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Current Affairs 18 September 2026 - Daily News for UPSC, SSC, Banking | Current Affairs Pulse
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18 September 2026
18 September 2026
46 articles
7 high importance
46 with quiz
All (46)
Environment (1)
Economy (3)
Polity & Governance (4)
International (5)
Defence (5)
Sports (3)
Science & Tech (5)
Appointments (2)
State News (3)
Business (1)
Ranks & Reports (2)
Schemes & Committees (4)
Obituaries (1)
National (3)
Important Days (2)
Awards & Honours (1)
Summits & Conferences (1)
Environment
Medium
quiz
Quiz
Denmark Opens Greensand, the EU's First Full-Scale Offshore CO2 Storage Site
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King Frederik X of Denmark formally opened the Greensand carbon capture and storage project at the Port of Esbjerg on 18 September 2026.
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Carbon dioxide is shipped to the depleted Nini West oil field in the Danish North Sea and injected about 1,800 metres below the seabed.
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Greensand is the first full-scale CO2 storage site and the first complete CO2 storage value chain to enter operation inside the European Union.
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Economy
Medium
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Centre Doubles Bulk Consumers' Sugar Stock Limit to 30 Days, but Only From Imported Sugar
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The government on 18 September 2026 relaxed the stockholding limit for bulk sugar consumers from 15 days to 30 days of their requirement, ahead of the festive season.
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The extra 15 days must be sourced exclusively from sugar imported under the Advance Authorisation Scheme (AAS) or the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ); open-market sugar stays capped at 15 days.
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A bulk consumer is an entity using more than 10 tonnes of sugar a month as raw material or for industrial consumption.
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Polity & Governance
Medium
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Rajasthan High Court Issues Notices on Plea for 9% Bhil Sub-Quota Within ST Reservation
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A division bench of the Rajasthan High Court issued notices on 18 September 2026 to the State government and other authorities on a petition seeking a 9% sub-quota for the Bhil community within Rajasthan's existing 12% Scheduled Tribe reservation.
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The bench of Justice Indrajeet Singh and Justice Sandeep Taneja issued notices to the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary (Personnel), the ST Commission and the Union government.
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The petitioners, members of the Adivasi Bhil Reservation Struggle Committee, contend that the Meena community corners the overwhelming share of ST reservation benefits in the state.
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Polity & Governance
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Centre Notifies New Film Certification Guidelines, First Overhaul Since 1991
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The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting notified new film certification guidelines for the Central Board of Film Certification on 18 September 2026, the first revision of the 1991 framework in about 35 years.
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Two things are new: a compulsory statutory warning on scenes showing the use, consumption or trafficking of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, and explicit age-based endorsements.
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The prescribed warning reads: 'Illicit Narcotics Destroy Health and Guarantees Imprisonment. Say No To Drugs.'
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International
Medium
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Cuba's National Grid Collapses Again, Leaving Over 9 Million Without Power
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Cuba's national electricity grid collapsed totally at about 2 p.m. local time on Friday, 18 September 2026, blacking out the whole island.
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More than 9 million people lost power; only about 5% of the island had supply back by sundown and roughly 18% by late evening.
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The trigger was the tripping of a 220 kV transmission line between Matanzas and Cienfuegos, followed by the Matanzas-Santa Clara line.
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Polity & Governance
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ECI Freezes Trinamool Name and 'Flowers and Grass' Symbol; Factions Get Interim Identities
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The Election Commission of India froze the name 'All India Trinamool Congress' and its reserved symbol 'Flowers and Grass' after two rival groups each claimed to be the party.
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The order was passed on the evening of 17 September 2026 under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, ahead of assembly by-elections.
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Both factions were told to submit three alternative party names and three free symbols in order of preference, and neither was allowed to use the original name.
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Defence
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CORE Programme 2026 Concludes at Manekshaw Centre; Tri-Services Meet MoD, MEA and MHA
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The five-day Combined Operational Review and Evaluation (CORE) Programme 2026 concluded at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, on 18 September 2026.
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It was organised by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff and conducted by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), the tri-service think tank set up under HQ IDS in 2007.
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Senior officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force sat with officials of the Ministries of Defence, External Affairs and Home Affairs - a civil-military format, not a purely military one.
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Sports
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AIFF Announces Inaugural U15 Women's Youth League at Belagavi from 15 October
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The All India Football Federation announced on 18 September 2026 that the inaugural U15 Women's Youth League will begin on 15 October 2026.
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All matches will be played at the Sporting Planet Sports Complex in Belagavi, Karnataka, with the final on 31 October 2026.
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Sixteen teams from across India are divided into four groups of four; the top two from each group reach the quarter-finals.
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Science & Tech
Medium
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Anthropic and Accenture Commit $2 Billion to Independent AI Model Evaluation
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Anthropic and Accenture announced a partnership on 18 September 2026 for the independent evaluation of frontier AI models.
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Each company has committed at least $1 billion over five years, taking the total to $2 billion for evaluation capacity.
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Accenture's specialist AI business, Faculty, will lead the work - evaluating Anthropic's models, red-teaming them, running alignment assessments and testing safeguards.
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Science & Tech
Medium
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NASA Adds Three Crew Flights to SpaceX Contract, Taking It to $5.92 Billion
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NASA modified its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract with SpaceX on 18 September 2026 by $946 million, adding three crewed Dragon flights to the International Space Station.
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The added missions are Crew-15, Crew-16 and Crew-17, taking SpaceX's operational missions under the contract to 17.
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The total value of the SpaceX CCtCap contract rises to about $5.92 billion, with the period of performance running through 2030.
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Polity & Governance
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FCRA NGOs Halve in a Decade Even as Foreign Contributions Rise to Rs 22,974 Crore
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The Ministry of Home Affairs told the first meeting of a Joint Committee of Parliament on 18 September 2026 that active FCRA-registered NGOs have fallen from 29,022 in 2015 to 14,466.
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Over the same period foreign contributions rose from Rs 17,832 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 22,974 crore in 2024-25 - fewer NGOs receiving more money.
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The FCRA registration of 21,983 NGOs has been cancelled so far, 91.3% of them for failure to file annual returns.
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Appointments
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Hansraj Singh Verma Appointed India's Next Ambassador to Cuba
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The Ministry of External Affairs announced on 18 September 2026 that Hansraj Singh Verma will be India's next Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba.
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Verma is an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 2008 batch, currently Consul General of India at Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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He succeeds T. Armstrong Changsan, who took charge in Havana in June 2024 and was named India's Ambassador to Armenia in August 2026.
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State News
Medium
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Karnataka Clears Marine Biotechnology Policy 2026-31 With Rs 120 Crore Outlay
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The Karnataka Cabinet, meeting at Mangaluru on 18 September 2026, approved a Marine Biotechnology Policy for 2026-2031 with an outlay of Rs 120 crore.
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The policy targets growth of the state's Blue Bioeconomy from about USD 2 billion to USD 6-8 billion by 2031.
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It creates the Karnataka Institute of Marine Biotechnology and Blue Economy (KIMBE) at the Government Fisheries College, with labs, a biobank and incubation centres at Udupi.
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Defence
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Cochin Shipyard Lays Keel of Navy's First Next Generation Missile Vessel
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Cochin Shipyard Limited laid the keel of BY-531, the first of six Next Generation Missile Vessels for the Indian Navy, at Kochi on 18 September 2026.
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Vice Admiral Sanjay Sadhu, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition at the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy), performed the ceremony.
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The six-ship order was contracted on 30 March 2023 for about Rs 9,805 crore, with the first delivery due from March 2027.
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International
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Trump Extends $100,000 H-1B Fee to September 2027 Amid Court Challenge
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US President Donald Trump on 18 September 2026 extended the $100,000 fee on certain H-1B petitions until 21 September 2027.
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The fee was first imposed by a proclamation of 19 September 2025 and was originally to expire on 21 September 2026.
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A federal district court vacated the fee on 8 June 2026 as an unlawful tax, and the First Circuit declined in July 2026 to block that ruling - so USCIS cannot currently collect it.
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State News
Medium
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Odisha Announces 870-Acre Silicon Valley at Naraj; Rs 23,600 Crore in Chip Proposals
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Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced an 870-acre 'Odisha Silicon Valley' at Naraj near Cuttack for semiconductor, electronics and IT industries.
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The announcement came at SEMICON India 2026, held at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, from 17 to 19 September 2026 on the theme 'Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem'.
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Odisha drew investment proposals worth about Rs 23,600 crore at the event, with a potential for roughly 6,100 jobs.
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International
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Trump Announces Permanent US Security Deal Over Greenland with Denmark
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US President Donald Trump announced on 18 September 2026 an agreement with the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland giving the United States permanent rights of security, access, basing and overflight in Greenland.
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The arrangement bars non-NATO states from establishing military bases on the island and commits the US to building a large military presence there.
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Greenland is not transferred to the United States: the deal affirms Denmark's sovereignty and territorial integrity and Greenlanders' right to self-determination.
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Appointments
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UN Appoints Luke Lindberg of the US as World Food Programme Executive Director
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The United Nations appointed Luke J. Lindberg of the United States as Executive Director of the World Food Programme on 18 September 2026.
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The appointment was made jointly by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, after the WFP Executive Board concurred at a special session in Rome.
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Lindberg, 37, was Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the US Department of Agriculture, and was nominated by President Donald Trump.
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International
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Trump Signs Russia-Iran Sanctions Act; India Faces 100% Tariff Risk on Russian Oil
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US President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (H.R. 5334) into law on 18 September 2026.
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The law lets the US President levy tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest foreign buyers of Russian crude oil and natural gas - a group that includes India and China.
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It also allows tariffs of up to 500% on all imports from Russia and up to 100% on countries aiding Russia's 'shadow fleet' of tankers; the powers are discretionary and lapse after five years.
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Business
Medium
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Warren Buffett Steps Down as Berkshire Hathaway Chairman; Son Howard Succeeds Him
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Warren Buffett, 96, stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway on 18 September 2026, ending a run in the chair that began in 1970.
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He becomes Chairman Emeritus and stays on the board of directors.
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His son Howard Buffett, 71, a Berkshire director since 1993, takes over as chairman.
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Science & Tech
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QDENGA Set to Be India's First Approved Dengue Vaccine; Dr Reddy's to Distribute
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QDENGA (TAK-003), a live attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine from Japan's Takeda, will be India's first approved dengue vaccine.
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It received marketing authorisation from the CDSCO in July 2026 for people aged 4 to 60 years.
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On 18 September 2026 Takeda and Dr Reddy's Laboratories announced that Dr Reddy's will promote and distribute it in India's private paediatric and adult market.
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Sports
Medium
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Yugan Sakthivel Muthukumaar Wins Men's Trap Gold at ISSF Junior World Cup Shotgun
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India's Yugan Sakthivel Muthukumaar, 15, won men's trap gold at the ISSF Junior World Cup Shotgun 2026 in Porpetto, Italy, on 18 September 2026.
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He hit 27 of 30 targets in the eight-shooter final, one ahead of Italy's Francesco Tanfoglio.
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He had qualified sixth with 114 of 125 and entered the final through a shoot-off.
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Ranks & Reports
Medium
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India Ranks First Among 41 Markets in Global Business Climate Survey 2026
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India ranked first for business climate among 41 markets in the Global Business Climate Survey 2026, published by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in India with Business Sweden.
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India, Ireland and Vietnam were the top three markets; India has stayed in the global top three for four consecutive years.
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73% of Swedish companies surveyed rated India's operating climate as good or very good, and 213 Swedish firms in India responded.
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Schemes & Committees
Medium
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Tamil Nadu's Thaimaaman Thanga Mothiram Scheme to Give Newborns One-Gram Gold Rings
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Tamil Nadu will launch the Thaimaaman Thanga Mothiram Thittam on 28 September 2026 at the Government Hospital in Usilampatti, Madurai district.
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Every eligible baby born in a state government hospital will get a one-gram, 22-carat gold ring carrying a unique serial number in tamper-proof packaging.
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The benefit applies retrospectively to babies born from 22 June 2026, and is given irrespective of the child's gender or birth order.
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State News
Medium
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Karnataka Makes Tulu an Additional Administrative Language in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi
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The Karnataka Cabinet, meeting in Mangaluru on 18 September 2026, made Tulu an additional administrative language in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.
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Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced the decision, describing Tulu as the state's second additional administrative language; Kannada remains Karnataka's official language.
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An annual allocation of about ₹82 lakh was fixed for translation work and staff training in the two districts.
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Obituaries
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1965 War Hero and Vir Chakra Awardee Flight Lt Alfred Tyrone Cooke Dies
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Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke, a Vir Chakra awardee of the 1965 Indo-Pak War, died on 18 September 2026 at Base Hospital, New Delhi, aged 87.
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He won the Vir Chakra for an air battle over Kalaikunda airfield in West Bengal on 7 September 1965, flying a Hawker Hunter.
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Outnumbered on combat air patrol, he shot down a Pakistan Air Force F-86 Sabre and damaged another.
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National
Medium
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TRAI Amends Anti-Spam Rules: AI Detection, A2P Call Norms and a 5-Paise Termination Charge
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On 18 September 2026 TRAI amended the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018 to tighten its anti-spam framework.
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Under new Regulation 21A, telecom operators must use AI/ML tools to flag numbers likely to be sending spam and share that data with other operators.
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Application-to-Person (A2P) calls such as robocalls and pre-recorded or artificial-voice calls are now defined. They must be pre-declared, undeclared ones count as spam, and they attract a termination charge of up to 5 paise a minute.
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National
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FSSAI Starts Three Adjudication Cases Against Nestle India Over Infant Nutrition Products
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On 18 September 2026 the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) started three adjudication cases against Nestle India over infant nutrition products.
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Two cases concern promotional claims: '5 HMOs' and 'Whey Protein' for NAN Excella Pro Stage 1, and 'easy-to-digest' whey protein for Lactogen Pro 1.
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The third concerns a follow-up formula sample that fell short of the prescribed biotin (vitamin B7) content in two rounds of laboratory testing.
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Science & Tech
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L&T Semiconductor Unveils First 1200V Silicon Carbide MOSFET Platform at SEMICON India
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L&T Semiconductor Technologies (LTSCT), a wholly owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, unveiled 40 products at SEMICON India 2026 on 18 September 2026.
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The launch includes its first silicon carbide (SiC) platform, a 1200V SiC MOSFET for EV fast chargers, microgrids, solid-state transformers and traction inverters.
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It also showed a fully designed-in-India BLDC motor controller whose tape-out is complete.
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National
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Railways Approve ₹990 Crore for Chouk-Karjat Doubling and Mukutban-Gadchandur Line in Maharashtra
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On 18 September 2026, Indian Railways approved two Maharashtra projects worth about ₹990 crore together.
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Chouk-Karjat doubling: 10.86 km on Central Railway's Panvel-Chouk-Karjat route, at ₹497 crore. It adds five pairs of passenger trains and 18.35 MTPA of freight capacity.
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Mukutban-Gadchandur new line: 38.21 km in South Central Railway's Nanded division, at ₹493 crore. It links the coal and cement belt of Yavatmal and Chandrapur districts.
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Schemes & Committees
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100-Week Nasha Mukt Yuva Abhiyan Begins with Rashtriya Sankalp Samaroh at 300 Institutions
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The 100-week 'Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan' began on 18 September 2026 with a nationwide Rashtriya Sankalp Samaroh held by the National Service Scheme (NSS) at 300 educational institutions.
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The campaign is run by the Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, through MY Bharat and NSS. PM Narendra Modi launched it virtually on 2 August 2026.
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It rests on four pillars: Prevent, Protect, Recover and Lead. A 12-week activity calendar runs from September to December 2026.
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Defence
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HAL Delivers Last Tejas FOC Trainers, First HTT-40s to IAF, Dhruv NG to Pawan Hans
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On 18 September 2026 in Bengaluru, HAL handed over two LCA Tejas FOC twin-seat trainers and three HTT-40 basic trainers to the Indian Air Force.
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The two Tejas trainers are the last aircraft under the 20-aircraft Final Operational Clearance (FOC) contract signed on 23 December 2010.
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The HTT-40s are the first deliveries under the March 2023 contract for 70 aircraft worth about ₹6,800 crore; the first series-production aircraft is named 'Ankur'.
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World Bamboo Day 2026 Observed With 'Bamboo for a Regenerative Future' Theme
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World Bamboo Day was observed on 18 September 2026 with the theme 'Bamboo for a Regenerative Future: A Global Call to Grow, Build and Prosper with Nature'.
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The World Bamboo Organization (WBO) declared the day in 2009 at the 8th World Bamboo Congress in Bangkok, Thailand.
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The 2026 campaign focuses on bamboo for land restoration, climate action, rural livelihoods and a low-carbon bioeconomy.
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International Equal Pay Day 2026: Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value
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International Equal Pay Day is observed every year on 18 September to push for equal pay for women and men doing work of equal value.
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The UN General Assembly declared it by resolution 74/142 on 18 December 2019, and it was first observed in 2020.
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Worldwide, women earn about 20% less than men, which the UN and ILO trace to informal work, unpaid care work and the 'motherhood penalty'.
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Economy
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Moody's Raises India's FY27 GDP Growth Forecast to 7% From 6%
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Moody's Ratings raised its forecast for India's real GDP growth in FY27 (2026-27) from 6% to 7% on 18 September 2026.
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It cited the economy's resilience to the West Asia shock and expects India to grow faster than all other G20 economies and similarly rated emerging-market sovereigns.
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India's Q1 FY27 (April-June 2026) GDP grew 7.8%, according to data the NSO released on 31 August.
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International
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Bank of Japan Raises Policy Rate to 1.25%, Highest Since 1995
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On 18 September 2026 the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised its short-term policy rate by 25 basis points, from 1% to 1.25%, the highest level since 1995.
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The board voted 7-2 for the hike, which came just three months after the June 2026 increase, the shortest gap since the BOJ ended negative rates in March 2024.
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Japan's core consumer inflation (excluding fresh food) eased to 1.7% in August 2026, close to the BOJ's 2% target.
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Sports
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Manu Bhaker and Tajinderpal Singh Toor Named India's Flag-Bearers for Asian Games 2026
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Shooter Manu Bhaker and shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor were named on 18 September 2026 as India's flag-bearers for the opening ceremony of the 20th Asian Games.
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The opening ceremony is on 19 September 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
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Bhaker won two bronze medals at Paris 2024, the first athlete of independent India to win two medals at one Olympics. Toor has won shot put gold at the last two Asian Games (Jakarta 2018, Hangzhou 2023).
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Awards & Honours
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Marathi Film Gondhal Is India's Official Entry for the 99th Academy Awards
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The Film Federation of India (FFI) on 18 September 2026 picked Santosh Davakhar's Marathi thriller Gondhal as India's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards.
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A 12-member jury chaired by P. Sheshadri chose it from 33 films submitted in several Indian languages.
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Gondhal is the fourth Marathi film sent to the Oscars, after Shwaas (2005), Harishchandrachi Factory (2009) and Court (2015).
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Schemes & Committees
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AVYAY: Rs 1,089.58 crore under IPSrC and SAPSrC; 10.76 lakh senior citizens helped
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The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has released about Rs 1,089.58 crore under IPSrC and SAPSrC, the institutional-care components of the Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana (AVYAY).
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More than 10.76 lakh senior citizens benefited under IPSrC from FY 2014-15 to FY 2025-26, with about Rs 953.53 crore spent.
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Rs 136.05 crore has gone to States and UTs under SAPSrC since its launch in FY 2019-20.
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Summits & Conferences
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25th SCO trade ministers' meeting in Dushanbe agrees Action Plan 2026-2030
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The 25th meeting of SCO ministers responsible for foreign economic and trade activities was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 17 September 2026.
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Ministers agreed an Action Plan for 2026-2030 on multilateral trade and economic cooperation, which now goes to the SCO Council of Heads of Government for approval.
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India set out three pillars for trade — Security, Connectivity and Opportunity — and backed a WTO-centred, rules-based trading system.
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Steel cut for second Next Generation Missile Vessel at Cochin Shipyard
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Steel was cut for the second Next Generation Missile Vessel (NGMV) at Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kochi, on 17 September 2026.
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Cochin Shipyard is building six NGMVs under a contract signed in March 2023.
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All major weapons and equipment that define the ships' role are made in India.
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HAL delivers Tejas FOC trainers, first HTT-40s to IAF and Dhruv NG to Pawan Hans
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In Bengaluru on 18 September 2026, HAL handed over two LCA Tejas FOC twin-seat trainers and three HTT-40 basic trainers to the IAF, and four Dhruv NG civil helicopters to Pawan Hans Limited.
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The two Tejas trainers are the last aircraft due under the FOC contract.
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The HTT-40 replaces imported basic trainers; 70 were ordered in March 2023, but deliveries slipped because of delays in Honeywell engine supply.
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Schemes & Committees
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Swachh Bharat Mission status: 5.69 lakh ODF Plus villages; how Swachhata Hi Seva evolved
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A PIB Backgrounder of 18 September 2026 put Swachh Bharat Mission's rural progress, as of 17 September 2026, at over 5.69 lakh ODF Plus villages, of which more than 5.25 lakh are ODF Plus Model.
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1,314 GOBARdhan biogas plants are operational in 585 districts; 12.22 crore household toilets have been built.
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In cities, 95,478 wards have 100% door-to-door collection and 83,963 wards 100% source segregation.
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Sugar stock limit for bulk consumers relaxed to 30 days, extra only from imports
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The Government on 18 September 2026 relaxed the sugar stockholding limit for bulk consumers from 15 to 30 days' consumption.
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Stock held beyond 15 days must come only from sugar imported under the Advance Authorisation Scheme (AAS) or the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ); open-market purchases stay capped at 15 days.
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Bulk consumers must declare stocks every Friday on the Department of Food and Public Distribution's portal.
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TRAI's third TCCCPR amendment: AI-flagged spam, A2P call rules and consumer appeals
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TRAI notified the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026 on 18 September 2026, amending TCCCPR 2018 to tighten action against spam.
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Operators must now use AI/ML to flag suspected spam numbers and share them; five or more flagged numbers of one sender within ten days trigger graded action up to disconnection.
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Application-to-Person (A2P) robo-calls must be pre-declared, and carry a termination charge of up to Rs 0.05 per minute.
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NSO releases first district-level labour market estimates from revamped PLFS
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The National Statistics Office (NSO) released 'Labour Market Snapshot of Selected Districts' on 18 September 2026 — the first district-level labour indicators ever published from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).
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District estimates became possible because the PLFS redesign of January 2025 made the district, not the NSS Region, the basic sampling stratum for most of the country.
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Among the 100 most populous districts, Surat (Gujarat) recorded the highest LFPR (68.6%) and WPR (67.8%), and Darbhanga (Bihar) the lowest.
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