Daily Current Affairs · Last published 2 September 2026
UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 2 September 2026
India's economy grows 7.8 percent in the June quarter, GST collections rise sharply, and the Supreme Court quashes FIRs against NEET protesters.
India's GDP grows 7.8% in April to June quarter of 2026-27
Government data released on 31 August 2026 showed India's real GDP grew 7.8 percent in the April to June quarter of 2026-27, up from 6.9 percent in the same quarter last year and above the Reserve Bank of India's own projection of 7 percent. Real GDP at constant prices was estimated at Rs 81.36 lakh crore, against Rs 75.46 lakh crore a year earlier, while nominal GDP rose 10.3 percent to Rs 88.27 lakh crore. Services grew 10 percent and gross capital formation rose 11.9 percent, with manufacturing up 9.2 percent, even as the economy absorbed the effects of the West Asia crisis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the growth as a collective national achievement.
Gross GST collections rise 14.8% to nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in August
Government data released on 1 September 2026 showed India's gross GST collections rose 14.8 percent year on year to nearly Rs 1.99 lakh crore in August, lower than the Rs 2.11 lakh crore collected in July. Net GST revenue grew a more modest 8.3 percent to Rs 1.68 lakh crore, as refunds jumped nearly 68 percent to Rs 31,795 crore compared with the same month last year. Domestic transactions contributed about Rs 1.37 lakh crore of gross revenue, up 9.3 percent, while GST collected on imports rose 29 percent to Rs 62,604 crore. Cumulative gross GST collections for April to August of 2026-27 stood at Rs 10.43 lakh crore, up 11 percent over the same period last year.
Nepal flood death toll crosses 1,000 as Indian tunnel rescue team pushes into flooded hydropower sites
Nepali authorities said on 1 September 2026 that the death toll from the flash floods triggered by a glacial collapse in the Himalayas on 26 August had crossed 1,000, with around 3,916 people still listed as missing, including 583 foreign nationals from 38 countries. India's Ministry of External Affairs said an Indian Army tunnel rescue team, working alongside Nepal's army and a Chinese team, continued to push into flooded tunnels at hydropower project sites on the Bhote Koshi river where workers remain trapped, despite marshy tunnel floors and restricted access for heavy equipment. India said 163 of its nationals had been rescued as of the evening of 1 September, and it has also sent relief material and a forensic team to help Nepali authorities with DNA identification of the deceased.
Supreme Court invokes Article 142 to quash FIRs against NEET UG protesters
A Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana invoked Article 142 of the Constitution on 1 September 2026 to quash FIRs registered against protesters who took part in nationwide agitations over the NEET UG 2026 paper leak between 20 and 25 July. The bench excluded 2,873 individuals with prior criminal antecedents from this relief, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured the court that no fresh FIRs would be registered over the same protests. The Centre also told the court that a policy for compensating families of students who died by suicide linked to the NEET 2026 controversy was being finalised within three months. Following the order, the Cockroach Janata Party called off a protest march it had planned for 5 September.
Delhi's SIR draft electoral roll excludes 47.7 lakh of 1.45 crore registered voters
The Election Commission published Delhi's draft electoral roll under the Special Intensive Revision on 31 August 2026, excluding around 47.7 lakh of the capital's roughly 1.45 crore registered voters. The excluded electors were classified under categories such as absent, shifted, dead, duplicate and others after a door to door enumeration exercise conducted between 30 June and 17 August, in which forms were digitised for about two thirds of the electorate. Around 34 percent of the enumeration forms received are flagged for further scrutiny over anomalies such as mismatches with the 2002 intensive revision roll or inconsistencies in age or family details. Affected voters can file claims for inclusion until 30 September, with the final electoral roll due for publication on 4 November 2026.
C-DOT unveils 14 indigenous quantum products at its 43rd Foundation Day
The Centre for Development of Telematics unveiled a series of 14 indigenous quantum products at its 43rd Foundation Day celebrations in New Delhi on 31 August 2026. The products span Quantum Key Distribution hardware, Post Quantum Cryptography encryptors, and specialised sub-components and endpoint devices for telecom, enterprise and defence applications. Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Minister of State Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani addressed the event, describing the products as part of a quantum safe transition for India's communication networks ahead of future 6G architectures, and Scindia called on C-DOT to move from research into international commercial marketing of these products.