Current affairs — 11 September 2026

Prelims pointers

• The Keralam chapter of the Indian Psychiatric Society launched ‘Susmitham – Mind Your Mind, Mental Health Matters’ at Government Medical College, Kollam.
• The article cites the State’s suicide rate as 30.2 per one lakh population, compared with a national rate of 12.2.
• NCRB data cited in the article records 10,865 suicide deaths in Kerala in 2024, down marginally from 10,972 in 2023.
• The campaign’s three pillars are community resilience, removal of mental-health stigma and silence, and suicide prevention through recognition of distress signals.
• Tele MANAS offers round-the-clock free mental-wellness support and counselling through 14416 or 1800-89-14416.

Prelims pointers

• The 18th BRICS summit was scheduled as a two-day meeting in New Delhi against energy and agricultural supply-chain disruptions.
• The article states that BRICS was launched in 2009 and that its first summit was hosted by Russia.
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s attendance was to mark his first India visit since taking office after Ebrahim Raisi’s death in 2024.
• The United Nations, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization heads were among the multilateral leaders scheduled to attend.
• Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was scheduled to participate as the representative of the New Development Bank.

Prelims pointers

• The nationwide government-run HPV vaccination campaign targets 14-year-old girls and is intended to prevent cervical cancer.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the nationwide campaign from Ajmer in Rajasthan on February 28.
• The campaign uses a single-dose Gardasil 4 vaccine, described in the article as a quadrivalent HPV vaccine.
• Gardasil 4 protects against HPV types 16 and 18, which are responsible for cervical cancer, as well as types 6 and 11.
• After the Supreme Court refused to entertain the PIL, counsel withdrew it and the matter was dismissed as withdrawn.

Prelims pointers

• Vladimir Putin began a three-day visit to India on September 11, 2026, to participate in the BRICS summit.
• The visit was his first in-person BRICS summit participation outside Russia since the Ukraine war began in February 2022.
• India is hosting the two-day BRICS summit in New Delhi.
• Expected resilience themes include food, energy, health, disaster reduction and critical supply chains.
• Putin’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was aimed at expanding bilateral trade, investment and energy cooperation.

Prelims pointers

• In 2015, India changed the GDP base year from 2004-05 to 2011-12 and introduced the MCA-21 database and market-rate estimates in the methodology.
• The first-quarter GDP report for 2026-27 used 2022-23 as its base year and became the subject of allegations by former Finance Secretary Saurabh Garg.
• Garg compared a 2025 figure using the 2011-12 base with a 2026 figure using the 2022-23 base and alleged nominal growth was 2.6%, not 10.3%.
• In 2019, Arvind Subramanian argued that India’s GDP growth in 2011-12 to 2016-17 was 4.5% rather than 7%.
• The Statistics and Programme Implementation Ministry said its GDP methodology was robust and aligned with international standards set by the United Nations.

Prelims pointers

• Birdwatchers across Kerala have recorded wild birds since 2015, and the first Kerala Bird Atlas was released in 2021.
• The first atlas divided Kerala’s 38,863 square kilometres into 4,324 sub-cells in which volunteers conducted surveys.
• Atlas 2.0 revisits the same cells so data from its first and second iterations can be directly compared.
• Volunteers make four 15-minute checklists in the dry season from January to March and the wet season from July to September.
• Observations are recorded on e-Bird, while some volunteers use Merlin to help identify bird calls.

Prelims pointers

• Scientists sampled 126 Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from 13 regions to study genetic diversity in India.
• The study used mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, or COI, as a marker of genetic connection.
• India recorded around 2,50,000 dengue cases in 2024, according to the source text.
• Urbanisation, transport infrastructure, trade and human mobility were identified as major anthropogenic influences on mosquito population structure.
• Major roads and highways may act as physical or ecological barriers that spatially limit mosquito dispersal.

Prelims pointers

• The 2,843-km freight backbone comprises the 1,506-km WDFC from Dadri to JNPT and the 1,337-km EDFC from Ludhiana to Sonnagar.
• The WDFC supports the manufacturing-export axis, while the EDFC supports the mineral-industrial axis.
• The Dadri-JNPT freight journey is expected to decline to 58 hours from about 66 hours.
• Average DFC traffic increased from 247 trains per day in 2023-24 to 443 trains per day in August 2026.
• The Union Budget 2026-27 identified a roughly 2,052-km Dankuni-Surat DFC traversing Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra.

Prelims pointers

• Piyush Goyal spoke at the inaugural session of the BRICS Business Forum 2026 as India’s Union Commerce Minister.
• He urged BRICS member countries and partner countries to link their payment systems.
• Goyal called for more trade in the local currencies of participating countries without naming a particular currency or nation.
• He described BRICS cooperation as involving countries that represent half of the global population and 40% of global GDP.
• Goyal said partner trade should be deep and resilient, have diversified supply chains, and not impede growth or people’s well-being.

Prelims pointers

• Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University researchers reported the first complete mitochondrial genome of the Malabari goat.
• The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Mammalian Genome.
• The genetic evidence supports the possibility of goat movement along the Indian Ocean Spice Route linking the Malabar Coast, western India and the Arabian Peninsula.
• The Malabari goat’s highest mitochondrial sequence identity was 99.7% with Meriz goats from Iraq.
• Malabari goats belong to a maternal genetic group found in about 3% of domestic goats globally; the lineage also occurs in Omani and Surti goats.

Prelims pointers

• Twelve countries issued the September 8, 2026 statement: the U.K., France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
• Eight of the twelve participating countries are members of the European Union, which already has a policy for goods from Israeli settlements.
• EU policy denies preferential tariffs to settlement goods from territories occupied since 1967, using a customs technical arrangement in place since 2004.
• Global Echo’s 2026 report identified three circumvention practices: hiding in plain sight, sham addresses and mingling settlement produce with other goods.
• The report reviewed over 30,000 export documents linked to more than 6,800 agricultural shipments and traced over 17% of 5,900 Europe-bound shipments to settlements.

Prelims pointers

• Narendra Modi addressed the Leaders’ Session of the BRICS Business Forum at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 11, 2026.
• Modi said India had entered into free trade agreements with around 40 countries since 2014.
• Under India’s 2026 BRICS presidency, cooperation networks were established in agriculture, health, skills and smart grids.
• Modi said global trade can advance only when sea lanes are secure, supply routes remain open and seafarers are safe.
• Vladimir Putin discussed a shift in global economic power, while Masoud Pezeshkian spoke about trade dominated by a few currencies.

Prelims pointers

• The amendment followed the inclusion of a Local Area Bank in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
• The Directions were issued on September 11, 2026 and came into force with immediate effect.
• Inserted paragraph 7A invokes Section 42(1A) of the RBI Act for an additional average daily balance that the RBI may require from scheduled banks.
• Inserted paragraph 8B requires a scheduled bank to maintain at least 90% of its required CRR on every day of the reporting fortnight.
• Inserted paragraph 16A lists CRR-exempt liabilities including ACU US-dollar account credit balances and market-repo borrowings against government securities.

Prelims pointers

• Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping were scheduled to hold talks on September 12, 2026, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
• Xi Jinping’s visit was described as his first trip to India in seven years.
• China said it wanted to handle relations with India from a strategic height and long-term perspective.
• China said Xi would put forward initiatives and propositions intended to chart the course for greater BRICS cooperation.
• The source described China and India as close neighbours as well as founding members and major participants in BRICS.

Prelims pointers

• Dryland Congress 2026 commemorated 50 years of collaboration between ICAR and ICRISAT during a special session in New Delhi.
• R. S. Paroda and William D. Dar, both former directors general of their respective institutions, co-chaired the partnership session.
• The Congress held thematic panels on resilient dryland farming, seed systems in the Global South, and gender- and youth-centred transformation.
• More than 145 posters were evaluated on 10 and 11 September for the Congress’s Best Poster Awards.
• R. S. Paroda’s visionary talk addressed agrobiodiversity as a means of building resilience and sustainability in dryland farming systems.

Prelims pointers

• The National HPV Vaccination Campaign has administered more than 80 lakh doses since its launch in February 2026.
• The campaign offers 14-year-old girls free, voluntary, single-dose HPV vaccination with parental consent at government health facilities.
• RGI 2021 estimates place India’s annual cohort of 14-year-old girls at approximately 1.2 crore.
• Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram have achieved 100% coverage of their identified target populations.
• The U-WIN platform supports district-level coverage monitoring, identification of gaps and missed beneficiaries, and programme planning.

Prelims pointers

• Rainfed agriculture covers about 61.39 million hectares, or 43% of India’s net sown area, and contributes around 40% of food production.
• The Department of Land Resources implements the Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana.
• Over 12 years, 7,602 watershed development projects covering about 34 million hectares have been implemented.
• Watershed interventions created or rejuvenated around 0.9 million water-harvesting structures and provided protective irrigation to about 2 million hectares.
• The proposed Watershed Portal would cover the lifecycle of watershed projects and incorporate key geospatial datasets.

Prelims pointers

• The Bharat Innovates Exposition is being organised at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on September 11–12, 2026.
• The 18th BRICS Summit is scheduled for September 12–13, 2026, under India’s BRICS Chairship.
• The BRICS Bharat Innovates Exposition is showcasing 37 deep-tech startups and ventures from an original cohort of 120.
• Bharat Innovates is a national Ministry of Education programme designed as a global accelerator for innovations from India’s higher education ecosystem.
• The maiden Bharat Innovates exposition was held in Nice on June 14–16, 2026, during the India–France Year of Innovation 2026.

Prelims pointers

• The National Conference on Coastal Ecology, Security and Sustainability 2026 brought together scientific, defence, maritime, legal, industry and coastal stakeholders.
• The release describes India’s coastline as 11,000–12,000 km long and links it with marine resources and blue-economy potential.
• ORV Sagar Manthan was described as a recently launched, totally indigenous research vessel for deep-ocean research and exploration.
• Ocean observation, surveillance, communication, remote sensing, data and emerging technologies were identified as tools for coastal security.
• Swachh Sagar Surakshit Sagar activities were scheduled for 12–19 September 2026, including clean-up drives and a coastline-cleanliness pledge.

Prelims pointers

• Tara was offered in the seventh tranche in 2023 but was removed after Chhattisgarh sought exclusion of Hasdeo Arand coal blocks.
• Hasdeo Arand coal blocks overlapping the Lemru Elephant Corridor were not offered in subsequent commercial auction tranches.
• In a letter dated 11 December 2025, Chhattisgarh stated that Tara lay outside the Lemru Elephant Corridor and could be auctioned.
• The revised Tara block was auctioned in the fifteenth commercial coal-mine auction round after CMPDIL revised its boundary.
• The block received nine bids and was auctioned at a 37.50% revenue share; projected annual State revenue exceeds Rs 1,200 crore.

Prelims pointers

• The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• IPC held the biosimilars conference at C-CAMP, Bengaluru, on September 10–11, 2026, with 160 participants.
• IPC released an Indian Pharmacopoeia Reference Substance for Enoxaparin Sodium bioassays.
• Enoxaparin Sodium is a low-molecular-weight heparin and anticoagulant used to prevent and treat thromboembolic disorders.
• The reference substance may support accurate, consistent and comparable assessment of Enoxaparin Sodium’s biological activity.

Prelims pointers

• The Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 2026 replaces the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891.
• The 2026 Act received the assent of the President on August 13, 2026.
• A Gazette notification dated September 10, 2026 brings the Act into force on October 1, 2026.
• The Act recognises banking records in physical, electronic, digital, virtual, cloud-based and other contemporary forms.
• When a bank is not a party to proceedings, a Court must record a special cause in writing to summon bank officials.

Prelims pointers

• Abbas Araghchi and Faisal bin Farhan discussed escalating tensions and regional insecurity by phone on September 10, 2026.
• Iran militarily and financially backed the Houthis, while Saudi Arabia supported Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
• The Houthis captured Mocha, a strategic Red Sea port city, on September 10, 2026.
• The Houthis had controlled Yemen’s capital Sanaa and the major port city of Hodeida for years.
• The Bab al-Mandab waterway links Asia to Europe through the Suez Canal and is described as the gateway to the Red Sea.

Prelims pointers

• The next Monetary Policy Committee meeting was scheduled for October 5–7, 2026.
• The Indian crude basket averaged $82 per barrel in July and $90 per barrel in August.
• FCNR(B) inflows under the recently concluded RBI forex swap facility totalled $127.22 billion.
• Five-year FCNR(B) deposits accounted for nearly half of the portfolio, approximately 48.50–50%.
• About 42% of the FCNR(B) portfolio had a three-year to four-year maturity, while about 9% was in the four-to-five-year window.

Prelims pointers

• India’s forex reserves rose by a record $44.903 billion to $785.706 billion in the week ended September 4, 2026.
• Foreign currency assets increased by $47.498 billion during the week to reach $648.168 billion.
• Gold reserves decreased by $2.594 billion to $113.816 billion in the reporting week.
• Special drawing rights declined by $4 million to $18.806 billion.
• India’s reserve position with the IMF increased by $2 million to $4.916 billion.

Prelims pointers

• RBI announced OMO sales totalling ₹1,00,000 crore in tranches of ₹50,000 crore, ₹25,000 crore and ₹25,000 crore.
• The three sale-auction dates are September 17, September 21 and September 28, 2026.
• The sales will be multi-security auctions conducted through the multiple-price method.
• Six Government securities are offered in the September 17 tranche, for which there is no security-wise notified amount.
• E-Kuber bids for the first tranche are due from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM on September 17, with funds required by noon on September 18.

Prelims pointers

• The RBI announced OMO sale auctions aggregating ₹1,00,000 crore in three tranches of ₹50,000 crore, ₹25,000 crore and ₹25,000 crore.
• The three auction dates are September 17, September 21 and September 28, 2026, respectively.
• The sales will be conducted through multi-security auctions using the multiple price method.
• Six Government of India securities were listed for the September 17 auction, with no security-wise notified amount.
• Electronic bids for September 17 must be submitted on E-Kuber from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM; physical bids are allowed only upon system failure.

Prelims pointers

• The notified amounts are ₹9,000 crore for 91-day bills, ₹8,000 crore for 182-day bills and ₹7,000 crore for 364-day bills.
• The three Treasury Bill offerings together have a total notified amount of ₹24,000 crore.
• The auction is on September 16, 2026, while settlement and payment by successful bidders are on September 17, 2026.
• The auction is price-based, uses the multiple-price method and accepts electronic bids through RBI’s E-Kuber system.
• Retail investors may bid non-competitively, including through Retail Direct, with allocation capped at 5 percent of the notified amount.

Prelims pointers

• The Third Amendment Directions were issued on September 11, 2026 and came into force with immediate effect.
• The revised cut-off for the specified FCNR(B) and NRE deposit-linked ANBC exemptions is August 31, 2026 instead of September 30, 2026.
• The FCNR(B) category covers fresh deposits with a minimum tenor of three years and a maximum tenor of five years, including renewed deposits.
• The NRE category covers term deposits of three years or more, including deposits renewed upon maturity.
• The amount excluded from ANBC cannot exceed the fresh outstanding FCNR(B) or NRE deposits eligible for CRR or SLR exemption under the referenced Directions.

Prelims pointers

• Antonio Guterres and Narendra Modi met in New Delhi on September 11, 2026, on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS summit.
• India was BRICS Chair for 2026 and Delhi was hosting the summit on September 12-13.
• The leaders discussed how conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine affected the global economy, food access and fertiliser access.
• Guterres reaffirmed freedom of navigation, while the two leaders also discussed the danger of lethal autonomous weapons.
• Guterres was invited to speak at the BRICS summit’s Open Session on September 13.