Current Affairs Today, September 29, 2026, Complete News Roundup

🗞️ Why in News Beyond the deep dives on the Supreme Court’s hearing on the UPI merchant discount rate and August’s industrial output, the 29 September 2026 roundup covers the Collegium’s three nominees to the Supreme Court, a Speaker’s deadline under the anti-defection law, the Court’s questions on children’s social media contracts and the CBSE three-language rule, India at the International Whaling Commission, Exercise KAZIND, a CAG audit of Odisha’s mining funds, the drought response, the J&K Assembly’s statehood resolution, the PRAHAAR counter-terror conference and a livestock insurance portal.

Collegium Recommends Three High Court Chief Justices to the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant recommended on 28 September 2026 three High Court Chief Justices for appointment as Supreme Court judges: Sunita Agarwal (Gujarat High Court), Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya (Delhi High Court) and Aparesh Kumar Singh (Telangana High Court). Justice Agarwal is the second woman recommended to the Court in 2026, after V. Mohana, who was elevated directly from the Bar in May. The parent High Court of Justices Agarwal and Upadhyaya is Allahabad, and of Justice Singh, Jharkhand.

The Court has four vacancies in a sanctioned strength of 38, raised from 34 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2026. If the Centre clears all three names, it will have 37 judges, and three sitting women judges: Justices B.V. Nagarathna, V. Mohana and Sunita Agarwal. Justice Nagarathna is in line to be India’s first woman Chief Justice in 2027.

How judges are appointed. Article 124(2): the President appoints Supreme Court judges after consultation with such judges as the President considers necessary, and the Chief Justice must always be consulted. The Second Judges Case (1993) read “consultation” as the primacy of the judiciary, and the Third Judges Case (1998) fixed the Collegium as the CJI and the four senior-most judges. The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), created by the 99th Amendment, was struck down on 16 October 2015 (the Fourth Judges Case). The process is set out in the Memorandum of Procedure.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• Article 124(2): appointment of Supreme Court judges by the President; CJI always consulted.
• Collegium: CJI plus four senior-most judges (Third Judges Case, 1998); NJAC struck down 2015.
• Sanctioned strength: 38 including the CJI (2026 amendment); first woman judge: Fathima Beevi (1989).
• Trap: the number of judges is fixed by Parliament by law, not by the Constitution or the Collegium.

Anti-Defection Law: the Supreme Court and the West Bengal Speaker

A new development in the Trinamool Congress split we covered on 24 September. On 28 September 2026, the same Bench (CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana) disposed of a petition by the Mamata Banerjee faction asking the West Bengal Assembly Speaker to decide, by 8 October, the petitions (filed, as background, on 8 July 2026) to disqualify 10 MLAs of the rival faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee and Arup Roy. The Court declined to set a deadline itself, recording that the Speaker “is fully cognisant of the principles laid down” and would “make all endeavour” to decide within them. The petitioners relied on Keisham Meghachandra Singh v. Speaker, Manipur (2020), which said such petitions should normally be decided within three months.

In the related symbol dispute, the Court gave the parties four weeks to file affidavits and asked the Election Commission to decide within three months after that, LiveLaw reported. As background, the Commission had frozen the party’s name and symbol by an interim order of 17 September.

The law. Under Paragraph 6 of the Tenth Schedule, the Speaker or Chairman decides disqualification for defection; Kihoto Hollohan (1992) held that the decision is open to judicial review. In Subhash Desai (2023), the Court said disqualification is for the Speaker to decide in the first instance. Disputes over which group is the real party go to the Election Commission under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• Tenth Schedule (52nd Amendment, 1985): Speaker decides disqualification (Para 6); reviewable (Kihoto Hollohan, 1992).
• Keisham Meghachandra Singh (2020): decide disqualification petitions within a reasonable time, normally three months.
• Party splits: ECI under Para 15, Symbols Order, 1968.
• Trap: the Tenth Schedule no longer protects a “split” of one-third; only a merger backed by two-thirds of the legislature party (Para 4) is protected.

Supreme Court: Can a Child Sign Up for Social Media?

Hearing a petition by the Just Rights for Children Alliance on 28 September 2026, a Bench headed by CJI Surya Kant asked how children as young as 12 to 15 hold social media accounts when an account is a contract, and a minor’s contract is void from the beginning (void ab initio). Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked the Centre to issue directions under the Intermediary Rules so that platforms conform to the 18-year threshold. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the issue was prima facie covered by the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, and assured the Court that “something can be done, something should be done, and it will be done”. The petitioner pointed out that the Act’s provisions on children take effect only in 2027. The Court made observations; it has passed no order on the merits.

Australia’s law setting a minimum age of 16 for social media accounts took effect in December 2025, the first such national ban.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• Section 11, Indian Contract Act: minors cannot contract; Mohori Bibee (1903): minor’s agreement void ab initio.
• DPDP Act, Section 9: verifiable parental consent for anyone under 18; no tracking or targeted ads.
• Operative DPDP Rules apply from 2027 (18 months after November 2025 notification).
• Trap: under the DPDP Act a child is under 18, not under 13 as in the US law (COPPA).

CBSE Three-Language Rule: Supreme Court Extends Relief to Class 6

On 28 September 2026, the Supreme Court (CJI Surya Kant, Justices Bagchi and Mohana) directed that students now in Class 6 get the same relief the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has given to Classes 7, 8 and 9: they will not take a board examination in the third language (R3) in Class 10, which will be assessed only by the school. The Centre had opposed the relief, saying about 99 per cent of some 28,000 CBSE schools were ready and only about 1.2 per cent were not. Petitioners cited students moved from Spanish to Sanskrit mid-way. Replies are due in four weeks.

The framework. CBSE’s scheme follows the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education, 2023: three languages (R1, R2, R3), at least two of them Indian languages. The three-language formula goes back to the Kothari Commission (1964-66) and the National Policy on Education, 1968. NEP 2020 says no language will be imposed on any State. Tamil Nadu follows a two-language policy (Tamil and English).

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• Three-language formula: Kothari Commission (1964-66), adopted in NPE 1968; retained with flexibility in NEP 2020.
• CBSE scheme: R1, R2, R3, at least two Indian languages (NCF-SE 2023).
• Article 350A: instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage; Eighth Schedule: 22 languages.
• Trap: English, French, German, Arabic and Spanish count as non-native languages in CBSE’s list.

India at the International Whaling Commission (IWC-70)

India called for science-based conservation of whales and other cetaceans in its opening statement at the 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC-70) in Hobart, Australia (28 September to 2 October 2026), the Environment Ministry said on 28 September. The meeting marks the 80th anniversary of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), signed in Washington, DC on 2 December 1946, which set up the IWC.

India highlighted the Arabian Sea humpback whale, a small, non-migratory population, as a focus species.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• ICRW: signed 2 December 1946, Washington; created the IWC; IWC-70 at Hobart (2026).
• India joined the IWC in 1981; moratorium on commercial whaling adopted 1982.
• Trap: the moratorium covers commercial whaling; aboriginal subsistence whaling continues under IWC quotas.

Exercise KAZIND-2026: India and Kazakhstan

A 60-member Indian contingent, drawn mainly from a battalion of the Garhwal Rifles with Indian Air Force personnel, left on 28 September 2026 for Oskemen, Kazakhstan, for the ninth edition of the joint military exercise KAZIND (28 September to 11 October), the Defence Ministry said. It focuses on joint counter-terrorism operations in a sub-conventional setting under a United Nations mandate, in semi-urban and mountainous terrain, with drones and counter-drone systems, heliborne operations and a joint command post.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• KAZIND: India-Kazakhstan, 9th edition, Oskemen, 28 September to 11 October 2026; Garhwal Rifles.
• India’s Central Asian exercises: KAZIND (Kazakhstan), Khanjar (Kyrgyzstan), Dustlik (Uzbekistan).
• Trap: Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country; its capital is Astana, not Almaty.

CAG Flags Misuse of Odisha’s District Mineral Foundation Funds

A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) performance audit of the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) and District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) in Odisha (period to March 2024), tabled in the State Assembly on 28 September 2026, found that DMFs in Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Jajpur created a category of “common affected areas”, not found in the rules or the PMKKKY guidelines. Of Rs 4,541.66 crore sanctioned for 1,114 projects in such areas, Rs 2,578.73 crore was spent without any rule provision. Spending in indirectly affected areas crossed the 40 per cent ceiling in the Odisha DMF Rules, 2015: 45.68 per cent in Keonjhar and 41.10 per cent in Sundargarh. Only one of six test-checked DMFs (Jajpur) had identified affected people during 2015-24.

The framework. DMFs are non-profit trusts in every mining district, set up under Section 9B of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, inserted by the 2015 amendment. Leaseholders pay a share of royalty to the DMF. The PMKKKY (2015) guides how DMF money is spent, with most funds reserved for high-priority areas such as drinking water, health, education and the environment, and for directly affected areas and people.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• DMF: Section 9B, MMDR Act 1957 (inserted 2015); funded from royalty paid by leaseholders.
• PMKKKY (2015): spending for mining-affected areas and people; audited here by the CAG in Odisha.
• Odisha DMF Rules: at most 40 per cent in indirectly affected areas; Keonjhar spent 45.68 per cent.
• Trap: a DMF is a district-level trust, not a central fund of the Mines Ministry.

Drought: Central Teams for Karnataka and Maharashtra

Opening the two-day National Conference on Agriculture for Rabi Campaign on 28 September 2026, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said nearly two-thirds of Maharashtra was affected and the State had declared drought, and Karnataka faced drought-like conditions. A central team will assess Karnataka from 3 October, and another will go to Maharashtra. He asked States to make water budgeting central to rabi planning and to favour pulses and oilseeds where water is short. All-India monsoon rainfall was about 12 per cent below normal as of 28 September, and storage in the reservoirs the Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors stood at about 70 per cent of capacity in its bulletin of 24 September, below the ten-year average, The Indian Express reported. South India was the worst placed, at about 50 per cent.

How drought is declared. Under the Manual for Drought Management (2016, updated 2020) of the Agriculture Ministry, the State Government declares drought using mandatory indicators (rainfall deficit and dry spells) and impact indicators such as crop sown area, vegetation indices from remote sensing, soil moisture and hydrology (reservoir levels, groundwater). Relief comes from the State Disaster Response Fund; for a severe drought a State can seek help from the National Disaster Response Fund, after an Inter-Ministerial Central Team assesses the damage.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• Manual for Drought Management: 2016, updated 2020; the State declares drought.
• Indicators: rainfall deficit and dry spells first, then crop, vegetation, soil moisture and hydrology.
• SDRF first; NDRF for severe drought after an Inter-Ministerial Central Team visit.
• Trap: the Centre does not declare drought in a State; it assesses and releases additional assistance.

J&K Assembly Passes a Resolution Seeking Full Statehood

The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed a resolution moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on 28 September 2026 demanding the restoration of full statehood. BJP members opposed references to the status before 5 August 2019 and walked out; eight of 10 amendments moved by members sought to widen it to the restoration of special status.

The constitutional position. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, passed under Article 3, turned the State into two Union Territories from 31 October 2019: Jammu and Kashmir, with a legislature, and Ladakh, without one. Restoring statehood needs a law of Parliament; a resolution of the Assembly has no legal effect on its own. For background, in In Re: Article 370 (11 December 2023), a five-judge Bench upheld the abrogation of Article 370, recorded the Centre’s statement that statehood would be restored, and directed that Assembly elections be held by September 2024. The Centre’s position is that statehood will be restored at an appropriate time. The Assembly’s strength is 90 elected seats, with 24 seats for areas of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir kept vacant, reflecting India’s position that PoJK is an integral part of India.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 (Article 3): UTs of J&K (with legislature) and Ladakh (without), from 31 October 2019.
• In Re: Article 370 (11 December 2023): abrogation upheld; statehood to be restored; elections by 30 September 2024.
• Assembly: 90 elected seats; 24 seats for PoJK areas kept vacant.
• Trap: statehood needs a Parliamentary law (Articles 3 and 4); an Assembly resolution is only a demand.

PRAHAAR Conference and a New Extradition Portal

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated a conference on “PRAHAAR: CT Policy and Strategy” in New Delhi on 28 September 2026, attended by the Home and Foreign Secretaries, heads of central police organisations and Anti-Terrorism Squad chiefs of all States and UTs. He called for a PRAHAAR mechanism for the next ten years, reaching down to the police station level, and launched a new Extradition Portal to speed up the return of fugitives, asking State police to set up dedicated teams to work with central agencies. As background, the policy itself, India’s first national counter-terrorism policy and strategy, was released on 23 February 2026 (our explainer).

Its seven pillars (PRAHAAR): Prevention; Response; Aggregating internal capacities; Human rights; Attenuating conditions for terrorism; Aligning international efforts; Recovery and resilience.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• PRAHAAR: national counter-terrorism policy and strategy, 23 February 2026; seven pillars; whole-of-society approach.
• Extradition Portal launched 28 September 2026; extradition law: Extradition Act, 1962.
• Trap: Bharatpol (January 2025) is the CBI’s portal for Interpol requests; the new portal is for extradition cases.

Livestock Insurance Goes Online

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying launched a Livestock Insurance Portal (rashtriyapashubima.dahd.gov.in) on 28 September 2026 for the livestock insurance activity of the National Livestock Mission (NLM). Launched by Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, it handles policy issue, premium, claims, beneficiary verification and real-time monitoring on one platform for farmers, States and insurers. More than 30 lakh animals have been insured this year, the department said.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

• Livestock insurance is an activity under the National Livestock Mission, run by the DAHD.
• DAHD is part of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, created in 2019.
• Trap: crop insurance is PMFBY (Agriculture Ministry); livestock insurance falls under the NLM.

Also in the News

UN adopts its first declaration on sea-level rise (24 September 2026). World leaders adopted by consensus, at a high-level meeting of the 81st UN General Assembly on 24 September 2026, the first UN Declaration on Sea Level Rise. It affirms a presumption in favour of continued statehood and UN membership for States whose land is lost to rising seas, and says maritime zones established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) can be maintained despite physical change to coastlines. The question arises because the Montevideo Convention (1933) defines a State by a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other States. The UN says global sea level rose almost 6 millimetres in 2024, and about 770 million people live less than five metres above the high-tide line. Low-lying States such as Tuvalu and Kiribati have long raised the question.

📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia

Prelims, statement-ready facts:

• Article 124(2): Supreme Court judges; Collegium of CJI plus four; sanctioned strength 38.
• Tenth Schedule, Para 6: Speaker decides defection; Meghachandra (2020): about three months.
• Section 11, Contract Act: minors cannot contract; DPDP Section 9: parental consent under 18.
• Three-language formula: Kothari Commission, NPE 1968, NEP 2020; NCF-SE 2023 requires two Indian languages.
• ICRW signed 1946; India in the IWC since 1981; IWC-70 at Hobart.
• DMF: Section 9B, MMDR Act; PMKKKY 2015.
• Drought is declared by the State under the 2016 Manual (updated 2020).
• J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019: UTs from 31 October 2019; statehood needs Parliament.
• UN Declaration on Sea Level Rise: 24 September 2026; presumption of continued statehood.

Prelims, the traps:

• The Constitution does not fix the number of Supreme Court judges; Parliament does.
• The DPDP Act defines a child as under 18.
• Dustlik is with Uzbekistan, Khanjar with Kyrgyzstan, KAZIND with Kazakhstan.
• Bharatpol is for Interpol requests; the Extradition Portal is new.

Mains, arguments and keywords:

• Judicial appointments and diversity; timelines for presiding officers; child safety online through contract and data law; language policy and federalism; accountability of mining funds; drought-proofing rabi.
• Keywords: Memorandum of Procedure, reasonable time, void ab initio, verifiable consent, R3, royalty trust, water budgeting, continued statehood.

Interview, be ready for:

• “Should the Supreme Court fix deadlines for Speakers?” Courts can set a reasonable-time standard and review delay, but the better fix is a statutory timeline, or an independent tribunal as the Court itself has suggested.

Sources: The Hindu, Collegium, The Indian Express, Collegium, The Hindu, West Bengal Speaker, LiveLaw, symbol dispute, The Hindu, social media and minors, The Hindu, CBSE languages, PIB, IWC-70, PIB, KAZIND, The Hindu, CAG on DMF, The Hindu, drought, The Indian Express, reservoirs, The Indian Express, J&K resolution, PIB, PRAHAAR, PIB, livestock insurance, UN News, sea-level rise

Source: Current Affairs Today, September 29, 2026, Complete News Roundup — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs