DAILY GK 1-2 SEPT 2026

 DAILY GK 1-2 SEPT 2026

1.       PM NARENDRA MODI’S VISIT TO UZBEKISTAN

·         PM Narendra Modi undertook a two-day state visit to Uzbekistan at the invitation of  Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan, marking his 4th visit to the country.

·         The visit coincided with the 15th anniversary of India–Uzbekistan strategic partnership and the 35th Independence Day of Uzbekistan.

·         PM Modi was conferred with Uzbekistan’s highest state honour the Order of “Oliy Darajali Do’stlik (Order of Highest Friendship)”, marking his 36th global honour.

·         India and Uzbekistan signed 11 MoUs and agreements during Narendra Modi’s state visit.

·         India and Uzbekistan announced major initiatives including a target to boost bilateral trade to USD 5 billion by 2030, establishment of an Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Sanskrit Chair at Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies.

 


2.       UNCCD COP17 HELD IN ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA

·         The 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, under the theme “Restoring Land. Restoring Hope.”

·         This year’s UNCCD COP coincided with the United Nations International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026), which was championed by Mongolia.

·         The UNCCD COP17 was chaired by Batmunkh Battsetseg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia.

·         Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEFCC) of Government of India (GoI), led the Indian delegation at the UNCCD COP17.

·         Nova (NOVVA Group Pte. Ltd.), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mongolia’s Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Communications (MDDIC), on green data centres, Renewable Energy (RE), and AI-ready digital infrastructure in Mongolia.

·         The UNCCD COP17 witnessed the launch of a new global drought resilience architecture which comprises: Phase-II of IDRO:  Phase-II of International Drought Resilience Observatory (IDRO), the 1st global observatory dedicated to drought resilience, is developed by UNCCD, in partnership with International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA) and the Yale Center for Ecosystems in Architecture (Yale CEA).

·         Drought Resilience Index (DRI): It is the world’s 1st AI-powered monitoring metric and assessment tool, designed to help countries to assess their capacity to predict, prepare for and adapt to drought.

·         Drought Resilience Investment Facility (DRIF): DRIF, co-developed by UNCCD and the Government of Luxembourg, is the world’s catalytic financing platform that aims to raise up to USD 400 million in public and private capital for drought resilience.

·         The member parties unanimously approved Egypt as the host of the UNCCD COP18 scheduled in 2028 in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

 

3.       71ST COUNTRY TO JOIN ‘ARTEMIS ACCORDS’

·         Turkiye officially became the 71st country to join USA-led Artemis Accords that aimed to promote safe and peaceful exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond.

·         Türkiye became the 7th West Asian country to join the framework after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Israel.

·         The Artemis Accords was jointly launched by NASA and the US Department of State in 2020 with an aim of advancing bilateral and multilateral space cooperation between the signatories.

·         It laid down the framework for the implementation of key obligations from the Outer Space Treaty (signed in1967).

·         Artemis Accords are a set of non-binding bilateral principles designed to guide peaceful, safe, and sustainable civil space exploration.

 

4.        ‘SAMARTHAK’ MULTI-PURPOSE VESSEL 

·         Indian Navy (IN) received its first indigenous Multi-Purpose Vessel (MPV), Samarthak, built by Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (L&T) under the Samarthak-class MPV project at its Kattupalli Shipbuilding Facility, Tamil Nadu (TN).

·         Indian Navy Ship (INSUtkarsh, the second vessel of the series, was launched on 14 January 2025 and is currently undergoing tests and sea trials before final delivery.

 

5.       FGM-148 JAVELIN MISSILES 

·         Indian Army (IA) signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) with USA for the procurement of nearly 100 FGM-148 Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) systems worth USD 93 million under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, with the deal opening doors for future co-production of the system in India.

·         The procurement package includes nearly 100 missiles, 25 Command Launch Units(CLUs), one fly-to-buy round, simulation equipment, training aids, spare parts, and complete lifecycle support systems.

 

6.       INDIAN NAVY COMMISSIONS 2ND INDIGENOUS DIVING SUPPORT VESSEL ‘NIPUN’ 

·         The Indian Navy (IN) commissioned its second Diving Support Vessel (DSV)Nipun’, meaning “skilled and proficient” in Sanskrit, at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, in the presence of Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS).

·         Designed and built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Nipun was delivered on 30 July 2026 at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh(AP).

·         The Nistar-class vessel has around 75% indigenous content, supporting self-reliance in defence manufacturing.

·         ‘Nipun supports saturation diving up to 300 metres(m) and side-stage diving up to 75 metres, besides inspection, maintenance and repair of subsea infrastructure.

·         Rescue Role:  Nipun acts as a mother ship for Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) to evacuate personnel from distressed submarines.

·         The IN is headed by CNS Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, headquartered in New Delhi, and was established in 1612.

 

7.       FPAI INDIAN FOOTBALL AWARDS 2026

·         Indian midfielder Lallianzuala Chhangte (from Mizoram), named as the Indian Footballer of the Year 2026, while, Manisha Kalyan (from Punjab) bagged the Indian Women’s Player of the Year award.

·         East Bengal Football Club (FC) honoured with the Indian Super League (ISL) Champions award for winning the ISL title last season (2025-26).

·         East Bengal FC Women were honoured for winning the Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2025-26 title.

·         Sanan Mohammed K. (Jamshedpur FC) clinched the Young Player of the Year award.

·         Sanfida Nongrum (Garhwal FC) named Women’s Young Player of the Year.

·         Owen Coyle and Anhtony Andrews received the men’s and women’s Coach of the Year awards respectively.

·         Veteran coach Savio Medeira honoured with the Coach Education Award.

·         Rapid Sports and the Right Weigh bagged the Player Performance and Development Award.

 

8.       ROGER FEDERER INDUCTED INTO INTERNATIONAL TENNIS HALL OF FAME

·         Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.

·         Tennis journalist and broadcaster Mary Carillo was honoured in the Contributor Category .

·         Roger Federer won 20 Grand Slam titles, 103 Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour titles, and holding the record of 310 weeks as World No. 1 (Number One), including 8 Wimbledon titles and achieving a Career Grand Slam.

·         In 2009, he completed a Career Grand Slam by winning the French Open.

·         He also won the men’s doubles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Beijing, China), and later securing a silver medal in men’s singles at the 2012 London Olympics (London).

 

9.       TENZING NORGAY NATIONAL ADVENTURE AWARDS 2024 

·         The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) announced 4 winners of Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards (TNNAA) for the year 2024, India’s highest national award for adventure sports.

·         These awards are presented annually by MYAS in 4 main categories such as Land Adventure, Water Adventure, Air Adventure and Lifetime Achievement, for adventure activities on land, sea, and air.

·         The winners of TNNAA 2024 are Baljeet Kaur, and Skalzang Rigzin (Land Adventure), Rimo Saha (Water Adventure) and Shiv Prasad Chamoli (Lifetime Achievement).

·         As per MYAS, each recipient will get a bronze statuette, a certificate, a blazer with silken ties/a saree and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.

 

10.    68TH RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARDS

·         The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) announced Tommy Koh (Singapore), Runa Khan (Bangladesh) and Bo Kyi (Myanmar) as winners of the 68th Ramon Magsaysay Awards (2026), often regarded as Asia’s Nobel Prize, on the occasion of 119th birth anniversary Ramon Magsaysay, 7th President of the Philippines.

·         Ramon Magsaysay Award: The award was instituted in 1957 by the government of the Philippines in association with the trustees of Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RGB), in the honour of former President of the Philippines, Ramon Magsayay.

·         Each recipient receives a medallion bearing the likeness of President Ramon Magsaysay; a certificate inscribed with their official citation, and a cash prize of USD 50,000.