Current affairs — 29 September 2026

On 28 September 2026, the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant recommended three High Court Chief Justices for elevation to the Supreme Court — Justice Sunita Agarwal (Gujarat), Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya (Delhi) and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh (Telangana). The names now go to the Union government, which must process them before the President issues warrants of appointment under Article 124(2).

On 26 September 2026, US President Donald Trump rejected a proposal Iran had floated on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to end the seven-month US–Iran war: Washington would waive oil sanctions, release about $12 billion of frozen Iranian assets and end its naval blockade, Israel would stop its war in Lebanon, and Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Day 7, clearing the way for nuclear talks. On 28 September, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared that the “guardians of the Strait of Hormuz” had dealt US forces “painful blows”, even as Qatari mediators prepared separate talks in New York with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the US side. Indian equities slid to a near six-month low the same day as crude prices jumped.

On 28 September 2026, the National Statistics Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), released the Quick Estimate of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for August 2026 on the new base 2022-23=100. Industrial output grew 8.0% year-on-year, led by manufacturing and electricity, even as mining contracted.

On 28 September 2026, a Bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana, hearing a PIL by the NGO Just Rights for Children Alliance, asked the Centre to issue statutory directions under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 so that social media platforms make 18 years the minimum age for opening an account. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Court the government was “ready to do that”.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a meeting on 1 October 2026 at which the Chief Ministers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh will present their positions on the decade-old Mahanadi water-sharing dispute, Odisha Advocate General Pitambar Acharya said on 28 September. Chief Secretaries and Chief Engineers of both States' Water Resources Departments will also attend, as the two States pursue a negotiated settlement alongside the pending Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal.

On 28 September 2026, Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated a conference on ‘PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy’ in New Delhi, attended by the Union Home Secretary, the Foreign Secretary, heads of the CAPFs and Central Police Organisations, DGPs of 15 States in person and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chiefs of all States and UTs. He called for a “strong and concrete” PRAHAAR mechanism for the next 10 years, reaching down to the police-station (thana) level, launched a new Extradition Portal, and reported results of a multi-State crackdown on the Pakistan-linked Shahzad Bhatti Network.

On 29 September 2026 in New Delhi, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav handed over India’s first PRAMAAN certificates under the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme (IFWCS) — to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation (APFDC) for 33,000 hectares of plantations, and to Govind Mohapatra, a farmer associated with the Odisha Bamboo Development Agency (OBDA). The event, organised by the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, marks the scheme’s move from framework to on-ground certification.

On 23 September 2026 the World Health Organization (WHO) issued “WHO guidelines on expanding contraceptive options” and, for the first time, Target Product Profiles setting benchmarks for a new generation of reversible male contraceptives. Read against the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6), 2023-24, the guidance exposes India’s imbalance: female sterilisation still dominates contraceptive use, while male sterilisation remains marginal.

The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste was observed on 29 September 2026, its seventh edition. Marking it, the Officer-in-Charge of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representation in India, Konda Reddy Chavva, argued that India — already the only country to have run three national post-harvest loss surveys — can turn loss reduction into a “triple win” for food security, emissions and farm incomes, but must now close its data gaps on urban, retail and household food waste.

A three-day wet spell from 25 to 27 September 2026 caused flood-like conditions across Uttar Pradesh, killing at least 62 people; the State received 66.5 mm of rain against a normal 7.6 mm, with 56 of 75 districts in excess. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) attributed the intense spells to the likely interaction of a deep depression from the Bay of Bengal and a Western Disturbance (WD), even as the southwest monsoon withdraws from north and northwest India.