Daily Current Affairs (DCA) 19 September, 2026

Context
The FAO, with the Landscape Alliance (CIFOR-ICRAF), published “Forests for Food: Nourishing People, Sustaining the Planet” — developed under the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) Joint Initiative.

What It Is

• Synthesises global evidence on the links between forests and the four dimensions of Food Security and Nutrition — availability, access, utilisation and stability
• Addresses a systemic knowledge gap caused by:
  • Absence of globally standardised definitions
  • Unrecorded informal wild-food consumption
  • Fragmented policy silos across agriculture, forestry and health

Key Findings

• Over 5 billion people depend to some extent on forests for livelihoods; forests generate up to 20 per cent of rural household income in several developing regions
• More than 50,000 wild species are used globally for food, energy, medicine and materials — including at least 10,000 consumed directly as human food
• In remote forest-dependent communities, wild forest foods supply up to 80 per cent of daily dietary protein and nearly half of total food mass by weight
• 1.8 billion people (23 per cent of the global population) relied primarily on woodfuel for cooking in 2022; 410 million depended on wood energy to boil and sterilise drinking water
• Forests host pollinators supporting 35 per cent of global crop production; forested watersheds supply freshwater to over 85 per cent of the world’s major cities
• Agricultural zones across 155 countries depend on forests in other countries for up to 40 per cent of annual rainfall, through atmospheric moisture recycling and evapotranspiration
• More than 1 billion people rely on forest-derived medicinal plants for primary healthcare
• 10.9 million hectares of forest were deforested annually between 2015 and 2025

Important Facts for Exams

• Report: “Forests for Food: Nourishing People, Sustaining the Planet” — by FAO with CIFOR-ICRAF, under the CPF Joint Initiative
• FAO — headquartered at Rome, founded 1945; also publishes SOFA, SOFI and the Global Forest Resources Assessment
• CIFOR-ICRAF — Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry
• Four dimensions of food security: availability, access, utilisation, stability
• 5 billion people depend on forests; up to 20 per cent of rural income
• 50,000+ wild species used; 10,000+ eaten directly
• 80 per cent of protein in remote forest communities from wild foods
• 1.8 billion rely on woodfuel for cooking; 410 million for boiling water
• Pollinators support 35 per cent of global crop production; forested watersheds supply 85 per cent of major cities
• 155 countries depend on foreign forests for up to 40 per cent of rainfall
• Deforestation: 10.9 million ha/year (2015–2025); net loss fell from 10.7 to 4.12 million ha annually
• Arapaima — the Amazon giant fish, recovered 30-fold through community management
• VGGT — FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure
• One Health — the integrated approach linking human, animal and environmental health

Context
India’s agricultural carbon market reached a milestone as 2,550+ small farmers in Punjab and Haryana received over ₹2.9 crore through DBT — India’s first farm-level soil carbon payments for verified regenerative farming practices.

What It Is

• A digital market-linkage mechanism monetising verified soil organic carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas reductions
• Rewarding smallholder farmers for regenerative, climate-smart agronomic practices

Implementing Entity

• Grow Indigo — an agri-tech joint venture between Mahyco and US-based Indigo Ag
• Through its farmer-carbon initiative, the ‘Aadi’ programme

Background

• Initiated in 2019 to curb air pollution from paddy stubble burning in northwestern India and reverse groundwater depletion in the Indo-Gangetic plains
• The first payment cycle covers carbon sequestered and emissions avoided between 2019 and 2022
• Initial tranche of roughly 30,000 acres, generating over 50,000 internationally certified carbon credits

How it Works?

Context
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the ‘Bharat Vann’ green initiative at Lodhi Colony Park, Central Delhi — an urban afforestation drive with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

What It Is

• A dense urban micro-forest project using the Miyawaki afforestation method
• High-density planting of multi-layered, indigenous vegetation
• To rapidly establish self-sustaining, biodiverse green lungs in degraded or high-density urban spaces

Who Is Involved

• Implementing body: New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)
• Funding: under the CSR initiative of India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL)
• Implemented by: the Enviro Creators Foundation

Aim

• Accelerate urban ecological restoration
• Combat Delhi’s particulate air pollution
• Lower local urban heat island (UHI) effects
• Create accessible public community spaces for wellness and physical activity

Context
The Union Cabinet approved the Ministry of Labour and Employment’s proposal to raise the mandatory wage ceiling under the EPFO from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month.

What the Wage Ceiling Is

• The statutory monthly salary threshold — basic pay plus dearness allowance
• Determining mandatory coverage under the EPF and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
• Any worker joining an establishment with 20 or more employees at a wage up to this limit must be mandatorily enrolled in the provident fund, pension and insurance schemes

Aim

• Align statutory social security with sustained wage growth, rising cost of living and inflation
• Ensure entry- and mid-level formal sector workers receive portable, assured retirement savings and survivor benefits

The Revision History

• ₹6,500 per month from 2004 until 1 September 2014
• Revised to ₹15,000 in 2014
• Over the following 12 years, rising state minimum wages brought baseline earnings close to or above ₹15,000, leaving new workers outside automatic coverage
• The Expenditure Finance Committee cleared the hike to ₹25,000 in June 2026

Context
Moody’s Ratings raised its forecast for India’s real GDP growth in FY27 to 7 per cent from 6 per cent — citing stronger-than-expected economic activity and the economy’s resilience to the West Asia conflict shock.

The Forecast Comparison

Moody’s projection is the highest among major agencies.

What Drove the Upgrade

• Real GDP growth accelerated to 8.2 per cent year-on-year in the first six months of 2026, against 7.3 per cent in 2025
• Driven by strong private consumption, robust gross fixed capital formation and sustained services activity
• Continued public infrastructure spending and a likely revival in private-sector investment are supporting growth

Important Facts for Exams

• Moody’s raised FY27 India GDP forecast from 6 per cent to 7 per cent — the highest among major agencies
• RBI 6.7, ADB 6.6, S&P 6.6, Goldman Sachs 6.5, Fitch 6.4
• Real GDP grew 8.2 per cent in the first half of 2026, against 7.3 per cent in 2025
• Rating: Baa3, stable outlook — Moody’s lowest investment grade
• Equivalent ratings: Fitch BBB−, S&P BBB, Morningstar DBRS BBB — all stable
• S&P upgraded India to BBB from BBB− last year, one notch above Fitch and Moody’s
• Constraints: high general government debt, weak debt affordability, low per capita income
• Moody’s FY27 inflation projection 4.8 per cent, against 2.4 per cent in FY26
• Debt affordability — the share of revenue consumed by interest payments; India’s is among the weakest in its rating category
• General government debt includes Centre plus states; S&P projects the combined deficit at 7.3 per cent of GDP in FY27
• Q1 FY27 GDP was 7.8 per cent, above the RBI’s 7 per cent forecast

Context
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 5th edition of SEMICON India 2026 at Yashobhoomi (IICC), New Delhi — coinciding with Vishwakarma Diwas.

What It Is

• India’s flagship international semiconductor conference and exhibition
• The premier nexus connecting the global microelectronics supply chain, fab operators, design startups, academic institutions and policymakers

Organisation

• Jointly organised by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), MeitY, and SEMI — the global industry association for electronics manufacturing and design
• Host venue: Yashobhoomi (India International Convention & Expo Centre), New Delhi
• Theme: “Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem”

Aim

• Accelerate capital investments
• Bridge global technology partnerships
• Foster domestic chip design IP
• Position India as a trusted, resilient global manufacturing destination across the electronics value chain