Daily Current Affairs — 3 September 2026: Apple's New CEO, GDP Growth at 7.8%, Indus Waters Treaty & AISHE Data

India's higher education network expanded sharply per AISHE 2023-24: universities rose from 760 (2014-15) to 1,289 (2023-24), and total enrolment grew 31.5% to 4.50 crore students, per the Department of Higher Education's just-released 13th & 14th AISHE editions.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released 'National Accounts Statistics (NAS) 2026', shifting the base year for national account estimates to 2022-23, with 60 statements covering macro-economic aggregates and new price indices.

India notified its first National Mortuary Standards, banning basement morgues and mandating ground-floor placement with 4-8°C cold storage and roughly 4,000 sq ft of autopsy space, to standardise post-mortem infrastructure nationwide.

SSC opened recruitment for 1,748 Junior Engineer (JE) vacancies for 2026 across Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Quantity Surveying & Contract disciplines in various central departments; online applications close 22 September.

MPESB (MP Vyapam) revised its Group-3 Combined Recruitment notification upward to 1,700 vacancies for Sub Engineer, Draftsman and Laboratory Technician posts across Madhya Pradesh's engineering departments; applications close 12 September.

India's real GDP grew 7.8% in Q1 FY27 (April-June 2026), up from 6.9% a year earlier, with GDP at constant prices estimated at ₹81.36 lakh crore, driven by strong services and manufacturing growth, per NSO data.

August 2026 GST collections rose to ₹1.99 lakh crore, up 14.8% year-on-year, with domestic transaction revenue up 9.3% and import-linked GST revenue surging 29%.

InsuranceDekho and RenewBuy merged to form India's largest AI-enabled insurance distribution platform, with a combined premium book of over ₹6,600 crore and more than 2 crore policies issued.

India rejected a Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling on the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in its dispute with Pakistan, maintaining its position even as the court held the treaty remains fully in force.

During PM Modi's Uzbekistan visit, he received the country's highest civilian honour and both nations signed 11 MoUs targeting $5 billion in bilateral trade by 2030, alongside new Sanskrit-education and cultural-heritage initiatives.

Türkiye became the 71st signatory to the US-led Artemis Accords, the framework governing norms for peaceful, cooperative space exploration.

C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics) unveiled 14 indigenous quantum products focused on quantum key distribution and post-quantum cryptography at its 43rd Foundation Day event in New Delhi.

IISc Bengaluru established the 'Foundation for Quantum Computing Innovation', a Section-8 company thematic hub, to advance quantum technologies across platforms and provide shared research facilities to researchers nationwide.

Agnikawach Safety Solutions launched 'Agni Kawach', described as India's first indigenous AI-powered platform for industrial safety analysis, now at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5.

India issued a NOTAM covering a roughly 2,995-km missile-test corridor over the Indian Ocean; DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamath said the Agni-6 intercontinental ballistic missile is technologically ready and awaiting final government clearance.

India gained 'dialogue partner' status in the UK-Japan-Italy Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), allowing high-level talks on future combat-air capabilities and industrial cooperation, though without the financial or operational commitments of a full development partner.

CSE's 'State of India's Environment 2026' report warns that 7 of 9 planetary boundaries have now been breached, including ocean acidification; Himachal Pradesh was worst-hit by extreme weather in the study period (267 days), followed by Kerala (173) and Madhya Pradesh (162).

At UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia, the Phase-II International Drought Resilience Observatory and a new AI-powered Drought Resilience Index were launched as global monitoring tools against drought risk.

An unseasonal neelakurinji bloom has begun across the Chokramudi hills near Munnar in Idukki, Kerala, catching botanists off guard since the region's famous 12-year bloom cycle was not due until 2030; authorities are preparing for a wider spectacle through September-October.

Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football after captaining Argentina to the 2026 FIFA World Cup title, closing out a career spanning around two decades with the national team.

Germany won the FIH Hockey World Cup Men's title, beating Spain 1-0 for a record-equalling fourth championship, while Argentina claimed the Women's title, defeating the Netherlands in a shoot-out.

Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, honouring a career of 20 Grand Slam titles and a record 310 weeks as World No. 1.

John Ternus succeeded Tim Cook as Apple's CEO effective 1 September 2026 after board approval, with Cook moving to the newly created role of Executive Chairman; Ternus previously led Apple's hardware engineering as senior vice president.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation named its 2026 awardees: Singapore's Tommy Koh, Bangladesh's Runa Khan and Myanmar's Bo Kyi, opening the 68th Ramon Magsaysay Awards season ahead of the November presentation in Manila.

The Reserve Bank of India appointed Suman Ray as Executive Director effective 1 September 2026; Ray brings around 30 years of central banking experience to the role.

The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ramakrishna Mission launched a nationwide intergenerational-bonding pilot programme across 200 schools, using play-based activities to strengthen connections among children, parents and grandparents.

Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan unveiled 'Mission Rangeen Machhli 2031', a strategic action plan for developing ornamental fisheries in Lakshadweep with frameworks for scientific management and regulatory compliance.

The PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, targeting 100 low-productivity agricultural districts with integrated support on inputs, irrigation, credit and market access, was highlighted in official updates as it scales up, modelled on the Aspirational Districts Programme.

Bihar and Jharkhand signed an MoU to resolve their Sone river water-sharing dispute, allocating 5.75 MAF to Bihar and 2 MAF to Jharkhand out of the 7.75 MAF total under the 1973 Bansagar Agreement.

National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park Odisha Ltd received in-principle approval for a ₹24,700 crore shipbuilding cluster in Kendrapara district, spread over roughly 2,000-2,500 acres.