UPSC current affairs, 21–27 September 2026

A two-judge Supreme Court bench split on 23 September over whether challenges to the 2023 law on appointing the CEC and ECs need a larger bench; the papers go to the CJI to set up a Constitution Bench. Justice Dipankar Datta observed, prima facie, that the panel must also pass a 'perception test': the ECI must not only be independent but appear independent.

For Prelims (Art 324 · CEC Act 2023):

Under the CEC and Other ECs Act, 2023, the selection committee is the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM. Anoop Baranwal (2023) had set an interim panel of PM, LoP and CJI until Parliament legislated.

For Mains:

Use for the independence of the ECI under Article 324: an institution must not only be independent but also appear independent. Also shows the tension between Parliament's law-making (the 2023 Act) and judicial review (Anoop Baranwal).

Full story: Daily Brief, 24 Sept →

The Karnataka Assembly unanimously rejected, in its present form, the Centre's seventh draft notification (July 2026) declaring parts of the Western Ghats an Ecologically Sensitive Area. The draft covers about 20,668 sq km in 10 districts; the State wants a year for a physical ground survey.

For Prelims (Gadgil vs Kasturirangan):

The Gadgil panel (2011) treated the whole Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive, while the Kasturirangan panel (2013) proposed about 37% of it. The Western Ghats run through six States: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

For Mains:

Contrast Gadgil's precautionary, biodiversity-first approach with Kasturirangan's development-accommodating compromise. Discuss the limits of cooperative federalism when one State's stance affects a shared ecological unit.

Full story: Daily Brief, 27 Sept →

The Supreme Court (21 September) held that an arrest without written grounds violates Article 22(1), whatever the offence or statute. Police cannot re-arrest on their own after such an illegal arrest; they need a magistrate's approval.

For Prelims (Art 22(1)):

Article 22(1) gives an arrested person the right to be told the grounds of arrest and to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of choice. Article 22(2) requires production before a magistrate within 24 hours.

For Mains:

Argue that procedural due process under Articles 21 and 22 binds even agencies working under special laws, protecting citizens from arbitrary state power.

Full story: Daily Brief, 22 Sept →

India and the EU are reported (The Hindu, 24 September) to be scheduled to sign their Free Trade Agreement on 16 December 2026 in Brussels, after EU Council approval. Talks concluded in January 2026; Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it the 'mother of all deals'.

For Prelims (BTIA · bilateral FTAs):

India-EU talks began in 2007 as the Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), stalled in 2013 and were relaunched in June 2022.

For Mains:

Use as a case study of bilateral FTAs versus stalled mega-regional deals (contrast India's RCEP exit), and of India diversifying export markets under U.S. tariff pressure.

Full story: Daily Brief, 24 Sept →

Punjab's stage of groundwater extraction is about 152% in the 2025-26 Dynamic Groundwater Assessment, slightly lower than earlier assessments. About 72% of its 153 blocks (110) are over-exploited, which The Hindu calls the highest share among States.

For Prelims (CGWB stage of extraction):

Stage of extraction is annual groundwater extraction as a percentage of the annual extractable resource. Above 100% a unit is 'over-exploited'; 90–100% is 'critical', 70–90% 'semi-critical' and up to 70% 'safe'.

For Mains:

Use Punjab's 152% figure for questions on Green Revolution externalities. Cite Punjab's 'Pani Bachao, Paisa Kamao' and the Centre's Atal Bhujal Yojana (in other States) as demand-side management, and the paddy–wheat cycle backed by assured procurement and free farm power as a key policy driver.

Full story: Daily Brief, 23 Sept →

Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal, after meeting Odisha's Chief Minister on 26 September, renewed the push to mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills. This comes about 13 years after Gram Sabhas there, home to the Dongria Kondh (a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group), rejected the project in what is called India's first environmental referendum.

For Prelims (FRA · Gram Sabha · PVTG):

In 2013 the Supreme Court (Orissa Mining Corporation v. MoEF) asked the Gram Sabhas to decide whether mining would affect their religious, cultural and community rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The Dongria Kondh are a PVTG of Odisha.

For Mains:

Weigh mineral development and Atmanirbhar Bharat goals in aluminium and critical minerals against Gram Sabha consent rights under the FRA and PESA, 1996.

Full story: Daily Brief, 27 Sept →

A report by the University of Chicago's Climate Impact Lab projects about 15,800 additional heat-related deaths in India between September 2026 and February 2027. It links this to unusually high temperatures forecast during the ongoing 'Super' El Niño.

For Prelims (ENSO · Niño 3.4):

El Niño is the unusual warming of sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. It is tracked through temperature anomalies in the Niño 3.4 region.

For Mains:

Frame as human-caused climate change amplifying a natural ENSO cycle. Link it to Heat Action Plans and NDMA heat-wave guidelines when writing on climate-linked public-health risk.

Full story: Daily Brief, 24 Sept →

The Supreme Court declined, for now, to fix a timeline for Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to decide disqualification pleas against 20 rebel Trinamool MPs, though it called the three-month delay a 'red flag' and sought a progress update. This revived the debate on the Speaker's dual role under the Tenth Schedule.

For Prelims (Tenth Schedule):

The Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) was added by the 52nd Amendment, 1985. In Kihoto Hollohan (1992), the Supreme Court held the presiding officer's decision on disqualification is open to judicial review.

For Mains:

Critique the conflict of interest when a ruling-party nominee decides defection pleas. Cite the Dinesh Goswami Committee and the Law Commission's 170th Report for shifting the power to an independent body.

Full story: Daily Brief, 24 Sept →

While hearing a pending challenge to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026, the Supreme Court orally observed that the State may decide what the National Song is, but conscientious objectors who do not sing it should not be penalised. It sought the Centre's reply; no final ruling yet.

For Prelims (Bijoe Emmanuel (1986)):

In Bijoe Emmanuel v. State of Kerala (1986), the Supreme Court held that students who stood respectfully but did not sing the National Anthem could not be punished. Article 51A(a) names the National Flag and the National Anthem, not the National Song.

For Mains:

Distinguish 'respect' from 'compulsion' on national symbols. Balance Articles 19 and 25 against the fundamental duty in Article 51A(a), with Bijoe Emmanuel as the anchor precedent on compelled speech.

Full story: Daily Brief, 23 Sept →

The Union Home Ministry extended AFSPA 'disturbed area' notifications for six months from 1 October 2026: all of Manipur except 13 police-station areas, nine districts and 21 police-station areas of Nagaland, and three districts plus three police-station areas of Arunachal Pradesh.

For Prelims (AFSPA S.3 disturbed area):

Under Section 3 of AFSPA, 1958, the Governor of a State, the Administrator of a Union Territory or the Central Government can declare an area 'disturbed'.

For Mains:

Weigh AFSPA's security rationale against human-rights concerns, using Supreme Court guidance on encounter deaths and the Jeevan Reddy Committee's repeal-and-replace recommendation.

Full story: Daily Brief, 26 Sept →

'The Painted Haveli Towns of Shekhawati' (Rajasthan) entered India's UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2026. A Delhi exhibition traced India's journey from colonial rule to Independence through Shekhawati's art and archives.

For Prelims (UNESCO Tentative List):

A Tentative List is a country's inventory of sites it intends to nominate; a site must be on it before it can be nominated for the World Heritage List.

For Mains:

Cite Shekhawati as 'living heritage under threat' in Art and Culture answers on conserving vernacular and mural traditions, and on the gap between heritage recognition and conservation funding on the ground.

Full story: Daily Brief, 25 Sept →

Indian Railways commissioned its upgraded, indigenous Automatic Train Protection system, Kavach 4.0, for the first time on South Central Railway's Malkajgiri–Kamareddi section, a step toward network-wide safety modernisation.

For Prelims (Automatic Train Protection):

Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection system; RFID tags fitted on the track let it track a train's exact position.

For Mains:

Cite Kavach under indigenisation of critical safety technology (Make in India, GS3 S&T), and pair it with the debate on gaps in railway safety infrastructure after train collisions.

Full story: Daily Brief, 24 Sept →