Daily Current Affairs - 04-10-2026

Personalities, Awards and Events

Ig Nobel Prizes 2026: Awards for Unusual Scientific Research

On September 3, 2026, the Ig Nobel Prizes 2026 were awarded to researchers from various countries for research conducted in unusual areas. The Ig Nobel Prizes were instituted in 1991 by Marc Abrahams, editor of The Journal of Irreproducible Results, and their award categories change annually. The Biomechanics prize was awarded to Matilda Brindle and colleagues from Florida State University for research on the evolutionary connection between mouth-to-mouth food transfer in birds and large apes and lip-to-lip kissing in humans. The Economics prize was awarded to psychologist Paul Piff and colleagues from the University of California, Irvine for research on the behaviour of upper-class people in traffic situations. The Medicine prize was awarded posthumously to Japanese physiologist Tokuji Unno for research on the aerodynamics of nose blowing, and the award was accepted by Miki Takahara. The Biology prize was awarded to João Miguel Alves-Nunes and colleagues in São Paulo, Brazil, for research on factors influencing snake bites on humans, including body temperature, ambient temperature, time of day and human interaction. The Olfaction prize was awarded to Ilona Croy and colleagues from the University of Jena, Germany, based on a study of 235 nursing mothers examining changes in how parents perceive the smell of babies as they grow. The Peace prize was awarded to social psychologists from universities in the United States for research involving more than 1,000 people from the United States and India on friendship preferences and attitudes towards perceived enemies. The Soil Science prize was awarded to the Wan Der Heiden Laboratory, University of Zurich, for research on soil health using buried used underwear. The Chemistry prize was awarded to Sanchari Banerjee, Nitish Satyanarayan, Jandhyam Srikanth of InStem Bengaluru, S. Ramaswamy of Purdue University, Leo Chavas of DECTRIS Japan, and Nathan Coussens of the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, USA, for finding that proteins in the milk of the cockroach species Diploptera punctata have higher energy content than cow’s milk.

National News

J&K Statehood Restoration Resolution

On September 25, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah introduced a resolution in the J&K Legislative Assembly seeking the restoration of full Statehood to J&K. On September 28, the resolution was passed with the support of 61 out of 90 members, including members of the National Conference (NC), Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Awami Ittehad Party. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) objected to references to the June 26, 2000 autonomy resolution and the November 6, 2024 special-status resolution. In 1996, former J&K Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah established the State Autonomy Committee to examine the restoration of J&K’s regional autonomy. On June 26, 2000, the J&K Assembly unanimously passed a resolution seeking restoration of the pre-1953 autonomy status. Its provisions included limiting Union jurisdiction mainly to defence, foreign affairs and communications, redesignating the Governor as Sadr-e-Riyasat and the Chief Minister as Wazir-e-Azam, replacing ‘temporary’ with ‘special’ in Article 370, restricting the use of Article 356, providing separate Election Commission and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) institutions, and rescinding constitutional orders issued after 1954. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee rejected the 2000 resolution. In connection with the 2026 Statehood resolution, J&K Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and Law Secretary Achal Sethi advised the Speaker against allowing the resolution, citing that the matter was sub judice. Congress legislator Nizamuddin Bhat sought inclusion of the communications in the Assembly records, while PDP legislator Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra initiated a breach of privilege motion against the two officials.

Five Centres of Excellence Approved for Classical Languages

The Union Ministry of Education has approved the establishment of five Centres of Excellence for studies in five classical languages—Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit. The Centre of Excellence for Classical Assamese will be established at Tezpur University, Assam; the Centre of Excellence for Classical Bengali at Visva-Bharati University, West Bengal; the Marathi centre at Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, Maharashtra; the Classical Pali centre at Central University of Odisha; and the Prakrit centre at Central University of Gujarat. These centres will support advanced academic research, preservation and digitization of linguistic and literary heritage. With these additions, India has granted classical language status to 11 languages.

Environment News

India’s River Interlinking and Invasive Species Risk

The National River-Linking Project proposes to connect 37 major river basins in India, involving the transfer of about 174 billion cubic metres of water from surplus to deficit basins and potential generation of around 34,000 MW of power. A study by researchers from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru, published in Scientific Reports, has highlighted the risk that river interlinking could create “ecological highways” for the spread of invasive alien species into ecologically sensitive areas. The Northeastern and peninsular Indian river basins are identified as more vulnerable to biological invasions, with the Southwestern Ghats, Kaveri, Krishna, Lower Ganga and Brahmaputra basins supporting native, threatened and invasive species. The Lower Ganga basin contains 13–15 invasive alien species and could become a source of invasive species for the Mahanadi basin, which supports 69 threatened species, increasing the risk of species extinction. Inter-basin water connections may also facilitate the spread of aquatic pathogens, disrupt fish migration routes and affect the unique biodiversity of individual river basins. Diversion of water from source rivers can reduce downstream water flow and sediment production; for example, transferring water from the Ken River to the Betwa River can reduce flow and sediment production in the Ken basin. The study’s lead author is Aravind Neelavar Ananthram, while Siddharth Agarwal is the Director-Founder of Veditum India Foundation. The study highlights the need for evidence-based river-basin management and national policies to regulate invasive alien species.

Sports News

Asian Games Men’s Hockey: India Wins Gold and Qualifies for 2028 Olympics

At the Asian Games held in Kakamigahara, Japan, defending champion India, led by captain Harmanpreet Singh, defeated Malaysia 5–1 in the men’s hockey final to win the gold medal and qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Harmanpreet Singh scored two goals in the 11th and 57th minutes, while Jugraj Singh, Hardik Singh and Shilanand Lakra scored one goal each in the 23rd, 42nd and 54th minutes respectively; Malaysia’s Shello Silverius scored in the 14th minute. India became the second team in Asian Games history, after Pakistan, to win consecutive gold medals in men’s hockey. Harmanpreet Singh became the first Indian captain to win gold medals in two Asian Games. This was India’s 5th Asian Games gold medal in men’s hockey, following victories in 1966, 1998, 2014 and 2023. Earlier, the Indian women’s hockey team defeated China in the final to win gold after 44 years and qualify for the 2028 Olympics, making this the first time in Asian Games history that India won gold medals in both men’s and women’s hockey.

Pranavi Urs Wins Historic Asian Games Golf Gold

Indian golfer Pranavi Urs won the gold medal in the women’s individual golf event at the Asian Games, becoming the first Indian woman golfer to win an Asian Games golf gold medal. The 23-year-old Pranavi Urs, from Mysuru, completed the final round with an even-par 70 and finished with a four-day total of 15-under 265, securing the gold medal by a one-stroke lead. In the team event, India won the silver medal with a total score of 546, finishing second, with the team score calculated from the two best players’ performances. The Indian women’s golf team also included Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar; Aditi Ashok, who had won an individual silver medal at the previous Asian Games, finished tied for 14th place, while Diksha Dagar finished tied for 23rd place.

Miscellaneous News

Child Leprosy Cases Challenge India’s 2027 Elimination Target

India recorded 3,832 new child leprosy cases in 2025–26, including 37 cases with Grade-2 Disability (G2D) at diagnosis, exceeding the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) target of 2,000 cases. Under the National Strategic Plan for Leprosy 2023–27, India aims to interrupt leprosy transmission at the district level by 2027; a district is considered to have interrupted transmission after reporting zero new indigenous child cases for five consecutive years. The 2026–27 targets include reducing child cases to 1,000 and the G2D rate to 0.5 per million population. According to the Union Health Ministry, India detected 91,783 new leprosy cases in 2025–26, with a prevalence rate of 0.56 per 10,000 population; 1,945 patients had G2D at diagnosis, giving a G2D rate of 1.34 per million, above the NLEP target of less than 1 per million. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India reported the highest number of new leprosy cases globally, followed by Brazil (22,901) and Indonesia (16,292), with the three countries accounting for 78.3% of global new cases. India also recorded the highest number of new child leprosy cases globally. New leprosy cases among children below 15 years are considered an indicator of recent transmission, while G2D indicates delayed diagnosis. High-prevalence districts include 23 in Chhattisgarh, 21 in Jharkhand, 18 each in Maharashtra and Odisha, and 10 in Madhya Pradesh. Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, is mainly caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae and can be cured through multidrug therapy (MDT).

Economy News

5th Kautilya Economic Conclave Held in New Delhi

On 3 October 2026, Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan inaugurated the 5th Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi. He highlighted the importance of ensuring that the benefits of economic development reach all sections of society for the effective functioning of democracy. India’s economy is moving towards a developed economy, supporting the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047. Key financial reforms such as Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) Trinity have contributed to financial inclusion and transparency. As of August 2026, 59 crore Jan Dhan accounts had been opened in India, while GST registrations increased from 60.65 lakh in 2017 to 1.65 crore as of May 2026.