Daily Current Affairs · Last published 29 September 2026
UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 29 September 2026
The Supreme Court Collegium proposes a second woman judge, the Navy reviews West Asia readiness, and a wildlife NGO faces a fresh smuggling allegation.
Supreme Court Collegium proposes second woman judge of 2026, Gujarat High Court's Sunita Agarwal
The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, on 28 September 2026 recommended Gujarat High Court Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal for appointment as a Supreme Court judge, along with Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Telangana High Court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh. This is the second time in 2026 that a woman has been proposed for the Supreme Court Bench, after senior advocate V. Mohana's direct elevation from the Bar in May 2026. The Supreme Court's sanctioned strength stands at 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India, and the court currently has four vacancies.
India and Kazakhstan begin ninth edition of joint counter terrorism exercise KAZIND
A 60 member Indian Armed Forces contingent, drawn mainly from a battalion of the Garhwal Rifles along with personnel from other arms and the Indian Air Force, departed on 28 September 2026 for Oskemen in Kazakhstan to take part in the ninth edition of the India-Kazakhstan Joint Military Exercise KAZIND, running until 11 October. The exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability for joint counter terrorism operations in a sub-conventional environment under a United Nations mandate, with a focus on semi-urban and mountainous terrain, air mobility, and unmanned aerial systems. KAZIND-2026 will also set up a Joint Command Post and an Intelligence and Surveillance Centre before culminating in a validation exercise against a simulated terrorist threat.
Navy Commanders' Conference reviews Operation Urja Suraksha amid West Asia conflict
The Indian Navy's three day Commanders' Conference 2026 began at Nausena Bhawan in New Delhi on 29 September, bringing together senior naval leadership to review operational preparedness, including the ongoing Operation Urja Suraksha, launched on 27 March 2026 to protect India-bound energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf amid conflicts in West Asia. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the commanders on the opening day, while the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of the Army Staff joined sessions aimed at strengthening tri-services jointness. The conference will also review the induction of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and cyber operations, aligned with the pillars of jointness, aatmanirbharta and innovation.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train timeline lags Japan's expectations but is 'moving forward'
A senior official of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on 28 September 2026 that the pace of progress on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor, India's first bullet train project, has not lived up to Japan's initial expectations, though it is now making steady progress. The official, speaking to The Hindu, said Japan is not in a position to declare a completion date for the project, which it supports financially and technically. India and Japan are set to convene a Foreign and Defence Ministers' two-plus-two dialogue by the end of the year, with the same official also calling for maritime law to be respected around the disputed South China Sea islands.
WCCB records link Wildlife SOS to a 2020 elephant smuggled across the Nepal border
Old Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) case records reviewed by The Indian Express have linked Wildlife SOS, a Delhi based wildlife NGO, to a female elephant smuggled across the Nepal border into Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar in 2020 and later sold on to a Wildlife SOS elephant keeper, with a 2022 ivory seizure chat record referring to the NGO's director of conservation and CEO. The allegation surfaces on top of an existing Madhya Pradesh case in which two Wildlife SOS employees were arrested for alleged involvement in poaching ten leopards, and the NGO's CEO, Kartick Satyanarayan, was directed by the Supreme Court to join the investigation on 28 September after seeking interim protection from arrest. Wildlife SOS has denied the allegations, calling the chat records a concocted narrative.
Felling of borer-affected sal trees begins in Madhya Pradesh's Dindori forest division
Felling of sal trees affected by the sal borer beetle began in Madhya Pradesh's Dindori forest division, with about 2,000 of the roughly 146,000 identified trees cut so far, officials told Down To Earth, and the operation targeted for completion by March 2027. Ram Prasad, a retired Principal Chief Conservator of Forests who had refused to sign a similar felling recommendation in the 1990s, questioned the basis of the current decision, saying independent experts and stakeholders should have been consulted and the infestation studied as a wider ecosystem issue involving forest fires, overgrazing, soil erosion and declining natural regeneration. The Forest Department has set up a temporary depot near Gadharsai for the felled timber.
Election Commission notifies Rajya Sabha polls for 12 seats across three states
The Election Commission issued its notification on 29 September 2026 for elections to 12 Rajya Sabha seats, ten from Uttar Pradesh and one each from Uttarakhand and West Bengal, with nominations open until 6 October and polling and counting scheduled for 16 October. Eleven of the seats are biennial vacancies arising as sitting members' terms end on 25 November, while the West Bengal seat is a by-election following the resignation of Trinamool Congress member Rukmini Mallick after her party lost power in the state's assembly polls earlier this year. In Uttar Pradesh, based on the current strength of parties in the Assembly, the BJP led alliance is expected to retain eight of the ten seats while the Samajwadi Party is likely to gain the other two.
Industrial growth quickens to 8% in August 2026 on broad based uptick
India's Index of Industrial Production grew 8% in August 2026, up from 7.35% in July, data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed, marking the second highest reading since the current series began in April 2024. Growth was driven by the manufacturing sector, up 8.95%, the electricity sector, which quickened to a 27-month high of 12.3%, and the capital goods and consumer durables sectors, though the latter's growth actually eased slightly from July. Economists said the festive season could sustain momentum, making the third quarter critical for whether India can register 7 to 8% industrial growth for the full year.