Daily Current Affairs (DCA) 12 September, 2026

Context
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ministry of Rural Development, launched the Operational Guidelines for DILRMP 3.0 — a Central Sector Scheme with an outlay of ₹565.50 crore for 2026–2031 — at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi.

The Core Objective

• Build an integrated GIS-based digital land records ecosystem
• Expected to improve citizen access to land-related services across the country

The Four Key Components

Bhu-Aadhaar (ULPIN)

• Unique Land Parcel Identification Number
• A 14-digit unique identifier for every land parcel in the country

Registration Seva Kendras (RSKs)

• Upgradation of 75 high-footfall Sub-Registrar Offices
• Modelled on Passport Seva Kendras

Revenue Court Case Management System (RCCMS)

• Modernisation, by linking it directly with land records

NAKSHA

• National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations
• Acceleration of the pilot to create accurate GIS-based urban land records
• And issue Urban Property Cards (UrPro Cards)

Context of the News

In September 2026, the National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the report “Unincorporated Sector at the District Level: Insights from ASUSE 2025.” This is the first time India has received estimates of the unincorporated non-agricultural sector at the district level, giving a much more detailed picture of enterprises, workers and economic activity across different districts.

Key Highlights

Based on ASUSE 2025

The report uses data from the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2025.

• Survey period: January–December 2025
• It covers unincorporated non-agricultural enterprises operating across India.
• The district-level estimates provide more granular data than state-level estimates.

Earlier, we could understand the unincorporated sector mainly at the state level. Now, we can see which districts are contributing the most.

What is the Unincorporated Sector?

Unincorporated enterprises are businesses that are not registered as companies under the Companies Act.

Examples include:

• Small shops
• Street vendors
• Small manufacturing units
• Repair businesses
• Small restaurants
• Household enterprises
• Other small service and trading businesses

These enterprises are important because they provide large-scale employment and contribute significantly to India’s economy.

Top District by State

• Telangana — Rangareddy, 23.53 per cent
• Gujarat — Surat, 19.43 per cent
• West Bengal — North 24 Parganas, 15.99 per cent
• Punjab — Ludhiana, 14.74 per cent
• Karnataka — Bengaluru (Urban), 12.83 per cent
• Kerala — Thiruvananthapuram, 12.38 per cent
• Rajasthan — Jaipur, 11.70 per cent
• Maharashtra — Pune, 9.14 per cent
• Bihar — Patna, 8.23 per cent
• Tamil Nadu — Chennai, 7.13 per cent
• Uttar Pradesh — Prayagraj, 5.77 per cent

Key Terms

• NSO: National Statistical Office, the main statistical agency under MoSPI.
• ASUSE: Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises.
• Unincorporated Enterprise: A business that is not incorporated as a company under the Companies Act.
• GVA: Gross Value Added; the value added by producers to goods and services after accounting for the cost of inputs.
• Granular Data: Detailed information available at a smaller geographical level, such as the district level.
• Non-Agricultural Sector: Economic activities other than crop cultivation, animal husbandry, forestry and fishing.

Context
Scientists at the Mountain Research Centre for Field Crops (MRCFC), Khudwani, under SKUAST-Kashmir, developed a fine grain aromatic rice variety for the Kashmir Valley — giving farmers an option to diversify into a higher-value paddy crop.

The Variety

• Named Shalimar Sugandh (Kashur Basmat)
• Development began in 2021; certified seed distributed to farmers in 2024
• Developed by Dr Najeeb-ul-Rehman Sofi, Professor and Associate Director, MRCFC

Important Facts for Exams

• Variety: Shalimar Sugandh (Kashur Basmat), by MRCFC Khudwani under SKUAST-Kashmir
• Basmati GI covers Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, 30 districts of western UP, and Jammu, Kathua and Samba in J&K
• J&K Basmati area: 46.13 thousand hectares
• SKUAST — Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology; separate universities at Srinagar (Kashmir) and Jammu
• Basmati GI was registered in 2016, held by APEDA; it is a registered GI, and Pakistan has contested India’s claim in the EU
• APEDA — Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, which regulates Basmati exports
• Basmati is India’s largest agricultural export by value among cereals
• A GI tag identifies goods originating from a defined territory with qualities attributable to that origin, under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999
• Other J&K GIs: Kashmir Saffron, Kashmir Pashmina, Kashmir Walnut Wood Carving, Kashmir Papier Mâché, Basohli Painting

• In Chuchot and nearby villages of Ladakh, glacial meltwater was flowing unused into the Indus River, while agricultural fields faced water shortages.
• Officials identified a Stok village nallah, fed by the Stok Kangri Glacier, carrying nearly 90 million litres of water daily.
• Instead of constructing expensive new infrastructure, the water was connected to existing irrigation canals through basic earthwork.
• The initiative now provides irrigation to more than 1,000 acres across 12 villages, demonstrating community-led water management.

• Project CHAYANKAN will use Artificial Intelligence and geospatial technology for tea plantation monitoring.
• It combines satellite imagery, UAV-based hyperspectral data and ground observations.
• The system will help in plantation mapping, yield estimation, crop-health assessment and pest and disease forecasting.
• The three-year project will run from April 2026 to March 2029

• Uttarakhand will conduct the Service Sankalp campaign from 17 September to 17 October 2026.
• It is a month-long state-level campaign announced by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
• The campaign focuses on improving public service delivery and government outreach.
• It is relevant from the perspective of state-level governance and citizen-centric administration.

• The Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) signed an agreement with Jharkhand to implement the Amended BharatNet Programme (ABP) under the state-led model.
• The Government of India has approved ₹1,684 crore for the programme.
• It will cover 4,395 Gram Panchayats and provide demand-based connectivity to around 26,777 villages.
• Better connectivity will support e-governance, online education, telemedicine and digital payments in rural areas.

• The 79th WHO Regional Committee Session was held from 7–10 September 2026 in Dili, Timor-Leste.
• The meeting adopted the Dili Declaration on Human Resources for Health: Equity in Specialized Care.
• Key areas included medical devices, health-facility resilience, patient and blood safety, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis.
• WHO also recognised India’s sustained elimination of Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNTE) and its progress in screening and treating hypertension and diabetes.

• Assam teacher Rajesh Bordoloi received the National Teachers Award 2026 for this innovative initiative.
• Under the programme, Class 10 students teach their mothers basic literacy and digital skills at home.
• Mothers learn reading, writing, smartphone use, UPI payments, online banking and other digital services.
• The initiative demonstrates how students can become community educators and reduce digital and literacy gaps.

• The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) signed a five-year MoU with the Heartfulness Institute.
• The partnership promotes preventive and holistic healthcare by combining Ayurveda, yoga, meditation and ecological practices.
• Areas include joint research, student and faculty exchange, academic programmes, capacity building and innovation.
• ITRA is an Institute of National Importance under the Ministry of AYUSH.

• The RBI authorised Pluxee India as a Payment Aggregator for online and physical (PA-O and PA-P) transactions.
• The licence allows Pluxee to onboard merchants, collect payments, settle funds and manage refunds.
• It can support payment methods such as cards, QR codes, NFC-based payments and online transactions.
• Pluxee already holds a Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) licence, issued in 2009.

• Axis Bank conducted the 4th edition of Sparsh Week from 7–11 September 2026.
• The 2026 theme was “Act with Speed.”
• The initiative aims to conduct more than 2.5 lakh customer interactions across India.
• It focuses on customer feedback, digital innovation, MSME/NRI engagement and faster banking services.

Context
India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 12–13 September 2026 — its fourth Chairship of the grouping.

Summit Details

• Host and venue: India, New Delhi
• Theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”
• Culminates over 350 meetings across 25 cities

Membership

11 Full Members

• Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa
• Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE (joined 2024)
• Indonesia (joined January 2025)

10 Partner Countries

• Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Key Functions of BRICS

• Reforming global financial architecture — quota and governance reform in the IMF, World Bank and WTO
• Alternative development finance — through the NDB and CRA, without Western conditionalities
• De-dollarisation — intra-bloc settlement in local currencies and interoperable cross-border payment platforms
• Security and counter-terrorism — under the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action Plan and FATF standards
• South-South cooperation — agriculture, food security, satellite data sharing, traditional medicine, climate adaptation and SME digital ecosystems

• India and Russia have set a target of $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.
• Current bilateral trade is around $60 billion.
• The target reflects efforts to further strengthen India–Russia economic and commercial relations.
• It is important in the context of international trade and India’s external economic relations.

• Southern Railway has achieved 100% electrification of its Broad Gauge network.
• The electrified network covers 5,068 route kilometres.
• The final 71-km Pattukkottai–Karaikkudi section completed the milestone.
• Railway electrification can help reduce dependence on fossil fuels and support cleaner and more efficient rail transport.

• Odisha signed agreements with International Holding Company (IHC) and the Adani Group for 14 proposed projects.
• The indicative investment is around ₹2.1 lakh crore.
• Major proposals include an AI data-centre hub, coal-to-chemicals complex, mineral processing, renewable energy and agro-processing.
• The projects also cover healthcare, ports, critical minerals, petrochemicals and skill development.

• India and the United States are expanding cooperation on undersea cable networks under the US–India TRUST Initiative.
• The cooperation focuses on strengthening subsea communication infrastructure.
• Undersea cables are critical for international internet connectivity and secure digital communications.
• The initiative is part of wider India–US cooperation in strategic and emerging technologies.

• International Literacy Day is observed every year on 8 September.
• 2026 marks the 60th anniversary of UNESCO’s proclamation of the day in 1966.
• The 2026 theme is “Literacy for people, the planet and prosperity.”
• The day highlights literacy as an important tool for individual empowerment and social development.

• The day is observed on 9 September to highlight the need to protect students, teachers and educational institutions during conflicts.
• The 2026 theme is “Can Education Survive Attack? The Resilience of Human Communities.”
• It was established by the UN through Resolution A/RES/74/275 in 2020.
• UNESCO and UNICEF facilitate the annual observance.

• QClairvoyance Quantum Labs signed an MoU with IITM-C-DOT Samgnya Technologies Foundation.
• The partnership focuses on quantum computing and quantum algorithms.
• It aims to promote cooperation in quantum technology and related advanced applications.
• The development is relevant to India’s emerging quantum technology ecosystem.

• The India Photonics Association (IPA) was launched as an independent industry body for India’s photonics sector.
• It aims to connect industry, researchers and policymakers.
• Photonics involves the generation, manipulation and detection of light and has applications in telecommunications, defence, healthcare, satellites and semiconductors.
• India’s photonics market was estimated at $78.4 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $155 billion by 2034, according to the supplied material.

• NIELIT partnered with US-based Saylor University to integrate Saylor’s digital learning resources into the NIELIT Digital University (NDU) platform.
• Learners will gain access to self-paced global courses through the digital platform.
• NIELIT also signed MoUs with eight organisations from industry, academia and associations.
• The partnerships aim to strengthen skilling, certification, internships, faculty development and digital learning.

• The 22nd edition of Yudh Abhyas began on 9 September 2026 in Bikaner, Rajasthan and Auli, Uttarakhand.
• It is a bilateral exercise between the Indian Army and US Army.
• The exercise focuses on interoperability, operational readiness and emerging battlefield technologies.
• It includes a Command Post Exercise, Field Training Exercise and live-fire demonstration.

• ISRO successfully conducted a flight acceptance hot test of the indigenous CE20 cryogenic engine at 220 kN thrust.
• The CE20 uses Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) as propellants.
• It powers the upper stage of India’s LVM3 heavy-lift launch vehicle.
• The test also demonstrated the LOX Tank Pressurisation Module, relevant to the Gaganyaan programme.

• World EV Day is observed annually on 9 September to promote electric mobility and cleaner transport.
• The 2026 theme is “Switching Electric: driving down the cost of motoring.”
• The initiative was founded in 2020 by Ade Thomas of Green.TV.
• It highlights the transition towards electric vehicles and sustainable transportation.

• Himalaya Diwas is observed every year on 9 September to promote awareness about the Himalayan ecosystem.
• The 2026 observance marked the 17th edition.
• It was first observed in Uttarakhand in 2010.
• The day focuses on protecting the fragile Himalayan ecosystem and promoting sustainable development in the Himalayan region.

• Veteran Tamil scholar and orator Solomon Pappaiah died at the age of 90.
• He was widely known for moderating Pattimandrams, or Tamil debate programmes.
• He received the Padma Shri in 2021 in the field of Literature and Education.
• He also received the Kalaimamani Award from the Tamil Nadu Government in 2000.