Daily Current Affairs · Last published 19 September 2026
UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 19 September 2026
TRAI's new spam call charge, an eased sugar stock limit, fresh rail approvals, Semicon 2.0 investment, and the ECI's Trinamool symbol freeze headline today's digest.
TRAI notifies termination charge on A2P calls to curb spam
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India notified the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026 on 18 September, introducing a termination charge of up to five paise per minute on application to person, or A2P, calls. The charge is paid by the originating access provider to the terminating access provider, with the exact rate left to commercial negotiation between operators, to discourage bulk automated and spam calling. An A2P call is defined as a voice call initiated by an application, software system or automated platform without direct human dialling, covering autodialing, robocalls and pre recorded or artificial voice calls. Entities using A2P calling must now pre declare such use to their telecom provider and disclose the customer line identifiers involved, though calls made through designated regulated commercial communication number series remain exempt.
Government eases bulk sugar stockholding limit to 30 days for festive season
The Department of Food and Public Distribution has doubled the sugar stockholding limit for bulk consumers from 15 days to 30 days of consumption ahead of the festive season, easing a tighter cap it had imposed from 1 September after a sharp price rise in August. The relaxation applies to industrial users consuming more than 10 tonnes of sugar a month for production or processing, but any stock held beyond the earlier 15 day limit must be sourced from imported sugar brought in under the Tariff Rate Quota or Advance Authorisation Scheme, not the domestic open market. The original order remains in force from 1 September to 30 November 2026.
Railways approves two Maharashtra rail projects worth Rs 990 crore
Indian Railways approved two infrastructure projects in Maharashtra worth a combined Rs 990 crore. The 10.86 kilometre Chouk to Karjat section of Central Railway will be doubled at a cost of Rs 497 crore, expected to allow five additional passenger trains in each direction daily and add 18.35 million tonnes per annum of freight capacity. A new 38.21 kilometre line between Mukutban in Adilabad district and Gadchandur on South Central Railway, costing Rs 493 crore, will provide a shorter freight route for coal, cement and other commodities, with a capacity of 6.08 million tonnes per annum.
India draws nearly 12 billion dollars in investment proposals under Semicon 2.0
Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government has received investment proposals worth nearly 12 billion dollars under Semicon 2.0, the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission, at the ongoing SEMICON India 2026 event in New Delhi. The commitments span semiconductor equipment, materials, gases, chemicals, assembly, testing, marking and packaging, and substrates, and are expected to be deployed over the next two to three years. Semicon 2.0 extends state support beyond chip fabrication and packaging to equipment, materials, design, research and talent development, with more than 600 companies from 52 countries taking part in the event.
PM distributes over 51,000 appointment letters at 20th Rozgar Mela
Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed more than 51,000 appointment letters to newly recruited candidates through video conferencing at the 20th edition of the Rozgar Mela, held simultaneously at 45 locations across the country. The new recruits are joining various central government ministries and departments, including Railways, Home Affairs, Health and Family Welfare, Revenue, Financial Services and Defence. With this edition, around 12.75 lakh appointment letters have been issued across all editions of the recruitment drive since it began.
Election Commission freezes Trinamool Congress name and symbol, allots new identities to rival factions
The Election Commission of India, in an interim order, barred both rival factions of the Trinamool Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee, from using the party's name and its twin flowers and grass symbol for the 6 October bypolls in West Bengal's Nandigram and Rejinagar and Assam's Nagaon constituencies. Invoking Para 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, the Commission held that with an election imminent, it could not immediately determine which group represented the genuine party, and allotted the Mamata Banerjee faction the name Mamata All India Trinamool Congress with a football player symbol, and the Ritabrata Banerjee faction the name Democratic Trinamool Congress with an envelope symbol. The Mamata Banerjee faction has since moved the Supreme Court against the freeze, while the split traces back to a rebellion after the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly election earlier this year.
Marathi film Gondhal named India's official entry for the 99th Academy Awards
The Film Federation of India has selected the Marathi film Gondhal, directed by Santosh Davakhar, as India's official entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 99th Academy Awards, to be held in March 2027. The film, set in rural Maharashtra and built around the traditional Gondhal ritual and folk performance tradition, was chosen from a field of 33 submissions. Gondhal is only the fourth Marathi language film to represent India at the Oscars, after Shwaas, Harishchandrachi Factory and Court.
IMD tracks possible first cyclone of the season forming in the Bay of Bengal
The India Meteorological Department is tracking a cyclonic circulation over the north Andaman Sea that is expected to consolidate into a low pressure area around 19 to 20 September and could intensify into a depression by 21 or 22 September as it moves into the central Bay of Bengal. Forecast models suggest the system, which would be provisionally named Arnab if it strengthens into a cyclonic storm, may track towards the Odisha and Andhra Pradesh coasts, though its eventual intensity and path remain uncertain. It would be the first cyclone of the year in the North Indian Ocean if it forms.