Daily Current Affairs (DCA) 06&07 September, 2026

Context A medicinal plant traditionally used in East Asian healthcare, Ophiopogon japonicus, has been recorded in India for the first time — discovered in West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh.

The Discovery

• Recorded at an elevation of 2,185 metres in West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh
• Documented by researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India (Dehradun) and the Uluberia Botanical Institute Herbarium, West Bengal
• Described as a significant find highlighting the biodiversity of the Eastern Himalaya

About the Species

• Common names: dwarf lilyturf, mondo grass, fountain plant, monkey grass
• Japanese names: ryū-no-hige (“dragon’s beard”) and ja-no-hige (“snake’s beard”)
• Family: Asparagaceae; order Asparagales — traditionally placed in the lily family, Liliaceae
• An evergreen, sod-forming, rhizomatous perennial
• Linear, grass-like leaves
• Has tuberous roots, which are the medicinally used part

Distribution

• Native to China, Japan, Korea, Nepal and Vietnam
• Now confirmed in India, widely grown as an ornamental ground-cover plant worldwide

Context The Northern Goshawk (Baaj), Punjab’s state bird, has re-entered the political spotlight ahead of state assembly elections, after rival leaders claimed sightings of the bird and interpreted them as symbols of divine protection and blessing.

What It Is

• A medium-to-large raptor of the family Accipitridae
• Historically classified as Accipiter gentilis; recently reclassified as Astur gentilis for the Eurasian goshawk
• Known as a “true hawk”, celebrated for its speed, manoeuvrability and prowess in falconry

Habitat and Distribution

• Inhabits mature temperate and boreal woodlands — mixed deciduous and coniferous forests
• Widely distributed across Eurasia and North America
• Ranging from Scandinavia, northern Russia and the Mediterranean to the Himalayas, eastern China and Canada
• IUCN status: Least Concern (LC)

Context Chhattisgarh secured the first position nationally in the third phase of Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB 3.0) — a community-driven water conservation programme under the Ministry of Jal Shakti’s Catch the Rain campaign. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai presented the state’s model at a national summit in New Delhi, in the presence of the Prime Minister.

Chhattisgarh’s Performance

• Completed 77,719 out of 79,775 registered water conservation structures in JSJB 3.0
• JSJB 1.0 — ranked second
• JSJB 2.0 — ranked second
• JSJB 3.0 — moved up to first nationally

About the Campaign

• Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain — launched 2019, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti
• Theme: “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls”
• Focus on water-stressed blocks and districts, with works including rainwater harvesting structures, renovation of traditional water bodies, watershed development, reuse and recharge structures, and intensive afforestation
• Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari is the community-participation component, launched from Gujarat in 2024

• Melghat and Pench Tiger Reserves in Maharashtra have emerged as successful sites for captive-bred vulture reintroduction.
• The programme has recorded encouraging survival rates among released vultures.
• Vultures are important scavengers that help maintain ecosystem cleanliness and control disease spread.
• Major threats to vultures include habitat loss, poisoning and veterinary drugs.

• The 9th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2026 is being launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in Varanasi.
• The campaign draws on the revised Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) Guidelines.
• It is linked with Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.
• Focus remains on improving nutrition and child development through the Anganwadi system.

Context The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) has become India’s first school education board, and Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, the first university, to onboard UIDAI’s Offline Verification Seeking Entity (OVSE) framework.

What OVSE Is

• A secure regulatory framework established by the UIDAI
• Authorising eligible organisations to carry out local, offline identity verification
• Using verifiable digital credentials, rather than querying central identity databases
• Nodal body: UIDAI, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Aim

• Provide a tamper-evident, contactless and privacy-preserving identity verification ecosystem
• Reduce operational costs
• Eliminate physical document submission
• Prevent identity fraud across sectors

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to acquire a stake in ICICI Bank.
• The approval allows LIC to increase its holding within the permitted regulatory limits.
• The development is important for the banking and financial-services sector.
• The acquisition is subject to applicable RBI regulations and conditions.

• SEBI and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) signed an MoU to strengthen cooperation regarding Central Counterparties (CCPs).
• The agreement replaces the earlier 2017 MoU.
• It provides for information sharing and supervisory cooperation between Indian and European regulators.
• Indian CCPs can re-apply for recognition under the European EMIR framework.
• A CCP acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers and helps manage counterparty risk.

• Razorpay and IndusInd Bank launched RAY, an AI-based conversational account manager on WhatsApp.
• It enables businesses and MSMEs to manage payments, transactions, settlements and refunds through chat.
• RAY can provide payment insights, alerts and recommendations without requiring a traditional dashboard.
• The platform has already recorded more than 20,000 conversations.
• It reflects the growing use of AI in digital banking and business payments.

• The Bank of Canada unveiled a new CAD 20 banknote featuring King Charles III.
• He becomes the first British monarch to appear on Canadian currency in more than seven decades.
• The note has a vertical orientation, similar to Canada’s CAD 10 note.
• Its reverse side features the Vimy Ridge Memorial in France.
• The note is expected to enter general circulation in early 2027.

• The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to observe 27 November annually as the International Day for the Elimination of Child Marriage.
• The initiative focuses on preventing child, early and forced marriage.
• It aims to protect children’s education, health, rights and development.
• It calls for stronger legal measures, awareness and coordinated international action.

• IIT Madras and UNESCO MGIEP partnered to develop AI-based immersive learning technologies.
• The initiative combines AI, Extended Reality (XR), game design and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
• Two major objectives are personalised learning and gamified education.
• The technology aims to support low-cost and low-bandwidth learning.
• The partnership aligns with SDG 4.7 on inclusive and sustainable education.

• DRDO and the University of Hyderabad’s ACRHEM secured an Indian patent for BAM-H24.
• It is a next-generation high-energy material designed for solid rocket propulsion applications.
• The material has properties such as high thermal stability and high specific impulse.
• It has potential applications in rocket propulsion, missiles and space launch vehicles.
• The patent strengthens India’s indigenous capabilities in high-energy materials and strategic technologies.

• Birkbeck, University of London received UGC approval to establish its Bengaluru campus.
• The campus will operate under India’s 2023 Foreign Higher Educational Institutions regulations.
• It will offer undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, initially focusing on business-related fields.
• Degrees will be awarded by the University of London under Birkbeck’s academic oversight.
• The initiative supports NEP 2020 and strengthens India–UK higher-education cooperation.

• Assam’s Rangpur-Sivasagar Historical Ensemble has entered the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
• It represents the capital landscape of the Ahom dynasty.
• The Ahoms ruled the Brahmaputra Valley for nearly six centuries.
• The ensemble includes royal, religious, water-management and funerary structures.
• India submitted the nomination dossier to UNESCO on 19 June 2026.

• NHAI announced the winners of the Green Highways Excellence Awards 2026.
• The awards recognise best practices in highway landscaping and plantation management.
• They were instituted in 2025 under the Green Highways Policy, 2015.
• Awards cover avenue plantations, median plantations and plantation in land parcels.
• The initiative promotes greener and more sustainable national highways.

• National Teachers’ Day is observed on 5 September every year.
• It marks the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
• He served as India’s second President and first Vice-President.
• Teachers’ Day was first celebrated in 1962.
• In 2026, National Teachers Awards were presented to recognise excellence in teaching.

• International Day of Charity is observed annually on 5 September.
• It was designated by the UN General Assembly in 2012.
• The day commemorates the death anniversary of Mother Teresa.
• It highlights charitable and humanitarian efforts to address poverty, inequality and social challenges.
• The day supports the broader objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Punjab launched ‘Pehchaan’, a digital portal for identifying unidentified and unclaimed deceased persons.
• Punjab became the first state to implement such a system.
• The portal is built on the MedLeaPR system developed by NIC.
• It stores photographs, physical characteristics and identification marks of unidentified persons.
• It integrates with CCTNS to help match missing-person records with unidentified deceased persons.

• Tamil Nadu announced a world-class Olympic City in Chennai.
• The project will come up at Semmencheri.
• Facilities will include sports arenas, a High-Performance Training Centre, Sports Science Centre and Sports Medicine Centre.
• The state will also establish Olympic Centres of Excellence at 10 locations.
• A Motor Sports City is also proposed for Formula racing events.

• International Vulture Day highlights the ecological importance of vultures.
• Vultures act as natural scavengers by consuming dead animals.
• This helps reduce the spread of diseases and maintains ecosystem health.
• Vulture populations have declined due to habitat loss, poisoning and harmful veterinary medicines.
• Conservation programmes focus on habitat protection, captive breeding and safe reintroduction.

• Gegeneophis chandgadi is a newly described subterranean caecilian
• Found at Buzawade village, Chandgad tehsil, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra
• Caecilians are limbless, burrowing amphibians largely found in the Western Ghats
• Highlights the Western Ghats’ status as a global biodiversity hotspot

• BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir in Bussy-Saint-Georges (Seine-et-Marne) inaugurated on 6 September 2026
• France’s first traditionally designed stone Hindu temple
• Largest Hindu temple of its kind in France
• Reflects cultural diplomacy and India–France strategic partnership

• Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the F1 Italian GP on 6 September 2026
• First Italian driver to win his home Grand Prix in decades
• Monza is one of the oldest and fastest circuits on the F1 calendar
• Antonelli is among the youngest race winners in F1 history