Daily Current Affairs — 1 September 2026: SCO Summit, GDP Growth, Nepal-Tibet Floods & More

The 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit concluded in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on 1 September 2026, marking 25 years of the SCO; the grouping adopted the Bishkek Declaration and its chairmanship passed from Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan for 2026-27.

NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reached an eight-point consensus on the India-China boundary question during the 25th round of Special Representatives' talks in Beijing, aimed at stabilising bilateral ties.

A Himalayan glacier collapse on 26 August triggered catastrophic flash floods along the Trishuli and Bhotekoshi rivers, killing over 900 people in Nepal and 16 in Tibet, with thousands still reported missing across both sides of the border.

India's real GDP grew 7.8% in Q1 FY27 (April-June 2026), beating the RBI's 7% estimate; nominal GDP rose 10.3% to Rs 88.27 lakh crore, per data released by the MoSPI on 31 August.

The government notified the Rs 1.27 lakh crore 'Semicon 2.0' programme on 31 August, offering 40% fiscal support for silicon wafer fabs with a minimum investment of Rs 20,000 crore, along with incentives across the chip design and packaging value chain.

Bank of America's arm agreed to invest up to Rs 18,268 crore (about $1.9 billion) for up to a 49.9% stake in Jio Credit Limited, the NBFC arm of Jio Financial Services, under a definitive joint venture agreement.

The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% in its August 2026 review, while raising the FY27 GDP growth forecast to 6.7% and lowering the CPI inflation projection to 5.0%.

ISRO is set to launch the GISAT-1A (EOS-05) earth observation satellite aboard the GSLV-F17 rocket from Sriharikota on 4 September, its first launch after a seven-month pause.

Scientists dated a carbon-rich chert rock from Jharkhand's Singhbhum Craton to 3.497 billion years, identifying it as one of the oldest confirmed biosignature-bearing rocks on Earth, in a study published in PNAS.

ISRO issued a recruitment notification for 175 Scientist/Engineer 'SC' posts across its constituent centres, with applications open until 16 September 2026.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the transfer of DRDO's conventional (non-strategic) missile technologies to Indian industry, with firms like Adani Defence, Bharat Forge, ICOMM Tele and Solar Defence named Development-cum-Production Partners.

INS Nipun, the Indian Navy's second Diving Support Vessel with about 75% indigenous content, was commissioned at Mumbai's Naval Dockyard on 31 August to serve as the mother ship for India's Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel.

Tata Advanced Systems and the Raytheon-Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture signed an MoU for co-production of Javelin anti-tank missile All-Up-Rounds in India.

India and Germany held their 4th Environment Forum in New Delhi on 1 September, co-chaired by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav and German Minister Carsten Schneider, under the theme 'Together for Greater Resilience'.

A government report found that two-thirds of India's 58 tiger reserves have a declining prey base or poor habitat quality (or both), with nine reserves recording zero or critically low tiger numbers.

On World Elephant Day, the government released a Rs 500-crore Regional Action Plan for elephant-corridor conservation across Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, covering habitat restoration and human-elephant conflict mitigation.

15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became the youngest-ever Duleep Trophy half-centurion, reaching fifty off 42 balls and scoring 92 for East Zone against Central Zone, breaking a 57-year-old record.

Germany won the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup 2026, defeating Spain 1-0 in the final at Wavre, Belgium, to claim their fourth title.

Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya led the Fit India Movement from 29-31 August around National Sports Day, honouring hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on his birth anniversary.

PM Modi was conferred Uzbekistan's highest honour for foreign leaders, the 'Oliy Darajali Do'stlik' (Order of Highest Friendship), by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his state visit.

IndusInd Bank received RBI approval to appoint Ganesh Sankaran and Jagdeep Mallareddy as Executive Directors for a three-year term effective 4 August 2026.

The government's incentive scheme for domestic Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections took effect on 1 September, paying City Gas Distribution companies in additional gas allocations (200 standard cubic metres per new connection) across two tranches over six months.

The Delhi government's 'Lakshmi Yojana', giving eligible women Rs 2,500 a month, has enrolled about 9.5 lakh women since its launch on 1 August 2026.

The Union Cabinet approved the revamped Khelo India Scheme with a Rs 36,441 crore outlay for FY2026-27 to FY2030-31, to boost sports infrastructure and athlete support.

Parliament's 2026 Monsoon Session concluded on 13 August with 12 Bills passed by both Houses, including the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill.

The President gave assent to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026 on 7 August, expanding penal provisions under the original 1971 Act.

Ladakh's district count rose from two to seven with the creation of five new districts — Nubra, Sham, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass — alongside plans for Autonomous Hill Development Councils in all seven and an increase in tehsils from 15 to 32.

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated Phase-1 of the Velugonda irrigation project on 31 August, releasing water to drought-prone Markapuram, Prakasam, Nellore and Kadapa districts after a three-decade-old plan.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee flagged that the Gyan Bharatam Mission — India's manuscript-digitisation drive, which has identified about 2.25 crore manuscripts — is moving too slowly and needs a faster pace; India will also host its first global conference on manuscript heritage in September.

Banaras Hindu University launched a genetic and bio-archaeological study on a skeleton found at the ancient Rajghat site in Varanasi, aiming to uncover new insights into the region's ancient past.