Defence Exams (NDA, CDS, CAPF) Current Affairs – September 2026

National

5 one-liners

5 National — 9 Sept – 26 Sept.

• The Indian Air Force held the first flight test of the indigenous long-range glide bomb Pragatak-243 at Pokhran from a Su-30MKI; it can strike from 144 to 180 km when released from about 12 km height, and was developed by Nagpur start-up Kraft Dynamics with BEL.
• The Army's Konark Corps held the combined-arms exercise Rudra Raptors in the Jaisalmer desert, practising coordination between Apache helicopters in the air and tank fleets on the ground.
• 9 Sept — In Veer Guardian-2026 India flew the Tejas (LCA), Su-30MKI and Rafale, and Japan's Air Self-Defense Force flew the F-2A; the aim is better coordination, joint operations and a free, open, rules-based Indo-Pacific.
• 14 Sept — The IAF's first Dronethon-2026 was held on 14-16 September 2026 at the Pokhran Field Firing Range, with 20+ defence firms, start-ups and PSUs showing unmanned (UAS) and counter-drone (CUAS) systems and an air traffic management system.
• 26 Sept — The Indian Air Force began Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026 at Air Force Station Jodhpur. It is the second edition of this multinational air exercise and it runs till 12 October, with about 32 countries attending as observers.

International

2 one-liners

2 International — Defence Exams (NDA, CDS, CAPF) Current Affairs – September 2026.

• Pakistan and China activated a joint border commission in September 2026, with its first meeting in Islamabad; it rests on their 2013 border management agreement, and India rejected it, saying Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India.
• The IAEA Board formally referred Iran's case to the UN Security Council, the first such step in 20 years, over poor cooperation with nuclear inspectors and unexplained man-made uranium traces at undeclared sites.

Economy & Banking

1 one-liners

1 Economy & Banking — 30 Sept.

• 30 Sept — Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal attended the G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting at Milwaukee, USA (30 September to 1 October) under the US presidency and stressed food security and the protection of farmers.

Science & Technology

2 one-liners

2 Science & Technology — Defence Exams (NDA, CDS, CAPF) Current Affairs – September 2026.

• The long-range one-way attack drone KAL, made by the Noida firm IG Defence, was flight-tested at the Pokhran Field Firing Range. Its reported range is up to 1,000 km and endurance 7-8 hours.
• DRDO signed its first high-value deep-tech agreement under its Technology Development Fund with Zero mK India, a start-up from Alwar, to build a 20 mK dilution refrigerator for quantum technology.

Defence & Security

13 one-liners

13 Defence & Security — 21 Sept – 28 Sept.

• R&AW works under the Cabinet Secretariat and reports directly to the Prime Minister's Office; it watches neighbouring countries, collects foreign intelligence and supports national security and foreign policy.
• India's defence exports touched a record ₹38,424 crore in 2025-26, helped by home-made products such as BrahMos, Tejas (LCA) and artillery systems.
• The Defence Minister released the RAKSHA document, a 10-year roadmap for India's defence diplomacy that is linked to the "Defence Forces Vision 2047".
• INS Samarthak is the Navy's first indigenous multi-purpose vessel, built by Larsen & Toubro at Kattupalli shipyard near Chennai with over 75% indigenous content; it can be used for weapon trials, sea surveillance and disaster relief.
• The Home Ministry's Smart Border Architecture will use AI, sensors and cameras for integrated surveillance where fencing is not possible, such as the 3,488 km undemarcated border with China.
• The first pilot of the Smart Border Architecture will be on the Pakistan border, mainly to stop drones used for infiltration and smuggling.
• The Chaturbhuj Security Grid will link border forces, local police, local people and technology across 119 border districts of 17 states and Union Territories, and is to be ready in about 1.5 years.
• India signed a government-to-government deal worth ₹292 crore with the USA, through its Foreign Military Sales route, to buy about 60 Javelin anti-tank guided missiles for the Army.
• Javelin is a shoulder-fired, "fire-and-forget" missile, so the soldier can move at once after firing; it is made by the Javelin Joint Venture of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, and fills a gap in anti-tank and bunker-busting capability seen after Operation Sindoor.
• 21 Sept — India's foreign intelligence agency R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing) completed 58 years on 21 September 2026; it was set up in 1968 under Indira Gandhi after the 1962 China war, with R. N. Kao as first chief.
• 23 Sept — The Defence Ministry signed a Rs 810.79 crore contract with Bharat Dynamics Limited for 160 SAT-SAAW glide bombs for the Indian Air Force. The weapon has about 60% indigenous content and deliveries are due in 2027-28 and 2028-29.
• 26 Sept — The Indian Air Force began Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026, its second multinational air exercise, at Air Force Station Jodhpur (26 September to 12 October). Several foreign air forces, including those of the USA and France, flew in it and about 32 countries attended as observers.
• 28 Sept — The 9th India-Kazakhstan joint military exercise, KAZIND-2026, began at Oskemen, Kazakhstan and runs till 11 October. It focuses on joint counter-terrorism operations in semi-urban and mountain terrain.

Environment & Ecology

2 one-liners

2 Environment & Ecology — Defence Exams (NDA, CDS, CAPF) Current Affairs – September 2026.

• A large avalanche on the Nepal-Tibet border created new landslide-dammed lakes in the Bhote Koshi-Trishuli river system, raising the risk of a glacial lake outburst flood and hampering rescue on the Gyirong-Rasuwagadhi corridor.
• The World Meteorological Organization warned that the current El Nino could become very strong by early 2027, which may affect India's monsoon, farming and food security.

Summits, Agreements & Exercises

3 one-liners

3 Summits, Agreements & Exercises — 17 Sept.

• At the UN General Assembly session in New York, India co-chaired the first Partners for Multilateralism (P4M) Summit and the first V4+India foreign ministers' meeting. The Visegrad Group backed India's claim for a permanent UN Security Council seat.
• India and ESA (European Space Agency) extended their cooperation agreement by five years, till 8 January 2032, through letters exchanged in Paris by ISRO chief V. Narayanan and ESA's Josef Aschbacher.
• 17 Sept — SLINEX-26, the 13th India-Sri Lanka naval exercise, was held on 17-21 September 2026 at Visakhapatnam under the Eastern Naval Command; it was first conceived in 2005.

Obituaries

1 one-liners

1 Obituaries — Defence Exams (NDA, CDS, CAPF) Current Affairs – September 2026.

• IAF fighter pilot Flt Lt Alfred Tyrone Cooke (retd.), a Vir Chakra awardee of the 1965 war, died in New Delhi at the age of 87. He shot down a Pakistani F-86 Sabre.

International

14 one-liners

14 International — 25 Sept – 29 Sept.

• India has been named first among 41 markets in the Global Business Climate Survey 2026 by Business Sweden and partners. Ireland ranked second and Vietnam third.
• The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted its first declaration on rising sea levels. It says that small island states and low-lying countries keep their statehood and maritime zones even if their land is submerged.
• India also refuses to accept the 1963 Pakistan-China agreement under which Pakistan gave the Shaksgam Valley (about 5,180 sq km) to China.
• India treats Aksai Chin as part of Ladakh while China calls it part of Xinjiang; the same dispute explains India's objection to CPEC, since a part of it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
• The Court of Arbitration at The Hague said India's "suspension" of the Indus Waters Treaty after the April 2025 Pahalgam attack was not justified, adding that the treaty covers only water sharing, not terrorism; India rejected the court's jurisdiction as illegally formed.
• The hydropower projects Kishanganga (330 MW, Jhelum tributary) and Ratle (850 MW, Chenab) lie at the root of the Indus water dispute; some construction work at Ratle is under an interim stay.
• The IAEA Board vote was 23 in favour, 3 against (Russia, China and Niger) and 8 abstentions.
• Iran is estimated to hold about 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to 60%, which is only one technical step from weapons-grade 90%.
• Russia and China hold veto power in the UNSC, so punishment of Iran is unlikely; the referral mainly opens the way to global pressure and sanctions. The background is the 2015 JCPOA, which the USA left in 2018.
• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced "Operation Economic Outcast" to cut Iran's remaining economic and financial links and to pressure countries and companies that trade with it.
• The US President ordered Lake Ontario to be renamed "Lake America"; Canada protested, as the lake lies between Ontario (Canada) and New York (USA), is the smallest and easternmost Great Lake, and has a Wendat-linked name over 400 years old.
• Anak Krakatau, an active volcano in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra (Indonesia), erupted, and its ash disrupted flights at several airports.
• 25 Sept — The WEF Travel and Tourism Development Index 2026 ranked Japan first among 110 economies. India climbed to 31st place with a score of 4.42.
• 29 Sept — King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri of the PAM party as Morocco's first woman Prime Minister, after the 23 September elections in which PAM won 97 of 395 seats.

Summits, Agreements & Exercises

7 one-liners

7 Summits, Agreements & Exercises — 12 Sept – 17 Sept.

• NTPC and France's EDF Power Solutions signed a 50:50 joint venture to build low-carbon projects such as pumped storage, hydro and renewable energy in India and neighbouring countries.
• The name BRIC was coined by economist Jim O'Neill in 2001; the first summit was in 2009 in Russia, South Africa joined in 2010 (making BRICS), Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in 2024, and Indonesia in 2025.
• The SCO named Lahore (Pakistan) its Tourism and Cultural Capital for 2026-27, decided at the 26th Council of Heads of State summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; it coincides with Pakistan's SCO chairship in 2026-27.
• Earlier SCO tourism and cultural capitals were Varanasi (2022-23), Almaty (2023-24), Qingdao (2024-25) and Cholpon-Ata (2025-26); Lahore is known for Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• 12 Sept — The 18th BRICS Summit was held on 12-13 September 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, under India's chairship, on the 20th anniversary of BRICS.
• 12 Sept — The summit adopted the New Delhi Declaration 2026, stressing a bigger role for developing countries in global governance, economic and financial cooperation, technology innovation and sustainable development; India's theme was "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability".
• 17 Sept — In SLINEX-26 India sent INS Kavaratti and INS Jyoti and Sri Lanka sent SLNS Sindurala; it had a harbour phase (professional and cultural activities) and a sea phase (maritime coordination).

Science & Technology

16 one-liners

16 Science & Technology — 25 Sept – 28 Sept.

• To protect children's privacy and dignity, the Education Department banned entry of outsiders, photography, videography and interviews in government schools without permission, citing Article 21 and the "in loco parentis" principle.
• The NSTFDC and HPCL signed an agreement to build smart classrooms and computer labs in 29 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) in 11 Rajasthan districts at a cost of ₹16.01 crore, to be completed within six months.
• The 11 districts are Alwar, Banswara, Baran, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Karauli, Pratapgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Sirohi, Tonk and Udaipur.
• Each EMRS will get 4 smart classrooms with 86-inch interactive panels, a fully networked computer lab and 10 tablets for competitive exam preparation, benefiting over 10,000 Scheduled Tribe students every year with equal participation of girls.
• Four cheetah cubs were born to cheetah KGP12 at Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, taking India's cheetah count to 56 as Project Cheetah completed four years.
• EOS-05 is India's first Earth-observation satellite placed in geostationary orbit, about 36,000 km above the ground, so it can watch the same area round the clock; it is nicknamed the "Eye in the Sky".
• EOS-05 weighs 2,367 kg, the heaviest payload ever put into orbit by a GSLV rocket; it flew on the 19th GSLV mission.
• Continuous watching from geostationary orbit helps track fast-changing disasters such as floods and cyclones, unlike low-orbit satellites that need hours or days to pass over the same place again.
• A study found that India's space launch cost is about $13,302 per kg (2025 estimate), far above the global average of $3,868; Europe is $9,897, Russia $6,682, China $5,809, Japan $5,287 and the USA $3,225.
• Launch costs are high in India mainly because small launch vehicles are used often, which spreads fixed costs over little payload, and because launches are few: only five in 2025 against a target of 30.
• About 400 space start-ups have appeared since the private sector was opened in 2020; in July 2026 Skyroot Aerospace launched the country's first privately built orbital rocket.
• India's first Green Forge complex started at the National Agri-Food and Biomanufacturing Institute, Mohali; it is a simulation facility for agri-biotech and GM crop research with tightly controlled light, humidity and temperature.
• India's first indigenous non-GMO high-expansion popcorn maize varieties, Krishna 459 and Godavari 234, were developed in Eluru district, Andhra Pradesh, by ICAR-IIMR with Gourmet Popcornica using conventional breeding.
• 25 Sept — Serum Institute of India's quadrivalent HPV vaccine CERVAVAC became India's first WHO-prequalified indigenous HPV vaccine, effective 25 September 2026. This makes it eligible for purchase by UN agencies.
• 26 Sept — Researchers at IIT Jodhpur are documenting the Bhil language and the traditional knowledge of Bhil communities of the Osian region, such as methods of building houses and saving water in the Thar Desert.
• 28 Sept — India demonstrated its first 5.56 km free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) link between BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar, with QNu Labs. Error rates stayed below 5%.

Environment & Ecology

19 one-liners

19 Environment & Ecology — 28 Sept.

• The Jojri is a seasonal river that starts at Pandalu village in Nagaur, flows through the middle of Jodhpur city and joins the Luni near Balotra; it is the only tributary that meets the Luni from its right bank.
• The Supreme Court had earlier also taken up the pollution of the Jojri, Bandi and Luni rivers.
• Degrai Mata Oran in Jaisalmer is a sacred grassland of about 10,000 hectares in the heart of the Thar, protected by villagers themselves; it shelters the endangered Great Indian Bustard (Godawan) and the Asiatic caracal.
• Bhati organised communities of about 20 villages to protect the grasslands and help natural regrowth, which brought back native grasses such as sewan and dhaman, important fodder for livestock.
• Scientists reported a new plant species, Begonia neelamorum, from Arunachal Pradesh. It is named after the Neelam clan of the Nyishi community. Northeast India now has 54 Begonia species.
• At the FAO Committee on Forestry in Rome (COFO 28), India reported 82.74 million hectares of forest and tree cover, which is 25.17% of its land area.
• The world has about 23 vulture species and India has 9, including the White-rumped, Indian, Slender-billed and Himalayan Griffon vultures.
• Vulture numbers crashed because of the veterinary painkiller diclofenac, which India banned in 2006; in some areas the population had already fallen by up to 97%.
• Near Sudhowala, Dehradun (Uttarakhand), a cattle-carcass disposal site was moved away from high-voltage power lines, which lowers the risk of vultures dying from electric shock.
• Vultures are called "nature's cleaners" because by eating dead animals they stop diseases such as anthrax and botulism from spreading.
• Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary near Jamnagar, Gujarat (a Ramsar site since February 2022), was found to be an important breeding site of the Black-necked Stork; a study counted a peak seasonal population of 21 birds.
• The Kerala State Wetland Authority began a one-month pilot using robotic technology at Kumarakom to stop the spread of water hyacinth, an invasive plant from South America, in the Ramsar site Vembanad Lake.
• A study valued the Pichavaram mangrove forest in Tamil Nadu at ₹2,485.38 crore in total (about ₹1.83 crore per hectare); mangroves protect coasts from cyclones and absorb carbon.
• Mangrove soil stores far more carbon than the plants above it, 251.14 tonnes per hectare against 79.45 tonnes, so protecting mangrove soil matters as much as protecting the trees.
• A 2026 study found 219 hanging glaciers in the Alaknanda basin of the Garhwal Himalaya; rising temperatures make them unstable and raise the risk of avalanches and floods.
• The Montreal Protocol (1987) bans ozone-depleting chemicals such as CFCs and HCFCs; India joined in 1992, and about 99% of ozone-depleting substances have been phased out worldwide.
• The Kigali Amendment (2016) cuts HFC gases, which do not harm ozone but warm the climate; India ratified it in 2021 and aims to cut HFCs by 85% from the baseline by 2047.
• Nameri Tiger Reserve received CA|TS Approved status in September 2026, so all four of Assam's tiger reserves (Kaziranga, Manas, Orang and Nameri) now hold the global Conservation Assured Tiger Standards tag.
• 28 Sept — At the 70th International Whaling Commission meeting in Hobart, Australia (28 September to 2 October), India reaffirmed its commitment to whale and cetacean conservation. India has been an IWC member since 1981.

Sports

5 one-liners

5 Sports — 27 Sept – 30 Sept.

• Jaipur's Anantjeet Singh Naruka won two bronze medals in skeet shooting (men's team and mixed team) at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
• Bodhana Sivanandan, an Indian-origin British player, became the youngest Woman Grandmaster at the age of 11 after earning her third norm at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.
• 27 Sept — India won silver in the Open section and bronze in the Women's section at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan took Open gold and China won the Women's gold.
• 29 Sept — Shooter Neeru Dhanda won gold in women's trap at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. She is the first Indian woman to win the individual trap gold at the Games, with a new Asian record score of 28 in the final.
• 30 Sept — Shubman Gill hit an unbeaten 223 off 133 balls, the fastest ODI double century (200 in 117 balls), as India chased down 406 to beat West Indies by 8 wickets in the 2nd ODI at Guwahati.

Awards & Honours

9 one-liners

9 Awards & Honours — 5 Sept – 26 Sept.

Appointments

7 one-liners

7 Appointments — 1 Sept – 25 Sept.

Important Days

6 one-liners

6 Important Days — 16 Sept – 24 Sept.

• Before this, Justice Agrawal served in the Chhattisgarh High Court as a judge and earlier as Advocate General; he became an additional judge in September 2013 and a permanent judge in March 2016.
• Bhati led an 85-day, roughly 700 km "Oran Bachao Padyatra" from the Tanot Mata Temple in Jaisalmer to Jaipur.
• International Vulture Awareness Day is observed on the first Saturday of September every year.
• 16 Sept — World Ozone Day is observed on 16 September to remember the Montreal Protocol, the world's most successful environmental treaty.
• 23 Sept — The 11th National Ayurveda Day was observed on 23 September 2026 with the theme "Ayurveda for a Healthier Tomorrow". The main national event of the Ministry of AYUSH was held in Nagpur.
• 24 Sept — World Maritime Day was observed on 24 September 2026 with the theme "From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence". The International Maritime Organization leads the observance.