Daily Current Affairs · Last published 13 September 2026
UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 13 September 2026
BRICS leaders in New Delhi condemn the Pahalgam terror attack, back UNSC reform, and Modi holds his first bilateral talks with Xi Jinping.
BRICS Declaration condemns Pahalgam terror attack, backs zero tolerance on terrorism
The BRICS New Delhi Declaration, adopted unanimously on 12 September 2026, condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025, in which 26 people were killed and several others injured. The declaration expressed the grouping's commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms, called for zero tolerance and an end to double standards in counter terrorism, and flagged cross border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing and safe havens as specific concerns. It reiterated that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group, and pointed to the BRICS Counter Terrorism Working Group as the mechanism for coordinating cooperation among member states.
Modi and Xi hold first bilateral talks on Indian soil in seven years, commit to fair resolution of boundary question
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks in New Delhi on 12 September 2026 on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, their first meeting on Indian soil in seven years and their third consecutive annual meeting after Kazan in 2024 and Tianjin in 2025. The two leaders said differences should not become disputes and committed to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question, with Modi saying both sides must be guided by three mutuals of mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest. They also agreed to address structural trade imbalances and facilitate more predictable market access even as China's trade surplus with India has grown past 112 billion US dollars, and Modi thanked China for its support for India's BRICS chairship.
Modi tells BRICS Security Council reform can no longer wait, proposes troika to track summit follow up
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the BRICS Summit's closed session on 12 September 2026 that reform of the United Nations Security Council can no longer wait and that text based negotiations need a specific time period and clear outcomes, with China and Russia reiterating their support for India and Brazil to play a greater role at the UN. Modi also proposed a BRICS continuity and implementation mechanism built around a rotating troika of the current, previous and incoming chairs, along with a secure digital repository to track the implementation status of each decision, since BRICS itself has no permanent secretariat. He described the current model of global governance as a pyramid concentrating power at the top and called instead for a platform of partnership based on representation, responsiveness and rule making.
BRICS Declaration opposes unilateral tariffs and carbon border adjustment mechanisms
The BRICS New Delhi Declaration voiced serious concern over the rise of unilateral tariff and non tariff measures inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules, and separately opposed carbon border adjustment mechanisms such as the European Union's when applied in a unilateral, punitive, discriminatory or protectionist manner. Members converged on a BRICS Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters, with some countries ready to sign subject to completing domestic processes, and agreed to work towards an annual joint customs enforcement operation against smuggling. The declaration also encouraged the BRICS Payment Task Force to keep developing fast, low cost and transparent cross border payment solutions to expand trade settlement in local currencies, though the grouping again stopped short of proposing a common BRICS currency.
Delhi Declaration endorses Russia backed plan for BRICS Grain Exchange and farmer network AGRIN
The BRICS New Delhi Declaration backed continued work on a Russia championed BRICS Grain Exchange, a proposed digital platform first floated in 2023 to trade grain among member countries and eventually expand to other agricultural commodities, aiming to reduce reliance on grain trading platforms based in Europe and the United States. Leaders also agreed to establish the BRICS Agro Inputs, Genetic Resources and Information Network, a non binding and farmer centric platform for exchanging agricultural inputs and traditional knowledge, alongside a Global Forum on Farmers Rights in Seed Systems and a BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture. The declaration also flagged food security and acute food price volatility, including fertiliser shortages, as priority concerns and called for stronger national food reserve systems and climate adaptive seed systems.
BRICS backs peaceful use of space, reaffirms bid to prevent an arms race in outer space
The BRICS New Delhi Declaration reaffirmed support for the peaceful use of outer space and for preventing an arms race in outer space, referred to as PAROS, along with opposing the weaponisation of space and the use of force against space objects. Leaders welcomed progress on the BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation, a shared network of earth observation satellites, and on finalising amendments to let new BRICS space agencies join it, as well as on drafting terms of reference for a proposed BRICS Space Council. The declaration also referred to the 2014 Draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space submitted to the UN Conference on Disarmament, and backed non binding transparency and confidence building measures as a practical step toward an eventual legally binding PAROS instrument.
High Powered Task Force on public examination reforms invites public suggestions ahead of deadline
India's High Powered Task Force on reforms in public examinations, chaired by former UIDAI chief Nandan Nilekani and constituted after the widely criticised leak of the NEET UG 2026 undergraduate medical entrance exam paper, invited suggestions from students, parents, teachers and other stakeholders ahead of a deadline of 13 September 2026. The task force's terms of reference cover the conduct and security of public examinations, examination design and assessment methodology, governance and institutional accountability, and the prevention, detection and redressal of examination malpractice. Its constitution follows the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, introduced in Parliament's Monsoon Session to strengthen the parent 2024 Act.