Current affairs — 16 September 2026

Prelims pointers

• Five baby orangutans were rescued from a forest in Odisha’s Balasore district on September 8 and quarantined at Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar.
• Orangutans are generally found in the wild in Borneo and Sumatra; their discovery in Odisha triggered a probe into possible trafficking.
• A six-member health team examined all five infants on September 15, 2026, after one orangutan developed fever following the rescue.
• Zoo authorities recorded body temperatures of 98–99 degrees Fahrenheit and reported that all five were stable, feeding normally and showing improved activity.
• The Odisha Police Special Task Force and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau began a joint investigation into alleged international wildlife smuggling.

Prelims pointers

• Five States—Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan—and Delhi signed the Kishau Project agreement on September 15, 2026.
• The 422 MW Kishau multipurpose project, estimated to cost ₹15,624 crore, is planned on the Tons River along the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border.
• The project design includes a 232.6-metre-high concrete gravity dam with water-storage capacity of 1,562 million cubic metres.
• The Union government will bear about 90% of the financial burden; the participating States and Delhi will bear the remaining 10% under the 1994 agreement.
• The project is expected to irrigate 97,000 hectares and generate 1,476 million units of clean hydropower; Delhi was described as its biggest beneficiary.

Prelims pointers

• The RBI scheduled a Variable Rate Reverse Repo auction under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility for September 16, 2026.
• The notified amount for the auction is ₹2,50,000 crore and its tenor is one day.
• The auction window is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on September 16, 2026.
• The one-day auction is due to reverse on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
• Operational guidelines in RBI Press Release 2019-2020/1947 dated February 13, 2020, will remain unchanged.

Prelims pointers

• IIT Palakkad researchers developed fluorescent chemosensors that can quickly measure heparin levels in blood.
• Heparin is an anticoagulant used in cardiac surgery, dialysis and blood transfusions; underdosing risks clotting and overdosing risks excessive bleeding.
• The new method uses fluorescence instead of the clotting-time measurements employed by existing monitoring methods.
• The sensor’s bright yellow-green signal weakens in the presence of heparin, enabling measurement with simple equipment.
• The single-step sensor molecules selectively detected heparin in human serum, but further development and testing are needed before clinical use.

Prelims pointers

• The new GDP series has 2022-23 as its base year; a February 27, 2026 press release had set out methodological improvements, updated data sources and activity-wise revisions.
• Nominal GDP was revised downward by about 2.7% for 2022-23, 3.5% for 2023-24 and 3.8% for 2024-25 across the three overlapping years.
• Agriculture and allied activities were revised upward by about 3.8%–5.9%, while the grouped services including financial and real-estate activities rose roughly 7.8%–9.0%.
• Trade and transport and storage were revised down around 23%–26%; trade GVA fell 36%, road transport 16.9%, while hotels and restaurants GVA rose 5.7%.
• The new series uses ASUSE and PLFS data to measure the unincorporated sector more directly, unlike the 2011-12 series’ use of proxy indicators to move benchmark estimates forward.

Prelims pointers

• Tariff subsidy and grants to the Tamil Nadu power discom totalled ₹2.55 lakh crore over the 14 years since 2013-14.
• Average annual State assistance to the discom was around ₹18,130 crore, according to the figures discussed in the report.
• Since 2021-22, the Tamil Nadu government has been mandated to absorb the power distributor’s financial losses fully.
• About ₹9,893 crore, or 53% of the current year’s roughly ₹18,860 crore subsidy, was set aside for domestic consumers.
• Recovering regulatory assets requires grants of ₹11,800 crore yearly from 2026-27 through 2030-31, totalling ₹59,000 crore, unless recovered through approved higher consumption charges.

Prelims pointers

• Meta will report child-safety matters directly to the cybercrime portal managed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, or I4C.
• The report described Meta as the first major technology intermediary to commit to a direct reporting pipeline to Indian law enforcement.
• Before the announced change, Meta reported child-safety cases to the U.S.-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
• In July 2026, the government issued Meta a notice about Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material in paid Instagram advertisements.
• NCPCR took suo motu cognisance of alleged CSEAM advertisements, sought an explanation and summoned Meta India officials for its inquiry.

Prelims pointers

• MT El Gaia was reportedly operating with its Automatic Identification System switched off in the Strait of Hormuz.
• The tanker carried 25 crew members: 14 Indian nationals and 11 Pakistani nationals.
• Two crew members remained missing, while the Omani Coast Guard brought the other 23 crew members ashore.
• The 20-year-old tanker has a cargo-carrying capacity of 48,000 tonnes and is managed by Dubai-based companies.
• Iran’s IRGC Navy cited naval mines, while the United States said the tanker was hit by a missile and then a drone.

Prelims pointers

• CBO estimated that the Iran war cost the U.S. Department of Defense more than $38 billion through August 1.
• Continuing military costs could reach $3 billion a month or more, depending on the intensity of the conflict.
• The estimate excluded costs for personnel killed or injured and longer-term veterans’ healthcare and disability compensation.
• CBO projected inflation about 0.5 percentage points above its earlier estimate through the first quarter of 2027.
• CBO linked much of the inflation effect to reduced energy shipments through Hormuz and disruption of Red Sea shipping.

Prelims pointers

• STS-8 flew aboard Challenger from August 30 to September 5, 1983 and made the Space Shuttle programme's first night launch and landing.
• INSAT-1B was STS-8's primary payload, and its orbital location and tracking requirements dictated the mission's unusual night timings.
• Guion S. Bluford deployed INSAT-1B on August 31, 1983 and became the first African-American to fly in space.
• Ford Aerospace built INSAT-1B for ISRO; controllers deployed its solar array and stationed it at 74°E in mid-September 1983.
• INSAT-1B became fully operational in October 1983 and was decommissioned in August 1993, nearly ten years after launch.

Prelims pointers

• Hasdeo Aranya spans 1,878 sq km in north-central Chhattisgarh and lies in the catchment of the Hasdeo, a tributary of the Mahanadi.
• The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly unanimously resolved on July 26, 2022 against further coal-block allocation or auction in Hasdeo Arand.
• Tara was excluded from auction in 2023 after State objections, but a December 2025 State letter said it lay outside the Lemru Elephant Corridor.
• The Tara (Revised) block was auctioned in the 15th round after revision of its boundary, according to the Union Coal Ministry.
• CMDC said no tree felling or mining can start before the required statutory approvals and forest and environmental clearances are obtained.

Prelims pointers

• India ranked 131st among 145 economies in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2026.
• India had closed 64.5% of its gender gap, below the 69.2% global figure; the WEF estimated full parity was still 120 years away.
• India’s Economic Participation and Opportunity parity score was 41.2%, up 0.5 point from the previous edition.
• India recorded parity scores of 96.6% in Educational Attainment and 95.6% in Health and Survival.
• Political Empowerment was India’s highest-ranked subindex in 2026, placing 67th with 24.5% of the gap closed.

Prelims pointers

• BIS raised the hallmarking fee for gold articles from ₹45 to ₹75 while retaining the silver fee at ₹35 per article.
• The change was notified through the BIS (Hallmarking) Amendment Regulations, 2026, dated September 14, 2026.
• The amended Schedule IV sets minimum consignment charges of ₹200 for gold and ₹150 for silver.
• A BIS hallmark includes the BIS logo, karat or millesimal fineness, and a six-digit alphanumeric HUID number.
• The All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council asked for a review and retention of the earlier fee pending stakeholder consultation.

Prelims pointers

• From October 15, 2026, mid- and large-sized merchants face 0.4% MDR on UPI receipts above ₹2,000, capped at ₹300 from ₹75,000.
• Person-to-person transfers remain free regardless of value, while merchant payments up to ₹2,000 remain free of MDR.
• Small merchants receiving up to ₹1 lakh monthly through UPI QR codes under the P2PM category are exempt from MDR.
• Essential-sector transactions above ₹2,000 attract a flat ₹5 MDR, while capital-market payments face 0.02% capped at ₹300.
• The reported MDR split is about 40% to the payer’s bank, 30% to the merchant’s bank, 20% to the UPI app and 10% to the payment service provider.

Prelims pointers

• India hosted the 18th BRICS summit in Delhi on September 12-13, 2026, amid an ongoing conflict in West Asia.
• BRICS members built economic consensus around food, fuel and fertilizer security and trade, according to the article’s summit assessment.
• The Delhi Declaration criticised Israel’s actions in Lebanon and Palestine and referred to attacks on civilian and nuclear infrastructure.
• The Declaration omitted both the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran and Iran’s strikes on neighbouring countries, including BRICS member UAE.
• BRICS provides a meeting platform for India and China despite bilateral tensions, including through summit sidelines such as BRICS and SCO.

Prelims pointers

• The philomela form belongs to the Common Wanderer butterfly, whose scientific name is Pareronia hippia.
• The form was documented at Poothurai in Villupuram district, at Matur Udyanam near Puducherry.
• The philomela form is historically associated more often with northeastern India and adjoining regions; peninsular records are scarce.
• Reported field marks include pale yellowish wing bases, translucent whitish areas, dark venation and faint yellow suffusion near the bases.
• Lepidopterist Isaac Kehimkar, a former Director of the Bombay Natural History Society, confirmed the identification.

Prelims pointers

• Fetuin-A, identified from the Okinawa habu in 1972, inhibits venom metalloproteinases that can cause bleeding, tissue damage and coagulation disruption.
• A 2022 paper identified four FETUA proteins—FETUA-2, FETUA-3, FETUA-4 and FETUA-5—in Crotalus atrox.
• Selected Crotalus atrox FETUA combinations fully neutralised rattlesnake venom lethality in mice with roughly tenfold the potency of CroFab.
• The proteins protected against several pit-viper venoms and significantly against Sochurek's saw-scaled viper, but not against puff-adder venom.
• FETUA proteins do not neutralise neurotoxins, so they are a possible component of next-generation antivenom rather than a standalone therapy.

Prelims pointers

• Kerala Animal Husbandry Department veterinary surgeons attended a two-day antimicrobial-stewardship programme at KVASU in Pookode, Wayanad.
• COHEART organised the programme under an Asian Development Bank-supported regional project on animal health, AMR containment and One Health.
• Training covered evidence-based antimicrobial use, vaccination, antibiotic alternatives, farm biosecurity, hygiene, animal welfare and gender-responsive services.
• The initiative spans Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and four Indian States: Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab and Telangana.
• Across seven implementation regions, the project conducted over 60 programmes and reached more than 500 veterinarians and 2,000 livestock farmers.

Prelims pointers

• LME copper futures reached an all-time high of $14,779 per ton on September 8 and later traded at $14,167.67 per ton.
• India imports about 85% of its copper requirement, increasing exposure to international prices and logistics costs.
• U.S. stockpiling ahead of possible refined-copper tariffs coincided with lower global copper output in the first half of 2026.
• Aluminium has 61% of copper’s electrical conductivity, so aluminium conductors must be 1.6 times larger for the same electrical load.
• FIMI recommended diversifying copper sources, strengthening domestic production and recycling, and building resilient international supply chains.

Prelims pointers

• The Academic Freedom Index uses a 0-to-1 scale and assesses five dimensions, including institutional autonomy, campus integrity and freedom to research and teach.
• The article reports India's AFI value as 0.14, compared with 0.16 in 2024 and 0.41 in 2015, and places India in the severely restricted category.
• Free to Think 2026 documented 382 attacks arising from 321 verified incidents in 59 countries and territories from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.
• India accounted for 42 attacks, the highest country count in the report; reported forms included violence, imprisonment and loss of position.
• The report says academic freedom declined significantly in 50 of 179 countries over the preceding decade, while 30 countries overall were severely restricted.

Prelims pointers

• The headline says FCNR(B) deposits saved India from a balance-of-payments deficit.
• The reported balance-of-payments outcome relates specifically to July 2026.
• Madan Sabnavis described the support from these deposits as a possible one-time comfort.
• Sabnavis cautioned that the same comfort might not be available in the following year.
• The source identifies Madan Sabnavis as the Chief Economist of Bank of Baroda.

Prelims pointers

• The Digital India BHASHINI Division operates under the Digital India Corporation within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• Suno Sutra is an open-source multilingual handheld AI reference design co-developed by BHASHINI and Current AI.
• Ten finalist teams demonstrated prototypes addressing healthcare, agriculture, welfare access, legal services and accessibility at the VYOMA finale.
• Suno Sutra was unveiled at the India AI Impact Summit in February 2026 before serving as the reference design for the VYOMA challenge.
• BHASHINI supports 36 Indian text languages, 23 Indian voice languages and 35 international languages, and powers more than 800 government websites.

Prelims pointers

• DGFT amended Para 2.57 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023 to create the small-consignment exemption.
• RCMC or a Certificate of Registration is not required for an export consignment with FOB value up to ₹3 lakh, wherever otherwise applicable.
• Export consignments exceeding ₹3 lakh continue to require a valid RCMC or Certificate of Registration wherever applicable.
• During 2021-22 to 2025-26, consignments up to USD 3,000 formed 43% of shipping bills but 0.86% of India’s merchandise export value.
• The exemption is intended to facilitate low-value exports through postal, courier, e-commerce and other emerging channels.

Prelims pointers

• APEDA and InD Events Dubai signed the Gulfood 2027 MoU at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi.
• India will return as Gulfood’s Official Partner Country in 2027 for the second consecutive year.
• Gulfood 2027 is scheduled in the UAE from March 15 to 19, 2027.
• India’s platform will bring together exporters, FPOs, MSMEs, startups, commodity boards and government institutions.
• The partnership links agri-food export promotion with India-UAE trade engagement under CEPA and access to GCC, Middle Eastern and African markets.

Prelims pointers

• India has been a party to the Vienna Convention, the Montreal Protocol and all its amendments since 1992.
• India has phased out chlorofluorocarbons, carbon tetrachloride and halons for controlled applications.
• India ratified the Kigali Amendment in September 2021, and it entered into force for India on 26 December 2021.
• India's HFC phase-down schedule provides for reductions of 10% in 2032, 20% in 2037, 30% in 2042 and 85% in 2047 against the baseline.
• Twelve refrigeration and air-conditioning manufacturers adopted 248 Industrial Training Institutions to strengthen technician training infrastructure.

Prelims pointers

• The third BIMSTEC conference on traditional medicine knowledge, genetic resources and intellectual property rights began in Goa.
• The Ministry of Ayush organised the two-day conference, with AIIA Goa serving as the nodal institute.
• The event was held alongside the second meeting of the BIMSTEC Nodal Group on the same subjects.
• The proposed BIMSTEC Centre of Excellence in Traditional Medicine was announced at the sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok in April 2025.
• Conference sessions covered prior informed consent, mutually agreed terms, equitable benefit-sharing, community rights and prior-art protection.

Prelims pointers

• India's Net Zero Portal is a centralised platform for voluntary registration and disclosure of net-zero commitments by Indian entities.
• Portal participants can disclose greenhouse-gas emissions, declare net-zero targets and provide annual progress updates.
• Entities are encouraged to report Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, while reporting of Scope 3 emissions remains voluntary.
• Entities successfully declaring net-zero targets will receive an acknowledgement from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• The NAPCC Dashboard consolidates implementation information and identified indicators across the National Missions under the NAPCC.

Prelims pointers

• The sixteenth round of commercial coal-mine auctions is scheduled for launch in New Delhi on 17 September 2026.
• Across fifteen completed rounds, 147 coal mines were auctioned and 44 new companies entered the sector.
• The auctioned mines are expected to generate about ₹47,500 crore in annual revenue and nearly ₹55,000 crore in capital investment.
• The sixteenth round will offer both fully explored and partially explored coal blocks.
• The framework has no end-use restrictions, permits 100% FDI through the automatic route and allows low upfront payments adjustable against future revenue share.

Prelims pointers

• The Union Cabinet approved raising the monthly wage ceiling for mandatory EPFO coverage from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000.
• More than 51 lakh additional employees are expected to come under mandatory EPFO coverage.
• The previous ₹15,000 wage ceiling had been set in September 2014 after remaining unchanged from 2004 to 2014.
• The expanded framework covers EPF savings, pension protection under EPS and insurance protection under EDLI, subject to scheme provisions.
• The annual government outgo is estimated at about ₹11,339 crore, with five-year expenditure estimated at approximately ₹56,696 crore.

Prelims pointers

• The Centre raised the EPFO wage ceiling after an interval of 12 years.
• The new EPFO wage ceiling reported in the title is ₹25,000 a month.
• Employees’ contribution to pension may increase to ₹2,082.5 under the reported change.
• The available source text says the employers’ share will increase by ₹600.
• The government expects the change to add between 51 lakh and one crore new EPFO subscribers.