DAILY GK 19-20 SEP 2026
·
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)
approved the reappointment of Kamlesh Chandra Varshney as a Whole-Time Member (WTM) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
beyond September 19, 2026.
·
SEBI: Established in
1988, is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and is headed by
Tuhin Kanta Pandey.
2. WFP
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
·
Luke J. Lindberg, a USA
national and Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at
the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), was appointed as the next Executive Director (ED) of the World Food Programme (WFP).
·
The WFP Executive Director is appointed for a
five-year term of office.
·
He was jointly appointed by United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António
Guterres and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Qu Dongyu, following
consultation with the WFP Executive Board.
3. IBBI
CHAIRPERSON
·
Jayanti Prasad, Whole-Time Member (WTM) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India
(IBBI), took additional charge as Chairperson of IBBI.
·
IBBI established on 1 October 2016, is the statutory regulator under the IBC, 2016,
functioning under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and headquartered in New Delhi.
4.
PRESIDENT OF ICA YOUTH
COMMITTEE
·
Indian cooperator Harsh
Mukeshbhai Sanghani was re-elected unopposed as the President of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)
Youth Committee for the 2026–2030 term, during the ICA Youth Committee
Annual Plenary Meeting and elections held in Panama.
·
As President of the ICA
Youth Committee, he also serves as the Youth Representative on the ICA Global
Board.
5. NITI AAYOG RELEASES IEMI 2025; DELHI
·
The National Institution
for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) released the 2nd edition of “India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI) 2025:
Tracking Electric Mobility Trends in Indian States”, measuring the progress
of 36 Indian States and Union
Territories (UTs) toward electric (e)-mobility
transition during the year 2025 i.e. from January 2025 to December 2025.
·
As per NITI Aayog’s
latest index, Delhi with an overall score of 84, retained top position in the index (up from 77
in previous edition); followed by Maharashtra (78) and Karnataka
(73), ranked at 2nd and 3rd spots,
respectively.
·
In Hilly and
Northeastern States: Manipur with an overall score of 46, topped this
category; followed by Tripura (36); Assam (35).
·
In UTs and City
States: Delhi, Chandigarh and Goa were the
top States and Uts in this category.
6. REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS (AMENDMENT) ACT,
2026
·
Mrityunjay Kumar
Narayan, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI) notified
that the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Amendment Act, 2026
(Act No. 12 of 2026) will come into
force from 1 October 2026.
·
The Act Amends
Section 13(3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969, as
amended in 2023, to make delayed
registration of births and deaths more stringent and streamlined.
·
Mandate: The Act makes registration of births and deaths mandatory
at the place of occurrence, with the issued certificate serving as legal
evidence to establish the birth or death of a person.
·
Timeline: Births, deaths, and
stillbirths are generally required to be reported within 21 days of
occurrence.
·
After amendment, now
approval from the District Magistrate (DM), Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM),
or authorised Executive Magistrate for registration of births or deaths
reported after 1 year but within 2 years, following verification
and prescribed fee requirements.
·
Delayed Registration:
For
birth or death registrations delayed by more than 2 years, registration
will require an order from the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC),
introducing higher judicial scrutiny for delayed registrations.
7. ENHANCEMENT OF EPFO WAGE CEILING
·
The Union Cabinet,
chaired by PM Narendra Modi, approved the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoL&E)
proposal to raise the wage ceiling for mandatory Employees’ Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO) coverage from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 per month.
·
The revised ceiling
will come into effect from 17 September 2026 (Sewa Divas).
·
Wage Ceiling: The wage ceiling
determines the salary level up to which
a new employee is mandatorily brought under the EPFO framework.
·
Now, employees earning between Rs 15,000 and Rs
25,000 per month who were previously outside mandatory coverage will now be
brought within the statutory social
security framework.
·
The monthly pension contribution, under the EPS, will
be capped at Rs 2,080, up from Rs 1,250 at present.
8. SWACHHATA HI SEVA CAMPAIGN 2026
·
The Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Department of Drinking Water
and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), jointly
launched the nationwide Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) 2026 campaign with a
plantation drive under ‘Ek Ped Ma Ke
Naam’ at Children’s Park, India
Gate, New Delhi.
·
The campaign will be
observed from 17 September to 2 October 2026, culminating on Gandhi
Jayanti.
·
Theme “Swachhata Mein Sahbhag; Swachh Bharat, Viksit
Bharat”.
·
SHS 2026 is centred around five pillars :
·
1.Transformation of
Cleanliness Target Units (CTUs) & Clean Public Places.
·
2.Swachh Paathshala –
Yuva for Swachhata.
·
3.SafaiMitra Suraksha Evam Samman Shivir.
·
4.Jan Bhagidari for
Swachhata.
·
5.Swachhata Se
Samriddhi.
9. FIRST
FARM-LEVEL SOIL CARBON PAYMENTS
·
India initiated its first farm-level soil
carbon payments at Punjab
Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, Punjab, with 2,550 smallholder farmers from Punjab and Haryana
set to receive over Rs 2.9 crore for adopting verified regenerative agricultural
practices.
·
The payments are part of ‘Aadi’,
a farmer carbon programme launched by
Grow Indigo in 2019 with technical guidance from ICAR.
·
Regenerative Practices: Participating farmers adopted practices such as Direct Seeded Rice (DSR),
reduced tillage and crop-residue management between 2019 and 2022.
·
Carbon Credit Verification: The first issuance covered around 30,000
acres and generated over 50,000 verified carbon credits, with farmer payments
based on credits generated rather than land area. ICAR–Indian Agricultural
Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, (Delhi) supported the
scientific measurement and verification process.
·
Farmer Payments: Individual farmers received approximately Rs
3,000 to Rs 15,000, depending on their share of verified carbon credits
generated from their farms.
10. PMKKKY
COMPLETES 11 YEARS
·
The Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra
Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) launched by the Ministry of Mines (MoM)
to ensure that mining-affected communities receive benefits, completed 11
years since its launch.
·
More than 4.70 lakh projects worth over Rs 1
lakh crore (Cr) have been sanctioned under the scheme so far.
·
The PMKKKY was launched on 17
September 2015.
·
The
scheme aims to improve the quality of life in mining-affected areas by: Developing social infrastructure,
Reducing the adverse impacts of mining on the environment, Health and
livelihoods, and Promoting sustainable income opportunities for affected
communities.
·
The scheme
is implemented through District
Mineral Foundations (DMFs), which utilise funds collected
from mining lease holders.
·
These
are non-profit trusts established under the 2015 amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 to work for the
welfare of people and areas affected by mining operations.
11.
PRESIDENT AMENDS
INTER-STATE COUNCIL ORDER
·
The President Droupadi Murmu amended
the Inter-State Council Order, 1990 providing special conditions for the participation of the Governor/Lieutenant
(Lt) Governor in the Inter-State
Council Meetings, with the Inter-State Council (Amendment) Order, 2026,
coming into force immediately upon its publication.
·
The amendment was made by
the President under the powers conferred by Article 263 of the
Constitution.
·
Governor Invitation: As per the notification,
the Governor of a State shall be invited when a President’s proclamation under Article
356 is in force in that State.
·
Union Territory (UT)
Provisions: In
the case of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, New Delhi, Lt Governor
shall be invited when a President’s order under Article 239AB is in
force.
