Daily Current Affairs · Last published 18 September 2026
UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 18 September 2026
PM Modi inaugurates SEMICON India 2026 as India retains its 131st rank in the WEF Global Gender Gap Index 2026.
PM Modi inaugurates SEMICON India 2026 at Yashobhoomi, over 600 companies from 52 countries take part
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the fifth edition of SEMICON India 2026 on 17 September 2026 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, jointly organised by the India Semiconductor Mission, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the global industry association SEMI. The three day conference and exhibition, running until 19 September under the theme Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem, brought together more than 600 companies, nearly 300 of them international, from 52 countries across 15,000 square metres of exhibition space. In his address, the Prime Minister said the world is looking for new and trusted manufacturing destinations and that India is steadily preparing itself to meet this need. As of September 2026, India had approved 12 semiconductor fabrication and packaging units with a cumulative investment of more than Rs 1.64 lakh crore.
PM Vishwakarma scheme completes three years, hits 30 lakh artisan registration target
The PM Vishwakarma scheme completed three years on 17 September 2026 and has achieved its registration target of 30 lakh beneficiaries among traditional artisans and craftspeople across 18 trades. The Central Sector Scheme, with an outlay of Rs 13,000 crore for 2023-24 to 2027-28, is built around three pillars, Samman, Samarthya and Samriddhi, offering recognition, skill upgradation, toolkit incentives, collateral free credit and digital transaction incentives. Within the three years, more than 24.37 lakh artisans have received basic skill training, over 18.16 lakh have been given toolkits, and more than 6.19 lakh collateral free loans worth about Rs 5,316 crore have been sanctioned to help beneficiaries buy inputs and upgrade tools.
India retains 131st rank in World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index 2026
India retained its 131st position among 145 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index 2026, with its overall gender parity score standing at 64.5 percent, below the global average of 69.2 percent. Iceland topped the index, followed by Finland and Norway. India's gender parity score has risen by 4.3 percentage points since 2006, a gain the report attributes mainly to progress in educational attainment, even as women remain underrepresented in roles carrying significant economic and political influence.
Six companies list on mainboard in a single day, a record since at least 1996
Six companies, LCC Projects, Rentomojo, Steamhouse India, Karamtara Engineering, Asset Reconstruction Company (India) and Manipal Payment and Identity Solutions, made their stock market debut on 17 September 2026, setting a record for the most mainboard listings on the BSE and NSE in a single day since at least 1996. The six companies had cumulatively raised about Rs 4,510 crore from investors in their initial public offerings between 9 and 11 September. Five of the six ended their debut session higher than their issue price, led by Karamtara Engineering's 38.6 percent gain, Rentomojo's 31.9 percent, Steamhouse India's 26.2 percent, LCC Projects' 18.3 percent and Manipal Payment and Identity Solutions' 1.99 percent, while the sixth, Asset Reconstruction Company (India), closed lower than its issue price.
India launches Net Zero Portal and NAPCC Dashboard on World Ozone Day
Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh launched India's Net Zero Portal and the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) Dashboard in Mumbai on 16 September 2026, the occasion of World Ozone Day. The Net Zero Portal is a centralised platform for the voluntary registration and disclosure of Net Zero commitments by Indian entities, allowing them to report greenhouse gas emissions, declare targets and submit annual progress updates. The NAPCC Dashboard consolidates the implementation status of the National Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change on a single platform, intended to support inter ministerial coordination and track sectoral progress.
Centre opens two day conference of state finance ministers on financing Viksit Bharat
The Union Ministry of Finance opened a two day conference of state Finance Ministers and Finance Secretaries titled Financing India's Journey towards Viksit Bharat in New Delhi on 18 September 2026, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The conference features three thematic sessions on the macroeconomic outlook, financing agricultural transformation and financing the energy transition, with a background paper circulated to examine the implications of GST 2.0 for state revenues. N K Singh, Chairman of the Fifteenth Finance Commission, delivered the keynote address at the inaugural session.