Current affairs — 23 September 2026

Prelims pointers

• Civil unrest and poaching wiped out Manas's historic population of about 100 one-horned rhinos by the early 2000s.
• A reintroduction programme began in 2006, and the 2022 census estimated 48 rhinos in Manas.
• Indian Rhino Vision 2020 moved 22 rhinos to Manas from Kaziranga National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary between 2006 and 2021.
• The 2,837-sq.-km Manas Tiger Reserve includes the 500-sq.-km Manas National Park as its core and adjoins Bhutan's 1,057-sq.-km Royal Manas National Park.
• Frequent rhino movement into Bhutan has led specialists to call for an India-Bhutan conservation mechanism for the transboundary Manas landscape.

Prelims pointers

• Luna 2 struck the Moon on September 14, 1959, becoming the first spacecraft from Earth to contact another celestial body.
• Luna 1 escaped Earth's gravitational pull in January 1959 but missed the Moon by about 6,500 km.
• Luna 2 was launched on September 12 and reached the lunar surface about 35 hours later.
• The impact site lay between Mare Imbrium and Mare Serenitatis, about 250 km from the later Apollo 15 landing area.
• Luna 2's instruments detected no magnetic field or radiation belts around the Moon.

Prelims pointers

• El Niño refers to exceptional warming of sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.
• The Niño 3.4 index averaged +2.51°C, above the article's stated El Niño threshold of +0.80°C.
• The strong El Niño was expected to persist until May or June 2027; its usual recurrence interval is two to seven years.
• Tamil Nadu's northeast monsoon is active from October to December and provides a major share of the State's annual rainfall.
• El Niño is not the sole control on the northeast monsoon; the Indian Ocean Dipole and other oceanic and atmospheric conditions can alter its effects.

Prelims pointers

• Andy Burnham said Britain would put artificial intelligence at the heart of its G20 presidency the following year.
• The proposed global principles and standards would seek transparency and access to improve preparedness and safe AI development.
• Burnham argued that fundamental AI decisions should be taken by elected governments rather than left to technology companies.
• British officials expected full visibility of new frontier models to strengthen preparedness and resilience.
• The announced National Centre for Information Defence would detect, attribute and disrupt hostile-state information attacks and identify harmful deepfakes.

Prelims pointers

• The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor is described as a multinational, multimodal connectivity and infrastructure initiative.
• IMEEC was officially unveiled on September 9, 2023, during the G20 Summit in New Delhi.
• The corridor aims to boost connectivity, trade and sustainability across South Asia, West Asia and Europe.
• Donald Trump expressed U.S. support at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting held on the margins of the UN General Assembly session.
• Trump linked corridor support to shifting West Asian energy infrastructure away from Iranian checkpoints after attacks on commercial shipping.

Prelims pointers

• Canal-top photovoltaic systems use elevated structures above canals, whereas floating solar panels sit on platforms on water bodies.
• A 1-MW Narmada Canal system in Mehsana, commissioned in 2012, reportedly saves nearly 9 million litres of water and produces 1.6 million units annually.
• The 2014 MNRE pilot scheme targeted 50 MW each of canal-top and canal-bank solar projects.
• A 2024 assessment estimated India's canal-top and canal-bank solar potential at about 131 GW.
• Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab were the five States with the highest assessed potential.

Prelims pointers

• The OECD raised India's 2026-27 growth forecast to 7.1% from its June estimate of 6.3%.
• The OECD projected growth of 7.8% in 2025-26, 7.1% in 2026-27 and 6.5% in 2027-28.
• The OECD said resilient domestic demand and government policy cushioned households and firms from higher energy prices.
• S&P Global raised its 2026-27 India forecast to 7% from 6.6%, while Fitch raised its forecast to 6.9% from 6.4%.
• Moody's raised its 2026-27 forecast for India to 7% from 6%, citing resilience to the Middle East conflict's global shock.

Prelims pointers

• The Climate Impact Lab projected up to 451,000 additional heat-related deaths worldwide from June 2026 through February 2027.
• The study combined seasonal temperature forecasts with localised heat-mortality estimates across more than 24,000 regions.
• The projected additional toll included about 66,800 deaths in the Sahel and 15,800 in India.
• The report recommended heat warnings, cooling centres, hydration stations, outdoor-worker protections and expanded hospital capacity.
• Global land temperatures during this El Niño were projected to be about 1.2°C higher, producing 44% more extremely hot days than in a typical year.

Prelims pointers

• P.K. Mishra addressed the 13th SBI Banking and Economics Conclave and warned against optimism-driven aggressive lending.
• He said credit should be appraised against project economics to avoid a cycle of excessive lending and stressed assets.
• The article describes the banking system's GNPA ratio as being at a multi-decadal low after nearly double-digit levels about a decade earlier.
• The twin balance sheet problem involved stressed corporate borrowers and weakened banks constraining fresh investment.
• The response to stressed assets included bank recapitalisation, consolidation of weaker lenders and stronger risk-management regulation.

Prelims pointers

• Exim Bank's agreement with the Maldives, dated July 25, 2025, provides a Government of India-supported ₹4,850 crore line of credit.
• At least 75% of the applicable contract value must be supplied from India; up to 25% may be procured from outside India.
• The line-of-credit agreement became effective on August 27, 2026.
• The disbursement deadline is 48 months after the scheduled completion date of the relevant contract.
• Individual credit agreements will fall under an umbrella line of credit having a minimum value of ₹500 crore.

Prelims pointers

• The Ministry of Defence contracted Bharat Dynamics Limited for 160 SAT-SAAW weapons and associated equipment.
• The Rs. 810.79 crore contract is under the Buy (Indian–Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category.
• SAT-SAAW is an air-to-ground precision-guided glide bomb designed to neutralise enemy airfields from long stand-off range.
• The DRDO-developed weapon can be launched from Jaguar, Hawk and Su-30 MKI platforms.
• The system will have 60% indigenous content, with delivery scheduled during 2027–2028 and 2028–2029.

Prelims pointers

• The Election Commission said it functions as a multi-member constitutional body under Article 324 of the Constitution.
• Its official directions follow procedures under the 2023 law on the CEC and other Election Commissioners.
• The Commission described draft-stage notes, observations and suggestions as normal parts of institutional deliberation.
• It said electoral-roll revision, including SIR, and around 40 initiatives were unanimous decisions of the full Commission.
• Electoral Registration Officers and District Election Officers were identified as statutory authorities for registration and deletion.

Prelims pointers

• The 11th Ayurveda Day national celebration was held in Nagpur under the theme “Ayurveda for a Healthier Tomorrow”.
• The event launched Ayush Vision 2030 and the CCRAS–AGNI Assessment Scale Web Portal.
• Safety dossiers were launched for Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris) and Chandrasura (Lepidium sativum).
• The first-ever Ayush Services Sector report was prepared by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries.
• The release cited more than 43,000 Ayush Research Portal publications and over 200 BIS standards.

Prelims pointers

• CBDT hosted tax-authority representatives from ten BRICS member countries at the New Delhi meeting.
• Two India-led working groups were created on International Taxation and Transfer Pricing and on Revenue Statistics.
• The BRICS Young Tax Professionals Capacity Building Programme was institutionalised as an annual feature.
• The BRICS Tax Cross-Learning Lab was launched and the BRICS Tax Support Network’s terms of reference were approved.
• Members signed the BRICS Tax Progress Report 2026 and welcomed China as incoming chair for 2027.

Prelims pointers

• SLINEX-26 was the 13th edition of the bilateral maritime exercise between India and Sri Lanka.
• The exercise ran from 17 to 21 September 2026 and concluded at Visakhapatnam.
• The harbour phase included professional exchanges, cross-deck visits and sporting interactions.
• The sea phase included maritime manoeuvres, air operations and night replenishment at sea.
• Special Forces drills included Visit, Board, Search and Seizure and slithering operations.

Prelims pointers

• The PIB release marked eight years since the rollout of Ayushman Bharat on 23 September 2026.
• More than 60 crore beneficiaries were reported to have access to annual health cover of Rs. 5 lakh.
• The Prime Minister described Ayushman Bharat as the largest healthcare scheme in the world.
• The initiative was said to have enabled record savings on medical expenses for the poor and middle class.
• Ayushman Arogya Mandirs had recorded over 500 crore visits, strengthening primary healthcare at the grassroots.

Prelims pointers

• NRAA held the National Level Technical Committee meeting under the REWARD programme on 22 September 2026.
• REWARD stands for Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development.
• The meeting called for integrating Land Resource Inventory and hydrology in watershed planning.
• A Department of Land Resources representative suggested reducing DPR preparation from six months to three months.
• The National Technical Guidelines are intended for future work under WDC–Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana 3.0.

Prelims pointers

• The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies was adopted at the Twelfth Ministerial Conference in 2022.
• India ratified the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on 20 July 2026.
• The agreement disciplines subsidies linked to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
• It also addresses subsidies for overfished stocks and fishing on the unregulated high seas.
• Implementation includes notification and transparency duties, while further negotiations concern overcapacity and overfishing.

Prelims pointers

• Bharat Taxi was launched in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Kanpur and Prayagraj on 23 September 2026.
• The cooperative mobility service is based on the principle “Driver is the Owner”.
• Following the service’s February 2026 launch, more than 10 lakh Saarthis were reported to have joined.
• The release reported around 20,000 rides daily and over Rs. 100 crore credited to Saarthis’ accounts.
• Airport Authority, Lucknow Metro Rail and Lucknow Police exchanged Memoranda of Understanding with Bharat Taxi.

Prelims pointers

• RBI scheduled the OMO sale auction for September 28, 2026, with an aggregate notified amount of ₹25,000 crore.
• Six Government of India securities maturing between March 20, 2029 and August 22, 2032 are being offered.
• The auction has no security-wise notified amount; RBI may determine the quantity sold for each security.
• Eligible participants must bid electronically through E-Kuber between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on September 28.
• The result is due the same day, and successful participants must provide funds by noon on September 29, 2026.