DAILY GK 23-25 SEP 2026
1. ARTHUR M. BUECHE AWARD 2026
·
The National Academy
of Engineering (NAE) named Indian-origin computer scientist Sethuraman
Panchanathan as the recipient of the Arthur M. Bueche Award 2026 for
advancing science and technology policy, making him the first Indian-American
and the first person from Arizona (USA) to receive the honour in its over
40-year history.
·
He received the
Padma Shri in 2025 from the Government of India (GoI) in the field of
Science and Engineering.
·
Established in 1982, the award presented by NAE, has a
legacy of over 40 years and is regarded as one of its highest national honours
recognising “statesmen” of science and technology.
·
It is named after Arthur
M. Bueche (1920–1981), a scientist, NAE council member, and Senior Vice
President (VP) for Corporate Technology at General Electric.
2. INDIA’S
OFFICIAL ENTRY FOR OSCARS 2027
·
The Marathi-language
film ‘Gondhal’, was selected by the Film Federation of India (FFI) from 33 entries as
India’s official submission for the Best
International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards (Oscars 2027).
·
‘Gondhal’
is a Marathi-language psychological and cultural thriller written and directed by Santosh Davakhar.
·
Ishita Deshmukh plays the lead role in the
film.
·
Santosh
Davakhar won
the Silver Peacock for Best Director at
the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2025.
·
‘Gondhal’ becomes the fourth Marathi
film to be selected as India’s official Oscar entry, following ‘Shwaas’ (2005),
‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ (2009) and ‘Court’ (2015).
3. HURUN
INDIA RICH LIST 2026
·
Hurun India, in collaboration with M3M India
Private Limited, released the M3M Hurun India Rich List 2026,
with Gautam Adani and family topping the list at Rs.9.23
lakh crore, followed by Mukesh Ambani and family at
Rs.8.63 lakh crore and L.N. Mittal and family at Rs.3.39 lakh
crore.
·
The list includes seven entertainers and cricketers, with Shah
Rukh Khan and family leading the group at Rs.10,000 crore.
·
The M3M Hurun India Rich List is an annual
ranking that profiles India’s wealthiest individuals and families.
·
Mumbai,
leads with 465 individuals,
followed by New Delhi, (236).
·
Industrial products, chemicals, and
pharmaceuticals dominate, while Artificial Intelligence (AI)
emerged as a new sector with 19 individuals contributing Rs
3.07 lakh crore wealth.
4.
WMO’S STATE OF GLOBAL WATER
RESOURCES 2025 REPORT
·
The World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) released the State of Global Water Resources 2025
report, noting that 2025 marked the fourth consecutive year in which
every major glaciated region recorded a net loss in ice mass,
with global glacier loss estimated at
408 ± 132 gigatonnes.
·
Global
glacier mass loss in 2025
was equivalent to a sea-level rise of 1.1 ± 0.4 millimetres (mm), with six of the seven largest annual losses
recorded in the last seven years, and cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes
between 2023 and 2025.
·
Mountain
glaciers
have lost about 6.2% of their total ice mass between 2000 and 2025, with
some regions witnessing declines of up to 40% over past decades.
·
The report confirms the fourth consecutive year of universal
glacier mass loss, with six of the seven largest annual losses occurring in
the last seven years, indicating accelerating climate change impacts.
5.
INDIA TOPS GLOBAL BUSINESS
CLIMATE SURVEY 2026
·
India was ranked first in business climate among 41 global markets
in the Global Business Climate Survey 2026, reflecting strong
confidence among Swedish companies operating in India.
·
Ireland
and Vietnam ranked second and third, respectively.
·
The 2026 edition covers 41
markets across Western Europe,
Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA+), and the Americas.
·
The survey indicates that 53% of respondents represent large
companies, 16% medium-sized companies, and 31% small companies.
6. INDIA-SRI
LANKA SLINEX-26- MARITIME EXERCISE
·
The Indian Navy (IN), under
the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN)
commenced the 13th edition of the annual bilateral maritime
exercise Sri Lanka-India Naval Exercise (SLINEX-26) in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (AP).
·
SLINEX was conceptualised in 2005 and serves
as a platform for strengthening maritime cooperation, interoperability and
mutual understanding between the two navies.
·
The 12th edition, SLINEX-25, was conducted in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
7. INDIA–MONGOLIA
MILITARY EXERCISE - NOMADIC ELEPHANT
·
The
18th edition of
the annual India–Mongolia Joint Military Exercise ‘NOMADIC ELEPHANT 2026’
commenced at the Foreign Training Node(FTN), Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.
·
Exercise Nomadic Elephant 2026 involves 45
personnel each from the Indian Army (IA), predominantly from a
battalion of the ARUNACHAL SCOUTS and the Mongolian Armed
Forces.
8. WORLD
BAMBOO DAY 2026 – SEPTEMBER 18
·
World Bamboo Day is observed annually on September 18
across the globe to raise awareness about the environmental, cultural, and
economic importance of bamboo.
·
World Bamboo Day was established in 2009
during the 8th World Bamboo
Congress (WBC) held in Bangkok, Thailand, by the World Bamboo Organisation (WBO).
·
The first World Bamboo Day was celebrated on September
18, 2009, in Bangkok, Thailand.
9. INTERNATIONAL
RED PANDA DAY 2026 – SEPTEMBER 19
·
International Red Panda Day (IRPD) is observed worldwide on the
third Saturday of September to raise awareness about the red panda,
the first panda species to be described and the only endangered panda species.
·
IRPD was first observed on 18
September 2010.
10. WORLD
ALZHEIMER’S DAY 2026 – SEPTEMBER 21
·
World Alzheimer’s Day (WAD) is observed globally on 21
September to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and other forms
of dementia. It is part of World Alzheimer’s Month, observed
throughout September.
·
2026 Theme: “The Earlier You Know, The More You Can Do: A Dementia Diagnosis
Matters.”
·
Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI)
first observed World Alzheimer’s Day in 1994 to mark its 10th
anniversary.
11. INTERNATIONAL
DAY OF PEACE 2026 – SEPTEMBER 21
·
The United Nations (UN’s)
International Day of Peace (IDP), observed every year across
the globe on September 21 to celebrate and promote the
principles of peace within and among all nations and peoples.
·
2026 Theme: “Invest in Peace – For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.”
·
The first IDP was observed on September
21, 1982, the 3rd Tuesday of September that year.
·
Symbol: The International Day of Peace (IDP) is
represented by a dove carrying an olive branch, symbolising peace and freedom.
12. GFCI 40: GIFT CITY JUMPS TO 37TH
·
The Z/Yen
Partners, in collaboration with the
China Development Institute (CDI), released the 40th edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 40),
in which Gujarat International Finance
Tec-City (GIFT City) jumped 9 places to rank 37th globally,
compared to 46th in GFCI 39.
·
New York (USA) retained the top position, followed by London
(UK), Hong Kong and Singapore at
2nd, 3rd and 4th positions,
respectively.
·
GFCI is a biannual ranking of global financial centres that assesses their
competitiveness using quantitative indicators and assessments from financial
services professionals.
·
GFCI 40 researched 139 financial centres worldwide, of which
117 centres were included in the main index and 22 were associate centres.
·
The index assesses financial centres across five broad areas
– Business Environment, Human Capital, Infrastructure, Financial Sector
Development and Reputation.
13. NPCI RELEASES REVISED MDR FRAMEWORK
·
The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and
Services Committee headed by National
Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) released a revised Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)
framework, where 0.4% charge will be charged on UPI transactions
exceeding Rs 2,000.
·
The finalized MDR
framework and threshold structure take effect from 15th October 2026.
·
Below Rs 2,000: Both Person-to-Person
(P2P) and Person-to-Merchant (P2M) UPI transactions below Rs
2,000 will continue to remain free for merchants and users.
·
P2P: All P2P UPI
transactions remain completely free, irrespective of the amount
transferred, with no transaction fee,
platform fee, or other charge imposed on individuals.
·
For specified
merchant categories, including railways,
telecom services, insurance and
fuel, a flat MDR of Rs 5 per transaction will apply to UPI payments
above Rs 2,000.
·
The MDR for Capital
Market transactions, including payments towards
Mutual Funds, Securities, Stockbrokers, and Dealers, is set at a nominal 0.02%
of the transaction value with a maximum capping of Rs 300.
14. RBI
RELEASES FINAL DIRECTIONS ON CAPITAL REQUIREMENT FOR MARKET RISK
·
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
issued final directions, ‘RBI (Commercial Banks – Minimum
Capital Requirements for Market Risk) Directions, 2026’,
for the minimum capital requirement for
market risk under Basel III for commercial banks.
·
The new market-risk framework will come into
effect from 1 April 2027.
·
The RBI also eases Know Your
Customer (KYC) requirements for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), allowing them to submit original certified copies of
specified documents certified by authorised authorities outside India.The
directions came into force with immediate effect from September 18,
2026.
15. INDIA’S
SOFTWARE SERVICES EXPORTS RISE 8.2%
·
According to the RBI’s Survey on Computer Software and
Information Technology Enabled Services Exports:
2025-26, India’s software services exports increased
8.2% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to USD 221.4 Bn in
2025-26.
·
USA remained the largest destination for India’s software exports, accounting for 54.1%,
followed by Europe at 31.8%.
·
The United Kingdom (UK)
accounted for 15.4% of total exports.
16. RBI
CANCELS LICENCES OF 5 NBFCS
·
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled
the Certificates of Registration (CoR) of five
Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)
and accepted surrender of licences from
eight other NBFCs across India due to exits from Non-Banking Financial
Institution (NBFI) business, mergers, and regulatory compliance changes.
·
Cancelled NBFCs: Dar’s
Financial
Services, Rolta Holding and Finance
Corporation, Vasudeo Securities, Parsoli Corporation, and A C Choksi Financial Services.
·
Exit from NBFI Business: Anupam Mercantile Limited, Grand Motor and
Finance Private Limited, Sky Limit International Finance Limited, and ASA
International India Microfinance Limited surrendered their registrations after
exiting the NBFI business.
·
Merger: Two companies, Shivam Securities Private
Limited and April Investment and Finance Private Limited, surrendered licences
after ceasing to exist due to amalgamation, merger, dissolution, or voluntary
strike-off.
·
Reclassification: Anagram Industries Limited surrendered
registration after qualifying as an unregistered Core Investment Company (CIC),
while CDN Finance Private Limited met criteria for an unregistered Type I NBFC.
