Daily Current Affairs · Last published 3 September 2026
UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 3 September 2026
Delhi's Cabinet clears an Ease of Doing Business Bill, the IAF trials an indigenous glide bomb, and Karnataka's reservation reversion cuts SC/ST medical seats.
Delhi Cabinet passes Ease of Doing Business Bill, 2026
The Delhi Cabinet approved the Delhi Ease of Doing Business Bill, 2026, on 2 September 2026, aiming to make regulatory approvals for enterprises in the capital simpler, faster and less costly. The Bill creates a single window online system, with the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation as the nodal agency, through which businesses can apply for approvals, registrations, licences and no objection certificates instead of visiting multiple offices. For low risk activities listed in Schedule 3 of the Bill, approvals will be granted instantly on self declaration, and registered enterprises will get relief from routine inspections for three years unless a serious complaint is received. The Bill will now be sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for approval, since Delhi is a Union Territory with a legislature.
IAF successfully trials indigenous Long Range Glide Bomb Khagantak-243
The Indian Air Force successfully conducted the drop trial of an indigenously designed and developed Long Range Glide Bomb, Khagantak-243, on 2 September 2026. Long range glide bombs allow combat aircraft to strike targets from stand off distances while staying outside the range of many enemy air defence systems, increasing the safety of the launching aircraft. The IAF said the trial met all its objectives and called it a significant milestone for the Air Force and Indian industry under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The development is part of a sustained push by the government and armed forces to reduce dependence on imported precision strike weapons.
SC/ST quota medical seats in Karnataka decline after reservation matrix reset
Karnataka has reverted to its earlier reservation quantum of 15 percent for Scheduled Castes and 3 percent for Scheduled Tribes from the 2026-27 academic year, after the state's 2022 hike to 17 percent and 7 percent, based on the H N Nagamohan Das Commission's population based recommendations, came under challenge in the Karnataka High Court over related recruitment cases. As a result, SC reserved medical seats have fallen from 953 to 906 and ST reserved seats from 392 to 182, out of a total of 6,045 government medical seats for 2026-27, up from 5,609 the previous year. State minister T Raghumurthy said the government is awaiting the High Court's ruling and has asked the Centre to place the enhanced reservation under the Ninth Schedule for constitutional protection. The 2022 hike had taken Karnataka's overall reservation to 56 percent, breaching the Supreme Court's 50 percent cap.
FM Sitharaman meets Russian counterpart Siluanov, discusses SCO Development Bank
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met her Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Asheville, the United States, on 31 August 2026. The two discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation and the establishment of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Development Bank, besides exploring ways to strengthen the New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as multilateral development institutions. The Finance Ministry said the meeting also covered regional and global economic developments and issues of shared interest in the multilateral sphere. Mr Siluanov's presence marked the first in person participation of a Russian finance minister at a G20 meeting hosted in the United States since Russia joined only by video link in April 2022.
Will consider Bihar's concerns before Ganga treaty renewal, says Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar wrote to Janata Dal United MP Sanjay Jha assuring him that Bihar's interests would be factored in before any decision on renewing the 1996 India-Bangladesh Ganga Water Treaty, which is set to expire on 31 December 2026. Mr Jha, a former Bihar Water Resources Minister, had argued that the treaty had negatively impacted the state's water availability for drinking, irrigation and industry over three decades and had called on the government to let it lapse. Mr Jaishankar said inter-ministerial consultations involving Bihar's representatives had already been held under the Jal Shakti Ministry and that the government would take an appropriate decision keeping these factors in focus. Renewal of the treaty is one of the major items on the India-Bangladesh diplomatic calendar this year, though top level political contact between the two countries has been limited recently.
India Post Payments Bank marks 9th Foundation Day, launches DakPay Sound Box
India Post Payments Bank marked its ninth Foundation Day on 1 September 2026 by launching the DakPay Sound Box, an audio confirmation device that lets merchants verify digital payments as they are received. The bank also introduced a Digital Insurance Technology Platform connecting customers to life, health and general insurance products, and a Digital Mutual Fund Platform for making investments digitally. IPPB, set up as a payments bank under the Department of Posts and launched on 1 September 2018, said it now serves about 13.25 crore customers across India, of whom 77 percent are in rural areas and 49 percent are women. The launches extend the postal network's role in delivering banking, insurance and investment services to underserved areas.
SEBI's modified nomination framework for demat accounts and MF folios takes effect
A modified nomination framework from the Securities and Exchange Board of India, notified through a circular dated 29 May 2026, took effect on 1 September 2026. From this date, every new single holder demat account or mutual fund folio must carry either a nominee or a signed declaration opting out of nomination, while joint holdings remain exempt from the requirement. SEBI said the framework is intended to ease the transmission of investments to legal heirs and reduce the pool of unclaimed financial assets sitting in the securities market. The requirement applies to newly opened single holder accounts and folios rather than retrospectively freezing existing ones without a nominee.
Ahmedabad becomes third spoke airport under India's international Hub and Spoke framework
The Ministry of Civil Aviation launched international hub and spoke flight operations from Ahmedabad on 1 September 2026, making it the third spoke airport after Varanasi and Amritsar under the framework that designates Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport as India's primary international hub. Under the arrangement, passengers travelling internationally from Ahmedabad complete check in, immigration and customs procedures at the spoke airport itself, with baggage transferred through so they do not need to clear immigration again at the Delhi hub. The government has cited Ahmedabad's role as a host city for the 2030 Commonwealth Games as one reason for prioritising it. The framework aims to make India a preferred hub for Indian travellers by 2030 and a leading global aviation hub by 2047, with the next phase expected to extend hub and spoke connectivity to 22 more airports including Surat.
Retired Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra named first CEO of Ram Temple Trust
Retired Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra was appointed as the first full time Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in Ayodhya on 2 September 2026. He was selected from a shortlist of three candidates drawn from over 5,500 applications by a high powered search committee. Air Marshal Mishra retired on 30 April 2026 after serving as Air Officer Commanding in Chief of the Indian Air Force's Western Air Command, and was in charge of the command during Operation Sindoor in May 2025. Alongside his appointment, the trust also named Govind Dev Giri as general secretary and Mahesh Bhagchandka as treasurer, as part of an administrative restructuring at the trust.