Daily Current Affairs – 18 September 2026

The Prime Minister opens SEMICON India 2026, the Union Cabinet lifts the EPFO wage ceiling for the first time in twelve years, India signs a paperless-trade protocol with MERCOSUR, West Bengal clears a new DRDO missile range, and the Asian Games in Japan get under way. Here is the news that matters for competitive exams today.

India – National Affairs

India and MERCOSUR sign First Additional Protocol to the PTA for paperless trade

India and MERCOSUR (the Southern Common Market, a South American trade bloc) signed the First Additional Protocol to the India–MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), enabling acceptance of electronic Certificates of Origin (e-CoO) and modernising customs and preferential-trade procedures.

• Signed by Rajesh Agarwal, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, along with Alberto Guani, Ambassador of Uruguay to India, and Fleming Raul Duarte Ramos, Ambassador of Paraguay to India, in the presence of Mario Lubetkin, Foreign Minister of Uruguay.
• Key amendment: The Protocol amends Article 16 of Annex III (Rules of Origin) of the PTA, giving e-CoOs the same legal validity and preferential value as paper certificates when issued and electronically signed by authorised entities.
• Wider negotiations, targeted for completion within a year, cover tariff benefits, non-tariff issues, digital cooperation in AI and High-Performance Computing, and a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.

9th ASEAN–India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry held in New Delhi

The 9th AIMMAF was held in New Delhi to deepen ASEAN–India cooperation in agriculture and forestry. It was co-chaired by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, and Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Philippines, representing the ASEAN Chair.

Highlights

• Reaffirmed commitment to a food-secure, sustainable and resilient agricultural future; welcomed ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future and the ASEAN Food, Agriculture and Forestry Sectoral Plan 2026–2030.
• Bilateral goods trade between India and ASEAN reached USD 128 billion in FY 2025–26.
• Priority areas: climate-resilient agriculture, low-emission rice, water productivity, AI-enabled digital agriculture, soil health, food safety, post-harvest management, circular bioeconomy, agroforestry and sustainable forest management.
• The 10th AIMMAF will be convened in 2028.

India and Vietnam to observe 2027 as 'Year of India–Vietnam Friendship'

India and Vietnam agreed to mark 2027 as the "Year of India–Vietnam Friendship," commemorating 55 years of diplomatic relations. The decision came at the 19th India–Vietnam Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in New Delhi, co-chaired by Union Minister S. Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs, and Vietnam's Foreign Affairs Minister Le Hoai Trung.

• Trade target: USD 25 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.
• Defence: Deeper security cooperation including co-production of Indian defence equipment, under the Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
• Other areas: supply chains and market access, financial, port and air connectivity, space and nuclear energy, yoga, heritage conservation and seafarer standards.

Bhupender Yadav launches Mangrove GIS Portal in Gujarat

Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, launched the Mangrove Geographic Information System (MGIS) Portal at a workshop on mangrove conservation held at Bhuj, Kachchh, Gujarat.

• The portal supports habitat monitoring, conservation planning and technology-driven restoration management.
• Also released: a Coffee Table Book on Kachchh Mangroves and the Mangroves Atlas of Gujarat.
• The Guneri Inland Mangrove Village Biodiversity Management Committee was felicitated; Guneri was declared Gujarat's first Biodiversity Heritage Site in January 2025.
• Under MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes), Gujarat has restored 27,652 hectares against a 2023–27 target of 29,250 hectares.

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojana completes seven years

The PM-KMY completed seven years on 12 September 2026. As of February 2026, 24.96 lakh farmers had enrolled nationwide.

Scheme at a glance

• Launched: 2019 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, implemented with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
• Nature: voluntary, contributory old-age pension scheme paying a monthly pension from age 60.
• Eligibility: small and marginal farmers with cultivable landholding up to 2 hectares, aged 18–40, named in land records as on 1 August 2019.
• Contribution: Rs. 55 to Rs. 200 a month depending on entry age; monthly, quarterly, four-monthly or half-yearly frequencies allowed.

Other national headlines

• An Indian Parliamentary Delegation is participating in the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, from 12 to 19 September 2026.
• The President of India will present the 72nd National Film Awards at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat, on 22 September 2026.
• Obituary: Princess Astrid of Norway, formally Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner, died at 94 in Oslo on 11 September 2026. Born 12 February 1932 to King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha, she served as First Lady of Norway from 1954 to 1968 and belonged to the House of Glücksburg.

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Economy & Banking

Cabinet raises EPFO wage ceiling from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000 a month

On 16 September 2026, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Ministry of Labour & Employment's proposal to raise the wage ceiling for mandatory coverage under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000 per month. This is the first revision since September 2014.

Key numbers

• Expected to bring more than 51 lakh additional employees under mandatory EPFO coverage.
• Annual government outgo estimated at about Rs. 11,339 crore, against existing annual budgetary support of about Rs. 10,250 crore.
• Estimated expenditure over five years: roughly Rs. 56,696 crore.
• Recommended by the Expenditure Finance Committee on 16 June 2026 after inter-ministerial consultations.
• EPFO currently has around 7.98 crore contributing members across about 7.68 lakh establishments; the Employees' Pension Scheme serves around 82 lakh pensioners.
• The ceiling was unchanged from 2004 to 2014 before being raised to Rs. 15,000 in September 2014.

Finance Ministry notifies zero charges on UPI payments up to Rs. 2,000

The Ministry of Finance notified that banks and payment system providers cannot impose any direct or indirect charges on UPI transactions up to Rs. 2,000 and on payments made through RuPay-powered debit cards.

• Issued under Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act, 2007.
• The notification specifies two prescribed electronic modes: RuPay debit cards and UPI transactions up to Rs. 2,000.
• It bars any Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on these modes, settling months of debate over reintroducing merchant-side charges on small-value digital payments.

Global Fintech Fest 2026 – key launches

The 7th edition of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF 2026) was held from 8 to 11 September 2026 at the Jio World Centre, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• Sovereign AI model: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched India's first sovereign AI compact model, "Finance Model for India (FiMI) Banking", built for Indian retail banking use cases, and announced a collaboration with HDFC Bank.
• Cardless payments: PhonePe, with Visa, launched Tap-to-Pay, Cross Border Scan to Pay and Smart Accept. PhonePe becomes the first Indian app to offer Cross Border Scan to Pay.
• Mastercard One Credential: piloted by Mastercard with City Union Bank.
• Tie-ups: SBICAP Securities with Appreciate Broking IFSC for global market access via GIFT City; IAMAI signed a three-year pact with Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Investment; MCX signed an MoU with IAMAI to set up a Commodity Markets Innovation Council.
• Award: Wibmo, a PayU company, won Best Digital Banking Security Practices under the "Excellence in Banking Tech" category.

Data recap

• Retail inflation (CPI), August 2026: 4.82% provisional, up from 4.45% in July; food inflation 5.95%. Base year 2024=100.
• PLFS, August 2026: unemployment rate 5.0% (from 5.1%), LFPR 55.6%, WPR 52.8%, for persons aged 15 years and above.

Science & Technology

PM Modi inaugurates SEMICON India 2026 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the fifth edition of SEMICON India 2026 on 17 September 2026 at Yashobhoomi (India International Convention and Expo Centre), Dwarka, New Delhi. The three-day conference and exhibition runs from 17 to 19 September on the theme "Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem."

Organisers and scale

• Jointly organised by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and SEMI, the global semiconductor industry association.
• Over 600 exhibitors, including about 300 international firms, across 15,000 square metres, with more than 150 speakers.
• Six country pavilions – Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore and Sweden – plus 12 state government pavilions.
• A new 'Sand to Silicon to Systems' Value Chain Experience walks visitors through materials, manufacturing, advanced packaging, chip design, electronics and systems.
• Also featured: a startup pitch competition, a student hackathon and an innovation showcase.

India's semiconductor programme by the numbers

• 12 semiconductor projects approved under the Semicon India Programme; three units approved under Semicon 1.0 have begun commercial production.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the next phase, Semicon 2.0, structured around six core pillars.
• Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools extended to more than 400 academic institutions and 105 start-ups.
• 24 start-ups have secured approvals under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme.

New subterranean amphibian species discovered in Maharashtra

A multi-institutional team led by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) discovered a new legless, burrowing amphibian, Gegeneophis chandgadi, in the Northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra.

• Found at Buzawade in Chandgad, Kolhapur district, and named after the Chandgadi dialect of Marathi spoken in the area.
• It is a caecilian – a worm-like, legless amphibian adapted to life largely underground.
• It was found in residential and agricultural landscapes near human habitation rather than inside protected forest.
• The find takes the number of Gegeneophis species in India to 12, of which 11 are endemic to the Western Ghats. India now records 458 amphibian species, including 41 caecilians.

Space watch

• ISRO's GSLV-F17/EOS-05 (GISAT-1A) mission of 4 September 2026 remains the agency's first success of the year, placing India's first imaging satellite in geo-orbit.
• Chairman V. Narayanan has indicated six more launches this financial year, including the navigation satellite NVS-03, with the first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission carrying the humanoid Vyommitra targeted within the calendar year.

Defence & Security

West Bengal approves DRDO weapon and missile testing range at Junput

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari approved the DRDO proposal to set up a new weapon and missile testing range at Junput, a coastal village in Purba Medinipur district along the Bay of Bengal. The facility will become DRDO's third major missile-testing hub.

Key details

• Location: about 70 km northeast of Chandipur on the Bay of Bengal coast.
• Capabilities: frequent and complex trials of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, air-defence systems and Ballistic Missile Defence systems, with added launch and tracking support.
• Significance: reduces the operational burden on the Integrated Test Range (ITR), which has launch complexes at Chandipur-on-Sea and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha. The Navdurga Missile Test Range (NMTR) is being developed at Nagayalanka, Andhra Pradesh.
• About DRDO: established 1958, headquartered in New Delhi, under the Ministry of Defence; motto "Balasya Mulam Vigyanam."

Colombo Security Conclave holds three-day Table Top Exercise at Visakhapatnam

A three-day Table Top Exercise (TTX) under the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) concluded at the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, having begun on 9 September 2026. It focused on coordinated responses to illegal maritime activity in the Indian Ocean Region.

• Objectives: strengthen regional maritime coordination, improve Standard Operating Procedures and speed up information sharing for crisis response.
• Threats covered: maritime terrorism, narcotics and human trafficking, and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
• CSC members: India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Bangladesh and Seychelles.

Yudh Abhyas 2026 continues at Auli and Mahajan

The 22nd edition of the India–US Army exercise Yudh Abhyas, which opened at the Auli Foreign Training Node, Uttarakhand, on 15 September, runs until 28 September 2026. For the first time it is being conducted simultaneously in two theatres – high-altitude mountain warfare at Auli and semi-desert mechanised manoeuvres at the Mahajan Field Firing Range near Bikaner, Rajasthan. The US contingent includes the Arctic-trained 11th Airborne Division and the 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force.

Follow-up: Indian and Pakistani warships collide in the North Arabian Sea

A Pakistan Navy vessel collided with an Indian Navy warship in international waters of the North Arabian Sea on the evening of 15 September 2026, roughly 120–130 nautical miles east of Oman. India said the Pakistani ship closed in at high speed and manoeuvred unsafely. On 16 September the Ministry of External Affairs summoned Pakistan's Chargé d'Affaires in New Delhi to lodge a protest, citing a violation of Article 10 of the 1991 India–Pakistan Agreement on advance notice of military exercises, manoeuvres and troop movements.

Sports

Asian Games 2026 open in Japan; India sends a 508-strong contingent

The 2026 Asian Games are being held in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, Japan, from 19 September to 4 October 2026. India is fielding 508 competitors across 37 sports – its 20th appearance at the Games. India finished fourth at Hangzhou 2022 with a record 107-medal haul.

Team-sport focus

• Cricket: the men's and women's T20 tournaments began on 17 September at Kōrogi Sports Park, Nisshin, Aichi, and run to 3 October. India are defending champions in both events.
• Men's squad captain: Shreyas Iyer, with Tilak Varma as vice-captain; the squad includes Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
• Women's squad captain: Harmanpreet Kaur, with Smriti Mandhana as vice-captain, alongside Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh.
• Hockey: the men's team, led by Harmanpreet Singh, is chasing a fifth Asian Games gold, with Olympic qualification on the line.
• Kabaddi: Sunil Kumar leads India's traditionally dominant campaign.

India complete a golden double at the AHF Junior Asia Cup 2026

India won both titles at the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Junior Asia Cup 2026 in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia, China, held from 4 to 13 September 2026.

• The men beat South Korea 4–1 for a record-extending sixth title.
• The women edged hosts China 1–0 to complete a hat-trick of titles.
• India's captain Anmol Ekka was the men's tournament top scorer with 17 goals; Sanika Chandrakant Mane was Player of the Match in the women's final and joint-highest scorer with seven goals.
• Hockey India announced Rs. 3 lakh for each player and Rs. 1.5 lakh for each support staff member of both teams.
• The tournament is the continental U20 championship and a qualifier for the FIH Junior World Cup.

Dhiraj Bommadevara wins Archery World Cup Final title in Mexico

Indian archer Dhiraj Bommadevara became the first Indian male recurve archer to win the men's individual title at the Archery World Cup Final 2026 in Saltillo, Mexico, beating Junya Nakanishi of Japan 6–5 after a 10–9 shoot-off.

• He is the second Indian archer overall to win an individual World Cup Final title, after Dola Banerjee (women's recurve, Dubai 2007).
• This was the 20th Hyundai Archery World Cup, organised by World Archery across four stages – Puebla, Shanghai, Antalya and Madrid – plus the season-ending final.
• India won 7 medals across the 2026 stages: 4 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze. Bommadevara was India's only individual gold medallist and its sole representative at the Final.

Other sports headlines

• US Open 2026: Alexander Zverev of Germany beat Ben Shelton 6–3, 7–6(2), 5–7, 6–2 for his second Grand Slam title; Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan beat Aryna Sabalenka 6–4, 5–7, 6–2 for her third major and the World No. 1 ranking. It was the 146th edition of the tournament.
• Women's T20 Asia Cup 2026: India beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the Dubai final on 13 September for a record eighth title, with Shafali Verma named Player of the Match.
• Formula 1: Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has constituted a 10-member task force, chaired by NITI Aayog's Yugal Kishore Joshi, to assess reviving an F1 Grand Prix in India, potentially in 2028.

Important Days

18 September – International Equal Pay Day

International Equal Pay Day is observed annually on 18 September to highlight the persistent global gender pay gap and the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.

Background

• Declared by the United Nations General Assembly in November 2019 through resolution A/RES/74/142.
• First observed on 18 September 2020.
• Supported by UN Women and the International Labour Organization (ILO), and linked to the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC).
• It advances Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality) and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth).

18 September – World Bamboo Day

World Bamboo Day is marked every 18 September to promote bamboo as a sustainable resource and to raise awareness of its role in livelihoods, construction and climate action.

• Declared by the World Bamboo Organization (WBO) at the 8th World Bamboo Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2009.
• India relevance: bamboo was removed from the definition of "tree" under the Indian Forest (Amendment) Act, 2017, freeing its felling and transit from non-forest land, and the restructured National Bamboo Mission supports the sector.

17 September – World Patient Safety Day

Established by the World Health Organization, this day builds awareness of patient safety and urges action to reduce avoidable harm in healthcare. In India, 17 September is also observed as Vishwakarma Puja, honouring the divine architect and craftsman.

Recent observances

• 16 September – World Ozone Day: the 32nd observance, theme "Global action for a cooler planet"; marks the signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987.
• 15 September – National Engineers' Day: commemorates the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. Designated by the Government of India in 1968, first observed on 15 September 1968. The same date is the International Day of Democracy.
• 14 September – Hindi Diwas: the 77th anniversary of the Constituent Assembly's 1949 decision to adopt Hindi in the Devanagari script as an official language. Declared by PM Jawaharlal Nehru in 1953; also the birth anniversary of Beohar Rajendra Simha. Union Minister Amit Shah addressed the inaugural session of Hindi Diwas 2026 and the 6th All India Official Language Conference in Mumbai.

Quick Revision – One-Liners

• SEMICON India 2026 venue, dates and theme – Yashobhoomi, New Delhi; 17–19 September; "Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem."
• SEMICON India 2026 organisers – India Semiconductor Mission, MeitY and SEMI; fifth edition.
• Country pavilions at SEMICON India 2026 – Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden.
• New EPFO wage ceiling – Rs. 25,000 per month (from Rs. 15,000); approved 16 September 2026; covers 51 lakh more employees.
• Act under which UPI/RuPay MDR was barred – Section 10A, Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007; limit Rs. 2,000.
• India's first sovereign AI banking model – FiMI Banking, by NPCI.
• India–MERCOSUR protocol amends – Article 16 of Annex III (Rules of Origin), enabling e-CoO.
• India–ASEAN goods trade in FY26 – USD 128 billion; 10th AIMMAF in 2028.
• India–Vietnam bilateral trade target – USD 25 billion by 2030; 2027 to be the Year of India–Vietnam Friendship.
• DRDO's third major missile-testing hub – Junput, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal.
• Colombo Security Conclave members – India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Seychelles.
• Asian Games 2026 host and dates – Aichi–Nagoya, Japan; 19 September to 4 October; India sends 508 athletes in 37 sports.
• AHF Junior Asia Cup 2026 – India win both men's (6th) and women's (3rd straight) titles.
• First Indian male recurve archer to win a World Cup Final – Dhiraj Bommadevara.
• New amphibian species from the Western Ghats – Gegeneophis chandgadi; India's amphibian count now 458.
• International Equal Pay Day – 18 September, UNGA resolution A/RES/74/142, first observed 2020.
• World Bamboo Day – 18 September, declared at the 8th World Bamboo Congress, Bangkok, 2009.