Current affairs — 30 September 2026

Prelims pointers

• Form 6 is normally used for fresh voter registration and was also used during SIR to re-enlist people deleted during enumeration.
• The SIR declaration sought mapping of an applicant or the applicant’s parents to electoral rolls from the previous SIR.
• Form 6 is attached to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, which only the Central government can amend through the Law Ministry.
• The Election Commission said on September 26, 2026 that the declaration accompanying Form 6 would be used only during SIR.
• Election Commission officials said the Supreme Court upheld the power to add the declaration on May 27, 2026.

Prelims pointers

• Nearly 13.3 crore names had been deleted from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision, according to EC data.
• Around 9.5 crore deletions, or over 71%, were classified as “absent, shifted and others”.
• Deaths accounted for about 2.7 crore deletions, while multiple entries accounted for approximately 1.01 crore.
• Form 6 was used during SIR to restore some deleted names, although it is generally used for fresh voter registration.
• Assam underwent a “special revision” instead of SIR because of legalities concerning the National Register of Citizens.

Prelims pointers

• EC guidelines cap a recognised political party BLA at 10 applications per day after the draft electoral roll is published.
• The ECINET portal lacked a mechanism to enforce the BLA cap; one BLA filed 35 objections across two days.
• Form 6 concerns inclusion, Form 7 objection or deletion, and Form 8 modification of electoral-roll entries.
• Between September 21 and 26, Delhi recorded 1,095 Form 7 objections, around 80% shown as self-objections.
• The claims-and-objections deadline moved from September 30 to October 30 after the draft roll appeared on August 31.

Prelims pointers

• Rajasthan is the first State in northern India and the sixth in India to complete digital identification of farmers.
• The State met a target of 90.19 lakh farmer identity cards set by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• Digital identification reached about 118% relative to the 76.54 lakh operational holdings in the 2015-16 agriculture census.
• The Agriculture and Revenue Departments coordinated the exercise, which links identity cards, land records and the crop registry.
• The system is intended to improve crop insurance, fertiliser delivery, MSP procurement, agricultural credit and market linkages.

Prelims pointers

• The Niyamgiri bauxite reserve discussed in the report extends across Odisha’s Kalahandi and Rayagada districts.
• The report identifies the Dongria Kondh, who depend on and have protected Niyamgiri’s natural resources, as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.
• After the Supreme Court said the concerned gram sabhas should decide on mining, gram sabhas of 12 Dongria Kondh villages unanimously rejected the project.
• The cited safeguards for Adivasi communities in Scheduled Areas were the Fifth Schedule, the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act and the Forest Rights Act.
• NAPM said Niyamgiri’s bauxite-bearing mountain ecosystem sustains rivers including the Bansadhara and Nagavali.

Prelims pointers

• GSLV-F17 launched the advanced Earth-observation satellite EOS-05 from Sriharikota on September 4, 2026.
• The Joint Action Council raising privatisation concerns represents nine ISRO employees' associations.
• ISRO described itself as the sector's bedrock, IN-SPACe as facilitating non-government participation, and NSIL as supporting commercialisation.
• ISRO and the European Space Agency extended cooperation until January 8, 2032, adding space weather, exploration and space sustainability.
• A semi-cryogenic engine power-head test article reached its full 200-tonne thrust level; the article excludes the thrust chamber.

Prelims pointers

• Kaliningrad is described as a heavily militarised Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania.
• Russia delivered its warning through a ‘non-paper’, diplomatic terminology for an informal document.
• The Russian document threatened use of the full arsenal, including nuclear weapons, if NATO tried to isolate Kaliningrad.
• NATO spokesperson Allison Hart confirmed that the alliance had received the Russian non-paper.
• Russian embassies in at least three European countries accused NATO of escalating tensions through exercises involving Kaliningrad.

Prelims pointers

• IN-SPACe released the hosted-payload authorisation document on September 17, 2026, under the Indian Space Policy 2023.
• Hosted payloads include instruments, systems and transponders mounted on third-party satellites, including through Satellite-as-a-Service.
• Every Indian-owned hosted payload requires IN-SPACe authorisation whether carried by an Indian or non-Indian satellite.
• A foreign-owned payload on an Indian space object needs no separate IN-SPACe authorisation, but the host must disclose its information.
• Hosts must retain information on data concerning Indian territory for at least six months and provide it to IN-SPACe when sought.

Prelims pointers

• The October 1, 2026 auction involved the re-issue of four Government Securities with a total notified amount of ₹33,000 crore.
• The securities were 6.20% GS 2029, 6.57% GS 2033, 7.63% GS 2056 and 7.50% GOI SGrB 2056.
• The underwriting-commitment scheme governing the auction was notified on November 14, 2007.
• For each Primary Dealer, both MUC and the minimum ACU bid were ₹215 crore, ₹286 crore, ₹215 crore and ₹72 crore across the four listed securities, respectively.
• The underwriting auction used a multiple price-based method, with ACU bids accepted through e-Kuber from 09:00 a.m. to 09:30 a.m.

Prelims pointers

• The Centre's fiscal deficit reached 41.9% of the 2026-27 budget target by August, compared with 38.1% a year earlier.
• Controller General of Accounts data put April-August 2026 total revenue at ₹13.7 lakh crore and expenditure at ₹20.8 lakh crore.
• Total receipts were 37.5% of budget estimates, while total expenditure had reached 38.9% by August 2026.
• Fertiliser spending reached 60% of its annual budget by August, compared with 50% at the same point last year.
• Capital expenditure reached 41.7% of the ₹12.2 lakh crore annual target, up from 38.5% at the comparable stage.

Prelims pointers

• The article lists ten SCO members: Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and China.
• Pakistan is scheduled to host the SCO Heads of State summit in Islamabad in August 2027.
• Pakistan’s Chairmanship theme is ‘Turning Vision into Action: Connectivity, Innovation, and Shared Prosperity’.
• The ‘Shanghai Spirit’ was described through mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation and common development.
• India’s delegation to the Islamabad meeting was led by National Coordinator Alok Dimri.

Prelims pointers

• The changed provident-fund withdrawal rules came into effect on July 1, 2026 and permit partial withdrawal of up to 75%.
• GATWU said the remaining 25% can be withdrawn only after 12 months of unemployment, against full withdrawal within two months earlier.
• The union said workers must cite needs such as education, marriage or housing even when seeking the permitted 75% withdrawal.
• A memorandum bearing about 5,000 garment workers' signatures was submitted by GATWU to provident-fund officials.
• GATWU said workers employed for under 10 years must now wait 36 months to access EPS funds that were earlier paid within two months.

Prelims pointers

• The ECI moved publication of Andhra Pradesh’s final electoral roll from October 3 to October 16, 2026.
• The ECI moved publication of Meghalaya’s final electoral roll from October 7 to October 26, 2026.
• Andhra Pradesh’s claims-and-objections period under the Special Intensive Revision was extended until October 10.
• The ECI stopped physical hearings for voters flagged under unmapped or logical-discrepancy categories and limited the SIR-related Form 6 declaration to SIR areas.
• A committee led by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, with an independent IIT or IIIT expert, will review the ECINet portal.

Prelims pointers

• NIO-Goa experts led by Chief Scientist Jaya Kumar Seelam identified 14 breach-prone locations in Konaseema district.
• The vulnerable stretches lie along the Gouthami and Vasista, branches of the Godavari river in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district.
• The Godavari originates in Maharashtra, reaches the Bay of Bengal in Konaseema and West Godavari districts, and sees at least two floods yearly.
• District officials were directed to prepare a DPR and socio-economic study and to record water pressure at the 14 vulnerable locations.
• NIO-Goa recommended stone-based riprap for embankments; officials will examine geotextiles and study drain silting affecting nearly 15,000 acres.

Prelims pointers

• For marketing season 2027-28, wheat MSP is ₹2,610 per quintal and its stated margin over cost is 106%.
• Safflower MSP is ₹7,215 per quintal, after the largest absolute increase among the six crops: ₹675 per quintal.
• Rapeseed and mustard MSP is ₹6,613 per quintal, with a stated margin of 96% over the weighted average production cost.
• The stated production-cost measure includes paid-out inputs and the imputed value of family labour.
• The MSP increase follows the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of prices at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production.

Prelims pointers

• GEC-III seeks to enable evacuation of up to 135 GW of renewable energy through stronger intra-state transmission systems.
• The scheme provides for 50 GWh of Battery Energy Storage Systems to improve grid flexibility and serve non-solar-hour demand.
• GEC-III is targeted for completion by FY 2032-33 and has a total project outlay of ₹1,86,405 crore.
• Central Financial Support under the scheme is ₹54,082 crore and is intended to offset intra-state transmission charges.
• Greenfield transmission projects will use Tariff Based Competitive Bidding, with service providers operating on a Build-Own-Operate-Maintain model.

Prelims pointers

• The second ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise commenced at Subic Bay, Philippines, on 28 September 2026.
• INS Sahyadri and INS Kulish are India’s participating naval ships in AIME-2026.
• AIME-2026 is conducted under the theme ‘Anchored in Trust, United at Sea’.
• The harbour phase includes expert exchanges, sporting and cultural activities, community engagement, operational synchronisation and a pre-sail briefing.
• The exercise advances India’s Act East Policy and MAHASAGAR: Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.

Prelims pointers

• The eighth PM Mementos e-Auction 2026 includes 109 mementos representing West Bengal’s cultural and artistic heritage.
• Sholapith works in the collection depict Goddess Durga and Maa Kali; Sholapith is identified in the release as a traditional Bengali material.
• The wooden Bankura horses have elongated necks, erect ears and geometric forms associated with the Panchmura artistic style.
• A canvas of Bishnupur’s Rasmancha depicts its pyramidal terracotta structure and arched galleries and is signed by Nibedita Nema.
• The collection includes mementos associated with Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Vidyasagar, Vivekananda and Satyajit Ray.

Prelims pointers

• The approved PSS procurement for Kharif 2026-27 totals ₹5,547.99 crore across Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana.
• Uttar Pradesh’s ₹3,992.57-crore approval covers 4,66,000 metric tonnes of tur and 6,250 metric tonnes of moong.
• Karnataka’s ₹1,107-crore approval covers soybean, moong and sunflower procurement at MSP.
• Telangana’s ₹448.42-crore approval covers 62,000 metric tonnes of soybean and 10,766 metric tonnes of moong.
• The Price Support Scheme procurement is intended to protect pulse and oilseed farmers from declines in market prices.

Prelims pointers

• The RIS study estimates the Ayush services economy at US$36.92 billion in FY2024-25, with 16.91% CAGR since FY2022-23.
• The study surveyed 15,914 establishments across all six Ayush systems and estimates direct support for 1.76 million livelihoods.
• Standalone clinics and day-care centres together account for more than 71% of total Ayush-services revenue.
• Ayurveda is the largest individual system in the study, accounting for US$17.73 billion, or nearly 48% of total revenue.
• Medical Value Travel generated an estimated US$1.77 billion in FY2024-25; international patients were around 5% of patient volumes.

Prelims pointers

• The dataset covered 41 select SCBs accounting for about 95% of total non-food credit extended by all scheduled commercial banks.
• Non-food bank credit grew 18.8% year on year as at August 31, 2026, compared with 10.2% in the corresponding previous-year fortnight.
• Credit to agriculture and allied activities grew 17.2% year on year, compared with 7.6% in the corresponding fortnight a year earlier.
• Industry credit grew 18.2% year on year, while services credit grew 24.3%; their previous-year comparators were 7.0% and 10.3%, respectively.
• Personal loans grew 16.9% year on year; housing and vehicle loans maintained double-digit growth, while credit-card outstanding and gold loans decelerated.

Prelims pointers

• India’s services exports were US$35,471 million in August 2026, with 13.7% growth over the corresponding month of the previous year.
• India’s services imports were US$18,934 million in August 2026, with 21.4% growth over the corresponding month of the previous year.
• July 2026 recorded services exports of US$38,253 million and services imports of US$20,606 million.
• RBI marked the international trade-in-services data for July and August 2026 as provisional.
• The April-June 2026 figures were revised pro rata using balance-of-payments statistics for Q1:2026-27.

Prelims pointers

• India's external debt was US$778.2 billion at end-June 2026, up US$15.4 billion from end-March 2026.
• The external-debt-to-GDP ratio moderated from 20.9% at end-March 2026 to 20.8% at end-June 2026.
• Long-term external debt, defined by original maturity above one year, stood at US$624.7 billion at end-June 2026.
• Short-term debt was 19.7% of total debt by original maturity but 43.4% by residual maturity at end-June 2026.
• US dollar-denominated debt had the largest currency share at 54.8%, followed by Indian rupee-denominated debt at 29.8%.

Prelims pointers

• India's net IIP at end-June 2026 was –US$220.3 billion, compared with –US$203.8 billion at end-March 2026.
• International assets were US$1,212.5 billion and international liabilities were US$1,432.8 billion at end-June 2026.
• The ratio of India's international assets to international liabilities declined from 85.7% in March 2026 to 84.6% in June 2026.
• Reserve assets accounted for 55.1% of India's international financial assets at end-June 2026.
• Debt liabilities made up 56.9% of total external liabilities at end-June 2026, while non-debt liabilities made up 43.1%.

Prelims pointers

• The RBI dataset covers scheduled commercial banks but excludes regional rural banks and small finance banks.
• The WALR on outstanding rupee loans declined from 8.97% in July 2026 to 8.96% in August 2026.
• The WALR on fresh rupee loans rose from 8.52% in July 2026 to 8.61% in August 2026.
• EBLR-linked loans formed 68.2% of outstanding floating-rate rupee loans at end-June 2026, while MCLR-linked loans formed 29.6%.
• The weighted average rate on fresh rupee term deposits declined from 5.85% in July 2026 to 5.67% in August 2026.