Daily Current Affairs - 05-09-2026

Economy News

Tamil Nadu Debt-GSDP Ratio and Fiscal Sustainability

According to K.R. Shanmugam, Economic Consultant to the Tamil Nadu Government, a sustainable Debt-to-Gross State Domestic Product (Debt-GSDP) ratio for Tamil Nadu is 23%. The N.K. Singh Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM), 2017, had recommended a 20% debt-GSDP limit for States, while an additional 3% has been suggested for Tamil Nadu considering its macroeconomic progress. Tamil Nadu's debt-GSDP ratio was 22.78% in 2019-20, increased to 28.67% in 2020-21 during the COVID-19 period, and is estimated at 27.01% in the Revised Estimates for 2026-27. The State's revenue deficit is about 1.4% of GSDP. Among Indian States, Gujarat, Odisha and Maharashtra have debt-GSDP ratios below 20%, while nine States, including Kerala, Punjab and West Bengal, have higher ratios than Tamil Nadu. To reduce the ratio to 23% by 2050-51, Tamil Nadu would require 15% nominal economic growth annually while maintaining the fiscal deficit at 3%; alternatively, to achieve the target by 2033-34, the State would need 14% nominal growth and a fiscal deficit of 2.5%. Fiscal consolidation requires greater focus on productive capital expenditure, infrastructure investment and rationalisation of government expenditure.

International News

Giorgia Meloni Becomes Italy’s Longest-Serving Post-War Prime Minister

Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, has become the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister in the post-World War II period. She assumed office on October 22, 2022, and is also the first woman Prime Minister of Italy. Meloni achieved the record by serving continuously for 1,413 days. In a related Indian milestone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the longest-serving elected Prime Minister in India, completing 4,399 days in office on June 10. India and Italy are also cooperating on the development of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a major connectivity initiative linking India with the Middle East and Europe.

BRICS Chief Justices’ Conference Begins in New Delhi

The Conference of Chief Justices and Senior Judicial Leaders of BRICS Countries began in New Delhi on September 4, 2026, and is being organised by the Supreme Court of India until September 6. The BRICS member countries are Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, with India holding the BRICS presidency. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant is participating in discussions with the Chief Justices of the Supreme Courts of BRICS member and partner countries. Chief Justices from partner countries including Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan are participating. The conference covers mediation, international trade, Artificial Intelligence and the judiciary, judicial leadership and sustainable development.

National News

82 Educators to Receive National Teachers’ Awards

A total of 82 educators from across India will receive the National Teachers’ Awards from President Droupadi Murmu on September 5, 2026 (Teachers’ Day). The awardees include 48 school teachers, 21 faculty members from higher education institutions, and 13 trainers from the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). Notable awardees include Anil Kaushik of Haryana, known as the Math Wizard, who developed physical and virtual mathematics laboratories and contributed 22 teaching modules to the national DIKSHA portal; Divyendu Sen of Rajasthan, who trained students in asteroid tracking and developed an AI-enabled Biology education model, Virtual Biology Laboratory, and Tree Talk, a QR-based botanical learning system; Vartika Gulati of Rajasthan, a teacher at the Government Girls Upper Primary School, Jaipur, who introduced the Prashno Se Vigyan (Science through Questions) learning initiative; and Padaraj Nayak of Odisha, a teacher at Government High School, Alipingal, who guided students in developing more than 50 prototypes, including a low-cost automatic plate-washing machine that received a Government of India patent.

Caste Enumeration in the 2027 Census

The Union Government has proposed caste enumeration as part of the 2027 Census, with Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) having separate established categories, while other caste identities are proposed to be recorded through an open column methodology. The government has stated that existing Other Backward Classes (OBC) lists are classifications of backward classes rather than direct caste lists. OBC organisations, including the All India OBC Students’ Association (AIOBCSA), have raised concerns over the exclusion of existing OBC lists from caste enumeration. At present, estimates of the OBC population in India are largely based on data from the 1931 Census, making updated caste-wise population data an important contemporary issue. The debate has also highlighted the distinction between OBC classification for reservation, caste identity in official records, and the collection of caste-wise demographic data in the proposed 2027 Census.

IIT-Madras and SWAYAM Plus Launch Multi-Cloud Programme

IIT-Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation and SWAYAM Plus, an initiative of the Union Ministry of Education, have launched the Multi-Cloud Foundation with Security Programme. The programme aims to help students and working professionals understand common cloud computing concepts and their application across major cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The initiative focuses on developing knowledge and skills in multi-cloud technologies and cloud security. SWAYAM Plus is an educational initiative supported by the Union Ministry of Education for enhancing employability and professional skills.

Retirement Age of District Judges Raised to 62

The Supreme Court of India has considered the increase in the retirement age of District Judges from 60 to 62 years. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana noted that seven States—Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal— have agreed to increase the retirement age of District Judges to 62 years. Under the proposed procedure, when a District Judge attains 60 years, the concerned High Court will assess the judge's suitability for continuation in service, and eligible judges may continue until 62 years. The seven States have been directed to amend their respective service rules, preferably within two months, to implement the change. As an interim arrangement, District Judges in these States who have attained 60 years may continue in service until the age of 62, subject to the applicable procedure. Judges who retired on or after March 31 may also be considered for rejoining service if they have not taken up other employment. The Supreme Court has further directed other States and Union Territories to take an appropriate decision on increasing the retirement age of District Judges to 62 within two weeks.

Food and Agriculture 360 Degree Exhibition

A two-day exhibition titled “Food and Agriculture 360 Degree” was organised at Sri Natesan Vidyasala School, Mannivakkam, near Tambaram. The exhibition featured displays and statistical information related to food and agriculture, along with demonstrations on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve agricultural production. Students from the Tamil, English and Sanskrit departments explained agricultural concepts and addressed queries from visitors. K. Senthamil Selvan, Principal of Danish Engineering College, inaugurated the exhibition. Prizes were also distributed to students who won inter-school competitions related to environmental protection. The event was attended by School Founder N. Ramasubramanian, Correspondent Gayatri Ramachandran, Principal Anandhi Mani and Educational Coordinator Anandhi, and was visited by students from various schools.

Smoking Raises Mortality Risk Among Diabetes Patients

A research paper published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice has highlighted the increased health risks associated with smoking among diabetes patients. An analysis of 48 studies involving 11.3 lakh people found that smokers with diabetes have a 55% higher risk of death. Another study involving 1.3 lakh diabetes patients reported a 48% higher overall mortality risk and a 36% higher cardiovascular mortality risk among smokers. Based on these findings, 35 experts from 13 countries, including Indian diabetes specialist Dr. Anoop Misra, recommended integrating smoking assessment and cessation treatment into regular diabetes care. Smoking also increases the risk of albuminuria and diabetic kidney disease. A Japanese study involving 2,490 Type-2 diabetes patients found that insulin resistance increased with the number of cigarettes smoked daily and decreased after quitting smoking. The recommendations emphasised regular smoking assessment, active cessation treatment, health monitoring and relapse-prevention measures as part of comprehensive diabetes management.

Science and Technology News

Indian Language AI Models Launched by Bodhan AI and AI4Bharat

Bodhan AI, a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for Education incubated at IIT Madras and supported by the Union Ministry of Education, along with AI4Bharat, a research laboratory at IIT Madras, has launched four foundational Artificial Intelligence (AI) models for Indian languages. The models cover four major capabilities: Speech Recognition, Speech Generation, Machine Translation, and Optical Character Recognition (OCR). These AI models will be made available to the technology and education ecosystem through open-weight releases and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The initiative enables government institutions and public organisations to deploy multilingual AI applications for education and public services using sovereign infrastructure, while EdTech companies can integrate Indian-language AI capabilities into their platforms without developing foundational models independently.

EOS-05 Satellite Successfully Launched

ISRO successfully launched the EOS-05 (GISAT-1A) Earth observation satellite aboard the GSLV-F17 rocket at 2:55 AM on Friday from the Second Launch Pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Weighing 2,367 kg, EOS-05 was placed in the planned Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO) about 19 minutes after liftoff, with a perigee of 171 km and an apogee of 31,026 km, before being raised to its final geostationary orbit at about 36,000 km using onboard liquid apogee motors. The satellite has a design life of 10 years, with a minimum guaranteed life of 7 years, and is intended for near real-time monitoring of weather, agriculture, cloud cover and land cover. Its 3D cameras can provide images with a spatial resolution of up to 40 metres and enable repeated imaging of a specific region 4–5 times a day, supporting disaster management and national security applications. As of February 2026, India had 21 operational Earth observation satellites. The earlier GISAT-1 (EOS-03) mission launched by GSLV-F10 on 12 August 2021 failed due to a technical problem in the cryogenic engine, following which the satellite was remade as GISAT-1A (EOS-05). The GSLV-F17 mission was the 19th flight of the GSLV series, with 13 successful and 6 unsuccessful missions. ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan stated that the Kulasekarapattinam rocket launch pad in Thoothukudi district is a government infrastructure facility whose maintenance will be undertaken through a private entity, and that private satellites will also be launched from the facility. He also stated that about 8,000 tests had been completed for the Gaganyaan mission, with preparations underway for the next uncrewed test flight.

States’ News

3.5-Billion-Year-Old Biosignature Found in Jharkhand

A 3.5-billion-year-old biosignature (trace of life) has been discovered in Bhitardari Chert near Bhitardari village in Jharkhand, about 20 km south of Jamshedpur, within the Singhbhum Craton. The discovery was made by Tridibros Chatterjee of the Geological Survey of India (GSI). The life trace has been dated to 3,497 ± 50 million years, making it one of the oldest directly dated traces of life found on Earth. The age was directly determined using Zircon crystals present in the same rock layer. The study was conducted jointly by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Ifremer, France, and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Netherlands, and was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in August 2026. Scientific evidence included alternating microscopic layers of carbon and silica indicating a microbial mat, enrichment of the lighter Carbon-12 (¹²C) isotope with a δ¹³C value of –30.9‰, and confirmation through Raman spectroscopy that the carbon was contemporaneous with the rock formation. The discovery indicates that microorganisms capable of carbon metabolism existed within the first billion years of Earth's formation and highlights the significance of the Singhbhum Craton, one of the world's oldest geological formations, in studying the origin of life.

Tamil Nadu News

Declining Birth Rate in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu recorded a steady decline in the number of births, with births falling from 9.39 lakh in 2020 to 8.02 lakh in 2025, according to the Health and Family Welfare Department Policy Note, 2026–27. The number of births declined by about 45,000 in 2025 compared to 2024, falling from 8.47 lakh to 8.02 lakh, a decline of 5.3%. The year-wise number of births was 9.12 lakh in 2021, 9.36 lakh in 2022, 9.02 lakh in 2023, 8.47 lakh in 2024, and 8.02 lakh in 2025. According to the Civil Registration System (CRS), more than five lakh births have been registered in Tamil Nadu so far in 2026. Tamil Nadu's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is 1.3, below the replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1. The decline in fertility is expected to increase the proportion of the elderly population and reduce the share of the working-age population, highlighting the need for improved social security, elderly care, healthcare, quality education, nutrition, employment opportunities, and childcare support. The State Government has also introduced measures such as the Thai-maman Thanga Mothiram Thittam, under which eligible babies born in government hospitals receive a one-gram gold ring.

Dr. Radhakrishnan Award 2026: 396 Teachers to Receive Best Teacher Award

The Tamil Nadu School Education Department will present the Dr. Radhakrishnan Best Teacher Award to 396 teachers at the Teachers’ Day function held on September 5, 2026, at the Anna Centenary Library Auditorium, Kotturpuram, Chennai. The awardees include 342 teachers from government schools, 38 from private schools, 2 from Anglo-Indian schools, 2 from Social Defence Department schools, 2 differently-abled teachers, and 10 SCERT professors. The list was finalized by the State Selection Committee based on district-level recommendations. School Education Minister Rajmohan will present the awards, with School Education Department Secretary P. Chandra Mohan presiding and Director N. Latha delivering the welcome address. The Dr. Radhakrishnan Award comprises ₹10,000 cash, a 36.5-gram silver medal, and a commendation certificate. Teachers’ Day is observed on September 5, the birth anniversary of former President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan.

Vaikom Award 2026: Tamil Nadu Government Invites Applications

The Tamil Nadu Government has invited applications for the Vaikom Award 2026, instituted to honor Thanthai Periyar for his leadership in the historic Vaikom struggle. The award is presented annually by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on September 17, observed as Social Justice Day, to an individual or organization residing outside Tamil Nadu, either in India or abroad, for work towards the welfare of marginalized people and significant social change. The award consists of a ₹5 lakh cheque, certificate, and gold-plated silver medal. The awardee is selected by a committee appointed by the Tamil Nadu Government, and applications with supporting documents must be submitted by September 12, 2026 to the Public and Rehabilitation Department, Secretariat, Chennai – 600009.