Current Affairs Questions with Answers

Moody’s Ratings has raised its projection for India’s real GDP growth for the 2026-27 fiscal year from 6% to 7%, while GDP growth stood at 7.8% during the April-June 2026 period. Amidst risks of inflation driven by the West Asia crisis, rising oil prices, and El Niño, the government faces the challenge of balancing growth, subsidies, capital expenditure, and fiscal consolidation.

India's major medal-winning sports at the Asian Games include athletics, shooting, wrestling, kabaddi, and tennis, with athletics accounting for the highest tally of 283 medals. Up to the Hangzhou 2022 Games, the tally includes 11 gold medals out of 13 total medals in kabaddi and a total of 34 medals in tennis. India will place special emphasis on these games—Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

India has selected shooter Manu Bhaker and shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor as flag-bearers for the opening ceremony of the 2026 Asian Games. The Asian Games will be held in Nagoya, Japan; Bhaker is a double medalist from the Paris Olympics 2024, while Toor is a two-time consecutive Asian Games gold medalist in shot put.

The ICC has elected Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the Chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, as the new Deputy Chairman until November 2027, making him the first ICC Deputy Chairman of Zimbabwean origin. This appointment comes ahead of the 2027 Men's Cricket World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

On September 16, 2026, the US Federal Reserve's FOMC raised the Federal Funds Rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%–4.00%, aiming to bring inflation closer to the long-term target of 2%. The Fed's rate hike could impact foreign capital inflows, the rupee's exchange rate, and financial markets in India, although the RBI determines its monetary policy independently based on domestic economic conditions.

19 Indian institutions were included in the QS Global Full-Time MBA Ranking 2027, with IIM Bangalore ranking 64th, IIM Ahmedabad ranking joint 70th, and IIM Calcutta ranking 95th. Key criteria in the QS rankings include Employability, Value for Money, Alumni Outcomes, Thought Leadership, and Diversity, with Employability carrying a 40% weightage; MIT Sloan ranked first globally.

In the 'Free to Think 2026' report by Scholars at Risk (SAR), India has been placed in the "Highly Restricted" category; the report documents 382 attacks on higher education communities across 59 countries. The report assesses dimensions such as research and teaching, academic expression, institutional autonomy, campus integrity, and the dissemination of knowledge under the Academic Freedom Index.

In the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2026, India ranked 131st out of 145 economies, with a Gender Parity Score of 64.5%. India's education score stood at 96.6% and the health and survival score at 95.6%, while economic participation was 41.2% and political empowerment was 24.5%.

On September 17, 2026, the board of Tata Sons reappointed N. Chandrasekaran as Executive Chairman for the next five years, even though his current term was due to end in February 2027. While Noel Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts, opposed this move, the RBI's rejection of the demand to cancel Tata Sons' NBFC registration brought the issues of the company's potential listing and corporate governance into sharp focus.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Michael Kremer has been appointed as the Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics at the World Bank Group; his tenure is effective from October 1, 2026. Kremer is known for his work on evidence-based development and the use of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) in areas such as global poverty alleviation, education, health, and agriculture; he received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2019.

Indian-origin computer scientist Sethuraman Panchanathan has been honored with the US National Academy of Engineering's 2026 Arthur M. Bueche Award. In addition to his contributions to computer science, machine learning, and human-centered computing, he has served as the 15th Director of the NSF.

On September 17, 2026, Abhishek Sharma set the record for the fastest T20I century in Indian men's cricket by scoring a century off 30 balls in the third T20I against Afghanistan. He scored 108 runs off 34 balls, and India won the series 3-0.

World Bamboo Day is celebrated annually on September 18; the World Bamboo Organization (WBO) announced it on September 18, 2009, at the 8th World Bamboo Congress held in Bangkok. Bamboo is a fast-growing perennial grass that plays a crucial role in soil conservation, land restoration, and carbon sequestration; in India, its cultivation and processing are being promoted through the National Bamboo Mission.

The Government of Karnataka has decided to observe September 15 as the official 'Engineers' Day' and to permit engineers to use the prefix 'Er.' before their names; this day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya. As the Diwan of Mysore (1912–1918), Visvesvaraya made significant contributions to irrigation, flood control, and industrial development, and was associated with the KRS Dam; he was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1955.

Dr. Sanjukta Parashar, a 2006-batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has been appointed as the Inspector General of the CoBRA unit of the CRPF, making her the first female IPS officer to lead CoBRA. CoBRA is the specialized commando unit of the CRPF, trained for jungle warfare and counter-insurgency operations, with 10 of its battalions deployed in Naxal-affected and other challenging regions.

The Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana completed one year on September 17, 2024 (launched on September 17, 2023); under this scheme, 30 lakh artisans have been registered, 24.50 lakh have received skill training, and 18.15 lakh have been provided with modern toolkits. Loans worth ₹5,297 crore have been disbursed to 6.18 lakh beneficiaries under the scheme; this includes an initial loan of up to ₹1 lakh at a concessional annual interest rate of 5%, along with the provision of certificates, incentives for digital transactions, and marketing support.

The Union Cabinet approved raising the monthly wage limit for mandatory social security coverage under the EPFO ​​from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000, a move expected to benefit over 51 lakh additional workers. The estimated annual financial requirement for this change is ₹11,339 crore, with a total expenditure of ₹56,696 crore over five years; the key schemes under the EPFO ​​are EPF, EPS, and EDLI.

Veteran actor Anant Nag will be conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2024 in recognition of his contributions to Indian cinema spanning over five decades. This honor will be presented on September 22, 2026, at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony in Ekta Nagar (Kevadia), Gujarat. A prominent actor in Kannada cinema, Anant Nag has also contributed to theatre, parallel cinema, and television; the Dadasaheb Phalke Award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus), a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh.

Dr. Vasundhara Doraswamy will be honored with the Padma Bhushan Guru Dr. Saroja Vaidyanathan Excellence Award 2026 for her contributions to Bharatanatyam spanning over five decades. She has conducted research on the connection between Bharatanatyam and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and has choreographed productions such as ‘Panchali’, ‘Ganga Lahari’, and ‘Sama Veda’.

Zimbabwe's wicketkeeper-batsman Brendan Taylor set the record for the longest career in men's ODI cricket—spanning 22 years and 148 days—by playing an ODI against Australia on September 15, 2026, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's record of 22 years and 91 days. Taylor made his ODI debut in 2004 and returned to international cricket in 2025 following an ICC ban in 2022; Tendulkar's records of 18,426 runs and 463 matches remain intact.