🗞️ Why in News Beyond the deep dives on SEBI’s new settlement and portfolio rules, the Supreme Court’s safeguards against misuse of the POCSO Act and the revised carbon-market targets, the 25 September 2026 roundup covers the ASEAN-India economic ministers’ meeting, FSSAI’s draft rule on paneer, a DRDO quantum-technology contract, the launch of a bio-based plastic under BioE3, an advisory on Nidhi companies, Japan’s call to delete the “enemy state” clauses of the UN Charter, twelve years of Make in India, and Antyodaya Diwas.

ASEAN-India Economic Ministers Review the AITIGA

An Indian delegation led by Additional Secretary Nitin Kumar Yadav of the Department of Commerce took part in the 14th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting and the 23rd ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Consultation in Manila, Philippines, the Commerce Ministry said on 24 September 2026. The talks focused on the ongoing review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), which India wants to make “balanced, more effective, user-friendly and trade facilitative” and to address trade asymmetries. India-ASEAN trade reached USD 128.38 billion in 2025-26, about 10.55 per cent of India’s total trade. All 11 ASEAN members, including Timor-Leste, took part.

Background. The AITIGA was signed in 2009 and took effect in 2010. India has sought its review because its trade deficit with ASEAN widened after the agreement, and because of concerns about rules of origin and the routing of third-country goods.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • India-ASEAN trade: USD 128.38 billion in 2025-26, 10.55 per cent of India’s total trade.
  • The AITIGA (trade in goods) was signed in 2009 and is under review.
  • ASEAN now has 11 members; Timor-Leste is the newest.
  • Trap: the East Asia Summit includes ASEAN plus eight partners, among them India, the US and Russia; it is not an ASEAN-only body.

FSSAI Proposes That Only Milk-Derived Products May Be Called “Paneer”

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed a draft amendment, dated 22 September 2026 and published in the Gazette on 23 September, to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011. It would add “paneer made of constituents not derived from milk” as a new clause to Regulation 2.1.1, which lists items that may not be sold. Products licensed as “Analogue in Dairy Context” would have to stop using the word “paneer” in their name, labels or marketing. Comments are invited for 60 days.

Why it matters. Analogue paneer, made with vegetable fats and starches, is cheaper and often sold or served as if it were milk paneer. The draft addresses misleading labelling, a consumer-protection concern, rather than declaring analogue products unsafe.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • The draft amends the FSS (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
  • Only products derived from milk could be called paneer; analogue products must drop the term.
  • FSSAI works under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  • Trap: the draft is about nomenclature and labelling, not a ban on selling analogue products.

DRDO’s First High-Value Deep-Tech Contract With a Start-up Under the TDF

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) signed, under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme, its first high-value deep-tech agreement with a start-up, Zero mK India Private Limited of Alwar, Rajasthan, to develop an indigenous 20 millikelvin dilution refrigerator for quantum applications, the Defence Ministry said on 24 September 2026. It is the first high-value agreement under a Rs 500 crore corpus approved by the Defence Minister for such projects. Dilution refrigerators reach temperatures a fraction of a degree above absolute zero, which many quantum computers need to operate. The project aligns with the National Quantum Mission.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • DRDO’s partner: start-up Zero mK India, Alwar; product: a 20 mK dilution refrigerator.
  • A millikelvin is a thousandth of a kelvin; 20 mK is just above absolute zero.
  • The Technology Development Fund supports industry, including start-ups, in developing defence technologies, and is executed by DRDO.
  • Trap: the project serves the National Quantum Mission’s goals, but it is funded through the defence TDF.

Commercial Launch of a Bio-Based Biodegradable Plastic Under BioE3

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh launched, on 24 September 2026, the commercial use of a bio-based biodegradable plastic made from polylactic acid (PLA) by Balrampur Chini Mills under the BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) framework. A Rs 75 crore grant from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) supports a 100 tonnes a year pilot facility for PLA and co-polymers at Kumbhi, Uttar Pradesh. PLA is made from lactic acid produced by fermenting plant sugars, such as those from sugarcane.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • PLA (polylactic acid) is a bio-based plastic made from fermented plant sugars.
  • BioE3 stands for Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment.
  • BIRAC is a public-sector enterprise of the Department of Biotechnology.
  • Trap: bio-based (made from plants) and biodegradable (broken down by microbes) are different properties; PLA degrades mainly under industrial composting conditions.

MCA Cautions the Public About Non-Compliant Nidhi Companies

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) issued an advisory on 24 September 2026 warning the public against high-return promises by Nidhi companies that do not comply with the law. Nidhis are mutual-benefit companies that may accept deposits from and lend only to their members, under Section 406 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Nidhi Rules, 2014. Since 15 August 2019, a company must be declared a Nidhi by the Central Government, by filing Form NDH-4; only 395 companies have been so declared. Deposits in Nidhis are not insured by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • Nidhi companies are regulated by the MCA under Section 406, Companies Act, 2013.
  • A company functions as a Nidhi only after the Central Government declares it (Form NDH-4).
  • Deposits in Nidhi companies are not covered by DICGC insurance.
  • Trap: Nidhis are regulated by the MCA, not by the RBI, even though they take deposits.

Japan Seeks Deletion of the UN Charter’s “Enemy State” Clauses

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in her address to the UN General Assembly (reported on 24 September 2026), called for deleting the “enemy state” clauses from the UN Charter as part of UN and Security Council reform. The clauses, in Articles 53, 77 and 107, refer to states that were enemies of any signatory in the Second World War. Article 107 preserved action by the Allies against such states without prior Council approval. The General Assembly recognised the clauses as obsolete in 1995, and the 2005 World Summit resolved to delete the references, but no Charter amendment has followed. Under Article 108, an amendment needs a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly and ratification by two-thirds of members, including all five permanent members.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • The “enemy state” clauses are in Articles 53, 77 and 107 of the UN Charter.
  • The UN General Assembly called the clauses obsolete in 1995; the 2005 World Summit resolved to delete them.
  • Article 108: a Charter amendment needs two-thirds of the General Assembly and ratification by two-thirds of members, including all P5.
  • Trap: the UN Charter came into force on 24 October 1945, now marked as UN Day.

Twelve Years of Make in India

Make in India was launched on 25 September 2014 to make India a global hub for manufacturing, design and innovation. It now covers 27 sectors (15 in manufacturing and 12 in services) under Make in India 2.0. A PIB backgrounder of 24 September 2026 cites electronics production rising from about Rs 1.9 lakh crore (2014-15) to about Rs 13.11 lakh crore (2025-26), mobile-phone production rising about 32-fold, and crude steel output rising from 81.7 million tonnes (2014-15) to 170 million tonnes (2025-26). Its supporting instruments include the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, PM GatiShakti and the National Single Window System.

The test. The initiative is judged on two measures beyond output: manufacturing’s share of GDP and the jobs it creates. The National Manufacturing Policy, 2011 had set the goal of raising manufacturing to 25 per cent of GDP and creating 100 million jobs; a balanced answer weighs the production gains against progress on these.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • Make in India was launched on 25 September 2014; Make in India 2.0 covers 27 sectors.
  • Electronics production: about Rs 1.9 lakh crore (2014-15) to Rs 13.11 lakh crore (2025-26), per PIB.
  • Crude steel output: 81.7 MT (2014-15) to 170 MT (2025-26), per PIB.
  • Trap: the 25 per cent manufacturing-share goal comes from the National Manufacturing Policy, 2011.

Antyodaya Diwas: Deendayal Upadhyaya’s Birth Anniversary

25 September is observed as Antyodaya Diwas, the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya (born 1916). He propounded Integral Humanism and the idea of Antyodaya, the uplift of the last person in the queue. Several welfare schemes carry his name, including the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • Antyodaya Diwas is observed on 25 September, the birth anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyaya (1916).
  • He propounded Integral Humanism (Ekatma Manavvad).
  • Trap: DDU-GKY is a skilling scheme; DAY-NRLM is a livelihoods mission for self-help groups.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

Prelims, statement-ready facts:

  • India-ASEAN trade was USD 128.38 billion in 2025-26; the AITIGA is under review.
  • FSSAI’s draft would restrict the term paneer to milk-derived products.
  • DRDO’s first high-value TDF deep-tech contract is for a 20 mK dilution refrigerator for quantum use.
  • PLA bioplastic under BioE3: a Rs 75 crore BIRAC grant for a 100 tonnes-a-year pilot.
  • Nidhi deposits are not insured by DICGC; only 395 companies are declared Nidhis.
  • The UN Charter’s “enemy state” clauses are in Articles 53, 77 and 107.
  • Make in India was launched on 25 September 2014.

Prelims, the traps:

  • A UN Charter amendment needs ratification by all five permanent members (Article 108).
  • Nidhis are regulated by the MCA, not the RBI.
  • Bio-based is not the same as biodegradable.

Mains, arguments and keywords:

  • Trade agreements must be reviewed when asymmetries persist; rules of origin decide who benefits.
  • Labelling rules protect consumer choice without banning products.
  • Keywords: AITIGA review, analogue products, deep-tech procurement, bioeconomy, mutual-benefit company, Charter reform.

Interview, be ready for:

  • “Has Make in India succeeded?” Output in electronics and steel has grown sharply; the harder tests are manufacturing’s share of GDP and jobs.

Sources: PIB, Indian Express, The Hindu

Source: Current Affairs Today, September 25, 2026, Complete News Roundup — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs