UPSC Daily Current Affairs 22 September 2026: Prelims Facts, Mains Analysis and MCQs
UPSC Current Affairs is not about reading every news story; it is about knowing what matters for the exam and why. This daily current affairs update for 22 September 2026 covers important topics from the national, international, economy, environment, science, and governance sectors.
Get Prelims facts, Mains analysis, and practice MCQs in one place. Read, revise, and test your understanding as you prepare for UPSC CSE.
Quick Overview Table
22 September 2026 UPSC Current Affairs at a Glance
This post covers 14 topics from the 22 September 2026 news. The table shows the GS paper for each topic and whether it matters more for Prelims or Mains, so you can plan your reading.
Topic | GS paper | Focus | Source |
Article 371 | GS-II | Both | The Indian Express |
PM-AJAY | GS-II | Both | PIB |
Delimitation and federalism | GS-II | Mains | Editorial analysis |
India–NZ FTA | GS-II, III | Both | The Hindu |
P4M | GS-II | Prelims | MEA |
G20 energy consensus | GS-II, III | Prelims | News on Air |
RBI OMO sale | GS-III | Prelims | DD News |
Offline UPI on PoS | GS-III | Prelims | The Hindu |
EV adoption data | GS-III | Both | The Hindu |
Water management | GS-I, III | Mains | Sansad TV |
Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve | GS-I, III | Prelims | The Hindu |
Nomadic Elephant 2026 | GS-III | Prelims | PIB |
WHO AI ethics framework | GS-IV | Mains | WHO |
Angh at TIFF | Culture | Prelims | Indian Broadcasting World |
GS-II: Polity, Governance and Social Justice
These topics test your understanding of federalism and welfare. Start with Article 371, because it also helps you follow the delimitation debate.
Article 371 Special Provisions for States Explained
Article 371 gives special provisions to some states because of their history, culture, or regional needs. Eleven states carry such provisions, mostly in the North-East and the Deccan.
Article | State | Amendment | Purpose |
371 | Maharashtra, Gujarat | — | Development of regions such as Vidarbha, Marathwada, Saurashtra, Kutch |
371A | Nagaland | 13th (1962) | Protects customary law, religious and social practices, land |
371B | Assam | 22nd (1969) | Assembly committee for tribal-area members |
371C | Manipur | 27th (1971) | Committee for hill areas; Governor reports yearly to the President |
371D | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana | 32nd (1973) | Regional equity, from the Six-Point Formula |
371G | Mizoram | 53rd (1986) | Same type of protection as 371A |
371J | Kalyana Karnataka | 98th | Regional equity |
Under 371A and 371G, a central law on land ownership or customary law applies only if the state Assembly passes a resolution. So Parliament cannot simply extend such a law to Nagaland.
Mains angle: This is asymmetric federalism, where states do not all hold identical powers. Supporters say it respects local identity and protects peace agreements, such as Nagaland's 16-Point Agreement of 1960. Critics say it creates unequal treatment among states.
PM-AJAY Scheme for Scheduled Castes: Funds Released and Components
PM-AJAY is a centrally sponsored scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It works for the socio-economic development of Scheduled Caste communities. The ministry reported that over ₹11,186 crore has been released under its three components since FY 2014-15.
The scheme has been merged since 2021-22. It combines PM Adarsh Gram Yojana, Special Central Assistance to SC Sub Plan, and Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana.
Adarsh Gram: ₹3,545.10 crore for 48,811 villages. Of these, 16,022 have reached Adarsh Gram status.
Livelihoods (grant-in-aid): ₹7,142.69 crore, benefiting 34.61 lakh people through skills and income activities.
Hostels: ₹498.21 crore for 244 hostels, with 24,131 beneficiaries.
Across FY 2024-25 and 2025-26, 8,823 villages were declared Adarsh Grams. Use these numbers as examples in answers on inclusive growth and poverty reduction.
Delimitation and Federalism: Editorial Analysis
Delimitation means redrawing constituency boundaries so that each seat has a similar population. A 22 September editorial analysis looks at why this is a difficult balance for India's federalism.
Here is the background you need:
Articles 82 and 170: Lok Sabha and Assembly seats are readjusted after each census.
Seat freeze: The total number of seats has been frozen for years. The 84th Amendment (2001) extended the freeze until the first census taken after 2026.
The worry: States that slowed their population growth fear a smaller share of seats than states with faster growth.
For Mains, list both sides: equal representation for every voter, and fairness to states that met national population goals.
GS-II: International Relations
Three items on India's trade and global partnerships. Learn the dates and member lists for Prelims, and the reasons for Mains.
India-NZ FTA Explained: Effective Date and Protected Sectors
The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement was ratified on Monday and takes effect on 20 October 2026. It aims to double bilateral trade to about ₹35,000 crore over the next four to five years.
New Zealand will remove import levies on all Indian goods.
About 95% of New Zealand's exports to India will get tariff-free access or sharply lower tariffs.
India protects sensitive sectors: dairy, onions, almonds, chickpeas, peas, artificial honey and sugar.
Why it matters: Protecting dairy and farm products shields small farmers, while Indian exporters gain a new market.
Partners for Multilateralism (P4M): What Is It and Why India Joined
P4M is a group of middle powers, regional organisations and developing countries that want reformed multilateralism and respect for international law. India's External Affairs Minister attended its inaugural summit in New York as an initial co-sponsor. It is not a treaty bloc. It works as an open, issue-based platform.
Founding initiators: European Union, Brazil, Canada, Kenya
Initial co-sponsors and attendees: India, Australia, Barbados
Aims: UN and global financial reform, and joint action on AI, climate, pandemics and supply chains
India joined because the group supports Global South representation and adds to its work in BRICS and the G20.
G20 Energy Consensus 2026: Four Outcomes India Signed
India joined other G20 members in adopting four consensus outcomes at the end of the three-day G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial in Houston, Texas. The declarations are non-binding and were adopted under the US G20 Presidency.
Household energy access: Countries can choose their own paths, and LPG is accepted as a practical bridge fuel to replace biomass.
Permitting efficiency: Faster, predictable approvals for energy and grid projects, without weakening safeguards.
Water reuse: Voluntary treatment and recycling of wastewater for farming, industry, power, and cities.
Critical minerals: Voluntary cooperation on lithium, nickel, cobalt and similar minerals, through information sharing and joint investment.
The LPG point supports India's clean-cooking approach under PMUY.
GS-III: Economy
Three economy items, from monetary policy to payments to vehicles. Each one links to a scheme, tool, or dataset you can use in answers.
RBI OMO Sale Auction of ₹25,000 Crore: How Open Market Operations Work
The RBI sold ₹25,000 crore of government securities (G-Secs) through an Open Market Operation (OMO). The aim was to drain surplus rupee liquidity from the banking system.
Here is how it works. Banks buy the bonds and pay the RBI, so cash leaves the banking system. Less spare cash means less pressure on prices.
Type | What the RBI does | Effect |
Outright sale | Sells G-Secs | Removes liquidity |
Outright purchase | Buys G-Secs | Adds liquidity |
Special OMO (Operation Twist) | Sells short-term and buys long-term bonds | Flattens the yield curve |
OMOs handle durable liquidity. SDF and MSF handle short-term needs. Bids are placed on the RBI's e-Kuber platform.
Offline UPI Payments on PoS Terminals: Global Fintech Fest 2026
Offline UPI on PoS terminals lets a customer pay even when their phone has no internet. The facility was unveiled at Global Fintech Fest 2026 in Mumbai and uses the PoS terminal's own connectivity.
The Hindu reported that it currently works for transactions up to ₹5,000.
Higher-value transactions require a PIN.
Example: A shopper in an area with weak network can still pay at a shop whose PoS machine is connected. For exams, link this to digital public infrastructure and financial inclusion.
India's EV Adoption Data 2026: Petrol, Diesel, CNG and Electric Trends
Petrol and diesel vehicles still dominate new registrations, but their share is falling. They made up 83.5% of about 82 lakh vehicles registered in January-March 2026, down 11.5 percentage points from 2021. EVs made up 10.6%.
Three-wheelers: largely electrified
Two-wheelers: moving steadily towards EVs
Cars: CNG and LPG, not EVs, are replacing petrol and diesel
In 2021, petrol and diesel formed over 95% of about 57 lakh registrations. Use these numbers in answers on clean transport and the energy transition.
GS-I/III: Environment and Water
One water topic for Mains and one biodiversity topic for Prelims. Both have facts you can use directly.
Climate-Resilient Water Management: India International Water Week 2026
Climate-resilient water management means planning water use so that people and nature can handle droughts, floods, and uneven rainfall. The 9th India International Water Week met in New Delhi on this theme.
Key ideas from the discussion:
Uneven rain: Most rain falls in about 30 to 35 heavy days, followed by roughly 330 dry days.
One Water approach: Manage rain, rivers, groundwater, tap water and sewage as one system.
Treated wastewater: Use it to refill lakes and aquifers.
Local solutions: Prefer check dams, stepwells and watershed work over only large dams.
Community water budgets: Let villages and cities track their own water use.
Water is a State subject (Entry 17, List II), which makes national planning harder. Link this answer to Jal Jeevan Mission, PMKSY and Namami Gange.
Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve: Location, Flora and Facts for Prelims
Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve lies in the southern Western Ghats, across Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A new checklist recorded 3,261 flowering plant species there.
Plants: 1,139 genera and 190 families, with 1,018 Indian endemics (31.2%)
Sri Lanka link: 347 plant taxa shared with Sri Lanka
Area and peak: About 3,500 sq km, rising to 1,868 m at Agasthyarkoodam
Status: Notified in 2001 and added to the UNESCO biosphere network in 2016
Protected areas inside: Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Shendurney, Peppara and Neyyar sanctuaries
People: The Kani tribe
Rivers: Thamirabarani, Neyyar, Karamana
Mark it on your map along with the other Western Ghats reserves.
Defence and Security
The exercise below is a typical Prelims fact question. Remember the edition number, the place, and the focus areas.
Exercise Nomadic Elephant 2026: India-Mongolia Military Exercise
Nomadic Elephant is an annual exercise between the Indian Army and the Mongolian Armed Forces. Its 18th edition began at the Foreign Training Node in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand. It is held alternately in India and Mongolia, and the 2025 edition took place in Ulaanbaatar.
Level: Platoon-level
Focus: Counter-insurgency in semi-urban and mountain terrain, under a UN mandate
Training areas: Cordon and search, heliborne operations, drones and counter-drones, cyber security
The goal is better teamwork between the two armies.
GS-IV: Ethics
This topic suits GS-IV answers on technology and ethics. Focus on the risks and on who holds responsibility.
WHO Framework on Ethics of AI in Health Research: Key Points
The WHO released guidance titled Artificial intelligence-related health research: ethics review and oversight. It asks for ethical oversight across the whole research lifecycle, from design to post-market monitoring.
It groups AI health research into three types:
Data science research that uses AI
Research done with AI tools, such as chatbots for consent
Research on AI tools, such as clinical trials of diagnostic AI
Why old ethics review falls short: AI tools can reach the market in about 12 months. Studies using anonymised data often skip review. Ethics committees often lack AI skills. Companies may call research “product improvement” to avoid review.
Main risks:
Algorithmic bias: Models trained on rich-country data may fail for other groups.
Automation bias: Doctors trust the machine too much.
Hallucinations: AI can invent facts or citations.
Data colonialism: Data taken from poorer countries without fair benefit.
Answer-writing angle: Present ethics as shared responsibility among researchers, ethics committees, funders, publishers and regulators.
Art and Culture
A short Prelims item. Remember the film, the director, the language and the prize.
Angh Wins TIFF 2026 Platform Prize: Nagaland Film Facts
Angh, directed by Theja Rio, won the Platform Prize at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. It is his first feature film and is set in Nagaland.
Story: In the early 1960s, near the Indo-Burma border, a village chief (Angh means a traditional village head among the Konyak Nagas) faces change when an American Christian missionary arrives.
Language: Almost entirely in the Konyak dialect
Cast: Local non-professional actors, plus Scottish actor Douglas Henshall
Format: Shot on 16mm film by Polish cinematographer Adam Pietkiewicz
Practice Question For UPSC Current Affairs
Practise while the news is fresh. Try the MCQs first, then write one Mains answer.
UPSC Prelims MCQs 22 September 2026
1. The 18th edition of Exercise Nomadic Elephant began at: (a) Ulaanbaatar (b) Pithoragarh (c) Leh (d) Jodhpur Answer: (b). It is held alternately in India and Mongolia, and in 2025 it was in Ulaanbaatar.
2. Which article gives Nagaland protection for customary law and land? (a) 371A (b) 371D (c) 371G (d) 371J Answer: (a). 371G is for Mizoram.
3. An RBI outright OMO sale of G-Secs will: (a) Increase liquidity (b) Reduce liquidity (c) Fix the repo rate (d) Change the CRR Answer: (b). Banks pay cash for the bonds, so cash leaves the system.
4. The India–New Zealand FTA is scheduled to take effect on: (a) 21 September 2026 (b) 1 October 2026 (c) 20 October 2026 (d) 1 January 2027 Answer: (c).
5. Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve lies in: (a) Karnataka and Kerala (b) Kerala and Tamil Nadu (c) Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh (d) Kerala and Goa Answer: (b).
6. Which is NOT a founding initiator of P4M? (a) EU (b) Brazil (c) Canada (d) India Answer: (d). India joined as an initial co-sponsor.
Mains Practice Questions
“Asymmetric federalism strengthens national unity.” Discuss with reference to Article 371.
Free trade agreements must balance market access with protection of sensitive sectors. Discuss with reference to the India-New Zealand FTA.
Answer-writing tip: Use two or three facts from this post, one example, and a short way forward.
FAQs on UPSC Daily Current Affairs
Where should I read daily current affairs?
Start with PIB, The Hindu, and The Indian Express. Add a daily summary from a coaching site if you need help selecting topics.
How much time should I spend each day?
About one hour works for most students: 30 minutes reading, 15 minutes making notes, and 15 minutes on MCQs.
How do I revise?
Review the past seven days each weekend. Then revise the month's notes before your test series.
What should I note for Prelims and Mains?
For Prelims, note names, places, dates, and numbers. For Mains, note causes, effects, examples, and a way forward.
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