🗞️ Why in News Beyond the deep dive on India’s address to the 81st UN General Assembly, the 27 September 2026 roundup covers Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026 at Jodhpur, the Navy at an ADMM-Plus maritime security activity in the Philippines, the formal flag-off of India’s first LNG-diesel dual-fuel DEMU, a draft marine mammal conservation roadmap, conservation and heritage in the 138th Mann Ki Baat, and Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s death anniversary.

Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026 Gets Under Way at Jodhpur

The Indian Air Force (IAF) opened Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026 at Air Force Station Jodhpur with an inaugural ceremony on 26 September 2026, and began the operational phase on 27 September. The multilateral air exercise runs until 12 October under the theme “Power in Partnership”. The Defence Ministry lists seven participating countries: Australia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, with several others attending as observers. Foreign aircraft include the F-35 Lightning II, Rafale, F-16, A400M, MRTT, C-130, C-130J and KC-30A, a mix of combat, airlift and air-to-air refuelling assets. The programme adds a seminar, an industrial tour, the Sekhon Marathon, heritage tours and yoga sessions.

What changed since our last report. The 23 September roundup carried the pre-exercise list of eight expected countries, which included Greece. The Defence Ministry’s list of 27 September names seven and does not include Greece.

Background. India’s first multinational air exercise, Tarang Shakti 2024, was first held in two phases: at Sulur (Tamil Nadu) from 6 to 14 August 2024 and at Jodhpur from 29 August to 14 September 2024.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • Tarang Shakti 2026: IAF-hosted, Jodhpur, 26 September to 12 October 2026; theme “Power in Partnership”.
  • Seven participants: Australia, US, UAE, France, Germany, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh.
  • First edition: 2024, in two phases (Sulur and Jodhpur).
  • Trap: Tarang Shakti is multilateral and IAF-hosted; Garuda (France) and Cope India (US) are bilateral air exercises.

Navy at the ADMM-Plus Maritime Security Activity, Subic Bay

The stealth frigate INS Sahyadri and the missile corvette INS Kulish took part in the 23rd ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Maritime Security Joint Cooperation Activity (EWG-MS JCA) at Subic Bay, Philippines, from 21 to 25 September 2026. It was hosted by the Philippine Navy and co-chaired by Japan. The harbour phase included expert exchanges, an operational synchronisation and a tabletop exercise; the sea phase covered search and rescue, hydrographic survey, casualty and medical evacuation, deck landing qualification and assistance to vessels aground. The Navy linked the deployment to the Act East Policy and MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions), the vision the Prime Minister announced in Mauritius in March 2025.

Background. The ADMM-Plus (ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus) brings ASEAN defence ministers together with eight dialogue partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. It first met in Hanoi in 2010, and its practical work runs through Experts’ Working Groups, including maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping, military medicine, humanitarian mine action and cyber security.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • 23rd ADMM-Plus EWG on Maritime Security activity, Subic Bay, 21-25 September 2026; host Philippines, co-chair Japan.
  • Indian ships: INS Sahyadri (Shivalik-class stealth frigate) and INS Kulish (Khukri-class corvette).
  • ADMM-Plus: ASEAN plus eight partners; first meeting 2010, Hanoi.
  • Trap: ADMM-Plus is a defence ministers’ forum; the ASEAN Regional Forum (1994) is a foreign ministers’ security dialogue.

India’s First LNG-Diesel Dual-Fuel DEMU Formally Flagged Off

Union Home Minister Amit Shah formally flagged off India’s first LNG-powered train, a liquefied natural gas-diesel dual-fuel DEMU of the Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway, from Sabarmati on 27 September 2026. Its inaugural run was on the Sabarmati-Mahesana section, about 62 km. The eight-coach, non-AC train uses two 1,400 HP driving power cars converted to the dual-fuel system after more than 2,000 km of field trials. According to the division, LNG can replace up to about 40 per cent of the diesel, each power car carries a cryogenic LNG tank of about 2,200 litres, and the rake should save about Rs 23.9 lakh a year. The converted power cars had been operationalised at Sabarmati in January 2026, according to a News On AIR report at the time; the 27 September event was the formal launch.

At the same event the Home Minister inaugurated a Rs 700 crore maintenance shed for WAG-12 locomotives and Kavach on the Sabarmati-Kalol-Sabarmati section (Rs 48 crore), among projects worth Rs 1,472 crore. He said the Railways’ diesel use fell from 293 crore litres in 2015-16 to 108 crore litres in 2024-25.

Why LNG. LNG is natural gas cooled to about minus 162 degrees Celsius, which shrinks it to about one six-hundredth of its gaseous volume, so a train can carry enough for a day’s running. Burning gas instead of part of the diesel cuts carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates. WAG-12 is a 12,000 HP electric freight locomotive built at Madhepura (Bihar) by a joint venture of Alstom (74 per cent) and the Railways (26 per cent). India’s first hydrogen train runs on the Jind-Sonipat corridor (see our earlier roundup).

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • First LNG-diesel dual-fuel DEMU: Ahmedabad Division, Western Railway; inaugural run Sabarmati-Mahesana.
  • Two 1,400 HP power cars converted; up to about 40 per cent diesel substitution.
  • WAG-12: 12,000 HP, built at Madhepura, Bihar (Alstom-Railways JV).
  • Trap: India’s first CNG DEMU ran on the Rewari-Rohtak section in 2015; LNG (liquefied, cryogenic) is not CNG (compressed, gaseous).

Draft Roadmap for Marine Mammal Conservation, 2027-2032

A two-day National Workshop on “Marine Mammal Conservation: Science, Fisheries and Community Action”, hosted by the Fishery Survey of India (FSI), ended in Mumbai on 26 September 2026 with draft recommendations for India’s 2027-2032 Marine Mammal Science and Conservation roadmap. The sessions focused on bycatch: fitting Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRDs) and modifying fishing gear across artisanal and industrial fleets, with MPEDA and ICAR-CIFT presenting mitigation methods that also keep Indian seafood compliant with export-market rules. Participants showcased the BNHS app Jalchar, which lets fishers report sightings of marine megafauna with GPS locations and photographs, and stranding-response protocols from the Wildlife Trust of India. The framework aims at stock assessment, responsible fishing and protection of biodiversity in India’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

Background. India’s marine mammals include whales, dolphins, porpoises and the dugong, the only strictly herbivorous marine mammal in Indian waters. The dugong is in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and is Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List globally; India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve was notified in Palk Bay, Tamil Nadu, in 2022. Accidental entanglement in fishing nets is the leading threat to most coastal species.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • FSI (under the Department of Fisheries) hosted the workshop; draft roadmap covers 2027-2032.
  • BRDs reduce bycatch; Jalchar is a citizen-science app of the BNHS.
  • Dugong: Schedule I; IUCN Vulnerable; reserve in Palk Bay (2022).
  • Trap: the Gangetic river dolphin, India’s national aquatic animal, is a freshwater species, not a marine mammal.

Mann Ki Baat, 138th Episode: Census, Conservation and a Sun Temple

In the 138th episode of Mann Ki Baat on 27 September 2026, the Prime Minister gave an update on the Census and highlighted conservation and heritage stories:

Item What was said
Census The first phase is nearly complete; data of over 32 crore families recorded, and more than 2.6 crore people have self-enumerated through the mobile-based online portal
Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam Elephants have returned after encroached land was cleared about three years ago
Jharkhali, Sundarbans (West Bengal) Women, many widowed by tiger attacks, are planting mangroves that shield villages and provide incomes
Poshan Tracker About nine crore beneficiaries registered, as Anganwadi centres are digitally connected during Poshan Maah (September)
Modhera Sun Temple, Gujarat Recalled a thousand years since the attacks of 1026 on Somnath and Modhera; Modhera now runs on solar energy

Background, the Modhera Sun Temple. According to the Archaeological Survey of India, the temple was built in 1026-27 CE during the reign of Bhima I of the Chaulukya (Solanki) dynasty; an inscription dated Vikram Samvat 1083 (1026-27 CE) is set upside down in a wall of the sanctum, which historians read as evidence of damage and rebuilding soon after 1026. It stands on the Pushpavati river and has three parts: the Gudhamandapa (shrine hall), the Sabhamandapa (assembly hall) and the stepped tank Surya Kund. Modhera was declared India’s first 24x7 solar-powered village in 2022.

Background, Sonai Rupai. The 220 sq km sanctuary in Sonitpur district, in the foothills bordering Arunachal Pradesh, is an important elephant habitat whose forests were heavily encroached over decades.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • Modhera Sun Temple: Bhima I, Chaulukya (Solanki) dynasty, 1026-27 CE; on the Pushpavati; Surya Kund.
  • Other Sun temples: Konark (Odisha, 13th century, Narasimhadeva I) and Martand (Kashmir, 8th century, Lalitaditya Muktapida).
  • Sonai Rupai WLS: Sonitpur, Assam, 220 sq km.
  • Trap: Modhera is in Mehsana district, Gujarat, not Saurashtra; Somnath is on the Saurashtra coast.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy: Death Anniversary

Raja Ram Mohan Roy died on 27 September 1833 at Stapleton, near Bristol, England, and is buried at Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol. Born on 22 May 1772 at Radhanagar in the Hooghly district of Bengal, he founded the Atmiya Sabha (1815; some accounts give 1814) and the Brahmo Sabha (1828), later the Brahmo Samaj. His campaign against sati backed Lord William Bentinck’s Bengal Sati Regulation (XVII) of 1829. He published the Bengali weekly Sambad Kaumudi and the Persian Mirat-ul-Akhbar, and supported English and scientific education. The Mughal emperor Akbar II gave him the title “Raja” and sent him to England to plead for a higher allowance.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

  • Born 22 May 1772, Radhanagar; died 27 September 1833, Bristol.
  • Atmiya Sabha (1815); Brahmo Sabha (1828).
  • Newspapers: Sambad Kaumudi (Bengali), Mirat-ul-Akhbar (Persian).
  • Trap: the Tattvabodhini Sabha (1839) was founded by Debendranath Tagore, not Ram Mohan Roy.

Also in the News

IRDAI proposes a reset of insurance distribution (consultation paper of 23 September 2026). The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India released a public consultation paper, “Recalibrating Economics of Insurance Distribution”, on 23 September 2026. It proposes to regroup intermediaries into Insurance Distribution Entities, Insurance Distribution Persons and Market Infrastructure Institutions (such as Bima Sugam), to tighten expenses of management for life insurers to 15 per cent of gross direct premium within two years and 12.5 per cent within five, and, as reported by The Indian Express, to cap first-year life commissions at 20 per cent of premium for distributors and 25 per cent for agents. Comments are due by 25 October 2026. Shares of online aggregators fell sharply on the proposals.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

Prelims, statement-ready facts:

  • Tarang Shakti 2026: Jodhpur, 26 September to 12 October; seven participating countries.
  • ADMM-Plus: ASEAN plus eight; the 23rd EWG on Maritime Security activity was at Subic Bay.
  • First LNG-diesel dual-fuel DEMU: Sabarmati-Mahesana; two 1,400 HP power cars.
  • Marine mammal roadmap 2027-2032 drafted at an FSI workshop in Mumbai.
  • Modhera Sun Temple: Bhima I, Chaulukya dynasty, 1026-27 CE.
  • Raja Ram Mohan Roy died on 27 September 1833 in Bristol.

Prelims, the traps:

  • LNG is liquefied and cryogenic; CNG is compressed gas. The first CNG DEMU ran in 2015.
  • The Gangetic dolphin is not a marine mammal.
  • Tattvabodhini Sabha is Debendranath Tagore’s, not Ram Mohan Roy’s.

Mains, arguments and keywords:

  • Interoperability and defence diplomacy; decarbonising rail beyond electrification; bycatch and community stewardship; insurance mis-selling and distribution costs.
  • Keywords: power in partnership, MAHASAGAR, dual-fuel, bycatch reduction device, expenses of management.

Interview, be ready for:

  • “Why run LNG trains when the network is almost fully electrified?” DEMUs serve short, non-electrified or low-density routes; dual-fuel conversion cuts costs and emissions on existing stock while electrification is completed.

Sources: PIB, The Indian Express, ETV Bharat, News On AIR, Archaeological Survey of India, IRDAI

Source: Current Affairs Today, September 27, 2026, Complete News Roundup — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs