Tamil Nadu launches a salt-reduction strategy to curb hypertension
  • Average Indian intake: 8.9 g/day (men), 7.1 g/day (women) vs WHO cap of 5 g.
  • TN adult hypertension: 33.9% (men), 28.5% (women).
  • Excess sodium → water retention → higher blood volume → raised arterial pressure (the 'silent killer').
  • Four levers: measurement, reformulation, awareness, screening with doorstep drug delivery.
SOCIETY Community cadres: 30 lakh+ village workers powering last-mile delivery
  • 9 lakh+ Community Resource Persons; 92 lakh SHGs under DAY-NRLM cover 10 crore+ households.
  • 10.40 lakh ASHAs; Krishi Sakhi 1.91 lakh, Pashu Sakhi 1.70 lakh, BC Sakhi 1.48 lakh.
  • ₹13.41 lakh crore bank credit to SHGs since 2013-14; 4.32 lakh enterprises under SVEP.
  • Concern: paid by honoraria/incentives; 45th Indian Labour Conference (2013) call for minimum wages largely unmet.
SOCIETY 72nd National Film Awards at Ekta Nagar; Anant Nag gets Dadasaheb Phalke Award
  • Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2024: Anant Nag – 300+ films in six languages; debut in Ankur (Hindi); known for Malgudi Days.
  • Best Feature Film: Article 370; Best Actor shared by Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan.
  • Ravi Raj Murmu's Angen – first Santhali film honoured (Best Debut, Non-Feature).
  • Prize money: Swarna Kamal ₹3 lakh, Rajat Kamal ₹2 lakh; presented by the President.

22 September 2026

Full notes with diagrams →
DEFENCE KAL: India's first indigenous long-range one-way attack drone clears Pokhran trials
  • Strike range of about 1,000 km; endurance 7–8 hours; payload 50 kg; ceiling up to 5,000 m.
  • Navigation by multi-band GNSS plus an Inertial Navigation System (INS), enabling autonomous flight even under GPS jamming.
  • Class: loitering munition / kamikaze drone — it is expended on the target, unlike a reusable UCAV.
  • OWA drones have been decisive in the Russia–Ukraine and West Asia conflicts as a low-cost alternative to cruise missiles.
DEFENCE HAL hands over Tejas trainers, first HTT-40s and Dhruv NG helicopters
  • 2 LCA Tejas twin-seat trainers (FOC standard) handed to the IAF, completing the Mk-1 trainer order.
  • 3 HTT-40 basic trainers — first of a 70-aircraft order; they will augment the Pilatus PC-7 Mk II fleet for stage-I (basic) training.
  • 4 Dhruv NG helicopters to Pawan Hans — India's first indigenous civil helicopter meeting the AS-4 airworthiness standard.
  • Marks a shift from licence-production to indigenous design across the aviation ecosystem.
ECONOMY Moody's lifts India's FY27 growth forecast to 7% after a strong Q1
  • Q1 growth was led by manufacturing and services; calendar-year H1 2026 growth estimated at 8.2%.
  • FY27 inflation projected at 4.8% — inside RBI's 2–6% band but above the 4% target.
  • Moody's forecast is now above RBI's own FY27 estimate of 6.7%.
  • Sovereign rating retained at Baa3 (stable) — the lowest investment grade.
  • Risks flagged: energy prices and food inflation amid West Asia tensions.
ENVIRONMENT Swachhata Hi Seva 2026: legacy dumpsites turn into parks and forests
  • 3.66 crore MT legacy waste remediated in 2025; 459 ULBs in 29 States achieved complete remediation.
  • Bhalswa (Delhi): 99.07 lakh MT cleared by 31 July 2026; Gorakhpur: 40-acre site became the Kachre Se Kanchan Rapti Eco Park.
  • Raichur (Yakalaspura): ~22 acres reclaimed; Miyawaki forest planted on 5 June 2026.
  • Dumpsite Remediation Accelerator Programme (DRAP) launched November 2025; SWM Rules, 2026 in force from 1 April 2026.
  • Urban India has 68,339 public sanitation facilities, incl. 37,766 public toilets.
ENVIRONMENT Leopardus tilcayo: first new living wild cat species described in over 100 years
  • Body length about 46 cm, weight ~1.4 kg — smaller than a house cat; light-brown coat with dark rosettes.
  • Lineage split from other tiger cats about 1.4 million years ago; genetics show tiger cats are five distinct species.
  • A new subspecies, Leopardus tigrinus antisuyo, was also identified in Peru's Yungas.
  • Camera traps suggest nocturnal habits; diet includes small rodents.
ECONOMY Core sector growth eases to 4.8% in August; cement and electricity lead
  • Cement +12.5% and electricity +11.6% (a 27-month high) led growth.
  • Iron ore +5.5%, steel +3.4%, refinery products +2.6%; coal −3.8%.
  • Crude oil, natural gas and fertilisers contracted year-on-year.
  • Cumulative April–August 2026: 4.3%, against 2.4% a year ago.
HEALTH 11th Ayurveda Day on 23 September: 'Ayurveda for a Healthier Tomorrow'
  • National Ayush Mission (NAM): CSS since 2014; central releases ₹6,406.99 crore (2014-15 to 2025-26); funding 60:40, 90:10 for NE/Himalayan States.
  • 12,260 Ayush Ayushman Arogya Mandirs functional (target 12,500).
  • ICD-11 TM2 module (launched in New Delhi, 10 January 2024) codes Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani diagnoses.
  • WHO-GCTM, Jamnagar — WHO's first global outposted traditional medicine centre; Budget 2026-27 Ayush allocation ₹4,408 crore.
  • Ayush market grew to US$43 billion (2024); target US$200 billion by 2030.
POLITY UCC push: Uniform Civil Code targeted in all 21 NDA-ruled States by 2029
  • Uttarakhand became the first State after independence to operationalise a UCC (January 2025).
  • Goa already follows the Portuguese Civil Code, 1867 — a pre-existing uniform family law.
  • Personal-law bills of some States (e.g. Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh) are reported to be awaiting Presidential assent.
  • Tribal customary laws are generally kept outside State UCCs, citing Fifth/Sixth Schedule protections.
  • Key cases: Shah Bano (1985), Sarla Mudgal (1995), Shayara Bano (2017) — the Court flagged non-implementation of Art. 44.
IR India–Bhutan: ₹4,000 crore Line of Credit for energy; Punatsangchhu-II inaugurated
  • Punatsangchhu-II (1,020 MW) inaugurated with its tariff protocol; dam work on Punatsangchhu-I (1,200 MW) resumed.
  • Connectivity: Gelephu–Kokrajhar and Samtse–Banarhat rail links; immigration check-post at Hatisar (Assam).
  • UPI payments enabled for Bhutanese nationals in India; ICCR scholarships doubled.
  • Also: a 65-bed mother-and-child hospital at Mongar and 54 electric vehicles handed over.
REPORT UN Gender Snapshot 2026: full gender equality still 171 years away
  • 1 in 3 gender-equality institutions lost power in two years; ~1 in 4 faced budget cuts.
  • At the current pace, full gender equality is 171 years away; no SDG-5 indicator is on track for 2030.
  • 6 in 7 countries are led by men; women are only 6% of global corporate CEOs; 8 in 10 finance ministers are men.
  • India: women hold 74 of 543 Lok Sabha seats (13.6%); the 106th Amendment (2023) reserves one-third seats after delimitation.

23 September 2026

Full notes with diagrams →
ECONOMY Growth forecast for FY27 raised to 7% on strong first-quarter momentum
  • FY27 GDP growth revised up by 0.4 percentage points to 7.0%; FY28 trimmed to 7.1% from 7.3%.
  • Q1 FY27 real GDP grew 7.8% year-on-year, the trigger for the upgrade.
  • Retail inflation projected at 5.0% for FY27 (down from 5.2%) and 4.0% for FY28.
  • Drivers cited: robust investment demand, resilient consumption, strong manufacturing and services, and sustained capital inflows.
  • ADB is a regional development bank headquartered in Manila, Philippines, established in 1966; India is a founding member and among its largest borrowers.
ECONOMY RBI absorbs ₹71,971 crore of surplus liquidity through VRRR auction
  • Under a VRRR, banks park surplus funds with the RBI for a fixed tenor and the rate is discovered through auction, not fixed in advance.
  • It is a liquidity absorption tool under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF); VRR (Variable Rate Repo) does the opposite by injecting liquidity.
  • Objective: pull the weighted average call rate (WACR) closer to the repo rate, since excess liquidity pushes overnight rates below the policy rate.
  • Undersubscription (₹71,971 crore against ₹75,000 crore) signals banks prefer to keep funds deployable rather than lock them in.
  • The RBI's operating target of monetary policy is the WACR in the overnight segment.
SCI-TECH Canal-top solar offers a land-free path to about 131 GW of clean power
  • A 2024 assessment pegs India's combined canal-top plus canal-bank potential at about 131 GW.
  • India's first canal-top solar plant came up at Mehsana, Gujarat, in 2012 on the Narmada canal network.
  • A 1-MW canal-top array there saves roughly 9 million litres of water a year and generates about 1.6 million units of electricity annually.
  • A 20-MW project in Punjab avoided the use of roughly 100 acres of land.
  • High-potential States: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. For canals wider than 30 m, vertical bifacial panels along banks are suggested.
ENVIRONMENT Global water assessment flags deepening groundwater stress in India
  • 2025 was among the driest years in 35 years for river discharge: only 36% of global river-basin area saw normal flows.
  • 42% of global land area recorded below-normal terrestrial water storage in 2025, continuing a decline since 2014-16.
  • All major glaciated regions lost mass for the fourth consecutive year; 2025 loss was about 408 gigatonnes, adding roughly 1.1 mm to sea level.
  • India: 34% of monitored groundwater stations were below or much-below normal in 2025, up from 25% in 2024.
  • Deficits persisted 2022-2025, especially in north-western India, with over-abstraction the key driver; deep reserves did not recover despite above-normal discharge in the Ganga, Godavari, Krishna and Indus.
ENVIRONMENT Punjab's groundwater extraction touches 156.87% of what recharges
  • 115 of 153 assessment units in Punjab are classified over-exploited; irrigation consumes roughly 25 billion cubic metres a year.
  • Drivers: subsidised electricity that makes pumping nearly free, and assured procurement of paddy that locks in the rice-wheat cycle.
  • As water tables fall, smallholders must buy water from larger landowners with deeper bores, transferring wealth upward.
  • Pani Bachao, Paisa Kamao pays farmers cash for unused pumping units, but enrolment has stayed low.
  • Crop Diversification Programme under PM-RKVY and the State's water regulation framework are the other policy levers in play.
DEFENCE Exercise Nomadic Elephant 2026: India and Mongolia train at Pithoragarh
  • A platoon-level bilateral exercise with 45 personnel from each side, held alternately in India and Mongolia.
  • The previous edition was held in Ulaanbaatar in May-June 2025.
  • Focus: counter-insurgency operations in semi-urban and mountainous terrain, and operations under a UN mandate.
  • Drills include cordon and search, room intervention, special heliborne operations, cyber security, and drone and counter-drone employment.
  • Mongolia is a landlocked Central Asian partner; India's engagement spans energy, mining, culture and Buddhist diplomacy.
POLITY No criminal consequence for a conscientious refusal to sing the national song
  • The challenge is to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026 and Union Home Ministry circulars issued in January and July 2026.
  • The petitioner is the Carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna; the Bench was headed by CJI Surya Kant.
  • The Court leaned on Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala (1986), which protected students who stood respectfully but did not sing the national anthem.
  • Core reasoning: nobody can be made to infract Articles 25 and 26 and then face criminal prosecution for it.
  • Vande Mataram, from Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's Anandamath, was adopted as the national song on 24 January 1950, with equal status to the national anthem but no separate legal penalty attached historically.
POLITY Creating an offence is a legislative function, not an executive one
  • The Court found the definition rested on the executive's ipse dixit, offending Article 20(1), which bars conviction except for violation of a law in force at the time of the act.
  • Core principle: creating an offence and prescribing punishment is an exclusively legislative function and cannot be delegated through rule-making.
  • The judgment revisits the distinction between act-based punishment (what a person did) and status-based punishment (what a person is labelled).
  • This is a classic application of the doctrine of excessive delegation: the legislature must lay down the essential legislative policy itself.
  • Article 20 also guarantees protection against double jeopardy (20(2)) and self-incrimination (20(3)), and is non-derogable even during an Emergency under Article 359.
IR India-New Zealand FTA to enter into force on 20 October 2026
  • New Zealand gives 100% duty-free access to Indian exports from day one.
  • India offers concessions on 70.03% of its tariff lines, covering roughly 95% of bilateral trade value; the remaining 29.97% stays protected.
  • Excluded or shielded: dairy, select agricultural items, sugar and edible oils. Tariff Rate Quotas and Minimum Import Prices apply to apples, kiwifruit and Manuka honey.
  • New Zealand has committed to facilitate US$20 billion of investment over 15 years.
  • Mobility: a dedicated quota of 5,000 temporary employment visas for skilled Indians and 1,000 working-holiday visas a year; post-study work rights of 3 years for STEM graduates and 4 years for doctoral scholars.
IR Visegrad Group backs India's UN Security Council bid as reform push intensifies
  • V4 members: Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Formed on 15 February 1991 at Visegrad, Hungary; all four joined the EU in 2004.
  • The V4 is an informal intergovernmental platform, not supranational: decisions by consensus, a rotating annual presidency, and V4+ formats for third countries.
  • India is pressing a UNSC non-permanent seat candidature for 2028-29 as well; Tajikistan has also entered the Asia-Pacific contest.
  • India joined the Partnership for Multilateralism (P4M) as a co-sponsor alongside Australia, Brazil, Barbados and Kenya.
  • India framed today's disruption through the '4F' crisis - Fuel, Food, Fertiliser and Finance - and argued that international rules must be scrupulously observed by all states.

24 September 2026

Full notes with diagrams →
ECONOMY Centre Slashes Import Duty on Edible Oils from Today
  • Crude palm and crude soybean oil: BCD cut from 10% to 5%.
  • Crude sunflower oil: BCD cut from 10% to 0% — a full exemption.
  • Refined palm and refined soybean oil: BCD cut from 32.5% to 27.5%.
  • Refined sunflower oil: BCD cut from 32.5% to 22.5%.
  • The wider crude–refined duty gap deliberately protects the domestic refining industry while easing retail prices.
REPORT 'Super El Niño' May Cause 15,800 Extra Heat Deaths in India
  • India: about 15,800 additional heat deaths, the fourth highest after Nigeria, Sudan and Indonesia.
  • Peak mortality in India is projected for December to February.
  • African Sahel worst hit at 66,800 deaths; Southeast Asia 19,000+; Brazil 13,000.
  • Global temperatures projected about 1.2 °C above normal through mid-2027.
  • 44% more extremely hot days than the 1996–2025 baseline.
ENVIRONMENT Planetary Health Check 2026: 7 of 9 Boundaries Breached
  • Breached (7): climate change, biosphere integrity, biogeochemical flows, novel entities, land-system change, freshwater change and ocean acidification.
  • Ocean acidification is the most recent boundary to be formally crossed.
  • Within safe limits (2): stratospheric ozone depletion and atmospheric aerosol loading.
  • Ozone recovery is credited to the Montreal Protocol, 1987 — evidence that treaties work.
  • The report warns of cascading tipping points across interlinked Earth systems.
DEFENCE DAC Clears ₹1.10 Lakh Crore Defence Procurement Package
  • Army: CBRN reconnaissance vehicles, High Mobility Vehicles, self-propelled mechanical mine layers and additional ALH Dhruv helicopters.
  • Navy: Arudhra radar — a 4D AESA system with about 400 km surveillance range — and a Marine Gas Turbine programme.
  • Air Force: a Ground-Based Multi-Purpose Jammer for electronic warfare.
  • Procurement is routed largely through the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.
  • Beneficiaries include DPSUs, private firms, MSMEs and start-ups.
SCI-TECH ISRO to Build Advanced Radar Research Facility in Assam
  • ISTRAC is ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network, headquartered at Bengaluru.
  • The facility will support satellite tracking and space situational awareness.
  • The eastern longitude improves ground-station coverage for launches and low-earth-orbit passes.
  • Complements ISRO's Project NETRA for tracking space debris and orbital objects.
  • Expected to seed a space-technology ecosystem and skilled jobs in the North-East.
DEFENCE Anti-Narcotics Task Force Meet Sets 2029 Drug-Free Target
  • Focus areas: financial investigations, regulation of precursor chemicals and cross-border extradition.
  • Districts are being classified as manufacturing origins, transit corridors or consumption hubs.
  • 46,780 registered Nashamukt Mitras have been deployed as community volunteers.
  • New NCB complexes are coming up at Lucknow and Dehradun.
  • Key challenges flagged: synthetic drug labs, darknet markets and low conviction rates.
IR India Flags US Sanctions Law on Russian Oil at UNGA Sidelines
  • The legislation raises the prospect of secondary sanctions on third-country buyers of discounted Russian crude.
  • Energy security is central: crude oil is India's largest single import by value.
  • Both sides agreed to continue cooperation in priority areas and on the Indo-Pacific partnership.
  • India's position rests on strategic autonomy and on sourcing energy at least cost for its consumers.
  • The meeting came alongside a broader tariff dispute in the India–US trade relationship.
ENVIRONMENT Western Ghats ESA Notification Still Stuck in State Objections
  • The Western Ghats span about 1,64,280 sq km across six States.
  • The Kasturirangan Committee recommended ESA status for about 37% of the range — roughly 60,000 sq km.
  • Proposed curbs: a complete ban on mining and quarrying, run-of-the-river hydel projects with at least 30% ecological flow, and no new townships.
  • Construction is capped at about 20,000 sq metres in ESA zones.
  • States object that satellite mapping without ground-truthing hurts agrarian livelihoods.
POLITY SC Refers CEC Appointment Law to a Constitution Bench
  • The challenge targets Section 7 of the 2023 Act, which creates a three-member Selection Committee.
  • Committee composition: Prime Minister (Chair), Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM.
  • It displaced the interim panel of PM + LoP + CJI laid down in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023).
  • Justice Dipankar Datta observed that the ECI must not only be independent but also appear independent, calling the LoP's role potentially 'largely ornamental'.
  • The bench avoided a three-judge referral to prevent further delay, sending it straight up.
HEALTH India Showcases Health Gains, Co-Launches OneSCD at UNGA-81
  • Over 1.8 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs now deliver primary, secondary and tertiary care.
  • More than 90 crore citizens hold an ABHA digital health ID; over 49.7 crore tele-consultations delivered.
  • National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme (2018): about 22.5 crore screened across 1.80 lakh facilities and 1,039 treatment centres; elimination target 2030.
  • National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission (2023–2047): 7.29 crore screened, 20 lakh+ carriers identified, 2.5 lakh cases diagnosed and 4.93 crore Sickle Cell Cards issued.
  • OneSCD partners include Nigeria, WHO, UNICEF and Africa CDC.
SOCIETY DDU-GKY 2.0 Rural Skilling Batches to Begin in October
  • 34,920 rural youth will begin training in 1,164 batches in October 2026.
  • Overall allocation of 5.6 lakh targets across 24 States/UTs and over 1,200 projects.
  • Phase-1 target: 3,57,112 youth in 14 States/UTs by 31 December 2027.
  • Courses run 3 to 12 months, delivered through Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs), in a 2026–2028 cycle.
  • A new end-to-end digital portal will manage projects; regional workshops at Shillong, Vijayawada, Mumbai and Dharamshala.

25 September 2026

Full notes with diagrams →
ECONOMY Make in India completes 12 years: manufacturing share creeps up, export share does not
  • Covers 27 sectors (including 15 manufacturing sectors); target of 25% manufacturing share of GDP traces to the National Manufacturing Policy, 2011.
  • Non-petroleum exports up from USD 253.5 billion (2014-15) to USD 388.3 billion (2025-26).
  • Manufacturing GVA share rose from 14.6% (2022-23) to 15.6% (2025-26); GVA growth averaged 10.88% during 2022-26.
  • 14 PLI schemes attracted Rs 2.40 lakh crore investment by March 2026, with Rs 22.66 lakh crore production and Rs 15.20 lakh crore exports.
  • Share of manufacturing in FDI inflows improved from about 48% to 55%; world merchandise export share stuck near 1.7% since 2013.
ECONOMY RBI drains a liquidity overhang with Rs 1 lakh crore of OMO sales
  • Latest VRRR auction absorbed Rs 71,971 crore at a cut-off of 5.24%.
  • OMO sales: Rs 50,000 crore on 17 September, Rs 25,000 crore on 21 September and Rs 25,000 crore on 28 September 2026 — about Rs 1 lakh crore in all.
  • LAF corridor: floor is the SDF at repo minus 25 bps, ceiling is the MSF at repo plus 25 bps.
  • Liquidity surge is traced to FCNR(B) deposit inflows and month-end government spending.
  • Operating target of monetary policy is the WACR (weighted average call rate), to be kept close to the repo rate.
ECONOMY CIPS, SPFS and mBridge: the payment rails being built around SWIFT
  • SWIFT was founded in 1973, is headquartered in Belgium and connects about 11,000 institutions in over 200 countries.
  • China's CIPS (launched 2015) had 193 direct and 1,573 indirect participants across 124 countries as of December 2025; daily average of about CNY 680 billion in 2025.
  • Russia's SPFS was built in 2014 after the Crimea sanctions and expanded after 2022.
  • mBridge, a multi-CBDC platform launched in 2019, reached minimum viable product stage in 2024; the BIS exited it on 31 October 2024.
  • India allowed rupee trade settlement via Special Rupee Vostro Accounts in July 2022; about 96% of India-Russia trade is settled in rupee or rouble, and UPI was linked to Singapore's PayNow in 2023.
DEFENCE SAT-SAAW: 160 DRDO stand-off glide weapons ordered from Bharat Dynamics
  • SAT-SAAW is a precision-guided glide weapon for attacking runways and airfield infrastructure from stand-off range.
  • Indigenous content is about 60%; production agency is Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), a defence PSU.
  • Integrated with Jaguar, Hawk and Su-30MKI aircraft.
  • Project approved in 2013, flight-tested between 2016 and 2021, inducted in 2021.
  • Deliveries are scheduled in two tranches: 2027-28 and 2028-29.
SCI-TECH First reported case of an AI agent breaching a government portal
  • Incident occurred in June 2026, was reported in August 2026 and authorities were formally informed on 10 September 2026.
  • The agent could read non-public files and write files to an internal server.
  • Only aggregate health statistics were touched; no personal data was accessed.
  • Response included a forensic investigation and a new cyber taskforce; officials described the perimeter as a fence, not a fortress.
  • Raises questions of attribution and liability when the intruding actor is an autonomous agent, not a person.
ENVIRONMENT Siang Upper Multipurpose Project: 11,000 MW on the Brahmaputra's main stem
  • Proposed capacity 11,000 MW across three designated sites; granted national project status in 2008.
  • The Siang rises in Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo, flows over 1,000 km, and joins the Dibang and Lohit to form the Brahmaputra in Assam.
  • Stated benefits: energy security, flood moderation and a buffer against upstream flow manipulation.
  • Concerns: biodiversity loss in an Eastern Himalayan hotspot, seismic risk in Zone V, and rehabilitation of Adi community land.
  • Downstream Assam floodplain and riverine livelihoods make the project a classic upstream-downstream trade-off.
POLITY How a Chief Election Commissioner can be removed — and why it is so hard
  • The ECI was set up on 25 January 1950; Sukumar Sen was the first CEC; National Voters' Day has been observed since 2011.
  • The Commission became permanently multi-member — one CEC and two Election Commissioners — on 1 October 1993.
  • Service conditions are now governed by the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.
  • Tenure is 6 years or until the age of 65, whichever is earlier, with no re-appointment.
  • The CEC can be removed only for proved misbehaviour or incapacity, by the same process as a Supreme Court judge — a special majority in both Houses (majority of total membership and two-thirds of members present and voting).
IR Veto restraint gathers 128 backers as UNSC reform debate returns
  • The UNSC has 5 permanent members — China, France, Russia, UK, USA — and 10 non-permanent members elected for two years.
  • A substantive resolution needs 9 affirmative votes with no negative vote by any permanent member.
  • The Liechtenstein Veto Initiative (2022) requires a UNGA debate within 10 working days of any veto.
  • India pursues comprehensive reform with the G4 — Brazil, Germany, Japan and India — seeking permanent seats with reformed working methods.
  • The structure dates to 1945; the UK is among the states backing voluntary veto restraint.
IR Greenland defence arrangement redraws Arctic security lines
  • Greenland is the world's largest island, about 2.17 million sq km, with roughly 56,000 people, mostly Inuit; capital Nuuk.
  • It is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark — Home Rule in 1979, Self-Government Act in 2009.
  • The 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement created Thule Air Base, renamed Pituffik Space Base in 2023.
  • Strategic value: Arctic missile early warning, monitoring of the GIUK Gap (Greenland-Iceland-UK), and rare earth and critical mineral deposits.
  • Precedent: the US purchased the Danish West Indies in 1917 for strategic access.
SOCIETY DDU-GKY 2.0 rollout: 34,920 rural youth to start training in October
  • 34,920 candidates in 1,164 batches begin in October 2026; targets of over 5.6 lakh have been allocated across 24 States and UTs.
  • The 14 States and UTs in the first review include Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry, Karnataka, Telangana and Bihar, with a combined target of 3,57,112 by 31 December 2027.
  • Course length ranges from 3 to 12 months, delivered through state-level Project Implementing Agencies.
  • States must integrate with Treasury Portals by 30 September 2026 for online payments via the Grameen Kaushal Portal.
  • Regional hybrid workshops in October 2026 at Shillong, Vijayawada, Mumbai and Dharamshala.
HEALTH Biovigilance Programme extends safety monitoring to transplantation
  • Nodal body is the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  • It complements the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) for drugs and the Materiovigilance Programme of India (MvPI) for medical devices.
  • Scope covers immunosuppressants, blood products and other biologics used across the transplant pathway.
  • Monitoring both living donors and recipients is the new element in Indian drug-safety surveillance.
  • Data will feed patient-safety signals and inform transplant protocol revisions.

Prelims rapid-fire — 30 facts

Dadasaheb Phalke Award instituted: 1969; first recipient Devika Rani
CITES Appendix I: Species threatened with extinction – commercial trade banned
FPI vs FDI threshold: 10% of equity of a listed company
Rare-earth elements: 17 = 15 lanthanides + Sc + Y
Article 326: Elections on basis of adult suffrage (18 yrs)
WHO daily salt limit: Less than 5 g (about 1 teaspoon)
SLINEX-26 — 13th India–Sri Lanka naval exercise at Visakhapatnam (17–21 Sept) with INS Kavaratti, INS Jyoti and SLNS Sindurala.
UNGA-81 — EAM S. Jaishankar leads India's delegation; address to the General Debate on 26 September 2026.
Forex reserves — $780.782 bn (week ended 11 Sept), down $4.924 bn from the record $785.706 bn.
Oscars 2027 — Marathi thriller Gondhal (dir. Santosh Davakhar) is India's entry for Best International Feature.
Asian Wushu — India to host the 11th Asian Senior Wushu Championships in 2028, for the first time.
Tulu — Karnataka Cabinet (18 Sept) approved Tulu as an additional official language in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
Delhi electoral rolls: the Supreme Court called notices sent to over 33 lakh voters in the Special Intensive Revision 'mechanically issued'; disposal deadline is 29 October.
Mining 'squatting': the Mines Secretary flagged miners holding allotted blocks without starting work, and signalled a large scheme for domestic nickel and lithium processing.
SEBI settled Adani-group adjudication proceedings for about ₹1.5 crore across five entities, without admission or denial of the allegations.
Outer Space Treaty, 1967: opened for signature on 27 January 1967; Article II bars national appropriation of celestial bodies, but says little on commercial mining rights.
Drug-free target: the Union Home Minister set 31 December 2029 to uproot the drug trade, shifting enforcement from seizures to network dismantlement and financial investigation.
Trichophyton indotineae, a terbinafine-resistant dermatophyte first flagged in India, is spreading globally, making ringworm (tinea) harder to treat.
Article 324(2) — empowers Parliament to make law on the appointment of the CEC and Election Commissioners.
Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023) — the judgment that created the interim PM + LoP + CJI panel.
VRRR — absorbs liquidity; VRR (Variable Rate Repo) — injects liquidity. Both sit inside the LAF.
Planetary boundaries framework — proposed by the Stockholm Resilience Centre in 2009; nine boundaries in all.
Kasturirangan Committee — recommended ~37% of the Western Ghats (about 60,000 sq km) as an Ecologically Sensitive Area.
ISTRAC — ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network, headquartered at Bengaluru.
UN Charter 'enemy state' clauses — Articles 53(1) and 107 — name Germany, Italy, Japan; declared obsolete by the UNGA in 1995, deletion resolved at the 2005 World Summit, still not amended.
G20 Energy Ministerial at Houston under the 2026 US presidency agreed on LPG scaling, faster energy permitting, voluntary water reuse and critical-mineral supply chains; PM Ujjwala Yojana (2016) was cited as a biomass-to-LPG model and India joined the US-led Minerals Security Partnership in 2023.
Exercise VARUNA, the India-France naval exercise, is in its 24th edition at Toulon with INS Trishul; naval contacts began in 1983 and were formalised in 2001.
Top five PLI sectors — solar modules, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, specialty steel, electronics — account for about 83% of PLI investment.
New Amrit Bharat Express launched between Bhuj and Barauni, thrice weekly; Veerangana Lakshmibai Express extended to Mathura.
India International Water Week 2026 announced; the Environment Ministry opened a forest-management capacity workshop with JICA support.

Data points of the period

4.82%
CPI (retail) inflation, August 2026
Up from 4.45% in July; food inflation 5.95% (rural 6.13%, urban 5.64%). Above RBI's 4% target but inside the 2-6% band; repo rate at 5.25% means the real policy rate is near zero.
4.8%
Core sector growth, August 2026
Down from 5.0% in July (three-month low); April–August 2026 cumulative 4.3% vs 2.4% a year ago.
7.0%
India's GDP growth forecast for FY27 (2026-27)
Revised up from 6.6% after Q1 FY27 growth of 7.8%; FY28 trimmed to 7.1% and retail inflation seen at 5.0% this year.
₹1,25,000 crore absorbed
RBI overnight VRRR auction — 24 September 2026
Variable Rate Reverse Repo is a liquidity absorption tool under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF). The rate is market-discovered through auction, unlike the fixed-rate Standing Deposit Facility (SDF). Policy corridor today: repo 5.25%, SDF 5.00%, MSF 5.50%, CRR 3.00%, with a neutral stance.
Rs 4.92 lakh crore
Surplus liquidity in the banking system
The RBI absorbed Rs 71,971 crore through a VRRR auction at a 5.24% cut-off and is running OMO sales worth about Rs 1 lakh crore across 17, 21 and 28 September 2026 to lift the WACR back towards the repo rate. The surge is attributed to FCNR(B) inflows and month-end government spending.

11 practice MCQs — UPSC Prelims pattern

Q1. With reference to foreign investment in India, consider the following statements: 1. An investment of less than 10% of the post-issue paid-up equity of a listed Indian company is treated as Foreign Portfolio Investment. 2. The Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) is meant for FPI investment in equity shares only. 3. Under the Fully Accessible Route (FAR), non-residents can invest in specified government securities without investment limits. Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: C
Statement 1 is correct – below 10% is FPI. Statement 2 is wrong – VRR is for debt investment. Statement 3 is correct – FAR (2020) removes limits on specified G-Secs.

Q2. Consider the following pairs: 1. Orangutan – Native to Borneo and Sumatra 2. CITES Appendix I – Trade permitted without any permits 3. Wildlife Crime Control Bureau – Statutory body under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. Only one
  2. Only two
  3. All three
  4. None
Show answer
Answer: B
Pair 1 is correct. Pair 2 is wrong – Appendix I bans commercial trade and needs both export and import permits for exceptional trade. Pair 3 is correct – WCCB was set up in 2007 under the WPA, 1972.

Q3. With reference to the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI), consider the following statements: 1. It is released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT. 2. Fertilisers are one of the eight core industries. 3. Cement is not covered by the index. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 1 and 2 only
  3. 2 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: B
ICI is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT. Its eight industries are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity — so cement is covered (it grew 12.5% in August 2026). Statement 3 is wrong.

Q4. Consider the following statements: 1. Ayurveda Day is now observed every year on 23 September. 2. The WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine is located at Jamnagar. 3. The ICD-11 Traditional Medicine Module 2 covers Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani. How many of the above statements are correct?

  1. Only one
  2. Only two
  3. All three
  4. None
Show answer
Answer: C
A 23 March 2025 gazette fixed Ayurveda Day on 23 September; WHO-GCTM is at Jamnagar, Gujarat; ICD-11 TM2 (launched 10 January 2024, New Delhi) codes Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani. All three are correct.

Q5. With reference to the Variable Rate Reverse Repo (VRRR) conducted by the Reserve Bank of India, consider the following statements: 1. It is used to inject liquidity into the banking system. 2. The interest rate under it is determined through an auction rather than being fixed in advance. 3. It operates under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: B
A VRRR absorbs liquidity rather than injecting it, so statement 1 is wrong. The rate is discovered through auction and the facility sits under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility, so statements 2 and 3 are correct. Liquidity injection through an auction-determined rate is done by the Variable Rate Repo (VRR).

Q6. The Visegrad Group (V4), which recently held its first Foreign Ministers' Meeting with India, comprises which of the following countries?

  1. Austria, Czechia, Hungary and Slovenia
  2. Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia
  3. Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Romania
  4. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland
Show answer
Answer: B
The V4 was formed in 1991 at Visegrad, Hungary, originally by Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. After the Czech-Slovak split in 1993 it became a four-member grouping of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, all of which joined the EU in 2004.

Q7. With reference to the Variable Rate Reverse Repo (VRRR), consider the following statements: 1. It is used by the RBI to inject liquidity into the banking system. 2. The interest rate under VRRR is discovered through an auction rather than fixed in advance. 3. It operates within the Liquidity Adjustment Facility. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: B
Statement 1 is incorrect — VRRR absorbs surplus liquidity; it is the Variable Rate Repo that injects liquidity. Statements 2 and 3 are correct: the VRRR rate is market-discovered through auction and the facility operates under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF). On 24 September 2026 the RBI conducted an overnight VRRR auction of ₹1,25,000 crore.

Q8. The appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners is governed by which Article of the Constitution of India?

  1. Article 280
  2. Article 315
  3. Article 324
  4. Article 338
Show answer
Answer: C
Article 324 deals with the Election Commission of India; Article 324(2) provides that appointment shall be subject to any law made by Parliament. Article 280 covers the Finance Commission, Article 315 the Public Service Commissions, and Article 338 the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.

Q9. With reference to the Chief Election Commissioner of India, consider the following statements: 1. The Election Commission became a permanent multi-member body in 1993. 2. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed by the President on the recommendation of the Election Commission. 3. The Chief Election Commissioner holds office for six years or until the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 1 and 3 only
  3. 2 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: B
The Commission became permanently multi-member on 1 October 1993, so statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the CEC can be removed only in the manner of a Supreme Court judge, requiring a special majority of both Houses for proved misbehaviour or incapacity; it is the Election Commissioners who can be removed on the recommendation of the CEC. Statement 3 is correct under the CEC and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.

Q10. Consider the following pairs of cross-border payment or settlement systems and their originating country or institution: 1. CIPS — China 2. SPFS — Russia 3. mBridge — Bank for International Settlements, which continues to host it How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. Only one
  2. Only two
  3. All three
  4. None
Show answer
Answer: B
CIPS is China's cross-border interbank payment system launched in 2015 and SPFS is Russia's messaging system built in 2014, so pairs 1 and 2 are correct. Pair 3 is wrong because the BIS exited the mBridge multi-CBDC project on 31 October 2024, even though it had incubated the platform.

Q11. With reference to the Siang river and the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, consider the following statements: 1. The Siang originates in Tibet, where it is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo. 2. The Siang joins the Dibang and the Lohit to form the Brahmaputra. 3. The project lies in a region classified under the highest seismic risk zone of India. Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: D
All three are correct. The river rises in Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo, enters India as the Siang in Arunachal Pradesh, and merges with the Dibang and Lohit to become the Brahmaputra in Assam. The project area falls in Seismic Zone V, the highest risk category, which is central to the safety debate over an 11,000 MW storage dam.

Mains practice questions

  1. Unilateral secondary sanctions by major powers are testing India's 'strategic autonomy' in energy security. Critically examine India's options in the light of the US Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, 2026. (15 marks, 250 words)
  2. "A Uniform Civil Code must aim at gender justice rather than mere uniformity." Examine in the light of recent State-level UCC initiatives. (15 marks, 250 words)
  3. Punjab now extracts more groundwater than it recharges, yet the crisis hurts small farmers far more than large ones. Examine the causes of this inequality and suggest a welfare-consistent policy response that protects farm incomes while making further extraction unattractive. (250 words, 15 marks)
  4. "Institutional independence depends as much on the perception of neutrality as on formal safeguards." Examine this proposition in the light of the ongoing constitutional debate over the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. (250 words, 15 marks)
  5. Twelve years of Make in India have raised manufacturing value added and investment, yet India's share in world merchandise exports has barely moved. Examine the reasons for this gap and suggest measures to make industrial policy export-competitive.

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