Daily Current Affairs · Last published 10 September 2026
UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 10 September 2026
The Cabinet clears eight railway multitracking projects worth Rs 20,804 crore, GRSE launches India's first advanced Ocean Research Vessel, and the Supreme Court sends SEBI's Vedanta buyback fraud case back for fresh hearing.
Cabinet approves eight railway multitracking projects worth Rs 20,804 crore across nine states
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved eight railway multitracking projects worth about Rs 20,804 crore on 9 September 2026, spanning 31 districts across nine states, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The projects will add roughly 1,196 km to the existing railway network and are targeted for completion by 2029-30. A southern cluster of five projects worth about Rs 10,021 crore covers 540 km across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana and is expected to add about 47 million tonnes per annum of freight carrying capacity, while a second cluster of three projects worth about Rs 10,783 crore covers 656 km across West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is expected to benefit around 56 lakh people across 4,790 villages.
GRSE launches India's first advanced Ocean Research Vessel, Sagar Manthan
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) launched India's first indigenously built advanced Ocean Research Vessel, ORV Sagar Manthan, at its Rishi Bankim Shipyard in Kolkata on 9 September 2026. The 89.5 metre, 5,900 tonne vessel is being built for the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, and will eventually replace the 43 year old ORV Sagar Kanya as India's advanced oceanographic research platform. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, who was chief guest at the launch, noted that the vessel was launched within two years of contract signing and about five months after its keel was laid. Once delivered by early 2028 at a cost of about Rs 840 crore, Sagar Manthan will be capable of underway multibeam and geophysical seismic surveys at depths of up to 6,000 metres in the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Southern Ocean.
India and Japan begin second edition of air combat exercise Veer Guardian at Jodhpur
The Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defence Force began the second edition of their bilateral air exercise, Veer Guardian-2026, at Air Force Station Jodhpur on 9 September 2026, running until 22 September. The Indian Air Force is fielding a mix of Tejas, Su-30 MKI and Rafale aircraft, while Japan has deployed three F-2A fighters from its 8th Air Wing at Tsuiki Air Base along with about 110 personnel, marking the first time Japanese fighter jets have operated from an Indian air base for a joint exercise. The fourteen day exercise, following the inaugural edition held in Japan in January 2023, aims to strengthen interoperability and deepen the India-Japan defence partnership.
Navy Chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan begins official visit to Australia and New Zealand
Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Chief of the Naval Staff, began an official visit to Australia and New Zealand on 9 September 2026 to strengthen the Indian Navy's bilateral cooperation with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy. The Australia leg builds on the Third India-Australia Annual Summit held in July 2026 and the Second India-Australia Defence Ministers' Dialogue held in June 2026, with discussions covering maritime capabilities, emerging technologies and professional military education. The New Zealand leg follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's July 2026 visit, during which India and New Zealand elevated their relationship to a Strategic Partnership, and comes in the backdrop of a recently concluded Maritime Cooperation Arrangement between the two countries' navies.
Supreme Court sends SEBI's Vedanta buyback fraud case back to SAT for fresh hearing
The Supreme Court on 9 September 2026 remanded to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) a dispute between the Securities and Exchange Board of India and Vedanta Limited over allegations that a Rs 5,725 crore Cairn India share buyback announcement was made without a genuine intention to complete it. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan held that release of the escrow amount deposited for the buyback does not, by itself, prevent SEBI from separately examining whether the company committed fraud under its Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Regulations. The Court flagged an apparent contradiction in SEBI's own investigation, a February 2016 report that found no material impact on the share price from the announcement, against a March 2017 report that treated the same conduct as fraud, and directed SAT to decide the fraud question afresh within six months, examining trading data and relevant officials as needed.
Final BRICS Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' meeting held in Mumbai ahead of the summit
The final BRICS Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' meeting under India's BRICS chairship was held in Mumbai on 9 and 10 September 2026, guided by the theme Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra took part in the deliberations, which followed an earlier round of the same Finance Track meeting held in Jaipur in August 2026. The Mumbai meeting comes just days ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, which India will host in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September 2026.