Current affairs — 18 September 2026

Prelims pointers

• Permanently shadowed craters near the Moon's south pole are major targets because they may preserve deposits of water ice.
• Martin Elvis and Jonathan McDowell published their lunar-water analysis in Frontiers in Space Technologies.
• Their model assumed a generous lunar inventory of one billion tonnes of water and demand of 500 tonnes per person each year.
• At 98% recycling, one billion tonnes would support one million people for about a century; without recycling, only about two years.
• A 2022 study of 65 large permanently shadowed craters estimated that eight of them together held around 34 million tonnes of water.

Prelims pointers

• The RBI decided on the auction after reviewing current and evolving liquidity conditions.
• The three-day VRRR auction under the LAF was scheduled for Friday, September 18, 2026.
• The notified amount for the auction was ₹2,25,000 crore.
• The auction window was 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., with reversal on Monday, September 21, 2026.
• Existing operational guidelines came from RBI Press Release 2019-2020/1947 dated February 13, 2020.

Prelims pointers

• NPTEL is a consortium of seven IITs—Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Guwahati and Roorkee—and the Indian Institute of Science.
• Through SWAYAM, NPTEL offers more than 70,000 hours of lectures and close to 600 courses each semester across 22 disciplines.
• NPTEL course material is free, while its optional physical proctored certification examination costs ₹1,000 per course.
• Up to 15.25 lakh candidates registered for physical examinations in the July 2026 semester.
• The Ministry of Education allocated ₹650 crore in 2026-27 under NMEICT for an integrated open digital academic ecosystem, without a separate NPTEL breakup.

Prelims pointers

• Tamil Nadu’s Seventh State Finance Commission is chaired by K. Allaudin.
• Own-source revenue of rural local bodies in many States ranges from 1% to 8%, including receipts from taxes, rentals and charges.
• Property-tax collection was cited at about 1.1% of GDP in OECD countries and 0.2% in India.
• Suggested local-revenue measures included GIS-based tax collection, solid-waste user charges and parking fees.
• Tamil Nadu’s Rural Development Department requested an increase in devolution funds from 10% to 12%.

Prelims pointers

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated SEMICON India 2026 in New Delhi on September 17, 2026.
• The government had approved 12 chip-making projects, with the number expected to rise in the next phase.
• India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 has an announced outlay of $13.5 billion, up from $8 billion in the first phase.
• India’s planned semiconductor ecosystem spans design, fabrication, advanced packaging, equipment, materials, research and talent.
• Applied Materials announced $5 billion of investment under Vision 2035 to link India’s semiconductor ecosystem with the global value chain.

Prelims pointers

• NPCI's new Merchant Discount Rate structure for UPI merchant payments is scheduled to take effect from October 15.
• The charge applies to merchant UPI payments of ₹2,000 or more, estimated to comprise about 2.5% of all UPI transactions.
• UPI payments to small merchants earning less than ₹1 lakh per month are exempt from the announced MDR structure.
• Most covered sectors face a 0.4% MDR, while specified essential sectors and capital-market payments have differentiated rates.
• The government directed banks to prevent merchants from passing the MDR to customers; the editorial estimated a ₹2,400-crore monthly upper revenue limit.

Prelims pointers

• The newly described species is Leopardus tilcayo, a tiger cat native to the Bolivian Yungas cloud forests.
• The phylogenomic study analysed complete genomes of 38 Leopardus individuals, including 26 from the tiger-cat species complex.
• Researchers concluded that South America has five distinct tiger-cat species and also described the Peruvian subspecies L. tigrinus antisuyo.
• Genetic estimates place the divergence of the tilcayo lineage from related tiger cats at about 1.4 million years ago.
• Leopardus tilcayo is a small spotted cat, with a reported head-and-body length of roughly 42–50 cm and weight of about 1.5–2 kg.

Prelims pointers

• Jawaharlal Nehru told the Constituent Assembly on September 7, 1948 that Hyderabad could not maintain independent foreign relations.
• Vallabhbhai Patel wrote to Nehru from Dehradun on June 4, 1948 while policy toward Hyderabad was being debated.
• The military action in Hyderabad was known as Operation Polo or Police Action.
• India gained effective control of Hyderabad between the morning of September 13 and afternoon of September 17, 1948.
• A CIA assessment on May 26 did not expect overt action before the standstill agreement expired on November 15.

Prelims pointers

• The State Department approved visas for Iran’s core delegation and essential staff to attend UN meetings in New York.
• The core delegation included President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
• The United States said its decision was consistent with its obligations as host country to UN headquarters.
• The Iranian delegation was to be smaller than the previous year and subject to travel and purchasing restrictions.
• The visa approval came one day after the State Department denied visas to Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation.

Prelims pointers

• France, Germany and the United Kingdom used the 2015 nuclear deal’s “snapback” provision to restore sanctions on September 27, 2025.
• The restored measures freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalise ballistic-missile development.
• The U.S.-drafted resolution sought a one-year extension of the UN expert panel’s sanctions-monitoring mandate.
• The proposal drew 11 votes in favour and two against, with Somalia and Pakistan abstaining, but Russian and Chinese vetoes defeated it.
• The UN nuclear watchdog’s cited estimate was 440.9 kilograms of Iranian uranium enriched to 60% purity.

Prelims pointers

• The U.S. State Department approved a possible $24.3-billion Foreign Military Sale of F-35 aircraft and related equipment to Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia requested 48 conventional-takeoff-and-landing F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.
• The package includes 49 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines: 48 installed engines and one spare.
• The State Department's notification to Congress is a review step and does not itself complete the aircraft sale.
• The proposed package includes communications, cryptographic and electronic-warfare support, spares, training, software and logistics.

Prelims pointers

• Swarnim Wagle met Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on his first official India visit as Nepal's Finance Minister.
• The talks covered flood impacts and Nepal's priorities for reconstruction and rehabilitation.
• Nepal thanked India for relief supplies and technical support for rescue and relief efforts.
• The ministers discussed infrastructure and cross-border connectivity to deepen trade and investment.
• India's Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs attended the meeting.

Prelims pointers

• PM Vishwakarma was launched on September 17, 2023 for traditional artisans and craftspeople.
• The MSME Ministry reported 30 lakh registered beneficiaries, with around 24.50 lakh receiving Basic Skill Training.
• India Post had delivered 18.15 lakh modern toolkits under PM Vishwakarma.
• About 6.18 lakh beneficiaries had received loans of up to ₹1 lakh at 5% annual interest, totalling ₹5,297 crore.
• West Bengal joined implementation in May 2026 and had received more than 7 lakh applications under the scheme.

Prelims pointers

• Project Cheetah began on September 17, 2022 with the release of eight wild Namibian cheetahs at Kuno National Park.
• India's cheetah population reached 52 by September 17, 2026, including 32 cubs born in the country.
• Forty-nine cheetahs are at Kuno National Park and three are at Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary, both in Madhya Pradesh.
• Kuno has 17 cheetahs in open forest and 32 in soft-release enclosures.
• Nine cheetahs were brought from Botswana in February 2026, adding to earlier imports from Namibia and South Africa.

Prelims pointers

• The Philippine vessel involved was the BFAR ship BRP Datu Magat Salamat.
• The ship was distributing fuel assistance to Filipino fishermen about 54 nautical miles off Palawan province.
• The collision occurred at 11.13 a.m., corresponding to 0313 GMT, on September 18, 2026.
• Damage included starboard railings, metal stanchions, support structures, deck fixtures and equipment.
• The Philippine Coast Guard described the BFAR vessel's task as a humanitarian and livelihood mission.

Prelims pointers

• The monthly wage ceiling for mandatory EPFO coverage was raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000.
• The previous revision of the EPFO mandatory-coverage wage ceiling took place in September 2014.
• The government expects the change to bring more than 51 lakh additional employees under mandatory EPFO coverage.
• The revised monthly EPS contribution is ₹2,082.5 at 8.33% of the new ceiling, compared with ₹1,250 earlier.
• EPFO data cited in the article recorded about 7.98 crore contributing members across about 7.68 lakh contributing establishments.

Prelims pointers

• Taiwan held its first joint combat exercise using multiple types of attack drones during three days of drills.
• The exercise included domestically developed Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles and Lockheed Martin-made HIMARS rockets.
• Taiwan's presidential office did not identify the attack-drone types and released only images of the missiles.
• Taiwan is seeking closer Coast Guard integration because the service would have an auxiliary role to the navy during war.
• A Taiwan Coast Guard ship was fitted with anti-ship missiles during the island's annual war games in August.

Prelims pointers

• Greensand began storing CO2 beneath the seabed under the old Nini West oil platform in the North Sea.
• The Greensand reservoir lies about 200 kilometres off Denmark's west coast.
• The project's first phase is expected to store 400,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
• INEOS plans to expand annual Greensand injection to four to eight million tonnes by 2030.
• The EU Net-Zero Industry Act sets a legally binding CO2-storage capacity target of at least 50 million tonnes per year by 2030.

Prelims pointers

• RBI held a three-day Variable Rate Reverse Repo auction on 18 September 2026.
• The notified amount for the auction was ₹2,25,000 crore.
• The total amount of offers received was ₹2,22,629 crore.
• RBI accepted ₹2,22,629 crore, equal to the total amount of offers received.
• Both the cut-off rate and weighted-average rate were 5.24%, while partial acceptance at the cut-off rate was marked not applicable.

Prelims pointers

• Bhutan's 13th Five Year Plan, supported through India-Bhutan development cooperation, covers 2024-29.
• India and Bhutan welcomed a ₹4,000-crore concessional Line of Credit agreement for energy projects in Bhutan.
• A UPI-based facility now enables Bhutanese nationals to pay in India through Bhutanese mobile applications.
• The two sides reviewed proposed rail links from Gelephu to Kokrajhar and from Samtse to Banarhat.
• Bhutan supported India's candidature for a non-permanent UN Security Council seat for the 2028-2029 term.

Prelims pointers

• Venezuela's share of India's oil imports fell to zero by 2021-22, then reached 4.8% during April-July 2026 after partial sanctions relief.
• Iran supplied one-tenth of India's oil imports before November 2018 sanctions; its share fell to zero by 2020-21.
• India imported no oil from Iran for the six years spanning 2020-26, before limited sales resumed in March 2026.
• Russia's share fell to 19.3% by February 2026 after U.S. tariffs on India rose from 25% to 50% in August 2025.
• Official data cited in the article put Russia's share of India's oil-import bill above 51% in July 2026.

Prelims pointers

• NMDC has targeted Net Zero operational emissions by 2047 across Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
• The pathway seeks a minimum 90% cut in operational emissions, with remaining emissions addressed through offsets.
• NMDC's six strategies include energy efficiency, renewable energy, fleet electrification, low-carbon fuels, CCUS and demand-side management.
• NMDC has a 10.5 MW wind-energy facility in Chitradurga and solar-power installations across its projects.
• The roadmap has three phases: FY2026-FY2030, FY2030-FY2040 and FY2040-FY2047.

Prelims pointers

• The amendment modifies the RBI's Urban Co-operative Banks Know Your Customer Directions dated November 28, 2025.
• The substituted provision is paragraph 4(1)(v), and the alternative certified-copy facility now expressly includes Foreign Portfolio Investors.
• Ordinarily, the bank compares the Aadhaar-possession proof copy or officially valid document with the original, and an authorised officer records the comparison.
• Alternative certifiers include specified overseas bank officials, a Notary Public abroad, a Court Magistrate, a Judge, and the Indian Embassy or Consulate General.
• The enabling provisions cited include section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, section 56, sections 10(2) and 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, section 11(1) of FEMA, and Rule 9(14) of the 2005 Rules.

Prelims pointers

• The amendment was issued on September 18, 2026 and came into force with immediate effect.
• It modifies RBI's Local Area Banks KYC Directions dated November 28, 2025 by substituting paragraph 4(1)(v).
• The earlier alternative certified-copy facility covered NRIs and Persons of Indian Origin under FEMA 5(R).
• The 2026 amendment extends that alternative original-certified-copy facility to Foreign Portfolio Investors.
• Permitted certifiers include specified overseas bank officials, a notary public abroad, a court magistrate, a judge, and an Indian Embassy or Consulate General.

Prelims pointers

• The Regional Rural Banks KYC amendment was issued on September 18, 2026 and came into force with immediate effect.
• It modifies the RBI's Regional Rural Banks – Know Your Customer Directions, 2025, dated November 28, 2025.
• The alternative facility for obtaining an original certified copy was extended to Foreign Portfolio Investors.
• Paragraph 4(1)(v) covers comparison of Aadhaar-possession proof where offline verification cannot be carried out, or an officially valid document, with the original.
• Permitted overseas certifiers include specified bank officials, a Notary Public abroad, a Court Magistrate, a Judge, and an Indian Embassy or Consulate General.

Prelims pointers

• Matthew Aaron Van Dyke received default bail because the NIA did not file a terror-offence charge sheet within the mandatory 180-day period.
• The NIA’s 8 September charge sheet invoked Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act.
• The first charge sheet did not invoke Section 18 of the UAPA, under which Van Dyke had originally been booked.
• The court relied on the default-bail provision in Section 187(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
• Release required a personal bond and a surety bond of ₹1 lakh each, along with travel, witness and reporting conditions.

Prelims pointers

• The review meeting on Delhi-NCR air quality was held in Lucknow on 18 September 2026 with Union and Uttar Pradesh officials.
• Mechanical Road Sweeping Machines were proposed for geo-tagging to support real-time monitoring and accountability.
• Automatic Number Plate Recognition was sought at fuel stations for implementing the “No PUCC, No Fuel” initiative.
• Industrial measures included faster installation of Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems and Air Pollution Control Devices.
• For stubble burning, the State was asked to address gaps in Crop Residue Management machinery and strengthen farmer training and IEC campaigns.

Prelims pointers

• ISM 2.0 has six stated pillars: Design; Materials and Machines; More Fabs; More ATMP units; R&D; and Talent.
• Five chip-manufacturing plants in India have commenced commercial production for domestic needs and exports.
• More than 105 chip-design start-ups received access to EDA tools under ISM 1.0, and 20 received venture-capital funding.
• Around 70,000 design engineers were trained in four years against an initial target of 85,000 over ten years.
• ISM 2.0 targets training one lakh cleanroom technicians and maintenance personnel, though demand may require a higher target.

Prelims pointers

• Day 2 of SEMICON India 2026 saw 25 announcements covering manufacturing, materials, logistics, design, packaging, power electronics and skills.
• The event featured more than 600 exhibitors, including around 300 international exhibitors.
• ISM and Nippon Express signed an MoU covering semiconductor logistics, warehousing, customs and supply-chain requirements.
• ISC-VEGA-SOM integrates C-DAC's VEGA Thejas32 processor with IndieSemiC's LoRa RF module.
• NIELIT and SCL launched an indigenous 0.8-micron open-source Process Design Kit on the NIELIT eChipHub platform.

Prelims pointers

• Swachh Sagar Surakshit Sagar began in 2022 as a 75-day inter-ministerial coastal-cleanliness campaign.
• It became an annual nationwide initiative around International Coastal Cleanup Day, observed on September's third Saturday.
• The 2026 edition of the campaign was conducted from 12 to 19 September.
• The release states that India's coastline extends for about 11,098 km across coastal States and Union Territories.
• The Sagar Prahari platform supports citizen engagement with the campaign and documentation of marine litter.

Prelims pointers

• Steel cutting for the second Next Generation Missile Vessel was held at Cochin Shipyard, Kochi, on 17 September 2026.
• The contract for construction of the NGMVs was concluded with Cochin Shipyard Limited in March 2023.
• The planned NGMVs will carry state-of-the-art weapons and sensors to enhance Indian Navy combat capability.
• All major role-defining equipment for the vessels has been developed and manufactured indigenously.
• The ships are intended for a modern Navy operating in the complex maritime environment of the Indian Ocean Region.

Prelims pointers

• Regulation 21A requires TSPs to identify sender CLIs with a high probability of carrying UCC and share the information among TSPs.
• Five or more CLIs linked to one sender and flagged within ten days can trigger investigation and graded action by access providers.
• Entities using Application-to-Person calls must pre-declare their use and CLIs; undeclared A2P calls are treated as UCC.
• Inquiry-based commercial communication may continue only for seven days after a written or digitally verifiable customer inquiry.
• A consumer may appeal the resolution of a UCC complaint within 15 days before the Appellate Authority.

Prelims pointers

• HAL handed two Tejas FOC twin-seat trainers and three HTT-40 basic trainers to the Indian Air Force.
• Four Dhruv Next Generation helicopters configured for civil operations were handed to Pawan Hans Limited.
• The two LCA twin-seat trainers are the final aircraft under the Final Operational Clearance contract.
• HTT-40 is an indigenously designed and developed basic trainer intended for the primary training needs of the Defence Forces.
• Dhruv NG is intended for passenger transport, emergency medical services and offshore logistics support.

Prelims pointers

• The 17th Kathakali Festival is being held from 18 to 20 September 2026 at Kalakshetra Foundation in Chennai.
• Its theme is “Kadha Rasa Sangama – Confluence of Essence of Stories”.
• Sadanam Academy opened with “Mandodari”, a Ramayana-based work about Ravana's final moments and Mandodari's response.
• Kerala Kalamandalam's production is a Kathakali adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's “The Old Man and the Sea”.
• Kalakshetra Foundation was established in 1936 by Rukmini Devi Arundale.

Prelims pointers

• The National Green Tribunal is organising the conference at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on 19–20 September 2026.
• The conference is titled “The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics.”
• Judges and judicial representatives from 17 countries are expected to participate.
• Participants include representatives of State Expert Appraisal Committees and State Environment Impact Assessment Authorities.
• The agenda includes gaps in environmental policy formulation, implementation and enforcement.

Prelims pointers

• The 25th SCO ministerial meeting on foreign economic and trade activities was held in Dushanbe on 17 September 2026.
• India highlighted Security, Connectivity and Opportunity as three pillars articulated at the SCO Summit in Bishkek.
• India advocated simplified customs, paperless trade, electronic document exchange and stronger multimodal connectivity.
• Ministers agreed on a 2026–2030 multilateral trade and economic cooperation action plan for further approval.
• The next ministerial meeting is scheduled for 2027 in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Prelims pointers

• The sugar stockholding limit for bulk consumers was relaxed from 15 days to 30 days of consumption.
• Stock held above 15 days must be sourced exclusively from imports under AAS or TRQ.
• Open-market sugar purchases by bulk consumers remain restricted to 15 days of consumption.
• Bulk consumers using or consuming more than 10 MT of sugar a month fall within the stated stockholding regime.
• Bulk consumers must declare and disclose sugar stocks every Friday on the Department of Food and Public Distribution portal.

Prelims pointers

• The India–Nepal IGSC meeting was held at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi, on 16–17 September 2026.
• The IGSC examines trade-related issues and facilitates bilateral trade and transit between India and Nepal.
• Customs discussions included pre-arrival information exchange and electronic verification of Certificates of Origin.
• The sides reviewed freight movement, Integrated Check Posts, land-port infrastructure and operational bottlenecks.
• Both sides agreed on time-bound follow-up for issues requiring further technical examination.

Prelims pointers

• The conference discussed El Niño, crop diversification and measures required for the upcoming Rabi season.
• The minister identified food security, farmers' livelihoods and nutritional security as three objectives for agriculture.
• Southern India's horticultural potential was identified in spices, coffee, cashew, cocoa, sandalwood and other crops.
• Coconut exports were stated to have risen from ₹4,349 crore to ₹7,038 crore in one year, a growth of 62%.
• A Budget-announced coconut-promotion scheme was described as set to become operational.

Prelims pointers

• Telangana and Karnataka had crossed 75% completion in Farmer ID generation, according to the minister.
• Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands had completed the Digital Crop Survey.
• Bharat Vistar was available in Hindi and English and is planned for expansion to 13 regional languages.
• The minister said 16,000 scientists could support campaigns connecting agricultural research with farmers.
• The Rabi Conference is to be held at Pusa Institute in Delhi on 28–29 September to finalise crop and area plans.

Prelims pointers

• Gordhandas Seksaria College of Yoga and Cultural Synthesis marked 75 years of service to Yoga education, research and cultural synthesis.
• Kaivalyadhama, located in Lonavala, Maharashtra, has completed a century of dedicated service to Yoga.
• Swami Kuvalayananda founded Kaivalyadhama in 1924 and pioneered the scientific study of Yoga.
• The Vice-President referred to Patanjali's concept of chitta vritti nirodhah while discussing calmness and focus of mind.
• The Vice-President launched “Yoga Explained – Learn From the Master” by O. P. Tiwari during the event.

Prelims pointers

• The reported merchant discount rate arrangement takes effect from October 15.
• The MDR rate is 0.4% for the covered UPI payments.
• It applies to person-to-merchant UPI payments above ₹2,000.
• The MDR charge will be paid by merchants, not by consumers.
• For transactions of ₹75,000 or more, the charge will be capped at ₹300.

Prelims pointers

• Total foreign-exchange reserves were reported at ₹7,460,261 crore, or US$780,782 million, on 11 September 2026.
• Foreign-currency assets were US$645,796 million and gold reserves were valued at US$111,225 million.
• Special Drawing Rights stood at US$18,845 million and the reserve position in the IMF at US$4,916 million.
• Scheduled commercial banks’ aggregate deposits were ₹27,871,530 crore and bank credit ₹22,387,567 crore on 31 August 2026.
• M3 was reported at ₹33,221,648 crore on 31 August 2026.

Prelims pointers

• A NASA scan discovered a new crater on the Moon.
• The crater is dubbed McGetchin and was described as a ‘once in a century’ discovery.
• McGetchin measures 730 feet, or 222 metres, in width.
• The crater is believed to have been created in the spring of 2024.
• It is believed to have formed when a comet or asteroid collided with the Moon.

Prelims pointers

• A UN migration agency reported that 1,12,000 people had been displaced inside Yemen.
• The same conflict had caused thousands of people to flee from Yemen to Djibouti.
• The Houthis were advancing along Yemen’s coast and tightening control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
• The source says the Houthi advance was bolstering Tehran’s position in its conflict with the United States.
• The development came more than six months after U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Prelims pointers

• For 2025-26, 7,569 software-export companies were contacted and 2,363 responded, covering around 89% of estimated exports.
• Software-services exports excluding overseas commercial presence rose 8.2% year on year to US$221.4 billion.
• Computer services formed 69.3% of software-services exports, while IT-enabled services accounted for 30.7%.
• The United States had a 54.1% destination share and Europe had 31.8%; the United Kingdom’s share was 15.4%.
• Off-site delivery accounted for 91.7% of software-services exports in 2025-26.