🗞️ Why in News Beyond the deep dives on the UN Convention against Cybercrime, the WTO panel on the EU’s carbon border tax and the extension of AFSPA, the 26 September 2026 roundup covers India’s first mega ports, a port-based e-methanol plant at Kandla, an order to captive coal plants, the WEF Travel and Tourism Development Index, the tiger reserve evaluation, TRAI’s connectivity ratings, credit guarantees on TReDS, the half-year borrowing plan, the UN meeting on pandemics, a shipping-safety group with Liberia, the Quad-at-Sea mission, the Election Commission’s meeting, and two date hooks.

India’s First Four Mega Ports: Deendayal, JNPA, Paradip and Mundra

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways notified Deendayal (Kandla), Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva), Paradip and Mundra as India’s first mega ports on 25 September 2026, under Section 73 of the Indian Ports Act, 2025. The criteria had been notified in July 2026: annual throughput of 150 million tonnes for bulk ports or 7.5 million TEU for container ports. Paradip, in Odisha, is the only mega port on the east coast. Mundra, run by Adani Ports and SEZ, is a non-major port; the classification does not change a port’s major or non-major status. Reports say the status is valid for five years before review.

Background. The Indian Ports Act, 2025 replaced the Indian Ports Act, 1908. It created a Maritime State Development Council, chaired by the Union Minister, to coordinate the Centre and coastal States; each coastal State has a State Maritime Board for non-major ports. India has 12 major ports and over 200 non-major ports.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • Four mega ports: Deendayal, JNPA, Paradip (major) and Mundra (non-major); notified under Section 73, Indian Ports Act, 2025.
  • Threshold: 150 million tonnes a year (bulk) or 7.5 million TEU (container).
  • Paradip (Odisha) is the only mega port on the east coast.
  • Trap: mega port status does not convert a non-major port into a major port.

India’s First Port-Based e-Methanol Plant at Deendayal Port

The foundation stone of India’s first port-based e-methanol plant was laid at Deendayal Port Authority (DPA), Kandla, Gujarat, on 26 September 2026 by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The 150-tonne-a-day plant, a Rs 2,300 crore joint venture of DPA and Assam Petro-Chemicals Ltd (Namrup) in a 76:24 ratio, will make e-methanol from renewable power, water and biogenic carbon dioxide to fuel ships on the Asia-Europe trade route. Phase I (50 tonnes a day) is targeted for January 2027 and Phase II (100 tonnes a day) for March 2027. The Ports Ministry says it will produce at about USD 750 a tonne, against a global rate of about USD 1,300.

Why it matters. Shipping must decarbonise: the International Maritime Organization’s 2023 strategy aims at net-zero emissions from international shipping by or around 2050. Green methanol is one of the leading alternative fuels, and bunkering it would let Indian ports export green molecules, in line with the National Green Hydrogen Mission (2023).

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • Plant: 150 TPD e-methanol at Deendayal Port, Kandla; DPA and Assam Petro-Chemicals in a 76:24 ratio.
  • Inputs: renewable electricity, water, biogenic CO2; cost Rs 2,300 crore, in two phases.
  • Trap: e-methanol is made from green hydrogen and captured CO2; grey methanol comes from natural gas or coal.

Captive Coal Plants Directed to Run at Full Capacity Under Section 11

The Ministry of Power, in an order dated 25 September 2026, directed 112 captive coal-based generating stations of 50 MW and above to operate at maximum available capacity from 1 October to 31 December 2026, to meet an expected rise in demand. The plants serve industries such as steel, aluminium, cement, refining and fertilisers. They must maintain adequate coal stocks, sell surplus power through exchanges or other permitted routes, and report weekly to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The ministry also extended a similar order for an imported-coal plant at Mundra until 31 December, Reuters reported.

The legal hinge. Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 lets the appropriate Government direct a generating company, in extraordinary circumstances (threats to security, public order, natural calamity or other circumstances in the public interest), to operate a station as directed. The Centre has used it before, notably to make imported-coal plants run at full load during demand peaks.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • Order: 112 captive coal plants of 50 MW+ to run at full capacity, 1 October to 31 December 2026.
  • Legal basis: Section 11, Electricity Act, 2003 (directions in extraordinary circumstances).
  • Weekly reporting to the Central Electricity Authority.
  • Trap: captive plants serve their owners’ industrial units; they are not utility plants.

WEF Travel and Tourism Development Index 2026: India 31st

India rose nine places to 31st of 110 economies in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026, released on 25 September 2026; it was 39th of 119 in 2024. Japan topped the index, followed by the United States, Spain, Australia and France. India’s gains came in tourism infrastructure, cultural resources and business travel; it is among the top 10 economies for World Heritage cultural sites. The WEF flagged gaps in tourist services and infrastructure, environmental sustainability and workforce skills. The index measures the conditions for tourism development, not visitor numbers.

World Tourism Day will be observed on 27 September with the theme “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism”, with El Salvador as host, according to a PIB backgrounder. The day, begun in 1980, marks the adoption of the statutes of the UN World Tourism Organization (now UN Tourism) in 1970.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • TTDI is published by the World Economic Forum; India 31st of 110 in 2026 (39th of 119 in 2024).
  • Top five: Japan, US, Spain, Australia, France.
  • World Tourism Day: 27 September; 2026 theme on digital agenda and AI.
  • Trap: the TTDI ranks enabling conditions, not tourist arrivals or earnings.

Sixth Cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav launched the 6th cycle of the Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves (MEE-TR) on 25 September 2026 and released the Technical Manual for MEE-TR 2026. The exercise, run by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), will cover all 58 tiger reserves. It uses a framework adapted from the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, assessing six elements: context, planning, inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes. A new criterion this cycle is solid waste management, covering forest chowkis, tourism and biomedical waste from rescue centres. Earlier cycles were held in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022, covering 28, 39, 43, 50 and 51 reserves.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • MEE-TR 2026 is the 6th cycle; it covers 58 tiger reserves; conducted by NTCA with WII.
  • Framework: adapted from IUCN-WCPA; six elements, context to outcomes.
  • New criterion: solid waste management.
  • Trap: the MEE assesses management, not tiger numbers; the population estimate is the separate All India Tiger Estimation.

TRAI Launches the Digital Connectivity Rating Platform

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) launched the Digital Connectivity Rating (DCR) Platform and a mobile app on 25 September 2026. It implements the Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity Regulations, 2024, as amended in May 2026, and TRAI’s Rating Manual 2026. Property managers can apply online, registered Digital Connectivity Rating Agencies (DCRAs) assess buildings for fibre readiness, mobile coverage, in-building solutions and Wi-Fi, and consumers can search published ratings and verify certificates by QR code before buying or renting.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • TRAI’s DCR platform implements the Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity Regulations, 2024.
  • Ratings are done by registered Digital Connectivity Rating Agencies.
  • Trap: the rating is of a property’s connectivity infrastructure, not of a telecom operator’s service quality.

CGTMSE Guarantee Cover Goes Live on TReDS

The Ministry of MSME and the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) began offering credit guarantees on invoice discounting on the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS), announced on 25 September 2026, on three platforms: M1xchange, RXIL and DTX (KredX). The cover, announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, applies when both buyer and seller are micro or small enterprises; it guarantees 75 per cent of the amount in default, up to Rs 10 crore for an MSE buyer and Rs 2 crore for an MSE seller. Invoice discounting on TReDS grew from about Rs 40,000 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 3.5 lakh crore in 2025-26.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • TReDS is an RBI-regulated platform for discounting MSME receivables, operational since 2017.
  • New cover: 75 per cent guarantee when both buyer and seller are micro or small enterprises.
  • Trap: CGTMSE covers micro and small enterprises; it is a trust set up by the MSME Ministry and SIDBI.

Borrowing Plan for the Second Half of 2026-27

The Government, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, will borrow Rs 7,86,000 crore through dated securities in October 2026 to March 2027, including Rs 15,000 crore in Sovereign Green Bonds, through 23 weekly auctions in tenors from 3 to 50 years; the 10-year paper has the largest share (26.3 per cent). Full-year dated borrowing is now expected at Rs 15,99,506 crore, against a Budget Estimate of Rs 17,20,000 crore. The RBI fixed the Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limit for the half year at Rs 50,000 crore, and Treasury Bill issuance in the third quarter is Rs 23,000 crore a week (91-, 182- and 364-day bills). The plan was released on 25 September 2026.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • H2 2026-27 dated borrowing: Rs 7,86,000 crore, including Rs 15,000 crore Sovereign Green Bonds.
  • Full-year estimate Rs 15,99,506 crore vs Budget Estimate Rs 17,20,000 crore.
  • WMA limit for H2: Rs 50,000 crore.
  • Trap: WMA are temporary advances from the RBI to cover mismatches, not market borrowing.

UN High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response

Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava represented India at the UN High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response in New York on 25 September 2026. She called for digital public infrastructure to be recognised as a global public good, and said the credibility of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, adopted in May 2025, depends on a fair Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system, the annex to the Agreement still under negotiation. She added that the meeting’s political declaration should not prejudge those talks. India supplied 300 million vaccine doses to about 100 countries and two UN entities during COVID-19, she said.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • The WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2025.
  • Its PABS annex (pathogen access and benefit sharing) is still being negotiated.
  • Trap: the Pandemic Agreement is distinct from the amended International Health Regulations (2005).

India and Liberia Launch a Group of Friends on Shipping and Seafarers

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti launched the Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers in New York on 25 September 2026, during the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Week. Twenty-five countries attended the first meeting. The two co-chairs pair a major source of seafarers (India) with the world’s largest ship registry by tonnage (Liberia). The group will work within the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Jaishankar said attacks on merchant ships this year, from the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea to the Black Sea, had killed Indian seafarers.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • Co-chairs: India and Liberia; launched in New York on 25 September 2026; 25 countries at the first meeting.
  • Liberia has the world’s largest ship registry by tonnage.
  • Trap: seafarers’ labour standards come under the ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, not an IMO convention.

Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission: ICGS Shaunak Sails for Perth

Indian Coast Guard ship Shaunak sailed from Chennai for Perth, Australia, on 25 September 2026 as part of the Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission. Six “sea riders” are on board: two officers each from India and Japan, and one each from Australia and the United States. Its background is the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Joint Statement of 26 May 2026, and it reflects India’s MAHASAGAR vision (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions).

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • ICGS Shaunak: Chennai to Perth, with 6 sea riders from the four Quad countries.
  • MAHASAGAR is India’s maritime vision for the Global South, announced in 2025.
  • Trap: the mission is a Coast Guard initiative, not a naval exercise like Malabar.

Election Commission’s Full-Commission Meeting

After the recent disagreement within the Commission (see the 24 September deep dive), the Election Commission of India held a meeting of the full Commission, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners S.S. Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, on 26 September 2026. Its decisions: agendas will be circulated in advance and minutes issued for all Commission meetings; people served notices in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) will have their documents collected at home by Booth Level Officers and uploaded to ECINET, with hearings only in exceptional cases, preferably online; a committee headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, with an IIT or IIIT expert, will review ECINET for compliance with the Acts and Rules; and claims and objections were extended in Delhi (to 30 October) and Maharashtra (to 12 October). The Commission said the SIR has been completed in 20 States and UTs, including Bihar and West Bengal, and, as background, that the Supreme Court upheld it on 27 May 2026.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • The ECI is a three-member body: the CEC and two Election Commissioners (Article 324).
  • Enrolment forms and procedure are governed by the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
  • Trap: Booth Level Officers collect documents; the Electoral Registration Officer decides claims and objections.

International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

26 September is the UN’s International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, established by General Assembly resolution 68/32 (2013) and first observed in 2014. It is a hook for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), adopted in 2017 and in force since 2021 (from 22 January 2021), to which India is not a party. India, which is also outside the NPT, supports universal and non-discriminatory disarmament and keeps a No First Use doctrine (see today’s editorial on the nuclear doctrine).

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • The Day is observed on 26 September; UNGA resolution 68/32; first observed in 2014.
  • TPNW: adopted 2017, in force 22 January 2021; India is not a party.
  • Trap: India is outside both the NPT and the TPNW, and has not signed the CTBT.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar: Birth Anniversary

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was born on 26 September 1820 at Birsingha, in present-day Paschim Medinipur, Bengal. A Sanskrit scholar and principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta, he led the campaign that produced the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856, opposed child marriage and polygamy, and promoted girls’ education. His Bengali primer Barnaparichay (1855) simplified the Bengali alphabet and is still used. He died on 29 July 1891.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • Born 26 September 1820; died 29 July 1891.
  • Campaigned for the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856.
  • Wrote the Bengali primer Barnaparichay (1855).
  • Trap: the Sati abolition regulation (1829) is linked to Raja Rammohan Roy, not Vidyasagar.

Also in the News

Supreme Court sets deadlines for ICU standards (order dated 21 September 2026, reported on 25 September). A Bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan directed the Centre, States and UTs to implement the 2026 Guidelines for Organization and Delivery of Intensive Care Services, a three-tier (Level I to III) ICU framework the Court approved on 20 May 2026, the background to this order. It cut the time for major Level I infrastructure from 12 to 9 months, required recruitment of critical-care staff within 6 months, ordered infection-control norms to be met immediately, and applied the directions to private hospitals as well. Status reports are due by 5 November 2026. The case, Asit Baran Mondal v. Dr. Rita Sinha, has been monitored since 2016.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

Prelims, statement-ready facts:

  • India’s first mega ports: Deendayal, JNPA, Paradip, Mundra; Section 73, Indian Ports Act, 2025.
  • First port-based e-methanol plant: Deendayal Port, Kandla, 150 tonnes a day.
  • Section 11, Electricity Act, 2003: directions to generators in extraordinary circumstances.
  • WEF TTDI 2026: India 31st of 110; Japan first.
  • MEE-TR 6th cycle: 58 tiger reserves; NTCA with WII.
  • H2 2026-27 borrowing: Rs 7,86,000 crore; WMA limit Rs 50,000 crore.
  • Vidyasagar, born 26 September 1820, championed the Widow Remarriage Act, 1856.

Prelims, the traps:

  • Mega port status does not change a port’s major/non-major status.
  • TTDI ranks enabling conditions, not tourist arrivals.
  • India is party to neither the NPT nor the TPNW.

Mains, arguments and keywords:

  • Ports as growth and green-fuel hubs; emergency power directions vs market signals; MSME working capital and delayed payments.
  • Keywords: green methanol, Section 11 directions, invoice discounting, management effectiveness, PABS, seafarer safety.

Interview, be ready for:

  • “Should the Centre keep ordering plants to run at full capacity?” It is a short-term tool; the lasting fixes are coal logistics, storage and a deeper power market.

Sources: PIB, Business Standard, WEF, Election Commission of India, LiveLaw

Source: Current Affairs Today, September 26, 2026, Complete News Roundup — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs