Daily Current Affairs - 30-09-2026

States’ News

AFSPA Extended in Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in parts of Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh for six months from October 1, 2026. In Manipur, the entire State has been declared a “disturbed area”, except the jurisdictions of 13 police stations in five Valley districts. In Nagaland, AFSPA will continue in nine districts and areas under 21 police stations in five other districts. In Arunachal Pradesh, it has been extended in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts and areas under Namsai, Mahadevpur and Chowkham police stations in Namsai district. The AFSPA was enacted in 1958 to provide special powers to the armed forces in areas declared as “disturbed” because of insurgency or serious internal security problems. Under Section 3, both the Central and State Governments can declare an area as disturbed. The Act empowers armed forces, subject to its provisions, to use force, including lethal force, arrest without warrant, and enter and search premises without warrant. It also provides legal protection to personnel, as prosecution or other legal proceedings for acts done under the Act require the prior sanction of the Central Government. The Act first came into effect to address the uprising in the Naga Hills, followed by the insurgency in Assam. In Manipur, AFSPA was withdrawn from the Imphal municipal area in 2004, and between April 1, 2022 and April 1, 2023, it was withdrawn from all police station areas in the Manipur Valley. Following the security situation in 2023, the MHA reimposed AFSPA on November 14, 2024 in the jurisdictions of six police stations across five districts. On November 15, 2024, the Manipur Cabinet, led by then Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, recommended that the Centre review and withdraw the notification. AFSPA was removed from Tripura in 2015, while it was withdrawn from Meghalaya from April 1, 2018, after being in force there for 27 years. Jammu and Kashmir has a separate Jammu and Kashmir Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1990.

Ujjain Shahi Masjid Supports Road Widening Project

An Islamic group associated with the Shahi Masjid in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, has supported the ongoing road widening project near the mosque and agreed to voluntarily remove encroached portions of the structure following discussions with Ujjain district officials. Earlier, a protest involving stone-pelting was held against the proposed demolition, following which 15 people were arrested and cases were registered against 7 individuals. For the 900-metre road expansion, the district administration had initially proposed removal of a 9.5-foot portion of the Shahi Masjid, but after negotiations, it stated that removal of a 3-foot portion would be sufficient, following which the Islamic side agreed to cooperate. Two petitions filed before the Madhya Pradesh High Court opposing the mosque demolition were dismissed following the agreement. During the court proceedings, the Ujjain Municipal Corporation informed the court that more than 80 Hindu places of worship had already been removed for the road widening project and that a total of 272 structures, including religious structures, are proposed to be removed for the expansion work.

National News

Centre Seeks Supreme Court Stay on Great Nicobar Project Proceedings

The Union Government has approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on further proceedings in petitions pending before the Calcutta High Court concerning the ₹92,000-crore Great Nicobar Island (GNI) Project and alleged violations of the Forest Rights Act (FRA). On May 6, a Calcutta High Court Bench comprising then Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen rejected the Centre’s preliminary objection regarding the locus standi of petitioner Meena Gupta, a retired IAS officer who had served as Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The Centre filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) on July 24 through the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), seeking a stay on the High Court order and the pending proceedings; the SLP is tentatively listed for hearing on October 5. The petitions filed by Meena Gupta challenge Gram Sabha resolutions relating to consent for diversion of forest land under the Forest Rights Act, the constitution of a sub-divisional level committee, and notifications reducing the buffer zones of Campbell Bay National Park and Galathea Bay National Park.

Personalities, Awards and Events

SKOCH Silver Award for Tamil Nadu Employment and Training Department

The Tamil Nadu Government’s Employment and Training Department received the SKOCH Silver Award under the “Evidence of Excellence” category for “Guidance and Training for Competitive Examinations” in the 2026 competition organised by the SKOCH Group. The department’s Employment Wing, functioning through District Employment and Career Guidance Centres across Tamil Nadu, undertakes registration and renewal of job-seeker details, recommendation of candidates to public and private sector employers, private-sector employment camps, career guidance and counselling for youth and students, webinars and seminars, free training classes for competitive examinations, and provision of model question papers through online mock tests, along with training and career-guidance programmes through Kalvi Tholaikkatchi. The 109th SKOCH Award ceremony was held in New Delhi on September 26, 2026, where the SKOCH Silver Award was presented to the department. C. Palani, Director of Employment and Training, received the award from Sameer Kochhar, Chairman of the SKOCH Group; V. Meenakshi, Additional Director (Employment), and A. Anitha, Joint Director (Career Guidance), were also present.

WorldSkills Competition 2026: Tamil Nadu Youth Wins Silver Medal

English Content: WorldSkills Competition 2026 was held in Shanghai, China, from September 22 to 27, 2026, with 12 participants from Tamil Nadu representing India in various skill categories. Among them, 5 participants received awards, including 1 Silver Medal and 4 Medals of Excellence. Mohamed Salam won the Silver Medal in Prosthetics/Dental Technology, while K.P. Gokul received a Medal of Excellence in Cyber Security, S.V. Arjun in Mobile Applications Development, Surendiran in Building Information Modeling (BIM)/Construction Technology, and John Das in Jewellery Making. The WorldSkills Competition, held once every two years, is an international competition in vocational and technological skills. In the 2026 competition, Team India won 6 Silver Medals and 20 Medals of Excellence, its highest-ever medal tally in the competition, and secured 10th place globally, India's highest-ever ranking in WorldSkills history.

U.Ve.Sa. Library Triple Celebration and Tamil Literary Awards

A Triple Celebration (Mupperum Vizha) was held on September 29, 2026, at the VIT University campus, Kelambakkam, Chennai, organised by the U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer Library under the chairmanship of G. Viswanathan, Founder-Chairman of VIT. J.C.D. Prabhakar, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, presented the Mahavidwan Sri Meenakshisundaram Pillai Award to Pulavar Ve. Padhumanar and the U.Ve.Sa. Award to Prof. A.R. Venkatachalapathy. A book was also released at the event, with J.C.D. Prabhakar releasing it and G.V. Selvam, Vice-President of VIT, receiving it. Prof. Ya. Manikandan, former Head of the Tamil Department, University of Madras, and other Tamil scholars participated in the event. The function was attended by V.G. Santhosam, President of the VGP World Tamil Sangam, along with Tamil scholars and professors.

Sports News

Pooja Singh Wins Bronze in Women’s High Jump at Asian Games

At the Asian Games, India’s Pooja Singh won the bronze medal in the women’s high jump event by clearing 1.84 metres. Uzbekistan’s Barnokhon Saifullaeva won the gold medal with a height of 1.90 metres, while Kazakhstan’s Kristina Ovchinnikova secured the silver medal with a height of 1.87 metres.

Asian Games 2026: India Wins Two Gold Medals in Shooting and Athletics

At the 20th Asian Games held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, India won two gold medals on Day 11. Neeru Dhanda, a Naib Subedar in the Indian Army from Haryana, won the gold medal in the Women’s Trap individual event by hitting 28 out of 30 targets, setting a new Asian Games record and becoming the first Indian woman to win gold in the Asian Games Trap event; China’s Sun Yuning won silver and Kuwait’s Abdulmalik Hajar won bronze. Earlier, the Indian women’s Trap team comprising Neeru Dhanda, Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer won the silver medal with 328 points. In the Women’s 4x400m Relay, the Indian team of Kiran Pahal, Poovamma Machettira, Prachi and Vithya Ramraj won gold in 3:29.69 minutes, ahead of Bahrain and China. Vithya Ramraj, from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, won her third medal at the Games after previously securing silver in the Mixed 4x400m Relay and bronze in the 400m Hurdles. The Tamil Nadu Government announced cash incentives of ₹75 lakh for Vithya Ramraj, and ₹30 lakh each for Vishal, Rajesh and Abinaya Rajarajan for their respective relay-medal achievements.

Tamil Nadu News

University of Madras 170th Anniversary and Senate House Renovation

The University of Madras, established in 1857, is celebrating its 170th anniversary throughout 2026, with the inaugural function held at the historic Senate House on the university campus in Chennai. Dheeraj Kumar, Secretary of the Higher Education Department, launched the celebrations and released the 170th Anniversary logo. The Senate House is set to be renovated while retaining its original character. The university's Registrar Prof. Reeta John stated that the anniversary year will include alumni meets, former Vice-Chancellors' meets, professors' and employees' meetings, seminars, training programmes and awareness programmes. The university has also requested ₹100 crore from the Tamil Nadu Government for development works. Prof. S. Armstrong, a member of the Vice-Chancellor Coordination Committee, delivered the welcome and introductory address. The event was attended by professors and students.

Miscellaneous News

NLC India Limited 70th Annual General Meeting: Key Performance Highlights

NLC India Limited (NLCIL) held its 70th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 29, 2026, at Neyveli, with Dr. Prasanna Kumar Acharya, Chairman and Managing Director, presenting the company’s performance. For FY 2025–26, NLCIL declared an interim dividend of ₹3.60 per share and recommended a final dividend of ₹0.25 per share (2.25%), taking the total dividend payout to ₹533.66 crore. NLCIL and its joint ventures generated 30.69 billion units (BU) of electricity, while the group’s total installed capacity reached 4,410.50 MW, including 1,431.50 MW of renewable energy capacity. The company added 205 MW of renewable capacity, taking renewable capacity beyond 1 GW, and is implementing projects including the 800 MW Kalpa Solar Project, 300 MW Gujarat Solar Project, 500 MW Tamil Nadu Solar Project and a 4 MW Green Hydrogen Plant at Neyveli; under Vision 2030, NLCIL targets 20 GW of total capacity, including 10 GW of renewable energy. Mining operations recorded 210.12 million cubic metres of overburden removal, 10.15 MTPA of coal supply from Talabira II & III OCP, and 23.51 MTPA of lignite production, while the South OCP received a 5-star rating for mine safety and performance. NLCIL also initiated critical mineral exploration for Phosphorite in Chhattisgarh and Lithium in Telangana’s Govindapur block. In FY 2025–26, consolidated revenue from operations was ₹14,286.11 crore, EBITDA was ₹4,933.68 crore, PAT was ₹3,767.11 crore, and net worth stood at ₹21,525.80 crore as of March 31, 2026. For FY 2026–27, NLCIL has set production targets of 14 MTPA coal, 24 MTPA lignite, and 32 BU electricity generation. During FY 2025–26, NLCIL planted 1.3 lakh saplings, spent ₹41.09 crore on CSR activities, and provided medical services to more than 1.20 lakh patients through NLCIL General Hospital.