Daily Current Affairs · Last published 30 September 2026
UPSC Prelims Current Affairs: 30 September 2026
The Ministry of Steel sets up an apex safety council, India issues its first PRAMAAN forest certificates, and the Supreme Court questions minors' social media accounts.
Ministry of Steel sets up Steel Industry Safety Council as apex safety body
The Ministry of Steel announced on 28 September 2026 the setting up of a Steel Industry Safety Council as an apex level industry safety body under its administrative control, aimed at strengthening safety standards and accident prevention across the steel industry. The Council will be headed by the Secretary, Ministry of Steel, and will include chief executives of integrated steel producers along with representatives of the Directorate General of Mines Safety, the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation and the National Disaster Management Authority. A Steel Industry Safety Directorate will also be set up to support the Council, undertaking safety audits, investigating serious incidents and developing steel specific safety standards and guidelines suited to Indian conditions.
Environment Minister hands over India's first PRAMAAN forest and wood certificates
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav handed over India's first PRAMAAN certificates under the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme in New Delhi on 29 September 2026, an event organised by the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, the scheme's operating agency. Certificates were presented to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation for plantations over 33,000 hectares and to a farmer associated with the Odisha Bamboo Development Agency, following a rigorous field and management audit. The scheme, launched in December 2023, certifies forest management against the National Working Plan Code 2023 through independent audit by bodies accredited under the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies, rather than relying on self declaration.
India and Ethiopia hold second Joint Defence Cooperation meeting in Addis Ababa
The second Joint Defence Cooperation meeting between India and Ethiopia was held in Addis Ababa on 28 September 2026, co-chaired by a Joint Secretary of India's Ministry of Defence and Ethiopia's Director General for Defence Foreign Relations and Military Cooperation. The two countries discussed military training, joint exercises, medical cooperation, peacekeeping and defence industries, and agreed to explore joint ventures in defence production alongside exchanges of personnel and delegations. The mechanism was set up through a Defence Cooperation memorandum signed in February 2025, and the first JDC meeting was held in New Delhi in October 2025, with the bilateral relationship elevated to a Strategic Partnership during the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Ethiopia in December 2025.
Supreme Court asks Centre to frame rules on minors' social media accounts
The Supreme Court on 28 September 2026 told the Centre that social media intermediaries allowing minors to open accounts must conform to Indian law, asking how platforms could permit twelve or thirteen year olds to hold accounts when a minor's consent to a contract is void under the Indian Contract Act. The bench, hearing a public interest litigation filed by the non-profit Just Rights for Children Alliance, asked the government to consider framing directions under the Information Technology Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021, so that platforms enforce a minimum membership age of eighteen years, failing which the court said it would be compelled to issue its own directions. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 already provided some safeguards but that a fuller statutory response would need more time.
Labour Ministry launches Shram Samvad, a 90 day awareness campaign on the new Labour Codes
Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced on 28 September 2026 the launch of Shram Samvad, an awareness campaign on the new Labour Codes that will cover industrial clusters across 316 districts in all States and Union Territories over the next 90 days. Speaking at a National Conference on Industrial Relations organised with industry bodies in New Delhi, Mandaviya said India's social security coverage has risen from 19 percent of the population in 2015 to 68 percent today, and that continuous dialogue between industry and workers was key to strengthening industrial relations. The Ministry also released a report titled Employer's Guide Under New Labour Codes Framework, on fixed term employment in India.