Daily Current Affairs (DCA) 23&24 September, 2026

Context
A comprehensive checklist documented 3,261 flowering plant species in the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve.

Location and Status

• Spans the southern extremity of the Western Ghats, straddling Kerala and Tamil Nadu
• Area: about 3,500 sq km; highest point Agasthyarkoodam peak, 1,868 m
• Notified by the Government of India in 2001
• Inscribed in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves under the Man and the Biosphere Programme in 2016
• One of South India’s four biosphere reserves, with Nilgiri, Gulf of Mannar and Seshachalam Hills

Major Plant Families

The most species-rich families recorded are:

Important Facts for Exams

• Biosphere Reserve: A protected area designed to conserve biodiversity while allowing sustainable use of natural resources.
• Endemic Species: A species naturally restricted to a particular geographical area.
• Steno-endemic: A species or taxon restricted to a very small or specific geographical/habitat range.
• Biogeography: Study of the geographical distribution of living organisms.
• Angiosperms: Flowering plants that produce seeds enclosed within fruits.
• Fabaceae: The legume/pea family, including beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas and many other plants.
• Rubiaceae: The coffee family, which includes coffee, quinine and many tropical flowering plants.
• Poaceae: The grass family, including rice, wheat, maize, sugarcane and bamboo.
• Orchidaceae: The orchid family, known for its highly diverse and often ornamental flowering plants.
• Western Ghats: A major mountain system along India’s western coast and one of the world’s important biodiversity hotspots.
• Nilgiri (1986) was India’s first biosphere reserve
• Kani tribe — known for the Arogyapacha plant, the basis of India’s first access and benefit-sharing model under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002

Context
The 9th edition of India International Water Week (IIWW) convened in New Delhi, on the theme “Climate Resilient Water Management.”

What It Means

• Planning and managing water resources so communities and ecosystems can withstand and adapt to droughts, floods and changing rainfall
• Combining water conservation, efficient irrigation, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, wastewater reuse and resilient infrastructure

Important Facts for Exams

• Water is a State subject — Entry 17, List II; inter-state rivers are Entry 56, Union List; Article 262 governs disputes
• One Water — treating the full water cycle as one system
• E-flows — environmental flows; the minimum river flow needed to sustain ecosystems
• Baoli — a traditional stepwell
• FSTP — Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant; greywater — wastewater from washing, excluding toilets
• Key missions: Namami Gange, Jal Jeevan Mission, PMKSY (Per Drop More Crop), Swachh Bharat Mission, Atal Bhujal Yojana, Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain, Mission Amrit Sarovar
• India uses more groundwater than any other country; it supports about 60 per cent of irrigation and 85 per cent of rural drinking water

Context
A 100-km radius around Hazaribagh, Jharkhand has emerged as a thriving safe habitat and natural breeding zone for endangered vultures — supporting an estimated 400 to 450 birds.

Location

• North-central Jharkhand, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau
• Encompassing the Hazaribagh Wildlife Sanctuary, Barkatha block, and the cliff terrains of Mahavar Hill (Mahavar Pahad)
• Jharkhand’s sole surviving wild stronghold for critically endangered vultures

Important Facts for Exams

• Hazaribagh — on the Chota Nagpur Plateau, north-central Jharkhand; 400–450 vultures in a 100-km radius
• India’s vulture population fell over 95 per cent in three decades
• Diclofenac banned for veterinary use in 2006; aceclofenac and ketoprofen banned in 2023; meloxicam is the safe alternative
• Critically Endangered Indian species: White-rumped, Indian (long-billed), Slender-billed and Red-headed vultures
• Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020-25
• Vulture Conservation Breeding Centres at Pinjore (Haryana), Rajabhatkhawa (West Bengal) and Rani (Assam)
• Vulture Safe Zone — an area of about 100 km radius verified free of toxic NSAIDs
• Related: the Dehradun study showing that relocating a carcass dump 2.4 km from power lines eliminated electrocution deaths
• Chota Nagpur Plateau — a mineral-rich plateau across Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh

• Uttar Pradesh launched the Mukhyamantri Krishak Samriddhi Yojana to provide cheaper agricultural credit to farmers.
• The interest rate on loans through the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Gramya Vikas Bank has been reduced from 11% to 6%.
• The scheme aims to reduce the interest burden on farmers and improve access to institutional credit.
• It was launched along with the Bharat Taxi service in Uttar Pradesh.

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti launched Swachh Seva Aankalan (SSA) under Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen 2.0.
• It is an annual digital self-assessment framework for rural sanitation services.
• Gram Panchayats assess ODF sustainability, cleanliness, Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) and sanitation infrastructure.
• Gram Sabhas validate the assessment, strengthening grassroots participation and rural sanitation governance.

Context
Sagarmala Finance Corporation, India’s first maritime lender, plans to raise funds through the country’s maiden blue bond on 28 September.

What Blue Bonds Are

• A debt instrument used to finance sustainable water and marine projects
• Including clean water, recycling, shipping, sustainable fishing, ocean energy and mapping

Important Facts for Exams

• Greenshoe option — allows the issuer to retain oversubscription beyond the base size, up to a specified limit
• Blue bond — a thematic bond for ocean and water-related projects; the marine equivalent of a green bond
• The world’s first sovereign blue bond was issued by the Republic of Seychelles in 2018, with World Bank support
• Related instruments: green bonds, social bonds, sustainability bonds and sustainability-linked bonds
• India issued its first Sovereign Green Bonds in January 2023, with the proceeds earmarked under the Sovereign Green Bond Framework
• “Greenium” — the yield discount an issuer obtains on a green or thematic bond relative to a conventional one
• SEBI issued a framework for green debt securities, and has proposed norms to curb greenwashing

Context
Four institutions — the ADB, OECD, Fitch and S&P Global — raised their FY27 growth projections for India to 6.9–7.1 per cent, citing resilience amid the West Asia conflict. All also forecast an RBI rate hike later this year.

The Revisions

Other projections: Goldman Sachs 6.5 (June), World Bank 6.6 (June), IMF 6.4 (July), RBI 6.7 (August)

• All five global agencies are now above the RBI’s 6.7 per cent projection

Why the Upgrades

• The economy grew 7.8 per cent in April–June, faster than expected, despite West Asia headwinds
• Driven by investment momentum, healthy consumption demand and strong industrial activity

Context
The RBI conducted an OMO sale auction, offloading ₹25,000 crore of Government of India securities to drain durable surplus rupee liquidity.

What an OMO Is

• A quantitative monetary policy tool — outright purchases or sales of G-Secs and Treasury Bills in the secondary market to regulate reserve money

Three Types

• Outright OMO Sale — RBI sells G-Secs from its portfolio, permanently absorbing durable liquidity
• Outright OMO Purchase — RBI buys G-Secs, injecting durable liquidity
• Simultaneous Sale and Purchase (Operation Twist) — selling short-term and buying long-term securities to flatten the yield curve without expanding the balance sheet

How It Works

• Notification and e-Kuber bidding — eligible primary dealers, scheduled commercial banks and institutions place electronic yield or price bids on the RBI’s e-Kuber platform
• Allocation — bids accepted up to notified cut-off yields, by multiple or uniform price auction
• Liquidity drain — banks transfer funds from their current accounts with the RBI, locking reserve cash into interest-earning G-Secs

Key Features

• Direct quantitative balance-sheet instrument — unlike SDF or MSF, which address short-term needs
• Discretionary flexibility — the RBI can set security-wise limits, reject mispriced bids and vary accepted amounts
• Phased execution — large operations split into tranches to avoid sudden bond-yield disruption

Important Facts for Exams

• Current programme: ₹1 trillion in three tranches — ₹50,000 cr (17 Sept), ₹25,000 cr (21 Sept), ₹25,000 cr (28 Sept)
• e-Kuber — the RBI’s core banking solution, used for auctions and government transactions
• Operation Twist — simultaneous sale and purchase to reshape the yield curve
• DvP — Delivery versus Payment settlement
• Liquidity tools: VRRR (transient); OMO sales, CRR, sell/buy swaps, MSS (durable)
• Durable liquidity: ₹10.66 trillion (31 August), estimated near ₹14 trillion by mid-September
• WACR is the operating target; repo 5.25 per cent, SDF 5.00 per cent

• RNFI Money Private Limited, a subsidiary of RNFI Services, received RBI approval to undertake cross-border trade remittances.
• It can provide regulated foreign exchange, remittance and trade-payment services through its last-mile network.
• The approval has perpetual validity.
• It builds on RNFI Services’ in-principle RBI authorisation to operate as a Payment Aggregator–Physical (PA-P).

• Jayanti Prasad, Whole-Time Member of IBBI, took additional charge as Chairperson of IBBI from 13 September 2026.
• He succeeded Ravi Mital and will hold the additional charge until 20 November 2026.
• He is a 1986-batch Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) officer.
• IBBI is the statutory regulator under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the acquisition of Rajasthan Royals, Paarl Royals and Barbados Royals.
• The acquiring entities are Westview Cricket Limited and Poonawalla Sports and Fitness Private Limited.
• The transaction covers franchises participating in different T20 cricket leagues.
• The reported transaction value is around USD 1.65 billion (₹15,600 crore).

Context
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment reported that over ₹11,186 crore has been released under PM-AJAY’s three components since FY 2014-15.

What It Is

• A Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the socio-economic development of Scheduled Caste communities
• A merged scheme since 2021-22, integrating three earlier schemes:
  • PM Adarsh Gram Yojana
  • Special Central Assistance to SC Sub Plan
  • Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana

Important Facts for Exams

• PM-AJAY — Centrally Sponsored Scheme, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment; merged 2021-22
• Three components: Adarsh Gram, Grant-in-Aid, Hostels
• Total released since FY2014-15: over ₹11,186 crore
• Adarsh Gram — a village with over 50 per cent SC population developed on monitorable socio-economic indicators
• Related: Articles 46, 338, 341; SC Sub Plan; Scholarship schemes for SC students

Context
Nagaland filmmaker Theja Rio’s debut feature Angh won the Platform Prize at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.

About the Film

• A historical period drama set in the early 1960s, in a remote village near the Indo-Burma border in Nagaland
• Directed by Theja Rio; produced by Nancy Nisa Beso and Theja Rio; co-written with Rajkumar Kandamudi
• Centres on Anghba, the last surviving village chief — “Angh” is the traditional village head among the Konyak Naga tribe

Important Facts for Exams

• Angh — directorial debut of Theja Rio; won the Platform Prize at TIFF 2026
• Angh — hereditary chief of the Konyak tribe, Nagaland’s largest tribe, known for facial tattoos and the former practice of headhunting
• Konyaks are concentrated in Mon district; the Aoleang festival is theirs
• TIFF — Toronto International Film Festival; the Platform Prize honours directorial vision
• Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival is held in December at Kisama

Context
India joined the inaugural P4M summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, with the External Affairs Minister attending as an initial co-sponsor.

What It Is

• A non-superpower multilateral coalition of middle powers, regional organisations and developing nations
• To bridge geopolitical divides, uphold international law, and advocate reformed multilateralism outside superpower confrontation

Origin

• Conceived in response to erosion of global consensus, trade weaponisation and escalating conflicts in Europe and West Asia
• Built on Canadian PM Mark Carney’s “Carney Doctrine” on middle-power solidarity, delivered at Davos

Members

• Founding initiators: the European Union, Brazil, Canada and Kenya
• Initial co-sponsors: India, Australia and Barbados

Important Facts for Exams

• P4M — Partners for Multilateralism: International Law, Peace and Prosperity
• Founders: EU, Brazil, Canada, Kenya; co-sponsors India, Australia, Barbados
• Rooted in the “Carney Doctrine” on middle-power solidarity
• Middle power — a state with significant but not superpower influence, typically favouring multilateral solutions
• India’s other reform-oriented platforms: G4 (with Brazil, Germany, Japan) for UNSC reform, Voice of Global South Summit, IBSA
• The UNSC has five permanent and ten non-permanent members; India has served eight terms

Context
India joined other G20 nations in adopting four consensus outcome declarations at the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial in Houston, Texas, under the US G20 Presidency.

Important Facts for Exams

• G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial, Houston, Texas, under the US G20 Presidency
• Declarations are non-binding and consensus-based
• LPG recognised as a bridge fuel — relevant to India’s PM Ujjwala Yojana
• India’s related initiatives: National Critical Mineral Mission, Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL), and the Minerals Security Partnership
• India’s G20 Presidency was 2023, producing the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration and the Global Biofuels Alliance

Context
The 18th edition of the India–Mongolia joint military exercise NOMADIC ELEPHANT commenced at Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.

Key Details

• An annual platoon-level bilateral exercise between the Indian Army and Mongolian Armed Forces
• Conducted alternately in India and Mongolia
• Venue: Foreign Training Node, Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand
• The 2025 edition was held at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
• Aim: enhance joint capability for counter-insurgency operations in semi-urban and mountainous terrain under a UN mandate, and improve interoperability

Context
The Government of India approved the Biovigilance Programme of India, to strengthen safety monitoring of medicines and biological products used in organ and tissue transplantation.

What It Is

• A national patient-safety surveillance programme
• For the systematic reporting, assessment, monitoring and prevention of adverse events associated with medicines and biological products used in transplantation
• Coordinated by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC)

Context
India submitted four new cultural heritage sites to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List — taking the total to 73.

Key Highlights:

1. Colonial Penal Settlement of the Andaman Islands

• Located in Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), South Andaman.
• Includes Cellular Jail, Viper Island, Ross Island and Chatham Island.
• Cellular Jail: Built 1896–1906, with 7 wings and 693 cells.
• Ross Island is now Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island.

2. Rangpur-Sivasagar Historic Ensemble

• Located in Sivasagar, Assam.
• Represents the 18th-century Tai-Ahom urban centre.
• Rangpur was founded in 1704 by Rudra Singha.
• Key monuments: Sivadol, Rang Ghar, Talatal Ghar and Namdang Stone Bridge.

3. Nicobarese Cultural Continuity

• Covers islands including Chowra, Trinket, Bompoka and Kamorta.
• Highlights the traditional culture and heritage of Nicobarese communities.

4. Painted Haveli Towns of Shekhawati

• Located across Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu in Rajasthan.
• Famous for its painted havelis and traditional murals.

• The Ministry of Defence signed a ₹586 crore contract with Accurate Industrial Controls Private Limited (AICPL) for 3,257 Auxiliary Power Units (APUs).
• The APUs include 1,657 for T-90 tanks and 1,600 for T-72 tanks.
• APUs provide electricity to critical systems such as fire-control, firing and gun-stabilisation systems when the main engine is switched off.
• The project comes under Make-II, supporting indigenous defence manufacturing and private-sector R&D.

• India’s Nibe Limited and France’s Naval Group signed an MoU for cooperation in naval shipbuilding and defence technologies.
• Areas include underwater drones, submarine systems, mine-countermeasure vessels and modular naval launching systems.
• The partnership will also cover maintenance and autonomous underwater systems.
• It supports India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat objective and India-France strategic defence cooperation.

• The Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is also known as the Indian Rhinoceros.
• Assam contains nearly 80% of the global population of the species.
• In India, major populations are found in Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• The species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List.

• From 1 October 2026, biometric Aadhaar authentication is required for domestic LPG consumers to book refills at the regulated price with applicable subsidy.
• Authentication can be completed through delivery personnel, LPG distributor showrooms or OMC mobile applications.
• Consumers who do not complete authentication can still obtain LPG through specified channels, but subsidised refills at the regulated price will not be available.
• The measure is linked to the authentication of beneficiaries receiving the implicit subsidy on domestic LPG.

• The Indo-Russia Innopraktika Technology Hub (IRITH) signed four agreements at INNOPROM India 2026 in New Delhi.
• The agreements cover AI, cybersecurity, healthcare technology, electronics and investment.
• An India–Russia Centre of Excellence in AI and Cybersecurity will be established with the Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region and RUSSOFT.
• Other agreements involve cross-border investment, a NexTouch joint venture in India and healthcare AI cooperation with SberMedAI.

• IIIT-Bangalore and Taipei Computer Association (TCA) signed a Letter of Intent at Electronica India 2026.
• Cooperation will cover AI, electronics, smart manufacturing, smart cities and cybersecurity.
• The partnership combines Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and hardware with Karnataka’s strengths in software and technology research.
• The LOI is intended to create a foundation for a future MoU on technology and innovation cooperation.

• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Bhutan from 16–18 September 2026 to review bilateral cooperation.
• Five development initiatives were launched covering healthcare, connectivity, agriculture, clean mobility and energy.
• India and Bhutan reviewed the Punatsangchhu-I (1,200 MW) and Punatsangchhu-II (1,020 MW) hydropower projects.
• India extended a ₹4,000 crore concessional Line of Credit to Bhutan for energy-sector projects.

• Marathi film ‘Gondhal’, directed by Santosh Davakhar, was selected from 33 entries as India’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film category.
• The film is set in rural Maharashtra and explores ritual traditions, ambition and human vulnerability.
• Davakhar won the Silver Peacock for Best Director at IFFI 2025.
• It is the fourth Marathi film selected as India’s official Oscar entry, after Shwaas, Harishchandrachi Factory and Court.

• KAL, an indigenous One-Way Attack (OWA) drone, was successfully flight-tested at the Pokhran Field Firing Range in Rajasthan.
• It has a reported range of up to 1,000 km, endurance of 7–8 hours and payload capacity of 50 kg.
• It uses GNSS and INS-based navigation for autonomous flight.
• The drone was developed by IG Defence and is designed for long-range strike and precision-attack roles.

• Yugan Sakthivel Muthukumar, a 15-year-old shooter from Tamil Nadu, won gold in the junior men’s trap event.
• The event was held at Porpetto, Italy.
• He recorded 27 hits out of 30 to finish at the top.
• The achievement adds to India’s success in international junior shooting competitions.

• Indian opener Shafali Verma climbed two places to fourth in the ICC Women’s T20I batting rankings.
• The rise followed her maiden T20I century at the women’s cricket competition of the Asian Games.
• The ranking reflects her recent performances in the T20 international format.

• Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won a silver medal at the Asian Games.
• She lifted a combined 198 kg.
• North Korea’s Gum Un-hee won gold with a world-record 215 kg total.
• The medal was Mirabai Chanu’s first Asian Games medal.

• Luke J. Lindberg, a US national and former Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the USDA, was appointed the next Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP).
• The appointment was made jointly by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu.
• The WFP Executive Director serves a five-year term.
• He succeeds Cindy McCain; Carl Skau served as Acting Executive Director during the transition.

• Renowned cardiologist Dr. G. Vijayaraghavan passed away on 20 September 2026 at the age of 84.
• He received the Padma Shri in 2009 in Medicine.
• He established India’s first 2D echocardiography laboratory at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram.
• He also contributed to research on tropical endomyocardial fibrosis and medical education.

• The Planetary Health Check 2026 found that 7 of the 9 planetary boundaries have crossed their safe limits.
• The assessment was released by the Planetary Boundaries Science Lab at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
• The seven transgressed boundaries include climate change, biosphere integrity, biogeochemical flows, novel entities, land-system change, freshwater change and ocean acidification.
• The planetary boundaries framework defines a safe operating space for humanity.

• The 51st Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) was inaugurated at Jamadarpali, Sambalpur, Odisha.
• It will improve weather monitoring across 13 districts of western Odisha and adjoining areas of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
• The radar can provide observations within a 250-km radius and update weather information every 10 minutes.
• It supports rainfall forecasting, storm monitoring and short-term nowcasting under Mission Mausam.

• The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation developed Swachh Seva Aankalan under SBM(G) 2.0.
• It involves Gram Panchayats, Gram Sabhas and Village Water and Sanitation Committees.
• The framework assesses ODF sustainability, cleanliness, waste management and sanitation assets.
• Gram Sabha validation connects the assessment with local sanitation improvement plans.